#Speed flying safety tips

[novaursa]

Can you please create a story about Cregan catching a spy? that he had set a trap for his men She was going to kill them but Cregan stops her by saving them. Then when they wanted revenge, Cregan laughed at them because they fell silent in front of a girl. tried to convince her to join them

Fox in Wolves Den

- Summary: You were instructed by Larys Strong to spy the northerners, to thin their ranks. But today you faced the Warden of the North himself.

- Paring: reader/Cregan Stark

- Note: For more of my works, visit my blog. The main list is pinned to the top, and there is the link to the second one.

- Rating: Mature 16+

- Tag(s): @sachaa-ff @daeryna @melsunshine @21-princess

The dense fog of the Wolfswood clings to your skin like the cold mist of a graveyard, thick and suffocating. You crouch low behind the twisted roots of an ancient oak, your breath shallow as you wait. The trap is set. The Green council has long whispered of Lord Cregan Stark’s men growing too bold, venturing too far south, seeking alliances that could tip the balance of power. Larys Strong tasked you with thinning their ranks, and you have done so with ruthless precision. But tonight is different. Tonight, the Warden of the North himself rides with them.

Your fingers twitch against the hilt of your dagger, your eyes trained on the narrow path that cuts through the forest like a scar. The rustling of horses’ hooves and the clank of steel echo faintly in the distance, a slow rhythm that sends a chill of anticipation racing down your spine. You’ve watched them for days, learning their patterns, their weaknesses. Tonight, they’ll ride into an ambush—your ambush—and bleed out on the frozen ground. 

As the first shadowy figure emerges through the mist, you make no sound. The men are oblivious, lulled into a false sense of security by the quiet of the forest. They don’t know this land the way you do, don’t feel the danger lurking in the air. 

You flick your wrist, a signal to the men hiding deeper in the woods. A few heartbeats later, a harsh twang breaks the silence as arrows fly through the air, striking the first few riders. Chaos erupts. Screams, the frantic neighing of horses, and the sudden clash of steel ring out. 

For a moment, you believe the night is yours. The soldiers stumble and fall, caught off guard, as your hired killers descend upon them. Your heart pounds in your chest, but it is not fear that quickens your pulse. It is triumph. The greens will be pleased. 

But then, something shifts. From the midst of the chaos, a deep voice cuts through the din. “Hold your line!”

Cregan Stark. 

The Lord of Winterfell rides forward, his massive form cutting through the fog like an ancient god of war. His grey eyes gleam under the moonlight as he shouts commands, rallying his men with a calm yet fierce authority. Your pulse quickens again—but this time, it's not from triumph.

The Northern soldiers regroup, forming a wall of shields as Cregan wades into the fray with his greatsword in hand. With a single swing, he cuts down two of your men as if they were nothing more than straw dummies. You clench your teeth, realizing too late that the Warden of the North is not just a name. He’s a force.

You slink deeper into the shadows, eyes fixed on the towering figure of Stark as he moves with a lethal grace. His men rally behind him, the trap that should have killed them now turning on you. The hired blades you brought fall one by one beneath Stark’s sword and the renewed ferocity of his soldiers. 

And then—disaster. A branch snaps beneath your feet, loud enough to betray your position.

"Over there!" a Northern voice shouts. 

You bolt, darting through the underbrush with a speed that has saved you more times than you can count. But the Northerners are hunters, and their lord is no fool. You hear the thud of hooves behind you, the sound of a rider closing in fast. 

Before you can reach the safety of the trees, a rough hand catches the back of your cloak, yanking you off balance. You stumble, crashing to the ground, your breath knocked from your lungs. A shadow falls over you as Cregan dismounts, his sword gleaming like the edge of a winter storm.

You roll onto your back, the sharp edge of your blade in hand, but before you can strike, he’s there—his hand clamping down on your wrist with crushing force. His face hovers inches from yours, his breath hot against your skin, smelling of steel and leather and cold northern air.

"Easy, little fox," he growls, eyes narrowing in amusement. "You've made quite the mess tonight."

Your chest heaves with ragged breaths as you meet his gaze, defiance burning in your veins. But Stark only chuckles, a low, rumbling sound that seems to echo through the forest. His men approach, panting and bloodied, but alive. He looks at them, then back at you.

"This girl almost bested you lot," Cregan says, his tone light, mocking. "If I hadn't been here, she'd have left your corpses for the crows." 

The men glance at each other, sheepish but relieved, and you feel the heat of humiliation burn your cheeks. You want to fight, to spit some venomous retort, but you’re pinned beneath his weight, your body betraying you. 

Cregan’s gaze sweeps over you, lingering a moment longer than it should. There's a gleam of something in his eyes—something that isn’t quite anger or mockery. Amusement, yes, but curiosity as well. He leans in closer, his voice dropping to a rough whisper only you can hear.

"Who sent you?"

You remain silent, your jaw clenched, refusing to give him the satisfaction of an answer. His grip tightens just slightly, enough to make your wrist ache but not enough to break it.

"Stubborn," he murmurs. Then he smiles, the expression more wolf than man. "I like that."

With a swift movement, he hauls you to your feet, not releasing your wrist as he turns to his men. "Tie her up. We’ll take her with us. I want to know what game she's playing."

Two soldiers step forward, but before they can bind you, Cregan raises a hand, stopping them. He studies you, his gaze piercing, as if weighing something in his mind.

"Or..." His voice softens, though the command behind it is unmistakable. "You could join us. The North doesn’t mind a fox, as long as she knows where her loyalties lie."

Your heart skips a beat, the implications of his offer crashing over you like a wave. Betray the Greens? Betray Larys Strong? The thought is unthinkable, but standing there, caught in Cregan Stark’s grip, you find yourself staring into the cold eyes of a wolf—and you wonder if, perhaps, your loyalty is worth less than your life.

You say nothing, but Cregan's smile widens, as if he's already decided your fate. 

"You don’t have to answer now," he says, his voice lowering to a dangerous purr. "But you will. One way or another."

And with that, you are dragged into the night, your future hanging in the balance between wolves and men.

[jinjeriffic]

DCxDP Prophecy Universe Part 8

Part 7

Damian was torn between investigating the disturbance and continuing his surveillance of Daniel and his companions. On the one hand, civilians might be in danger. On the other hand, he was here on a mission. The decision was made for him when Foley and Manson came running out of Pineapple Republic and headed towards the sounds of commotion. No sign of Daniel though.

A musical chime sounded as the mall’s PA system turned on.

“Attention customers!” came a cheerful female voice, “We regret to inform you that a ghost attack is currently in progress! Please head to the nearest emergency exit. Thank you for shopping at Amity Park Mall! Please come again!”

Another musical chime marked the end of the announcement and an alarm started wailing.

And everyone thinks Gotham is bad. Amity Parkers are demented.

Damian dropped what he was holding and ducked out of the store into the crowd of people hurrying towards the exits. A few people gave him odd looks as he headed in the opposite direction of the evacuation but nobody tried to stop him. They probably wanted to be as far away from the carnage as possible. At least they were somewhat sensible in that regard.

The crowd around him thinned out fast and it didn’t take him long to spot Foley and Manson crouched behind the counter of a now abandoned juice bar. Foley was fiddling with something in his backpack while Manson was keeping lookout. Luckily their attention was focused in the other direction so Damian snuck as close as he dared and ducked behind some decorative plants to avoid being seen. He surreptitiously pulled out his phone to record whatever was going to happen.

The screaming had stopped but the repeated sound of glass shattering came from inside what appeared to be a high-end jewelry store. He could see movement behind the cracked safety glass and heard muffled voices though he couldn’t discern the words. Suddenly, the glass pane buckled outwards before being torn from its moorings entirely, crashing to the ground. What appeared to be a large reinforced safe skidded along the tile floor, leaving cracks in its wake before coming to a stop. A red energy blast came roaring out the now empty window frame, burning a melted hole in the glass of a store on the opposite side.

“The hard way it is then!” shouted a voice Damian recognized.

Green flashes lit up the inside of the jewelry store and moments later a black and white form came hurtling out.

Phantom.

He wasn’t wearing a cloak or messenger bag this time and the strange staff he had used to open the portal was also missing. His body was haloed by a faint glow, giving him an ethereal appearance. The black parts of his armored jumpsuit seemed to suck in the light to an unnatural degree, while the white accents as well as his hair seemed to shine like moonlight. He came to a halt in midair, and his outstretched hands glowed green as a barrier appeared in front of him, just in time to block another red blast.

“Look, if I wanted a tan I’d go to the spa!”

A second figure came flying out of the store at high speed, aiming straight for Phantom. He dodged and weaved as his opponent struck at him with… a battleaxe?

“And I don’t need a haircut either, geez!”

Phantom retaliated with a glowing fist to the face of his opponent, who crashed to the ground leaving a small crater in the floor. With the creature momentarily disoriented, Damian could finally get a good look at it. It had the same glowing aura as Phantom, but its skin was dark green. It was smaller than the average human but much bulkier. If Damian had to guess he’d estimate its height to be about four feet. It had large pointed ears, beady red eyes and a long, pencil-like nose. Its hands and feet were bare, but tipped with vicious looking claws. It was wearing a mish mash of leather and metal armor pieces and what appeared to be several pounds of stolen jewelry.

Two more creatures of similar appearance emerged from the wreckage of the store, one carrying a wooden staff with a large red jewel set in the top, and the other a crossbow and a large sack. The red jewel glowed ominously and fired another blast towards Phantom, who stretched and twisted his body in an unnatural way to avoid it.

“Are those goblins? Seriously?!”

“Curse you universe!”

Foley and Manson’s outburst drew the attention of the third creature and they had to duck down as a crossbow bolt embedded itself in the juice bar inches from them.

“Man, we’ll never hear the end of this!”

“Just shut up and get the thermos ready. I’ll cover you,” Manson snapped as she attached something metal to her wrist.

Meanwhile, Phantom had launched himself at the second creature - goblin? - and was trying to wrestle the staff away from it. The creature snarled and Phantom head butted it in the nose, and followed up with a kick to the inside of its knee. The goblin fell back, dazed as Phantom wrenched the staff out of its grasp. He turned sharply, just in time to block the axe blow aimed at his back as the first creature lunged at him. The axe bit deeply into the wood of the staff.

“Have you considered a career in lumberjacking? Then maybe you wouldn’t have to steal your bling!” Phantom taunted as he shoved his opponent back. When he blocked the next blow, the staff broke in two under the force. He cast the now useless pieces aside.

“Maybe you could find a nice lady who appreciates your firewood chopping skills?”

The next swing came horizontally, and Phantom bent backwards to avoid it.

“Or maybe a nice dude, I ain’t judging!”

Just then, Manson popped up from behind cover and used some kind of wrist mounted laser to shoot the axe goblin in the side. The creature howled in pain and dropped its weapon to clutch at the smoldering wound. Seizing the opportunity Phantom dashed forward and delivered a devastating uppercut. He grabbed his enemy as it began to slump, and hurled it through the air towards the juice bar.

“Heads up, Tuck!”

Foley popped up and aimed a strange cylinder towards the fight. A bright light erupted from the device as the creature was sucked inside. One down two to go.

The crossbow wielder took advantage of now having a clear shot at Phantom, and the teen just barely managed to duck as a bolt whizzed past his ear and embedded itself in the wall.

“I’ll pass on the acupuncture, thanks!”

Not giving his foe time to reload, Phantom blasted it with a green energy bolt as he flew towards it. With seemingly no better options, the goblin grunted as it swung the heavy sack as an improvised weapon. The blow connected, sending Phantom tumbling back with a cry. At the same time the sack split open, spilling a cascade of rings, necklaces and other precious items across the floor. Phantom hit the ground on his back, but rolled to his feet quickly, picking up the discarded battleaxe as he went.

“I have an axe to grind with you!” he cried with a feral grin, as he hurled the weapon at his opponent with all his might. The goblin squawked and dodged, still fumbling to reload. Phantom was faster though and slammed into it with glowing fists, sending the creature tumbling through the air. In another flash of bright light, Foley sucked up the second goblin too.

Unfortunately, the third creature had not been idle. While everyone was distracted, it had picked up the discarded head of the broken staff and had started an ominous chant in a strange language. Apparently breaking the shaft hadn’t rendered it useless after all and the gemstone was pulsing with an angry red light.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Phantom snarled and sent out a wave of ice spears in front of himself as he flew at the goblin. One of the icicles hit the gem and it felt as if time slowed for a moment as the latter splintered with an audible crack. Suddenly, an explosion of red energy erupted from the gem, sending both combatants hurtling in opposite directions. The goblin hit the wall with a thud, and the unconscious creature was quickly sucked into Foley’s device.

Phantom landed on the thoroughly ruined floor, sprawled amid the various trinkets the ghostly thieves had pilfered.

“I hate it when they insist on going out with a bang,” he groaned, clutching at his head and sitting up.

“Police, freeze!”

“It’s Phantom, get him!”

Oh joy, law enforcement has arrived. Too late, as usual.

“Aw come on, really?!” Phantom yelped, then scrambled away as the newly arrived policemen started shooting at him with some kind of laser blaster, the bolts of light reminiscent of what Manson had dished out earlier.

“Screw you guys, I’m going home!” Phantom shouted as he turned see-through and dove through the floor.

“Suspect is headed for the basement, we’re in pursuit!” one of the officers yelled into his walkie-talkie as they all ran off, presumably in the direction of the nearest staircase. Why they thought chasing someone who could apparently density shift was going to accomplish anything was beyond Damian. It looked like small town America didn’t recruit the best and brightest as law enforcement officers either.

Damian pocketed his phone and hurried away from the scene of the crime. The last thing he wanted was to be interrogated about what he had seen. Besides, he was eager to see where his wayward brother would resurface.

[phoenixcatch7]

Tips and tricks to survive Eden even less

Seeing a lot of people struggling with the fourth quest of Revival, aka the 'die and come back for one (1) heart pretty please' quest, and I thought some helpful hints and tricks I've found over the years might be helpful! (Feat: spoilers, obviously)

Step 1: Overcome your fear of death and accept your fate.

I'm serious! People are very cautious in Eden, and often to their detriment! Panic and rush will only make you clumsy and make the whole thing far more stressful than it needs to be! And take longer too!

Step 2: Carry a source of light, or bring a friend! Assembly guide sells a torch, I believe, but in an emergency the rememberance guide sells a teapot on a brazier that does the same... At a Very slow rate. If you bring a friend, you can carry friendship candles that work really well! Unfortunately they're also sort of fragile, so it's best when someone who is being carried holds it.

This will go a long way both to being useful and easing any stress! Just... Make sure not to place it anywhere in the way of krill or rocks.

Step 3: Don't rush after lost wings! If you're already losing light, you're not in a situation to be chasing the metaphorical ball into the busy road! Your first priority is yourself, get to safety and recharge. Lights that land nearby or in safe places sure, but don't jump into the path of rocks just to try and get one back!

I know it's counter instinctive, but you're going to be losing those lights anyway in a few minutes. Even if you have low numbers to begin with, you want to focus on keeping the ones you do have!

Step 4: Jumping vs skipping, also sliding. They're your best friends.

To jump, you press the jump button. Easy. To skip, you want to take your finger off the move circle so it fades, and then flick the screen in the direction you want to go, so your sky kid skips in that direction! The best part is, it has tracking abilities, which is invaluable in helping you land precise jumps (such as that freaking candle bridge in valley). Cool, but why is this important?

Skipping isn't affected by the winds like jumping. Well - it is a little, but it won't send you backwards the way a bad jump will. Not to mention the homing ability will make things easier! It's a bit weaker than a jump, but mix it in to make the journey easier!

Similarly, sliding can be achieved on almost any surface flat enough to walk on. It's not affected as much by the winds either, so try to slide where possible for some speed! Especially if you can move it into a skip, to get a good boost! (This is because you can slide without actively moving your sky kid.)

Step 5: Did you know? Emotes affect not only your hitbox, but also your knock back? If you're unfortunate enough to get caught by a short ledge, try using an emote to duck behind it! When you're in a standing emote (ie, one you have to stop manually and can't move until it's finished. Think the point emote vs the wave emote) you also become a lot harder to knock over! (Warning: this does not work on krill! They are bigger and beefier than you in every way!)

I recommend an emote that's fast to get in and out of, like the first stage faint emote! It's saved my hide many a time.

Also, most people run on Sunday, so if you're looking for a kindly guide, that's your best time!

Now. The route.

At the very start of Eden, there's a thin stone bridge with rushing rocks blowing left to right.

That bridge is optional.

For more experienced players with enough wedges, you can fly right across to the door with a little skill. (There's lots of video tutorials on youtube if you're curious!)

For people with less wedges or skills, hop right on down into the gap. Follow the bridge to where it meets the other side, and there's a slope you can climb back up to skip the rocks entirely!

The second area loads all at the same time. To be precise, in roughly the time it takes to open the door and trigger the cutscene with the krill, you'll usually hear the sound signalling a wave of falling rocks after the second horn note. You can still move in this cutscene! Also that krill can't see you, thank goodness, so don't worry about it.

For taller players (I'm serious lol) there's a big chip in the wall on the far left of the room. It's about in the middle, it's part of a seam, but if you can't find it get your candle out. Walk into the crack. Jump forward a couple times. Escape to oob. Make sure you got the door cutscene, though, because it will get you if you don't!

Climb the clouds as high as you can, following the path. You want to be ridiculously high up to avoid the invisible wall and the winds. You will get softlocked. Not 'I think I'm high enough', not 'I gotta be high enough now', you want 'I'm going to faceplant the sun' high. 'This feels like I shouldn't be here' kind of high. Right by the giant red pillar at the end! Then dive down. Straight down. Straight towards the entrance to the hall of lights. Avoid flying above the krill!! You should land without bother, but run to safety!

^^^ it looks cool, but don't land here! Land in the actual area down there, by the krill!

For shorter players or less experienced ones, run out and as far left as you can to make it to a safe spot to ride out the first wave of rocks! When the camera returns to you, I recommend keeping left and then running right to the tunnel: keeps you in the path of the rocks as little as possible. RUN.

You have a few seconds between the signal noise (which sounds like a match striking, or a carbonated bottle decompressing) and the surge of rocks (which sounds like strong winds and crunching). There's always particles flying, they're just decorative! It's safe to run when the rocks have stopped!

If you're close to safety, don't stop running!! Don't divert to somewhere that looks safer, get there as fast as you can. Because of the angle of the rocks, at the tunnel/pipe entrance, there's actually a little bit of area in front of it they don't hit. You're closer to safety than you think.

The next phase: pipes. Now, this area is either very easy or very hard, depending on if you get seen by a krill. There's two.

These guys work on a timer. They loop. You can hang around in the pipe between phases and watch them to get an eye on what they're doing, but they move pretty slowly lol. This is the phase you want to rush LEAST. If a krill is coming, hide under the girder. It has a zigzag pattern to help spot, and it's on the switchback leading up to the giant pipe. Don't try and rush it, there's very few places to hide quickly here.

However, the winds are very weak here! You can fly and run, if you're careful! Should a krill spot you on that ledge around the pipe, you can simply fly around it to the other side! Be aware, though, that you might fall into the sludge water below, so check you don't fall in! It's an annoying climb back up lol, but krill don't check down there unless they've been disrupted, so you're safe if you fall.

Do not jump over the girder bridge! Just run! I know it's faster but the girder is thin and slippy! If you get spotted there, just keep running, there's a rock you can hide behind on the other side.

Inside the pipe, you can take a break. There's a brazier of light and some crabs in a ditch you can take your anger out on. You'll see krill lights, but they can't get you as you climb out, they just pass very close. You can safely ignore that one!

Emerging, you'll see the giant red crystal. That's the goal. Again, keep left, use emotes and hiding spots. Listen for the signal sound. Do not be fooled by the placement of braziers! Some spots can still be hit with rocks if you're anything but a chibi!

There will be black, calcified bodies starting to appear. Do not worry. You can't interact with them. You can't save them. They will not protect you from rocks.

When you see a miraculously intact stone arch, you're close! Don't hide behind it, though! You want the ledge just under it. The arch won't keep you from rocks or the krill just ahead.

The krill moves in a very tight circle, for a krill. I'd recommend following its path from a distance, because it moved faster than we can, right now. Spots that will protect you from the krill won't save you from the rocks, either! This is a very tough spot to move through, so take your time choosing the right moment!

Also, there's a child of light, just to the left. This is a trap. Reach the safety of the corridor first, then once you've caught your breath drop back down and grab it. Grabbing the child on your way up risks slowing you enough for the krill to spot you.

And you're in the hall of lights! Lighting all the statues won't do anything, unfortunately. But this is also the first time you'll see children of light in any position other than standing looking up... It's a bit eerie. They're still the same thing, though.

At the end of the corridor, READ THE WARNING that pops up. This is your last chance to avoid death, if you're here to help a friend, or there's lights you want to get first, now is your last chance. Returning home after this point will take you to a scary, empty home, where thunder rumbles and the portals have been returned to rubble. The only way out is through eden.

The final phase: the eye of Eden.

There is no flying. Don't even bother. You'll need to conserve your light. Your goal is to light every calcified body you can - you can see them by the blue lines, if you're struggling. They also look unlit from the front, which can be very annoying, but if they're on fire or glowing, you've already got them. Eden can only be run once a week, and that's why. They don't reset until the Sunday/Monday daily reset, I'm pretty sure. You can still die and light ones you missed the first time, but it's usually not worth it. You'll need all your courage and recklessness here to move quickly.

There are no krill here. There is no clever skip. The only problems are the rocks and the sludge water (though that's not nearly as much of an issue lol. It's never more than ankle deep). Also the rocks to hide behind aren't very good. Sometimes you'll get hit despite being in a 'safe' spot. Don't linger.

Now, the rocks. You have more time than you think between waves, but as there's no noise to signal their stop, it can be hard to tell.

What you want to be listening for is the signal, of course, but also the sound of crashing. The signal is early. You have a few seconds. The crashing only starts when the rocks hit the floor.

What you want to be looking for is the bright neon red of rocks breaking on objects. It comes in waves, starting from the eye and washing to the entrance. These are the only rocks that will hit you, and if you see it coming, you can move out of the way! When they fade, start moving again immediately for the maximum safe time!

Watch for the blue or black of lights! They cost one light each, and each one will become roughly 1/3 of an ascended candle later. Get as many as you can!

Light every statue you go by and refill your light. If you're experienced, it might feel inefficient, but YOU WILL get hit at least once later and you don't want to crawl all the way back to the start to re light lmao.

The waves will come faster and harder as you get closer to the eye, and the angle the rocks fall from will also change, so watch out for that! If you get too close to the sides, they'll change direction SPECIFICALLY to spite you, so be aware of that too lol.

The very final stretch starts when the ground flattens into broken tiles. It's a straight line to the eye, and that's where we're going! Rocks fall all the time, there's little to no cover or light.

You just gotta run. You can't jump, don't try, it'll knock you down fast. You gotta take the hits. There's no two ways about it.

Well... There's kind of a way.

You see, the rocks fall in a pattern. Of you look up, you see them spawn in zigzag lines, and then fall at about 40° from horizontal. If you're very lucky, or very skilled, you can use that to predict where the rocks will fall. And avoid them.

Unfortunately, you can't move very fast. Especially once (not if!) you get knocked to a crawl. Sometimes you're just going to watch a rock spawn and then fall directly onto you lol. Don't try and zigzag to avoid, it'll just slow you down and you'll get hit.

Because of the rocks and the sludge water, any lights you lose will disappear the second they touch the ground. They are no longer your concern. Don't bother trying to focus on reaching the eye, just return the lights you do have to as many crystallised bodies as possible.

And then you die.

You gotta wait ages, at this point. For some reason. It can take about five minutes, longer if there's people there with you, but EVENTUALLY a pop up will appear asking if you want to move on without waiting for people. Click yes, or you'll be waiting even longer. Don't worry, your friends will come with you if they've also died.

Hug your own light, your bright reflection. It's always the exact same height as you. Fly up through the torrent.

There's one last shortcut, funnily enough. I'll include a picture.

See that pale window on the left of the giant doors? That I'm flying away from? That's intangible. You can fly straight through it to oob.

Go through. Go up.

Follow the clouds, just keep flapping up, as high as you can, even when you get lost. Aim for the space at the top.

And then you're headed for orbit, and there may be a giant slug whale sharing your personal space. Don't worry! It won't hurt you!

And that's Eden!

[pedropascallme]

Acolyte

Pairing: Din Djarin x f!Reader

Summary: “The quiet of the cockpit did nothing to satiate your curiosity, and you desperately tried to think of something to say, even if to nobody but yourself.”

Warnings: Ever so slight implications of what could possibly verge on smut but only if you squint. Otherwise none!

AN: Lord forgive me but from dusk til dawn I will make up the inner layout of the Crest to my liking. This is part three of Stupid For You, part one here and part two here!! 

Soundtrack: Acolyte by Slaughter Beach, Dog

As soon as your excitement in anticipation of being in hyperspace—being in hyperspace with Din—for weeks at a time had died down, you remembered that, more often than not, you found yourself loathing the speed run through the stars. 

You weren’t ungrateful for the peace that you found in hyperspace, but there was nothing to do on this ship. There were only so many ways to keep the child’s focus, only so many stars you could count, only so many sighs you could muster. It got boring. You had been flying for three days, give or take, and you had already run out of things to do. You had even taken it upon yourself to clean the ship, not that it took up much time; Din was severely lacking in creature comforts and the few wires and cabinets that the kid could get to were easily safety-proofed. 

There you sat: Tapping your fingers on the nav computer and looking through the transparisteel. Din sat in the Captain’s chair (a term he loathed, but you loved to use as a form of light mockery) and though you weren’t entirely sure he was conscious or even breathing half the time, the occasional movements his hand made towards some button or other proved he was alive, at least. 

You hadn’t spoken in hours. What was there to talk about? The kid made most of the conversation on the Crest, and with him asleep and no bounty for at least twelve parsecs, there wasn’t much you could make conversation about. With anybody else, maybe you’d be able to muster up a chat about something—anything—but with Din? Forget it. After your little show of confidence the other day, you had slumped back into your daydreams. And despite his show of concern that same day, he hadn’t seemed to notice any issues. 

You tried to remain outgoing and continue the ribbing (if you could call it that) you had begun, but it was…it was weirdly difficult. Din was so fucking hard to read: he had no face, his guard was always up, and if he did have any reaction to what you were doing, he was wizard at hiding it. 

“Where are we going?” You blurted out, almost without thinking, fed up with the quiet. 

“Fondor.” Din’s responses were always so blunt. Never any idle chat before the real answer. You made a face when he named the ecumenopolis, prompting a sympathetic “I know.”

You resumed your silence, continuing your tapping. Getting three words from him and an answer to your question would hold you over for another few hours.

“Stop tapping.” Din reached over, grabbing your hand and forcing you to cease the repetitive motion you had fallen into. He placed it in your lap before withdrawing, going back to the statuesque pose he had held in his chair.

“Sorry.” You squeezed your hand into a fist, unclenching it to rub a finger from your opposite hand over the palm he had touched. 

“Are you nervous?” He asked.

“No.” You were getting good at lying to him. More silence followed, and you continued to rub your palm lightly. You liked the feel of his gloves; the leather had softened from use and the suede on the tips of his fingers was fraying. Din’s hands were the only part of him you had seen in full, and the tan, calloused skin that he often wrapped after a hunt were at the center of your thoughts; fantasies got the best of you on sleepless nights, and your mind wandered to his hands, thinking about how they would’ve felt on you a few weeks prior had you been without the armor, him without his gloves. 

The quiet of the cockpit did nothing to satiate your curiosity, and you desperately tried to think of something to say, even if to nobody but yourself.

“You don’t take off your gloves all that often.” Your words betrayed you slightly, and you hoped Din couldn’t hear your thoughts. 

“I don’t see the need to.”

“Don’t you get uncomfortable?” You were shocked to garner a response from him that was more than two words.

“No. Gotten used to it.” He shifted himself towards you slightly. “Why the sudden curiosity, cyar’ika?”

“No reason, mesh’la.” Your butchered pronunciation did nothing to ease his own sheepishness. You made it hard for him to keep his composure before you started using the pet name he had gifted you, but now? Maker…

“Uhuh.” Was all he provided.

“What about your armor?” You pressed on.

“You’ve seen me without my armor. And my gloves.”

“Never without your helmet.” You winced at your words, not wanting him to think you were being judgmental. He didn’t owe you an answer, and you respected that he held fast to his beliefs the way he did. 

“Never without my helmet.” He repeated. You shrunk into yourself a little. You had no way of knowing whether he was offended or not as his voice kept its monotony. 

“I wasn’t trying to—”

“I know.”

“Have you ever taken it off?” You couldn’t help but keep going. The questions you had been trying to swallow since you met him now bulldozed their way past your lips.

“Of course I have.”

“Since I joined you?”

“No.”

“Even in the shower?”

“I take it off then.”

“So you have taken it off since I joined you.”

“Yes. But only in private moments, mesh’la.” He was teasing you, waiting for you to pick up on it. You thought for a moment that maybe you had heard something in his voice; had he put emphasis on “private”? Or on the nickname? You tried to chalk it up to his true tone being lost in the modulator, nevertheless you stilled a bit at his phrasing. “Private moments.” Showering. He was talking about showering, and that’s all.

After you had subtly regained your composure, you decided it was time to up the ante with your line of questioning.

“Din.” He moved his head and you were able to look into the black of his visor. “What do you look like?” He didn’t respond. “Not that you need to answer, I don’t—I don’t know how that works, really.”

“What if I told you I looked just like the kid?” 

“You have ten fingers.”

“So?” You could hear him smiling. 

Fuck, you wanted to see him smile. You wanted to see him smile at you. To witness for yourself the way his lips curled up, to find out if he was the type to give a toothy grin or a tight lipped smirk.

“So, I know you can’t be one of…him. And your skin is tan on your hands.”

“Who says my hands are the same color as my face?”

“You can also speak. And when you’re out of your armor I can see some of your neck.”

“And?” 

“And it’s the same color as your hands.”

“Clever girl.”

“What do you look like.” You enjoyed the back and forth you were having, and you marked it down in your head as some of the first genuine banter you’d ever had with him. Still, you were eager to get as straight an answer from him as you could.

“Don’t know if I could tell you.” He sighed. “Don’t know if I’d be able to pick  myself out in a lineup.” 

“That would make you a terrible bounty hunter.” 

“Watch it, cyare.” You knew it was probably a teasing response to your teasing prompt, but you couldn’t help but flinch a little. He put a hand on your knee in what you supposed was meant as an apology, but that only made you flinch again. You looked at the hand on your lap as he rested it on you for another 30 seconds before he finally withdrew it. He knew he was testing the waters, adding more physicality and communication to your previously professional relationship in order to gauge whether or not he was reading you correctly. You thought you’d finally gone insane during your journey and now couldn’t separate reality from reverie. The damage was done, though: You had yet another moment to replay in your mind until you croaked. There was a sudden tension, and you couldn’t tell whether it was emanating more so from him or from you.

“What do you want to hear?” He was quiet, head dropping to your level.

“How old are you?”

“Older than you.”

“Din...”

“Fourty-something.”

“What color is your hair?”

“Brown.”

“And your eyes?”

“Brown.”

“Do you have facial hair?”

“Sometimes.”

“What’s your nose look like?”

“It’s, uh…big. Curved.”

“Does it bump against your helmet?”

“It’s padded.”

“The helmet or your nose?” You laughed, trying to ignore the hushed intensity of the conversation.

“Funny.” 

“What about…” Your voice wavered. “What about your lips?”

“Pinkish.” 

“I mean the shape.”

“Lip-shaped.” He chuckled, his body moving in sync with the sound. “Been told I have good teeth, too, if you wanted to write that down?” 

You laughed with him. “Who told you that?” 

“My mother.”

“How could she see your teeth through her helmet?”

“She wasn’t a Mandalorian.” He was still again, voice retaking its usual edge.

“Oh…so your dad?”

“No. I was a foundling.” You shifted in your seat, letting each other stew in the silence. The tension had seemingly come to a head. 

“I’m sorry for asking so many questions.” You whispered, unsure if he’d even register it.

“I don’t mind.” 

“I know, but—"

“I don’t mind,” he was firm, but there was a trace of understanding, “you were curious.”

“Yeah…”

“And if we’re living together…you deserve to know about me.” He leaned back in his seat. “You’ve told me about yourself. And I know what you look like. Fair’s fair.” He crossed his arms, head tilting towards you.

“Fair’s fair…” You agreed. You relaxed slightly in your seat, eyes darting between him and your hands, folded on your lap. “I don’t…I want you to know that I don’t mind if you ever can’t respond—or, or just don’t want to answer my questions. This is The Way. And stuff.”

You couldn’t tell, but he softened under his armor. It was a rarity that anybody showed him respect out of the goodness of their heart rather than fear. He knew that to most he was a hopeless acolyte; a minion to a long dead religion, following an ideology that many felt didn’t seem worth the pressure, not to mention the risk. But you saw him as something else. He was someone to you—a leader, a friend, maybe even something a bit...less defined—not just a religious fanatic, pimping himself out as a vigilante to the galaxy. He was certain that if it weren’t for the armor you’d be able to see his heart beating out of his chest.

“This is The Way.” He mumbled. He rested his hand on your leg, settling it above your knee this time. “Thank you.”

You hoped he couldn’t feel the increase in your heart rate, hoped he wasn’t just taunting you. You looked at him. He looked straight ahead. You didn’t want to speak or move, suddenly terrified that you’d blink and wake up. You squeezed your eyes shut and slowly peeled them open. 

Din’s hand was still there.

You pushed your body to comply with your racing thoughts, moving your arm up from your lap and reaching for his hand. You made gentle contact, flattening your palm on the back of his glove and trying to keep yourself from saying anything that could ruin the moment that had prompted his sudden display of affection. Was it affection? Please, please let it be affection.

As if on cue, you heard a crash and a shrill voice below the cockpit almost as soon as your hand had connected with Din’s. You looked at Din, who still looked through the transparisteel.

“Go on, mesh’la,” he offered, “he’ll want you.”

You hesitated, wondering if you’d ever have a moment like this with Din again, and whether or not it was worth it to leave him now in order to stop Grogu from destroying the ship. You couldn’t tell if he sensed your hesitance or if he was wondering the same thing as he slowly rubbed his thumb over your thigh. 

You forced yourself up, and he let his hand linger until your legs had fully straightened. You turned towards the ladder, feeling the heat radiate off your leg where he had touched you. Looking down, you saw that he hadn’t moved, although he now rested his arm upon his own leg. You smiled. It hadn’t been on purpose; it was a natural response to the moment. To Din.

You exited the cockpit in search of the child.

We could fly to Ireland You know I'm good for the ticket Try to smirk, but you're smiling Know I'll stick with it

[mariaofdoranelle]

The Courtship Deception - Part 1: Morning

Fic masterlist

Written for @throneofglassmicrofics

EEEEEE I’M SO EXCITED!!!

Warnings: none?

Word count: 983 words (I got it under control in the next parts, I promise 😅)

The wind in Aelin’s hair brought a rare sense of freedom, and it only got better the more she picked up speed. Tipping her head back, she felt weightless in this quaint little avenue—

“You’re supposed to be watching the road!” Fenrys shouted in the passenger’s seat. He was usually much cooler than this, but her favorite Personal Protection Officer was being handsomely paid to ensure not only her safety, but her dad’s convertible’s too.

“I’m feeling the road, Fen!” Aelin said, head tipped back into the tangled mess her hair became in this drive.

“That’s not— Fuck. We’re here!”

She slammed her foot on the breaks, tires screeching while their bodies were thrown forward. The force in which the seatbelt pressed against her collarbone was near bruising, but Aelin was laughing when the car stopped.

“How did I do?”

Fenrys threw his head back, cackling. “Fucking awful, Princess.”

Aelin’s father never allowed her to have driving lessons because he believes it’s an unnecessary waste of her time. Now, at the ripe age of 21, she finally convinced one of her babysitters to cross Rhoe’s orders, and her skills were getting less lethal each day.

Out of the car, she waited for Fenrys to parallel park—the spot was small, and Aelin was still getting the hang of it—and took in the charming residential street. An array of colorful little houses facing a park. It was Orynth in June, so the cool breeze brought the freshness of blooming trees, the late morning sunlight burning into Aelin’s skin and feeding into her soul, much like the flowering scene around her. Her bodyguard mentioned to a white and green house with a tiny but well-kept garden up front.

When Fenrys said they’d meet his secret tech guy, she expected something a lot more sketchy than this.

He said a few things to a camera by the front door, and it automatically opened. Um, rude? She didn’t expect a butler, but even in mafia movies there’s someone to answer the door.

After locking the front door and going through the living room, Fenrys led her into another one, and the amount of screens was far from being the most surprising thing.

“Rowie Bowie!” the bodyguard called, arms up, happy to greet his friend.

The mysterious man looked up, and it knocked Aelin’s breath out of her lungs. Holy rutting Mala. When Fen told her about this ‘grumpy tech guy’, she expected a weird-looking smelly nerd, not a scary-looking tattooed hottie. She immediately straightened, one hand subtly attempting to realign the bird’s nest that her hair became after the drive.

“Don’t bother,” scary-looking tattooed hottie said, piercing green eyes briefly assessing her before they were back on the screen. “You look pretty disheveled like this.” And he smirked. Her poor panties.

“So…” she trailed, leaning on the nearest desk. Smooth. Be smooth. “Rowie—“

“Please, don’t call me that.”

“It’s Rowan,” Fenrys added, “But Rowie is much better.”

He rolled his eyes. “Absolutely not—“

“Rowan.” Aelin cleared her throat. “Did you get past the security system?”

Of her own house, she meant. Her father was strict, so it was easier to get an illicit second phone than to get past all the monitoring her official phone was under. But Aelin had just bought a new iPhone, which meant she needed someone to make this phone fly under her dad’s radar—Mala forbid if someone finds an undetected wireless device within the walls of her mansion.

“All six of them, yes.”

“SIX?” Fenrys’ eyes were wide, caught by surprise.

“Yes,” Rowan replied, “Wireless detectors, frequency scanners, NLJDs, all six of them. And my job would be a lot easier if you knew your own workplace before hiring me.”

Poor Fen. His main job was to guard Aelin, he never got into the thick of Rhoe’s security system.

Rowan extended the new phone towards her, but took it back when she reached out. “I took the liberty to download something to get around your…” a small wince. “security cameras. You can crop some previously-recorded footage make make it look like it’s live. You’ll see it in the tutorial.”

How sweet of him. Aelin smiled. “You didn’t need to, but thanks.”

Her dad had security cameras installed in her bedroom—not in her closet or bathroom, but it was still annoying. Lorcan, one of her father’s men, was in charge of it, but Aelin terrorized the guy out of watching her footage. After a stunt she pulled a year ago, it’d take a nuclear explosion to get him to check the cameras on her bedroom.

“How much was it again?” Fenrys asked, his eyes widening when he saw the price, then complained, “That’s not what we settled for.”

“Agreed.” Rowan’s eyes, aimed at the bodyguard, were hard as steel. “You made my work sound much simpler than it actually was.”

She frowned. “How much is it?”

Fenrys sent her an apologetic look. “Half the Hermès we were buying after this.”

It’s not that money was a problem for Aelin, but her access to it was rather bureaucratic. She couldn’t go out, spend money on a “shopping spree”, and come back without shopping bags.

She waved him off. “What’s the point of getting a new purse if I don’t have a phone to put in it?”

Still upset, Fen turned around to focus on the payment. With his back to her, Aelin got closer to Rowan, both hands on his desk.

“I might have some trouble with this new setup on my phone,” Aelin lied.“So, I was wondering if you could give me your number, in case I have any questions.”

“Sure.” Rowan’s eyes sparkled, not leaving Aelin’s as he got her phone back. “Anything else?”

“Actually, yes.” She tilted her head, a fake helpless look from under her lashes. “I’m not as good with online instructions, so you might need to come find me sometime.”

The dark look Rowan gave her sent a shiver down her spine. “Let’s say I do. Does your guard dog come in the package deal?”

Aelin smirked, not bothering to keep up with the naïve facade anymore. “I guess you’ll have to find out.”

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[ourmadmusings]

I can’t be the one left here dragging you down, let me drown - 

Your first mission with him goes…not well.  “What is wrong with you?” He’s all teeth, he’s mad. You’ve seen him annoyed, tired, a little miffed perhaps, but never properly mad. “Are you just stupid, or do you think this is a game?” You blanch a little, your mouth closes and opens like a fish out of water - you really don’t know what to say to him. You leave your mask to cover your guilt, but his falls as he gets in your face. You feel like a child being scolded for breaking your mothers nice end-table lamp - “I should have let him kill you, teach everyone a fuckin’ lesson.” He’s going on and on, and you can’t muster the words to tell him to fuck off, you were doing what he asked of you, being reckless wasn’t even a thought, you were just doing what you thought he wanted - risking your hide for the betterment of his cause.  The anomaly had gotten away, though, because he’d stopped mid swing, just to help you. The Green Goblin had slipped through your webs and was cruising full-speed to string you up, you hadn’t even noticed the blades on his hover-board ejecting and tipped right at you until Miguel had shot a single web dead-center on your chest and yanked you to safety. The foiled attack left you on your hands and knees a few feet away with only the smallest of cuts on your forearm, bleeding disproportionately considering the size, Miguel distracted with you, and the villain of the week cruising away down the main drag. You stood and Miguel yelled.  “I- I’m sorry! I thought-” “Oh so you were thinking? That’s almost worse, in that case. If you’re going to waste my time, you’re better off going back home. I already have to babysit Gwen, Peter, half of the universe! I don’t want to add you to that long list.” His hands fly up to fiddle with his device sitting on his wrist. You can still see his sharp canines, he’s still scowling.  “I’m sorry.” You trail off as a portal opens, he doesn’t have to say anything for you to know you were being relieved of your duties on this mission with him.  You step into his main quarters back at the citadel, shame and embarrassment heavy on your shoulders. You trail a hand up your arm to stop some of the blood - Lyla is quick to buzz from your wrist, “you should let someone look at that back in medical, it could be worse than it looks.” You don’t even raise your hand to reply, simply plugging your homeworld coordinates in and lettings a portal open up, you yank the watch off and toss it on O’Hara’s chair as you stalk through - you didn’t know much but you knew well enough that no one was going to scold you like a dog. You were trying your best to help, fuck him. 

You ignore everyone for weeks. Peter B. was the first to come and try to convince you back, then Pav, Gwen, and even Hobie gave a little effort, but you told them all the same thing - “he doesn’t want my help anymore, and I have stuff to worry about here.” It doesn’t escape you that Miguel was never bothered enough to ask you himself, he didn’t do anything to help the situation. Were you being reckless? Maybe. Did he overreact though? Yes. Were your feelings more hurt than you realized, your ego bruised that he’d hollered at you, scolded you like a child? Moreso than you cared to admit.  It’s a week short of two months before Jessica comes looking for you, telling you O’Hara needed to speak directly to you, to which you’d shrugged, said whatever it was wasn’t pressing enough to be bothered with, that if it was important, he would have reached out.  “Kid-” she sighs, rubbing a hand on her lower back, and suddenly you do feel a little bad, maybe you were just being stubborn, “that’s not his M-O and you know it. You know as well as I do that he’s just embarrassed he yelled like he did at you, of all people.” You know she can see the smoke coming from your ears as you think over what she’s saying. Why would someone like him be embarrassed of anything? “Just think about it, will’ya? For me, not for him. Screw him, he can be a major prick, I know it.” You hum a reply, and she leaves a shiny new watch on your kitchen table before she’s gone and you’re alone again.  “How’d it go?” Peter is quick to catch Jess, and she laughs a little. “As well as you’d think, Pete. I think I got through a little, though.”  “Should we send Pav back? He’s always the ray of sunshine, maybe that’ll be a good move.” Jess just shakes her head at him, “I think she’s got enough to worry about.”  “What did Miguel even say to ‘er? I didn’t think she’d have such thin skin.” Hobie is quick to match pace, they know he’s not really invested, but he loves to hear the gossip first-hand.  “I don’t know, but it must have been harsh.” Peter chimes in, Jess picks up her pace, trying to get to the cafeteria and leave the two nosey men behind.  They share a look behind her back, “it probably wasn’t what he said, boys, it was probably because it came from him.”  They don’t quite know what that means. 

Two more days go by before you hear the device beeping an awful little tune. You try and try to ignore it, but like an alarm, it just keeps sounding off at your table, exactly where Jess had tossed it. Two full minutes stretch by and you finally pick it up, blood boiling, trying to simply silence the machine, but you fumble. You don’t want to admit to yourself that maybe, just maybe, it was purposeful.  His face lights up your small space, he looks a little surprised, but the look melts into his usual uninterested gaze as quickly as you notice, you snap a quick, ‘what,’ before he can even open his mouth.  You think you see the flashes of hurt, embarrassment maybe, but he’s quick to mumble a little, “are you done pouting, or are you going to hide out forever?”  Your eyes are wide as soon as he says it, “Pouting? That’s all you’re gonna say to me, really? Accuse me of-”  “You know what I meant, so are’ya comin back anytime soon?”  Your eyes roll to the back of your skull, and Miguel notices, “don’t roll your eyes at me, kid.”  “Back to scolding me so soon, huh? No one else around to talk down to over there lately?” You know you shouldn't say it, but you can’t help it. You’d never spoken back to him, but the lack of physical proximity made you brave.  “Scold? How is that scolding, you shouldn’t roll your eyes at anyone like that, it’s an ugly habit.”  “So you’re callin’ me ugly now, too?”  You can see his jaw clench, you’re being childish and stubborn, you know, but you can’t help it. Really, what was he going to do about it anyways?  “Are you being difficult on purpose, or does the attitude come naturally to you?”  “Does being a dick come naturally to you?” You counter with a sneer.  He huffs, you’re not sure why you’re being obtuse, but your feelings were still hurt. That’s reason enough for you to give him a little lip.  “God you - Jesus Christ, fine.” He looks around at something off-screen, “I’m sorry I yelled at you, alright? I shouldn’t have talked to you that way-” “No, you shouldn’t have.” You interject.  “Would you please just, please - I am sorry, I was just worried you’d get hurt.” He’s quiet now, bashful, if you didn’t know him any better than to know the man was incapable of being sincere. “Would you please come back? I think you could still be of use to us here.” 

You’re stuck in your spot, teetering a little back and forth, he did sound sorry. You whisper a quick ‘I’ll think about it,’ before beeping the watch off and putting it on top of your fridge.

a/n: Hobie’s a messy bitch and we all know it. Pt. 1 - Pt. 2- Pt. 3 -  

[formulaphoe]

the thrill of the dirt track

rally racing for beginners

image source: youtube

rally racing isn't just a sport; it's an experience that blends precise driving with a touch of madness, all wrapped up in the stunning backdrop of nature. if you've ever watched a rally on the telly and felt your heart race as those cars zoom through forests, mud, and gravel, you know what i'm on about. let's dive into the world of rallying, from its gritty origins to its rising popularity, especially across the pond in the us.

what is rallying?

image source: wired

at its core, rally racing is a motorsport where drivers navigate through a series of timed stages on public or private roads. unlike traditional circuit racing, where cars lap a defined track, rally cars race against the clock over various terrains—dirt roads, snowy trails, and occasionally tarmac. the beauty of rallying lies in its variety; no two rallies are the same, and each one presents its own set of challenges.

in rally, teams consist of a driver and a co-driver. despite the inferior title, the co-driver plays a crucial role, relaying notes about the course ahead, which can range from smooth bends to hairpin turns and other treacherous obstacles. communication is key, and that's what sets rallying apart from many other motorsports.

a brief history

image source: hotcars

rallying as we know it took off in the early 20th century. the very first rally is often credited to the monte carlo rally, which began in 1911. it was a glamorous affair that attracted car manufacturers and drivers alike, setting the stage for future events. as the sport evolved, rallying gained recognition not just as a test of speed, but also as a grueling endurance challenge.

over the decades, rallying has produced some iconic moments, like the legendary group b era in the 1980s, known for its powerful cars and heart-stopping speed. unfortunately, this era also saw increased safety concerns, leading to stricter regulations. nonetheless, the excitement of rallying only grew, resulting in the establishment of the world rally championship (wrc) in 1973, which remains the pinnacle of the sport today.

rallying in the modern era

image source: forbes

fast forward to today, and rallying is experiencing a resurgence, particularly in the united states. the sport is making significant inroads in the us, with grassroots event gaining popularity. this shift is partly due to a growing interest in alternative motorsports that offer thrilling experiences without the rigid structure of circuit racing.

moreover, organisations like nasa rally sport are making it easier for newcomers to join the fun. they provide resources that cater to various skill levels, ensuring that anyone with a love for speed and adventure can get behind the wheel.

the thrills and skills of rallying

image source: grassroots motorsports

what makes rally racing so thrilling? the unpredictable nature of the courses means that drivers must possess not only speed, but exceptional car control and adaptability. navigating through a forest at a high speed, with gravel flying by and trees zooming past, requires nerves of steel.

additionally, rally cars are specially designed machines, built to withstand the rigors of the terrain. from reinforced chassis to powerful engines, these vehicles are marvels of engineering. drivers also need to have a good understanding of their car's capabilities, knowing when to push the limits and when to hold back.

community and culture

image source: reddit

one of the most appealing aspects of rally racing is its community. it's not just about the drivers and cars; it's about the fans, the crews, and the camaraderie that comes with the sport. events often feel like family gatherings, with supporters cheering on their favourite teams and sharing tips and stories.

rally events also embrace a wide range of participants, from seasoned pros to enthusiastic amateurs. this inclusivity fosters a unique environment where everyone can learn and improve, making it accessible to all who have a passion for motorsport.

the future of rally racing

image source: ewing subaru of plano

looking ahead, the future of rally racing seems bright. with a growing interest in motorsports as a whole, rallying stands out due to its adventurous spirit and connection to nature. events are becoming more accessible, and with technological advancements in both cars and navigation systems, we can expect even more thrilling competitions.

as rally racing continues to evolve, it's bound to attract even more fans and participants, keeping the spirit of this exhilarating sport alive and well, so, whether you're watching from the sidelines or dreaming of taking the wheel yourself, rally racing offers a unique blend of speed, skill, and sheer excitement that few other sports can match.

sources

"rally." encyclopedia britannica, www.britannica.com/sports/rally-automobile-racing

"rallying." wikipedia, 30 sept. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rallying

iger, bradley. "hit the dirt: how rally is making inroads in the us." performance racing industry, 1 jan. 2024, www.performanceracing.com/magazine/featured/01-01-2024/hit-dirt-how-rally-making-inroads-us

"what is a rally?" nasa rally sport, www.nasarallysport.com/main/what_is_a_rally

"the history of rally racing: origins, evolution, and iconic moments." rethink your rubber, blog.tirestreets.com/all-blogs/origins-of-rally-racing-part-1

"rally basics." world rally blog, www.worldrallyblog.com/rally-basics/

"rallying - the beating heart of uk motorsport." motorsport uk, www.motorsportuk.org/get-started/types-of-motor-sport/rallying/

wood, robert. "car rally racing the sport." top end sports, mar. 2015, www.topendsports.com/sport/list/rallying.htm#google_vignette

if any errors or typos are noticed, PLS PLS point them out via comment, ask, or dm. if there is a specific topic you would like me to cover, send in an ask and i'll look into it!

[calebwittebane]

so fucking funny when my brain is like. hey bitch. i see youre going to sleep well heres the thing. im gonna give you some dreams now. picture this. imagine youre staying in a truly bizarre, labyrinth-like hotel thats not even rly divided into rooms, its just like, heres your pile of shit, loose furniture, make yourself at home. anyway theres creatures roaming the place. they can stun you and cause you profound pain. ohh yeah reminder you feel pain in dreams. full sensory experience. remember that. anyway you contact the hotel owner to gently point out a civil engineering safety regulation issue in the building (unrelated to the already mentioned flaws). he seems grateful. it hurts you when you try to speak, btw.

there are, also, flocks of small birds stuck in time, everywhere, dont touch them or theyll crash into what from their perspective is a solid object moving at light speed, and theyll be obliterated. okay so the hotel owner is like thanks for the tip i will get that checked out. Surprise! youre a demon whos been on the run. the hotel owner is your uncle and also a demon hunter whos been Waiting for you. you were supposed to be outside of the solar system, but looks like not only were you paying a visit to earth, you were foolish and arrogant enough to disguise yourself as a human and pull this kind of stupid stunt! well, thats not fucking good.

you dont know what he plans to do, so you do your best to escape His Twisted Hotel Realm. its not easy, but thanks to your ability to fly and to briefly become invisible and able to phase through solid matter, you manage to get out. youre out in the city now. its a Twisted Fucked Up version of warsaw. i mean like Continent Sized. whatever. youre gonna try to get to a train station and then figure out the rest. you take off flying in a direction that seems right.

well, flying is hard. its tiresome. and there are power lines everywhere. get above the power lines level you idiot. oh oops theyre at Every Altitude. gotta make sure you dont fly into them. so dont fly too fast. but you have to maintain a good speed, otherwise youll lose lift. oough oof ouch, you touched some of those wires, that sure hurt! well, this will be an ordeal.

oh geeze! it seems like youve flown into Gargantuan Horrifying Industrial Zone. its the part of the city thats all Mind Bendingly Huge machinery, excavators, pipes, endless fields of moving parts, saws, pumps, i mean theres nowhere to land. theres like, Walking Coal Excavators. walking moving coal plants. huge collapsing exploding structures--everything is so gargantuan, red-hot, horrible and dangerous, theres shit exploding and collapsing all the time. there are fires everywhere. oil spilling. toxic smoke. and of course power lines at every altitude. and enormous moving parts. well good luck flying through this Zone.

oh well! you try. you have powers after all. you try to fly through this Zone. a walking power plant almost crushes you with its incomprehensibly huge, rusty, titan limbs and machinery. maintaining invincibility while flying is Really hard and at a certain level of exhaustion its likely to malfunction, and if it does at a bad moment, youll be obliterated painfully.

well it happens. it hurts. but instead of dying you clip thru the ground into Huge Underground Tunne Network where the workers live and work and navigate the place. you try to hide in storages and unused tunnels and shit, but thing is, due to how Enormous all the shit upstairs is, the whole tthing is like a living organism. when a walking coal plant passes above, the tunnels contract and loosen up and give in, and some of them get squeezed completely. the workers know how to navigate this, but you dont, so you get painfully squished by a contracting tunnel. youre too exhausted to turn invincible.

well you decide trying to blend in is your best chance. best you can do with how tired you are is take the form of a young worker and pretend to be a new guy. some other workers (theyre all like combination coal miners and prisoners) immediately fall in love with you and try to hook up with you. you accept their advances to get information. they tell you about a train line running thru the zone that can take you to the outskirts. next one is tomorrow. you accept that as your best bet. after hours of grueling work and a painful experience all around, you get on the train. its old and falling apart. hard to tell where its going exactly. it breaks down. youre stranded. where are you? you dont know.

ugh! this wouldnt be happening if you werent a demon. which btw other workers figured out that you are. they start drowning you in a bucket of water. you start laughing at them. its not funny. you hurt all over. you want to die, but you never will. youre cursed to live through your own painful horrifying death endlessly, over and over.

also youre 10 and your parents are fighting

[whump-me]

Unseen: Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of Unseen, a novel-length whump story about a ruthless mob heiress and the superpowered assassin she kidnaps and forces to work for her—and the unexpected friendship that develops between them.

Masterpost | the Mind Games universe | Read the complete novel on Patreon

---

After Yvette left, Delta-Nine-308 waited five minutes to make sure the woman wasn’t coming back. She counted the seconds, timing them to her breaths.

It was difficult. Her breath kept wanting to speed up to match her heart. Her body was locked in a prey-state of panic, screaming at her to run, run, run.

The room was so bright. Every time she looked up from her arms, the colors stabbed at her anew, thick reds and golds like a malevolent sunset.

Not that she had seen many sunsets in her life. She had treasured every one. She hadn’t thought it was possible for the colors of the sunset to make her feel anything but wonder.

But this room made her want to hide. It made her want to tear through the walls with her bare hands, so long as she found PERI headquarters on the other side.

Why had she ever looked forward to mission nights? Why had she longed for the vastness of the world outside headquarters? Why had she never realized how good she had it, in her little room with its four white walls, with Joss outside the door to handle everything for her?

When her five minutes were up, she forced her head up from the cocoon of her arms. The rich colors swam in front of her eyes. She wanted to curl up all over again, like a snail retreating into its shell. Instead, she swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood on shaky legs.

It was just a house. She had been in many like it on her various missions. This was just another mission, that was all.

A mission she had never gotten a briefing for. A mission without Joss waiting for her in the van when she was done.

She could think about that later. One step at a time. She wasn’t intimidated by strange houses. Missions were simple. Get in. Kill the target. Get out.

Get out.

The room had a window. Outside, the gray light of dawn illuminated a garden of trimmed hedges and exotic flowers laid out in unforgiving rows. She was four stories up, by her estimation. She had trained at heights taller than that.

The window had some kind of safety lock on it, a low-tech metal contraption that hooked into the regular lock. It looked like it was meant to unlock with a four-digit combination. She didn’t bother trying to guess the number. It took her less than five minutes to find the contraption’s weak points and bend them out of alignment.

The window opened.

Beyond the garden, an ocean of trees stretched before her in all directions. She could almost believe they stretched to the end of the world. Their leaves were tipped with orange, just starting to turn. Those orange tips were the colors of the sunset. They didn’t hurt her eyes like the room did, but there were so many of them…

No. She couldn’t think about that. All that mattered was the window in front of her, and the ground below her, and the wall between. The world might have been impossibly big, but the only part that was relevant to her right now was as small as her room back home.

She stretched the window open as far as it would go. Then she ducked her head out the opening, her short hair hanging into her eyes as the smell of morning hit her nose. She drew a long breath.

It was a new smell for her. Thick and wet and rich, with the loamy sweetness of flowers. She never had missions in the morning. Late at night, usually. Occasionally the evening, or the middle of the day. People didn’t call on assassins in the morning.

She shook her head, sending wisps of hair flying into her eyes. She couldn’t afford to be distracted. Yvette had said she was coming back.

The walls were weathered brick, mostly smooth but with ornamental protrusions jutting out for texture. That was all she needed. The protrusions were spaced about ten feet or so. She didn’t need more than that. She had been training at this kind of thing since she was four years old.

She climbed backwards out the window. Her feet found the first protrusion by feel. Her fingers dug into the spaces between the bricks. The jagged edges bit into her fingertips. A blob of fuzzy moss tickled the tip of her right middle finger.

She stared at the wall in front of her, grateful that it was all she could see. Her job was easier when she didn’t have to look out at the sky and the trees and imagine the size of the world.

She looked down. Gauged the distance. Let go and sailed downward in a controlled drop. Her toes found their targets. She balanced like a ballerina as her fingers clung to the bricks.

She repeated the process again. And again. And one more time. The next time she dropped, she was on the ground. Wisps of grass tickled her ankles. The sense of the flowers tickled her nose. Every smell was new to her.

She told herself not to turn and look at the flowers. She did anyway. Some were white with jagged red veins running down the pedals. Others were a dark purple, and hung so heavily on their stems that they looked like they would topple over at the slightest wind. Still others were a rich, velvety black. They all looked as soft as a kitten’s fur. Or how she imagined a kitten’s fur would feel. She had only ever seen kittens in books—and, once, in a target’s house.

She had wanted to pet the kitten. But her hands had been covered in blood, and the kitten had hidden, and she’d only had thirty seconds left on the clock. She had run to Joss instead. To safety.

Joss wasn’t waiting for her now.

She could pet every one of those silky petals if she wanted to. It might take her all day, until the sun sank below the horizon. She could see another sunset, add it to her mental collection.

But Yvette would be back. She would see the open window.

Which did Delta-Nine-308 want more? To feel what a flower petal felt like between her fingertips, or to go home to her familiar white walls?

She turned away from the flowers.

Through a break in the hedge, a road snaked away into the trees. Violet disappeared and darted for the road.

Trees arched over the road, forming a canopy. Their leaves were tinged with sunset. She stayed to the thickest of the shadows, remaining invisible as long as she could, then creeping along in the cover of the trees while she waited to regain her strength.

It used to take her fifteen minutes to recover enough to disappear again. Unless she was panicked enough to flicker continuously in and out, like up in the bedroom. After years of training, she had her recovery time down to a little under five. And that panic reaction almost never happened anymore.

That was lucky. She had heard the lead scientist talking about it with one of the instructors. He had said that if there was any risk of her panicking like that on a mission, going visible when it was crucial no one saw her, she would be recycled.

Maybe she wouldn’t tell Joss it had happened again during her brief captivity.

The thought of keeping something from Joss made her dizzier than the way the road never seemed to end.

She didn’t know where the road led. Maybe nowhere. Maybe she would walk for eternity, and never find her way home. It seemed possible. She had never seen pictures of this road in a briefing. She might as well have been marooned on the moon.

A car zipped past her. She jumps behind a tree as she flickered into existence, then just as quickly out again. Another car followed. The last time a car had come that close, she had woken up in Yvette’s bedroom. But these cars didn’t stop. They drove around a corner, past where her eyes could follow, past the edge of the world. Maybe they had toppled off.

She walked. And walked. She disappeared, and reappeared, and disappeared again. Not a panic reaction this time. She had herself under control. She didn’t need to be recycled. But she couldn’t stay invisible for very long. Even after long years of training, and enduring harsher and harsher consequences for not being able to extend the window longer, she still couldn’t stay invisible longer than two minutes.

Her feet ached like she had gone through a full day’s training already. Had she ever walked this long before? She was required to spend two hours a day on the treadmill, but the treadmill didn’t have the bumps of cracked pavement, and scraggly grass brushing against her legs and making her jump, and occasional tree roots that caught her toes every time.

The road stopped. Another road stretched in front of her, perpendicular to the first, wider and flatter and with fewer trees. Cars whizzed back and forth.

She waited for a break in the cars. Then she disappeared and dashed across the road. A car came close enough that the wind from its passing ruffled her shirt. The movement of the fabric tickled her skin.

There weren’t enough trees now to shield her, or enough shadows to hide in. During the periods while she waited for her energy to recover, she made herself as small as possible, and ducked her head so no one could see her face. She tensed every time a car approached, and let her breath out every time it passed without slowing.

Some of the others in her cohort had received training in how to walk in the outside world without being noticed. She never had. With her power, she didn’t need it.

She needed it now.

Buildings sprang up around her, as thick as the trees had been. Stores with bright signs in stylized script that hurt her eyes to read. Window displays packed with enough colors to send a spike of pain through the center of her forehead. Offices with long surnames written outside in sedate, blocky print.

The windows were all dark. It was still early. But not too early for the cars. The sun was up, which meant she was in danger. This wasn’t her time of day.

The side of the road changed, widened into a paved path raised above the rest. Sidewalk, her mind supplied after a few seconds. It separated her from the cars, but a designated place for walking also meant other people walking. The sidewalk wasn’t crowded, not yet, but other figures lurked in the distance, strolling on their way. They weren’t zooming along like the cars. They were moving slowly enough to see her.

Which meant they would notice if she turned invisible, or became visible again in front of them. She had to stop using her power now—it would make her more noticeable than staying visible would. She ducked her head lower, pulled her arms closer.

“Miss!” a voice shouted from beside her. “Excuse me! Miss!”

She jumped to the side. Reached for the weapon she wasn’t carrying.

A woman sat on the sidewalk, leaning against the wall of a store that hadn’t opened yet. Her clothes were variations on the muddy gray of the dirty sidewalk.

“Excuse me, Miss.” The woman held out a bony hand. “Do you have a dollar? Just a dollar.”

The woman’s eyes bored into hers. The woman saw her.

She darted away.

“Miss! Please, miss!” The woman’s voice followed her.

One sign ahead of her was lit up. A cow in a tutu twirling on one hoof. Benny’s Burgers. Open twenty-four hours a day.

Burgers were food, weren’t they? She needed to eat. At home, she would be waking up for breakfast right about now, as the sleeping drug wore off. Joss always gave her the drug the night after a mission, to make sure she woke fully rested and ready to resume her training.

Her heavy eyelids told her she needed that sleep. Her gurgling belly told her she needed the breakfast more.

She quickened her steps, pulled toward the glowing sign like it was a beacon. Like it was Joss himself, pulling up to the curb with his van, ready to take her home.

Finally, she had a destination.

She pushed open the glass doors. Lights as bright as home shone down on a warm amber room. All the tables were empty. Behind a counter up front, pictures of burgers and salads and chicken made her mouth water and her stomach double its gurgles. The smell of frying meat drifted through the air. Her mouth watered.

A woman’s voice was singing over a drumbeat as quick as her heart. Music. Every once in a while, their cohort had been allowed to listen to music as a reward. To earn the reward, everyone had needed to finish the challenge on time. If one person failed, they all missed out.

Sometimes she had been the one who failed, and had endured the dirty looks from the rest of her cohort. Sometimes she had been the one delivering the dirty looks.

It felt decadent, listening to music without having earned it. It felt forbidden. She closed her eyes and swayed. Her fingers tapped her thigh in time with the quick beat.

“Excuse me, ma’am? Can I help you?”

Her eyes flew open. The woman behind the counter was looking at her, looking at her, seeing her…

She drew her arms in close. She wished she could risk disappearing. But she had been thoroughly warned about the dangers of letting outsiders see what she could do. If the woman caught her in the act, she would have to kill her, or else get a red mark on her file.

She stood frozen, pinned to the yellow tile by the woman’s gaze.

“Ma’am? Would you like to order?”

Talking to the woman was the way to get food. If she didn’t talk, there would be no food. Her belly’s noises graduated from a gurgle to a grumble.

It was no different from earning food any other way. How often had she needed to climb a fifty-foot wall before she was allowed lunch, or run twenty miles without stopping in order to earn dinner? She took a hesitant step toward the counter.

“What would you like to order?” The woman’s frown vacillated between confusion and impatience.

“I need… food,” she forced out.

The woman’s frown deepened. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

Her heart beat faster than it ever had on that twenty-mile run. “I want… that.” She pointed to an image near the center of the display, a burger resting on a bed of fries that spilled over the sides of the plate.

The woman’s face relaxed. “Our combo special,” she said briskly. “A good choice. That will be nine dollars and eighty-three cents, please.”

Dollars were money. Theta-Nine-308 had told her that. Theta-Nine-308 had gotten the advanced training on the outside world, the classes only given to operatives who were being sent to live outside headquarters.

Delta-Nine-308 had envied her—until Theta-Nine-308 had told her some of the things she had learned from the classes. It all sounded so complicated.

Like dollars. You gave people dollars in exchange for things. Things like food and a place to sleep. Things that headquarters provided to operatives like her, who only went out on mission nights. Headquarters took care of her. Headquarters took care of everything.

The woman’s frown came back. “Ma’am?”

The door opened behind her, letting in a whoosh of cool early-morning air. The air here didn’t smell like flowers. It smelled like exhaust. Like the van. Like mission nights.

But the smell didn’t excite her anymore.

The man who walked in was medium height, medium build. Short brown hair. Face hidden behind oversized sunglasses.

He turned toward her. He looked at her.

“Violet?” His voice was as unremarkable as his face, but it still sent a lightning bolt of alarm through her, because he was an outsider and he was talking to her. “I’m here to take you home.”

Her muscles turned to jelly as relief washed away her tension. “To headquarters?”

But he had called her Violet.

“No,” he said. “Home to Yvette.”

He held out a hand to her.

She could go invisible. Right now. She wasn’t supposed to do it in front of people, but she had already done plenty of things she wasn’t supposed to do.

If she went back, her captor would be more careful about sealing the window this time.

If she went back, she might never get another chance at escape.

“Is anyone going to pay for this?” the woman behind the counter asked.

She couldn’t pay. She couldn’t feed her grumbling belly, or give someone dollars in exchange for a place to sleep. She couldn’t survive out here alone, and she didn’t know how to find Joss. She didn’t know how to get home.

She took the man’s hand.

---

Tagged: @suspicious-whumping-egg @whump-kitty @violets-whumperflies

Ask to be added or removed from taglist.

[chaletnz]

Cajas National Park Tour

Around 6am the driver was yelling out Cuenca and I wondered if we were here already or if he was shouting out to get people at this station to get onboard for the ride to Cuenca. I wasn’t expecting to arrive until 7 or 8am and my phone didn’t load a map at all which is usually when it’s a random place I’ve never loaded on it before. The driver came down and told me that this was Cuenca, the final stop so I asked for directions to a taxi and headed off. I jumped in one waiting cab and gave him the names of the two streets that my hotel was on the corner of and he found it no problem. The ride on the meter came out to be $1.49 so I gave him $2 and then checked in. I’d booked for the night before so my room was ready waiting and Andrés the receptionist led me upstairs. He was kind and only charged me for one night since I hadn’t been there last night due to the flood that was no fault of my own, and I had contacted him in advance. I would’ve paid the 2 nights if he’d asked but I kept my mouth shut and paid him in cash as he requested. I messaged Edison my tour guide and let him know that I had arrived in Cuenca and was ready for the tour as soon as he was ready. He replied back quickly and said he would pick me up at 8:45am so I took a shower and then went for a quick coffee at Cafe Ñucallacta. Edison picked me up on time and we drove out to Cajas National Park through various different neighbourhoods to get a feel for Cuenca city on our way out. He told me the history of Cuenca, founded in 1557 and it’s the 3rd largest city in Ecuador after Quito and Guayaquil. The historic city centre is a unesco protected world heritage site. This city trades in agricultural products, cattle, hides, and marble. He gave me a few tips on places to visit with my afternoon, evening, and morning before I fly out tomorrow afternoon. It took about 45 minutes to reach the trailhead of the trek in the park we would be doing today. It was about 3400m above sea level and I felt the air was thinner and I was a bit light-headed up here. We began our walk on some rocks and boardwalk, and then for most of the rest of the trek it was a spongy kind of moss that was comfortable to walk on. We walked slowly due to the altitude, and stopped often to look at some trees, birds, plants, and flowers that were unique to the area. Edison kept saying how lucky I was to have this beautiful sunny day to explore Cajas as it’s mostly foggy and cloudy and had snowed there yesterday. I figured by this point I was due some luck! He helped me cross a stream that was terrifying for me with the slippery rocks combined with my bad ankle but I made it and then we stopped for a lunch break at the best viewpoint on the trail. I enjoyed my banana chocolate chip muffin that I’d carried with me from Baños. The loop back to the start was on an incline so it was a bit tougher, and there were some shady spots that were muddy and slippery. We passed a lot of tussock grass, the King Kong rock formation, some spiky pineapple plants, and a tree with layers of papery bark. There were some people beginning their walk in the opposite direction sloshing past us in the muddy spots so I was glad to be wrapping up after having almost the entire walk to myself. He offered to drive me up to the highest elevation point in the park, a lookout at Tres Cruces at an elevation of 4167m above sea level. It was a nice view but very windy up there, and a bunch of children screaming too. Edison drove us back to Cuenca at breakneck speed and dropped me off back at the hotel asking me only for a 5 star review to help the company get more tour business after the difficulties of covid and the negative press on Ecuador and its drug cartels and public safety recently.

[gutsybitsies]

summer camp 2 electric boogaloo

summary: kiddie big 3 kids have to go to get along camp to prevent ww3

There was a reason that children of the Big three made people in the modern times nervous, Chiron thought as he watched the kids lounge around in the Big House. Back in the age of heroes, even mortals without godly ichor running through them could accomplish great feats. But now, this group of children under 13 had the power to destroy towns and when they grow into their own, cities. And if things turn out really, really bad, they could mess up entire continents.

But that'll take a while, Chiron thought as he watched little Hazel, their exchange camper from Camp Jupiter, try to put rainbow stickers on Percy's face. She's having a hard time because Percy kept moving around to try and catch the popcorns that Thalia was throwing at him. Bianca was IM-ing Nico, who was in California, and he's tripping verbally over his excitement at meeting at the other big three child there.

"Jay is so cool! He can fly! He's like Superman!" His chubby 9 year old cheeks glowed in the misty spray. Nico pulled a preteen into view, "Jay, do the thing! Do the thing!"

The kid, Jason, as Chiron knew him by, grinned and held out a finger. Electricity crackled at the tip of his index finger. "Don't get too close like you did last time, Nico."

Jason wasn't complaining about this exchange program, at all. He'd been disappointed when Hazel was chosen to go instead of him, but then Nico came and immediately started following him around like a puppy. And it was nice having someone treat him like a teddy bear instead of, well, instead of the exact opposite. Nico wouldn't know the word respect if someone had spelled it out for him (no, literally, the kid has a really hard time reading and spelling).

Jason concentrated so that the crackle of electricity on his finger started to turn into different colors. Nico screeched in delight.

"We have to keep them friendly with each other, united," Hera had commanded Chiron. "To make that happen..."

"So that's why you will all be flying over to Greece to attend a personalized program just for the Big Three kids, designed to unite you into a cohesive unit."

"Why fly?" Bianca complained. "None of us like planes!"

Percy nodded and pointed to himself. "This guy likes staying on the ground, and the death kids like to stay under the ground, no offense."

Bianca slapped his shoulder. "Offense taken!"

Chiron sighed, "A plane will be the fastest way to get to Greece."

"I can take turns shadowtravelling with Mrs O Leary," Bianca said, definitely overestimating her own abilities. "We'll be able to make it to Greece faster than a plane."

"Maybe we don't care about speed," Percy said. "Maybe we care about comfort and we commandeer a ship and I can get us across the Atlantic in 5 days."

"Bianca, it's not so simple, and Percy, we don't have a ship for you," Chiron said. "When Hestia and Hera envisioned this summer program, it was to keep peace between their three brothers and their children. Everything is symbolic of the bonds of family and the Olympic court between the six of you. Some people are more prideful than others, and would prefer that all of you travel through his domain in order to reach the new summer enrichment program."

"Friendship camp," Hazel said. "You're making us go halfway across the world for friendship camp because they want us to get along. Isn't that why I'm here and Nico's visiting California?"

"And Zeus," Nico started to say before thunder rolled ahead from where Nico was, and he grabbed onto Jason's arms for safety. "I mean, some people insist that we go to this camp on a plane because he says so? Also Bianca!! I have so much to tell you about the Roman camp-"

"That's great, Nico, you can tell me all about it later!" She cut him off before he could go on another ramble.

Thalia gave a frustrated grunt, "Look, I'm not jazzed to be on a plane either."

"That makes Jason the only one out of all of us who's going to be happy about this," Bianca said. Everyone looked at Jason, who looked even more embarrassed.

"Bianca, I don't want to fly," Nico pouted. "I'll puke all over you."

Jason rubbed his shoulders. "I'll carry puke bags for you."

"Jason's the designated flight attendant," Thalia decided. "He'll attend to our every needs. He'll be the one getting the lifejackets and water and snacks!"

Hazel looked on with awe as she watched the rest of the Greek kids make fun of Jason, and as Jason just grinned happily through it all.

Two days later, a private chartered plane picked up Jason and Nico from California and flew over to Long Island.

....................................................................

The plane landed in a makeshift airfield near Camp Halfblood, where Hazel, Bianca, Percy, and Thalia were waiting with their suitcases in tow.

Percy thought he'd see Jason and Nico step out of the plane for a quick leg stretch, but neither of them came down the steps.

The four of the handed off their suitcases to be stowed in a separate compartment on the ship before making their way inside.

Ah, that was why they didn't see Jason or Nico.

Jason had taken up residence on the biggest couch on the plane. Nico was nowhere to be seen, until you realize that he must be the small quivering mass underneath a blanket that was on Jason's lap (or maybe sitting between his legs? Percy wasn't sure, he was covered by a blanket).

"Shhh," Jason gestured, and mouthed, "he finally fell asleep!"

The mass moved a little under the blanket, and Jason immediately started gently petting it while shushing it. "Shh, shh, it's going to be okay. We're all good, I got you."

Bianca gaped at the sight. "I-What have you done to my brother?"

Jason shrugged. "Nico? He was really nervous so I put a blanket over him."

"This is the first time I've seen Nico so quiet and still," Percy whispered back. "Are you Mary Poppins?"

"This is just like how we put a hood on horses so they don't get jumpy," Hazel said. "Wow, Jason's like an animal handler."

"Makes sense because Nico's like an animal. You haven't seen the way he tears into my mom's cookies."

The plane moved smoothly, but Jason noticed the nervous expressions on the other kids' faces. Thalia sat next to him and tried to put him in a headlock, but Jason just whipped out a hand and said "Shhhhh, he's resting!"

It was too late, and Nico had popped his head out of the blankets already. The plane hadn't taken off yet, but it was heading down the runway already.

Nico clambered off of Jason, taking the blanket with him, and scrambled to where Hazel and Bianca were sitting. He gave a hello wave to Percy and Thalia before jumping on his sisters and covered them all with the blanket.

"This way, we can pretend this isn't happening." The other kids heard him say from under the blanket.

The plane jolted as it took off, and someone, definitely not Percy, screamed in nervousness. He inched towards the pile of Underworld kids in the blanket.

"Uh. Is there room?"

Hazel peeked out. "No, sorry. But you can cuddle with Jason and Thalia?"

Percy looked over at the Graces, and Thalia had already started to cling to her little brother like a teddy bear. The plane jolted again.

He ran over to the Graces, and just like Nico had done, jumped on them.

"PERCY GET OFF-"

"I DON'T CARE I DON'T LIKE THIS-"

"Maybe we should hood you guys too-"

"HOLD ME TIGHT AND SAVE ME-"

Nico laughed as he grabbed onto Bianca and Hazel under the blanket. Their ears popped, and Hazel took out some gum for them to chew on. Pomegranate, his favorite flavor. Planes were terrible, awful, no good contraptions. But he'd take it if it meant spending more time with his favorite people in the world.

"PERCY I SWEAR TO GODS-"

The end.

(edited to add ao3 link)

[nyt1ba]

     Loss was a tragedy never absent from his life,   while others would relish in what little life that sprouts from the ashes,   his eyes would only settle on the darkness.   The shadow of death lingers overhead,   an ever-present reminder of all the slaughter his actions had let loose and all that would follow in his wake.   It seemed more like an old companion when it overshadowed her,   standing close,   waiting patiently to claim her as well.   It's a new kind of fear he hadn't known for long,   distinct   &.   unavoidable.   It gave way to an irrationality very uncommon of him,   to break a strict punishment to utter what he kept locked in his heart                    to ask her to live when she had been so sick and weary of it.   An undeniable regret still sits at heart for a need he had renounced long ago,   viewing it as something selfish and cruel when in truth it was an expression of love he never thought himself capable of anymore.   But as all good things are,   they fade away with the merciless stretch of time,   a curse laid upon him to lose more than he can ever salvage and fix.   It's all a blur,   swallowed into a grief never soothed by the ages.   Ever since Elektra and Artemis landed on earth,   there were others that had found their way to the desolate planet,   bounty hunters foolish enough to think they can go against her fire if they hadn't been snuffed out by Naytibas before they could ever find her.   It was an attempt in an ambush like any other,   an easy practice for her to break away from the monotone of tasks she would take across the wasteland to lighten his load whilst he monitors from his drone.   However,   as the battle progressed,   a grim recognition falls upon him,   it wasn't a random ambush but a planned one.   They were delving deeper into an Alpha's territory,   [   most likely tipped by Mother Sphere's and her newly found alliance with the collation.   ]   His warnings are all in vain as the Alpha Naytiba emerges to greet them rather eagerly,   the next thing he knew was blood,   no indication of life,   all vitals reduced to a thin line.

  He doesn't remember much,   only the consuming rage as the hunters boarded their ship to flee now that they had accomplished their goal.   Their flight quickly coming to a crash,   split through by the Elder descending with the speed   &.   burning light of a meteor colliding into earth.   The aircraft is then seized and sent flying at the Alpha,   forcing it to stumble into rock and debris.   He isn't here for a fight however,   not originally.   It's the ruins she had been buried under was that came to look through,   a desperate hope that she had somehow survived   ...   or a wish to bury her somewhere more fitting.   Pushing through rock and dirt he finally found her,   bloodied and cold to the touch.   She's carried carefully into the safety of his arms,   with his light he can see the wounds closing and yet,   nothing,   no breathing,   no flutter of eyelashes,   nothing.        ❛❛   El   ...   ❜❜        it's a quiet call,   cold and empty,   perhaps in temporary denial,   or the familiarity of grief that had left him so void and lifeless.   A calm before the storm.   The echo of the Alpha in a hunger for blood calls forth a similar fury deep within the nothingness,   easy to influence now in his own instability.   Though he's gentle as he lays her to rest on the ground,   what follows then is an unrestricted surrender to frenzy.   He lunges forward,   talons stretched to grasp at its face,   a glow results in a blast to send it from whence it came,   it only fuels the Alpha into further rage,   and him in turn,   they collide again,   tearing at one another so mercilessly.   Excellent control   &.   synchrony of sword and spears are nowhere to be found,   a display of the brute and animalistic,   claws tearing at flesh with the viciousness of a predator at hunt.   As much as he wanted to deny it,   it was fairly easily to lose himself into rampage,   now in perfect unison with the Hive Mind than the remains of humanity.   It's blinding,   overwhelming,   difficult to break through except by one.   Her voice sounds amidst the chaos that had overtaken him,   bringing him back just in time as claws halt just an inch away from her face.   As realization sinks in,   a newfound terror settles within.   The Elder steps back,   his figure fading into light as he morphs back into his human form.   Adam collapses to the ground,   trying to catch his breath,   anger not yet leaving him,   neither is the sadistic excitement he's trying to smother against himself.   Fingers curl into the dirt,   intermingled with the blood soaking his hands.   What has he done ?   What was he going to do ?   If he hadn't snapped back in time she could've   ...

      [ REACH ] for one muse to reach out and take the other’s hand to comfort them.

  Gentle,   always mindful to his aversion,   the lack of her hand in his was an absence he misses as though he had lost a part of himself.   Though no one else could provide him with a comfort as sweet as her presence,   he can't help the way his own hand whips away before fingers could settle fully on top of his own,   never once caring for his bloodied hands even when it's no longer figurative.        ❛❛   I'm sorry               i               ❜❜        the words remain trapped in his throat,   eyes failing to meet her.   He's relieved she's alive,   but the sentiment is choked out as one thought echoed in his mind relentlessly,   he could have killed her,   and he's fleeing from her tenderness in fear of hurting her in any shape or form.   Still not quite himself at the moment,   difficult to be composed amidst the blood.   Mouth is covered with his sleeve to block the scent,   fighting back a wave of nausea,   it's enticing,   even if it is of his own kin,   the thought disgusts him.        ❛❛   I'm sorry   ...   ❜❜

@stilettaux // call a doctor I'm UNWELL

[sichore]

3 or 9 for Jimi and Olive for the ship prompts!

We're doing 3 AND 9! Avalon AU baybee!! 3. Write about your ship holding hands in a tense moment

and

9. Write about your ship getting dressed up in fancy outfits together.

“Be still. Stay quiet. Wait fer my signal.” 

So their teacher bade them, and so they stayed. She would be still as stone for he who opened her mind to the stars and beyond. They would do anything for him. And she must.

Nimue, Lady of the Lake, could easily become mist and find the nearest stream, leaving behind this place with no light. But such magic was beyond the other one and would draw attention to where they hid, waiting. As Jimi, she has become soft, and does not wish harm upon this other one. Even if his attention is divided. Even if his love now forks to feed another another. 

Nimue does not care, and Jimi is not heartless. And so they wait, unmoving, unbothered. Unconcerned with the hot anger and fear that burrows into them like a lamprey.

A shuffle, a rustle of cloth. Morgan moves and Nimue stays still, ready to put all their energy into retaliating. Morgan, curious and ambitious, disobeys, perhaps to finally challenge Nimue and have all that attention and knowledge to herself –

A brush of a tiny fingertip, like the first drop of rain. A smaller hand reaching, touching, grasping her own.

Olive trembles and in defiance, risks her safety to take Jimi's hand in her own. Jimi who tried to be still as stone and just as cold with the fear of what she's allowed into her heart which should never be constrained. 

Eternity passes with a sigh, and Nimue glances into the passing of ages with the ease of one brushing away an eyelash. And there, they see that all streams and rivers flow to the same source. All are as one and all is well.

And at this moment Jimi knows, too. She gives Olive's hand a gentle squeeze in return, and together, they wait.

*-*-*

“Look at how it twirls!”

“Jimi, you're dripping!”

And she is, sparkling droplets of water flying from the tips of her cascading coils and curls.

“Indeed, I am,” Jimi purrs, low as the morning fog, as she steps down from the alcove and towards where Olive finishes snapping up her corset.

“All right, now you've gotta lace me up,” she says, turning her back to Jimi. She pulls her dark waves over her shoulder to bare the back of her neck and Jimi feels that slow drip of desire become a bubbling brook.

“Is this good?” She asks, taking the ribbon in her hands and pulling.

“Tighter.”

“Now?”

“Tighter!”

“HnnnnnnNNNNGGGGGHHH!”

“Mmmmnhaaaaaaaaaaugh!”

Jimi removes her bare foot from the small of Olive's back who turns to face her, her cheeks rosy like the dawn. Her waist rather resembles a funnel now and her breasts spill over the top of this garment, overflowing like the rivers after a flood. Jimi steps close. Her mouth waters for the taste of that soft peak stiffening on her palate, the shadow of which she sees peeking from the corset. Instead, her tongue spills. "It's made of whale bone," she murmurs, her words gaining speed as the falling leaf does sailing down the stream, her hands framing Olive's ribcage. "Sewn together by wheels of metal and the green and ingenuity of man. I know not the age, but I could tell you of the waters from whence it came. The sights and sounds and song of the future yet to come, of how the harpoon pierced his –" "Jimi." Olive's eyes are dark, darker even than Jimi's and just as encompassing as the night when she leans in. Lips ghosting over lips, hands cupping and thumbs brushing the lush breasts spilling from Jimi's gown. "You can just ask." And Jimi does, eyes locked on Olive's as she leans down and laps, just once, at the blushing tawny nipple that sprung out like the first bud of spring. Olive gifts her with a gasp, and Jimi chases it to the source. Their mouths crash and she drinks, and drinks, and drinks from this river without end.

[Soft OTP Prompts]

[austinramsaygames]

Do you have any tips for gming for oneshots or more episodic style campaigns? I'm wanting to run a scum and villainy/galactic 2e game for my friends but with all our vastly different responsibilities and unreliable schedules we probably wont be able to play more than once a month at most, and likely not even with the same people every time. How do you prepare for that kind of episodic play that can be set up and reach a resolution within the same session?

The main thing with running one shots and single session adventures is organizing yourself around time. Many times I've seen people talk about how their one shot turned into a four shot, which is fine if everyone is up for that possibility, but it sounds like you're pretty restricted.

The first thing is that it helps if you run games that you are fairly familiar with. This isn't necessary but it does help with judging how long a group will take to work through the adventure. Not only will you have a better idea for how challenging an obstacle is but you'll also be able to answer any rules questions more quickly.

Planning for what the session IS, even before planning the adventure, goes a long way. What is your pitch of the adventure to your players? Is everyone doing character creation beforehand? What about reviewing safety tools like Lines & Veils? How familiar are the players with the system? How much time will you have for playing? These are all important questions to have answers to.

If the players are unfamiliar with the rules and you have the time, you may want to consider doing character creation step by step as a group. This way you can also steer players away from any skills or abilities that are completely irrelevant to what you have planned; if you're having a desert adventure, they probably don't need to take water walking/breathing spells, for example.

GMs have different valves for controlling the speed that the players move through an adventure. You make things harder than originally planned if they are flying through the adventure and easier if they are struggling. They won't notice because either the danger is ramping up or they are excited about their success.

You can adjust:

The obstacles' offense

The obstacles' defense

How aggressive obstacles are

The locations of objectives/clues

How helpful side characters are

How much control the players have over the narrative (aka just rolling with it)

All of the above will help keep your adventures to a single session.

When I run games at conventions, I follow the above advice and can run a full Beam Saber mission in 4 hours, including 1 hour for character creation.

As for doing an episodic campaign, the first step is to come up with a conceit that allows the mix of characters to change between sessions based on availability. You can hand wave absent characters more easily than you can present characters who are VERY quiet for a while. A good set up is having a central employer/fixer who hires each character on a contractual basis. Once the current job is done, they may or may not get hired again for the next one.

Next is tying the episodes together. There are two ways that I do this:

A string of pearls. Each episode is directly connected to the one before it by a thread. This may be something major like an ongoing antagonist, or small like a one off macguffin item. It doesn't have to be the same thread between every episode but having each connected to the one before gives a sense of continuity for any players who are there consistently.

A tree branch. Each episode is unconnected to the ones that come before and after, but ALL of them are connected to the same central plot. For example you may have several episodes that are all about how an organization harms people, but those people and the way they are harmed is unconnected. This creates a central theme for the episodic campaign to build itself around while allowing space for players that aren't familiar with The Lore to focus on the problem in front of them.

I hope these help you with your game! Good luck with the scheduling!

[pinkhairandpokemon]

@altitudesnapdragon here, mom of a very sweet Latias! Got word passed to me that you might need care tips and advice for if this Lati sticks around with you and your team, so here's stuff off the top of my head!

- If there aren't any other avian or feathered Pokemon on your team, you'll need to spend a lot of time on grooming. (Don't know if Reshiram counts.) Lati can be very fussy about their feathers and for good reason, since it's how they camouflage themselves and stay hidden. You'll probably need to help preen them anyways, since it's easier to reach a couple places with hands.

- Because their bodies are optimized for extremely high speed maneuvering, you'll want to make sure you either have, or can visit, an area with a lot of open airspace for them to fly around. Check with your local air traffic controller to get them fitted for a transponder if you're not going to fly with them, too, and impress upon them that sonic booms (not the move, the speed, yes they are ridiculous) are not for showing off with.

- I haven't personally had this problem, but as with all Dragons there can be issues with pride, dominance displays, and various other attitude adjustments. Be firm but respectful, and make it clear where the boundaries for acceptable behavior lie.

- If you can make the trip, I would definitely recommend visiting the Draconids over in Hoenn, or at least getting in touch with them, or if you can't, the nearest Dragon expert in your region. It's not likely you'll need their help for safety reasons or to have them take responsibility for the Lati given your experience, but there's probably tons of trade secrets or helpful tips I'm not thinking of here that they can share.

got it!! thanks for all the advice! it looks like the Latias is deciding to hang around so it’s very much appreciated,, I should be able to hand the grooming part (a certain dragon of truth is also very fussy about his feathers so it’s nothing I’m not used to) and I can take her on my regular flights with Reshi. I’ll keep an eye out for any aggressive behavior and look more into these Draconid folks when I have the chance

also! update: her name is Banana now

-Blake