#Will shoot a giant creature because it's talking too much

[husband-steve-cortez]

Keep hitting Ezra with the Bayonetta beam in my mind's eye.

[return-of-a-space-cowboy]

🧚‍♀️ Anon

Yandere Drider Risotto/Johnathan 🕷️🕸️

Darling was a child when she found a small blue/black spider, rather than kill it she brought it home with her to be her friend (She gave him his own terrain to live in, collected bugs to feed him and even talked to him everyday)

She even gives him the name Johnathan/Risotto

Darling has a fondness for Arachnids, which made her a target for bullying

She saw a shooting star and made a wish for her little spider friend to become ‘Big and Strong’ so no one could hurt him and they could be ‘Together Forever’ (Not realizing how much she’ll regret it in the future) but as friends

The next day she was shocked to find out her relatives threw him out in the stormy rain last night (She proceeds to cry for the loss of her friend)

As the years went by, strange things have been happening to the village, cattle have been taken or turned into puddles of gore, Hunters have gone missing, equipment broken and destroyed and predators in the forest also turned into puddles of flesh, bones and gore (Like Wolves, Foxes and once even a full grown Bear!)

If it’s Johnathan he’s a Goliath Birdeater (Venomous but not lethal)

If it’s Risotto he’s a Giant Huntsman Spider (Very Venomous)

However because they’re bigger their venom is highly lethal

Fun Fact: Neither species make webs to hunt, rather they stalk, hide, wait and then pounce their prey! (They use their weaving skills for their burrow)

I myself have a mild fear of spiders, yet I can’t help but be amazed and fascinated with their biology, anatomy and behavior (I feel like a cursed human 😭)

I kinda got the idea from Charlottes Web but with my own spin to it

Ooh another drider idea, I'll do Risotto now since we covered Jonathan before.

Darling was always a strange one. When she saw a huntsman spider on her way home she caught the creature in her bag before bringing it home and placed it in a large glass tank that she'd made a terrarium.

It'd take a while for the huntsman to warm up to her, but after realizing she was providing it food it would start to let her pick it up. So she's ecstatic when it warms up to her.

She names it Risotto, strange name but what do you expect for a kid who likes spiders and one late night night she sees a shooting star. And makes a wish while Risotto is on her shoulder. That he'll grow big and strong and that they'll be together forever.

A few nights later some extended relatives babysit darling and discover the huntsman after she goes to bed and chuck him out. When darling finds out she's mortified and immediately starts looking for days but doesn't find him. During this time darlings wish manifests and he does get bigger but he also develops some human characteristics.

Timeskip and darling is now a biologist and is on an expedition in the dense forest surrounding town she grew up in. There's been reports on strange animal deaths in the area and they've been sent to figure out what creature is doing this.

They get their lead but shortly one of the members goes missing. It's only a matter of time before the body is found and the team panics but it's far too late, they're getting picked off one by one that night til only darling remains.

Eventually she's attacked by the creature. A creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a spider. Of course she's afraid but touches one of his legs.

Risotto is initially confused until he gets a better look at his prey and realizes who she is.

"(Y/n)?" He asks.

"How do you know my name?" She asks back.

"It's me, Risotto" he tells her and she's confused. After all he was vastly different to the pet she'd had as a kid. She refuses to believe him as it's just not possible. It's only when he's able to recount a few thing that she does believe.

"But why are you like this right now?" She asks, he doesn't have an answer. She eventually asks if she can study him, which he was open to until she mentioned going back to a lab or something relating to leaving for a bit.

No he's not letting humans separate her and him again so he's quick to grab darling and take her back to his borrow. (Now she's the one being fed and tended to)

[copperpipes]

Ultraman spec bio part 4 (first part/previous part)

spacium energy:

I have been treating spacium energy like a substance despite it not really being one, so I want to pack some headcanons about how exactly it would act and classfie.

Spacium energy is visible by the human naked eye, can solidify into different shapes but stays flexible until released, it emits photons, a particle that's very light and very fast, and it is blue.

The blue color is usually an indicator of temperature, it is a relatively light blue color so this puts it at about 10,000+ kelvin (9726.85°C or 17540.33°F), so pretty hot. As we figured out, spacium is a very good isolator, whether its a metal or not is still a question i don't want to deal with (it is of a metallic color, reflective, but not necessarily a metal and still alien in origin) what we know is that outside energies wouldn’t be able to harm an Ultra, and the Ultra’s inside energy is also protected from inside and out. through their skin is where Ultras get their energy from, it comes from the sun in either solar rays or heat or whatever is available (electric energy, radiation, all kinds of deadly lasers yum) which is why an explosion wouldn’t kill an ultra, the only thing that would be a threat to them is the explosion’s kinetic energy. 

spacium energy is seen on the visible spectrum, but other than that what else can be told about this energy?

what’s it doing in there:

probably bounces off the walls, literally. 

Energy moves in waves, and when it's produced by the membrane of the ultra it is ejected off the walls inside, and it cannot escape (cannot come out!! MAMA!!), so it bounces off the walls. When the energy is directed out, it gains speed thanks to the narrow space in the ultra’s arms and when it comes out as a beam it is subsequently much more concentrated, with very destructive wavelengths similar to gamma rays in intensity, and very hot. 

changing sizes:

I am not talking about mass here and where it goes, I'm talking about what causes Ultraman’s energy levels to drop or shoot up for one reason or another, not about outcome but about cause.

by Ultraman: rising (which is what i'm doing this whole thing for) how much an ultra can last is dependent on their mental state rather than thinning energy reserves like in what i got from other ultra sources.

I wanted to try and combine the two. I want Ultraman’s energy to be an issue, one that doesn't allow to transform at any comfortable moment, that demands the Ultra to know their state and capabilities to ensure no sudden shrinkage.

releasing energy once in a while should also be important, otherwise if an ultra is too full of energy their movements may become stiff and uncomfortable until some energy is released.

why would an ultra involuntarily shrink/why would a color timer be triggered:

-a failsafe mechanism. an ultra in distress/ a scared or stressed ultra, like all living creatures is a dangerous one. removing the ultra to where they can’t harm their environment would ensure its wholeness and the ultra’s sanity. This point acknowledges the power that all ultras naturally possess and that can bring a lot of damage if not controlled.

-low energy reserves.

Actually, what does a color timer even do other than be an indicator?

In canon it's all that is, an indicator, but what if it was what allowed ultras to shapeshift and change sizes in the first place? knowing what they have done, they're probably technologically advanced enough for that to be plausible. when your race is suddenly turned into giants, everything they built probably stayed small, made to fit their size before they grew. 

Returning the ultras to their original size would be easier than rebuilding society, not to mention resources. so maybe they made a device that allowed them to switch between their old, smaller form, and their new natural giant one.

The catch is that they can't stay in their small form forever, because even small, their bodies naturally produce spacium energy, and from time to time it has to be released or else they could literally explode from the pressure. 

maybe some ultras even prefer their bigger size despite the inconveniences. After all, such a drastic change could eliminate or generate so many problems!

For example space travel and travel in general would become a lot less complicated and exisible, for as long as there’s energy hunger wouldn't be a problem anymore, and so much more!

Of course, it's not without cons as well, like population density and resource demand to name a couple, but I guess the population could just spread over a larger territory to solve those problems. we shouldn't forget the Ultra’s destructive potential as well :>

Next, part 5

[countrymusiclover]

19 - Targaryen Sisters Finally Clash

Part 20

The Lion Knight and Dragon Princess

Tags- just send an ask to be added @cdragons @kmc1989 @starkleila @noirrose21-blog @lover-of-books-and-tea

Flying over the green land I ended up hiding us behind one of the tall hills still with a good view of the army. Squinting my eyes tightly I could see some form of people on horseback charging at the army. But they seemed crazier than the one we had knowing that we were in trouble. “Mommy, what are we going to do out here?” My son asked me while he slid down her dragon tail helping his sister down.

“You two are going to stay right here. While I do what I can to protect our home.” I told him with a very stern voice.

Luciya pointed her index finger out towards the distance gaining my attention to the battlefield. “Daddy’s on a white horse.” She was in fact right because I saw the single horse galloping across the field.

Resting a hand to my ring necklace for comfort I knew Jaime could handle them until a familiar shriek came from the skies making me curse under my breath. “Seven hells. Please don’t be all three of them.”

Amethyst made a noise seeing the same creature I do. Shifting my gaze down to the ground I had her shoot up into the sky seconds before my Targaryen sister set them on fire. Flying through the clouds I saw our army had brought the giant crossbows. Men were screaming before I lifted my head up seeing Dany riding her dragon burning a section of wagons turning everything into a bloodbath underneath us. She nearly hit Jaime until I had my dragon bolt in her direction shouting in Valyrian. “Draycrays!”

My sister swung her dragon out of the way avoiding my attack. She flew up higher seeing me and Amethyst before she blew fire at us. Gripping her scales, my dragon does a flip in a barrel roll and accidentally sets fire to some of the lion soldiers. “Land - land - ugh! That’s a good girl.” ” I gripped her, tugging her in the opposite direction, getting her to land a few feet away, seeing most of the stuff on fire.

My eyes were forced to remain focused on everything on fire with people screaming in agony taking me back to the years my father was alive. “Vaella, what are you doing out here?” Tyrion’s voice rang in my ears.

“Coming to rescue my husband and stop my sister from taking siege of Casterly Rock. What the hell are you doing here?”

My dwarf friend responded, seeing me scowl at his words. “I am following the Queen I support in taking back the Iron Throne. She’s doing what she thinks is right.”

“Will she kill Jaime if she gets her hands on him? Will she kill me?”

He lowered his gaze. “Both are possible. I tried to talk her out of it but-“

“Shut your mouth! I will not let anyone hurt the people I love. I’ve lost too much in my life already ... .my brother was right I should’ve disappeared better like he attempted with Lyanna.” I felt tears welling in my eyes thinking back on the night I got to hear his plan to flee the city for good and had his sights set on Dorne.

Rhaegar dragged me through one of the passageways of the Red Keep until I could see that we were sneaking into the streets of Kings Landing. It was common for him, but not for me. “What are we doing out here? I’ve never been - where are we going?” I was what some would whisper a tower princess.

“I needed somewhere beside the castle to tell you something important without fear of fathers spies hearing our conversations.” My brother finally explained by the time we had snuck up onto one of the old tavern rooftops where no one would find us unless we talked rather loud.

Holding the hood of my black cloak over my head I questioned him. “What do you need to tell me, brother?”

“I am going to be leaving soon. I intend to run away with Lyanna Stark, the woman I truly love.”

“Rhaegar!” I raised my voice clasping my hands over my mouth terrified someone had heard me. I slowly lowered my hands changing my tone to a whisper. “Have you lost your mind? You’re already wed and she is promised to Robert Baratheon.”

He put his hands on my shoulders trying to calm my nerves down. “I know the risks. But I can’t stay married to a woman I don’t love.”

“What about the throne? You’re our fathers heir. Viserys is only seven years old. He can’t run an entire realm if father dies.” I pushed his hands away, running my fingers through my hair.

Rhaegar raised his hands up. “I’m sorry, Vae. I don’t want to be a prince anymore. I want real love and a family in the countryside with her.”

“Is there any way I can talk you out of this?” I asked with very little hope.

He shakes his head no sending me a half smile where I knew he would never push the love for Lyanna away from that day on. “I’m sorry but no, dear sister. If you want a simple life like me you should run with me. You should do whatever it takes to keep you and your loved one safe.”

I got drawn away from my memory hearing a spear bolt fly up and strike Dany’s dragon causing it to let out a wounded cry in agony. Shifting my gaze out onto the fiery field I noticed it was Bronn who had fired the hit. Men around us along with horses were burning from fire. Wagons were destroyed and I suddenly realized that this would be a nightmare for Jaime. He may not see the same danger from me but he definitely sees it in the Dragon Queen. "Tyrion, we have to stop her. She'll kill everyone in the Lannister army."

"She wants to be a different queen. She wants to stop the wheel." He looked up at me before Amethyst released a call out to me. Turning my head in her direction I could see Jaime and his white horse focused on the dragon and its queen who had now crashed onto the ground.

Slowly walking towards Amethyst I prayed he didn't do something stupid. Only another dragon could beat another dragon. "Jaime, in the name of the gods, don't do anything."

"Flee you idiot." His little brother mumbled beside me watching the dragon girl attempting to pull the bolt out of her dragon's side. The creature made some loud noises but she couldn't get it out on her own. I felt sorry for the creature as I climbed on Amethyst’s back. "Vaella, if you charge at her. Her dragon will kill you."

Resting my hands on her scales I felt the baby kick inside my belly. "If I do nothing and he charges, she will kill him." I hated to think that someone who shared my blood would kill people, similar to our father.

Focusing my eyes back onto Jaime I cursed under my breath seeing him start running forward on horseback grabbing a spear on the way charging at her. "You idiot. You fucking idiot!" Tyrion mumbled before I kicked her in the side and she shrieked shooting up into the sky.

Flying as fast as we could, I still wasn't close enough to him when the dragon turned its head. The dragon queen saw him moving out of the way before hers breathed fire. "Jaime!" I shouted at the top of my lungs seeing someone tackled him off his horse and into the water.

“Daddy!” Rhaegar and Luciya cried out as they ran on the ground from their hiding place that I had left them at, running to the spot that Jaime had been at with Danny’s about to open its mouth at them.

Amethyst dove down towards the ground blocking her body in front of my twins and Daenerys. Sliding down the dragon wing I stand in front of the three of them where I clutched my hands into fists at my sides shouting her name. “Daenerys! I will kill you if you lay a hand on my children.”

“How dare you threaten me. State your name so I may know the woman so bold to challenge me. I wasn’t even aware another dragon lived in Westeros.” My sister raised a brow standing a few steps before me.

Keeping my gaze locked onto the gaze of my sister. “My name is Vaella Lannister, formerly the daughter of Kings Aerys II and Rhaella Targaryen. I am your older sister. This is my dragon Amethyst and my children Luciya and Rhaegar.”

“When you say Lannister do you mean Jaime Lannister?” She asked me in a very cold tone.

Nodding my head slowly in agreement I never pictured this would be how I would finally be meeting my sister who I believed was dead. “Yes I do. What are you going to do to me now?”

“I Daenerys of House Targaryen, breaker of chains and mother of Dragons, seize you and the rest of your family as my prisoners.” My sister declared while I saw some of her army rushing over and drawing their weapons, aiming them around the four of us in a circle. Amethyst lowered her head when I sent her a look to not kill her, it was safer for all of our lives if we just cooperated with her commands.

[planet-magic-land]

°₊·ˈ∗♡ meet the friends ♡∗ˈ‧₊°

🔩🦀🦈⛄🖨️🦆💢🎱

more info on each character under the Keep Reading! :-]

Jack Honey-Dew 🔩

she/her

"Jack is what you get when you take Love and squash it down as much as possible into one, singular form. With an ever creative inventor as a parent, it's no wonder Jack is such a lover for all things technology! A little bundle of love and a giant nerd"

👃- smells like Baking

🔊- voice; Car Noises

🐾- feels like a marshmallow

🕹️- Jack can shrink down and fit into small areas where others simply won't fit!

❓- she lives in a lil house on a roundabout with her pet woof Goldie, loves hanging out with her best friend Daryl, and LOVES her big girlfriend Chalk :)

🌟- Jack's favourite Smell is Vanilla

Daryl Battenburg 🦀

he/him

"the best boy you'll ever meet! Daryl loves helping others wherever he can, though when that often gets overwhelming for him, you'll find him back at his home in the calming countryside of Easter Evergreens, taking each day as it comes.."

👃- smells like Bonfire

🔊- voice; Saxophone

🐾- feels like a pincushion

🕹️- Daryl can glide over short distances with his little wings!

❓- he has a pet Snail called April, loves hanging out with his best friend Jack, and he has a Heart of Gold.. and a Skeleton of Gold.. Yes.

🌟- Daryl's favourite Food is the Jam that both his Mums make at home :)

Chalk Sunshine 🦈

she/her - they/them

"there are ancient tales lost to time of The Legendary One Armed Blacksmith, who spent their life not building weapons, but prosthetics and creations to help benefit Magic Land rather than harm it, who knew that this mysterious Legendary Blacksmith was such a Big Softie! literally!"

👃- smells like Vanilla

🔊- voice; Toy Piano

🐾- feels like a plushie :)

🕹️- all of her experience with Blacksmithing has granted Chalk immunity to fire!

❓- she has a secret compartment in her chest, will often hold their own tail for comfort when nervous or overwhelmed, and LOVES her little girlfriend Jack :)

🌟- Chalk's favourite Thing is Bubble Wrap, they like the sound and texture :)

Kirb ⛄

she/her - they/them

"said to have fallen from the sky like a shooting star, she may have no memory of where she came from, but to be honest with such an empty head she doesn't seem to have the attention span to care about that too much, and would rather play in the playground and take naps with her closest friend Bee."

👃- smells like Fresh Fudge

🔊- voice; Humming

🐾- feels like a fully filled firm balloon

🕹️- Kirb is surprisingly stronger than she looks!

❓- she prefers humming over talking, quietly squeaks and creaks due to her Balloon Body, and she can sometimes Get Really Big. she doesn't know how she can do this. She Just Can.

🌟- Kirb's favourite Thing is her Blankie

Bee 🖨️

she/her

"long ago on Garden Island, there was the Dream Machine, and it pumped out many creatures called Bees, all similar in looks, different in colours, but identical in their Enthusiasm, High Energy, and Motivation to learn new skills and explore. One day, a Bee came out who was, a little bit different. Her colours didn't quite match, and she lacked that High Energy and Motivation that the other Bees were full of, and though the other Bees treated her no differently, our Bee felt like she didn't quite belong, so, she set out by herself, to try and find purpose and peace within herself.."

👃- smells like Rain

🔊- voice; Banjo

🐾- feels like flocked cardboard (all Bees are like this)

🕹️- Bee might be slower than the others, but she can jump higher!

❓- she lives in a van, has thoughts about one day opening a coffee shop (once she figures out what "coffee" is) and prefers the silent company of Kirb

🌟- Bee's favourite Smell is Fresh Dirt

Snowbly Goodfriend 🦆

they/them

"once upon a pasture there was a duck and the duck lived in a pond and one day a guy called angel told the duck You Must Build A Shed because a Great Big Truck Full Of Tools will crash and theyll need somewhere for the tools Obviously so the duck took the closest hammer they could get but the very large hammer they took was Thors so he cursed the duck into a different body but then the Not Duck took the very large hammer again and was banished yes the end"

👃- smells like Lavender

🔊- voice; Quack Quack

🐾- feels like a mattress (all Snowfriends are like this)

🕹️- Snowbly can reach where others simply can't with the mighty power of their magic extendable hammer, Smight!

❓- they love to work on all things vehicular, are basically the baby of the group, and them and Kirb silently see each other as Siblings

🌟- Snowbly's favourite Food is Toast. Burnt.

Kipling 💢

she/her

"A Quest Be Upon Thee! Can YOU help the mighty Hero climb to the top of the Crying Crystal Cat Tower to reach the Time Device and defeat Kipling, Queen of Chaos? Scale Countless Floors of danger and surprise! Slay Monstrous Beasts! Collect the VII Idols, and purge this wicked land of all that stand in the way of Hero! available wherever games are sold."

👃- smells like Fast Food

🔊- voice; Spooky Halloween Noises

🐾- feels like a PUNCH TO THE FACE!!!1!

🕹️- Kipling iS IMPERVIOUS TO ALL ATTACKS PHYSICAL AND MYSTICAL!!1! COME AT ME!! !

❓- Kipling loves to boast that she is the "Villain Of Everything Ever", has very little tolerance for anyone and anything that gets on her nerves in the slightest, though has a soft spot for the rest of the group HEY DON'T TELL THEM THAT

🌟- Kipling's favourite Thing is The Beach IT CALMS ME DOWN OKAY. YOU TELL ANYONE AND I'LL BITE YOU.

Stranger 🎱

she/her - they/them - it/its

"a Space Robot infused with the DNA of several now-extinct Aliems, she spent a huge part of her past escaping what she was made for, and then spent the rest of it exploring every nook and cranny of whichever slivers of Magic Land's outer rims she could fit into. Other than that, she's a walking enigma, and trying to figure out what goes on inside that confusing mind of hers will only teach you one thing; she's a Weird Creacher and you might as well accept it."

👃- smells faintly like Gasoline

🔊- voice; Pipe Organ (though she doesn't speak often enough to hear it)

🐾- feels like foam

🕹️- Stranger's built in filters and Aliem DNAs grant her immunity to Toxic Chemicals such as Eggplant Gas, Grey Pollen, and Stinky Spores!

❓- she can switch between two separate heads, often carries around her Teddy Bear that also serves as storage for all sorts of items (including whichever head she isn't using), and she is on a personal quest for the One True 8 Ball..

🌟- Stranger's favourite Food is The Fried Egg

thank you for reading!!! ʕ =^ ᴥ ^= ʔ /°₊·ˈ∗♡

[thosenaturalones]

from a journal found on a fallen Shanian archer

Most of the 'glorious Shanian army' are serfs and were never trained to fight. They gave clubs to those who didn't bring a staff to fight with. (I am a lordson, but as the youngest, I was pressed into service, but I brought a bow and a sword. The sword I gave to someone else of good character, but whose staff was already cracked.) Those who survive battle are encouraged to pick up weapons and armor of the fallen. I am very grateful for the weapons training I received as a child; as a bowman, I am allowed to keep distance from the enemy. I have survived three assaults on the Green Wall. Only two other men are still alive from the group I came in with, Aaron and Tisdale, both slingers. Many of the men here are criminals, and serve here as punishment. Imagine that, my fate the same as a common criminal.

The northern front along the Green Wall is terrifying. First of all, there's the Tortles. These gigantic creatures possess speech and intelligence, yet possess the claws of beasts, AND are ferociously strong AND are essentially covered in half-plate armor. Second, the Lizardmen, aren't much better. Their scales can deflect arrows and blades, and their mouths are maws of razor-sharp teeth. They're monsters, too. I've witnessed Lizardmen *eat* men alive. Some can even spit acid. Third, there's the Frogs. They cover their weapons and arrows in a poison that makes your heart stumble and often stop entirely. Lastly, the Marsh elves are very different than our own. They're not dark skinned, but are instead pale with brown hair, and they can just vanish. I've seen Marsh Elves disappear in the rain, as if melting into the air itself. And some of them can grow their fingers into talons that melt your flesh and leave terrible scars. Our commander has one such a scar across his face.

I've heard rumors of cat people, but I've never seen one.

I'm going to die out here, I just know it. I wonder if my soul will be destroyed if one of the necromancers turns my corpse into a zombie. I try not to think about it.

Sometimes I think the Monsters have built the forward towers just for us to have something to do. The towers have archers and wizards atop them, shooting at us through killing holes. And by the time we capture one, everyone inside has disappeared.

They're wooden, but we never use fire on them. Maybe because fire spooks our flesh golems. I hate the golems. They look like giant people but their eyes are dead. Not-People. The clay golems that watch over our camp aren't so bad; they just look like statues. But the flesh golems are clearly made of dead men. Our own men. The golem wranglers handle them and repair them with lightning. They're tremendous on the battle field, I admit. I've seen them actually kill Tortles and Lizardfolk, literally tear their arms off, but still... they send shivers down my spine. Geoffrey, who's been here for much longer than me, said he saw one go berserk once. It started killing everyone close to it.  So that's the rub, you're more likely to survive by staying close to the killing machine--so long as it doesn't freak out and can no longer tell friend from foe.

This is pointless. We almost never even get to the Green Wall, and it's never been breached. Even if and when our catapults damage a section of it, its mostly repaired by the time our men can get there. The earth erupts in front of us as they charge, causing the men to stumble and fall. You have to run through the mud, because any patch of grass near the wall can come alive and hold you in place for their javelin throwers or archers to pick you off. When the fog appears, you run. Marsh Elves are invisible in the fog and can gut you like a fish in an instant. And the Frogs hide in the fog, too, with their poisonous arrows.

I swear the monsters must have trap doors and underground passage-ways like they use in the theatre. I need to talk to the Commander. Maybe he'll listen to a Lordson.

[ofpineapplesanddawns]

Here’s the Ineffable Husbands one-shot based on the prompt I mentioned.

Warning: I dunno, imaginary friend is actually a tulpa???

On with the fic!

--

Day thirty-seven, and Crowley was beginning to wonder if he shouldn’t have taken up this mission. 

Oh, sure, everyone had praised him for being the only one willing to do this, hell, people hailed him as a fucking hero because he chose to go up all by himself. He only did it because, really, no one else was going to do it, and he was already a lonely guy. Now he got to be lonely in space.

The mission itself wasn’t bad, it was a research project of growing plants in zero-gravity for longer missions. Another reason he took up the job was because, honestly, he was the only person involved with the project that knew a damn thing about plants. He wondered if his cousin, Muriel, was taking care of his plants back at his lonely, cold flat.

Not much different from the ship he was in, except that had his giant bed that he didn’t need to be strapped down into every night so he didn’t float off. 

Crowley heard the sounds of his music player filling the space with the sounds of The Velvet Underground, filling the space with a calm noise instead of the silence of his home for the next seven months. He sighed and glanced out the window, where he could see the beauty of the universe. At least this view was something he enjoyed, something that brought him joy every day. It always changed, the ship drifting and allowing him to see stars and objects at different angles. 

As he stared out into the sky, he saw something zip through the darkness, a shooting star. When he was a little kid, Crowley’s very religious family didn’t like his interest in the sciences, especially space. Something about lies trying to corrupt good people into believing the universe didn’t revolve around the Earth.

He remembered his grandmother told him that shoot stars were not chunks of ice, but actually angels passing by Earth to bless it. 

“Heh, maybe she was right, maybe this is an angel coming to check up on my lonely ass.” He scoffed, watching the sky out the window. Then he sighed, gently knocking his head against the glass. “Would be awesome if it really was an angel, then I wouldn’t be alone out here.”

While Crowley had left religion behind when he was kicked out of the family for coming out as bi, he still had a lot of stories ingrained in his brain. His grandfather, who wasn’t too much of an ass to him like the rest of his family had been (sadly, the old man who actually was cool enough to get him ice cream at the park and not call him the spawn of Satan for his red hair died when he was only five), told him a story about an angel in Eden who shared kindness to the First Humans, and even to the Serpent.

He was a guardian and a protector of all creatures on Earth, even if said creature was the first demon who came to Earth. Apparently, that angel had a name.

“I’m gonna call you... Aziraphale.” He said, looking out at the space where he had seen the comet. “You’ll be my guardian, right? Protect me from things out here, keep me company? Gonna chat with me and help me with my only little slice of Eden here? Maybe even shelter me from a meteor shower with your wing?” 

He let out a pitiful laugh and shook his head, pushing away from the window to drift off somewhere else in the ship. 

--

Crowley found himself in front of his garden of different plants, greens, veggies, berries, checking to see how everything was going in the lack of gravity. 

He stared at some of the strawberries, which were looking good on their growth. He jotted down a note about that. “Think these will be ready to be dipped in chocolate by next week, Aziraphale?” He asked, talking to no one but that comet he saw a few days ago.

It had started as a joke when he had gone to find something to eat and had just loudly asked ‘Think that a tasty rack of lamb or maybe a truffle and duck dish would be best to night’ as he pulled out one of the ready-made meals, a joke on how shitty the food was. He had found that... as crazy as it sounded, there was a comfort in cracking a joke at the empty place to his right when he had turned.

Now, Crowley found himself doing that, asking questions and pretending that there was a conversation happening. As he continued to do this, Crowley found himself thinking that his angelic comet, Aziraphale, had a stuffy, posh voice. Maybe there was a hint of Welsh to his accent, for certain words? He seemed like he would have that. He also seemed like the sort of angel that spoke with silly words, like scrummy, or tickity-boo.

“Ah, you’re right, best to give them another ten days. We want them big and juicy.” Crowley nodded, as if his question had been answered. “Now, the blackberries, you’re right about those! Perfectly plump, ready to devour!” 

He plucked one off and sniffed it, before holding it out to the empty space to his right. “Tell me what you think? Juicy? Tart? Excellent, just how they should be.”

He popped it into his mouth and smiled at the angelic void.

--

“It’s not bebop! It’s classic rock! Or somethin’, can never remember what the true genre was for this band. And Queen is not bebop either, stop thinking that, angel!” Crowley laughed as he tried to find a good playlist to workout to while Aziraphale ‘sat’ in the room with him.

“Oh, of course you’d think that. Any music that came before the release of LPs is what you would deem as real music! Live a little, enjoy the classics of the 20th century! Can’t all just sit about listening to the classical greats. Who, mind you, are probably in Hell.”

He snorted, thinking he heard the stuffy response of ‘Well, be that as it may, at least Heaven has all the best choreographers!’  

Crowley snorted again and laughed, throwing back his head. “That’s not the same! Alright, alright, how about some Beatles? Lots of people like ‘em, you might too.”

--

“You know, I’ve never eaten an oyster.”

‘Oh, well, let me tempt you!’

“Ah?”

‘Oh, well, that’s your department.’

“Hahaha, still think I’m actually a demon in disguise. You and my parents and siblings, ha! Nah, I’m just a bloke who sometimes wears a cute dress and heels.”

‘I bet you look lovely in them, dear.’

“Aw, thanks, angel. Tell you what. When we’re done with this mission and we get back to Earth, I’ll put on my favorite, little black dress and you can take me out for oysters.”

‘That sounds marvelous!’

“It does, so, it’s a date then?”

‘Very much so, my dear.’

--

“When I was little, I remember running away from home and found myself at the library. I wondered about the aisles and found a big book on astronomy. It was like nothing I had ever seen or read before. I saw pictures of astronauts and knew right then and there, I wanted to be one.”

Crowley looked at the person to his right, angelic and human all at once. “I wanted so badly to go up and see the universe with my own eyes. I wanted to find heaven among the stars.”

‘And did you?’ Aziraphale asked, smiling at him.

“I think I did.” Crowley smiled in return. 

--

“It’ll take a few days to get back to Earth, and they want me in stasis.” Crowley frowned, looking at the special pod that he had slept in when first shot into space for this mission. It took five days to get to his locations, and it would take five days to get back to Earth.

“Will you be alright?” Aziraphale asked, worry in those multiple hazel eyes.

“I’ll be fine, angel.” Crowley smiled, touching his cheek. “I’ve got my own, personal guardian angel to protect me, don’t I?”

Aziraphale put his hand over Crowley’s own, leaning into the touch. “Of course, I’ll do everything I can to make sure you’re alright, dear.”

“Thank you. And when we get back, remember, we’ve got a date.” He winked at the angel, who smiled brightly, illuminating the small space.

Crowley stepped back and got himself strapped into the pod. The lid closed over him, and a sweet-smelling gas filled the space, making him drowsy. “See you in a few days, Crowley.” He heard Aziraphale say as the darkness took over. “Dream of whatever you like best.” 

--

“Sir? We have a problem.”

“What is it? Was the landing bad? Had something gone wrong?”

“No, it... it actually went perfectly, as if something guided it down with ease.”

“Then what’s the matter?”

“Well... scans indicate that Dr. Crowley is alive and perfectly healthy. However...”

“However?”

“There’s... another life reading inside the ship with him. And it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.” 

--

The ship was still where it had safely landed, and people waited outside, nervous and worried. The reporters and journalists waited with baited breath, having no clue what had the scientist and officials worried, then again, no one did. 

The door opened, and out stepped Dr. Crowley, looking exhausted and a bit unsteady, but he seemed perfectly healthy, even more so than an astronaut should for such a mission. He blinked, squinting at the camera flashes, before giving a tired wave.

Someone approached, one of the scientists. “Dr. Crowley, how are you feeling? Was the mission alright?” There was an unasked question, but Dr. Crowley didn’t seem to notice.

“Fine, everything went perfectly well and I feel great. All thanks to my guardian angel.” Dr. Crowley smiled and the poor scientist looked confused and alarmed.

“Guardian... angel?”

“Yeah. Hey, Aziraphale, come out and see the Earth! It’s a beautiful, sunny day, you should see this.” 

The crowd watched in horror as something moved from within the darkness of the ship. A hand grabbed the side of the entry, then another, followed by another, and another, and another...

Then eyes glowed in the darkness, and a smile could be seen.

--

:)

[queenlucythevaliant]

Do you think Behemoth and Leviathan were actually real and happened to be dinosaurs? Behemoth was a huge and formidable land dinosaur while Leviathan was a pleisiosaur. Technically, plesiosaurs weren't dinosaurs, but you get my idea?

So I've been sitting on this ask for a little bit because I honestly didn't know what tone to take in answering it. I don't know your background, and thus don't know whether to be more blunt or delicate. Ultimately, I settled on blunt, simply because I could not figure out how to answer this question delicately. That said, I hope you take this in the gracious spirit in which I have written it.

SO. That's a hard no from me, friend. Let's discuss!

So typically when you hear people say that Behemoth and Leviathan were dinosaurs (or dinosaur adjacent), it's in the context of arguments in favor of young earth creationism. It's a fairly big talking point with the Answers in Genesis crowd. Basically, they make the argument that Biblical texts referencing creatures that superficially resemble dinosaurs are evidence that humans and dinosaurs could have lived at the same time.

This works out if the earth is only 6,000 years old, but not if we take paleontology, geology, or human evolution at all seriously. The writer of Job would have had no way of knowing that dinosaurs and plesiosaurs existed because they had already been extinct for many millions of years. Even if you want to argue that maybe God is describing creatures with which Job was unfamiliar, it still doesn't track. God's address to Job treats these creatures as something for which he has a point of reference. It also just doesn't make sense why God would choose this moment to reveal the existence of dinosaurs. Talk about a tangent!

I don't know where you fall on the spectrum of Christian beliefs regarding origins and the age of the earth, but I've written at length on this blog about the case for theistic (old earth) evolution, so I won't rehash that here. Check out my all truth is God's truth tag or shoot me an ask if you want more on that. Regarding Behemoth and Leviathan, however, I think some of the same exegetical skills involved in reading (or misreading) Genesis are involved in the relevant chapters of Job.

When God addresses Job out of the whirlwind, he uses poetic language. He's talking about a real thing (his sovereignty over the universe), but it's something that transcends human comprehension on an overwhelming scale. Much like we can't ever hope to wrap our heads around deep time, we're simply not capable of grasping the extent of God's sovereignty.

When God describes storehouses of hail reserved for the day of battle, are we supposed to literally think that there is a giant building in heaven where God keeps all his hail? Or is it a picture of God's might as both creator and judge of the universe? If we know our Bibles, we see that hail is frequently used as a tool of judgement against God's enemies: Egypt, the Canaanites, apostate Israel, and ultimately the rebellious earth. So when God describes his storehouses of hail, we see the reality of his total control over the arc of history, his ultimate justice, his orderliness.

Likewise, Behemoth and Leviathan use the established language and symbolism of Scripture to convey truths for which plain language wouldn't suffice. Behemoth's description isn't that of any real animal, living or extinct. God paints a picture of a creature that no man could ever hope to tame and expresses that he, God, can.

Leviathan is the longer and more interesting image; it's a mighty creature of the deep that breathes fire and cannot be controlled. We know that in Biblical parlance, water is frequently associated with chaos (too many places to enumerate, but Psalms, the Prophets, and Revelation are good starting places). Leviathan is a picture of this chaos: mighty, rearing, deadly, uncontrollable, terrifying. Then God says to Job, "Can you draw this creature out with a fishhook? Can you make a covenant with him? Will he serve you? Can you injure him? Do you have any means at all of controlling the chaos monster? I do." It's poetry used to express a truth that we humans cannot hope to grasp otherwise: We cannot control the chaos of the world around us. We can't even try. But God can, and he does it effortlessly.

So no. Not dinosaurs. And I think that arguing that they are, especially trying to pick through the text and figure out which ones they're supposed to be and using that to argue for literalistic interpretations of Genesis, really misses the point and the power of what God is saying here.

I think Job's words back to God at the end of the book actually give us a remarkably important principle when it comes to Biblical interpretation: "I have uttered what I do not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." The whole Bible is too wonderful for us. God condescended in order to give us his truth, and he had the magnificent grace to give it to us in ways that we can begin to grasp.

I think a lot of really literalistic reads on Scripture (Job, Genesis, Revelation, and elsewhere) are a kind of grasping at control. There's an assumption in it that God gave the ancients an exact accounting of things that humans just aren't equipped to fully comprehend.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't try! But it does mean that when we read Scripture concerning the Big Things: the Sovereignty of God, the creation of the universe, the origin of life, eternity, infinity, even spiritual mysteries like the Trinity and the nature of the Incarnation, we have to approach it as something fundamentally beyond our comprehension which God is showing us the edges of. We can see other, different edges of many of those same things through scientific observation (or philosophy, or whatever other disciplines-- not all of the Big Things are scientific in nature.)

It's like Isaac Newton said: "I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

[delayed-affection]

Chapter one

Season 2 Navigation Next

June 28, 1984

Men in hazmat suits work around a giant machine. A bald man smokes a cigarette, watching them from above. Two men in white coats walk over to him.

With a deep sigh one of them opens a case, two keys lay inside. Handing one to the other, they insert them into their slots. Nodding they turn the keys.

The giant machine powers up, electricity surges into it. It shoots into a wall, cracking it open. A creature squeals and stretches out, onto the wall.

The building starts to shake and the machines around starts to spark, it's too much for them to handle. The large device starts to go out and the wall closes on itself.

The machine shuts down but the built up electricity has no where to go. It shoots out from its sides, frying the men around.

The bald man puts out his cigarette and leads the others down to the machine. He walks up to the wall, putting his hand on it.

One man speaks up in Russian, "Comrade General. You can see. You can see our progress. We just need more ti-"

One of the guards grab the man by his throat, lifting him up off the ground.

The man walks up to the other white coat, "You have one year."

~

One year later.

Mike and El sit in her room making out before he breaks away starts to sing along with the radio, "And nobody wants to know you now."

He pretends to play the drums, "Nobody wants to show you-"

She tries to put her hand over his mouth, "Mike. Mike, stop! Stop!"

He grabs her wrist, "So if you're lost and on your own. You can never surrender."

She laughs, "Stop!"

"What, you don't like it?" He asks

"No!" She tells him

Hopper sits in the living room, stuffing his face with chips and salsa. Trying not to think about what could possibly be going on in her room.

Well curiosity killed the cat, he leans back in his chair.

Looking through the crack he finds them kissing, "Hey!"

They pull apart and she shuts the door completely.

He flings himself up off the chair, "Hey! Leave the door open three inches!"

He tries to open the door, "El, open this door. Open the-"

He pushes and the door burst open. They lay on two separate places on the bed.

"What's wrong?" Mike questions with a smile

~

Mike rides his bike talking to El on the walkie, "My god, that was priceless! Did you see his face?"

"It was like a tomato!" She laughs

"Yeah, a fat tomato." He replies

"I wish I was still with you." She confesses

"I know. Me too. But I'll see you tomorrow, all right? First thing." He assures

~

Mike pulls up to the brand new mall.

"You're late." Lucas scolds, "Again."

"We're gonna miss the opening." Will complains

"Yeah, if you guys keep whining about it." He argues, "Let's go!"

Lucas mimics him, " 'If you guys keep whining about.' Nyeh nyeh nyeh."

Mike hops off his bike, "Just please stop talking, dude."

"Let's me guess." Lucas says leading them into the mall, "You were busy."

He makes some kissy noises.

"Oh, yeah, real mature, Lucas." He quips

He starts to tease him, "Oh, El, I wish we could make out forever, and never hang out with any of our friends."

"Lucas, stop." Max says

"Will thinks it's funny." He argues

"Because it is." Will chimes

Mike throws his hands up, "Yeah, it's so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend."

"I'm spending romantic time with my girlfriend." Lucas tells him

They push their way down the crowded escalator, receiving glares and grunts from the people they shove.

Mike runs right into a girl while getting off the escalator.

"Watch it!" She exclaims walking away

"Yeah! Watch it, nerd!" Erica comments

"Isn't past your bedtime?" Lucas asks

She watches them walk past, "Isn't it time you died."

Her friends laugh, liking her comeback.

"Psycho!" He calls her

They continue to call each other names until he blows her a raspberry.

Max grabs his arm, "Oh, now that was mature."

They head into Scoops Ahoy and Mike rings the bell rapidly in front of the workers face.

"Hey, dingus, your children are here." She says

The window behind her slides open, "Again? Seriously?"

Mike hits the bell once more and Steve leads them to the back room, letting them use the workers hallway.

He watches them walk down the hall, "I swear, if anybody hears about this-"

"We're dead!" They say in unison

Mike peeks his head into the Movie theater hallway, "All clear."

They all file in, following Mike into one of the movies, "See Lucas we made it."

"We missed the previews." He whispers sitting down.

"Still made it. Fart face." Max smiles

Right when the movie was about to start the power goes out. However, it's not just the mall that goes out, it's all of Hawkins.

~

In an old abandoned warehouse grows a dark mist, the same mist that was seen coming out Will and trying to stop El from closing the gate.

~

Just as fast as the power went out it comes back on. The crowded theater cheers and the rest of the mall continues to do what they were doing before.

Will is the only one not cheering, instead he looks scared. He puts his hand up to his neck, getting flashbacks of everything the Upside Down put him through.

"Hey." Mike says

Will comes back to reality with a short gasp.

"You okay?" He worries

"Yeah." He answers

"You sure?" He asks

He nods, "Of course."

~

Nancy shoots awake, "Shit!"

Jonathan gets up from bedside her, "Wh- What's wrong?"

She grabs her watch, "It's almost nine. We forgot to rest the clocks. The power went out last night, remember?"

They rush to get ready.

Nancy throws her shoes out the window, her body falling soon after. She runs around the house, trying not to be seen.

Jonathan leaves his room.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Joyce calls, "Wait up."

"Oh, no, I'll eat at work." He says, "I'm late."

She grabs his arm, "No. Your cheek."

She rubs off the reminisce of Nancy's lipstick.

He pulls away, "I gotta run. See you later."

Will huffs from the table, "Ugh. Gross."

She sits down and joins him, "Well, I don't think you're gonna think it's gross when you fall in love."

He can't bring himself to look at her, "I'm not gonna fall in love."

She notices something on the floor, getting up to check it out, "Hey, what happened here?"

She picks up the fallen magnets and picture, putting them back up on the fridge.

~

"Can you please drive faster?" Nancy pleads

"Do you want to break down? We're lucky this thing still drives at all." He say's tapping the dashboard.

Nancy applies some blush, "I'm serious, Jonathan, I can't be late."

"You mean we can't be late." He corrects

"No, I mean I can't be late. They like you no matter what you do." She argues

"Hey, they like you too." He assures

She laughs, "Yeah. They like that I'm a coffee delivery machine. They don't actually like me or respect me as a living, breathing human with a brain."

"Wait, you just- you just gotta be patient, okay?" He tells her, "They're set in their ways. But... once they realize what a gifted writer you are, they'll come around."

Her panic and bitterness come through, "I really don't need a Jonathan Byers pep talk right now. Can you just... please drive faster?"

~

Dustin talks into his walkie, "This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over. This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over."

He turns to Y/n, "Why aren't they answering? You would think that they would respond after all this time."

She shrugs, "Are we even in range yet? You've been talking into that thing for the past ten minutes."

He huffs, "I'm in range, they should be answering. I repeat: This is goddamn Gold Leader-"

Y/n keeps one hand on the wheel and snatches his headset with the other, "There's no need to yell, dude. Just try again when we get home."

He groans, "I've been gone a month the least they can do is answer."

Not to long after they pull into the driveway, their mom waiting outside for her Dusty. They exchange hellos and hugs before the now crankier Dustin makes his way to his room.

He slams his bag down onto his bed, sitting down beside it.

"Jeez, take it easy, Dust." Y/n says walking into his room.

"No I will not take it easy!" He exclaims, "I've been gone for a month and they've forgotten about me!"

A distorted robot voices draws their attention, a little toy robot comes waddling into the room.

Dustin looks back at his sister, "Is that you?"

She holds her hands up, "That's not me."

He starts to worry when R2-D2 starts rolling around, then his clapping monkey starts to go off.

He stands up as more gadgets and toys start to come to life, they watch as they all head out his door.

Dustin grabs his hairspray, "Stay behind me."

They follow them out of the room and into the living room.

Y/n looks over to where his friends hiding, while he tries to convince himself that it's all just a dream.

"Now." Mike whispers to El.

The toys power down leaving Dustin confused, he kneels down and grabs one, not letting go of his hairspray.

Y/n motions for the group to come out. Lucas holds up a welcome home sign as the rest blow on horns.

Dustin freaks out, he jumps up and screams. He sprays the hairspray right into Lucas' eyes, making everyone else freak out.

~

Mrs. Wheeler and her mom friends sit out by the pool In lounge chairs, waiting for a certain someone.

The woman next to her lowers her sunglasses, "Ladies. She's coming down."

They all watch as the lifeguard leaves her post. They quickly adjust themselves for the next one to take their post, wanting to look their best.

"And... showtime." She says

Billy walks out from the changing room, very aware of eyes on him.

He blows his whistle, "Hey, lard-ass! No running on my watch!" The entire place falls quiet, "I gotta warn you again, and you're banned for life. You wanna be banned for life, lard-ass?"

The kid shakes his head, afraid to even speak.

He blows his whistle again, "Didn't think so."

The place is back to being as lively as before.

He walks past the moms, "Good afternoon, ladies."

"Afternoon, Billy." They reply in unison

"Dig the new suit, Mrs. Wheeler." He tells her

"Thank you." She replies mid pose.

~

The town stores are empty, not a person anywhere. Besides Joyce, who's hanging up a sale sign in the store front window.

The door jingles and in walks Hopper, "You busy?"

"You're our first customer." She confesses, "What now?"

Hopper goes on this whole tangent about El and Mike, and what they've been up to in her room.

"You know, it is that smug son of a bitch, Mike." He tells her, "He corrupting her, I'm telling you. And I'm just gonna lose it. I mean, I am gonna lose it, Joyce."

She walks down a different isle, "Just take it down, Hopper."

"I need for them to break up." He informs

"That is not your decision."

He gets up from his spot, "They're spending entirely too much time together. You agree with me about that, right?"

"Well, I mean, they're just kissing, right?"

"Yeah, but it is constant." He nags, "It is constant. Okay? That is not normal, that is not healthy.”

She shrugs, "You can't just force them apart. I mean, they're not little kids anymore, Hop. They're teenagers. If you order them around like a cop, then they're gonna rebel. It's just what they do."

"So, what, I'm just supposed to let them do whatever they want?" He questions

"No, I didn't say that." She says marking an item, "I think you should... talk to them."

"No. No. Cause talking doesn't work." He claims

"Not yelling. Not ordering." She clarifies, "But talk to them. You know, like a heart to heart."

He throws an apple, "A heart to heart? What is that?"

"You sit them down and you talk to them like you're their friend. I find if you talk to them like you're on their level, then they really start to listen." She explains, "And then, you know, you could start to create some boundaries."

"Boundaries." He thinks out loud

"Yeah, but, Hop, it's really important that no matter how they respond, you stay calm. You cannot lose your temper."

He taps the wall, "Maybe you could do it for me?"

She shakes her head, "No."

He walks over to her, "Yeah, you could. Yeah, you could. You come over after work. Yes."

"No." She answers, "It only works if it comes from you. But... Maybe I can help you... find the right words."

~

Nancy power walks her way to work, checking her watch to see if she's going to make it in on time. Walking into the Hawkins post she starts to hand out everyone's food orders.

Starting with the woman at the front desk she moves through the building, ending at a office full of men.

She goes to leave but stops herself at the door, wanting to join in on their conversation.

She turns back to face them, "What about Starcourt?"

They all look at her with disinterest, not liking her input.

She continues, "I was just... thinking... I mean I know everyone loves the mall, but... how many small businesses have closed since it opened? Like, five on Main, at least. It's changing the fabric of our town in a way-"

A fake tanned man cuts her off, " 'The Death of Small-Town America.' I like it a lot. But I think I've got something even spicier. It's about the missing mustard on my hamburger."

All men burst into laughter, thinking that it was the funniest thing in the world.

"You think you can follow the clues and solve the case of the missing condiment, Nancy Drew?"

Her face drops and she lets out a broken, "Sorry." Grabbing his burger from him.

She leaves the office and let's go of the breath she been holding.

~

Lucas' face is under running water in the kitchen,   Y/n tries her best to gently flush his eyes out.

"Ow, ow, ow." He says pulling his head away

"Better?" Max asks

He rubs his eyes, "Still stings."

Y/n turns off the water, "It's the best I could do, seeing as your not really injured."

"Thanks." Max tells her

She nods and leaves the two alone.

He stops rubbing his eyes and points at Max's face, "Is that a new zit?"

Max turns the water back on, "What is wrong with you?"

She drags his head back under the water.

"I was just asking!" He screams

Dustin stands in his room, showing off his work, "I call it... the Forever Clock. All right? Powered by wind. Very useful in the apocalypse."

"Looks like a bunch of popsicle sticks." Y/n says from the doorway.

"Hush." He replies handing it over Will and pulls out something else, "Then, I give you... the Slammer."

He points it towards El and Mike, making her move back.

He giggles, "Pretty neat, huh? But this... this is my masterpiece."

He drops a duffel bag on the floor, they all sit around it.

He unzips the bag, "I would like you to meet... Cerebro."

"What exactly are we looking at here?" Mike questions

"An I assembled one of a kind battery powered radio tower." He smiles

"So... it's a... a ham radio." Will voices

"The Cadillac of ham radios." He claims, "This baby Carrie's a crystal clear connection over vast distances. I'm talking North Pole to South. I can talk to my girlfriend whenever and wherever I choose."

"Girlfriend?" They all ask in unison

They all follow him down the hall as he informs them on his girlfriend.

"Wait her name is Susie?" Mike asks

"Suzie with a 'z.' She's from Utah." He answers

"Girls go to science camp?" Will questions more to himself.

"Suzie does. She's a genius." He says

"Is she cute?" Mike asks

"Think Phoebe Cates, only hotter." He gushes

Max sees them all walk out the front door, "What's going on?"

"We're going to talk to Dustin's girlfriend." Y/n informs

"Girlfriend?" Max and Lucas asks

She motions for them to follow, "I know, come on."

~

Steve scoops some ice cream into a cone, "Alrighty, one scoop of chocolate. That a buck twenty five. Anything else?"

The pretty customer hands him the money but he wants to try his luck with her.

He reads her sweater, "Ooh, Purdue. Fancy."

She flashes him a pretty smile, "Yeah, I'm excited."

He puts the money into the register, "Yeah, you know, I considered it, Purdue, but then I was like, you know what? I really think I need some real life experience, you know, before I hit college, see what it feels like. Kinda like, uh, I don't know, see what it's like to earn a working man's wage, you know? Uh..."

The girl is not longer interested in the conversation, "Yeah, totally."

"Yeah, anyway, this was, like, so fun." He says, "We should kind of like, you know, I don't know, maybe hang out this weekend or- " he drops her change, "Oh sorry about that. I don't know. Maybe next weekend or-"

"Yeah, I'm busy." She replies as kindly as she can.

"Oh, that's cool. I'm- I'm working here next weekend, so... the following weekend's better for me."

She shakes her head, "No. I'm sorry, I can't. Okay. Thanks."

She walks away with her friend, unable to endure anymore flirting.

"And another one bites the dust." His coworker says marking a whiteboard, "You are oh-for-six, Popeye."

"Yeah, yeah, I can count." He quips looking at the 'You rule-You suck'

"You know that mean you suck." She replies

He nods, "Yep, I can read, too."

"Since when?" She asks

He walks over to her, "It's this stupid hat. I am telling you, it is totally blowing my best feature."

She puts the board away, "Yeah, company policy is a real drag. You know, it's a crazy idea, but have you considered... telling the truth."

"Oh, you mean, that I couldn't even get into Tech and my douchebag dads trying to teach me a lesson, I make three bucks an hour, and I have no future? That truth?" He argues

She sees a group of girls walk in, "Hey, twelve o'clock."

He looks over, "Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Okay... Uh... I'm going in. Okay? And you know what?" He throws hit hat behind her, "Screw company policy."

"Oh, my god, you're a whole new man." She jokes

"Right? Ooh." He chuckles

He turns around and basically yells at the girls, "Ahoy, ladies! Didn't see you there. Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I'll be your captain. I'm Steve Harrington."

~

Hopper sits with Joyce going over what he's going to say to El and Mike, "I know this is a difficult conversation to have... I hope you know that I... care about you very much. And I know that you-"

She cuts him off, "Eye contact."

He sighs, "And I know that you... both care about each other very much. This does not sound like me at all."

"Just keep going. Come on."

He takes a deep breath, "Which is why I think it's important to establish these boundaries... moving forward..." he looks at his paper

"No looking. You know this." She assures, "Come on."

He continues, "...so we can build an environment... Uh... where we... all feel comfortable and trusted and open..."

"Share our feelings." She whispers

"... to sharing our feelings-" he cuts himself off, "This isn't gonna work. Um, it's not gonna work. It's not gonna work."

"Yes, it will! I promise." She replies, "Oh, come on."

"Maybe I'll just kill Mike." He says sitting next to her, "I'm chief of police, I could cover it up."

She pats his hand, "You got this. I promise."

The two of them look at each other, their gazes softening.

"You wanna have dinner tonight?" He asks, "You can give me some more pointers."

She moves her hand away from his, "Oh, I... Um... I have plans."

He looks away from her, "Okay, sure."

The door jingles, she hops off the counter, "Oh, a customer. Hey, Carol!"

~

The group pants, climbing up a hill for Dustin.

"Aren't we high enough?" Lucas asks

"Cerebro works best at a hundred meters." He answers

"You know, I'm pretty sure people in Utah have telephones." Max comments

"Yeah, but Suzie's Mormon."

"Oh, shit. She doesn't have electricity?" Lucas questions

"That's the Amish." Y/n corrects

"What are Mormons?" Will asks

"Super religious white people." Dustin replies, "They have electricity and cars and stuff but... since I'm not Mormon, her parent would never approve. It's all a bit... Shakespearean."

"Shakespearean?" Max questions

"Yeah. Like Romeo and Juliet." He smiles

"Right."

He continues, "Star crossed lover."

"I got it." She says

"Hey, guys!" Mike shouts from behind, "This is fun and all but." He taps his watch.

"I have to go home." El claims

"We're almost there." Dustin argues

"Sorry, man." Mike replies, "Curfew."

"Good luck." El wishes him as Mike pulls her away.

Dustin looks at his watch, "Curfew at four?"

"They're lying." Lucas comments

"It's been like this all summer." Will informs

"It's romantic." Max chimes

"Yeah." Y/n agrees

"It's gross." Will argues

"It's bullshit." Dustin states, "I just got home. It's their loss, right? Onwards and upwards! Suzie awaits!"

They all groan following him to the top of the hill.

Will stands still in his spot, grabbing to back of his neck. He looks down the hill, an eerie feeling fills him.

"Will, come on!" Dustin exclaims

He rushes up to his friends while a trail of mice run across field.

~

Hundreds if not thousands of mice race into an abandoned building and into the basement where they meet their death.

The floor is covered in blood and guts, mice combusting one after the other.

~

Mrs. Wheeler does back strokes in the pool, fully aware she's got the attention of a certain Life Guard. Billy takes off his sunglasses, watching as she makes her way through the water.

She climbs out of the pool and is greeted by Billy.

"Looking good out there, Mrs. Wheeler."

She sighs pushing her hair back, "Thank you."

He hands her a towel, "Perfect form."

"Well... your form is amazing." She confesses

He chuckles, not expecting her to be so forward.

She tries to backtrack, "I'm sorry, I mean, I... I've seen you... uh, teaching... lessons. Swimming lessons."

"You know, I could, uh... I could teach you, if you like." He replies, "I know all the styles. Freestyle. Butterfly. Breaststroke."

Mrs. Wheeler is completely entranced by him that she drops her towel.

He picks it up and hands it to her, "You okay?"

"I didn't think you... I didn't think you taught adults."

"Well, I offer more, uh... advanced lessons to select clientele." He smiles, "Come to think of it, there is a good pool out at a Motel 6 on Cornwallis. It's very quiet. You know, very private. Shall we say tonight? Eight o'clock?"

She honestly thinks about it for second, "I'm sorry. I can't."

"Cant what? Have fun?" He asks, "Mrs. Wheeler!"

She laughs, "No. I... I... I just, uh... I don't think I need lessons."

"Oh, you see, I think you do. I just don't think that you've had the right teacher." He says lowering his voice.

"I, uh..." she trials

"It will be the workout of your life." He assures

She looks up at him a smiles.

~

Dustin drops his bag at the top of the hill, "Made it."

Everyone else slowly makes it up.

"Yeah, only took five hours." Max complains

"Why couldn't we just play D&D?" Will huffs

"I'm so thirsty." Lucas comments dropping one of Dustin's bags.

He opens up his canteen and drinks what's left inside.

Max watches and listens as he loudly gulps it down, "Did you seriously just drink the rest of our water?"

He spits some back into the canteen and hands it to her with a smile.

Max shakes her head and walks away from him.

"You're so gross." Y/n chimes having watched everything.

She pulls out her water and hands it to Max.

Max happily takes it, “Thank you.”

“Now what was wrong with the water I offer you?” Lucas asks

They both give him a look that reads ��be serious’.

They soon forget about the water and move onto building the Radio Tower. Piece by piece it slowly comes together.

They look up at the now standing tower.

"Pretty impressive, right?" Dustin asks, "Now, you ready to meet my love?"

In response he gets a series of yes'.

Dustin sits on the floor and grabs the mic, "Suzie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

Static.

He holds his finger, "One sec. She's probably... She's still there. Suzie... this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over."

Nothing.

"I'm sure she's there. It's just- You know, maybe she's, like, busy or- It's around dinner time."

They all silently agree with him.

He tries again, "Suzie, do you copy? This is Dustin. Over."

Once again his is met with static.

~

Joyce walks through her front door, "Hey, guys, I'm home."

No response.

"Guys?" She calls out, "Hello?"

With no one home she decides to heat up some leftover lasagna and pour herself a glass a wine.

She sits in front of the tv and starts to think about Bob.

~

Bob laughs at the tv, “Ah, they’re funny, don’t you think?”

Joyce giggles, “Yes.”

“I just wish they’d get back together again already.” He says rubbing her back.

She looks up at him, “Me too.”

They share a quick kiss and turn back to the tv.

~

She smiles at the thought of him and cuts into her lasagna.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen the magnets on the fridge begin to shake. They all lose their magnetic hold to the fridge, dropping to the ground.

~

Nancy stands in the office, throwing away all the trash the grown men left behind.

The phone rings making her rush over.

She takes off her gloves and picks it up, “Hawkins Post.”

She listens to the other line, “Um, hold on, I’m- I’m sorry can you- can you repeat that?”

She pulls out a pen and note pad, writing down the person’s address and what they’re calling for. She underlines the words ‘Diseased Rats’.

~

El and Mike are back at her house, making out to ‘Can’t fight this feeling’ by Roe Speedwagon.

Hopper lays in his bed hugging a pillow, “…why it’s important to establish these boundaries… moving forward, so that we can create an environment where… you feel comfortable and trusted and open.”

He sighs looking at his paper, “…to share our feelings.”

He grunts getting out of the bed, pushing open he makeshift curtain door.

He knocks on El’s door, “Hey.”

“Yes?” She responds

“Can I talk to you guys a minute?” He asks

The door opens letting him in.

He stands in the door way and looks at them sitting in two separate places, “Hi.”

“Hi.” They say in unison.

He moves one of the chairs in the room to sit in front of them.

They all just sit there, looking at each other, not knowing what to say or do.

Hopper turns off the music, “Um…”

He’s rehearsed what he was going to say hundreds of time but now it’s like, he’s forgotten everything.

The two of them lean forward, growing impatient with what he has to say.

Hopper rubs his chin, “What, I, uh… needed to say to you… what I wanted to say to you… is that, um.”

“Uh-oh.” Mike chimes, “I think we’re in trouble.”

He starts to laugh making El laugh too.

“No.” Hopper says, “No, nobody’s in trouble, okay? I just, um…”

He watches as Mike whispers into El’s ear making her laugh again.

That’s the last straw for him, “You know what? Your mom called.”

Mikes face fills with confusion, “What?”

He nods, “Yeah. She needs you home right away.”

“Is everything okay?” He asks

“No, I don’t think so. It’s your grandma.” He claims

His face drops, Hopper leads him outside away from El. Mike is seriously worried, asking every question he think of.

They get in his truck and Hopper finally comes clean.

“Nothing! There’s nothing wrong with Nana!”

“What?”

“But…” He starts, “There’s something very wrong with this thing between you and El.”

“Oh, you lying piece of shit!” Mike exclaims trying to get out of the truck but Hopper locks the door every time he tries to unlock it, “You’re crazy!”

“Crazy?” He grumbles, “You want to see real crazy? You disrespect me again. Okay? Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m gonna drive you home. And I’m gonna speak… and you’re going to listen. And then, maybe… maybe by the end of it, maybe if you’re lucky, maybe… I will continue to allow you to date my daughter.”

He looks over to Mike, “Nod if you understand!”

Mike quickly nods.

~

The sun has gone down and the moon has fully risen.

Dustin continues to try to reach Suzie, “… do you copy, this is Dustin. Over. Suzie! This is Dustin. Do you copy? Over.”

His friends and sister lay on hill, it’s been hours and he hasn’t given it a rest.

“Dustin, come on! She’s not there.” Max voices

“Just try again some other time.” Y/n adds

“She’s there, all right? She’ll pick up.” He claims

“Maybe Cerebro doesn’t work.” Will says

“Or maybe Suzie doesn’t exist.” Lucas argues

“She exists!” He assures them

“She’s a genius and she’s hotter than Phoebe Cates? No girl is that perfect.” Lucas replies

Max sits up, “Is that so?”

Lucas is quick to get up, “I mean… you’re perfect. I mean, like, per- perfect in your own way. In your special- your own special way.”

She chuckles, “Relax, I was teasing. I’m obviously perfect and Dustin’s obviously lying.”

She stands up, “Come on, Don Juan.”

Dustin watches as Max and Lucas walk down the hill, “Where are you going?”

“Home.” Max answers

“Well… I guess is just us guys.” Dustin says

Will gets up, “Um… it’s late. Sorry. Maybe tomorrow we can play D&D. Or something fun. Like we used to?”

“Yeah, sure.” He replies

“Welcome home.” He tells him before following the others.

“Yeah. Welcome home.” He says to himself

Y/n sits up, “I’m still here if you want to keep trying.” She looks at her watch, “We have another hour til we have to be home.”

He smiles at her and then the radio starts to pick something up. He stumbles over his things and on to the ground.

He picks up the mic, “Suzie? Suzie, is that you?”

Y/n moves next to him, they listen in and it’s a man speaking a Russian. Dustin turns up the volume.

~

A Russian man sits in a coms room, speaking into mic, reciting something over and over again.

A man in a white lab coat walks into the room and through another door. Back to the room that holds a giant machine.

~

Mrs. Wheeler stands in her bathroom, getting ready to meet up with Billy. She looks down at her wedding ring, she gives it a second thought but then takes it off.

Walking down stairs she finds her husband asleep in his chair with their daughter Holly sleeping in his lap.

~

Billy is naturally speeding down the streets of Hawkins, riding on the high of getting with a milf, a cougar.

He looks at himself in his rear view mirror, “Hey Karen. You don’t mind if I can you Karen, do you? Good.”

Something smashes into his window sending him drifting to stop. He lands right in the embankment of an abandoned building.

He groans looking at the damage, “Oh, no. No. Piece of shit.”

He touches the gash on his head, “Shit. Damn it.”

He gets out starts hitting his car, “Damn it! Piece of shit!”

He slams his door and goes over to the hood, steam hiss out from under. He touched the crack on his window, a wet and sticky substance was left behind by whatever hit it.

Something shrieks in the distance making him look over.

“Who’s there?” He calls out, “Hey! I said, who’s there?”

Something grabs his ankle yanking him to the ground. He screams as it pulls him into the building.

Tag list: @alexa4040

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through 015: Savage Land and Spider Slayers (ASM 103-109)

MASTERPOST

What's in store for us?

Dinosaurs, aliens, swimsuits, whump, and happy returns!

And more importantly...

Oh, we're so back, baby!

I noticed that the previous story arcs was written by Roy Thomas (when I assumed everything was written by Stan), and let's say I'm not eager to see more of him. Unfortunately, the next two issues (including this one) have the Thomas/Kane team. Oh Lord.

So in issue 103, the layout is just as "audacious" as before. Jameson's Bugle trouble continue! He's afraid that TV will replace newspapers. He's also fascinated by a creature that he thinks escaped from Ka-Zar's "secret jungle". Now, why would you be aware that it exists if it's supposed to be secret, Jamie?

So Jameson wants Peter to go with him in this jungle.

Indigestible.

Gwen is reduced to this woman that cries when her boyfriend isn't here (and he tries to propose to her to console her...). I don't like it one bit. Peter brings Gwen to Jameson but...

Good grief. Gwen doesn't amount to much, but she's worth more than that. It feels fake feminist. And we haven't seen the Coffee Gang in a while.

Those 100s opening issues are rough, folks.

On the other hand, I do appreciate that Gwen gets to do something else. Is it a way to make her more legitimate as Peter's lover?

I was wondering in the last batch if the sudden poetic tone was due to Morbius, but no, that's just how Roy Thomas writes (see for yourself).

I was just starting to warm on Thomas's Gwen when she suddenly disrobed. Actually, it's Jameson who intimates her to wear this skimpy swimsuit--in the middle of a dangerous forest.

So a giant beast King Kongs Gwen and brings her to Kraven, whom sadly doesn't shoot lasers this time.

The storyline continues in #104. Turns out Gog (the giant beast) is actually an alien that arrived on Earth via spacecraft, which Kraven found in this jungle in the middle of Antartica after beating Ka-Zar. A battle ensues.

And Kraven uses his nip-lasers, yay!

Overall, this set of issues (and the previous one) feel like Roy Thomas didn't really care about writing a Spider-Man story--he wanted to write beasts fighting each other (Morbius and the Lizard, and Gog and a dinosaur in this one). God, that was awful.

At least, Thomas is gone in the next issue. The Spider Slayer is back, as is New York! The politics are back too. Minority groups are just as angry as me that the last issues were spent talking about inane jungle stuff instead of the grounded cast and their struggles. Actually, aside from protests at the Bugle, Harry's back from the hospital! And Flash's back for good too?! Everybody's here and I'm very happy. MJ's still teasing Peter because of course she does.

Look, maybe it was all worth it just for this moment. It's genuinely heartwarming--Harry's smiling and crying!!!. It feels good. Harry is loved!

No time for happiness, though. Peter's worried about Flash.

Jameson has another rendezvous with Alistair Smythe and says, "This time, the web-head is finished!" (he's not). Twice, Jameson is about to catch his foe, but twice the foe escapes (or rather, the controller stops responding hahaha).

Smythe's actually controlling his robot, he wants to spy on everybody like the FBI with some other devices or something.

Gil Kane is getting better! Overall this issue is a VAST improvement on all fronts. The battle's too long but still.

Jesse Prosise from Durand, Illinois actually thinks that Thomas is a better writer than Lee. I think both have interesting ideas but I wouldn't say Thomas is a good writer. His flowery prose really wasn't necessary. He does say this gem though:

He's actually praising him, but it made me double-take.

Laurine has taste.

Stan explains in another answer that Roy and Gil enjoy working together and decided to have fun with their short storylines. Couldn't have figured that.

Overall, Thomas's short stint seems to be very divisive. I wonder what people think about it nowadays...

Time for issue 106 and would you look at that!

Now THAT'S my Peter! Romita is back, baby...!

Peter asks for Connors's help and the latter gladly lends him his lab. That's a cute dynamic, I like to see it every so often.

Jameson himself is protesting against the government's video surveillance, along with other protesters.

At Harry's apartment, he says he's about to become the Joker and Peter dresses like a clown (this tie is ridiculous baby).

I think Peter blaming Harry for MJ's behavior kind of sucks, but oh well. MJ is a menace.

Anyway, Peter's flustered because Flash is still just as handsome as ever. Actually...

I don't remember, who's Man-Wolf again? Because I'm pretty sure he shall soon make his appearance. Is it Jonah's son, or Flash? Hm.

Peter wonders if Flash's mood is actually because of the Vietnam War. Hmm!

#107 is advertised as full of action, but oh well. At least Romita's return makes it bearable and entertaining.

Flash goes to talk to Gwen and apologizes for his behavior. He also implies he loves her, which is embarrassing.

And the issue ends with...

I'm invested!

Flash is attacked but Spidey saves him and look how adorable (whumpy) he looks!

Stan Lee decided to give me the whump I'd been craving for.

So yeah, Flash's targeted by Vietnamese people because they think he intentionally led an attack on a temple. Oof.

Don't mind me, I'm just thirsting. Ooooh, Romita!Peter, how I missed you!

Meanwhile, May horrifies all of us by touching Peter's seed. Uh, I mean, Peter's sticky, nutty experiment.

I'm so glad to see pretty faces again!

The panel on the left feels like it just came out of the Prowler's first appearance!

And this is just really gorgeous.

What an ending! What a stellar issue (as you may have surmised, considering how much screens I posted)!

Onto the last issue of this batch!

On one hand, I love men in distress. But also... Dr. Strange!!!!!

I'm gonna reach the pictures limit just because I love whump.

Anyway, there's a plot twist! The two individuals Flash thought were people who'd cared for him are still alive! At least, the girl. The guy is asleep, and everybody thinks it's Flash's fault. Oops.

Anyway, here's a nice panel that is NOT about pretty men suffering! And with this, I reached the limit!

Everything is solved thanks to Strange's powers, Flash isn't hunted. I would have put one more picture of Flash because he's particularly handsome in the penultimate panel, but oh well!

Aside from the... feathers those issues might ruffle, they're much better than the beginning of the batch. Miles ahead.

The letters continue to be divisive, but two sentences really made me laugh:

"Now, with the first issue of Lee's return, ROBOTS! My God, Stan, no!" --Wally Conger

[jsmithkirkland]

Journal of Aber Crombie

This is the first of a series. My first attempt at Sci Fi. This may be a little rough as I have not had an editor look at it yet, but when I complete all 4 parts, I will combine them, and get some editing.

Hope you enjoy it.

Comments are welcome; growing as a writer.

Journal of Aber Crombie

By J. Smith Kirkland

I still have not come to grasps with the giant sun in the red sky. Herbert says the sky is red because the sun is a red dwarf. And the sun is huge because the habitable zone around a red dwarf is much closer to the sun than what I am used to. That's what Herbert tells me anyway. And that's the reason it is so much colder here than I am used to. There are a lot of things here I am not used to.

Herbert says it is good for us to keep a routine. So, we went to the greenhouse this morning. Like every morning. The automation control for the microbe system can get off schedule, and we have to adjust it manually sometime. I'm glad Herbert is smart and knows all this stuff. He reminds me of my dad. But as long as the system works all the plants seem to do fine. I think Herbert just likes to walk around in there. The green plants are a nice contrast to the dry cracked ground outside. And as much as I would hate to admit it to Herbert, it is nice to have some sort of routine. I used to think it would be great to have no responsibilities, nothing that had to be done. But after having nothing that has to be done all day for 23 days, I need some sort of routine, or I think I might go mad.

After breakfast in the green house, we pick a direction on the compass, one we have not used before, and start walking in that direction. We're looking for new things. A type of rock we have not seen before, a soil anomaly, signs of a creature. We have seen no signs of creatures at all. Not even with the microbe detector. Of course, the literature all says there is no life on this planet other than what the transport company has brought to the way station, but Herbert says people that believe everything a company tells them will never discover anything new. And honestly, the people at the company were the ones that told us we would only be here for two days before the next ship arrived. So, we go looking for new things.

We only walk for 8 kilometer before we turn to go back. The days are short here, and you don't want to be outside when the red sun sets. I complain about the cold a lot. I grew up near an equator. I like it warm. Herbert promises the next stop will be warmer. It has a yellow sun. He says it has beaches like the ones on my home too. And people. He suspects I won't complain if we get stuck there for a month or two. I have never been to Earth, but he makes it sound nice. Though I am starting to wonder if we will ever get there. Herbert still talks as if the ship is on the way, but I am starting to think there may not be anymore ships.

§

Another part of our routine is that Herbert tries three times a day to contact someone on the travellers' kiosk. The kiosk is where we should get updates on arrival and departures, buy tickets, check weather at destinations, and if you can locate the link on the screen, contact customer service. He applies the same compass direction technique to the kiosk. He tries at three different times of day that he has not tried before. I understand the logic. He says the machine may work better at different times because of cosmic interference, or maybe the call centers have odd hours. But I don't have the same optimism that it will work. The day the transport didn't show up, I checked that the communication system was set up correctly. That's the one thing I know more about that Herbert. That's what I do. I've been installing interplanetary communication systems for two years now. I don't get all the science behind them, but I know how to trouble shoot them. I suspect we are not getting an answer because there is no one there to answer. The company is gone. Out of business. Destroyed in a storm. A war. I try not to let my imagination get too dark, but that's where it goes at times.

I don't know why they wouldn't contact us, but it is not because the system here is not working. I will remain hopeful however that someone will contact us eventually. That someone somewhere remembers we got off at this station. That someone somewhere will come looking for us. Someone from the company I work for maybe. You would think they noticed when I didn't show up for work for 23 days. Herbert talks about his friends and family a lot, but I am not sure they will be looking for him. He never said that, but I have noticed he always refers to them in past tense. He never talks about anyone that might be waiting for him. But then, I don't either.

Today we chose 323 degrees for our trek. My WristWear has a compass showing the cardinal directions and 360 degree graduations. As long as the communication satellites are working around any planet, it is extremely accurate. Herbert has an old physical nautical compass given to him by his grandfather, whose grandfather gave to him, and so forth. It shows magnetic north. It also has an inner circle with the 32-point compass rose corresponding to the 0 to 360 degree graduations. It's a pretty cool antique. We occasional compare the readings along our walks. They are always the same.

About 6 kilometers out, we have seen nothing interestingly different. Same types of rocks and dirt we had seen before. No signs of creatures. Not even microbes. But as I take a gulp from my water bottle, my eyes land on the horizon ahead of us. I stare at it for a few seconds before I asked Herbert if I am seeing a mirage. Herbert follows my gaze to the horizon, and says if it is a mirage, he is seeing it too. We are probably way more excited than we should be to see a hill, but 23 days. This planet so far has shown no indication of anything other than a flat elevation. Dried cracked dirt. No flowing water above ground. No hills. No craters. Smooth and flat. But there it is. Something sticking up on the horizon.

As we reach our 7km mark, it is becoming clear that what we are seeing is not a hill. There are geometric edges that do not look natural. There was no way to know how far this group of structures is away from us, or how tall they are, but they are there. It's not unusual for companies to put way stations in desert areas on planets, especially on planets where the indigenous people don't travel for one reason or another. But the literature is pretty clear that this planet has no life, much less people. As we reach the 8km mark, there is no doubt in our minds that these structures are buildings.

§

As much as we want to, we can't just keep walking towards the buildings. There is no way of knowing how far away they are, but it is certain that they are too far to get there and back to the way station before sunset. No, we can't go today. We have to go back and make a plan. See what provisions we have to prepare for an overnight trip. Figure out if that is even feasible. We have to turn back.

Neither of us is saying much on the trek back. But my mind is reeling with ideas of what the place could be, lists of what we will need to get there and back, why there was nothing in the travel literature about buildings, and most of all, will we find anyone living there. Considering that my imagination has already decided we are stranded here after some galaxical catastrophe, finding other living beings would be a relief. I hope.

The way station is still here. As is our note taped to the door informing the conductor of any arriving transport ship that we have been stranded here and will return before sunset, and requesting that they please wait for us. We will have to update that before we leave for the buildings. “If we are not back by sunset, Please send a search party to find us.”

Herbert is collecting provisions for our trip as I hack into every file on the kiosk system that I can find about this planet. Unfortunately access to extraplanetary databases is always hard to get on these remote way stations. It's bad enough that you only have old movies and video games, but there is no additional information on anything other than what the transport company thought you would need. Still, the system keeps data on travellers, ships, local provisions, local resources. I am hoping if I can get to some non published files I might find more data on the planet.

Herbert has broken into the office to look for emergency blankets and torches. He is looking for anything that might be a portable source for generating heat. I have just entered the password to get to the facility management files in the system. I would love to tell Herbert that I used my superb computer system skills to get there, but truth is I found the account name and password on a note stuck to the system interface in the office after he broke in. I guess if the account only gets used occasionally by a passing conductor, the easiest was to remember the login is to write it down.

I am at least hoping to find out about water supplies on the planet. We know the nights are cold, but how cold. If they even survivable. What I really want to find is planetary history. Not the stuff in the marketing info. Even if they don't want customers to know everything about a planet, I am sure they do a lot of research before building a way station. And it looks like this file called “Feasibility Study” might be a good place to start.

Planet name: Anarans B.

Moons: None.

Surface area: 55.91 million mi².

Troposphere: 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0.9 percent argon, and 0.1 percent other gases. Trace amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and neon are some of the other gases that make up the remaining 0.1 percent.

Radiation: 130 to 1,610 microsieverts

Hydrosphere: <1%

Aquifers: Unconfined aquifers exist in a limited number of areas and make up 10% of total estimated ground water.

Flora and Fauna: No native biological species remain on the planet.

Habitants: No inhabitants remain on the planet

Wait. What does that mean. No inhabitants remain. Doesn't that imply that there were once inhabitants? There was once plant life. Animal life. So, buildings would not be a surprise. The question is … where did they go?

§

We wake up earlier than usual today. The excitement of the adventure ahead of us I suppose. After realizing there was a garden tractor and cart in the green house, we estimate how far it could go on one fully charged battery. Uncertain of the actual distance, we are hopeful it will be enough to get there and back. And maybe even get there before sunset. I start to point out to Herbert that we should have used this mode of transportation all along on our daily walks. But then I think, we saw more details on foot, and it was good exercise. Beside, I enjoy our walks.

We load up our supplies in the cart, and we ride out in the 323 direction. As Herbert drives, we come up with all sorts of wild ideas about what the structure are, why they were deserted, or maybe they weren't deserted. It could be a mutant colony, or survivors of a war that don't know there is a universe of other people out there. We suspect it is something very mundane, but Herbert and I both love to make up stories about what could be. He seem to be more optimistic than mine.

We draw closer and closer to the buildings. Definitely buildings. You can make out windows. Probably 10 or so large buildings, fourteen or fifteen flights. Surrounded by lots of smaller ones. Three or four flights each. This is a city.

As we get closer, we can see streets between the buildings. Empty streets. There is no sign of movement. No transports hovering around.

We have stopped speculating. We have stopped talking all together. We just stare at the city as we get closer. The cracked earth edges right up to a street running along the perimeter of the buildings. We pull up to where the dirt ends, and Herbert stops the tractor. I don't ask why. We never talked about what to do when we got here. This world has been wide open space. We had both lived in cities before, but for 24 days now, we have seen nothing to block the horizon in any direction. Now suddenly we were about to enter what looked to us like a foreboding labyrinth of narrow passages between great stone and steel walls.

Herbert checks the battery status. Plenty to get us back even if we drive around. I check the time. Plenty of time to get back to the way station, maybe not before sunset, but not long after. It depends on how long we look around. We decide we will drive around the street for a bit first before we go into any of the buildings. Herbert makes some jokes about double parking and no one to jack the tractor while we go inside. I laugh, but my dark imagination was triggered by the one about someone stealing the tractor. We don't know that no one is here. I am going to make sure to lock the ignition before we leave site of the tractor.

The place definitely looks deserted. There are shop widows that look like the stores could still be open if not for the amount of dust and dirt that coated everything. This is not a place that was moved out of. It was left. As frozen in time as the stores look, there are no vehicles left on the street. You would think if it was a panicked departure, there would be some form of transports left here or there. But not a one. I suggest they left in a hurry. And all at once, Herbert adds.

§

Herbert says we should map the streets. He hands me his tablet and says I should draw the map. He snaps pictures every time we get to an intersection. My compass has stopped working, perhaps due to the height and composition of the buildings. So Herbert lets me use his. There are no names marking the streets. So we name the ones running somewhat north and south with letters, starting at Alpha. For the ones running east and west we use numbers. The odd diagonal ones, a color. I draw in rectangles for the buildings. I want to think up clever names for them, but my brain is too busy absorbing all of this to be very creative. I just note the number of flights for each.

As we reach the center, the street leads to an open plein that looks like it should be filled with people walking around and sitting on benches admiring what must once have been fountains but are now silent parched statues. Across the plein from us is the tallest building we have see so far. Its width takes up three of the cities blocks. It is magnificent. Wide steps, a third of the building's width lead up to entry doorways three flights tall. This surely is the city center. We don't even have to ask each other if we should go in. Herbert pulls up to the bottom of the steps and turns off the tractor. As we get out, I reach over, lock the ignition, and pocket the key fob. Just to be safe. Herbert smiles, but says nothing.

We walk up the steps in silence. As we near the top, we see through the doorways. An enormous open space lit by windows five fights up the front wall. There are ornate stair cases in the center, leading up to suspended walkways connecting to a third flight balcony wrapping around the back wall and both side. Something about this silent majestic space feels deserving of reverence, almost sacred. We stand silently admiring it.

Beep.

What is that?

Beep.

Herbert pulls the microbe detector from his pocket. Microbes. No inhabitants remain. Just the microbes. The microbes that made them leave, my imagination screams. I ask Herbert if we are safe. If we should leave now. If the microbes are air born viruses or bacteria. All at once I ask him all of this. He just shakes his head. He says the device is not registering viruses or bacteria that would harm us. I say I am relieved, and glad we are safe. Herbert does not looked relieved. He looks at me, then around the building. He points out, he didn't say we were safe.

§

Herbert says Humanoids and other mammals leave trace signatures of a unique collections of microbes on everything we touch. The microbes on our skin are almost as good as DNA for identifying an individual. The microbe detector identified and cataloged our individual microbe colonies when we first turned it on, and it ignores us when looking for other signs of life. Otherwise it would be beeping constantly. I tell him the communication systems that I install have a similar way of detecting individuals, and uses a persons unique electrical emissions to tag communications. I don't know why that is not how you login to a system instead of the archaic password method. Herbert says they tried other ways in the past, finger prints for example. Turned out the finger print on a dead or severed hand would get people into a system just fine. Microbes had the same flaw, but he thought the electrical emissions might be a better approach. Then he pointed out that I was not focusing on our problem in the current situation.

The device is detecting life. Not just fungi or random bacteria. It has recognized a colony of microbes and is referencing the catalog for individual identification. There could be a human here? Humans? That would be great. Herbert is quick to correct me. He said individual, not humanoid. There could be some sort of wild animal surviving in the city. Or even if it is humanoid, there is still the possibility it is not friendly to trespassers. I am surprised at Herbert's sudden move to the dark spaces my imagination lives in. And a little worried by that. We both start looking for movement in every corner and shadow in the space.

Beep.

The device has more info. Classification: Feline.

My dark imagination immediately starts listing the possibilities to me: lions, panthers, yule cats, werecats.

Beep.

SubClassifications: House Cat. Polydactyl.

Herbert and I are both baffled. On this apparently lifeless planet, no know human inhabitants, there is a Hemingway house cat? The device must be broken.

Beep.

Name: Webby.

How could it have a name? Herbert explains, just like he and I have been cataloged by the device, every other creature it has encountered has also been cataloged. I doubt that the machine named it Webby. Herbert says he entered our names when the device identified us. Someone using the device must have entered their cat's name also. Maybe it ran away from the transport station. That would explain how it got here.

As we discuss our disbelief that a cat named Webby is roaming around this structure, Webby appears from a shadow along the back wall. We stand frozen as Webby approaches us. He rubs himself around Herbert's leg, then heads back in the direction he came from. A few meters away, he stops and looks back at us. Herbert and I look at each other. This can't be happening. It's a cat. And it seems to want us to follow it. Herbert takes a couple of steps. I start walking also. The cat continues its path to the shadows on the back wall, stopping only briefly once more to make sure we are following. Then it stops again at a doorway on the back wall, and waits for us to catch up.

The opening is to a stairway, leading down into darkness. Webby rubs around my leg, then darts down the stairs. We both pull out our head strap torches. With their bright light, we peer down the stairs. Webby is waiting at the bottom. I ask Herbert if we are really going to follow a spooky cat into an basement abyss on a deserted planet. Pretty sure I have seen how that movie ends. He just asks how we are on time. I tell him we have plenty of time to look around for an hour or so and still get back to the station before sunset. That is, if we get back up these stairs alive. Herbert starts down the stairs. I follow.

§

At the bottom of the dark stairs is a dark hallway. The cat saunters ahead of us, seeming certain we are following. Webby turns left at the intersection of another dark hallway. We turn left. We can see a light from a door's window about halfway down the hallway.

Beep.

The light from my headlamp bounces toward the ceiling with my jerk reaction. We stop walking. The cat stops in front of the door. Herbert pulls out the microbe detector, but before he can even check it...

Beep.

Herbert echos the information to me.

Classification: Humanoid.

I say we should wait and see if the humanoid has a sub classification, or a name. I wonder if they know we are here. Webby obviously did. What if they do too? Or what if they don't? Imagine you are all alone on a deserted planet and there's a knocks on the door. Webby is still waiting on us.

Herbert starts walking again. After a couple of seconds, I follow. Herbert calls out a greeting and asks if anyone is here. He repeats it in several more languages. One that I didn't recognize at all. Herbert's knowledge is constantly amazing me. No one answers. But the door handle turns and opens just enough for Webby to prance happily into the lit room, with one glance back at us before he entered.

No one came out the door. No one called out to us. But the open door was an obvious invitation in response to Herbert's greetings. I stop a few meters from the door, but Herbert goes right up to the door and slowly pushes it the rest of the way open. He smiles at whoever was on the other side, and enters. I hesitantly continue to the door.

Inside is a room full of odd looking machines and structures. Metal arches and cubical frames. On the far side of the room, a man with wild white hair, wearing a long brown robe, stands turning dials, and flipping switches. Both he and Webby look back at us for a second as if to make sure we are paying attention, then the man returns his focus to the settings, and Webby walks away and finds a nice place to curl up for a nap.

The man makes some comment about it taking us long enough to get here. Then the microbe detector beeps. He looks back at us. He says his name is Marvin, and that those old gadgets always get it wrong and call him Merlin. He mumbles something about someone's warped sense of humor. It beeps again. He matter of factly says the sub classification is Wytch, not Sorcerer. Herbert looks at the microbe detector and raises his eyebrows at me to confirm what the man had said was true. Then with a satisfied once over of the instrument panels, Marvin asks if we are ready to go.

§

I didn't have to prompt Herbert to ask where exactly it was we were supposed to be going. Marvin looks very confused by the question. Herbert explains that we had been waiting for our transport for days now, and the names of our intended destinations. Marvin, initially not at all phased by two strangers entering his secret laboratory on a deserted planet, now looks at us as if we were unidentifiable creatures who crawled out of the shadows. After a moment, he asks what planets we came from. I am from Valko, and Hebert is from Tiozeven. Our answers do not seem to make him any more comfortable.

Marvin asks the interplanetary date that we arrived on the planet. He notes that was 24 local days ago. Herbert confirms that, and says we had been keeping track of the number of days ourselves. Marvin asks Herbert to describe his home planet. Herbert says he doesn't know what Marvin's references were, but that his home is much like our next stop, Earth. It has salt water oceans and continents with fresh water rivers. Then Herbert asks Marvin some questions. And why is he here, apparently all alone, on a baron planet? Why was he expecting us when we came in? And where was it he thought we were going?

Marvin suggests we all sit down, and motions to the table in the middle of the room. He asks if we would like some water. We both decline, and Herbert says we would just like to know more about where we are, and if Marvin knows anything about why the ship did not show up at our station.

We all sit, and Marvin takes a deep breath before he starts to explain why he is here. He says he runs this way station. The city was built around a mining industry, but was abandoned once the mineral was depleted because the storms on the planet make it hard to maintain a profitable civilization. The company he works for runs way stations. The planet is in a great location, and the land was cheap. So they set up a station here.

The devices in this room are transport devices. People are transported to the main room above, and then he sends then on to the next stop. He works here for 3 weeks, then another operator will relieve him and send him and Webby back to his planet, Wytch, spelled with a Y, where they will stay for three weeks, and then return to relieve the other operator. He says he was expecting travellers earlier today, but they didn't show. He assumed we were the ones he had expected.

Herbert and I look around the room. We have never seen or even heard of this type of transport technology. Herbert comments that had he known this was an option he would have quit using transport ships years ago. Marvin swallows before he replies. He explains that no transport ship have been here for years. I point out that we arrived on one 23 days ago. He says he is certain we did. But he is not certain from where, because all the planets we mentioned were destroyed ten years ago by what he calls the WR104 Event, a gamma ray burst that burnt up seven nearby planets.

§

Herbert tells Marvin there was a gamma ray burst ten years ago, but there were only several planets destroyed. He lists the planets. I remember the event when I was a kid, but I don't remember the names of the planets. Marvin had never heard of two that Herbert listed. They begin to compare their known histories. There are many parallels. There are similar events that happened, but some on planets with different names. Then everything diverges even more at the point of the gamma burst. After going through major events to present day, including Marvin's explanation of the development of the technology in his transport station by a scientist on Wytch, the two of them nod at each other, and just sit silently. Herbert looks at me and asks if I understand what is going on. I really don't. Marvin says that either he and Webby, or Herbert and I, have somehow crossed into a different universe. Herbert says he would like some of that water now.

Marvin returns to the table with the water, and we begin to discuss the ramifications of crossing universes. When I say we, I mean mostly Herbert and Marvin. I mainly keep repeating questions that are all some version of what are we going to do. They decide that Herbert and I have to go back to the station before sunset. Herbert says we will return the next day, if the city is still here in our universe. Then we will to try to figure out whose universe we are in, and how to get everyone back to the right one.

Herbert and I have not been saying anything as we walk back to the tractor. We start it up, and head back down the paved streets towards the cracked dirt of the desert. Herbert tells me to check my compass. I look. It is still not working. We continue our ride in silence.

We are about a kilometer from the city. Herbert tells me to check my compass again. I start to understand why he is asking. If my compass is not working, then there are no communications satellite, which means we are in Marvin's Universe. No reading. I point out that if we are in Marvin's universe, that would explain why no transport ship has shown up, and why no one had contacted us. Is our station still there? Are we driving out into the middle of the desert to a point that we can't return to the city before the night starts to get cold? Herbert says he is not sure, but he thinks we will be okay. We ride silently for another kilometer.

Herbert tells me to check the compass again every kilometer. Still not working. No. Wait. At four kilometers, there is a reading. We compare it to his. Herbert stops the tractor and looks back toward the city. I look too. Nothing on the horizon. I tell Herbert we are too far away to see it. Herbert smiles. He agrees that we are indeed much too far away.

§

I didn't realize the amount of tension that had been in my body on the way back, until I saw our station appear over the horizon. We reach the building and I can see our note on the door. Even more weight falls off my shoulders. When Herbert turns off the tractor, we hear an high pitched beeping. We both know immediately the sound of an incoming communication on the kiosk. We rush in. The message says all communication has been restored. Then some explanation of how local solar activity had caused disruption to communications satellites, and that's why no ships were able to navigate to the planet. Most importantly it said the transport to Earth would be here in two days. Earth. Our Universe.

We make a good meal to celebrate. At least as good as you can make in a transport station. Herbert starts talking about going back to the city tomorrow. I ask him how he even knows it is going to be there. He tells me that my compass was the proof. He is fascinated by the advanced technology in that universe. He imagines all the things we could learn from Marvin. I have never seen Herbert so excited. But I am not risking leaving before the transport arrives. That was a great adventure, but for me, it is over. I've had a good meal, now I need a good night's sleep.

After breakfast, Herbert starts packing up the tractor. He asks me one last time if I want to go with him. I decline. We exchange contact information, and he promises to send me messages from the kiosk as long as the universes are connected and he can still make trips between the two. I tell him how glad I was to be stuck at a transport station with him. He laughs and says he couldn't have chosen a better companion for the situation if he had picked one out himself. I watch Herbert ride off toward the city. He does not return before sunset, or the next day before the transport arrives. I leave for Earth, thinking of warm beaches and a yellow sun. But I will miss Herbert.

I find my assigned compartment. Semi-private. There is a woman and man already there when I enter. And a cat. It watches me as I sit down. I ask the woman if that is a Hemingway cat. I don't think she understood what I meant, and says the cat belongs to the man. He smiles and said yes. I tell him I had met another Hemmingway cat just recently. He agrees that is a strange coincident. The man says his name is Webster, and the cat's name is Marvin. It was named after his dad who died when their planet Wycca was destroyed by the gamma ray burst 10 years ago. Webster says he was on Earth for a school trip when the burst occurred, and that is his home now. He asks if I have ever been there before. I tell him no, at least not in this universe.

∞

[theundeadgospel]

good morning session was. well. I cried four times off mic so LMAOOO

• We reached our 50th session ✨

• Vashka (Homebrew vampiric war commander) is confirmed to be the actual BBEG. Also confirmed to be Kassandra’s fucking daughter. WHICH I THEORIZED SESSIONS AGO SO GOD DAMMIT HGHFHDGDGCVCV SHE REFUSES TO HURT HER OWN DAUGHTER AND HER DAUGHTER IS MINDSET ON MURDERING HER TOO

• Our Homebrew is also heavily based off of Castlevania. So, Vash wants a world where humanity is primarily used for livestock, overran by a vampiric utopia. Kass disagrees and thinks it’s just pointless and will lead to cannibalism eventually. And she’s very tired of fighting now as a former war monger. So because her own mother is standing in her way, Vash is trying to murder her. Vash is CRYPTICALLY powerful as a psychic user as well — she’s already murdered one of our NPCs we tried to keep alive, set invisible undead assassins after our party, actively targeting our party and Kass, sent giant undead ogres to tear apart Hallowbrook, and last session found Kass just to have her platoon shoot six fucking fireballs in her direction.

• Kass seems to want redemption because of how tired she is of being perceived as a monster. She does feel regret for accidentally killing the men in the mock war games and expressed guilt over murdering Aphrodite as well. But, due to the fact everyone and her people kept calling her a monster over the years, she eventually ingrained that name into her skin and continuously refers to herself as ‘just a monster’ . She refuses to see herself as anything else at this point and literally wants to die because she’s set to be executed, her own daughter wants her dead due to opposing views, and she basically has no one in her life she can go to. Her temper is insane and extremely lethal. Because of her past crimes (still did many fucked up things as Strahd in the past) , she failed as her people’s baroness and folks no longer respect her — and you know, the court murdering her wife which was her only grounding pillar, so she essentially just walks around like a living zombie - ball of bitter hatred now. Masked by extensive suffering from guilt and heartache.

• The Innkeeper (Homebrew domain lord of Hallowbrook) was someone who formerly served under Kass and was forced to kill innocents who opposed Kass’ rule back in the day. The blood on his hands was always due to her. However, he was also the only one who witnessed her go from demented war lord to god I hate living like this what have I done to myself and has lingering faith in her — much to his own knights’ disapproval. Almost the entirety of Hallowbrook wants her dead. Because she’s a dangerous vampire and they hate the undead for the most part, seeing them as nothing but greedy creatures of slaughter. Because of her accidental murders in the war games, she’s set to be executed — but you know, this is Strahd. As long as you don’t decimate her coffin, she comes back. She knows she’ll come back. Our party is unaware of this, so some people are freaking the fuck out LMAO

• Morian caught on however. He was the only one present when talking to Kass with the Innkeeper at this abandoned building, stalling time by asking her questions about why she’s like this and such knowing Beth and Elias were well on their way to stop the execution. He realized first oh fuck wait the Innkeeper can execute her as by law but there’s nowhere that says we can’t RESURRECT her after. Beth, because she’s a paranoid fuck and hasn’t been thinking straight nor even had a rest for several sessions, ain’t thinking strategically. All she heard was ‘I’m with my executioner’ and the bitch was OFF like the wind to save her stupid lesbian not girlfriend yet HFHDHCBBB

• WELL. ALL WAS WELL UNTIL VASHKA PINPOINTED THE DAMN LOCATION FIRST. Cue her ordering her men to open fire on Kass as a grand entrance right as Kass was about to agreed with Morian to accept the path of redemption — to which Kass literally shoved him out of the way and took half damage. Fucking. 80 points of fire damage that would’ve CHARRED Morian to death, saving his life. She’s BURNT.

• Session ends there, but we all strategize oog ✨ it’ll take one round for Elias and Beth to get there. Morian HAS to survive the first round. He’s p low health as is and is currently body shielding Kass who’s also p down in health now tbh — but we do have the Innkeeper who is also level 20 and an oathbreaker so I’m not too concerned. Beth however, LMAO, she’s at 24 health. She is FULLY ready to die for Kass’ protection and most likely will next session — I’m almost planning on it just to prove she’s a true knight wanting to die in battle protecting her loved one and family, she’s DEAD ass about laying her life down for Kass, and Myrkul is her god damn patron so you know he’s going to go dude. leave my realm, you got work to do. BFGGDHCVV It’s VERY difficult to keep the vampires down in this campaign — even Aphrodite got sent back by her demon father. They’re all well aware they’ll come back. We’re hellbent on staying alive with purpose. Additionally, Beth has been wanting to speak directly to Myrkul again in soul for a while and ask for a weapon upgrade so LMAO

• The plan is to wait for Beth to arrive so she can use her strength to haul Morian and Kass out of the way (Morian is too weak to carry her, who’s in full knight armor herself), then body shield both of them herself. Most of everyone’s healing spells don’t work on undead. Beth has one set of lay on hands for 15 points — and she will be using it all on Kass instead of herself before going into a heavy rage to soak up as many hits as possible and attack anyone nearby before dropping. She’s had a ring of death warding on her since early sessions and will be giving to Kass too — discreetly. Like. Bitch is full on planning to talk to her mid battle, get her to say she’ll let us redeem her, then kiss her while sliding on the ring as she’s taken back by the action. That way, if someone DOES do a major hit on her, the death ward will activate and spare her enough time to flee. ✨

• not my DM going lol why do you think Kass has such strikingly similar struggles to Beth? 💀

thanks you’re just spurring on my delulu fantasy of them healing and getting together jade HFHDHDGFGB that just confirms Kass IS Beth’s NPC I’m hollering

[floatingcamel23]

this is part 2 of the megaverse cluster idea. lets jump right in shall we?

yesterday we talked about mixing 3 universes together: our world, the demon realm and the monsterverse. we discussed the possible relationships between humans and demons, the tensions between the demons and the catholic church and the threats of titans looming over both realms. lets add in another universe to the mix. this might have the biggest kill count if added but lets see.

universe 729 also known as the silent universe, has the humans of that universe almost extinct and needing to survive with silence. the reason is that a terrestrial alien organism has invaded and started to kill anything that makes sound. unlike modern depictions of aliens, these extraterrestrials act like animals. with long arms and the gravity of earth much lighter than their home planet, these creatures can chase down cars and run faster than Usain bolt. these aliens hunt with sound and anything sound over 50 decibels (from Matpats video) is bound to have the creature know your location. yes i am talking about the a quiet place universe. the creatures here are known as death angels as dubbed by the public. the one weakness the demon realm and human realm can use against the death angels is its super sonic hearing. just like in the movies, the US government might use the high pitched frequencies to make it open its face, revealing the soft tissue inside. they can then shoot the fleshy tissue to kill it. for the demon realm, they can use sound base magic to deter it and possibly make it explode as Matpat pointed out in his video. though what if they can tame it? they would make good guard dogs, be used in the military and even as service pets. meanwhile the death angels in the wild might adapt to its surrounding, becoming part of the natural ecosystem if possible.

universe 666 (you can guess what universe this is-) is just like our universe. until you die. known mostly as the hellaverse, when you die, you get transported to heaven and hell. hell actually does not look like the Christian hell that much, is populated with hell born, sinners, overlords, the seven deadly sins and the ruler, lucifer morningstar. within this depraved city of carnage and death, there are 7 rings based on the 7 deadly sins. starting with the surface level, pride. all sinners live here because they cant go down to the other rings. it is mainly inhabited with some hell born, sinners and the overlords. this ring is ruled over by lucifer Morningstar. next is wrath. home of the imps. these ring is a cowboys wet dream. its a dessert filled with sand, giant volcanoes and imps. this demon is one of the most common and are used as servants for high ranking demons. it is also populated with hell horses and other hellish fauna. this ring is ruled over by Satan. next is gluttony. this place is a whole party for different demons. mainly hell hounds live here but also imps. hell hounds are the lowest class of demons. they are used in slavery, war and as pets. this ring is ruled by Beelzebub. next is greed. the mafia hot spot. this ring is riddled with crime. the main residents are the loan sharks, clown demons and imps. this ring is ruled by Mammon. next is lust. if you wanna get laid, too bad cus like i said, sinners cant go to the other ring. the main inhabitants are the succubus and incubus. this ring is ruled by Asmodeus. next is envy. the underwater ring filled with shark demons and aquatic demons. it is ruled over by Leviathan. lastly there is sloth. this place contributes with their "medicine" and vets. it is ruled by Belphegor.

as of know, no one knows about hell and its system unless IMP slip up and let humans see them.

finally we have universe 1-UP. this is mainly known as the marioverse. filled with the inhabitants like mario, goombas and koopas, there might be good alliances with humans and demons with their friendly nature. but there is still the threat of bowser. so thats bad. anyway i shall leave this post up to you. what do you think @rainbowgod666 ?

[the-firebird69]

This individual yeah I probably might let someone else narrate

Hera

This person is very evil and he's the one standing up in the middle in the forefront too and. And he is the one who escaped and he is a wiley son of a b**** resourceful and it's always thinking of himself and he's a pig and an emotional basket case and very evil cuz he can become Sharp smart. He escaped and he climbed on the mountain 5 MI and he walked out 45 to 50 miles and he inspired something to happen later was hiding who he was and he did eat the person who was accused and the accused eight other people thinking that he ate people when in fact he was eating all the way to the Head and some of the face and some of the skin in the face and his facial recognition had changed and he was missing the bottom portion inside of it and he thought it was Tommy f will you see in the foreground on the right. He's extremely evil APB and warrants and information on his whereabouts will be requested he'll be sought globally because of the people who are involved Mac and Ben were on board and we're also eating some people and they eat a few and then we're caught and no our son says they were eating the food that was on board because they're selfish pigs and they noticed that it wasn't going to last and escaped and they had to one of them was becoming huge and was coming in and out and they needed to leave and brought weapons said they would just shoot him and he couldn't tell which one it was all of them have the ability to grow when they eat people

It was horrible and some people had it on satellite and no but we did and we had some creatures nearby and we watched Mac and Ben crawl to safety and they survived the ordeal and didn't talk about it and nobody asked them they thought they were question they said Dave can get big real easy but the others can get big too and the situation was right for it and they don't know who it was because a whole bunch of people were there and some were dead somewhere eating a lot of them staying out of sight hiding turns out that about 99% of them survived no all of them survived half of them were found as heads because whoever is eating people took the bodies with them it was not much of a hike for that person and he was pooping out disgusting stuff but he had to keep it up there are several moves movies out about this event and most of them were incorrect. You said today I don't want you to be that person dumber you said that it's not and he is but he's not really and Cena is not either he's just dumber. He's dumber than the person who committed the offense and Cena did not commit the offense. And there's an old myth about him that he is a giant and he is and he poisoned his brother and his brothers kind of thankful but it's a little Overkill and his brother is our son who is terrified of Dave he's always injuring him and harming him and trying to arrest him and kidnap him and UMass in a box and he blames people for stuff he believes him for a lot of things and he blamed Mac and Ben claimed Dahmer who sounds like dumber and Henry Cavill got it and said wow the kid needs help and who else but Superman strangely enough it seems like his technology whipping his body around and that was Terry cheeseman and he caught hell for it and he could not let it out. He walked out for himself only and he walked out on his family his friends and his kind and his brother and we're angry at him for it a lot of people do that these days it happens quite a bit and it happens because of the Max and their foul plan among other things the max warlock do it to people but they're driven to do it and made to do it to push people to do what Dave did they pushed Dave too hard the poor guy has a big heart for his family and his people and it ate him alive and it's in the song and Joe Watts listened and he wrote it and he sent it back because his brother said I don't know what happened to him he's gone or something and he was leaving back then he's getting meaner and meaner and he couldn't stop it and Joe Watts wants to see what it says and the staring down the barrel of the 45 he says Max are having the people do it this is what they're doing to me what are they doing to other people he went on to say about the weaponry it's important and it's how they do it and Joe wants to wants to know and he heard it from Dave you don't know how it works and he really doesn't he's not really doing anything

The criminal that escaped and ate everybody was Dave he knew that the head should be there he knew the brains would be intact and he didn't disturb the brains and he put the heads on one place so to be Frozen and they could rehabilitate them he also knew it would weaken them they'd be a new bodies and people would not recognize them instantly and it wears off and he's using that technique and he has part of Saturn and yeah they have their own cabinet up there cadmium Hera is doing okay two billion ships were warming up now it's 3 billion of the morlock and that will leave 4.9 billion if they lose these pseudo empire has six billion ships and they're approaching with only three and they are starting to move their engines are heated up some of their weaponry systems the pseudo empire is reloading rapidly and they've been doing it for 15 minutes they have ships going to and from their supplies massive numbers of them there's all these ships are about a quarter mile or 1/8 of a mile and they're going extremely fast and there's a stream and they're organized and they're layered and they have very quick machines loading and they're loading all their ships up to the hilt these fast ships are are going so fast you would not believe it to and from Earth and all over it is going to be a huge failure of the warlock and Daniel has taken the helm. And they don't have an admiral and mac daddy is thinking about it and Ben Arnold. So they're going to to him today now this is a momentous occasion and these people needed us and they're going to talk to him and it's going on like that and there's a bunch of things people need to know and Daniel was Captain for a long time and he was a brigadier general for ages and knows what he's doing. We're going to publish this is huge news they're going to put APB out on Dave but they understand why he did it and he kept them alive

Thor Freya

The name of the movie is alive now Dave hasn't been alive for ages and you guys responsible and so are the Max and what he did was far more merciful than anybody else would and he didn't have to let anybody escape it says it's the math but that's not really correct yeah I guess it is but still it's kind of merciful versus what he could have done and he could have tampered with people and more so you should be thankful in a way but outraged in another at this time he might have the upper hand and we don't know how it will turn out the max are gathering more and more power right now they look like the only container because they are

Zues

Hera

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Con Man's Daughter

Posting this because there isn't enough biodad! John Constantine content.

[Masterlist]

(Part 2)

-----

I feel like this should be a Damianette story or just platonic relationship after Jon got aged-up to seventeen and Damian wanted a friend his age but doesn’t want to admit it.

So basically there is this big bad in Gotham using magic that Batman was fighting at the time and enlisted John Constantine to help out.

John realizes that the villain is using a Miraculous.

“Oh. I think I know how he gets his powers. And lucky for you, Bats, I know an expert on this special brand of magic.”

And he did the smart thing and called up Marinette who at the time was already Guardian and was looking for other lost Miraculouses like in the Treasure Hunter AU I wrote.

He calls her at a really bad time. She was in the process of being chased by the guardians of the place. Monsters and evil spirits.

“Hello, Dad. What do you need and can you do it quickly?”

“Hey, sweetheart, it’s me. How is my little cupcake up to these days?”

“You called at a bad time.” Gunshots.

“WAS THAT A GUN I HEARD? WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, YOUNG LADY?!”

“Somewhere in Japan. Getting a Miraculous. And why can’t you call me to check in on me and not ask me to help you with whatever mess you got yourself into.” More gunshots sounds and it was telling that Marinette was using a gun.

“Where did you get a gun? And don’t you have school?”

“It’s summer break. Don’t worry Maman and Papa know. Well, the fact that I am in Japan anyways.” Marinette sounded a little out of breath. Roaring and horrifying sounds at the other end. “Can we do this later?”

“As it happens, there is a villain going around Gotham with what I think is a Miraculous.”

Swears on the other end.

“Oi. Watch your fucking language, young lady.”

“How about a No and move the fuck back, old man. I am coming over right now.”

“Old man? I am not that old-” as a magic blue portal opens up in the Bat Cave.

And a red Chinese dragon comes out with someone riding it.

Its rider was a black-haired girl. She had a trench coat similar to Constantine's. I imagine her with a fedora. Like Carmen Sandiego style but not red. Sometimes red but only when she has to steal it from a museum or high security places and she leaves a name card with the name Carmen Sandiego. A sword strapped to her back and a dagger to her thigh.

She had a gun in her hand which she used to shoot the monsters as it was halfway through the portal and yelled out the spell to close it.

“Brilliant entrance but you are in lots of trouble, little lady. What were you thinking about going to another country unsupervised? And isn’t there still a butterfly problem in Paris?”

“One, I wasn’t unsupervised. I had Tikki, a billion years old being and a sort of god. Two.Well, it got boring trying to track Hawk-bitch down. And I found this legend about a guy with a Miraculous who disappeared in the temple and thought hey, more miraculous could mean another edge to defeating Moth-man.”

More bickering and John grounding Marinette who was acting very nonchalant about it.

Okay, at this point, I should say that Batman and Robin are in the background trying to make some sense.

Batman is surprised to find out that Constantine has a daughter who is also involved in magic like her Father but an apparently more specialised kind called the Miraculous. He is a little miffed that he didn’t know about John having a daughter. He did consider it weird at first that she had a slight french accent unlike her father’s Liverpool accent although she pronounced some words like he does.

He also connected some dots that she is also the Parisian heroine, Lady Rouge who Wonder Woman introduced to the League a while back and had declined to join the Young Justice or Teen Titans until everything in Paris was resolved.

Damian on the other hand was suspicious of the new arrival and came to the same conclusion as his father about the daughter thing.

Batman after a few minutes, clears his throat.

The Constantines stop arguing.

“Bonjour. Batman. Robin. Pleasure to meet you. I am Mari Constantine and yes, I am this homeless looking man’s brilliant daughter.” “Hey”

“Well, Mari. Your father thinks you can help us with this new criminal turning Gotham upside down. Literally in some cases. He said that you might be able to help us.” Batman said as he pulled up zoomed in picture of the Miraculous.

Mari looks through the Miraculous grimoire and tells them all about it and power-ups, basically the most effective thing to defeat the guy is to get the Miraculous off them. Plus a spell that would make the Miraculous ineffective if casted within a certain radius of it.

“Thank you for the information, Mari. Constantine, let’s go.”

Mari made to follow them.

“You young lady are grounded and staying here.”

“I don’t need another supervillain using the Miraculous which are my responsibility as Guardian to retrieve them for their own misuse and wreaking havoc on the city. And what if there is an akuma in Paris? I can’t go there if I am grounded in the Batcave although it is a cool place to hang out.”

“You can portal back to Paris but you are not going to follow me. Understood?”

“yes. crystal”

“Good. After me and Batsy get the Miraculous, you can do your Guardian duties.”

Damian snickers. Until Batman cut his mood short, “You are staying behind too. Robin.”

“But Father, why? I am much more capable than Constantine.”

“Hey!” Both father and daughter.

Damian is staying behind too because of the Miraculous power or other reasons and keeps an eye on Mari.

Damian stays behind and there were some protests about mari mad about having a babysitter and Damian doesn’t want to be a babysitter. Despite the two of them being around the same age.

“I got an eye on you so no funny business.”

“Okay, Dad, I am not going to have sex with Robin.” Mari said with a shit- eating grin. Robin definitely didn’t blush.

“I hate you sometimes.”

“I love you too, Dad. Go save the world. Byee.”

John eyes her suspiciously because she is not one to give up that easily usually.

He casts a spell to watch her as they leave. and which she totally knew about.

“So...I have one question.”

“Tt, ask and don’t bother me anymore.”

“Is Batman Bruce Wayne?”

Damian looks up, totally caught off guard.

“I am going to take that as a yes.”

Puts sword at her neck. “How did you find out?!”

“Opened up Google Maps and saw that we are under Wayne Manor. Connected the dots. Also I already knew when Dad made a bet with me once to find out Batman’s secret identity but he never did confirm it for me. And can you please not tell your father about this? I don’t feel like being interrogated by the Bat in the future yet.”

“Father must know about this.”

“I saw you looking at Scarlet here. An animal lover then? You can give her some belly rubs. She deserves it after helping me outrun those monsters.”

His silence was brought. To pet a dragon.

One thing after another and he ends up bringing out his pets-Jerry the turkey, Goliath the dragon-bat, Titus- and her introducing him to her other pets like a hellhound, griffin and other mythical creatures who mostly roam free but come to her when she calls for them and also the kwamis, at least the ones who came with her.

After 30 mins have passed, “So Robin how do you feel about disobeying our fathers?”

“I am in.”

“Depends. Are we going after the (villain's name) ?”

“Yes.”

Awesome montage of them getting rid of the spell John casted and flying out of the Batcave on their respective giant flying pets to the villain’s base.

Meanwhile, their fathers are not doing so well and are trapped in a death trap. John can’t say the spell because the villain made him unable to talk.

“At least, the kids are staying put.”

Cut to Damian and Mari jumping off their pets and onto the roof. Taking out the guards posted there and going into the building all sneakily and also taking out the guards that come their way.

They dropped into the room where their fathers and the villain is.

“Why am I not surprised?”

Villain starts an evil monologue about his mastermind plan to which Damian cuts it short by trying to cut him down with his katana. Mari goes to deactivate the death trap.

They are evenly matched with Damian’s training and the Miraculous.

Mari steps in as Damian was about to be killed. Taps on the shoulder of the villain and when he turns around, gives an awesome right hook that knocks him out.

Takes away the Miraculous and curses him. Wiped the dude’s memories of it.

“When I said stay in the Batcave, I meant stay behind at the Batcave. What point of being grounded, don’t you understand?”

“You mean, Oh, Mari, light of my life, my wonderful daughter, thank you for saving my ass. You are the best.’ by that, right?”

-----

Mari and Damian exchanged numbers and email addresses.

As she was about to leave the Batcave, “It’s been nice meeting you, Mr. Wayne.” and leaves with a wink.

John ‘ungrounds’ her for the look on Batman’s face.

-----

After this, Marinette and Damian become friends who bitch and vent to each other about their alter egos and various villains of their respective cities. (In codes, just in case) They also share updates about their pets and love of drawings.

They have that type of friendship where they trade favors. Mari calls Damian to Paris sometimes to help out with the akuma of the day and Damian sometimes calls her in when Bruce doesn’t let him go investigate a case so he can sneak out by magical means or as back up for when his brothers were too annoying to deal with.

It’s summer break so no missing school.

John and Bruce are aware of their friendship and some of the shenanigans the pair gets into behind their back.

-----

-----

Right. how this all started...

John and Sabine first met when the latter was still in college somewhere in France. John was tracking down a demonic entity which was targeting Sabine for some reason and she was the next target.

John saved her life and exorcised the demon. There was a heat of the moment thing and they had a one-night stand. There were a few more flings and hook-ups after that night.

And nine months later, Marinette Cheryl Cheng-Constantine was born.

When Sabine first found out, she called John to come over and he thought that it was a call for another hook-up and was very surprised to find out that it was not and that he was going to be a father.

They both like each other but do not want to be in a relationship together so they both remained as friends and John agreed after some strong-arming at the very least to meet his daughter before he goes to do his job. And pay for child support. And help Sabine during her pregnancy.

Pregnant Sabine was someone you don’t want to mess with. And John has never met a demon or anyone scarier than her.

He was at first not into meeting his child and there was a self-pity party he threw himself with how the child was going to live a bad life because he was the dad and how he destroyed every good thing in his life.

That’s why he is going to meet the baby once and leave maybe a letter and the occasional birthday present and stay out of their life. Forever.

The day Marinette was born and it took one look into her eyes for the HellBlazer to fall under the spell and all of his plans to stay out of her life to burn away.

At first, he tried. He really tried but he couldn’t do it.

Lasted 4 months before he came back, wanting to place protection spells on her and sigils around the house to keep away the forces of Heaven and Hell and other entities so they won’t use her against him as a bargaining chip.

Sabine calls him to babysit. He could have refused and Sabine would have easily found a babysitter. He moans and whines about how he is a great mage and not a bloody babysitter. Sabine retorts that it is actually called parenting since he is Marinette’s father. He grumbles but in the end, agrees.

The great John Constantine is wrapped around the little girl’s finger.

He was around for some of Marinette’s firsts. Her first word was “John”.

It made him cry. He wasn’t a good man and he doesn’t deserve someone this precious. His daughter doesn’t deserve someone like him as a father but fate made it that way and what can you do about it.

After an exhausting week of doing the usual and coming back from Hell, he saw that Sabine had sent him a video. It was Marinette taking her first steps.

Chas swears that in all the years that he has known John Constantine he has never seen the man look so happy.

------

When Tom came into the picture, John was there to take care of a toddler Marinette while Tom and Sabine went on dates.

Insert John threatening a much bigger Tom while holding a baby Marinette with wide eyes and hugging a teddy bear with the same coat as John’s. (It was something Sabine brought on a whim and to tease John when he came around.)

Tom is supportive and treats Marinette like his own flesh and blood.

John resolved to leave for good now that Tom would be there to be a father figure for Marinette.

That plan fell into the drain the moment he was going to leave for what was supposed to be the last time before Sabine pulled him back and knocked some sense into him.

His face was a big giveaway. Sabine knows that despite his claims of being a terrible father for Marinette, he was a good one and damnit she was going to make sure that Marinette would get to know her actual father.

Tom later made an awkward talk with John about how he was not going to replace John’s role as Marinette’s father.

Marinette was the flower girl at Tom and Sabine’s wedding. John was there too.

During bedtime, John would read her stories and use his magic to make it come to life. Although he would feel a little drained afterwards, it was worth it to see her smile.

Sometimes he told stories about his tamer adventures. (After cutting out some of the inappropriate bits)

------

When Marinette was about 5 or 6, Sabine was out on an errand and Tom was at home with Mari and helping her with her homework. There was a crash downstairs at the bakery. Tom went down to check it out to find John lying on the ground.

With a weak cough, he said, “Close the door. Close it.” Before losing consciousness

Tom did before a man with pitch black eyes slammed against it.

Thankfully John had installed heavy wards around the bakery when it first opened.

They held against the demon on John’s tail. Tom brought John inside and unsure of what to do, grabbed a rolling pin on the counter.

The man outside started pounding on the glass door and every time his hands touched the door, light glowed outwards, showing the invisible magic barrier around the bakery. Sparks and steams fizzled with every pound.

Despite the reddening and burns of his hands, the not-human didn’t slow down.

“ʝօɦռ....ʏօʊ ӄռօա ȶɦǟȶ ɨȶ'ֆ օռʟʏ ǟ ʍǟȶȶɛʀ օʄ ȶɨʍɛ ɮɛʄօʀɛ ɨ ɮʀɛǟӄ ȶɦʀօʊɢɦ ȶɦɛֆɛ աǟʀɖֆ. օռƈɛ ɨ ɢɛȶ ʏօʊ,” He laughs, the sound sends chills down the large man’s spine, “ȶɦɛʀɛ ǟʀɛ ֆօ ʍǟռʏ ȶɦɨռɢֆ ɨ ɦǟʋɛ քʟǟռռɛɖ ʄօʀ ʏօʊ.”

Tom knew that Marinette’s father was a con man. Come on, Master and Practitioner of the Dark Arts and Occult. But he was a good father nonetheless despite all his flaws and Sabine liked him enough so that was good enough for him.

Before today, magic was just the sleight of hands and use of fancy tools to sell the illusions. Now, with a could-be-a-demon knocking on his door to get to the father of the girl he sees as his daughter, he’s not so sure.

“Tom? Qu'est-ce qui se passe? (What’s going on?)” A little voice came from the stairs, “Dad!” Marinette padded across the floor to the body of her passed out father.

She shook him awake and there were a few soft slaps to the face.

“Dad, what’s happened?”

John mumbles, “Demon…. possessing some rich guy….. Exorcism…. Doesn’t like me very much…Don’t worry...wards going to hold.”

John manages to stand before falling down and Tom catches him before he hits the floor. He has a concussion. Tom turns to Marinette, “Go, Hide and don’t come out until It’s safe.” which she did

Unfortunately, a while later, Sabine returns from her night out and the demon upon seeing Sabine. “ɛӼƈɛʟʟɛռȶ..”

The demon possessed Sabine and the previously possessed dude hit the sidewalk with a thud.

“ɨռȶɛʀɛֆȶɨռɢ....” The voice coming out of Sabine didn’t sound like her mother which scared Marinette a lot. “օքɛռ ȶɦɨֆ ɖօօʀ օʀ,”the demon pulled a knife out of thin air, ,“ȶɦɨֆ ɮօɖʏ ɢɛȶֆ ɨȶ.”

Tom hesitated until the demon put the knife on Sabine’s neck and put enough force for a thin line of blood to be shown.

He opens the door and the demon knocks him out. Stepping over his unconscious body and looking down on it, “ʄօʀ ȶɦǟȶ, ɨ ǟʍ ɢօɨռɢ ȶօ ʟɛȶ ʏօʊ ʟɨʋɛ ʊռȶɨʟ ɨ ǟʍ ɖօռɛ աɨȶɦ ʝօɦռ, օʄ ƈօʊʀֆɛ.” and cackles. The sound was so wrong and unnerving and little Marinette tried very hard for her sobs not to be heard.

Too bad the demon had super hearing. “Come out, my little blossom. Maman is home. Why don’t you come out and give me a hug?”

It sounded so much like her mother and she nearly believed that it was her mother and not some entity in control of her body.

But she knew better from John’s stories of dealing with demons and how they would use the voice of loved ones to lure them out and into a trap. (Definitely not something one should tell as a bedtime story but Marinette was very different and had an unconventional childhood with John Constantine as her father.)

Wait...she got struck with an idea but she wasn’t sure if it would work.

Before she could do anything, the door of the cabinet she was hiding in was opened and she was dragged out.

The demon lifted her a few feet above the ground by the collar of her dress.

It heard Marinette saying something. “աɦǟȶ ǟʀɛ ʏօʊ ֆǟʏɨռɢ ƈɦɨʟɖ, ֆքɛǟӄ ʟօʊɖɛʀ?”

“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica.” Marinette was now screaming the words at the top of her lungs. She repeated the spell over and over again with fierce determination.

John, being his paranoid self, taught her the spell for an exorcism, just in case. Demons spared no one, not even a girl.

It screamed “NO….” as Sabine’s body contorted in strange angles before a dark shadow seemed to be dragged down into the ground. It made a desperate attempt to possess John before it was pulled away and disappeared. There was no sign that there was a demon attack.

After John woke up, he managed to piece together that his 5-years-old (Sorry 5 and a half) daughter sent a demon back to hell.

He was a very proud dad. (He was a tad worried about the consequences from this event and demons hold one hell of a grudge. He wanted his daughter to live a very safe and happy life. The bakery’s wards also need an upgrade.)

He also got the job of explaining what he actually did to Tom. And lots of reassuring.

Sabine, on one hand, was not happy that Marinette knew how to do magic. That is until John told her that he did it just in case so she can protect herself and later it was agreed that Marinette can learn some Magic spells and charms to better protect herself and when she is older, she can decide if she wants to continue or not.

----

(Part 2)

[lonely-lost-soul]

Of Immortality and Nymphs

(Philza Minecraft x Reader)

Request 2: Just c!philza simping over reader!!

Requested by: Anonymous 

(Okay maybe I got a little carried away with this one...) 

~~~

     He met her for the first time when he was a young man, who barely understood the world around him. Messing with things he shouldn’t was his specialty so when he heard there used to be Nymphs in the nearby forests, he just had to find out if they were extinct or not. Phil flipped through his worn journal and tapped his quill on the paper, he wanted to document his journey to finding the supposedly mythical creature. After all, this was one of his first real adventures all by himself he wouldn’t accept any form of defeat. He popped the cork off the invisibility potion he had and downed it with one swig. Phil, now hidden, wandered into the forest of the last known location, of the last recorded Nymph. Not being visible to the creatures in the forest allowed Phil to take in the beauty of nature around him, he could get close to the animals and see them in their natural habitat. The forest was beautiful, sunlight peeking in through the leaves of the trees, it was magical. He placed his hand on the trees running his hand over the bark with a smile, Phil heard a soft twinkling in his ear, and his head shot up. Always trigger happy he put his hand on his sword, in the middle of a nearby clearing stood a beautiful woman with gorgeous (h/c) hair. Flowers and leaves seemed to be interwoven within the strands, her ears were elf-like in appearance adorned with gold piercings. Her dress flowed in the wind, it was a soft almost translucent green decorated with leaves, in her hand was a baby chick. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, it was clear she was the Nymph that the old stories were talking about, thank god for the invisibility potion. 

Pulling out his journal once more he began to sketch a picture of the elegant woman, he didn’t want to forget her face. The man looked up once more to finish up the sketch and the Nymph was gone, he frowned sadly, he did hope he could get to talk to her. 

     “What’re you drawing?” Phil snapped his notebook shut letting out a startled yelp, he turned to look at the figure beside him. The potion must’ve worn off when he wasn’t looking, however beside him was said Nymph. His jaw almost dropped open, did she have no self-preservation? “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!” She stepped a few steps back and he held out his arm to stop her. 

     “No! No, you’re alright!” He put his hand to his heart, “I’m Phil. and you are?” 

     “(Y/n). Are you human?” 

     “Tragically,” Phil gave her a little smile as she tilted her head curiously. “Are you a Nymph?” You looked a little hesitant, he watched as your ears twitched in an undeniably cute way. He felt himself melt a little as you gave a nod, 

     “A Meliae if you want to get specific,” you smiled fondly giving him a teasing wink. Opening his notebook again he scribbled that down next to the figure drawing of you, you sat down in front of him watching in awe, “Is that your language’s written system?” Looking back up at her curious expression Phil once again felt his heartbeat speed up in his chest. 

     “It is. You’re very clever,” He hummed and was delighted in the way you flushed up to the tips of your ears. You waved him off, 

     “I’m not that clever. When you’ve been around as long as I have you pick up on certain things,” He watched you carefully as you sat down beside him resting on your knees. Curiously Phil tilted his head,

     “How long have you been around?”

     “Don’t you know it’s rude to ask a woman her age?” She shot back a grin on her features, oh Phil was in love. Nymphs did tend to have that effect on people, people fall hard and fast for them, but Phil didn’t care. 

     “My apologies, that was rude of me huh?”

     “Very.” She teased with a snicker, “I’ve honestly lost count at this point.” 

     “You’ve lost track? So you’re immortal then?” Phil’s entire face lit up the excitement prevalent on his features, “Tell me everything.” He pleaded, with a soft laugh you began to share your tale with the man in front of you. Phil was enamored she had lived more lifetimes than he could begin to comprehend, what he wouldn’t do to have that gift. The duo talked long into the evening and well into the next morning, Phil knew he had to head home soon. Not that he had anyone waiting for him back home, but he couldn’t stay with her forever as much as he wanted to. “When can I see you again?” He whispered taking your hands within his own, he couldn’t help but notice how soft they were for someone living in a forest. You hesitantly pressed your finger to his earring, 

     “They’ll start to glow whenever I’m near. So you can always find me,” You whispered cupping his cheek in your hand, he felt himself lean into it. “I’ll see you soon Phil,” You leaned forward pressing a tender kiss to his lips before disappearing in a flurry of flowers and leaves. Phil let out a shaky breath bringing his fingers to his lips a wild smile appearing across them. He opened his journal one last time adding ‘great kissers’ to his list of things about the Nymph of the forest. 

They met many more times after that, and with each meeting, Phil only fell more and more in love with her. He wanted to protect you and keep you safe especially after telling him that Nymphs were hunted for their tears that give immortality but now without the expense of the Nymph. Yet even with his pleading, you wouldn’t leave the forest you called home. You told him maybe one day you could, but you were the only Nymph protecting the forest and you had to stay to protect your home. Ever the gentleman Phil would drop the conversation and steer it into another direction said direction ended with a lot of kissing. 

As the years flew by Phil found himself growing older and you remaining the same and as beautiful as ever, he wanted to be immortal with you. He never wanted to lose you, so he made a deal with the God of undying, sacrificing his three lives for one immortal life so he could remain by your side forever. He’d also have to give up part of his humanity, he was bestowed giant black crow-like wings. But he’d do anything so long as he got to be by your side for the rest of eternity. Phil didn’t want to tell you at first, afraid you’d be mad but it was hard to hide giant black wings and the man could never stay far away from you. When he finally saw you again you knew what went down practically immediately. Surprisingly you took it much better than he originally thought, you seemed to flattered beyond belief but also pissed as hell. Desperately you tried to explain to him that immortality wasn’t a gift but a curse, seeing the world change around you while you stay young forever wasn’t as fun as it sounded. The man scoffed, shooting back a comment of his own about how he didn’t want to imagine a world without you by his side. You didn’t deserve to lose someone you loved just because they were mortal and he stood by that.

He watched your face scrunch up, cheeks turning pink at his sentiment. Mostly because you were melting around his words and he knew it too by the smirk evident on his features. Phil locked eyes with you and smiled endearingly, 

     “I love you.” 

     “I’m pregnant.” 

     “Fucking what-” He choked on his spit any argument that started before fizzled out the minute you had told you said those two words to him. He felt his features morphed in surprise before wrapping you in a tight suffocating hug. That only solidified his choices, he made the right decision, he needed to stay by you and your child’s side so long as the universe allowed him to. 

However, things weren’t all peaches and rainbows as the world changed to a dark and dismal place once more. Forests were being burned and destroyed and humans once again discovered the existence of Nymphs and wanted to hunt them down for sport. Things were dangerous, way too dangerous for you and the newborn son you shared with Phil. Reluctantly you and Phil came to a decision, to protect your baby you needed to leave, it was the only way to keep them safe. You held the baby close to your chest, tears swelling in your eyes as Phil kissed your cheeks trying to shush you softly. “It’s alright…” His voice was gentle, his big hand caressing the boy’s chocolate brown curls. 

     “It’s not alright. Phil...I don’t wanna leave you or Wilbur.” Your voice quivered and Phil’s heart shattered in pieces, “But his safety comes first.” You brought the baby up to your lips and kissed his forehead, he giggled sweetly trying to squish his mother’s cheeks. You laughed as he did so, “My sweet, lovely boy. I’ll have to leave you for a while, I don’t want to but you need to be kept safe. I…” Phil frowned watching as you choked up once more, “I’m not safe.” Even through your tears, Phil thought you were beautiful, “You can’t tell him about me…” 

     “(Y/n) I can’t- That’s just not fair-” You shushed him with a kiss to his lips, passing Wilbur off to him. 

     “If he’s anything like his father he’ll lose his mind searching for his mother. He needs to live his life.” You reached up holding Phil’s chin on your pointer finger, “He has to live life to its fullest, Nothing can hold him back. It has to stay this way until I can come back. Which I will...hopefully it won’t be too long.” You smiled up at him and Phil took in a shaky breath, 

     “What if I ruin him.” His voice was painfully tight holding his grip on Wilbur tightening as well, it made the baby squirm. You shushed him softly, pressing a kiss to his lips, his scruff tickling your chin. To him the kisses always felt electric, never devoid of passion and adoration, he leaned forward to chase those addicting lips as you pulled away. 

     “You won’t ruin him, you’re the most gentle and kind man I’ve ever met. You took care of me all these years, you’ll be amazing for Wilby.” Phil watched as you kissed Wilbur one last time before stepping away with a shaky breath. “Just be as good to him as you are to me,” You both heard the crunch of leaves, it caused you to jump a little looking around the forest frantically. 

     “Go. We’ll be fine. Just stay safe and come back to us okay?” You could only nod at him before disappearing in a gust of leaves and flowers. Phil felt his heartache and he jolted as Wilbur began to cry seemingly already missing the presence of his mother. “Oh Wilbur hush, hush for me please,” His father pleaded as he began to rock him gently this was going to be a lot harder than he would ever anticipate, but to keep you safe he’d give up the entire world. 

~~~

Decades went by, Phil had not only Wilbur to watch over but three more idiotic kids, others adopted of course. Wilbur had grown up into a strapping young man, got married, and had a son, you would be so proud of him. You’d spoil Fundy rotten, he just knew you would, he was sure you’d also spoil Tommy and Tubbo. Not to mention you’d force your motherly affection all over Technoblade and he wouldn’t have a choice but to open up to you. 

However, none of them even knew you existed, lies were told about who Wilbur’s mother was when any of them asked and it killed him on the inside to lie about you. Eventually, Wilbur just stopped asking, most likely assuming something bad happened that Phil never wanted to discuss with him. Something far too painful to even tell his son about,

 Which was half right he supposed. 

It started like any other day, Tommy and Wilbur were messing around with Dream, something about discs and war that Phil didn’t particularly care about. Wilbur had come over once again to plead with Phil for aid in the war, but once again he refused him. This time he even brought Fundy along thinking that seeing his grandson might change the older man’s mind. However, he still refused knowing it wasn’t going to end well in the long run even if Wilbur did win. Sometimes kids had to make their own mistakes to learn about the future. It’s not like he hadn’t told Wil it wouldn’t end well, he did multiple times, but the kid was just as stubborn as he was and wasn’t going to back down. 

“Dad, please. If you’d just join in we’d slay Dream and his team, all the fighting will come to an end. The nation I’m trying to create would finally be free and safe. Just help me.” Wilbur pleaded, a small whine slipping into his voice as he followed Phil and his son into the forest, “We can establish our new nation and be free from tyranny. No more war, isn’t that what you keep advocating for?” Wilbur continued to rant, not helping at all with his chores, his voice grew soft suddenly, and Fundy grabbed onto the sleeve of his jacket. 

     “What is it, kid?”

     “Your earring’s glowing pops.” Fundy pointed to his ear and Phil froze in place the wood that he collected falling out of his hands, scattering all over the forest floor.

     “Dad?” Wilbur repeated his voice growing louder in concern, Phil looked around the clearing frantically before bolting in a random direction. 

     “Grandpa!?” Fundy yelled chasing off after him, his tail puffing up anxiously, 

     “Fundy don’t just run off!” 

Phil didn’t stick around to hear them, you were around here somewhere the question was where. His heart was beating erratically in his chest, please, please god let him find you. He didn’t have to wait long, he’d recognize you anywhere you still looked the same. Standing in the middle of a flower field you looked over your shoulder, “(Y/n)! Darling!” He called out choking a little on his words, your (e/c) eyes blew wide and he heard you laugh. You ran up to him flowers growing in your wake, you launched himself at the man and he lifted you in his arms. He spun you around laughing in disbelief, using his wings you both floated in the air, he cradled the back of your head with his hand, “I can’t believe you’re here.” Phil whispered, pulling away to cup your cheeks with your hands, “you’re real.”

     “Of course I’m here silly goose. I told you I’d come back didn’t I?” You laughed fondly as he began to pepper your face in kisses, “Even if it is way later than I intended…” You trailed off with a small wince, 

     “Who cares. You’re here now and you’re safe.” He landed a kiss on your lips as you kissed him back. You tasted just as he remembered like fresh air and oranges, he wanted to swallow you whole. He never wanted to let you go again, and he never would if he had a say in the matter. 

      “Dad? What the fuck?” Wilbur blurted as Fundy and he came upon the clearing, you pulled away from Phil. Tears filling your eyes, your hands coming up to cover your mouth, Phil rested a hand on the small of your back. 

     “Wilby…” She whispered, stumbling towards the man reaching out towards him, he raised an eyebrow and flinched away from your touch. You pulled your hand back taking a little breath,

     “I’m sorry. How do you know my name?” From behind you, Phil flinched; he knew that’s what you wanted, for him not to remember you. But, fuck he felt guilty about it, he was about to feel even more guilty in a minute. 

     “She’s your mom Wilbur.” 

     “Fucking WHAT.” Wilbur sputtered taking a few steps back from the woman, “You told me my mom was a fridge!”

     “You told him what.” You turned towards Phil, eyes blazing with annoyance, he held his hands up in surrender. “Why would you tell him his mother was a fridge! I know I told you to lie but a fridge! Phil that’s not even physically possible!” You scolded the man crossing your arms over your chest, his face flushed a bright red. He even missed you yelling and scolding him, he was down bad. 

     “(Y/n) I panicked-” Phil started to explain and you cut him off with an eye roll. “I’m sorry okay, I love you.” 

Meanwhile, Wilbur and Fundy looked in between the two adults rapidly as they talked. Both equally shocked and at a loss for words, Wilbur took a step forward and grabbed your wrist. 

     “Please continue your explanation,” He commanded softly, “If you are my mom why did you leave? Why haven’t you been here?” Wilbur frowned as he watched you look away from him, 

     “How much do you know about Nymphs Wilbur?” Wilbur turned bright red and the color reached up onto the tips of his ears, “What?”

“My mom’s a Nymph.” Fundy spoke up in place of Wilbur, “her name’s Sally. I...I’m Wilbur’s son.” He watched your face melt and mouth a broken ‘son?’, Phil noticed and walked up to squeeze your hand. You had missed so much, you hoped you didn’t blame yourself, you and Phil lived too long to live with that many regrets. 

     “What happened to her?” You asked tenderly, 

     “Killed.” Wilbur said bluntly, “by hunters. Don’t worry, I made sure to dispose of them.” 

     “I-I’m so sorry.” You spoke and Wilbur couldn’t help but feel compelled into your arms. Something about you just made him want to melt into your body, he knew Phil was right in the end. You were his mother through and through, I mean the shared pointed ears said enough. 

     “Is that why you left?” Fundy asked walking over to stand beside Wilbur, Fundy’s ears pressing against his head. They both watched you nod and Phil tightened his grip on your arm, you took in another deep breath. His hand moved to wrap securely around your waist, he was here for you. He’d always be here for you.

     “When you were born, the hunters were far worse, there were much more of them. Greater numbers and they sniffed out Nymphs like hunting dogs to a rabbit. I couldn’t keep a newborn baby safe, especially one that was half Nymph...Which probably explains why Fundy’s part fox, he has more Nymph in him.” The fox hybrid seemed to light up at even the inclination that he was special in any way, shape, or form. “It was safer for me to be as far away from the both of you as possible, and I was right considering you grew up into a handsome young man with a family of his own.” You chuckled fondly leaning into Phil’s touch. “But I can understand if you don’t trust me or want to get to know me,” You smiled sadly at the man Fundy spoke up before Wilbur could. 

     “No! We want to get to know you grandma!” He blurted taking your hands in his own, you melted at the adorable way his eyes lit up. You glanced up at Wilbur who Phil totally wasn’t threatening with his eyes, 

     “I…” The man looked hesitant, but as he stared into your warm eyes once more he felt encapsulated within them. His longing for a motherly figure in his lips came back at full force and washed over him like a tidal wave. He had a mother and she was safe and here and willing to come back into his life if he was ready. 

Was he ready? Why did he feel ready?

     “Fuck that hesitance she’s grandma,” You let out a delighted laugh ruffling up Fundy’s hair, his tail wagging elatedly behind him. 

     “Don’t spoil him, love.”

     “Fuck you, I’m spoiling the hell out of my grandson. Gotta make it up to him somehow.” Fundy’s tail only wagged harder as he wrapped you in a tight hug, you hugged him back just as tightly. 

     “Hey, Hey move over champion. I get to hug my mom now.” Wilbur snapped defensively, as Fundy snickered only looking up at him mischievously hugging you tighter. You laughed in delight seeing Wilbur huff, Phil melted against you in relief. Wilbur’s face was scrunching up the exact way you do when you’re pissed, he smiled against the side of your head. Wilbur pushed his son to the side gently and wrapped his arms around you in a hug, he towered over you but couldn’t help but bury his face in your neck. You cooed softly and ran your fingers through his hair, he was gone the moment you did so, melting in your arms completely. 

Without you noticing Phil took a step away from the group just to admire the moment from an outsider’s perspective. For what felt like the hundredth time that hour Phil felt light, he felt like the weight of the world was off his shoulders. Everything was right in the universe again, you were finally holding your not-so-little boy in your arms again after all these years. Even if you did have a fox hanging off you as well, Phil let out a soft chuckle looking at the three with adoration. A long time ago he gave up his mortality and humanity for you, after you left he had pleaded to the gods once more, he swore he would give up anything for just one more day with you by his side. They had ignored his wishes, they knew without a doubt you’d be back in his arms again, and this time he wouldn’t have to give up a single thing. 

~~~

Okay but actually I had so much fun writing this??? Maybe even a Pt. II?