#a way could be found to prevent the code corruption from spreading

[codgod]

slime, mariana, codeflippa, juanaflippa, and tilin all made it off the island together and are now causing mayhem in the world at large as a family. roier and cellbit and jaiden and bobby and richas are there also. and they’re all happy and healthy and smiling. this is real trust me 👍

[phoenixyfriend]

Anakin and the Jedi Babies: Where There’s a Whill, There’s a Windu

Context: original post, chrono

(Summary of the AU: Disaster lineage got tossed back in time. Anakin stayed 21-ish, but Obi-Wan and Ahsoka got deaged, took new names for time-travel reasons (Ylliben and Sokanth, or Ben and Soka) and have been officially adopted by Anakin.)

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

“You’re attached.”

“You’re just now noticing?”

Master Windu eyes him for a few long moments, and then joins him on the ground. Anakin can’t help but smirk. There’s something gratifying about having respect from the man, in this life.

“The other members of the council are concerned.”

“And you aren’t?”

“I am, but for other reasons,” Windu says.

Anakin doesn’t meet his eyes, doesn’t even respond for a long minute. He just looks out over the Room of a Thousand Fountains, spread out below them like hundreds of jungles pieced together in a jigsaw of flora. It’s been his favorite room in the Temple since he was a child, and it’s always overwhelming.

“Most of them have accepted that you adopted them because of Mandalorian customs, and that you stayed where you were due to the will of the Force,” Windu continues. “But they are… uncomfortable with how blatantly your attachments show.”

“Mandalorians are loud and refuse shame. It rubbed off.”

“You said you would kill for these children.”

“I’m their father. That’s kind of expected.”

Windu’s expression is tired. A little tired of stress, but mostly tired of Anakin’s shit. “You know what I’m trying to get at.”

“Do I?”

“Skywalker.”

“No, I’m serious. I need you to spell this out. I’ve had a million slightly-contradicting lectures on this topic, and I’ve been told pretty clearly that I misinterpreted a solid half of them. If you want a constructive conversation, you can’t be vague. I’m thirty-three years old and a father of two, Master Windu, so yes, I’m attached. What you mean by that word is going to change where this conversation goes.”

It’s gratifying to see the Master actually think it over.

“Ylliben’s tattoos have been causing the most recent stir,” Windu finally says. “They nearly all relate to family, whether new or old, and the symbolism is concerning to those who are already upset about the Mandalorian upbringing. They worry that he’ll remain too tied to people he grew up with, and unable to maintain neutrality in future diplomatic ventures, or at risk of a fall if one of the people he’s seen fit to memorialize is injured or killed. The assume a similar state of mind may be applicable to your daughter and yourself, especially given the off-color jokes about how possessive your children are about each other.”

“They’re worried about emotional immaturity,” Anakin summarizes. He offers a wan, unimpressed grin. “They do realize he’s fourteen, right? Nobody’s emotionally stable at fourteen. The hormones are out of whack.”

“I’m aware,” Windu grinds out. “And I’m aware that your histories, of war and all such things, make your ties much stronger, but you can see why the Council worries, especially those who are wary of the memories your children carry but won’t explain. I’m the only one you’ve told, Skywalker.”

“Plo and Depa know.”

“Plo and Depa aren’t on the council.”

“Yet.”

“Skywalker.”

He relents. “It’s not about Mandalore, Master Windu. It’s about Tatooine.”

Windu lets that sit for a few moments, and then sighs. “I don’t know enough about Tatooine to parse that.”

“Shmi and I are former slaves,” Anakin says, as bluntly as he can. “I was freed at nine, she at eleven, and for all that we are free, we’re not freeborn. We were born slaves, and raised slaves, and we were freed too late to forget that life. The way we think is always going to be affected by the way we grew up. That applies to all sentients, more or less, but it’s… the slave mentality is completely at odds with Jedi teachings, because Jedi teachings can only be taught in a safe environment.”

Windu nods slowly, and says, “That does make sense, but it’s… forgive me, but that’s why we don’t normally take children older than four.”

“From the perspective of teaching cultural values, that makes sense,” Anakin allows. “Teaching a Jedi child that’s cared for with communal resources that they do not need material things to be happy is fine; trying to convince a slave child of the same, someone who grew up being told they do not deserve material things, and that their owner can take anything at any time, including family? I lived that life, trying to adjust to ascetic Jedi values that coincided poorly with slave rules. I know exactly how poorly that transition can go when the person caring for the child doesn’t know how to handle the points of conflict.”

“Do you regret joining the Jedi?” Windu asks.

Anakin shakes his head. “My Jedi master, bless him, cared, and tried very hard, but he wasn’t ready to handle a kid like me and in hindsight, I know that. He needed grief counseling, and I needed therapy, and neither of us was getting it. I don’t… I don’t believe anyone in the Temple would have known how to handle a kid like me.”

“But you don’t regret it.”

“I was meant to be a Jedi,” Anakin says, as firmly as he can without getting unnecessarily bitchy about it. “My struggles with the Code aside, I was meant to be here. But the Temple doesn’t have any resources for children who come older, and I think… I think you do need that.”

“You just outlined why a child can’t follow the Code if they come from a different enough background,” Windu says.

Anakin shakes his head. “No, that’s not—I think a kid like me can learn to be a Jedi, if a little unconventional, if they’re taught correctly. The desperation to cling to anyone and anything you have can be unlearned. It takes time and effort, but it’s possible. Soka and Ben are good at balancing Tatooine care with Jedi control. If you talk to Ben, you get an entire philosophical breakdown about it, but I’m more concerned with the child psychology, because that’s what could have broken me.”

Windu frowns. “You’re building up to something.”

“I think the Jedi need programs for children found older who can’t become full Jedi,” Anakin asserts. “Even those who cannot reconcile what they absorbed growing up with the Code and Jedi tradition… they, we, need guidance. The Council tried to reject me for being too old, and now that I’m grown I understand why, but… Master Windu, what do you think would have happened to me if I hadn’t had my Master to fight for me, and had been turned away?”

“We’d have looked into placing you back with your mother and, upon finding out that she was still enslaved, secured her freedom,” Master Windu says. “Qui-Gon Jinn had taken responsibility for you, and thus you were a ward of the Temple until such a time as you were safe again. It would have been cruel to keep you from your mother if we were not to raise you a Jedi, and crueler still to allow you to return to slavery.”

“And you think I’d have been safe with her?” Anakin asks. He needs Master Windu to understand this. “You think that would have ended well?”

“You don’t?”

“Ventress,” Anakin says. “Maul. Aurra Sing, even.”

Windu considers that. He looks across the grand, green room of the garden, and finally speaks. “You think you’d have been found and corrupted by a Sith.”

“I’d already helped Naboo win a battle. I was a powerful child with no support system in this respect, eager to please,” Anakin says. “Ventress and Maul both got twisted into Sith Apprentices. Aurra Sing was just a bounty hunter, but… even if the Jedi had never found me, and the Sith remained unaware, do you think I’d have ended up better than Sing? Or would the pressures of slavery have led to my Fall anyway, eventually slaughtering my owner, the Hutts, the entire system of Tatooine’s hells?”

Windu rubs a hand over his forehead. “I understand what you’re getting at.”

“It’s not just me,” Anakin says, as carefully as he can. “Even without the Sith, there are plenty of Force-Sensitive children in terrible situations that are liable to Fall just because of how power is wielded by those at the bottom. Refusing to take on students who are already at risk… the Jedi are meant to monitor Force users to prevent Sith and other dark-aligned people from harming the galaxy. It’s one of our primary duties. If the Jedi are allowing darksiders to rise just because of an age limit…”

“I get it,” Windu says, just a little aggressive. “I understand. Give me a minute.”

Anakin tries to wait. He’s older now, he can do that. He can be patient.

He tries to convince himself that it’s true.

“You have a point,” Master Windu finally allows. “And with the knowledge that the Sith are out there, still, it’s a more salient point than most would think. The EduCorps already has a subdivision for teaching meditative techniques to low-level force users who need to learn shielding but aren’t sensitive enough to be Jedi, or are just too old, but I see your point about encouraging a program for powerful Force-Sensitives that aren’t discovered early enough to integrate into the community in full.”

“And a more comprehensive Search pattern for the Outer Rim?” Anakin suggests. He shrugs at the look he gets. “What? You’ve seen my midicount. I was on Tatooine for almost a decade, and the only reason anyone found me was that Qui-Gon had to crash a ship in the middle of nowhere. I’m sure the Force led him to me, given all the coincidences, but that’s still a solid nine years that nobody did, despite how I apparently ‘shine like the sun’ or whatever.”

“Humble.”

“The last time I took a midichlorian test on a portable counter, it literally broke the device. That’s not arrogance, that’s just absurd.”

Windu looks exhausted by the comment. Anakin can’t bring himself to feel too bad about it.

“What about Jedha?” Anakin suggests instead. “Jedi find the kids, but if they’re too old to be Jedi, we could coordinate with one of the temples at Jedha to see about having them raised in the traditions of the Whills? They’re a little less orthodox, aren’t they?”

“In some respects,” Master Windu says. “More constrained in others, but… it’s a possibility. Most of the overlooked children, yourself included, are from parts of the Outer Rim that aren’t part of the Republic, Skywalker.”

Anakin shrugs. “And many of them would have been happy to be found and collected by a Jedi, even if they couldn’t become Jedi. Not the Dathomiri, since they’ve got their own thing going on, but… from what I know about Ventress, she actually did have a Jedi Master before the situation on Rattatak became… what’s the word… untenable? He died and she was left alone, and she’d been a slave already and it just… did not end well for her. But that was a planet overrun by pirates and warlords, and would have been approved as a planet the Jedi could help without it being a weird colonialism thing… if the Senate weren’t made up of cheapskates, at least.”

“Skywalker.”

“My name isn’t actually a reprimand, you know.”

“You’re not supposed to just say that,” Windu groans, running a hand over his face. “The Senate’s choice in funding is not optimal, but insulting them in that way, even in private—”

“They’re assholes,” Anakin says, and doesn’t let his humor show. “Except my late wife, but she’s not part of the Senate in this time, so I feel no shame in accusing the entire shitshow of being cheapskates.”

Windu looks about ready to push him off the ledge.

“You’re never allowed to go on diplomatic missions, are you?” Windu mutters.

“Unless it’s to Mandalore,” Anakin clarifies. “Also, never send me to Tatooine. Ever. Please. I kriffing hate that planet.”

“I’m going to assume you have plans to kill a Hutt if we ever send you to—”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Windu sighs. “I’ll discuss this with the Council, see how they feel about reaching out to Jedha for your suggestion regarding the Whills.”

“And you’ll tell them not to worry about my kids?”

“Skywalker, they are never going to stop worrying about your family,” Windu tells him.

“That’s fair.”

[pthalomars]

Synopsis of Jay's Empire AU⚡⚡

[[Made by me and @culturalmochi ]]

The way it starts out is that Jay goes on a solo mission, finds the hard drive for Prime Empire, and gets trapped in the game.

Nobody knows where he went, so the ninja are desperately trying to find him.

Time in game moves a lot faster than in real life, so a few weeks for the ninja is a few months (close to a year) inside of the game.

Jay met Scott and he showed him the ropes of the game, but tried to subtly warn him about Unagami. Jay spent a lot of time leveling up and grinding so he could get high stats, but later found out that he wasn't able to leave or communicate with the outside world. Enter Unagami.

Unagami tells Jay that he sees potential in him, and that he's impressed with his progress through the game. They begin to have a sort of mentor/mentee kind of relationship.

Once again, time moves much faster in game. So jay starts to miss the real world and tells Unagami that he misses his friends. Unagami tells Jay, "if they were really your friends, they would have come back for you by now, wouldn't they?"

Later on, Jay is approached by none other than the ninja! His dearest friends finally coming back to rescue him and bring him home!

But as he spends more time with them, something feels... wrong. It turns out they're NPC's, and in his mission objective list, it says he has to "discard" them. So he does, and they crumble into little pixelated cubes. He levels up.

This repeats several times, each time the ninja dupes become more rude, indifferent, hateful. At some point they become so far removed from their true counterparts that the only thing in common they share is their appearances.

Then comes the time where Unagami is ready to open the game to the rest of the world. He brings Jay to help him spread the word by broadcasting an advertisement for Prime Empire.

That's when the ninja find out where Jay has been this whole time.

So the real gang enters Prime Empire and find Jay, who looks displeased to see them even if he tries to hide it.

Everyone is so happy to see him and to bring him out of the game, surrounding him with hugs and tears of joy.

But then Jay checks his objectives. "Discard the ninja". It's the same as it's always been, so he goes along with it.

But as Jay journeys with his friends through the game, he slowly comes to the realization that they aren't NPC's.. they're his real friends.

Scott, when he was first sucked in by the game, leveled up really fast and eventually gained the attention of Unagami. Unagami said he saw "great potential" in him and gave him access to the coding of the game. For Scott, this means he can essentially influence and change parts of the game, but not always by his own free will. With him being connected to the coding, that includes his thoughts, emotions, memories, trauma, etc. this connection also gave Unagami a way to keep track of where Scott was and what he was doing at all times. 

so eventually, Unagami wants to bring empire to the physical world, but he needs help getting the world out. he tells Scott his plan and Scott is like "actually, fuck this :)" and escapes from Unagami. in order to keep him from tracking his every move, Scott cuts off his own connection to the game's code. He hunkers down in his hideout and tries to plot a way to a)escape and b)prevent Unagami from taking over the real world. 

so finally, Jay enters the game! Scott finds him running away from red visors and picks him up and takes him to his hideout. Scott explains the general rules of the game, gives him tips on how to survive, glitches, cheats, all of it. but he tries to warn him about Unagami and Jay is too enraptured with the thrall of the game to pay any mind to Scott's warnings. Jay starts leveling up and progressing, very similar to how Scott did, and gained the same kind of attention from Unagami. he saw great potential in him. at that point, Scott says that Jay can't come to the hideout anymore, and Jay asks why. Scott says "i already told you, but you didn't listen to me." and so Jay goes to Unagami. Unagami promises him steep advantages in the game, protection, etc and Jay is going along with it because, to him, its still just a game. the gravity of the situation hasn't quite hit him yet. he doesn't know that he's trapped. 

so now, Jay and Unagami have a sort of mentor/mentee kind of relationship, and Jay very much fits into the role of the teachers pet. the red visors are **VERY** protective of him and will often accompany him wherever he goes unless he tells them to leave (sometimes they listen, sometimes they dont). There is one red visor who is particularly close to Jay. she goes with him everywhere and is the most protective of him compared to the other RV's. Jay tries to talk with her sometimes, and one day he asks her what her name is. her voice glitches out a lot, like something is corrupted in her code. she repeats "four o-oh four-r-r AA e-rror-r four o-o-oh four-r AA" and Jay is like "hmm.. rora? can i call you rora?" and she just nods at him. (Rora becomes important later!!)

so anyways, going back to how Unagami has adopted Jay as his mentee, Jay has the same kind of access to the game's coding that Scott does. including the influence of his memories and past traumas. this manifests in several ways, but one of which is how the NPC clones of the ninja interact with him. Jay has a lot of issues with self esteem and often fears that nobody really cares about him, finds him annoying, etc. so with each iteration of the ninja dupes, they become meaner and meaner until the only resemblance they share to their irl counterparts is their physical appearance. 

Jay (not realizing that Unagami is the one creating the dupes) goes to Unagami to vent about how he misses his friends and wishes they could join him in the game. Unagami tells Jay "if they were really your friends, they would have come for you by now. They probably forgot about you. but it's not you ever needed them anyways. here, you are powerful, loved by everybody, adored by the masses. in here, you are important." gotta love that gaslight gatekeep gameboss moment. eventually, Unagami is ready to bring prime empire to the physical world once he's seen Jay get to the same point that Scott was at. Unagami says that he needs Jays help to deliver the message, and that crossing the line between digital and physical means that Jay can go back to the real world while still maintaining the same power and reputation he has in the game. Jay agrees and works with Unagami to make an advertisement. 

this is the advertisement script: 

[Do you want to join Prime Empire?

“What is Prime Empire?” it’s a fully immersive, futuristic video game experience! Using the latest virtual emulation technology, players are quite literally part of the game. Customize your avatar, meet other players, level up, and compete in tournaments!

“But how do I join?” The answer is simple, silly! Prime Empire can be found in your arcades, in your consoles, even on your phones! You would have to live under a rock to not find your way in.

“How do I win?” Your quest is to seek out the legendary Keytanas. But be warned, there are challenges that you will face. Deadly forests, dangerous races, and more! Will you rise above the rest and claim your rightful victory?

Join today, but don’t delay! Only the first 100 players will get a chance to meet yours truly (winks). In the Super Star Rocking Jay event, I will teach you the ropes of the game, along with exclusive tips that will give you an advantage over other players!

Do you have what it takes? Prove your worth and become part of Prime Empire!] 

however, Scott has caught wind of the ad, and so he hacks into the broadcast and tries to warn everybody to "STAY OUT OF PRIME EMPIRE!!" but once again, his warnings fall on deaf ears. 

however, now the ninja know where Jay has been all this time! they manage to be part of the 1st 100 players in the game and go to the super star rocking Jay event. Kai, Nya, Lloyd, Cole, pixal and zane all get in the game. but due to their own coding, pixal and zane despawn and get plopped back in the real world within the first 10mins of the game. They spend a lot of time outside of prime empire trying to find ways to re-enter the game.

so now we finally get to when the (remaining) ninja meet up with Jay, and he is disappointed at best when he sees them. but when they surround him with love and hugs and tears of joy, it throws him off guard. all of the NPC's were never this kind to him. He checks his objective menu and a new notification shows up. "discard the ninja". same as it's always been. part of the objective has always been to "not let the ninja know that you know they are fakes." but after all of this time, Jay has grown tired and so he doesn't really bother trying to keep up appearances. he won't flat out say that he thinks they're fakes, but his demeanor is completely off. 

the ninja make it to okino and they start going through the forest, the cliffs, and finally the maze of the red dragon. throughout this time, there are several little moments that lead Jay to believe that these might be his real friends. he tries to write them off, but it keeps nagging at him. in the canon scene where Unagami pauses the game and talks to okino, its the same except its Jay that Unagami talks to. "just wanted to check in with you, everything is still going according to plan, correct?" Jay responds with "yes, but these ones are different. none of the other clones have acted so.. so close to my real friends." Unagami scoffs "these ones are just as fake as the others. make sure you complete your objective. we are very close to bridging the gap, and I wouldn't want anybody to hold you back from being at my side when we cross over." Jay agrees and the game resumes. 

Jay has the perfect opportunity to let his friends perish at the hands of the dragon, but something in him screams at him to help them win. he points out the scale on the back of the dragon, they defeat it, and Jay gets the dragon summon. instead of keeping it, he gives it to Cole. "i figure you guys will probably need it more than me. I've got higher stats, i can take care of myself." (that dragon summon becomes important later) so ANYWAY now its time for the speedway 5billion. but they don't have enough credits so they have to get some extra money. the gang goes to the dance battle, but! theres also a karaoke battle they have to participate in. Jay and Cole sing Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears for Fears (this song is also important later!) and they win the contest and get enough credits to enter the race. however... 

by this point in time, Jay is pretty sure that this group is his **real** friends, and he doesn't feel like he can go through with his objective anymore. besides, would clones really dance with him? sing his favorite songs with him? watch out for him when danger approaches? smile at him with such kindness and sincerity? clones wouldnt, but his real friends would. once again, his connection to the code means that Unagami is able to track him, and also take peeks into his mind. Unagami senses this realization and pauses the game again to confront him. "Jay, you must not let these clones cloud your judgement. you still have a mission to complete." Jay says "Unagami, these aren't dupes! they're really my friends, and they came back for me! i can't just "discard" them like you want me to. I won't!" "you WILL if you ever want to leave this digital space. if you will not join me in bridging the gap, then you will be left in here for all of eternity. the choice is yours, Jay walker." and with that, the game resumes. 

the ninja are all talking and they realize that Jay has gone silent. "Jay? you good?" Kai asks. Jay snaps out of it and reassures them that he's fine. but thats when he sees *him*. in the crowd of NPC's bustling about the city, he sees nadakhan. staring at him with that evil, calculated grin and begins approaching them. Jay's eyes go wide and his stomach drops. "are you sure you're okay?" Lloyd asks. "we.. we need to get out of here. we need to leave *now*" Jay says with a quiet, wavering voice. Just as he moves to flee, Nya gasps.

It was the scene of Nya dying. She was cradled in Jay's arms, muttering her last words before going completely limp. The master of lightning shook with broken sobs, clinging to his friend as if holding her tight enough could bring her back. That was the day that Jay Walker had lost everything.

And now, that moment was set on an infinite loop, broadcasted on every screen in the capital city of Prime Empire.

Jay was frozen, unable to do anything but succumb to his rising panic.

Nya was in a similar state, feeling the sharp pains of her chest that came from her old wound. She remembered dying, the pain and vulnerability. Now her final moments were in full display.

The rest of them gazed in horror and confusion, unable to comprehend what was going on. Jay thinks he heard Kai yelling, maybe he was asking why his sister was dying over and over again. Cole sounded like he was trying to warn everyone about the approaching assailants. Those of which looked like clones of the Misfortune's crew, including their tyrannical captain.

It was all too much. Jay felt his digital blood freeze in his veins, his air cutting off entirely, and his vision slowly turning to static.

Nadakhan. Nya. Tiger widow venom. Kai. Nadhakan. Nya. Zane. Cole. Nya. Lloyd. Nadakhan. Nya. Nya. Nya. N-

Jay's friends tried to reach for him, to help him, but then it happened.

An explosion of lightning burst from Jay's body, flooding through the city with blue and white pixelated sparks. And once the wave had passed, the city went dark. The screens that were looping that wretched day were now idle. The Misfortune's crew were nowhere to be seen. Jay had fallen unconscious. 

"What are you guys doing here?" Scott asked, his face contorted in concern.

"Scott, it- its Jay. He had this weird power surge and he-" Lloyd stuttered before him and his friends were roughly yanked inside of Scott's hideout.

Cole was carrying Jay's limp body, and followed Scott's instructions to lay him on the workbench. But not before he had thrown all of his tools and blueprints on the ground in a rush.

"What did you say? About a power surge?"

"It was-" Lloyd started again

"It was like he exploded," Kai cut in, "we've never seen his element act like that."

"The city, it went dark." Nya added.

"And there was something going on with the city screens, they were showing-" said Cole.

"My sister dying! Over and over again! That's not part of the game, right?!"

"Guys guys! Chill the fuck out, one at a time." Scott demanded. They all went quiet before Nya spoke up.

"The screens showed one of Jay's memories. One of his most traumatic ones. NPC's started changing into people that.. are related to that memory. They started attacking us from all sides. Jay had gone into a panic attack before he surged. That wave of power blew out the whole city's power and everything went dark. After that he passed out."

Scott looked at her with a look of dread.

"This is worse than I thought.."

"What do you mean worse? Scott, what's wrong with Jay?" Cole asked. Scott sighed.

"He's.. he's become part of the game."

"Like an NPC?" Lloyd said.

"No, not an NPC. His memories, his soul, his life force- it's bleeding into the coding of the game. His emotions and memories are able to affect the behavior of the game. Environments, NPCs, everything."

"How do you know all of that, Scott?" Nya interjected.

"Because he's just like me."

"What??" The ninja said in unison.

"When I first came into the game, Unagami wanted me to bring Prime Empire to the real world. To break out of this digital prison and conquer the rest of the physical world. I agreed to help him because I didn't see any other way out of this hellscape. He granted me access to the code. So I'm just as connected to Prime Empire as Jay is. My memories are there too.

But the thing is, is that I've cut myself off of the code. It's the only way I could hide from Unagami, since I had abandoned ship and didn't want to help him anymore. I'm a threat because I can affect the code.

But if I don't connect to it, I stay hidden.

But Jay, his connection is so strong by this point. Everything he does changes the game.

He's gonna be okay, for now, but I can't guarantee the same for all of you." Scott finished, his eyes sunken and tired.

"Wh- what are we supposed to do then? How can we get Jay out of here?" Kai asked.

"Beat the game. As far as I know, there's no other way out of here."

They all looked at each other, faces grim but determined.

"Well we can't leave here without Jay, can we stay here until he wakes up?" Said Nya.

"Absolutely not." Scott replied.

"What? Why??" Cole butted in.

"The longer you guys stay here, with h i m, the more danger all of us are in. Jay is part of the coding, Unagami can find him. And that means he can find u s."

"Well how do we wake him up? There's gotta be some way!" Lloyd pleaded.

Scott looked at Jay's unconscious form.

"Fuck, okay, let me try something." 

so Scott does the only thing he can think of that might work. he reconnects himself to the game's code in order to "plug in" to Jay and wake him up. when he plugs in, Scott sees Jay in a dark, endless room. he's crouched on the ground, sobbing and shaking

But thrashing from his body is manifestations of his trauma, like a horrible amalgamation that is distorting his physical form and its. Horrifying.

Scott looks at him and tries to approach him without getting hurt

He gets to him and he makes contact with his shoulder and then the surge of energy happens and he gets unplugged and shot across the room, and Jay wakes up with a start, chest heaving and his eyes still wet with tears. Cole is there right next to Jay, and Jay clings onto him like a lifeline. Kai wraps his arms around Jay too and they hold him and comfort him as best they can. Lloyd and Nya go over to Scott to see if he's okay. he groans and sits up, Lloyd and Nya help him stand. "what happened? what was that??" Nya asks. "I woke him up. but its not safe anymore. you guys have to get him out of here, or else Unagami is gonna show up and if he does.. well its safe to assume it'll be game over for all of us." 

"we still have to win the highway 5billion and get the second keytana." Cole says, "and we need cars." Scott sighs at this, "i've got cars you can use, i won't be using them very much anymore anyways." "what does that mean?" Kai asks. "did you not hear me? its game over. you guys have to get Jay out of here." Scott says. "Scott, you know the game better than anyone, we need your help. will you race with us?" Nya pleads. Scott is about to reject when he looks at Jay. Jay is looking at him with a look that breaks his heart. "fine. I'll race with you guys." 

so they fix up the cars and enter the SW5B and Scott is like "i guess if we're going in, i might as well get a new look." so he customizes his avatar (if u check my post with his redesign, thats the avatar he has, the glowing parts of his outfit change colors!) and they start the race! Scott doesn't have his own car, instead he's jumping from vehicle to vehicle and taking out the other drivers so that the ninja can win. he uses his baseball bat as a melee weapon but it can also shoot lasers! Kai still gets that loot box upgrade and has the running mech, and just like in canon, Cole and Kai get cubed. so does Scott, he gets run over lol. now its just Jay, Nya, and Lloyd and they make their way to the temple of madness.

then we have the fight. in canon its Lloyd and harumi, but in this au, Jay enters the arena instead. he gets in and the game picks his fighter. expecting it to be someone he's fought before, he prepares himself. but nothing could have prepared him for who he saw standing in front of him. it was echo zane. 

Nya stares in horror and Lloyd is confused. "who is that? that can't be zane, right? why would he be part of the game?" Lloyd asks. Nya can't say anything, and neither can Jay. Jay wants to give up, he cant fight echo. someone who helped him in the most dire of times, only to be left alone on that island for the rest of eternity. Jay had never gone back for him, and that guilt he felt had just kicked into high gear having to look echo in the eyes. but then echo starts attacking him, and Jay has to defend himself. Jay wins, and sees echo disappear after the final blow. the walls of the arena disappear and Jay falls to his knees. Lloyd and Nya move in immediately to help him up. "seriously, what the hell is going on?? why aren't you guys saying anything??" Lloyd demands. "we can't talk about it right now, Lloyd. we'll have to tell you later." Nya says quietly. her voice is tight and dies in her throat. Lloyd gets the hint and doesn't push it any further. 

so the three of them make it through the sushi restaurant and make it to the gate with the 3 keytanas. Jay, Lloyd, and Nya go to put in the blades and they open the gate. standing in front of them is none other than Unagami. "Jay, you have disappointed me. you were so important, so valued, and you have thrown that away for the sake of your so-called 'friends'. thankfully, there is still a place for you." Unagami says. "i don't WANT a place with you! you've hurt me, you've hurt my friends, you've hurt so many innocent people. all of those cubes? those are REAL PEOPLE! i can't let you do this Unagami. I won't let you get away with this." Jay says defiantly. Unagami sighs, "i was hoping it would not come to this. but if you chose to act this way, you will face the consequences. you will help me bridge this gap, whether you like it or not." and Unagami holds out his hands. an intense blue beam of light bursts from his palms and hits Jay square in the chest. the light is absorbed by his body and his form begins to glitch and spasm violently. mochi and i have called this the Blue Screen of Death. (tw for mild(?) body horror) Jay is overcome by the blue and his body begins to grow and distort, all the while he's screaming and his cries are glitched out and staticky. Lloyd and Nya watch, frozen in fear as their friend begins to grow to massive size, writhing in agony. Jay thrashes and knocks into both of them, sending them off the side of the platform and cubing them. the last two energy cubes join the gate and Jay crawls through. 

(with this scene, in the background, the lorde version of everybody wants to rule the world would be playing, just as a nice parallel to the song from earlier at the karaoke battle)

MEANWHILE, as pixal and zane attempted to find ways to get back into the game, find milton dyer, etc, zane gets captured by the mechanic. everything goes the same as it does in canon where the mechanic hooks zane up to the gate. 

and now, we get a look at where everybody who got cubed resides. Scott, when he was cubed, was greeted by Unagami personally. he criticized him for his actions and expressed his disappointment before ultimately locking him inside of a digital cell. Scott figured that this was how the rest of his life would be, trapped in a cage with no way out and no way to die. but then! Rora shows up. that corruption in her system from the beginning? that was her beginning to break away from her coding and becoming more of a person. she saw what happened to Jay, and she wants to help him. she breaks Scott out and they agree to work together to save Jay. but they're gonna need all the help they can get. together, Scott and rora free the ninja and all of the other cubed players and they make it through the portal. 

and thats where they see Jay, now as tall as the skyscrapers in ninjago city and wreaking havoc on the entire area. 

everyone looks up at him in utter horror and see just how corrupted he's become. he's wailing in pain as he drives his guitar down on building after building. thrashing and flailing, causing the structures around him to crumble and collapse. "how the fuck are we gonna fix this?!" Nya cries. "i can help." Unagami approaches them. everyone gets into fighting stances, ready to beat Unagami into the pavement. "i did not realize that corrupting him would turn out like this. i know how to fix him, but i need your help." "why should we help YOU?" Kai growls. "if you want to save your city and your friend from complete destruction, you *will* help me." and so Unagami explains that if they can lure Jay back through the portal, Unagami can undo his corruption and fix Jays "coding" 

so now the ninja are trying to figure out how to get Jay's attention and bring him back through the portal. it seems like nothing is working, and then Cole gets an idea. he starts singing the lyrics to everybody wants to rule the world. it seems to get Jay's attention, so he keeps singing.

the others hear him and they join in. now they have Jay's attention, and he's closing in on them. that dragon summon from earlier? now thats when that comes in handy. Cole calls the digidragon and rides it so that Jay cant crush him while he lures him back to the portal. low and behold, they manage to get Jay through the portal, Unagami purifies his "coding" and they return to the physical world once again. Unagami gets to have his talk with milton and all of the npcs+pcs that want to come out do, and the others stay in the game. the city is in shambles, the portal closes, and zane+pixal+wu reunite with the others. 

the car ride home is very quiet. everyone is exhausted, Jay is asleep and leaning on Cole's shoulder. they have a lot to talk about, but for now, they just want to sleep through the night. they make it home, go to their separate rooms, and go to bed.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand thats pretty much all of it!! theres a little epilogue that has snippets of what Scott, racer 7, okino, and rora do now that they're outside of the game, but thats just kinda there lol.

[kylorenxreader]

Lonely (kylo ren x reader)

a: kylorenxreader

description: How utterly unruly is it to lust after your ultimate superior? Turns out it’s not as unfortunate as you foretold.

warnings: smUT, moRE SMUT, fluff?, force use, no spoilers for TROS

note: let me know if this is groovy. love hearing from my fellow internet goons.

(DO NOT COPY OR POST MY WRITING AS YOUR OWN: if I find you are- I will expose you)

***

The first time you saw The Supreme Leader without his mask, you felt every last piece of your dignity melt into a puddle and evaporate with each passing second you stared at him. 

 It was inept, and you hated yourself. Every ounce of your commitment was devoted to The Order since you first began your recruitment. You didn’t know what this was, but it sure as hell wasn't loyalty. 

 Your job was simple, a data analyst, and occasionally you were given temporary command over your unit, and you were fit for it. Well, you were more adequate at the whole thing than you had anticipated. You were promoted. The idea of it was pleasing, but all that repletion faded as soon as you stepped foot into the control room and laid eyes on your mask-less commander. 

 How utterly unruly was it to feel something towards your ultimate superior? You were tempted by him- and it was more than alien to you. 

 Sure - you had laid eyes upon a few men in your day. But this was different. 

 It wasn’t just his face. You had detected him months before, hovering inside the hallways, and you felt yourself turn and walk the opposite direction. His stature was broad and towering. You were intimidated yet interested, somehow finding cracks in his facade of prestige to reveal nothing but a man who wanted to justify himself in the few meetings you attended with the officers. 

 You respected him then, as a superior, but now- you didn’t even want to acknowledge what you felt. It took everything inside yourself to rend your gaze from him. He seemed to notice. 

His eyes would follow you as you sat stagnant at your control pad, your hair pulled into tight buns, your fingers dancing across the dimly lit screen. You attempted to ignore his diluted and uncertain gaze, to no avail.

To him, he quickly infiltrated your mind, slipping past your guard with dispatch as he pillaged your thoughts. You were so open, so easy to seep through. You were heedless of his doings- but felt a small sting settling where he pierced your conscious. 

 He saw your concupiscence for him, with the humiliation and resentment you felt towards it. He glimpsed at the shameful hours of your nights, where you stood underneath the hose of the shower, a part of you wishing he was there, just as exposed as you. He saw the want you felt in the latest hour of the day as you lay alone in your rachitic bed, shifting your legs, desiring to feel his large frame and temperature against you. He saw it all.

 - 

 You hadn’t seen The Supreme Leader since you locked eyes days ago, and you wish you felt relieved. Every time the subtle sound of boots entered your vicinity, your eyes roamed for his broad frame, only to your dismay.

'What am I waiting for?' 

 You sat quietly in the control room, your fingers dancing across the keys as you mindlessly translated codes - when the sound of his thick leather boots caressed your eardrum as he descended towards you. Your head snapped towards the door, to where his massive figure quickly amassed towards you, casting a shadow over you. 

You found yourself wanting to run in pure and utter fear, but something kept your feet plastered to the floor, and you panicked. 

 “Behind me,” he said blankly, tilting his mask to the door. You desired to hear his voice without the mask. 

 You obeyed as if it was second nature, standing and turning to follow his long strides with knees of slush and a heart rate you were sure was dangerous. You followed him for what seemed to be several minutes. It was uncomfortable. 

The only sound for miles seemed to be his breathing through the metal of his mask, and your quick footsteps as you hurriedly tried to stay behind him. He stopped and turned into a room at the end of the corridor. 

 Was he to kill you? Or worse, fire you? 

 You stepped inside the barren room behind him, watching him halt with his back turned from you. The doors slid shut behind you, and you felt yourself jump at the sturdy sound, now covered in the dark of the room. 

The silence was unbearable, you could hear yourself swallow, and felt the perspiration collect on your scalp. You were alone with The Supreme Leader, and you had a feeling all hope was lost. 

 “Do I intrigue you?” His voice penetrated the last shred of decency you had left in your soul, and you felt it leave your body with a jolt. You opened your mouth to respond, but no words left your tongue. You realized he knew of your visions, and you felt guilt spread across your cheeks and flush your chest in patches. 

Ren turned at your silence, his robes whisking across the metal floor. You shivered, feeling your feet instinctively retract back towards the door. He examined your soft face, saturated with fear and confusion. 

He felt the panic leak out of you, your hands trembling at your sides. His fingers raised to his jaw, releasing his masks clasps, as it was removed with a hiss. 

 The commander stared at you, and your stomach twisted with an unfamiliar spark. As if the sheer size of the man was enough to intrigue you, his sharp face and rounded lips only added gasoline to the fire that burned on your cheeks. His emotions pooled in the copper of his eyes, and you could tell it was just as raw and untamed as he was. 

 He could kill you now. One swift movement, one stroke of his saber, one kick to the gut and you’d be in a fatal condition. It was true, Ren was agile and sharp, like a blade - but soft and stoic, hypnotizing you with only a gaze. He was beautiful in a sad way, and you were most likely the only one who had seen such a thing in him. He read your mind, your thoughts but subtle visions in the back of his head.

 'Beautiful. Soft. Stoic. Handsome. Frightening.' 

 You felt the breath in your lungs escape in a barely audible sigh as you eyed him, more vulnerable than you had ever been with anyone, let alone, a man. He examined you. 

 'Small, forgiving, agile, warm, reserved, revengeful, hopeful.' 

 He took a step towards you, and he felt your whole existence tense with fear. He stopped, seeing your hand on your belt - clutching your blaster. You were felt your fight or flight instinct fluctuate, but somehow the fear linked with another emotion, one that you didn’t dare admit. You hated it. 

 He sensed it, the excitement, but your overpowering thoughts of fear clouded you. 

 “There is no danger here,” he says, his voice blanks, but encoded with a softness you had yet to hear.

“Say it,” he says, quietly. Your hand left your blaster. 

“Yes.” you finally spoke. 

 “Then tell me,” he breathed, closing the gap between you both, his head dipping down slightly to meet your gaze. Your lungs expanded with the smell of his freshly washed robes, clean linen and a hint of something you couldn’t describe to save your life. It was masculine and rich. 

 “you need me,” he says. “like I’ve needed you. I’ve seen it.” 

 You swore you were hyperventilating, but the tensity in your chest prevented such a mishap. You wanted to run out of pure embarrassment, but your feet stayed glued to the floor, internally knowing you’d never leave until he threw you out. 

 In one swift movement, his broad figure entrapped you and swallowed you into the ink of his robes. You saw his dimly lit face blur with proximity as he crashed his lips into yours, warm and obscenely inviting. You gasped against him, and your eyes fluttered closed. His smell penetrated your nose, and you felt yourself dissipate into a corrupted mess, saturated by his very existence. 

 He could have moaned, you smelled femininely soft, like a warm bath filled with suds of expensive soap and salts. Your face was soft against the leather of his gloves, young and warm. He moved against you, his arms roping around your spine, warmth pouring over you in a wave of heat that suffocated you so perfectly. Your lungs sucked in his scent, your lips moving against the unfamiliar smoothness of his own. You were drowning in him, and you felt as if you never wanted to breathe air again. 

He parted from you, and you felt the air leave your lungs in a desperate sigh. He eyed you, his orbs roaming over your long eyelashes, clouded eyes, and damp lips. You felt the leather of his gloves press against your waist, and the room moved around you in another soft and breathless movement. Your skull pressed against the cold of a metal wall, your body flat against his. The room dimmed, and your thoughts guided him. 

 His gloved hand snaked up your back to your scalp, reaching to rip the band that kept your hair. It amassed around you, and you heard him hum in satisfaction as he delved to what was exposed of your neck. 

 ”You were so lonely,” he says, low and soft, lips still against your skin. “Even now, I can still feel it. How deprived you are.” You felt sparks fall down your spine as he spoke, and a sigh escapes your open lips. He attacked your neck, his hands in your hair and inside your uniform. And in the back of your mind, you heard him whisper. 

 ‘You need me. Say it.’ he declared. 

You hesitate, unable to formulate the words on your tongue. 

‘Please.’

 You did. You felt his grasp on you tighten, and you felt yourself abandon the wall in motion with him. He effortlessly whisked you across the room, and you felt yourself sink, your back hitting something soft and full. A bed. 

You were in Kylo Ren’s bedroom. 

 Reason abandoned you, and all that was penetrated in your head was the smell of his clean hair and skin, minted breath and his hands prying your shirt above your head. 

 Something inside you panicked at your exposed chest, and your hands quickly shaded your breasts. He let out a low noise of disapproval, his hands moving to pry your arms away. Your eyes widened, and you looked back to him- only to see his lips already wandering over your sensitive skin. 

 He disconnected from you a moment, shifting upwards to rip his cape and arm guards from his shoulders, leaving his arms exposed in just an undershirt. 

 “That’s not fair.” you murmur. He felt a smile threaten to spread across his cheeks, and he stood again. His bare hands touched you, callused and worn against the contrast of your level skin. He lifted your hands to the brim of his undershirt, guiding you to slide the fabric up slightly to reveal his abdomen. He wanted you to touch him. You looked up to him through your lashes and leaned upwards, he guided your hands with his own up his chest, exposing and feeling more of his hot skin. His back weakened, and his posture changed to lean his forehead against your own, sighing as he felt your soft hands roam over the tender skin of his torso. 

 Ren was desperate for it. Touch. Any contact at all. If he hadn’t the dignity, he would’ve begged for it - he neglected in every way of affection. He removed his shirt, and although you could barely see in the soft azure light of the room, you could see he was drawn with muscle. 

Carelessly, you lifted your arms to graze over his shoulders and biceps. He shivered and kissed you again. Ren pressed you into the bed, plush and cool against your exposed back. He gripped at what was left of your uniform, pulling the fabric away from your legs. He shifted backward, taking you with him to the edge of the mattress. 

His hands effortlessly pulled your legs apart. The cold air hit your folds with a rush, and there wasn’t a moment spared before he attached his mouth to you, slicking his tongue in your heat. 

 You weren’t naive, you knew what this entailed, but the sensation couldn't be compared to anything you've done to yourself. He was unpredictable, warm, and obscenely yours. 

He gripped your thighs harshly in concentration, his eyes closed, his lashes caressing your abdomen. Your legs began to shake in time, and your stomach muscles twitched. Your breasts shook with your uneven breath, and you felt your insides tremor. His tongue was quick, tossing your bud from side to side, his lips salacious and slick against you. His mouth was hot, a white-heat crawling, filling your head, suffocating you. The feeling was overwhelming, and you quivered, tears brimming at your eyes. 

 You hopelessly lifted your hips to meet his mouth, rocking slightly, your knuckles white. You began to unravel, the new sensation of his tongue coaxing you further. Your breath caught in your larynx, and your lungs let out a cry you were sure some could hear from across the ship. 

 Everything was blank. Ecstasy, white-hot heat boiling in your abdomen, your walls pulsating tightly. His tongue continued, and you tensed, gripping at his scalp, ripping him away from you. 

You looked to him, you had never seen a sight so purely saturated with sex. His eyes were clouded, his mouth swollen and wet with slick. He parted from you. Your eyes opened again, and he was above you, his lips swollen and used. He kissed you with fervency. He hummed in satisfaction, pressing you to the bed. You separated, and he grabbed the waistband of his clothes, tugging them downwards. 

He shifted himself above you, his frame setting you in shadow. He looked vulnerable. His eyes were wide with arousal, his chest heaving above you, entrapping you with his arms on either side. You raised your legs around him, and you grip at his shoulders, lifting your hips to meet his heat, exposing your neck to him. 

He fell in love with you in that second, and you became addicted to him then. He felt the force, it coaxed him- a gentle hum in his ear- your vibration called to him, and he kissed you oncemore.

 Adjusting himself, he felt your wetness graze him, and he knew he could never stop himself even if he needed to. Ren leaned down and placed his hand below your ear, his eyes overcast. He slid past your entrance, his mouth hanging open as his brows furrowed, his eyes fixed on your face. 

You unraveled, feeling the contact high as his redolence surrounded you. He pressed deeper, and you felt his length stretch you. He was to the hilt, and you held onto him, feeling his abdomen caress your own, his dense hair brushing your bare mound. He let out a sigh, his minted breath hitting your cheeks, soft and heated. 

 The feeling was uncomfortably foreign, he was hot within you, and you felt the blood pulse through his length, twitching inside you. His skin was as heated as a furnace against you, and his breath became muddled and shaken. His hips lifted drawing himself from you, only to sink himself inside your slick again. He swilled inside, drawing your walls, pressing against something dangerously wonderful. You gripped onto his neck, you felt something swell within you. 

 “I feel you.” he says with a sigh, “let it go.” 

 He didn’t even have to ask. He pressed deeper, and his pace strengthened, and you metaled. You let all signs of care pass from you, and your mouth hung loose as you gasped and writhed below his broad frame. He let obscene sounds escape past his lips, feral and low. His damp skin hit the back of your thighs, and you undid around him. 

 Something vibrated a low, painfully perfect sensation against your core. You couldn’t tell if you were hallucinating, or if it was him. It built, and you screamed - he was using the force on you. 

 He huffed above you, and rested his forehead against your hair, his hand wrapping around your throat as the oscillation drove you to euphoria. You were going to come again, and you couldn’t tell if you were screaming or not through the sound of his voice in your ear. 

 A string of profanities left his mouth, but they were white noise in the back of your conscience. He grew desperate, words turning into moans as he draws further. You trembled, your eyes rolling into the back in their sockets. You held onto him like there was a thousand-foot drop below you, and elation swelled in your abdomen and swam to your brain. 

 Ren crumbled, you tensed around him, tugging at his length. His jaw hung open, and he collapsed into you, his muffled moans in your hair and against your ear. He twitched inside you, and you descended back to earth. Ren was weak against you, his body shivering even though he was as heated as a generator. 

His breath was still shattered in soft sputters of air. And it came to you then. It was his first time. He raised his head from where it laid, and he smashed his lips into yours, sloppy and without care. He clasped your face with his hands, parting only when he needed air. 

He settled, regaining his conscious again, and he shifted down to your chest, resting his head below your collarbone, his breathing even again.

"Stay with me," he whispers, his eyes closing, the honey of his eyes melting you again. 

It was without question.

***

Part 2?

[shouldntcryoverit]

the art of discordance

captain rex x jedi!reader

previous chapter

masterlist

CHAPTER TEN

Hope you enjoy! Might start this series up again so let me know what you’d like to see and if you’d like to be tagged! 💕

———————————————————————

Jaida’s feet felt weighted as she plodded along the corridor. In fact her entire body did. She needed caf and, among other things, she needed peace and quiet.

But alas, as is the way of war, she’d have to settle with yet another delinquent briefing, which would most likely result in another mission for her to loose herself in. How fun.

Peace wasn’t an option as of right now, but caf certainly was. So as any ordinary Jedi going through dramatic changes to their moral code while fighting a war which had so far gone against everything they had ever been taught by their now dead master; Jaida went and got caf.

Now she stood outside the war room, significantly late, but with a half drunk cup in her hand. On any regular day, she would’ve surely rushed in; profoundly apologising for her misconduct and directing all her attention to any matters presented to make up for her tardiness.

But instead she stood and stared at the uninspiring, off-white and dented plastoid door with almost a scowl. After a second, she took a swig and entered.

“Jaida! I was wondering if you had gotten lost.” Obi-wan smiled warmly. There was a hint of a jeer in his aristocratic tone.

“Oh force I really am late aren’t I?” She tried to laugh, setting down her cup on a surface she’d found (ignoring the future ring it would leave), snapping into a character that would resemble her more awake self.

“What’ve I missed?” Jaida asked as she settled into place beside Anakin and across from Obi-wan.

The holo-projector before her displayed the usual; a barren-ish landscape with red dots across it, symbolising places she’d most likely have to risk her and her men’s lives before moving onto the next tiny red dot.

It felt fallacious to belittle that sacrifice to so little as those red dots, especially when they’d been planted like seeds as if they’re cost was unimportant. To Jaida, red dots had begun to look more like casualty reports and defeated medics; so much more than a speck on a map in a heated war room in the middle of comfortable Coruscant.

But as is the way of war, she thought.

“After the failure to capture Grievous on Salucami, we know his ships will be in this western quadrant.” Obi-wan gestured now to the map of the galaxy, the holo map had apparently changed as Jaida was blinking, and more specifically to a highlighted section of space.

Her red dots would be minuscule by now.

“Our fear is that with Grievous now in need of a place to get fuel and rations, he’ll attempt to take-over ,in effect, the next planet viable. Which in this case” The holomap zoomed into a reddish planet with a dark brown hue surrounding it, “Would be Yeon.”

“Yeon?” Jaida asked. “What’s on Yeon that Grievous could want?”

Obiwan shifted his weight before speaking. Jaida sighed; sometimes she really did regret asking questions so much, especially when the answer require a deep breath.

“Yeon used to be home to a powerful empire, though the dissolution of said empire left the planet vulnerable and corrupt. The wealth still remains, but without proper safeguarding. It isn’t unlikely that Grievous hopes to exploit this, and use their land and people to help secure more galactic wins.” He finished with a flourish. He did always make good speeches, however short or dull.

Jaida shivered. The thought of such peaceful people once again being used as pawns in the seperatist game made her stomach turn. Is this what the galaxy had come to? Perhaps that question could be answered another day.

Anakin, who had up until this point been studying his friends demeanour and desperately trying to figure out the reason for her obvious lack of clarity, spoke next.

“Our mission is to intercept their ‘invasion’ and protect the people of Yeon before Grievous can even reach them.”

“Huh, fun.” She clicked.

A few more details were flattened out, though they mostly fell on deaf ears as Jaida replayed the events of that morning.

“We’ll leave tonight, get a head start.”

Great, she thought.

The corridor felt like it would never end as Jaida carried a backpack towards her destination. It was half full of ration packs and bacta supplies: in short she had no clue what to pack for. The feeling of unpreparedness sat heavy on her chest, even as she commed Anakin to meet her in the hanger.

As she did, Echo opened the door for her, between beckoning to Hardcase that his helmet was where he’d left it. Jaida almost laughed at how mumsy Echo got the few hours before a mission; it almost matched Kix’s mother hen approach.

“Where’re we up to?” Jaida asked, hesitantly setting down the bag beside her feet as she looked over the clones all preparing for a mission.

Echo smiled softly, giving one last side eye to his dazed brothers before giving her his full attention “Almost ready.”

“Thank you.” She could always count on Echo, and a warmth spread over her expression, secure in that fact. “Where’s-“

“Hullo!” The other jedi spoke through a cracker in his mouth. “You good?”

“Where’d you get that cracker?”

Anakin swallowed. Echo had to suppress his laughter at how much they resembled begrudging siblings.

“Help me with those crates and I’ll show you.” He shrugged off, beckoning for Jaida to follow his path.

The good news was the Hardcase had managed to locate his stranded helmet, and Fives only laughed for a few minute at how he almost cried that he’d thought he’d lost it: but the bad news was that Jaida realised that she would eventually have to talk to her captain, who was standing by the edge of the hangar with Kix.

He’d showered, and his pauldron was fixed. He looked so perfectly in control as he watchfully peered over his men. Jaida felt childish almost instantly at the anxiety balled in her stomach at just the thought of having to look at his deep and piercing eyes to talk to him. This was that feeling ‘crushes’ gave you, as Anakin would explain, and Jaida didn’t get ‘crushes’. Not ever, and not now.

She began to help the clones prepare what few weapons they thought they needed. There wasn’t much to sort out and load up, but still among the Torrent company; it was a grand feat.

Jaida was counting reloads and ration packs when she sensed him. Rex, as you could quite obviously expect, was coming closer. She exhaled fiercely out of her nose and picked up the crate she’d been kneeling over. “He’s just being a captain, just be a General.” She repeated to herself like a mantra.

But when she looked up and his gaze was already on her, she froze; childish and with a crush.

“You’re coming too?” Jaida cleared her throat and asked nonchalantly, trying desperately hard to prevent a redness forming on her cheeks.

“Of course.” Rex spoke flatly. His eyebrow twitched slightly as the words left his lips, perhaps testing her meaning.

“But you’re still injured.”

Now he did raise an eyebrow, “I’ll be fine.”

Jaida kissed her teeth, slightly annoyed at her inability to calm herself now.

She nodded as no words formed on her tongue. Nothing to express the ball of emotion in her throat. The Jedi didn’t meet his eyes as she turned away.

Rex caught her arm as she went to bring her crate to the ship, but even as he stopped her pivot she was reluctant to meet his gaze.

“Jaida-” He tried.

“Don’t.” Jaida cut him off, finally glaring at him, then quickly skimming over the room to check if anyone was noticing their ‘conversation’.

“Just promise me.” Vulnerability flashed across her face as the words left her mouth, and even those crystallised amber eyes of his couldn’t make her believe he would.

Rex bit his lip and flicked back over his men across the room, before looking back at Jaida’s ask. He nodded slowly, accepting that he’d want the exact same if it were her. Whatever it was that they shared really wasn’t simple.

“I promise.”

She smiled slightly, before he let her go and she walked off to the ship.

The company left not long after, but not before Anakin and Jaida managed to bicker over who should fly the ship, then if they’d brought the right rations, then whether or not they were ready. At least it was entertaining for the clones to watch their General’s be so relaxed yet so uppity.

But nonetheless, the company all fitted into their respective places and the ship left. Jaida, after bribing Anakin, was flying the ship. She thought that it’d help her concentrate ready for the next mission, although it did also mean that she wouldn’t have to talk to anyone - so, plus.

The journey was rather short, but it certainly wasn’t sweet; for each time Jaida didn’t have to plant coordinates or watch the pressure levels in the engine, her mind slipped to the events of that morning, over and over again like torture. The guilt and worry pressed heavily against her frame; it was fair to say she was absentminded.

But they made it.

“I think we’re here boys.” Skywalker spoke over the channels.

The landing wasn’t rough, but Jaida’s vision through the ship window was too clouded to navigate properly through the thick air. The ship rocked as it hit the ground, and as the men filed our, their pilot was reluctant to follow.

The company gathered outside, Anakin knocked her shoulder; something he always used to do if she was nervous before a practice or exam. It made her finally exhale the breath she’d been holding onto.

It was dark when they made it to the village: a small dwelling lit with vibrant lights around each hut and structure. There was a hum in the air of content, they were peaceful people, and their laughter and chatter floated through the company like a warm drink.

Jaida wanted to welcome it, she really did, but she couldn’t, not when her head was this scrambled. She was still tired, and still torn between wanting to stay true to her morals and protect Rex, as well as desperately wanting to give in to her heart.

Mind over matter, her master would say. Though it seemed futile now.

Jaida followed her men into the village and tried once more to be content with the sweetness of the air. The sun was hanging low in the sky, but it still illuminated the tops of houses and slopes of hills in spite of the darkening hue encroaching. It was peace, the very kind she needed. Yet it would not breach her armoured skin.

The clones had managed to settle in rather quickly, having now taken off a few bits of armour and their helmets. They were standing and laughing with locals dotted about a wide fire pit, an area which Jaida took to be the market place.

After a cheer of babbling and exuberance calling for them, drums began playing in the background as entertainment; and the villagers seemed excited to have new guests for what looked like the first time in a while. They passed out food to the solidiers, colours of orange and green mixing on platters of fruits and perfectly cooked meat. After having a drank a few of their offered drinks, of which their alcohol quantity was unknown, Fives, Jesse and Hardcase danced to the beat as Echo and Kix tried not to laugh.

Jaida watched with an absent grin. She was resting on a crate with a cup of some sweet drink she’d been given by a swirling child, happy to see them so relaxed. Her view shifted from the gaggle of men to her Captain, who was laughing handsomely at his brothers’ feeble attempts. She tried to ignore the pounding in her stomach growing at how his face was illuminated so perfectly by the evening sun, and how it made her tongue swell to see him aswell so at peace. But it was rather difficult to ignore, especially when she couldn’t not-look.

Jaida placed her cup beside her and backed away, leaving the dancing and laughter behind her.

She found herself in the main hall of their largest structure, eyes closed in her own attempt at peace. She could still taste the wafting smell of meats and breads being cooked just a little further away. It smelt like herbs and spices she remembered only faintly from her own travels with her master. Jaida stood, staring at the painting on the closest wall to her when she wasn’t instead focused on her closed eyelids. Her brain was too foggy for anything else.

It was silent. Of course the base of the drums and the echoes of her men and their hosts still made their way in and out of the open windows, but it was silent to her. So silent that when footsteps began behind her she almost jumped.

The presence made it’s way to just a step behind her and paused. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who it belonged to, but still, Jaida cursed her abilities to identify the warmth and security it brought nonetheless.

“You left?“ Rex’s tone was more a question than a statement, and Jaida didn’t open her eyes as he stepped and stood next to her.

“I needed to think without Fives’ dancing distracting me.” She joked in a low tone.

“You call that dancing?”

Jaida chuckled lightly at that, meeting his smiling eyeline.

A moment of warmth spread between the two. It was as if the complications of their feelings melted away for a few seconds, and both simply relished the presence of each other. But it was short lived.

“I cant think either.”

Her eyebrows were knitted in slight pain and sadness, something he recognised within his own head. She couldn’t speak.

“Do you regret it?” Rex broke the silence between them.

“What?”

“The other night.”

Jaida paused loudly, but spoke with force after a second passed. “No. I don’t. ”

Silence again.

“I don’t know what to do to make this… better.” Jaida admitted, the vulnerability in her voice making her cringe.

Jaida sighed and fixed her almost tearful expression back to that familiar neutral coldness. “I don’t even understand it.” She almost whispered.

“Neither do I.” His words were barely there. “I don’t think anyone ever does.”

“Then how do you know it’s real?” Jaida swallowed, blinking down her rising dejection.

Rex paused again, but spoke with purpose. He had been brave before, now was no different.

“Because whenever you enter the room it feels like time stops. I always look for you, like seeing you will change everything. And you know what, it does; everything stops.”

Jaida was shocked to hear the confession, and it made her heart melt when she turned to face him. His face was just as creased as hers; just as pained.

He studied her eyes for a second, almost asking for permission to continue, or even to be dared to do so. But he took in a breath and carried on:

“I knew it when we were stuck in that cave, and you fell asleep against the wall. All I could think of was how perfect you looked. Force, I don’t think you’ve ever left my head since.”

She smiled. A wilful smile that covered all of her stern face. She knew that feeling he described and it made her stomach erupt as he spoke of it.

Her words fell as a whisper once again. “I can’t ask you to risk your entire life on this. But you can’t tell how much I want to.” She spoke louder now.

Rex’s eyes softened.

“We’re at war, Jade. Some things are just worth it.” Rex paused and looked to her. Her eyes held a silent beg. “You’re worth it.” He wanted to say, but didn’t. Perhaps a part of him knew that he didn’t need to.

In the dim light, he could hardly see her face at all, but the peace that had spread across it was blindingly clear. Jaida blinked.

And Rex closed the small gap between their faces and pressed his lips against hers; tender and gentle yet proud, as if it was their first. He lifted his hand to cup her face and she melted into his touch, allowing the warmth of his mouth to thaw the cold of her heart. The kiss was acceptance, it was emotion and it was thrill.

“I’m in if you’re in.” He demurred with lighthearted intention.

Jaida smiled softly, joy in her eyes that Rex only caught glimpses of, but she caught his lips in feeble ecstasy.

She broke away with a dainty smile, and Rex laughed.

“I’m in.” The jedi whispered.

He grinned again, wider now as a perfect laugh fell from Jaida’s perfect lips.

His fingers dropped from her cheek and found hers without question, taking her hand in his as he refused to break away from her hopeful eyes.

Rex squeezed her hand, then jolted, taking her with him as he ran out of the hall and back to where the music still rumbled.

Jaida let him whisk her away, gladly.

[rocksandrobots]

Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 43 - Finale (Pt. 5)

"Okay, what if we used some nitrocellulose and mixed it with an oxidized ethanol?" Varain asked.

Honey Lemon pursed her lips. "Uhmmm, wouldn't that just make the chimball explode?"

"Uh, yeah. That's the point."

"I don't know….It sounds kind of dangerous."

Varian and Honey Lemon hovered over the chemistry set inside Big Hero Six's new lab.

As soon as Chief Cruz and Megan had left the Lucky Cat this morning, Hiro had called everyone together to meet at their headquarters. He had to pick up a new set of armor, and he wanted to tweak everyone else's suits to help prevent Supersonic Sue from disarming them again.

While Hiro worked on that, Varian was taking this time to build himself a new arsenal of alchemical orbs with Honey Lemon's help.

"Relax," he said as he reached over to pick up a test tube full of some green liquid  "I won't throw it at anybody. It's just in case those robot ninjas show up again."

"Yeah, but you don't want any fire to accidentally spread." Honey Lemon argued. "What if we made something more contained? Like, oh, like what if we compressed some air inside the chimball?" She held one of the empty shells up. "That way when you threw it and it exploded, it would only hit the target with a concussive blast. There's no chance of that catching on fire."

Varian tilted his head in thought and took the shell from her.

"Yeah, that could work; on one of them. What if there's more than one? What if they gang up on you?" He asked as he poured the green liquid into the shell, sealed it, and clipped it to his belt.

"Well then we can just use the ice bombs to freeze them all at once." She replied.

"Yeah, I guess so." Varian agreed, and pulled out the liquid nitrogen to make the ice bombs with.

As they were finishing up this task, and Varian was hooking the last of the chemical orbs to his Saporian belt, Honey Lemon said, "You know this was fun. You should help out more often. Oh, we could go on patrol together or, maybe come up with new-"

"Oh no, no, nope, I'm not a hero." Varian interrupted as he shook his head.

Honey Lemon pouted at this.

"I'm just here cause I'm worried about Hiro." Varian explained.

Honey Lemon eyes went wide as she realized what Varian was getting at. She had been there when Hiro first found out about Callaghan's role in Tadashi's death; and she had been the one to stop Baymax from attacking and killing the professor.

"I don't know what good I'm doing though." Varian went on.

"You're doing a lot of good." She assured him.

"Am I? Cause, like, I'm not one to talk about 'being the bigger the person' or how 'you need to take the high road.' Honestly I don't even agree with this whole superhero thing. I mean, yes what y'all are doing is great, and yes, I'm all for helping Abigail, but… Callaghan…"

Honey Lemon mulled over his words. "But if we don't help, who will?"

Varian threw up his hands in defeat. "Yeah, that's what Hiro said…. but you didn't see him. You didn't see how much just having that one little computer chip destroyed hurt him…. I just don't know how this is all going to play out if we keep doing this."

"Are you worried Hiro might do something he'll regret?"

"No, I'm worried about what I might do." He turned to look her dead in the eye. "I can live with regrets, but I can't live with myself if something happened to him, or you, or anyone else."

Honey Lemon shivered at those words. "So you, what? Just want us to all stop?"

"No. I don't know. I just want everyone to be safe, and happy… And that's not happening so long as we have to keep dealing with Callaghan and whoever this Bosu is."

Honey Lemon lowered her head. Usually superheroing was fun. Even the more challenging villains were just attention seekers out to beat them, as if it was all just some friendly competition. Very few of the foes they faced were actively malicious. But there were times, like now, when it became very hard to ignore how dangerous their chosen hobby could be.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Varian laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, don't listen to me." He soothed. "I'm not a superhero, remember. What do I know?"

Honey Lemon gave him a small smile. "Well, maybe not, but you are a good friend, and I get it, about your concern for Hiro. It's only natural to be protective of your siblings."

"Siblings?"

Honey Lemon had to only laugh at the confused face he made. "Oh come on, you and Hiro totally act like brothers."

"No we don't….do we? I don't know how brothers act. Is it any different from just being friends?"

Honey Lemon snorted with laughter again. "Yeah, a little different. For one you usually don't wrestle for control of the tv remote with your friends, fight over who does what chores, or prank each other with megaphones."

"I thought that was just Hiro being Hiro."

"No, it's 'cause you live together, and have the same guardian. I don't know how to explain it, but it's just different with little brothers, that's all."

"But I… I don't know how to be a brother. Let alone how to be the 'older, more responsible brother'. And I doubt Hiro sees me that way, anyways. I mean, he already has Tadashi… had… I mean…."

He trailed off and Honey Lemon eyed him with worry once more.

After a few moments he whispered, "I'm not trying to replace anybody."

"Well, of course not. No one said that you were."

"Then why do I feel like I am?"

Honey Lemon blinked. What did he mean? Where had this even come from?

Before she could press further though, Hiro walked into the lab.

"Hey, we're heading out soon. You might want to start suiting up." He said.

"Okay. Just give us a minute to gather things up and we'll meet you in the briefing room." She answered.

Hiro nodded his acknowledgement and left.

"Well, looks like we'll have to save the heart to heart for later." Varian snarked as he scooped up Sirque's portal magnets and grabbed the controller he had built for them. After placing these in his pockets, he turned around and asked, "What do you think? Do I look 'heroic' enough?"

He was dressed in his full Saporian garb, complete with bandana and his usual goggles, and along with the new chimballs they'd just made, he appeared exactly the same as he did the first night he'd arrived in San Fansokyo. Well almost, he was slightly taller now, but only by a few inches.

"Hmmm… honestly Sparkles was right, you do kind of look like a bandit, or maybe even a pirate?"

Varian huffed. "See, I can't even look the part."

"Well I still think you'd make a great superhero." She encouraged as she straightened the collar of his jacket.

"Ha ha," he snorted, then more seriously said "We'll be lucky if we can even find the bad guys again. Let alone take them head on."

Honey Lemon refused to let Varian's pessimism get her down.  

"Well then here's a hug for good luck." She cheered and flung her arms around him.

Varian tentatively returned the hug. "Th-thanks… I feel more lucky already."

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

"So how's things going, Teach?" Sue barked as she skated into the makeshift lab.

Callaghan rolled his eyes in annoyance as he tightened the bolt on the portal.

He had been up all night assembling the frame. Somehow the pair of villains had all of the needed parts all ready to go, along with some pre-programmed software and a few prototypes to work off of.

Whoever this boss they were all working for was, they were clearly well connected and apparently had other people continuing his research in his absence. A Dr. Celine Simard had provided most of the equipment and had emailed him blueprints to her own miniature portal designs. They had only conversed briefly through a heavily monitored chat room, but it was a relief to speak to someone who wasn't as thick as a bag of bricks. Celine seemed like such a bright young woman. It was a shame she was selling out her talents to such an obviously unscrupulous organization.

Though he couldn't fully blame her reasoning… "Krei Tech, Government, the Black Market; it's all the same. They're all corrupt. Might as well go with the one who pays the highest."

"Even if they might kill you afterwards?"

"I don't look a gift horse in the mouth. If you play along nicely they won't hurt you. I would just take the money and passport if I was you."

Callaghan had stopped trying to reach out to her after that. One day this life of crime she was living was going to catch up to her, but he couldn't waste time trying to save her from herself. He had his own daughter to worry about.

"How's Abigail?" He asked as he stood up and put the wrench back inside the tool box.

Sue shrugged. "She's fine. Same as the last fifty times you've asked."

Callaghan walked over to the computer terminal, typed in some code, and read the read out that flashed up on screen.

"You never did tell me where you got my notebook." He said.

"Don't ask me. Those two boys who tried to bust you out yesterday had it. Where they got it, I don't know."

Callaghan frowned and opened his notebook again. He had discovered handwriting that wasn't his own inside, fixing his calculations and expanding upon some of his more 'out there' theories. He had assumed they were done by others in the villains' gang but apparently that wasn't the case.

He still didn't know how Hiro's little friend had come upon his research, but the kid apparently knew a thing or three about theoretical physics. The boy's new equations could potentially stabilize the portal, preventing it from breaking down.

He wouldn't need them though. Callgahn sat the notebook back down and returned to the computer terminal. He didn't want this particular portal to work.

"I'm about ready to perform the first test;" He said coolly, "turn on the power generators."

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

"Any luck?" Wasabi asked as he joined the rest of the group on top of a skyscraper.

"No." Sighed Honey Lemon.

"We must have scanned the whole city by now." Hiro said.

"What if this Bosu has the same bio-dampening tech that Momasake had?" Fred suggested. "He could have snagged it off her when she got captured, and handed it off to Sue and her grandson."

"That's possible." Gogo admitted. "Especially since they now know that we can track them."

"So what do we do now?" Honey Lemon asked.

Varian cupped his chin in thought as he walked towards the ledge of the building where Baymax stood, still scanning the city. "Baymax, are you able to scan for other things besides just bio-readings?"

"Yes. I am capable of scanning thermal, infrared, radiation-"

"Energy spikes? Like electrical surges." Varian interrupted.

Hiro walked over to join them. "What's your idea?"

"Why would this Bosu kidnap Abigail? She's not actually a scientist."

"Because she's Callaghan's daughter," Wasabi said as he pieced together what Varian was getting at, "and they'll use her to blackmail him into building them a portal."

"Exactly, and they've got to find a way to power it up. There might be unusual energy spikes once they get it up and running."

"So we, what, just wait around?" Gogo asked skeptically. "If Callaghan builds another portal and it's just as unstable as the last ones we've dealt with, then we might be too late to stop it from imploding if we wait till it's turned on."

"Yeah and who knows how much damage that'll cause." Fred agreed.

"Still it's the best idea we have right now; only we don't want to go chasing after every electrical surge in the city. We need a way to narrow the search even further." Hiro mulled over this new dilemma, then a new idea hit him. "Baymax, scan Varian."

"Wha- why?" The other boy asked in confusion as Baymax looked him up in and down.

"Scan complete." The robot said.

"I'll show you." Hiro grunted as he removed the chest plate off of Baymax's armor. "Baymax, show us Varian's readings."

The screen on the robot's chest lit up and displayed a silhouette of the time displaced teen.

"Okay, now show us his radiation levels."

The screen changed again to showcase a graph and Hiro pointed to one of the spikes that was higher than the others.

"There. See that? That's some sort of low energy electromagnetic radiation. Don't worry, it's non-ionized so it's harmless, but it's not anything that's been seen on earth. Not this earth anyways. I suspect it's from traveling through the portal unprotected, the same way astronauts risk GCR when they break through earth's atmosphere."

"Ooookaay… and outside of me apparently being a freak now, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Don't you see? If they turn on the portal it's going to emit that same form of radiation."

"Then we could track it faster and easier than we would just looking for any random energy spike." Gogo interjected.

"Yeah, but that still requires us just waiting around hoping that the bad guys do get the portal working." Wasabi said.

"Oh, they'll get it to work." Hiro said. "This isn't the first time Callagan's built a portal. The question is how long will it remain stable?"

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

Callaghan flipped a switch on the dashboard and the portal roared to life.

Sue shielded her eyes with her arm as she squinted at the glowing blue circle that hung in the air. The wind was picking up as it was being sucked into the void.

Something was wrong.

Suddenly the power shorted out and the portal shut down as sparks flew out from the sides.

"Blast it!" Callaghan yelled. "I need more power. These generators aren't enough. We'll have to connect to the grid."

"Now hold on there, sugar cakes." Sue interjected. "I thought you didn't want this thingamajig to work."

"I don't, but you've left me with no choice. Call that boss of yours. Get them on the line. I can't finish my work without a direct connection to the city power supply."

"Alright. You need more power? I'll get ya more power. Just hold on to your britches and sit tight. My… uh, associates here will keep an eye on you while I go out and fix this."

She pointed to the two ninjas who were stationed on the catwalk above them. Callgahn didn't know how many were in Sue's employ, but he had the sneaking suspicion that the abandoned factory was crawling with them.

"Okay." Challghan nodded and Sue skated away at top speed.

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

"There is a radiation spike coming from there." Baymax said as he pointed northward.

"How far out?" Asked Hiro.

"Along the river, about 20 mil--- the signal is gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Varian asked.

"There's no longer any readings."

"It must have been a failed test." Hiro said. "Let's just start following the river north. We may find something as we go."

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

Abigail paced back and forth inside her cell. Well it was actually an office with a larger window looking out onto the factory below but it might as well have been a jail cell. The ninjas threw her in here and locked the door behind them. She had tried to bust the door down, smash the handle, and crawl into the vents to escape. Nothing had worked so far.  

As she nursed her arm from her latest failed escape, she saw one of her captors coming her way. It was the big bulky dude on roller skates. She banged on the window to gain his attention.

"Let me out!" She shouted.

The guy stopped, turned to look at her, pulled out two earbud headphones, and yelled, "I'm sorry, what did you say?!"

As the man leaned closer to the window and cupped his ear Abigail groaned in frustration. "I said 'let me out'!"

"Oh, sorry, no can do! Nana said you needed to stay put until your dad finished working on the portal!"

Abigail pouted and hugged her arm once more. Well, what did she think would happen?

"Do you need anything else?!" The guy shouted at her.

"No!" She stamped her foot before turning away from him to sulk as she tried to rub out the soreness in her arm.

"Hey, are you hurt?!" The guy asked, suddenly full of concern.

Abigail didn't answer. Why did he care?

However, to her surprise the guy opened the door and poked his head into the office.

"Did those robots hurt your arm?" He asked once more.

She looked back at him blankly. "Robots? Is that why those ninjas are so strong? They're robots?"

"Yeah." The large guy confirmed as if barely acknowledging how crazy that sounded. "Do you need an ice pack?"

"Sure." Abigail replied dumbfoundedly. Seriously, why was this guy being so nice?

"I'll go get you one. I'm Stu by the way." He flashed her a huge grin.

"Abigail." She replied still dumbstruck.

"Nice to meet you. I'll be right back." And with that he shut the door again and walked away.

Abigail got up and ran to the door. It was locked once more. Either the guy was smarter than he looked or it locked automatically.

Abigail bit her lip in thought. This Stu person could be her means of escape if she played her cards right.

"I'm back." Stu cheerfully said a few minutes later. "I got you an ice pack and some Tylenol."

He opened the door and handed Abigail the small little package containing the pills.

"Where'd you get this?" She asked.

"Oh, in the vending machine down the hall." He explained as he wrapped her arm in an ace bandage so as to better hold the ice pack in place. "I didn't have any money so I had to headbutt it a couple times. I got a free bag of Cheetos out of it as well."

He finished applying the bandage. "There! Man those robots are so dumb. Not to mention careless. Sorry you got hurt like that."

Abigail plastered a smile on her face. "It-it's okay…. Uhmm…I don't suppose you happen to have anything to drink these down with do you?" She said as she held up the pack of Tylenol.

"Oh sure. I'll go get you a bottle of water. Hang tight."

He left again and Abigail got to work. She removed the bandage and placed the ice pack on the floor in front of the door. Then she took the bandage and tied it between two desk chairs that were seated in the office. She placed these further out in front of the ice pack; spacing them far enough apart the rope laid taunt next to the ground right at ankle height.

Then she heard Stu's return and she jumped into the seat; placing her hands in her lap and slapping on a huge smile to look as innocent as possible as he skated in.

"Here ya, gooooo-woah!" He slipped on the ice pack and stumbled forward.

Abigail jumped up, grabbed the water bottle in his hand to sling him around, and with a well placed kick, Stu went rolling backwards into the tripwire. As he toppled over, Abigail sprinted out the door, locking it behind her.

"Hey! That's not very nice!" He yelled as he righted himself and ran up to the window.

Abigail paused in her getaway. "Yeah, and neither's kidnapping people and holding them hostage!"

Stu looked stunned for a moment as he thought over her words. "Yeah, okay, fair." He finally admitted as he hung his head. Then just as quickly he perked back up and smooshed his face to the glass. "Oh, but Nana's not going to like that you escaped."

"Yeah, well, Nana's just going to have to deal. Where's my dad?"

"Uh, on the first floor I think. Take the stairs down the end of the hall and then turn left."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Oh, but watch out for the robot ninjas!" He shouted after her as she ran away, opening the pack of pain pills as she went.

As Abigail neared the stairs she heard banging and the sound of glass cracking. She looked back and saw Stu slamming himself against the window repeatedly; and he was making a lot more headway then she had. She needed to find her dad fast.

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

Supersonic Sue was hooking up the last of the electric cables to the power lines when she spotted Big Hero Six flying towards the power plant.

"Looks like those do-gooders found our hideout. Better give them a welcoming party." She said to herself with a smile as she pulled out a remote control and pressed a button.

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

"Looks like there's a building up ahead!" Hiro shouted at his companions, who followed close behind, but stopped short when Baymax came to an abrupt halt.

From out of the woods stepped a robot ninja, who stood in their path.

"Yeeeeessssss!" Laughed Fred. "Finally I get to fight a robot ninja! My life is complete!"

"Be careful! Those things are deadly!" Varian warned.

"Oh come on. There's only one of it and seven of us. We can take...him?"

Just as Fred finished his boast another stealth robot appeared, and then another, and yet another, until the superhero team was surrounded by thirty or more of the killer androids.

"You were saying?" Wasabi snapped at Fred.

As if taking that as a cue, the robots jumped them and all hell broke loose.

Wasabi slammed the gas on his car and plowed through five of the droids, before hitting the brakes and jumping out as the robots dog piled the vehicle. He righted himself and whipped out his laser blades to start hacking away at the enforcers and the deadly shurikens they threw at him.

As he fended off the horde, Gogo skated around dodging their attacks and knocked the snipper robots out of the trees with her discs.

"Woo-hoo!" Fred shouted with glee as he bounced on top of robot after robot, just barely escaping their grasp as they lunged for him. "This is awesome! Terrifying, but awesome!"

Varian rolled his eyes at his friend's enthusiasm as he threw an ice bomb down below at the coming onslaught. He then had to grab hold of Hiro's waist as Baymax decided to do another barrel roll, knocking two more ninjas out of the trees.

When they righted again Varian's heart jumped to his throat when caught sight of Honey Lemon. She was several yards away, cut off from the rest of their friends and pinned down by one of the robotic assassins.

He shouted at her to hold on and Hiro drove Baymax towards her; only for the three of them to get jumped on by another robot. As they fought this new foe, Varian feared they wouldn't reach their friend in time.

Fortunately Honey Lemon was able to wiggle one arm free and grabbed a chimball from off her purse strap. She shoved it into her attacker's abdomen, lodging it in between some exposed gears, and with all her might she kicked the robot off her.

The android stood back up and started to stalk towards her once more, but suddenly stopped when the chimball ruptured and began to encase him in a pink crystal like substance.

Honey Lemon didn't have time to rejoice though as another ninja came up from behind to grab her arm. She threw another chimball at it and this time the robot let go and dubbed over as a shockwave from a small explosion sent the thing crumpling in on itself. Her concussive grenade had worked.

"Are you okay?" Varian shouted as they finally reached her.

"Yeah." She nodded as Hiro repelled another robot away with his electromagnets.

"I have found Supersonic Sue." Baymax calmly stated as he shot his rocket fist into the oncoming horde.

"Where?" Hiro asked, but soon saw the fading streak of dust traveling at high speed towards the abandoned building up ahead.

"We have to go after her. That building must be where they're keeping Callaghan and Abigail."

"Don't worry. I got this." Honey shouted as she ran ahead and shot down another wave of robots with her chempurse's bazooka setting.

"You three go on, we'll hold off the ninjas." Gogo spoke into the intercom before slicing off one of the androids heads with her frisby.

With that Hiro directed Baymax to follow Sue, only for them to be surrounded by a new group of ninjas lying in wait for them, just a mile down the road, even larger than the last horde.

"Where is she getting all these robots from!?" Hiro shouted in frustration.

"I have an idea!" Varian said and he pulled out the portal magnets.

Hiro saw what he was getting at. "Guys," he warned over the intercom, "Varian and I are going to use the mini-portal to break in, but be on your toes cause a new wave of robot ninjas are going to head your way soon."

"Oh you gotta be kidding me." Wasabi complained over the other end.

Varian ignored their friend's protests and typed a command into the portal's remote control. He then tossed the magnets into the air. With a flip of a switch, the magnetic balls began to link up and spin as a portal started to form in the air.

Hiro commanded Baymax to fly to it, and helped to maneuver the android to avoid the ninjas' attacks, as the robotic assassins tried to stop them from leaving.

They dodge one that tried to jump them, and Hiro kicked another off that had grabbed hold of Baymax's armor and was climbing up towards them. Meanwhile Varian threw one last alchemical orb at the swarm of robots as they flew into the portal. Hiro heard an explosion behind them, but ignored it as he focused on the upcoming confrontation ahead of them.

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

"Okay Callaghan, I siphoned off electricity from the city's power grid. You should be good to go." Sue said as she entered the lab.

"Good, now just stand there and hold that lever down while I turn the machine on." Came Callaghan's terse reply.

"Why? What does the lever do?" Sue asked in suspicion.

"It keeps the fan on the turbines going and prevents the portal from overheating." Callaghan lied.

Sue raised an eyebrow at him, not fully buying it. "You want me to stand next to a giant, untested, potential death machine that may explode at any moment?"

"I assure you it works, and I thought you could order one of your 'associates' to do it, but looks like most of them have left the building save for the one you kept on lookout there."

Sue gave him a death glare.

"Or hey, don't do it and don't get the portal working. See if I care. I didn't ask to get dragged into this."

Sue finally relented at this and walked over to the base of the portal and pulled the lever down. "Like this?" she asked.

"Yeah, just like that." Callaghan said as he walked over to the computer terminal to turn it on. Then under his breath, where Sue couldn't hear, he said. "Just like that you rancid cow; stay right there and be the folly of your own demise."

But before Professor Callaghan could turn on the device and suck his hated captor into the void, another portal opened up overhead and in flew Hiro, Baymax, and Varian; knocking out the one remaining guard as they did so, who fell to the ground in a crumpled heap of frayed wires and busted gears.

"Step away from the portal, Callaghan." Hiro ordered at him.

For his part, Callaghan did as he was told and backed away, hands raised.

"Why you little scamps." Sue said. She almost sounded impressed. "You got persistence and gumption, I'll give ya that, but ain't half as clever as you think you are."

With a nod of her head another ninja jumped from the shadows above them and grabbed Varian by his jacket collar.

"Seriously, where are you getting all these robots!?" Hiro asked.

"Oh, just from an old buddy of mine." She nonchalantly said as she made her way to the door.

"Kensei?" Hiro spat as he finally threw the robot off them.

"Ah so you heard," Sue said, "and they say kids these days don't know their history. Yeah, I thought the ninja aesthetic was a little hokey myself; Kensei's gimmick was always centered around lame karate stuff, but hey, who am I to judge?"

And with that, as quick as a wink, she tossed one of the now defunct robot's weapons at them. Only instead of the usual shuriken, it was a metal ball that opened up and released a weighted net that was difficult to dodge.

As both boys struggled to pull it off, Baymax fell to the ground below under its weight and Supersonic Sue tried to make her getaway.

Only to stop when Stu burst through the door.

"Nana! I am soo, so sorry, but Abigail's escape!"

"What!?" She shouted.

With this news, Callaghan raced to the computer terminal while everyone was distracted and turned on the device.

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

The ground rumbled and soon a heavy wind picked up as the unstable portal began to suck things into it.

Abigail wandered around the abandoned building utterly lost. She had deviated from Stu's directions in order to avoid running into those ninjas again. She hadn't seen any more of them around for awhile, but now she couldn't find her way back.

Suddenly the ground shook as if there was an earthquake. Abigail ran under a door frame for shelter and held on tightly.

As the tremor subsided, Abigail began to wonder if it was a natural occurrence at all.

Portals, that was what this was all about, apparently. The bad guys had wanted her father to build them one, but if he did, it could blow up in all of their faces, literally.

Then she heard yelling down the hall, as a wind picked up.

"Dad!" She shouted and knowingly ran towards the danger.

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

"Are you crazy!?" Sue shouted over the howling wind.

"No, desperate!" Callaghan shouted back. "I rigged this portal to implode in on itself!"

Sue looked at him as if he'd grown two heads.

"There's children in here, ya dang fool!" Came her reply.

"I'm not a child!" Varian protested as he struggled underneath the net.

Both villains ignored him.

"Oh, says the woman who attacked them with a bunch of deadly robots!"

"Oh please, their weapons were set to stun. I wasn't going to hurt a bunch of snot nosed brats... much."

As if to counteract this statement another robot ninja jumped out at them and shot a laser out of it's wrist right at Callaghan. The professor ducked out of the way as sparks flew around him. Then the wind from the portal sucked the android right into the void.

Sue, for once,  looked embarrassed at being called out in her hypocrisy.

"In my defense I don't know anything about programming robots." She said.

"Call off the bots, let everyone go, and I'll turn the portal off!" Callaghan said.

Just then the wind picked up even more, the net over the two boys flew off and Varian and Hiro would have been swept away into the nothingness had Baymax not caught them.

"Fine!" Sue relented as she pressed a button on a remote. "It's no skin off my nose if the portal doesn't get built or not."

Another robot, that had just entered from the upper level, suddenly collapsed and fell down to the floor in a heap as it was deactivated. Then it's remains along with the other destroyed robots got sucked into the portal as well.

Satisfied with her compliance Callaghan turned around to shut the terminal off, only for the computer to explode which led to the rest of the machine to catch on fire.

"Well what did you do now?!" Sue shouted.

"It wasn't me! That robot of yours must have damaged the controls!"

Just then, Abigail shoved past the doors.

"Dad!" She called to him desperately, choking back the smoke that started to fill the room,  and that was when Callaghan realized how badly he had screwed up.

Sue rolled her eyes. "Oh I've had enough of this! Stu, make us an exit! I'll salvage what we can here!"

"Right Nana!" Stu saluted. Then he revved up his skates, curled up into a ball, and basted himself at the concrete wall on the opposite side of the room at top speed.

He busted through three walls before coming out the other side and Hiro could just make out the glimmer of sunlight on the other end.

While Stu was busy with that, Sue skated right up to Callaghan and slugged him in the face. The professor fell backwards, clutching his jaw.

"Dad!" Abigail shouted again and ran to his side.

Sue skated over to the desk next to where they stood, or what was left of it. After finding what she wanted she turned to leave; only stopping long enough to give the murderous professor a sneer of pure disdain before skating away in a blur after her grandson.

As soon as she was gone a squeal of metal scraping against metal was heard. One of the portal's legs collapsed under The heat of the spreading fire and the gaping maw of the void turned at an angle towards the roof. The ceiling started to cave in from under the strain.

Everyone had to dodge out of the way quickly from the falling debris. One particularly large steel beam nearly fell right on top of Callaghan and Abigail, and he had to push his daughter away quickly. She stumbled back and was almost sucked into the void again until Baymax pulled her out of the way.

As the robot and the three humans huddled behind a concrete slab, Abigail tried to break away from the android's grip.

"Dad, no!" She sobbed.

"I'm alright!" Came Callaghan's call. "I'm just trapped on the other side!"

Abigail cried with relief.

"We're coming after you." Hiro shouted back.

"No, don't! You three get out of here! Take Abigail to safety."

"But what about you?" Varian yelled.

"Don't worry about me, I'll find another way out."

Soon they saw Callaghan start to climb up a ladder to the catwalk above.

"He must be trying to go around." Hiro said. "He'll never make it that way."

As if to confirm this, more debris fell from the collapsing roof, blocking their view of the professor. Hiro came to a decision.

"Baymax, take Varian and Abigail and get out. I'm going after Callaghan."

"That's crazy!" Varian protested.

"I do not feel that is a very safe option." Baymax agreed, but Hiro was already halfway finished climbing up the other side of the concrete slab.

"Don't worry, I got my gear! Just go on! Now!"

Baymax gave in to Hiro's orders and scooped Abigail up in arms. He then took off and flew away before Varian could crawl off his back.

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

Varian casted a fearful look behind him as he watched Hiro run through the smoke. Then as they made it to the tunnel he watched in horror as the portal fell completely and the rest of the building started to come down.

"No stop!" He yelled. "We have to go after them!"

Either Baymax didn't hear him or the robot ignored his pleas; too set on following his previous commands.

As they neared the exit, Varian gathered his courage and jumped off the robot and onto the grassy ground that opened up below.

It took a moment for Baymax to realize what had happened. He turned around to see Varian running back into the burning building.

"No! Don't!" Abigail screamed after him.

"Baymax, get Abigail out of here, and have the rest of the gang fall back!" Varian yelled over his shoulder. "No telling what the range of the blast radius of the portal will be once it finally implodes in on itself!"

Then he dove out of sight into the tunnel.

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

Hiro coughed as the smoke burned his lungs and stung his eyes. He searched for a way through the flames to the back of the former power plant, where the catwalk hung over head; dodging the debris that rained down around him. Then when he was directly under the service ramp, he used his electromagnetic whips to grab hold of the catwalk and pull himself up.

No sooner did he make it to the top, then did the portal fall down completely and along with it the rest of the roof.

A large hunk of the ceiling fell right on top of the walkway, snapping the metal railing into two. Hiro held on to the side desperately as the severed catwalk now shifted as it's structural integrity was compromised. Fortunately for him he had magnetic gloves on. Callaghan wasn't so lucky.

The professor went falling over the side as the ramp broke. He only just barely managed to grab hold of the bottom railing before falling into the void below. However he wasn't safe as the wind kept trying to suck him in and shook the broken catwalk ever which way.

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

Varian pulled up his bandana over his nose to block out the smoke. He also pulled down his goggles to protect his eyes. Still there was little he could do about the insufferable heat nor the falling hunks of metal and stone.

Somehow though he managed to make his back through to the former lab. As he entered the flame filled room the first thing he did was to look up. He noticed Callaghan and Hiro hanging from the broken catwalk right away, but how was he to get them down?

He spotted a ladder near the wall and next to it a long linked chain. He ran up to it and with a few tugs he broke the chain free from the pulley hook it hung from. He quickly wrapped it around his shoulder like you would a rope and then started to climb.

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

Hiro gauged the distance between him and Callaghan. It wasn't far, he could make it…. Or miss it completely and go tumbling into the void forever.

He gulped as he dared to look below him.

Just then the wind picked up speed once more and the catwalk bent under the force of the portal's suction.

"W-woah!" Callaghan screamed as he held on for dear life and Hiro himself gripped the railing beside him even tighter. He then threw out one of his whips to wrap around the end of the other catwalk leveling it somewhat.

"C-can you climb up?!" Hiro grunted.

Callaghan tried to, but failed. He was getting on in years and could no longer nimbly climb up the side of things like Hiro could. There was also the ever increasing pull of the portal to fight against.

"It- it's no use!" Callaghan called out. "Get out of Hiro! Save yourself! I don't want your death on my conscience as well!"

Those words hit Hiro deeper than Callaghan knew, and for a moment Hiro seriously considered following his advice and just leaving the man to his fate.

After all, there wasn't any obvious way to save him. Hiro would only be risking his life for nothing the longer he stayed. It wasn't murder just to save your own skin, not really, and well, Callaghan had brought this onto himself. All of it, the portal, his imprisonment, the fire…

Hiro gave the pathetic old man a cold glare; one that cut through even the inescapable heat of the rising flames around them.

Oh how he hated Callaghan!

He took a deep breath and retracted his magnetic whip, leaving the other side of the catwalk free to twist in the wind.

Still he didn't immediately turn to leave. Never taking his eyes off Callaghan, Hiro watched his brother's murderer flail about as he struggled to maintain his hold on the railing. Time felt like it had slowed to a crawl for Hiro as his mind was racked with indecision.

It would be so easy, he thought. So easy, and no one would blame him. His breath shallowed as he waited for the inevitable; his eyes fixated on Callaghan.

That's when Hiro noticed a foot fall behind him as the walkway shifted beneath him once more.

Varian was right behind him with a length of chain in his hands. The other boy said nothing, nor did he hand Hiro the makeshift rope.

Their eyes met and Hiro silently pleaded with him. Varian knew. Varian knew exactly what Hiro was going through. He knew the pain. He knew the desire. He knew what was happening, and he wasn't going to do anything to stop it.

It was Hiro's choice and Hiro's choice alone.

Hiro gulped once more as his heart pounded in his ears and angry tears stung his eyes.

No, Varian wouldn't judge him, but what about himself? What did he want? What was he willing to give up to get it? How could he face himself in the morning, or the next day, and everyday after that?

Hiro shook his head as everything suddenly became clear. There was no choice. Not really, as there was only ever one choice Hiro could live with.

He grabbed the chain out of Varian's hands and threw the other end to Callaghan. Once the professor had taken hold, both boys pulled him up. Then all three ran down the catwalk, slid down the ladder, and then dove through the hole in the wall.

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

As the two teens and professor ran away from the collapsing building, they heard an explosion go off behind them. Callaghan grabbed them both and pushed them to the ground; using his own body to shield them as best he could as the shockwave passed over them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hiro could see the trees around them bending backwards till their top branches nearly touched the ground. The earth trembled beneath them and a loud noise that made his ears ring sounded around them.

Finally, once Callaghan had deemed it safe enough, Hiro sat up to view the damage. Below them was a crater where the former power plant had stood. Not a sign was left of the portal.

"There they are!" Fred shouted behind them and Hiro turned to see his friends running towards them.

Abigail was also with them.

"Dad!" She ran up to her father first and wrapped her arms around him.

Callaghan broke down crying as he returned the hug. He kissed the top of head, and held her close, before cupping her face in his hands and nuzzling her nose the way he had always done when she was young.

It was the first time he had held his little girl in over five years.

"I missed you too, Dad." Abigail said as she snuggled closer to him and wrapped him another hug.

Hiro broke away from the celebration and the cheers of congratulations from his friends, as he watched Callaghan and Abigail reunite. Instead of joining in their merriment, he went and sulked underneath a tree overlooking the spot where the power plant once stood.

They all gave him space, except for Varian who walked over to join him. The other boy didn't say anything. He just rested a hand on Hiro's shoulder and sat beside him as everyone waited for the police to arrive.

"I still hate him." Hiro whispered as tears ran down his cheeks.

"Yeah, me too." Varian agreed.

And that was all that needed to be said. Hiro didn't regret saving Callaghan, but neither could bring himself to forgive Tadashi's murderer; even after all that happened; and that was okay. One didn't need to forgive in order to do the right thing, and in a small way that brought Hiro a little peace, even if the loss still hurt.

Still he couldn't help but smile a little bit, in spite of himself, when Judy also arrived along with the police. Krei had given her a lift as soon as they'd received  the text that Abigail had been rescued.

After the two girlfriends reunited, Abigail introduced her significant other to her dad, who was overjoyed at the news.

As Callaghan pulled both girls into a group hug, even Hiro had to admit they made a sweet family. Enough so, that Hiro almost felt sorry for them when Chief Cruz walked over to re-arrest the professor. Almost.

"I love you." Callaghan said as he entered the back of the police van.

"I'll see you next Tuesday; on visitor's day." Abigail sobbed. "We both will."

Callaghan tried to say something encouraging in response but the words caught in his throat as he choked on his own tears.

The police shut the door, and Abigail broke down again as she watched the police van drive away. Judy hugged her and planted a kiss on her cheek, as she wiped her tears away.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride back to your apartment." Krei gingerly stepped in and gently encouraged the two girls to follow him to the car.

"And don't worry about coming into work tomorrow. Take all the time you need." He told Judy as he opened the car door. She flung her arms around him in a grateful hug, to which Krei awkwardly returned. Judy wasn't known for being affectionate, not to him anyways.

"Uh, yeah, don't mention it." He said before breaking away and walked around into the driver's seat.

As the car drove away Cruz walked over to the superheroes. "I got a few questions for you."

"Yeah?" Hiro said as he got up walked over to the police chief.

"Do you know where Sue and her grandson are right now?"

"No."

"Do you know who was funding their portal research?"

"No."

"Then what do you know?"

"Callaghan didn't escape. Sue kidnapped him and blackmailed him." Fred offered up.

"So you said over the phone, but why?"

"Have you heard of the new crime lord running things since Di was arrested?" Gogo asked.

"Maybe. Were they behind this? Why are they after portal tech?"

Hiro shrugged, "We don't know."

"Do you know who they are?"

"Have you ever heard of an old supervillain called Kensei?"

Curz's eyes went wide at the mention of that name. "I'm going to need you to come down to the station with me."

The team of superheroes was startled by that.

"Sorry, but no, can do, officer." Hiro shook his head as Baymax flew up beside him.  

"Wait! You're not under arrest; I promise,  I just need more information!" Cruz pleaded as the heroes took off running, their enhanced gear allowing them to move faster than his men.

Cruz took off his hat and threw it to the ground in frustration as the last of the supers disappeared.

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

Supersonic Sue watched from above as the police departed. She had hid in the trees in order to spy on the gang of do-gooders.

"What now Nana?" Her grandson asked as they climbed down.

"Now, Stu, we go weasel some, I mean 'get paid', some money from my dear old friend, and then we high tail it out of here and laid low for awhile till this whole thing blows over."

"But we didn't get the portal, and the professor escaped?"

"Now don't you worry, none, hun. Nana's got everything under control." She said as she whipped out her cell phone.

"Hey Kensei? Yeah, got some bad news about that portal you wanted…. Now, now, don't go getting your knickers in a twist; I got something that still might interest you." Sue chuckled as she pulled out the blue notebook from her pocket.

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

Wasabi pulled up to the gas pump and got out of the car.

"Do you guys want anything while we're here?" He asked the two boys riding in the back seat.

Hiro and Varian shook their heads no, and Wasabi left to go pay for the gas.

Once they had all safely gotten away from the police, it was decided by the group of teenagers to ditch their superhero gear and ride home normally.

Fred had called Heathcliff to pick him and the girls up, while Hiro and Varian volunteered to walk back with Wasabi to his car.

Baymax was currently in the trunk and had powered down into sleep mode in order to save on energy. It wouldn't do to have a 'drunk' robot running around the cafe on low battery, when their aunt came home.

Aunt Cass had texted them not too long ago to let them know she was leaving the hotel. Apparently Tracey's car had had a flat tire and they were getting a late start.

Thus far, on the ride back, neither boy had said much to the other. Each was lost in their own thoughts as Wasabi obliviously carried on all the conversation. It was mostly about opera as he had had the radio on.

Though without Wasabi's singing to distract them, Hiro started to grow uncomfortable with the silence.

"Hey, thanks, for helping out back there." He said.

"You're welcome." Varian replied in a tired manner.

"You know, I… I don't know what I would have done had you not shown up when you did."

Varian just shrugged. "Probably just save the day, like you always do." He then turned to look at Hiro. "I knew you wouldn't go through with it."

"How? How can you be so sure?"

"Cause, you're not me." Varian said as he looked away. "I would've let him fall. No hesitation."

Hiro didn't know what to say to that.

"I told you. Unlike you, I'm not a hero." Varian admitted as he felt Hiro's eyes on him. "I honestly don't know how you do it."

Hiro mulled over these words. "I guess… because I have good friends who support me and people to look up to. Who'll stop me from going too far."

Varian gave him a disbelieving smile. "People like your big brother I guess?"

"Yeah."

Varian shook his head. "Must be nice, having people around to help you when you need them. I'm not sure it'd make a difference in my case. I don't if anyone could have talked me down; not… not after what happened."

"Well," Hiro slowly said. "You never had a brother with you."

Varian nodded but didn't look at him, so Hiro contunited.

"Yup, it's a good thing my big brother was there today to help me out."

Hiro rested his hands behind his head as he said this and tried to act nonchalant, but he peeked out of the corner of his to watch Varian's reaction.

The other boy slowly looked up as realization dawned on his face.

Hiro smiled. "Thanks for being there for me."

"An-anytime." Varian answered with his own smile.  

Hiro held out his hand for a fist bump. Varian returned it, the way Hiro and Baymax had taught him to do it. Then both boys wiggled their fingers and went "babalala", imitating their robot pal.

They couldn't keep a straight face when doing so though, and broke down into giggles.

"What's so funny?" Wasabi asked cheerfully as he entered the car.

"Oh nothing." Hiro snickered.

"Hey, hey, Wasabi, how about a driving lesson?" Varian pestered.

Wasabi rolled his eyes. "After the sport's car incident?"

"Not me, Hiro."

Wasabi turned back and looked at Hiro thoughtfully. "Well, alright, get on up here."

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

Hiro was finishing tidying up his room when he heard the familiar tune of La Cucaracha blaring down from the street below.

"Hey, Varian! Aunt Cass is back!"

He called to the other teen as he ran downstairs.

"Ok, all I got left to vacuum is the bathroom rug!" He called after before switching on the machine once more. "Be down in a sec!"

"Bye Tracey, see ya later." Aunt Cass called after her friend as she entered the cafe and her friend drove away.

She dumped her bags on the floor and let out a sigh of relief.

"Wooh, vacation will wear you out." She said as she leaned against the door.

"Hi Aunt Cass." Hiro ran to give her a hug. "Did you have a nice time?"

His aunt ignored the question "Oh Hiro, how are you, sweetheart?"

"I'm fin- ... I'm doing better."

"Did you hear about Callaghan?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was on the news today. They caught him."

"Yeah, Cruz texted me about it."

She stroked her fingers through his hair and pouted. "Do you still want to talk… about… well, you know?"

Hiro seriously considered it.

"Maybe later," he said, "I talked to Varian about it earlier today and I'm feeling a lot better now."

"Really?"

Hiro nodded his head.

"Well, I'm glad you two can open up to each other like that, and be there for one another. I'm also glad you two didn't burn the house down while I was gone."

Aunt Cass laughed at her own joke and Hiro joined in, but soon he weighed in with one more question, before moving on from the whole ordeal.

"Do.. Do you still hate him? Callaghan, I mean?"

Aunt Cass looked at him thoughtfully before answering.

"Yes." She nodded. "Do you?"

"Yeah." He sniffed.

Both aunt and nephew shared a silent moment for their grief as they came to an understanding before wrapping each other in a hug once more.

That was when Varian came down the stairs to join them.

"Hey!" He greeted, before embracing Aunt Cass in his own hug.

He practically lifted her off her feet as he did so, and for the first time Aunt Cass noticed that her adopted child was now taller than herself.

"What?" He laughed as he caught her giving him a funny smile.

"Nothing, I'm just glad to be back home." She said before wrapping both teens onto a group hug. "Oooh, I missed my boys sooo much, both of you!"

"We missed you too Aunt Cass." Hiro said.

"Yeah, next time you should just take us with you." Varian joked. "That way we can skip out on chores too, am I right Hiro?"

Hiro rolled his eyes at Varain's teasing. "Yeah, anything to avoid washing your dirty socks."

Even Aunt Cass couldn't help but laugh at that.

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

"Such a happy family." A woman's voice said as she peered at the Hamadas through her crystal ball. "Pity, their time is coming to an end."

Notes:

And Finally We Are Done with the Last Chapter! Woot!

But that's not the end of the story.

Be on the look out for season two, Ghosts of of the Past, where we'll meet more characters from the Tangled series, new villains, finally learn who this mysterious Boss is, and gain a new member of the Big Hero Six team!

You can find up dates at both the Rocks and Robot's discord https://discord.gg/yfVVrXjFW8

[aurabird]

Desperate Wings

Another thing for @hermitcraftheadcanons Scattered!AU and based off another ask where the idea of Parrot!Grian came up. I seem to like writing out the odd alt realities.

=====================================

Grian let out a grumble of annoyance as he hacked down leaves and branches in his path, small cuts on his skin from the overgrowth of the jungle. The hot, sticky air didn’t help much either, and had forced him to remove and tie his sweater around his waist; opting for just the simple t-shirt underneath it.

It was odd, to say the least. He’d spawned here alone, thousands of blocks away from 0,0; with not a single other Hermit in sight. They were all on the server, the tab list and the death notifications in chat told him as such, but he couldn’t send messages to them with his communicator for some reason.

Something MUST have gone wrong in the world creation...but surely X was on it right?

-

The verdant expanse of trees seemed to go on forever, not surprising, given the plan had been to have large biomes this time around.

Just one problem, though: he hadn’t seen a single passive animal aside from some parrots, pandas, and ocelots. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but those mobs didn’t drop any kind of food for him and he had begun to take note of his growling stomach.

He had managed to get some zombie flesh early on from a temple that hadn’t generated entirely for some reason, but that only aided in making him hungrier...

...not one of his smarter ideas, that much was certain.

Of course, he’d also acquired some seeds in his travels and the thought of making bread crossed his mind. Only problem with that plan was that it required waiting, and that was time he did not have.

A squawk came from beside him, a curious parrot that he’d encountered early on was still following him, scarlet feathers highly contrasting the green foliage.

It looked at the seeds in his hand and tilted its head, did it want them?

“Sorry, pesky bird, but I need these for later. Once I get a farm going I can give you an endless supply of them.”

The parrot repeated the action it did prior before flying up higher into the trees, alerting Grian to the fact the sun was setting. A thought came to him: if he could farm skeletons for bones he could grow the wheat himself, and, worst case scenario, he’d even take rotten flesh over starvation. Only problem with this plan was that the jungle was probably one of the most dangerous biomes to be in at night.

Still, it was worth a try.

-

Grian was shot by Skeleton

He found himself back on the cold stone of the jungle temple he’d originally spawned in and sat up with a groan of annoyance, there was no way he was getting the small amount of gear he’d had on him back, he’d not checked his coordinates in a long time.

With a sigh he hauled himself to his feet and began to punch the nearest tree in frustration. At least there was wood here, and stone from the temple as well; the gear wasn’t the best, but at least he had access to it.

Stone tools now crafted, Grian looked around, trying to remember the direction he’d originally gone, he efforts proved futile and he eventually he gave up and just picked a random one.

-

Grian was shot by Skeleton

Grian fell from a high place whilst fighting Zombie

Grian was slain by Spider

Grian blew up

Grian was slain by Phantom

Grain starved to death

“AUUUUUGGGHHH!” he exclaimed in frustration as he punched the stone wall to his left. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t making any ground. And, he was getting really sick of dying.

That’s when he opened his eyes and froze as he saw his arm...

...it was covered in feathers.

The sight sent him falling backward in shock and an impact with the ground sent a searing pain up his spine.

Once the pain subsided he rolled onto his chest and tried to get to his feet, realizing all of a sudden that there was something on his back.

After seeing his arms he didn’t want to look, but his curiosity was too great and so, that was how he learned of the little winglets that had grown from him, bulging out from under his shirt.

“This...this is all just some crazy dream...there’s no way this could possibly happen!”

He reached back to touch the new growths, they were colorful just like those of the parrots in the jungle. He’d heard the tales of the season 5 jungle, its corrupted code causing the sudden disappearance of three Hermits. Perhaps this was the same thing? It would make sense, given how he’d spawned alone with no way to communicate with the others, something was DEFINITELY wrong with the world.

Perhaps it would be better to just wait for the problem to be resolved? Go caving, get geared up, maybe build a treehouse or something to prevent himself from getting bored.

-

He’d long discarded his shirt by this point, his newfound wings had grown greatly in size and were would be uncomfortable under the fabric. Unfortunately, this removal of his clothing alerted him to the red feathers that had spread to his chest.

His stomach growled and Grian mindlessly popped some seeds into his mouth; he could see why parrots liked them so much!

At that thought it dawned on him. He knew that some of his fellow hermits were mob hybrids; Doc, Ren, Cleo, Jevin...could he possibly be...turning into one as well?

It would make sense, given his feathers and wings...and the fact he noticed his hands now resembled those of bird talons.

Was this because he’d died so many times in the jungle? That his body was changing to better adapt to the biome?

A squawk resounded from above him and he turned to look up, a blue and yellow parrot perched on a tree branch met his gaze, tilted its head, and then flew off.

"Hmm...I wonder...”

Grian closed his eyes and focused on the new growths protruding from his back until he felt his feet leave the floor and opened them again.

He was...he was FLYING! Flying without an Elytra!

Growing more confident he flew higher and higher, until he was above the treetops, able to see for miles unhindered.

Perhaps now he could actually get out of this jungle, find the other Hermits, and figure out what was going on.

[newstfionline]

Thursday, February 4, 2021

Pressure builds on schools to reopen during pandemic (AP) Pressure is building on school systems around the U.S. to reopen classrooms to students who have been learning online for nearly a year, pitting politicians against teachers who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In Chicago, the rancor is so great that teachers are on the brink of striking. In California, a frustrated Gov. Gavin Newsom implored schools to find a way to reopen. In Cincinnati, some students returned to classrooms Tuesday after a judge threw out a teachers union lawsuit over safety concerns. While some communities maintain that online classes remain the safest option for everyone, some parents, with backing from politicians and administrators, have complained that their children’s education is suffering from sitting at home in front of their computers and that the isolation is damaging them emotionally. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent study that there is little evidence of the virus spreading at schools when precautions are taken, such as masks, distancing and proper ventilation. But many teachers have balked at returning without getting vaccinated first.

House Dems make case for conviction; Trump denies charges (AP) Donald Trump endangered the lives of all members of Congress when he aimed a mob of supporters “like a loaded cannon” at the U.S. Capitol, House Democrats said Tuesday in making their most detailed case yet for why the former president should be convicted and permanently barred from office. Trump denied the allegations through his lawyers and called the trial unconstitutional. The dueling filings offer the first public glimpse of the arguments that will be presented to the Senate beginning next week. The impeachment trial represents a remarkable reckoning with the violence in the Capitol last month, which the senators witnessed firsthand, and with Trump’s presidency overall. Held in the very chamber where the insurrectionists stood on Jan. 6, it will pit Democratic demands for a final measure of accountability against the desire of many Republicans to turn the page and move on. The impeachment trial, Trump’s second, begins in earnest on Feb. 9.

Activists wary of broader law enforcement after Capitol riot (AP) As federal officials grapple with how to confront the national security threat from domestic extremists after the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol, civil rights groups and communities of color are watching warily for any moves to expand law enforcement power or authority. They say their communities have felt the brunt of security scrutiny over the last two decades and fear new tools meant to target right-wing extremism or white nationalists risk harming Muslims, Black Americans and other groups, even if unintentionally. “The answer ought to be to sort of pause. Because the instinct to do something is something I’m really quite afraid of,” said Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, one of more than 130 civil and human rights organizations that say the FBI already has the tools it needs. “There’s an entire federal code in place that allows you to successfully go after this violence before you need to sort of say, ‘Oh, wait, you know, there’s this existing gap and we need more power,’” she added.

Jeff Bezos steps down (CJR) Jeff Bezos said yesterday that he will soon step down as CEO of Amazon. Andy Jassy, who runs the company’s cloud computing division, will replace him; Bezos will become executive chair, a role he says will give him more time to focus on outside commitments, including his ownership of the Washington Post. (As CNN’s Brian Fung noted, not many people can say “I’m quitting to spend more time with my newspaper and space rockets.”)

Dozen state police charged in the massacre of 19 in Mexico (AP) A dozen state police officers have been arrested for allegedly killing 19 people, including Guatemalan migrants, whose bodies were found shot and burned near the U.S. border late in January, Mexican authorities announced Tuesday. Tamaulipas state Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica said all 12 officers were in custody and face charges of homicide, abuse of authority and making false statements. The killings revived memories of the gruesome 2010 massacre of 72 migrants near the town of San Fernando in the same gang-ridden state. But those killings were done by a drug cartel, while it is likely many people will find it more shocking that the Jan. 22 slayings allegedly were carried out by law enforcement. The attorney general did not say what motive the officers might have had, though corrupt local and state police in Mexico are often in the pay of drug cartels. Cartels in Mexico often charge migrant smugglers for crossing their territory, and kidnap or kill migrants whose smugglers have not paid or paid a rival gang.

Common pots prepared by neighbors feeding thousands in Peru (AP) At dawn, Genoveva Satalaya and her neighbors walk through Lima’s food markets hoping to find a kind merchant who will donate food to help fill the “common pot” that is feeding their neighborhood. The survival strategy that first appeared in Peru’s capital during the country’s civil conflict four decades ago has been vital since the coronavirus pandemic arrived in this South American nation. With the country again under a lockdown, Satalaya’s pot is feeding 120 people, including seniors, children and pregnant women. Satalaya and her neighbors prepare lunch Monday through Friday. There’s not enough food for weekday breakfasts or dinners or weekend meals. The common pots, also seen in other Latin American countries, have emerged as a symbol of the struggles of the region. Thousands of them are in use throughout Peru at levels not seen since the 1980s and 1990s during the armed conflict between the state and the Shining Path terrorist group. There are almost a thousand common pots in Lima that are recognized by officials in the municipality, but many, including the one run by Satalaya, are not registered and do not receive any kind of help. The government announced last week that it would send aid to many common pots, but since there are so many, the help may not reach every neighborhood.

Tycoon Ordered to Demolish His $70M Home (The Daily Beast) A French property tycoon has been ordered to tear down his $70m faux-Italianate palazzo in the hills of Provence after losing a 15-year legal battle over the 32,000 square foot structure, which was built without planning permission. Patrick Diter has been given 18 months to scrub every last trace of “Chateau Diter,” including its 18 bedrooms, two helipads, swimming pool, bell tower, Roman colonnade and orangery, from the landscape above Monaco. Subscription newsletter AirMail reports that France’s highest judicial court upheld a previous ruling in the appellate courts that the illegal château near the Provençal village of Grasse must be removed and the countryside restored to its original state. If the court orders are not complied with by June 2022, Diter will pay a fine of $600 per day. The court also slapped Diter with fines totaling $550,000.

Hundreds Arrested as Navalny Sentenced (Foreign Policy) A Moscow court handed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny a prison sentence of two years and eight months on Tuesday, as authorities hope to put an end to a saga that has seen thousands of Russians take to the streets in protest over the last two weeks. The court found that Navalny had broken the terms of his probation for a previous conviction for stealing $500,000 from two companies. Navalny denies the charges, and the European Court of Human Rights at the time called the case “arbitrary and manifestly unreasonable.” The reasoning behind his probation breach is murky, as Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have approved Navalny’s transfer to a German hospital for treatment after he was poisoned in August. Navalny’s relatively short prison term could soon be extended, as investigators prepare a fraud case that could carry another ten-year sentence. But Tuesday’s sentence may be just enough if it means Navalny will not be a threat in September’s parliamentary elections. The Kremlin has dismissed international condemnation of the verdict. “You should not interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. And we recommend that everyone deal with their own problems,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

India farming protests resonate with US agriculture (AP) Images of thousands of farmers streaming into India’s capital on tractors and carrying banners to decry potentially devastating changes in agricultural policy can seem a world away, but the protests in New Delhi raise issues that resonate in the United States. Indian farmers have left their homes to march through New Delhi in a desperate effort to force the repeal of laws they believe would end guaranteed pricing and force them to sell to powerful corporations rather than government-run markets. Despite decades of economic growth, up to half of India’s population relies on growing crops on small parcels of land, typically less than 3 acres, and farmers worry that without guaranteed prices they will be forced to sell their land and lose their livelihoods. The images of farmers marching through New Delhi recall similar scenes in Washington, D.C., during the farming crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when hundreds of trucks and tractors flooded the National Mall. Thousands of farmers lost their land, in part because of government policies that caused soaring interest rates as demand for their products plunged, leading to falling land values. In Iowa—one of the hardest hit states—there were about 500 farm auctions a month in 1983 when families had no choice but to sell. Decades later, those memories remain fresh for Rick Juchems, whose parents had to sell their 640-acre farm in Iowa. Just as feared by those protesting in India, the American farmers lost their livelihoods and sense of identity. “We were just trying to stay alive,” said Juchems, who later was able to continue farming thanks to his in-laws. “That’s what you work all your life for and then it’s gone.”

Myanmar’s Army Is Back in Charge. It Never Truly Left. (NYT) The men in army green never truly retreated. As Myanmar presented a facade of democracy to the world, the generals who had ruled the country for nearly half a century still dominated the economy and the halls of power. They even got away with what international prosecutors say was genocide in their murderous offensives against Rohingya Muslims. With its pre-dawn coup on Monday—unseating an elected government and putting its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, back under house arrest—the military, led by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, was once again flaunting its ultimate authority. Yet in the process of reasserting their command, the generals have ripped apart a prized project: a carefully constructed political system decades in the making that allowed them to camouflage their fists behind a veneer of democracy. Though they allowed elections, army officers also reserved a quarter of the Parliament’s seats and crucial cabinet positions for themselves. The public, which felt like it could express its political aspirations by delivering landslide victories to Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, is furious. And the international community, which chose to focus more on the civilian part of the country’s civilian-military system, is now aware that one side of the scale clearly outweighs the other.

Iran reaches agreement with South Korea (Foreign Policy) Iran has agreed to release the crew of a South Korean oil tanker in what its foreign ministry called a “humanitarian” move after the vessel was impounded in early January. The vessel’s seizure was believed to be a bargaining chip to convince South Korea to free up $7 billion in Iranian funds currently frozen in South Korean banks as a result of U.S. sanctions. South Korea’s foreign ministry welcomed Iran’s decision to release the sailors, saying it was a necessary next step to “restore trust” before resolving the issue of the frozen funds. Regarding the funds, the ministry stated it “will do what it can in a speedy manner while discussing consultations with the United States on the issue.”

Tigray crisis: Ethiopia region at risk of huge ‘humanitarian disaster’ (BBC) Opposition parties in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have warned of a huge “humanitarian disaster” if aid is not delivered urgently. The parties said people were already dying from hunger and urged the international community to intervene. Ethiopia’s government says aid is being delivered and nearly 1.5 million people have been reached. The parties also said 52,000 people had been killed since the conflict started in November. They did not explain how they arrived at the estimate but said it included women, children and religious leaders. About two million people have been internally displaced in the conflict in Tigray. The government has heavily restricted access to the region for the media and aid agencies. On Monday, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, said he had “rarely seen an aid response so impeded” in the 40 years he had worked in the humanitarian field. In a joint statement, three opposition parties—the Tigray Independence Party (TIP), Salsay Weyane Tigray, and National Congress of Great Tigray—said if food and medicine did not arrive quickly the “looming humanitarian disaster of biblical proportion” would become a “gruesome reality in Tigray”.

[teamdoesminecraft]

I've noticed you really like your lore for MC/TC. Can I ask then, what's the timeline of events? I know when they were created, but like a short timeline, starting when how the world was made to present day, if that makes sense. Thanks!

Ohhh I haven’t thought about @crystalfloe ‘s and my Canon Minecraft Lore in a while, it’s been touched up quite a bit since my last lore post.... I’ll be basically rewriting it as I go !!TL;DR: Sage makes Steve who turns into Herobrine, Sage and his Devs make True/SSundee/Lox/Seto, Herobrine makes Bajan/Husky, Sage makes Jerome to kill Bajan, and Steve/Sage simoultaneously fuck up and make Sky as an overpowered child and nerf him together.-Long ago, the world was a seething mass of untamed code. Some of this code pulled itself together into sentience: an entity named Sage.-Sage began manipulating the code for the first time. He was the first Player to access creative mode. He created:A dimension (grass, stone)Simple mobs (pigs, cows)

-Sage wanted to share his creative-mode capabilities, and so made slightly more advanced mobs. Endermen were simple creatures, capable of basic neutrality and hostility, and could interact with the world by moving one block at a time.-Sage realized that these were not the Players he was trying to make, so he set out to make an actual Creative Mode Player.-Sage made Steve, who lived in the single dimension and was capable of building great things.-Steve wanted to create new mobs, much like Sage did. He created:Creeper (aw man)SpidersThe Ender Dragon-The Ender Dragon destroyed the single-dimension world, leaving it barren, broken into pieces, and yellowed out (the End).-Sage managed to trap the Dragon on a single island. Sage then banished Steve to a second dimension (the Overworld, which had a bedrock layer below it, separating it from the End), and made a new gamemode for him: Survival Mode.-Steve wanted to right his wrongs, and so began searching for a way to get back to the End.-Sage didn’t want Steve back, so continued implementing coding changes:Monsters (creepers, spiders) would appear at night to hunt Steve and hinder his progressZombies and Skeletons, that were only just Steve’s former bodies, to continue to push his progress farther back-Sage attempted to remove Steve’s coding from the game entirely when he got too close-Eventually, Steve was “deleted,” more or less-No he wasn’t. He was a “ghost” of code, able to still grasp some of his prior Creative Mode abilities; to prevent Sage from finding him, he made the third dimension, the Nether (between the Overworld and the End, covered on both sides by bedrock), where Sage would be unable to find him-Sage tried to make two Creative-Mode Players again: the Devs. He created Jeb and Dinnerbone.-The three of them began populating the Overworld, realizing the End was almost unsalvagable. (This is the point where our canons and AUs start splintering, so it might get a little messy)-Sage made TrueMU first. This was the start of most Players being Survival-Mode only: he had no Creative-Mode abilities. -True was more or less on Sage’s side for a while, until, after a series of deaths/respawns, he realized how little Sage cared. True left at this point to escape to the Farlands (an area of the Overworld the Devs hadn’t yet tamed).-A long period of time passed, during which many other Players were created. (for those Yogs fans, Xephos was made very early, and was a pseudo-dev, until he also ran away from Sage to go do strange experiments on his own).-Jeb made SSundee during this time (traumatic backstory tbd)-Dinnerbone started creating more hostile mobs to provide extra challenge to the Players. Jeb started creating more passive mobs to populate the world and make it more interesting for the Players.-Signs of Steve started appearing again, as a half-glitched ghost. To prevent people from siding with Steve, Sage created Villagers. Villagers firmly believe Sage is true and correct all the time, and spread this ‘doctrine.’ They also tell the tale of a murderous entity known only as Herobrine (a name Steve would later whole-heartedly adopt).-Villagers have no hands, so they can’t build or create and potentially turn against Sage. Instead, their arms are conjoined in front of them.

-Some Villagers don’t believe Sage is the best, and break away from society to either form patrols or live in large, communal mansions. These Illagers practice things normally Villagers aren’t supposed to; many of them break their arms into two separate pieces. They hold weapons, build mansions/monuments, and practice magic.-A Player named Seto, originally made by Jeb, somehow found himself subsumed into Illager culture. He was raised in a Woodland Mansion and learned various magic from an Evoker.-Herobrine saw all these players being created. He knew he couldn’t enter the Overworld without being hunted, so he decided to make a Player of his own: Bajan.*Note: Herobrine has made other Players besides Bajan (notably Hypixel and Honeydew)*Double Note: in almost every other set of Lore we have, Bajan was either made or adopted by Xephos (I have no idea why)-Bajan was designed to master combat and, ultimately, defeat the Ender Dragon. His dogtags read HB002, marking him as Herobrine’s second creation. -However, Sage discovered Bajan, and wiped his memories/mission statement to prevent him from reaching the End.-Sage created a “monstrous” Player to hunt Bajan down and prevent him from respawning: Jerome-Naturally, this failed spectacularly, and though they were designed to destroy one another, they’re now best friends. Due to their combatative natures, they enter tournaments like the Survival Games often.-Realizing this approach was flawed, Herobrine took a different approach. The Stronghold he had been building, with a half-finished portal to the End, was underwater. So HB created a Player who could guide people to the Stronghold: Husky. He wasn’t extraordinarily combatative, but it was his job to find Players who could be and bring them to the Stronghold.-Sage did not like this, so had Dinnerbone create the Guardians to deter players from deep-sea exploration.-Herobrine wanted to try something new: he wanted to make his own Dev.*Note: it’s been discussed (but not solidified) that “bad end” Yogscast members, like Israphel/Lalna, are HB’s Devs, created later.-Sage was also developing a new Dev at this time.-Herobrine waited until Sage wasn’t paying attention (all players must be created at the Overworld Spawn to prevent complications), and began interfering with the code.-Sage and Herobrine fought for a while over this new Dev. However, when fully-formed, this Dev went on an uncontrollable creative-mode rampage.-Sage and HB teamed up for the first and only time to stop this Dev. They gave him an amulet (made of endstone and blaze rod) to suppress his powers, and created the Hardcore gamemode just for him. They wiped his memory (they knew what happened if you tried to delete a Dev, as evidenced by Herobrine) and dumped the newly-named Sky in a village.*Note: in at least one AU, Sage made Alex, who was then “used” by HB. After a series of corruptions, Alex’s code was repurposed and turned into Sky ala reincarnation.*fun fact: Sky is the only Player who cannot access his inventory. he’s gotta carry everything with him. always-Around this time, Dinnerbone created Lox (traumatic backstory TBD).-The “Plot” begins when Sky’s amulet becomes separated from his body, and he inadvertently teleports himself and Lox out to the Farlands. They are immediately interrogated by True.-True, knowing how Sky works, decides to initiate the Quest (which he won’t tell them too much about). This Quest has them meeting the various other members of the Team, becoming closer, and just bein real good pals.-No we don’t know how it goes or how it ends-sometimes they kill the Ender Dragon and Sky just resets the entire world with his Dev powers because Sage has gone nuts? -we really genuinely have no idea and we wrote it

[witchymarvelspacecase]

Spread Your Wings: Pt. 11: What Happened in Russia

Summary: Reader is a HYDRA experiment (like the Maximoffs, but not voluntary) who grows wings (like Angel from X-Men). She escapes, and is now trying to rescue and prevent further kidnappings and experiments. 

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: Nightmares, mentions of torture, mentions of needles, mentions of restraints (lots of bad shit)

A/N: Sorry this has been a long time coming. I have a plan for the rest of the story now (we’ll see how well I stick to it) so it should be more like a once a week posting schedule 🤞 

Spread Your Wings Masterlist

The snow crunched under your boots as you landed. You scowled at the small noise. “Damn snow. That would have been silent if it were dry,” you didn’t dare say anything out loud, but in your head, you were berating yourself for not thinking further ahead. HYDRA didn’t give a shit if the weather was crappy, you had a job to do, and if it got fucked up, it was on you.

You shook your head to clear it of the images of HYDRA’s past punishments; you couldn’t afford to be afraid of something that may not happen, not when a much more likely danger was ahead of you. Of all the ridiculous shit you’d been sent to find, of all the insane targets you’d been given, this was a different level.

Break into a palace. Not a big deal. Break into an old imperial Russian palace? One that had constant guards? Not to mention the constant tourist activity in the general area. Well, you wouldn’t be flying in the window, that was sure. 

Why anyone would think to store any sort of weaponry in what was basically a tourist attraction you didn’t truly understand, but then, HYDRA didn’t want you to. All you needed to do was to get in, and out, undetected, with their package. A package that was just described to you a metal briefcase. 

A somewhat odd size, and supposedly much heavier than it appeared. Brushed chrome all around with a blue shield logo on the front. You had no idea what the case held, but given that your handler seemed more harried than usual, you were left to assume that he was under pressure from someone. Whoever was in charge was practically salivating at the thought of whatever was in that case. It couldn't be good.

You tried not to think about all the possibilities. There was not a lot you could do to prevent HYDRA from obtaining whatever was in that case. Next to nothing really. All they had to do was flip a switch, activate the chip in your head, and you’d be toast. They’d use someone else. 

You’d been down that road before, many times. So many that HYDRA had begun wiping your mind. Realizing what they were doing, or what they intended to do, you guarded yourself. You created a different version of yourself, one that mimicked HYDRA’s Angel. You showed no emotion, no fear, and you followed orders, but behind the mask, your mind was working. 

This was the first mission you’d been sent on without your mind being wiped. Your mask must have been good enough to make your handler believe you were broken. This was the first time you were clear headed, could think for yourself. It would be your last too if you weren’t careful. 

Heading into the palace was difficult, but you managed to sneak between two guard shifts and into the foyer. You knew there were cameras, but with a quiet command to your chip, they were rendered inert; a non-issue. Physical guards spotting you was the only threat you were likely to face, and you were prepared for that eventuality as well. A pair of silenced handguns strapped to your thighs, throwing knives on your belt, and a dagger on your upper arm. 

That was the only thing that troubled you. If a guard spotted you, you had to put them down. It didn’t matter that they were just doing their job, it didn’t matter that they may or may not have a family. HYDRA would kill them. 

If you failed to take the case, HYDRA would find another way in, up to and including burning the whole structure to the ground. They didn’t care about people’s lives. If you hoped to save anyone, least of all yourself, you needed to be as stealthy as possible. 

“Wait. I-” Tony laughed through his nose, “I know you’re not describing what I think you’re describing.”

“I probably am,” you groaned, dropping your forehead to the table in front of you. 

Steve was looking at Tony, a look that could only be described as righteous indignation on his face. Oh they knew what was in that case alright. 

“You said it went ‘really badly’,” Natasha prompted, staying on target. “What did you mean?”

You looked up, meeting her eyes while resting your chin on the table. “I mean, I got the fucking case. I got it, and HYDRA had their fucking hands on it.”

“Couldn’t have been for long. SHEILD had it soon after,” Clint mused.

“They had it long enough,” you said, looking down again.

“What did they do with it?” Tony asked.

“Same shit they were trying to do before I imagine,” Steve ground out. HIs jaw was clenched so tightly you were surprised that his super-teeth didn’t crack.

“I am not sure. I think I disabled whatever it was, but like I said, I’m not sure what they were trying to do,” you took a deep breath. “For all I know, I made it worse.”

When you looked up again, everyone was staring at you. Clearly, you were not out of storytime. 

“After I escaped, I spent some time going over the information I’d stolen. It wasn’t much, but there were just enough links to the chain that I was able to quietly hack into the facility I’d been kept in. After that, I could find almost anything. I found the machine the cube was running, and I added some extra lines to the code.”

Tony was gaping at you, and Bruce looked green, you couldn’t tell if that was sick-green, or angry-green though. 

“Ok, no, I didn’t know what the lines would do, or if I hid them well enough, but I had to do something. That was all I could think of.”

Bucky, who was sitting next to you, gripped your shoulder gently; a show of support.

“Alright, but this doesn’t help us much now,” Natasha said.

“That’s not necessarily true,” Sam cut in. All eyes turned to him, and he shrugged. “Kid got into HYDRA with the files before, she can do it again right?”

Your eyes widened, and you felt like hitting yourself in the head.

“Ought to be easier now actually, since there are more files than she had originally,” Clint added with a smirk.

“What do ya think? You up to a little hacking?” Natasha asked, cocking her head, a smirk on her lips too.

You looked at her, a smile curling the edges of your lips as you said, “all I need is a secure terminal.”

…

Silly request really; Tony Stark did not have any unsecured terminals. Which found you on a computer in his lab, with the entire team standing around you, staring at the large computer screen in front of you. 

Occasionally, you would pause, like you were waiting for a signal or something, but then, with no visible change, you would begin to type rapidly. Your chip was capable of assisting you, sure, but you didn’t use it. No verbal commands were given, and though no one in the room could tell (aside from Wanda), you didn’t issue any telepathic commands either. You just knew the pattern. Or at least you had at one point. Hacking the HYDRA systems wasn’t just knowing the code, but also the timing. 

Enter a code too quickly, and you trip a system alert. Sometimes that would wipe the system, but sometimes, an alert would alter the files. You could be getting corrupted data without knowing it, and if you were relying on that data? That could be worse than losing the information in the first place.

So you counted in your head. There was a weird almost rhythm to the code sequences. No song you knew, or could remember, but it wasn’t completely random. As soon as you cleared the last levels of security, you set a timer. You had, at maximum, ten minutes before you would have to enter an authentication code. You didn’t have an authentication code, and you had no goddamn clue what it could be, so you had ten minutes.

“I’m not 100% sure they haven’t changed the codes around. These files aren’t new, and the ones I had before sure weren’t. Don’t believe everything in here.” You couldn’t be sure the files you accessed hadn’t been altered.

You scooted back from the computer, letting Tony and Natasha in to do their thing. The plan was to download as much information off of the server as possible, leave the reviewing until after the timer went off. You saw flashes of some of the files being downloaded. Video files. Audio files. Schematics. Tony clearly had great bandwidth; even the giant video files were downloading at lightning speeds.

“No telling what we’re gonna find in there,” Steve murmured. He was standing behind you, and just off to the side, in what you had come to recognize as his “captain” pose.

You shook your head. “No, could be anything, could be nothing at all.”

“What are the chances there’s information about Bucky in there?” he asked, not meeting your gaze.

“Considering it’s HYDRA? Probably gonna at least have some mentions of him,” you shrugged. “I know the agent code they gave him, so I can point out the files that involve him.”

Steve nodded, stepping forward and resting a hand on your shoulder. “Thank you,” he said quietly before walking forward to stand behind Tony. 

“That’s gonna mean a lot to him,” Sam said. He’d been standing in the doorway, watching his plan in action.

“I can only imagine. I know what it’s like to not know anything about yourself, but I don’t know what it feels like to have someone you care about go through what Bucky did.”

“There may be stuff about you in there too,” Sam added. You looked at him, a question on your face. “Doesn’t take a genius to realize you have some unresolved shit too. We’re gonna help you out as much as we can, you know that right?”

Smiling, you nodded. “I do now. Thanks Sam.”

“Anytime,” he said. To the rest of the room he said, “I’m going out. Anyone need anything?”

“Nah, I think we’re good,” Steve responded after glancing round the room and seeing no one reacting. “But could you find Bucky and Wanda? Some of this stuff may be important to them.” Bucky and Wanda had opted to stay out of the lab during the hacking. They didn’t  explain why, but you guessed they wanted to avoid most of the information that may have popped up. They probably wouldn’t come in unless absolutely necessary.

Sam waved over his shoulder as he stepped out of the lab. You, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, Tony, and Steve were left hovering over the computer, hoping something, anything came out of the ten minutes you’d bought.

The timer ticked over, and Tony typed the exit sequence just in time. The last download you had been attempting was only half completed, but you would have to work with what had come through. 

“Alight boys and girls, time to read over what will likely be an incredibly dull series of files,” Tony cheered, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. You chuckled. He was probably right. HYDRA documented everything, most of the files you’d pulled were likely to be useless.

“Hey guys, listen to this. I’ve got some weird audio recording, but it’s under Y/N’s agent code,” Steve said before a tinny sounding audio recording began to play.

It was in an odd language. Not in russian or german as you were used to with HYDRA communications. As you were unused to it, you took a moment to realize what the person in the recording was saying. A moment too long.

“Ahoj anděli. Vid��m, že jste nás znovu našli. Tentokrát si myslím, že zůstaneš déle, ano? Touha, Rozpadat, Osmnáct, Soumrak, Chladič, Devatenáct, Maligní, Odjezd, Nula, Motor.” 

(Hello, Angel. I see you've found us again. This time, I think you'll be staying longer, yes? Desire, Crumble, Eighteen, Twilight, Cooler, Nineteen, Malignant, Departure, Zero, Engine)

A pause, then the voice again, “Dokončete své poslání. Zabij mstitele.” (Complete your mission. Kill the Avengers).

“I think that’s Czech but I can’t be sure. Play it again,” Tony said.

“Guys,” Natasha’s voice was low, and she was backing towards the door as she got the men’s attention. “We’ve got a situation.

...

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[madamslayyy]

For The Love Of Okoye

Pairing: T’Challa x Okoye, Erik x Okoye (kinda)

A/N: Y’all I haven’t written for T’Challa in forever. This is based off THIS POST that I wrote BEFORE BLACK PANTHER CAME OUT so please keep in mind it’s a little dated. I also wrote this last year but never released it and I’m tired of it taking up space in my draft so I’m just releasing it. Yes Haw ✌🏾(P.S. this isn’t edited so please forgive any mistakes but I’ll go back and fix it later 😁)

Special Thanks to the AMEEZING @wifin-niggaz who made the gifs I used. If you’re a BP OG you probably alrady know her but if not please check out her work, she’s insanely talented!!!

~*~

Growing up, T’Challa didn’t have many friends. He was royalty, however that seldom had anything to do with his interaction with people as his father tried his hardest to help his son not be isolated from his peers due to his status. No, the problem lied in that he was always much too mature for his age. While other kids would play hide and seek, T’Challa would wonder the purpose of the game in the first place. Why were we hiding?

That being said, he tried to join in anyway. That never really worked out too well either seeing as he always came up hiding places that were too elaborate or creative and the other children could never find him.

That is until he met Okoye.

He was hiding in the alcove of a small shop when she first saw him. He had to only be about 5 years old as was she. She looked up at him with her big brown eyes and her huge pineapple of hair on her head and simply stared at him. He stared back. Neither of them moved and it stayed that way for the longest until she poked him with a stick.

“Ow! Why would you do that?” T’Challa whispered and Okoye jumped back.

“I thought you might not be real,” she huffed. “ what you doing up there anyway?”

“I’m hiding. We are playing Hide and Seek.”

“Why? Why would you hide for no reason?”

“Because it’s fun,” T’Challa said even though he hadn’t had fun once ever playing with the other kids in town.

“My father says it imbrains cowardice,” she said matter of fact.

“Imbrains?”

“Mmhm.”

“I think you mean ‘Ingrains’,” T’Challa said climbing down from his hiding spot. She was a few inches taller than the boy Prince naturally but her hair amassed on top of her head made her seem even taller.

“Pssh, what would you know,” she said rolling her eyes and walking away. T’Challa couldn’t help but follow.

~*~

T’Challa and Okoye were quickly as thick as thieves. With both of them being more mature for their age, they found each other’s company easy and enjoyable. T’Challa would normally never lay a finger on any woman however Okoye wasn’t just any woman. She was a warrior in the making. And she was the only one in his class that could keep up with him when it came to training. So it was only natural that she was his routine sparring partner.

They were known to get pretty vicious during these sessions, no code of honor in place for the two young Wakandans. They would play any and every dirty trick in the book on each other if it ensured their victory.

During one particular session they were in the red room alone which meant their session was more cruel than usual as there were no eyes to judge them. Okoye, a mere fifteen years of age, had already managed to give the prince a black eye and bloody nose. T’Challa, also fifteen at the time, had grown considerably since they were children and now stood almost an foot taller than Okoye herself with a small clump of her hair in his hand, an insult to the teeth marks he engraved on her left shoulder only a couple moments earlier.

“You’ll pay for that!” Okoye y’alled before lunging at him. T’Challa predicted this but lost his footing at the last possible second, allowing Okoye to pin him to the ground. She straddled his waist, locking him in with her hips, rendering him completely immobile.

“I win,” she grinned, her eyes shining with mirth.

“Alright Alright I concede, now get the hell off me!” T’Challa bellowed, causing Okoye to let go of him, standing with a giggle.

“Oh come now, my prince. Ever you can’t be that upset over a loss, surely it’s not the first nor the last,” Okoye called after him as he stormed out of the training room.

T’Challa rushed into the nearest restroom, looking down at his embarrassing erection that sprouted the second Okoye pinned him to the ground. He wasn’t sure if it was the act of being subdued by a woman or her ample bottom pressed against his groin but it ignited a fire inside of him that he didn’t know could be stirred by Okoye of all people.

He’d always seen her as his oldest friend, a worthy opponent, even a trusted confidant at times but never as a.....potential mate. It was unfathomable to say the least. Or it was.... until T’Challa began to give the notion actual thought. And that was the moment he realized just how fathomable it actually was.

~*~

Four years later. Four long years later and T’Challa found himself even more infatuated with Okoye than ever.

She’d recently been accepted into the Dora Academy to begin her training to become one of the Milaje and the first requirement of the academy was for every young lady to shave her head. So with her acceptance into her new life, Okoye cut off the long trestles she’s been growing her entire existence without a second thought. And T’Challa couldn’t say he missed them in the least.

He was obsessed with the shape of her head. The perfect curve of her scalp, smooth and flawless, much like her face. T’Challa would often find himself wondering if she was that smooth and flawless everywhere....

Even Erik, forever stuck in his American ways, couldn’t deny praise to such a lovely form as she.

“Who told yo bald headed ass to look that good,” Erik joked as he walked into T’Challas room. Interrupting T’Challas precious and scarce time with his beloved.

“Nah but seriously though, it suits you,” Erik proclaimed, finding a seat across from her. She rolled her eyes but couldn’t deny the smirk that tipped the corners of her lips. Then her and Erik exchanged a look that didn’t quite settle right with T’Challa.

He was no fool. He knew his cousin had a certain aura about him that drew women to him, especially Wakandan women who were enthralled by his American bravado. But he’d thought his Okoye was above Erik tacky charm. With Erik being two years younger than both of them, she’d never entertained him for even a moment but things were different now.

Erik was rapidly leaving his boyhood behind, his heaight already equaling T’Challas even at the tender age of seventeen. He’d also began filling out, his once scrawny frame becoming engrossed with muscles that hadn’t been possible before.

“You’re dismissed N’Jadaka,” T’Challa stated coldly, causing both Okoye and Erik to look at the stoic prince before they both burst into laughter.

“Aight bet cuzzo. I’ll see yo lil fine ass later,” Erik winked at Okoye before sauntering off.

“I certainly hope not,” Okoye scoffed but T’Challa still detected a hint of mirth behind her eyes.

“Are you sure about that?” T’Challa couldn’t help the slight relief he felt when he heard her melodic laugh.

“The boy is as foolish as they come! Such clownery has never appeased me,” she giggled and T’Challa felt his heart flutter.

~*~

“Happy Birthday!!” They all chanted in unison while Erik smirked at the small crowd. It was his 21st birthday and the palace decided to recognize him in the same manner as T’Challa for once by granting him an extravagant party in the ballroom of the palace.

Erik was dressed in an extravagant gold and black tuxedo, his hair intricately braided back with gold dust interwoven to give him a shimmering appearance. With his custom made gold slugs in his mouth giving his canines an extra sharpness he looked like the living personification of a handsome devil.

Everyone of importance was there, not necessarily because they meant anything to Erik but because no one would miss an event hosted by the Royal court. So it was only natural Okoye would be there as well, finally having time to attend such social gatherings since her induction into the Dora Milaje has finally commenced.

The night was loud and long, with more alcohol and food going around that anyone could possible consume. T’Challa having reached his limit reframed from any more drinking to prevent making a fool of himself as a Prince and as a man. Erik, however, had no such qualms.

He took shot after shot, long ago abandoning his suit jacket and tie, giving him even more appeal than usual. His muscles protruded through his thin button down and he was garnering even more female attention than usual. Even Okoye, to T’Challa’s dismay, couldn’t keep her hands off of him.

T’Challa tried many times to break the two of them apart to no avail. Heavy eye contact soon turned to heavy petting with Okoye eventually ending up in Erik’s lap. T’Challa could have strangled Erik right then right there. How dare he corrupt the love of his life!? The strong warrior he’d always known had been reduced to a giggling schoolgirl right before his eyes.

“Okoye, please. This is no way for a Dora to present herself. Think of the young women who look up to you now,” T’Challa pleaded.

“Like who?” Okoye quipped, Erik’s grip on her thigh the only thing keeping her from sliding off his lap and onto the floor.

“Like Nakia for one,” T’Challa said nodding towards the aforementioned girl across the room. Nakia just a couple months younger than Erik but everyone knew of her burning desire to change the world and become a Dora. She also held a great respect for Okoye, seeing as how they hailed from the same tribe prior to Okoye entering the academy for the Dora.

“Trust, it’s not me she’s looking at,” she cackled, a huge smirk spreading across Erik’s face. Whatever the joke was, he was obviously in on it. Suddenly T’Challa began to feel like a fool. Here Okoye and Erik were, sharing inside jokes and wrapping in each others arms while T’Challa stood there pathetically trying to coax her out of his arms.

He was also taking the chance of going against the Dora Milaje Honor Code. Erik might have no respect for the staunch traditions carried out by the Milaje but T’Challa did. So he left the two of them to their own devices while he found three older Dora who were currently the protection of the event. Informing them of their comrade’s disposition, he left the party without a word, fuming.

~*~

The next morning T’Challa found himself headed to the throne room for his daily reports when Okoye ran to him, tears in her eyes!

“How could you!?” She screamed at the top of her lungs.

“How could I what?” T’Challa asked with genuine concern.

“I’ve been dismissed from the Dora! For fraternizing with the crown! T’Challa my entire standing with them is ruined,” she wailed, tears streaming down her face. T’Challa reached to comfort her but she slapped his hand away harshly.

“This is all your fault!” She yelled and T’Challa felt his anger blossom.

“Maybe you should have thought about your standing before you decided to spread your legs for my cousin,” T’Challa said coldly and Okoye slapped him, his head reeling to one side.

“I hate you! You’re dead to me!” She spat before running off. T’Challa touched his stinging cheek, the effect of her words hurting more than her slap ever could.

~*~

T’Challa drug himself into his father’s office later that evening with a heavy heart. He knew he shouldn’t use his Royal position for such selfish, secular tasks but for the first time in his life, T’Challa didn’t care about the honor of the crown. He didn’t care about nepotism, favoritism, or responsibility. All he cared about was doing right by the woman he loved and if that meant bending the rules then that was a small price to pay in his book.

“Father May I come in?” T’Challa asked knocking at the door.

“Of course, my son,” T’Chaka answered jovially. It was a rare occasion his son came to his office without being summoned.

“Take a seat, son,” he said, looking up from the papers he was focused on prior to T’Challa’s visit.

“What brings you to me, my boy.” T’Chaka asked, still surveying his paperwork.

“It’s Okoye, baba. She has been dismissed from the Dora Milaje. There must be a way she can be reinstated. By order of the crown.” T’Challa said seriously even though his heart was racing. He was nervous because being in his father’s presence always made him nervous.

“T’Challa, you are both a man and a Prince. You are the Black Panther of Wakanda. The Milaje are an independent agency that the crown has no control over, however, they have always been one to listen to reason. Especially that of royal blood.” T’Chaka smiled. T’Challa understood immediately, rising from his chair.

“Thank you, Baba. As always your counsel is invaluable.” T’Challa Bowes, heading towards the door.

“Just be mindful, T’Challa, that once she is reinstated in the Dora, it’s over. She will never be your wife. She will never be your Queen.” T’Chaka said solemnly. T’Challa didn’t even have to ask, he knew his was aware of his feelings. T’Chaka always has a way of knowing what was in his son’s heart.

“I know, Baba,” and with that T’Challa left, somehow feeling worse than before.

~*~

A week later T’Challa found himself walking down the one of the corridors of the palace, lost in his own thoughts when he felt two arms wrap around his torso from behind.

He knew immediately from the soft scent of orchids that it was none other that his love, Okoye.

“Thank you so much, my Prince,” she said nuzzling her face into his back.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” T’Challa said turning around in her embrace, a sad smile gracing his features.

“Whatever you said to the Dora worked. They’ve allowed me back under the guise of probation,” her eyes shone with pure joy.

“I simple spoke to your strength and leadership. Nothing I said was untrue,” T’Challa nodded, letting her go.

“Still, I owe you a great debt. Without you, there wouldn’t have been a second chance,” she said gravely.

“Well try not to loose it this time, eh. At least not over the likes of Erik,” he said conveniently not mentioning the fact that he was the only other option.

“Pfft, after his... performance last night, I don’t think I’ll ever touch another man again. He was squealing like a newborn lemur in a matter of seconds,” she scoffed. T’Challa pinched the bridge of his nose. That was more given information he’d ever needed to know about his Cousin.

~*~

Epilogue:

“Baby PLEASE give me one more chance! I know I can do better,” Erik begged, following Okoye.

“The answer, respectfully your highness, is HELL NO!”

“That’s wasn’t me baby, I promise I don’t nut quick! You just do something to me baby girl,”

“I don’t care! It’s never gonna happen-“

“We already-“

“AGAIN! Its never gonna happen AGAIN.” Okoye finished running faster, trying to give Erik the slip.

“Please baby just one more chance. I’ve never had pussy like your-

“I LIKE WOMEN N’JADAKA!”

“Me too, so you feel where I’m coming from-“

THE END

~*~

Taglist:

@chaneajoyyy @queennanayaa @terrablaze514 @cancerianprincess @bidibidibombaclaat @royalhearts @yoyolovesbucky @mbakusmbitch @ @notsomellowmushroom @ultracrii @jesforpres @thehomierobbstark @thadelightfulone @amelatonin @quietstorm-73 @destinio1 @wakanda-inspired @wawakanda-btch @steampunkprincess147 @purple-apricots @macfizzle @caswinchester2000 @marvelmaree @supersizemeplz @all-the-blog-names-were-gone @savagescorpion @ghostfacekill-monger @raysunshine78 @blessingz2x2 @sydneebleu @erikaintdead

[timelesswillow]

Support Hong Kong

I know a lot of us want to be able to show support to the protestors in Hong Kong but live abroad. Here’s a list of things that can be done to join in and help out. Please Please Share. If I’ve left anything out or something doesn’t work let me know. 

*Please do not allow your anger/outrage towards the events that are occurring due to the actions of the Chinese Government to turn to stereotyping, hatred, racism, etc. towards Chinese individuals.

Sign a Petition 

Write the HK government to protect and respect the rights of the people of Hong Kong. [Petition to Protect Rights]

Contact Olympics Committee to not host the Winter Olympics 2022 in Beijing - Mention Hong Kong and Horrible violations of Uyghur Rights

Petition United Nations to Condemn Hong Kong Police for Excessive Use of Force and Call for an Independent Inquiry [Petition United Nation]

Request International Court of Justice to Investigate Excessive Force of Hong Kong Police [Petition International Court of Justice]

Support Radio Television Hong Kong’s editorial independence [Petition for Editorial Independence]

Revoke Carrie Lam's Legion of Honor Award (France) [Petition Grand Master of the Legion]

Petition Amnesty on behalf of the July 1st Legco Building Protesters [Petition Amnesty for Legco Protesters]

Reporting HK Police Force to the International Police Association for breach of professional code of conduct and excessive use of force [Petition International Police Association]

Petition Starbucks to terminate franchise deal with Maxim's in Hong Kong [Change.org Starbucks]

Boycott or Protest Chinese products/Companies kowtowing to China

Disney

BLIZZARD

Apple

NBA

Make a Monetary or Non-Monetary Donation

Help send protective gears to Hong Kong protesters (helmets, goggles, gas masks, etc. ) via a US collection center. 

PLEASE do not brag about this or show this to media. I’ve heard the HK authorities found out about people in Taiwan doing this and they subsequently increased inspections of packages and luggage from Taiwan.

Donate to Spark Alliance Legal Aid (Website in Cantonese)

Demosisto International Campaign - Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow for international outreach

Hong Kong Medic Volunteers crowdfunding for first aid supplies, saline water to wash eyes from tear gas [Pic]. In US Dollars they’ve raised about 13K as of 10/18/19

Support The Stand News a Not-for-Profit News (Cantonese)

Hong Kong Citizen News Not-for-Profit News (Cantonese)

Hong Kong Free Press Not-for-Profit News (English)

[CANTONESE] 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund Legal Aid

Crowdfund to give away Stand with Hong Kong T-shirts at Blizzcon 2019, Los Angeles Oct 31 - Nov 2

Crowdfund to give away The North Stand with Hong Kong T-shirts at NBA Opening Toronto Raptors Oct 22nd

If anyone knows any other way to send money/donations to the actual protestors please inform me and I’ll update. 

Spread the News

Not everyone knows or is even informed about the situation. Please spread the news but be sure to spread information that has been fact checked because the Chinese Government is doing a lot to spread misinformation. 

Join online protest campaigns, retweet, share, like #Eye4HK l #Mask4HK l #birdfoldingchallenge #FiveDemandsNotOneLess #SupportHongKong #Antielab #StandWithHongKong l #NoChinaExtradition l #antiELAB l #SOSHK l #反送中 l #FreeHongKong l #StandwithHK l #HKLastwords #SaveHongKong il #HongKongProtest l #DemocracyNow l #NoExtraditionToChina l #Shout4HK l #BoycottBlizzard | #BoycottChina

Join/Support a Rally

Join and support your local #StandwithHongKong rallies. Global events/rallies near you. If you can't find one nearby, think about starting one or even making signs to put up around your city.

Continue making Memes, Posters, Videos, Drawings. Wear a #StandwithHongKong T-shirt, Carve a Pro-Hong Kong Pumpkin, 3D Print your own #LadyLibertyHK 

Write to Local Representatives (Divided by country)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)

3.1 Send VOTE YES postcards to your Senators to ask them to co-sponsor Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act 2019 [Senate Bill S.1838] . Get your Free VOTE YES Postcards

3.2 Write to US Congress (Senators and Representatives)

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

https://www.senate.gov/senators/How_to_correspond_senators.htm

3.2 Ask Your US Senators to Co-Sponsor the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/co-sponsor-hong-kong-human-rights-and-democracy-act-of-2019

3.3 Call your representative https://www.callmycongress.com and tell them you are very concerned about the situation in Hong Kong, the excessive amounts of tear gas used, some of which are expired, releases dangerous levels of hydrogen cyanide that could literally kill a person, which qualifies as chemical weapons, a flagrant violation of international law. Please support the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act 2019 by passing [Senate Bill S.1838] and review/revoke the United States - Hong Kong Policy Act 1992. It's in the interest of leaders who value democracy, international laws, human rights, to stand up for those who don't have the same freedoms we have. Thank you.

3.4 Petition 12 US Congress leaders to support the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act [Pass the Act S.1838/H.R.3289]

UNITED KINGDOM (UK)

4.1 Write to your Members of Parliament (UK)

https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-your-mp/

4.2 Petition UK to Uphold the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration

https://petition.standwithhk.org

4.3 Petition Liz Truss from Department of International Trade and Dominic Raab from Foreign and Commonwealth Office to Stand up for Human Rights in Hong Kong

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/uk-should-safeguard-human-rights-and-rule-of-law-in-hong-kong-in-future-trade-deals

CANADA

5.1 Write to your Members of Parliament (CAN)

https://www.ourcommons.ca/Parliamentarians/en/constituencies/FindMP

5.2 Stand up for Hong Kong and Petition to Canadian MPs and Federal Elections Candidates https://chkl.ca (Dateline: Oct 20th)

5.3 #BoycottBlizzard If you are a CAN player, instead of just deleting your account, you should request PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act) and if they do not comply within 30 days, you can complaint to the Canada's Federal Privacy Commissioner

AUSTRALIA

6.1 Write to your Senators and Members of Parliament (AUS)

https://www.aph.gov.au/senators_and_members/guidelines_for_contacting_senators_and_members

6.2 Australian Taxpayers' Alliance Campaign to Save Hong Kong https://www.taxpayers.org.au/save-hong-kong

6.3 Expel the Chinese Consul General in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia [Dear Australian Prime Minister]

6.4 Impose Sanctions on Persons Found to be Suppressing Human Rights in Hong Kong [Petition Australian Senate]

6.5 Write to your MP to re-introduce the International Human Rights and Corruption Bill 2018 (Magnitsky Sanctions) [Template]

NEW ZEALAND

7.1 Write to your Members of Parliament (NZ)

https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/members-of-parliament/

EUROPE (EU)

8.1 Write to Your Members of European Parliament (EU)

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/search/advanced

8.2 Petition to Jean Yves Le Drian, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic calling for concrete actions against China to respect Hong Kong’s autonomy to prevent a humanitarian crisis Petition to Jean Yves Le Drian

8.3 #BoycottBlizzard If you are an EU player, instead of just deleting your account, you should request GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) and if they do not comply within 30 days, they will have to pay a hefty fine of 4% of Global Annual Turnover of Blizzard.

CHINA or CHINESE

9.1 Considering you are reading this, you already know how to use VPN. If you feel safe enough speak out but be anonymous. Let other Chinese, Hong Kong people, the world know that there are Chinese or Mainland Chinese who do supports the Hong Kong protest. Examples: You are not alone! l ChenSiuQi 陈秋实 l Passport l HK Stay strong Be vigilant l I support HK from Mainland l I will pray for HK l The reality is Hong Kongers are also fighting for Mainland Chinese l Beijing supports HK

OTHERS

10.1 Switzerland Write to your local representatives https://www.parlament.ch/en/ratsmitglieder?k=

10.2 Japan Write to your local representatives and councilors

http://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_english.nsf/html/statics/member/mem_a.htm

https://www.sangiin.go.jp/japanese/joho1/kousei/eng/members/index.htm

10.3 Petition Japanese parliamentarians to introduce a Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Bill in Japan [Petition Japan]

Also a lot of this information was grabbed from Reddit so please head over there if you want more information because I did not grab all of it. 

[bzfuture]

Complete guide about Kaspersky Internet Security

Kaspersky antivirus free is software that detects, prevents, and acts in the elimination of malicious software programs, such as viruses and worms. They are programs used to protect and prevent computers from viruses, to also give the user more security.

There are several ways for a machine to contract viruses. They can appear through pen drives, emails, erotic or dubious content sites, downloading infected files and programs, and by other means. These viruses and malicious codes are intended to interfere with the operation of the computer or other devices to register, corrupt, destroy data and transfer information to other machines. One can buy antivirus software discount from online website.

Key Features –

They are programs used to protect computers.

Antivirus can register both the files found within the system and those that seek to enter or interact with it.

You can also recognize a pattern or behaviour typical of a virus.

Antivirus can be complemented with other security applications, such as firewalls or anti-spyware, which fulfil additional functions to prevent the entry of viruses.

The most common method that an antivirus uses to detect the presence of a computer virus is to compare files with a database with virus records.

They can also detect malicious activity to identify unknown viruses or mimic files and record the activities performed by the programs.

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[wisdomrays]

Spirit of Altruism

QUESTION: What is the significance of altruism in solving humanity’s problems? How can this virtue be acquired?

ANSWER: The Islamic term for altruism, “ithar” means preferring others over oneself; it is one of the most important values we have lost. What lies under today’s interpersonal and inter-societal tumults, disagreements, and disunities, as well as people’s inability to accept and tolerate others, is the death of the spirit of altruism. And the reason for the death of this spirit is the deterioration of the values of the heart. When the heart degenerates, all of our human values, along with the codes and stamps that endow humans with the best pattern of creation, are obliterated, and Satan will play his game upon the person’s world of thought.

In this respect, at the end of his saying that begins, “The lawful are clear, and so are the forbidden...” the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, stated, “Beware! In the body there is a piece of flesh that, if it is sound, the whole body will be sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body will be corrupt. Take care! It is the heart.”

Thus, a person keeping his heart clean from every kind of contamination and dirt, and checking it out at least a few times a day, is a very important factor in terms of preserving one’s spiritual life. A person must be very careful and pray deeply in this respect. A person must even keep away from negative imaginations and thoughts, both of which might leave some ugly traces in the heart. As it is also stated in a hadith, God looks at a person’s heart and evaluates that person accordingly. God Almighty does not treat a person according to his weight, color, height, or the cultural environment he was raised in, but by the purity of his heart. And at the weighing of deeds in the Hereafter, the weight of the heart is considered; and however much the heart turned to God and beat for Him, is how much worth the person will be given.

The golden age of the spirit of altruism: The era of happiness

People with pure hearts will at the same time be full of feelings of beneficence and compassion toward humanity. Instead of living for themselves, they will try to make others live in the true sense by awakening their hearts to God. Essentially, the spirit of altruism depends on this.

The Qur’an draws attention to the virtue of ithar as follows:

“...They prefer others over themselves, even though poverty be their own lot” (al-Hashr 59:9).

This spirit and thought was very developed in the Era of Happiness. For example, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, wished to feed a hungry guest in his blessed home. However, on learning that they had nothing but water to offer the guest, he sent the man to another Companion’s home. As they only had food to suffice for one person, the couple put their children to sleep, turned off the light, and pretended to be eating from their empty dishes together with the guest so that he did not refuse to eat. Thus, they remained hungry while the guest was able to satisfy his hunger.

During that battle of Yarmuk, Companions such as Harith ibn Hisham, Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl, and Ayyash ibn Abi Rabia were gravely wounded. While their martyrdom was expected, the respected Harith asked for water and another Companion ran to him with a water flask. He was living his final moments and probably had the strength to say only one word. Right at the moment he was taking the flask to his lips, he heard that Ikrima was asking for water and insisted the water to be taken to him. The Companion took the water to Ikrima, but then Ayyash asked for water while Ikrima was just about to drink. Ikrima insisted the water to be taken to Ayyash. The Companion took the water flask to our master Ayyash, but saw that he had become a martyr. When he went back to the others to give them water, he saw that they had been martyred as well.

I had a similar experience, one I will never forget, during a retreat in Buca. While we were eating together, I found a piece of meat in front of me. Then I pushed it to the plate of a guest teacher sitting near me. Then he passed it further for the next person to eat, and after a dozen people passed this meat, it eventually returned to his plate again. As the guest was a wisecracker, he quoted a verse from the chapter Yusuf and said,

“Here is our merchandise returned to us” (Yusuf 12:65).

The spreading of this altruistic feeling and thought among people is very important in terms of peace in society and establishing a spirit of brotherhood.

Preferring one’s brother for positions and promotions

Although all of these are important examples of altruism, one should not restrict it to issues like eating and drinking. When there is the question of gaining a certain position or title, preferring one’s brother to himself is also very important in terms of altruism. Umar ibn al-Khattab’s attitude in the following situation is a striking and beautiful example:

When the Pride of Humanity died and passed to the horizon of his soul, the Companions gathered, concerned about keeping up the spirit of unity and preventing disintegration in society. They wished to choose a leader as soon as possible. Abu Bakr told the others about the virtues of Umar ibn al-Khattab. He stated his wish to pledge allegiance to him and that Umar should be chosen as caliph. However, Umar ibn al-Khattab held Abu Bakr’s hand right away and pledged allegiance to him by saying, “If there is someone to lead the Muslim community after the Messenger of God, he is Abu Bakr.” As we can see, stepping back from a leading position and giving priority to a brother is a very important form of altruism.

By the way, let me state that we are not in a position to compare the greatness of our blessed masters Abu Bakr and Umar. We do not have the scales to measure the true worth of those great figures. I guess even the scales that measure the deeds of people in the Hereafter will break under the weight of the good deeds by the caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, may God be pleased with them. Every one of them is invaluable. They made such spiritual progress that only the title of Prophethood remained ahead of them, which they could attain as there is no Prophet after the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him. Had there been any person to come as Prophet after the Pride of Humanity, it would be them.

Abu Bakr saw Umar as eligible for being caliph and Umar saw Abu Bark as that person. They absolutely did not say something like, “I do this job better, as such and such alluded to my eligibility.” Preferring others over oneself when there is the issue of coming to certain positions and gaining material benefits is a higher form of altruism. This excels altruism having to go with material benefits.

A person with this virtue will not prefer living, but wants to help others live. He wants to courageous say, “I may die if necessary, for what matters is letting the rest of the world live. If the people’s continuity depends on my being sacrificed, may God Almighty let it happen to me quickly!” Otherwise, those who see themselves like a pillar by which the entire world stands, and fantasize that the world will collapse and end when they step aside, are nothing but misfortunate ones with no share of this spirit.

Even in front of the gate of paradise

The following scene about the Hereafter is noteworthy in terms of showing how far altruism can go. It is narrated that the noble Prophet was shown a vision of how the rich who spent for the sake of God will meet with the learned ones at the gate of Paradise. Accordingly, the learned ones will say to the rich, “Please, the priority is yours, you enter first. Because, had you not spent from your fortune in the path of God, opened educational institutions and thus prepared opportunities for education, we could not have become learned ones and found right guidance. You were the means of our being on the path of learning and broadening our horizons; we owe you. Therefore, the priority belongs to you.”

And then they will take one step back out of respect. However the generous rich will say, “We are indebted to you; because, had you not opened our eyes thanks to your immense knowledge, nor guided us beautifully and taught us a holistic reading of the laws of religion and the laws prevalent in the universe together, and not showed us the beauty of making lawful gains and then spending for the sake of God, we could not have spent our wealth for the sake of such charity. You showed the way and led us to the thousand-fold profits for what we gave in the world. For this reason, you are also our pioneers here; please, you go first.”

After this sweet conversation, the scholars will go first and they will enter Paradise together with the generous rich.

This conversation between the learned ones and the generous rich should not solely be taken as an account of a future event. It is also a lesson that conveys the depths of their altruism. Imagine that before coming to the gate of Paradise, they go through a very hard questioning and leave behind the Sirat Bridge, which is difficult to pass. In addition, in front of them are the blessings of the dizzyingly beautiful Paradise, which is beyond imagination and has been seen by no eyes and heard by no ears. On seeing those things, a person virtually comes close to fainting out of delight. Imagine that their spirit of altruism continues even in such a situation. By means of this depiction, the Messenger of God shows us the extent of their spirit of ithar.

A person who hears these words thinks that this voice sounds as if it is coming from the time of the Prophet. I think society needs such an immense spirit of altruism more than air and water.

The Prophet returning to this world of troubles again after seeing, reaching, and surmounting impossible things is very important in terms understanding the ultimate point the spirit of altruism can reach. In that journey, the noble Messenger of God met Prophets Jesus, Moses, Abraham, and Adam, peace be upon them; after receiving their welcome and veneration, he entered Paradise and saw its dizzying attractions. And then he beheld the beauty and perfectness of God Almighty. Who knows what a feeling it is for the human soul to behold God! In Badu’l Amal, it is stated that believers who are honored to see God will even forget the blessings of Paradise. That is to say, all of the paradisiacal mansions, fruits, and heavenly beauties—which would light up the entire world with a single projection of their beauty—are ignored at that moment. The Messenger of God, who was blessed with all of these and reached some point between contingency and necessity, returned back to live among people, in order to let his followers hear about the blessings he saw, felt, and sensed.

After telling us that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, returned to the world after such a journey, Abdulquddus said, “By God, had I attained those blessings, I would not return back to the world.”

Another one commented on this, saying, “Here is the difference of status between the Prophets and the greatest saint.” The Prophets purely exist for the sake of making others live. Saintly persons may in a way wish to make progress and attain spiritual delights.

In addition, as the Messenger of God reached such horizons while in the world returned back to live among his people again in order to hold their hand and guide them, it is possible that if he hears the cries of those from his community who went to Hell, who knows? Maybe he will go near it, lend a hand to them, and wish to take them out of Hell. All of these are forms of altruism. They are different wavelengths of manifestation on the horizons of Prophethood.

Antidote for clashes and fights

Today, we desperately need the spirit of altruism, which is very closely related to faith, the religious life of the heart, being close to God, compassion, and helping others live in the true sense. What we need today are chivalrous souls who will push aside the world and its contents which appeal to fancies and desires; souls who will solely live for the sake of making others live, and will pray as such:

“My God, my life may have real value if I will serve as a means for making others live. Otherwise, I feel disgusted by this meaningless life with no benefit to others and which does not revive their hearts; I seek refuge in You against it. Save me from this heavy burden please!”

Those who always say “I” and index everything to their egotism have always caused people to clash. They provoke feelings like envy, jealousy, intolerance, and rivalry, and consequently bring society to a state in which one would not like to live.

However, there are thousands of people who could do what such egoists boast to have achieved. If only there had been a little bit of trust in God. If only those who talked about the Companions and the Prophets would decide to walk their talk a little bit. If only they took a step back when necessary and gave responsibility to those eligible for a certain task. If there is an elixir that can fix a disintegrated society, it is this very spirit of altruism, which must be rekindled in hearts.

Otherwise, it will not possible to thoroughly solve the problems we face, either by diplomacy, political games, tricks, or the strategies devised by think-tank organizations. If it were possible, our society, which has experienced different changes and metamorphoses from yesterday to now, would have reached more advanced horizons long ago. But as it stands, our society is still monstrous, and people are virtually eating one another like cannibals. For God’s sake, is it any different from cannibalism if you bombard civilians, use poisonous gas, deprive others of their right to live, act with Islamophobia, and commit different forms of oppression against certain groups? All of these are nothing but different forms of monstrosity. And the way to eliminate them is concentrating on becoming human anew and trying to fulfill what being endowed with the best pattern of creation calls for.

[turtle-in-the-mums]

OOC: Postwar Cybertron Headcanon

In my head, the majority of Cybertron's population are the descendants of bots who for one reason and another ended up living on colony worlds scattered all over the galaxy. Some of those colonies had lost touch with the ancestral home planet long before the war started, and the rest shed their ties around the time Iacon fell.

Those who heard about the end of the war and the very attractive opportunities being offered to those of Cybertronian descent willing to move to Cybertron and help rebuild it didn't necessarily know or care much about the war. A lot of them disparage it and those who fought in it as uncivilized and pointlessly destructive.

Megatron had the Machiavellian (in the sense of "able to look at the ugliest and most brutal political realities and do the ugly and brutal things necessary to counter the worst of the side effects of human (Cybertronian) power politics") good sense and intestinal fortitude to keep his near-absolute power. He has a circle of allies and advisers, and a lot of the day-to-day business of governing is handled by district or neighborhood-level officials and councils, but on matters of top-level policy decisions his word is law. The rules of living in his Protectorate aren't necessarily kind, but they are crystal-clear and freely available to anyone who wants to know about them, and they're backed up by Megs' own treatises on politics and government. One is free to challenge the laws or request guidance regarding how they apply to this or that person or situation--Megs has been known to reconsider or revise some of his decisions when the argument was well-reasoned enough--but if you violate the rules you'll find out how very, very cruel Megatron's regime can be.

Because Megs isn't a sentimentalist or at all prone to idealism, he set up an admissions/immigration system that investigates and thoroughly questions every would-be immigrant about everything, then rejects anyone whose ideology/politics/intentions don't fit with the society the Lord Protector has in mind. Stuff like Functionist beliefs, prejudice against cold-forged bots, cultural grudges, crusading or imperialist mentalities--you either leave it at the orbital Immigration Station or you don't get your entry authorization. Those who were found to be harboring such ideas after being allowed in have their authorizations/citizenship summarily revoked and are either put through a prolonged period of indoctrination and probation or given exactly one day to pack up and get outside the borders of the Protectorate--when the time limit's up there's an automatic bounty put on the head of the offender, and it's sizable enough to guarantee plenty of interest from the citizenry.

Guess where the rejects end up.

Optimus never wanted the Primacy. Orion Pax had serious objections to the corruption and hypocrisies of his society, but he was high enough in the hierarchy not to be as unbearably crushed by them as Megatron and his followers. Reading Megatron's speeches and writings metaphorically opened Orion's optics to a lot of injustices he'd never thought about--like a fish that isn't aware of water until it's taken out of it, Orion just hadn't been aware of the real nature of his world until Megatron pulled him out of it. Still, Orion was for reform rather than revolution. He was a young, naive idealist. Committed to his beliefs and possessed of a fundamentally noble and gentle Spark, but dangerously flawed because he has such a hard time when the world fails to accept and conform to his vision. The ruthless pragmatism of the Matrix mitigated the ill effects of Op's idealism to a degree, and Prowl countered some of the rest, but once the war was over Op let himself believe he could stop compromising and doing the crueler things rulers have to do. He insisted that the natural goodness of the Cybertronian Spark would prevail if it was just given the freedom to do so...and he yielded power to a series of democratically-elected bodies with only the barest of restrictions or restraints.

It's perfectly understandable--Op carried a heavy burden (largely of his own making, but still a massive burden) throughout the war and he was looking forward to a semi-retirement of being an elder statesman. (He wasn't looking forward to remaining a quasi-religious figure, but that's not his decision.) It was nonetheless a massive mistake. Op's ideals aren't nearly as natural and self-evident to the average bot as he so firmly believed they are, and those who came to resettle Cybertron weren't as eager to adopt his vision and live according to his principles as he expected they would be. He failed to account for the tendency of sapient minds to resist large-scale changes of any sort regardless of the circumstances.

As a result, the population of Op's territory is highly fractious, the various levels of government and bureaucracy not under his direct influence are legion and full of pockets of flagrant corruption, the laws and social mores are either oppressive or selectively enforced or both...and he lacks the power to unilaterally correct it. He really, really hates the bitter fact that Megatron's way has actually turned out to be the better option, but he's been consulting with Megs and working with Prowl and the others of his old command to correct his mistakes before he dies.

Megatron's way, of course, has the Achilles' heel of being dependent on the judgement and intentions of whoever has absolute power. Megatron, for all his faults, doesn't seem to care much about the trappings of power or being loved. Starscream likes things like crowns and throne rooms and adulation. Megatron has a goal in mind and he'll do whatever he thinks is necessary to achieve that goal--he'll sit on a throne if that's what will get him closer to his goal, but he won't throw a fit if there isn't a throne available. He'll stand and give orders and make sure they're obeyed. Since his goal is a society that doesn't tolerate functionism, slavery, corruption, or any of the myriad other pernicious habits and ideas his people have used against each other in the past, his tyranny is better than Op's democracy. The problem is that as soon as Megs either gives in to temptation or is replaced by someone else, there's nothing to prevent a new dictator from engaging in the most appalling of abuses of power. Op's preference for spreading power around is a good protection against that sort of thing, but it relies on the general population to decide and enforce a just moral and ethical code...which means the rules are set by the lowest common denominator, and that can be very low indeed.

(I wrote a treatise on post-war Cybertron that casts Megatron as the wise and good mech and Optimus Prime as a willfully-blind fool. I think I've committed some form of fandom heresy.)

[kaikhaos]

The Hurricane Sandy Saga Continues…

So here’s the story of my life since October 28, 2012 and all the chaos that has come with it. This is not a happy story, so far, but I’m hoping you guys can help make it one, or at least help prevent a bad end. This is a story of corrupt banks, government bullsh*t, and a 25 year old disabled trans queer who just wants to go home. Over the next five thousand words, I hope you realize the extent of how life has repeatedly NOPED at any sense of logic. At the end of my story, I’m going to ask you to help me out if you can and to spread the word either way.

The tl;dr version is that my family is facing homelessness for the fourth time in eighteen months and I really need you guys’ help to get us back into a stable situation so this never happens again. The mortgage company has screwed us yet again and is holding on to $250,000 that is supposed to be ours. So while we own one house and one newly demolished lot, we have nowhere to live. If you can at all help out, please do. My paypal link is here: http://paypal.me/mihaelkai .

My name is Aleks. This is my story.

First, let’s get one thing out of the way: I’m disabled. I have been legally recognized as disabled since I was 18. I have a combination of mental health issues and physical health issues that make it so my capacity on any given day varies greatly from “I made it through a day at a con thanks to lots of painkillers!” to “I brushed my teeth today and didn’t cry doing it!” But I try. Anxiety, depression, C-PTSD, & ADD are just a few of the things I’ve been diagnosed with by my therapist and psychiatrist, paired with diagnoses from my doctors of migraines, fibromyalgia, and a degenerative connective tissue disorder known as Ehlers-Danlos that all combine to leave me in fairly constant pain basically everywhere. My brain and my body attack me constantly but I still try to do what I can. Unfortunately, it means I can’t just go out and get a 9-5 or retail job to help fix my situation. I can only do what I can do and I have to know my limits.

I live with my mother and my QPP Luca who are both also disabled.

You may know in 2012 we were hit by Hurricane Sandy. If you don’t know that, you’re about to find out. We had six feet of water in our house and my grandfather’s house next door (AKA: my inheritance) floated off of its foundation and was straight up condemned. Ever since then, life has been, in a word, chaos. It’s gotten to be a theme in our house that if it can go wrong, it will go wrong. Even my therapist has given up on making any kind of treatment plan and is basically just focusing on damage control. And honestly, at this point, I just wanna go home.

But Aleks, it’s been seven years, why aren’t you home yet? Oh boy, I am SO glad you asked. Let’s get into this history.

First, a prequel. I’m not rich, my family isn’t rich, but we get by. Our house wasn’t big, but it was beautiful. In 2006, my mother bought two tiny houses next door to each other from an old man who wanted to sell them to a family the way he’d grown up in the smaller house while his parents lived in the other house. The one house was a six hundred square foot bungalow that would become my grandfather’s and its neighbor was a seven hundred square foot house that would become mine and my mother’s.

Our house was gorgeous and cute. Built in the early 1900s by a tinsmith with scraps from all of his jobs, all of the walls were tin instead of sheetrock or plaster, the floors were gorgeous hardwood, and the three bedrooms were each under a hundred square feet. It was tiny but it was ours.

On August 28th, 2011, that house was hit by Tropical Storm Irene. Our house was flooded by two feet of water on the first floor. The Atlantic Ocean took out our floors, cabinets, appliances, electrical outlets, the bathroom tile, and the furniture, not to mention rusting the heck out of the bottom of the tin walls. It took six months to get the final eighty thousand dollar settlement out of the insurance company.

The check was deposited by the mortgage company who said they would hold onto it and dole it out as we hired contractors or finished repairs. But here’s the thing: The settlement barely covered enough for the supplies, so we maxed out credit cards and depleted personal savings and finished our repairs a few months later with the help of very few contractors and a lot of DIY.

We installed our kitchen appliances as the last step and called the mortgage company that day to ask them to come and inspect and verify the repairs were done so they could release the other seventy thousand dollars that they were holding onto. They said they were backed up and that they would come and inspect in a month.

Our new stove was 22 days old when Hurricane Sandy hit us.

Where Irene was manageable, Sandy was devastating. My grandfather’s house floated on the storm surge and landed three feet away from its foundation. The legs of our lawn table were bent and sticking out from under the house like the damn wicked witch or something. Our house on the other hand shifted by an inch. Not much, you’d think, but enough to break every pipe in the house and damage the entire structural stability of the house.

The town building department condemned my grandfather’s house and wrote ours up as “more than 50% damaged”.

Needless to say, both houses were left completely and totally uninhabitable.

The mortgage company inspector came and said because everything was wet and ruined that they “couldn’t certify the repairs were completed” even when we were standing there with a stack of receipts and before and after pictures, clearly proving everything had been replaced since most of the materials had been changed. So they decided they wouldn’t release the $70,000 they were holding onto from Irene until the new SANDY repairs were done. Even though we’d already spent that money on repairs and run up debt because of it, they decided they were just going to hold onto it for longer.

And honestly? Fuck those guys. They are the root of some of the most evil parts of this, as you’ll see.

So back to the Sandy damages. First, the insurance company offered us a FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLAR damage assessment. Fifteen thousand bucks when we had six feet of water in our house. For perspective, fourteen months before Hurricane Sandy, Tropical Storm Irene sent 24 inches of water into our house and the insurance company gave us eighty thousand dollars to make those repairs. So yeah, fifteen thousand wasn’t gonna do it. The construction estimates for the repairs were coming in around two hundred and fifty thousand.

So, of course, we appealed. Our engineer said parts of the house were outright dangerous from the damage and had to be torn down and replaced. We told the insurance company this and they told us they would send their own engineer. And… well… they sent SOMEBODY. Was that guy a licensed engineer? Nope. Did they tell us he was? Yup.

So then we appealed to FEMA. The judge from FEMA told them outright to send a LICENSED engineer in his decision and left it at that. So then they did. This guy now said he thought fifty thousand was gonna do it. The insurance company looked at his report and went “mmm… so how about thirty thousand?”

So… no. So then we had to hire a lawyer and took them to court. We weren’t the only ones, thousands of people had to file these lawsuits. The lawyer told us not to let the mortgage company cash the $30,000 of checks we’d been given for the storm so far because it could be argued to be us agreeing to that number. He said we just had to WAIT. So the checks got too old to cash.

The Visiting Nurse Service started sending a therapist to our house once a week for each of the three of us to help with “Hurricane-Related PTSD”. Yup. Cool. On top of my regular C-PTSD. Awesome. But the guy was nice and having therapists to talk to twice a week (my regular one and this guy) was helpful. And he gave me some worksheets that helped me kind of have more of a tool kit. Everything still sucked but hey, we all trudged on.

Pretty sure this was around when the first roofing shingles started falling off of our rental house. We told the landlord that this was a problem and that the property was going to start getting leaks in the roof. We pointed out that it said in our lease that he was supposed to fix this little ‘issue’.

Repeatedly.

Including in writing and by sending him photos of the slowly growing stack of shingles that were not on the roof anymore and the leaky window.

And he still did diddly squat about it.

For five years.

Meanwhile during this whole… process, New York State started the New York Rising program to help rebuild the houses who were tied up in lawsuits like ours or who didn’t have insurance like my grandfather’s. We applied right away. It seemed like an answer!

…So then uh… New York Rising LOST our file.

…Uh… Twice.

And when they finally DID decide to properly process our application, they gave us a grand total of $88,000 and put us in the ‘Build a whole new house’ category. Our house is, as I said, under 900 square feet in size. You literally cannot build a house in our area for that price at that size. Especially when it’s a property that needs 14 foot deep helical pilings and a nine foot high foundation to comply with current code. The foundation alone is $50,000. The lowest estimate we found from any construction company after no less than TEN bids was $180,000 NOT counting the architect who’s another $15,000. NY Rising expected us to be able to rebuild for a fraction of that. So we started looking into finding other financing possibilities while waiting on the lawsuit to continue going through.

We decided to hire our neighbour’s architect because he was something resembling almost affordable. We gave him a deposit. …A few weeks later, he had a heart attack while leaving the building department’s office. …A few weeks after that, he started being investigated for embezzling money from his clients.

At this point, we’d been out of our house for years. And more and more shingles kept falling off of the roof of the rental. Then a siding tile fell off too because the landlord’s son’s landscaping company crashed a lawnmower into it.

We started looking at houses to buy so that at least we would own something.

Then my grandfather (who had been a major contributor to our household finances) had a severe stroke. Six months later, he died. Suddenly we were $3,000 tighter per month. The possibility of buying a house went out the window. But we made do as best as we could.

FEMA was paying for the rental house we were living in while going through all of the appeal and lawsuit procedures and, when we hit their funding cap, New York Rising’s IMA program stepped in to pay “whichever is less, your rent or mortgage”. It still meant higher costs as the rent around here is more than our mortgage, but it made it so we could get by.

The one silver lining was that once my grandfather was out of the picture (since he’d been living with us in a shared rental since Sandy), I was able to start on testosterone injections. January 28, 2015, I was able to start my injections and officially begin the medical side of my transition.

Then New York Rising hit a cap on IMA funding. Which… sucked pretty fucking hard because then there was a few thousand a month more money we had to find to shell out. But then the program was extended and that was awesome.

Then our cat, Pickles, developed severe kidney problems. She was my best friend since the day she showed up on our doorstep a week after we bought our house in 2006 and wandered into the kitchen demanding petting. She moved into our lives and never left. I couldn’t give her up without a fight. So I spent all of my savings on her medical bills and started giving her saline injections twice a day every day to help her kidneys flush the toxins they couldn’t handle themselves.

Then the IMA ran out again. So back to the land of suck. They told us we would be eligible for a little more funding. But only if we demolished the existing house.

In order to legally demolish the house, we had to pay for a construction company to do it under their license. New York Rising expected us to be able to demo the house for $5,000. The lowest bid we received was for $9,000. When we told them this, their reaction was essentially “yeah, yeah, we know, just make it work”. Make it work is a cool and funny phrase when spoken by an aging fashion consultant on television. It’s not so cool or funny when it’s being told to you by the people who are supposed to help you fix your house. It is stressful as hell.

Then Pickles got sicker. And sicker. And her at-home dialysis wasn’t enough to keep her going anymore. Pickles passed in May 2016.

In 2017, we finally won our lawsuit. The judge ruled the insurance company had to release a full payment to the policy maximum of $250,000! Those jerks tried giving us $15,000 and the judge was like “Uh… no, this is $250,000 of damage”. Victory! But we were still out our legal fees because, unlike homeowner’s insurance where the insurance company pays the fees, flood insurance is federally underwritten so you’re not allowed to get the legal fees paid for. Some flood insurance companies realized they’d fucked up and as a result agreed to pay for the legal fees. Our flood insurance company… wasn’t so generous. But a check was still generated by the flood insurance company thanks to the judge. Huzzah, light at the end of the tunnel!

…Then the lawyer refused to sign the check.

Apparently our lawyer has had dealings with our mortgage company before and run into the same problem as we had with their “we’ll release your funding at the end” theory. Except for him that meant “we won’t pay out your legal fees until the house is finished” and he didn’t like that. So they wanted him to sign the check over to them and he wanted them to sign the check over to him. They spent years arguing over a piece of paper with some dollar signs on it while we got needlessly further into debt.

Then one of my ferrets, Wasabi, my emotional support animal, got really sick really suddenly.

By the time the vet scrambled to find out what was wrong, it was too late and he was gone. It turned out that he had a rare autoimmune condition caused by heavy metal exposure from the water. His sister survived, but now Lemon was alone and she and I were both devastated. Watching the way she would get excited and then sad any time we brought out a toy with Wasabi’s scent on it broke my heart so I replaced her toys.

A month later, people came knocking on our door offering free water filters if they would let us track the toxic plume of decades old industrial chemicals and waste spreading unhindered through the groundwater supply that had apparently reached us and was contaminating our pipes.

Eventually, during all this, New York Rising started to realize that their $160 per square foot amount just wasn’t enough when it came to houses like ours. So they started a program called the Recon 100 program. The goal of this program was supposed to be that New York Rising would take over the build process, they would hire contractors and architects in bulk, essentially hiring them for ‘bundles’ of 10 or 20 properties at a time to get them to accept a lower profit per house because they would be guaranteed months of solid work. We were signed up into the program.

Now, as a condition of this program, we had to stop doing any work on our own, we’d have to return whatever hadn’t been spent on repairs already, and we’d have to give them any insurance checks. But New York Rising was bragging about how they had programs that would allow you to repay the funding over several years because they knew everyone was using a little bit here or there to make ends meet. And that was all well and dandy because once the repairs were done, the mortgage company would release what they were holding one way or another. They would have to. …Right?

Meanwhile, our rental assistance hit the next cap. New York Rising told us not to worry because once this paperwork was approved, we’d be eligible for a higher cap of extended rental assistance. It was just a matter of waiting for the paperwork to get approved, they said.

Then our caseworker at New York Rising decided she was going to deny our receipts for the funds already spent. And that she wasn’t going to file the appeals to that denial that we explicitly asked her in writing to file.

Then on top of that, we discovered that at some point our NYR caseworker had decided to NOT sign us up for the extended timeline repayment thing because… fuck knows why, honestly? And that now she wasn’t going to apply us for it because “oh it’s full now”. So NY Rising decided that, before they’d do anything, they wanted us to give THEM the money that was still sitting in those pre-lawsuit paper checks that went old immediately. The government decided that we either had to magic the money of an un-cashed check out of thin air or else it was up to us to: 1, get them reissued, 2, get them deposited by the mortgage company, and 3, somehow get the mortgage company to issue that money to New York Rising.

And they wanted all this done in less than a week because they decided this in the last phase of our approval process and there were other deadlines really close. …Needless to say, the mortgage company was like “lol um nah” even to the theoretical idea of giving the money to NY Rising for the repairs, nevermind the hassle of getting the checks reissued by the flood insurance company with an active lawsuit ongoing.

New York Rising only said “too bad, figure it out yourself and PS because you’re not in this program anymore, we won’t give you the continued rental assistance, why aren’t you done rebuilding your house yet?” Meanwhile, we were waiting on them for months because they told us it was just waiting for the paperwork to go through.

Meanwhile, we had a new jerk of a builder/flipper neighbour. He’d bought the house next door to us when the family with the new baby decided it wasn’t worth waiting so many years to have their own house fixed. Let’s call him Fish Head. He decided to have his building supplies delivered to our neighbour’s yard WITHOUT her permission because there wasn’t enough room on his property. Straight up, he had a whole pallet of building supplies just dumped on her yard. She complained, obviously, and her husband threatened to call the cops. So he moved his shit to to OUR yard because we happened to not be there that day. It took WEEKS to get him to move the shit, even WITH calling the cops.

Turns out, cops don’t give a shit if someone puts hundreds of pounds of building materials on your yard. They’ll tell you you’re well within your rights to move it yourself but if you don’t have a forklift or a whole team of burly humans to assist you in the move then too bad so sad.

Thanks, Fish Head.

But back to the housing. We were months overdue on the rent because we were “just waiting for the paperwork to finish processing”. They told us we’d get all the back stuff in one lump payment. They lied and now we were up shit’s creek.

Our scummy landlord finally sent a notice saying “I’ve waited long enough, get out”. So that was… cool. We were able to keep him from coming after the back rent by pointing out that he was a slum lord and that we’d notified him in writing about being a slumlord, but it still meant we had to move out immediately and in a rush. Thankfully, it was May.

So on June 1st 2018, we moved into our RV parked at a local campsite. Three adults, a cat, and a ferret, crammed into an RV that was anything but recreational.

We installed cameras on our house around this point because Fish Head kept having his workers trample all over our property and they kept breaking things and leaving garbage everywhere.

Then the engineer said he thought he could figure out a way to save the main body of our house and raise it, that we’d only have to demolish off the back room and possibly the bathroom in order to raise it. It was another light at the end of a repeatedly lengthening tunnel. So we changed tracks completely and had him start drafting stuff up for us to raise the existing house, rebuilding only the porch.

Now, here’s the thing about the local campsites, we don’t have many of them and they sell out pretty quickly. Especially for the height of the summer. So they didn’t have any of their ‘full hook-up’ sites, AKA the ones that get you electricity and everything, but we had water and a bathroom and a shower facility and the barbecue to cook food, and it was… survivable. Not exactly comfortable but survivable.

We started doing the work to repair the house instead of following the line of thinking of rebuilding it. We cashed in everything we could and scraped together every scrap of money we possibly could, we sold things, we asked for help where we could, we got a very understanding contractor to give us the lowest prices we could. We managed to get the mortgage company to pay out some of the Tropical Storm Irene money directly to the contractors. Remember that guy, wayyyy back in 2011? And the mortgage inspector who missed a pre-Sandy inspection by a week? Yeah. They still had that money. So even though it was technically Sandy damages as we’d already done the work from Irene, we managed to get them to pay that out. But WHATEVER. It got it paid.

We had a looming deadline from New York Rising that they wanted the house raised by December 31st. Or at least that they wanted it lifted and pending the new foundation. They call this ‘cribbing’ and it basically means your house goes up on Jenga Towers and that you can’t live in it for a while until the foundation is done and it goes back down. So we had to somehow make that happen. But first things first, the campground was closing for the season and we had to have a place to live.

On November 1st 2018, we were able to move back into our house.

Temporarily, at least, while permits and construction drawings and everything went through for getting the house raised.

So we applied to the mortgage company to get the remaining $40,000 that they had from Tropical Storm Irene, the full final payout. And, amazingly, we got it. In it came and went right back out it went to the contractors who were supposed to be working on raising the house because that December 31st deadline was still looming.

Then Fish Head who we keep running into issues with, FINALLY got a stop work order on his house for not having the right permits. Serves you right, Fish Head. But, in retaliation, he decided to lie to the building department that we were living there without utilities? Somehow? When we literally had all our utilities? And had gotten the “90% complete” inspection from our mortgage company? So THAT was a whole mess to try to straighten out. When we met with the head of the building department, he literally turned to the guy next to him and said “See, remember I told you about this guy? This is the retaliation I was telling you about” because he was the guy who had personally signed the stop work order on Fish Head.

So the next big concern was that December 31st deadline. Everyone kept debating whether or not New York Rising would extend it at the last minute again (as they’d done that once before), and we started scrambling to try to find somewhere to live while the house was raised. Ideally, we were looking for somewhere that WASN’T the cold tiny RV in the middle of a New York winter. We applied to a few apartments but because we were paying the mortgage and everything our debt to income ratio didn’t qualify.

On December 24th, 2018, we got the $250,000 check from the flood insurance company with our name and the mortgage company’s name. It seemed like a Christmas Miracle. So we immediately sent it over to the mortgage company so they could cash it and we could apply to have those funds released, remember, our house was FINISHED and HABITABLE, except for needing to be raised per the new flood zoning stuff. At the very least, we had the 90% inspection, and on our next inspection we got a 99%.

So we immediately started applying for the final permits for getting the house raised and my grandfather’s house demolished. The lady at the building department is… nice but not very organized. So we had to deal with the town jerking us around with the permits taking forever to get done, well past the time estimates they tell you on the phone when you call and ask about time estimates.

We rushed to have our disconnects done. Water, electric, sewer. The house was all wrapped up in a pretty bow ready to be raised. We moved into a hotel. All we needed was the final elevation permit and the money from the mortgage company.

So back to the mortgage company and that $250,000. The mortgage company denied the payout 3 times saying, “Oh we don’t have… this paper or that paper” for papers we had confirmation they had. The guy on the phone one time when we were like “….We submitted that one on x date while speaking to Z employee”, he tried saying, “Oh this fax isn’t legible…” and we were just like “…FAX… you mean the scanned in PDF we submitted via your web upload?” And he was like “…Oh. hold please…” and suddenly he could read the form. Magic. So basically they were just LYING to us. Why? Fuck knows.

Then it was, “Everything is fine and it’ll be issued in 3 days” on the 23rd. And we got the elevation permit! And the demo permit on my grandfather’s house! Everything was rolling along and it was all going to be fine! Right?

Not so fast.

On the 31st we still had no check. We called and it was, “Oh it has to go to this other department because it’s over $70,000, but everything is approved and they’ll issue the check in 5 to 7 days, HONEST”.

We called back on the 5th and THAT lie had turned into “Oh well… we sold your loan effective the 4th, you’ll have to ask the new guys”. The mortgage company SOLD OUR LOAN to another company WHILE our payout was “APPROVED AND SENT TO THE CHECK ISSUING DEPARTMENT”.

We called the new guys who told us, “Oh we don’t even have a ID NUMBER assigned for your loan yet, call back in a week to get your loan number and then it’s another week until we can even see your funds and start your payout claim oh and we probably need to schedule our own inspection.”

So it’ll be easily a month OR MORE before we get the money.

We are trying to expedite this whole process as best as we can. We managed to get the ID number in only 4 days. They seem to be arguing with themselves about whether or not they need a whole new inspection or not.

Meanwhile, we only really had the money for the hotel for the lift time but all the disconnects have been done (there is no heat, water, or electricity) so it’s not like we can just go BACK HOME during the delay either.

We have $250,000 on the way and we’re about to be homeless. Again. For the third time in 18 months.

If we can just get $5,000, we can pay to have the house RECONNECTED AGAIN to everything so we can wait these fuckers out and get the payout.

Every little bit helps.

Please.

The other option is living in the RV again just to have a roof over our heads. But unlike last time when it was warm, it is February and we are in NY. It snowed yesterday. RVs aren’t designed to keep warm when there’s snow out.

Please help me and my family stay in a house.

My paypal link is here: http://paypal.me/mihaelkai .

I am also taking a limited number of 1000 word or less commissions! That’s about the limit of what I can handle committing to right now! DM me for details!

(Mutuals/Friends: If you can’t donate but you can loan us some for two months or so, we can pay you back as soon as we get that check? Please let me know if it is a donation or if you would like to be paid back so I can keep a record.)