#about those ships and crossing that bridge when we get there

[kyistell]

Ladies and Gentleman. The second chapter has been POSTED

Sorry for it taking so long but also no I'm not cause it's my fic and I'll do what I want BAH!!

[mamasturn]

send you away, major gale cleven

pairing: major gale cleven (masters of the air) x black fem oc (eden marie cleven)

content: eden is anxious about having to be separated from her husband when he reveals that he has to serve in England.

an: I was burnt out from writing elvis content, but, now we're on masters of the air content, yay!

“I’m sorry, baby, but I gotta go.” His voice was a song sung by an old church choir; soothing, warm like her mama’s hugs, then it got disruptive. Like the snares of the drums as the song reached a climax. “They need us in England.” 

The pained look on her face would be engrained in his mind forever. There would be no way for him to forget it. Her thick eyebrows eat in a deep frown, pushing the rest of her features further down. Her eyes, those beautiful brown eyes, glistened with tears. She refused to blink. The gentle rivers would transition to monstrous waterfalls with no dam to keep them at bay. And her lips, full and swollen from tender kisses, quivered as she clenched her jaw to keep her composure. 

“For how long?” Her voice was quiet. Gale sighed heavily and ran a heavy hand through his hair. If he had an answer, he’d give it to her. But, his silence spoke loud enough. She hummed and brushed his hand off her lap and began to trudge upstairs. A defeated sigh came from him. 

“E,” Gale called out. He followed her up the wooden steps. “Eden!” 

His large hand palmed their bedroom door that threatened to push him out. The lamp on her side of the bed was on, the blankets on the left side were pulled back, and she stood in front of the mounted mirror brushing her freshly pressed hair. Her sad expression had morphed into one like stone. He could see her jaw tick as each second passed. 

Gale took slow steps toward her. He could only imagine what she was thinking. Her husband, whom she’d only been married to for six months, was being shipped off to England to assist them in bringing down Germany. How coulde she not be upset? 

Gale stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. His advances didn’t keep her from wrapping her hair and tossing her satin scarf around her head. He leaned down, nose brushing against the shell of her ear. Eden’s breath hitched. His lips followed, pecking at the sensitive area below her ear. He pulled at her skin with his teeth and she whimpered softly, her hand falling on top of his. “Gale…” A warning. 

“Talk to me,” he pleaded. “Please.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” she said after some time. “I knew what I got into when I married you but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m scared, Gale!” Finally, she turned to meet his gaze. So big and blue, they were. Filled with sympathy and remorse. 

“I knew what I was getting into when I married you, but still! I gotta send my husband away and I don’t want to think about the day where someone could knock on the door telling me--”

Gale shushed her softly and pressed her body against his in a tight embrace. His warm hand gripped her chin and tapped softly. She met his eyes. “So let’s not think about that. I leave in three weeks. We’re gonna focus on making these three weeks worthwhile, and we’ll cross the other bridge when we get to it. But I’ll always be with you one way or another, you know that, darlin’. You do know that, don’t you?”

Eden nodded. Gale raised an eyebrow. “I know, baby.” 

Gale hummed and drew invisible lines along the bare skin other thigh. The lace of her slip tickled her leg. His hand inched up slowly. “How about we practice for that final send off?” 

Eden smiled knowingly and broke away from him, peeling the straps of her nightgown off her shoulders her bare body on display. “C’mon, we’ve got all night.” 

All night indeed.

[leapingbadger]

Withdrawal

Summary: – Crosshair runs out of toothpicks on a mission and the rest of the Batch must feel his wrath.

Read on AO3

“Hunter, we’ve got a problem?” Tech said as he approached Hunter, sat at the communications array or the Marauder.

Hunter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was not what he wanted to hear after the last mission went awry, causing delays.

“Is there something wrong with the ship?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the screen.

“No,”

“Are they fighting again? Just tell Wrecker to stop hitting him with Lula,” Hunter said as his hands prodded the keys on the console.

“No, it’s not that,” Tech said, shooting a worried glance behind him.

“Tech,” Hunter said, spinning his chair to face his brother, “I am good at many things, but mind reading isn’t one of them.”

“It’s Crosshair,” Tech whispered, “he’s on his last two toothpicks,”

Hunter stood up, shoving his brother into the cockpit, looking around for his severe brother. He lowered his voice, “how is that possible? What about the backup pack?”

“He lost it on Felicia” Tech said matter-of-factly.

“What about the one in the med kit?”

“He used it when Wrecker was piloting the Marauder.”

“Kriff it,” Hunter said under his breath. “Well, you said he had two left, right? Maybe he can make those last.”

“I suppose so,” Tech said, “we’re heading home soon, correct? maybe we won’t have to worry about it.”

Hunter looked shifty, “Actually we just got new orders. We’ll be gone another few rotations.”

A loud argument sounded from the steps of the ship.

“Wrecker, you made me break my toothpick.”

“Karabast!” Tech said.

**

“All I’m saying is, if we hadn’t dropped the explosives, we would have had a cleaner exit, and I wouldn’t currently be fixing blaster holes in the side of my ship.” Tech spat.

The fire crackled in from of them, the embers drifting steadily up into the dark night sky. Hunter heard strange noises emanating from the woods and was only partially paying attention to the argument in front of him.

“If we hadn’t dropped the explosives, you wouldn’t have a ship at all,” Wrecker growled, waving his ration stick threateningly at his brother.

“That is wholly inaccurate,”

“The Kriff it is,” Crosshair said, taking his toothpick out of his mouth and prodding the air between them with it.

Hunter and Tech exchanged a glance, “It doesn’t matter how we did it. It was another win. No matter how messy. The next one will be better,” Hunter said confidently, trying to cool the tempers. He took a bite of his ration stick and gave Tech a pointed look.

“I…I will yield in this particular case,” Tech said reluctantly.

“What?” Wrecker said dumbfounded, “that’s never happened before, has it Cross?” He hugged his stern brother before beating him in the face with his favorite tooka doll.

“Dank ferric, Wrecker. You made me drop my toothpick again,”

Tech caught Hunter’s eyes and shook his head slightly. The Sergeant ran his hands over his face and took a deep breath. It was going to be a long couple of days.

Crosshair had developed a fixation on his toothpicks thanks to a particularly surly bounty hunter during training. Frustrated with his penchant for sticking his tongue out as he took a shot, he gave him a toothpick to chew on and the rest was history. Hunter couldn’t remember a time when the floor of the barracks wasn’t littered with Crosshair’s discarded wooden shards, usually flicked in a moment of anger or for emphasis.

He had run out a couple of times over the years. Once when they were still cadets, and he’d only recently started using them. The somber mood that followed still gave Wrecker the occasional nightmare.

The next time was during one of their early missions as they were stuck behind enemy lines, unable to get to his backup on the Marauder. He had done his personal best during that mission. Taking out more droids than the rest of them combined. Hunter thought if he could have stabbed each droid in the eye with a toothpick he would have.

They were only a few hours into a toothpickless Crosshair, and the strain was already starting to show. He had pulled off his right glove and was gnawing on his fingernails. His thumbnail was already down to the quick.

“We have to do something, or he won’t have any nails left,” Hunter said to Tech quietly.

“Perhaps we could distract him. A game of Sabaac or some combat training?”

Hunter was already exhausted from the mission and had no desire to enter into hand to hand combat with a cranky Crosshair. He may lose a hand.

“What if we try to teach him other things? Maybe you can show him your datapad…”

“Crosshair had shown no interest in procurement of information or the datapad itself,” Tech said

“Kriff it, Wrecker, could you breathe any louder?” Cross snapped as Wrecker looked up alarmed.

Tech sighed, adjusting his goggles and walking to the back of the ship. “Crosshair, would you be interested in learning more about my datapad. It had the most up to date…”

“No…” Crosshair said sulkily, arms crossed over his chest.

Tech turned around immediately, “I tried,” he said to Hunter, nose buried in the datapad as he sank into the pilot’s seat.

Wrecker was bench pressing Gonky in the middle of the ship.

“Hey, Wreck. Maybe see if Cross wants to join you?” Hunter said encouragingly. Wrecker’s eyes lit up.

“Hey Cross, you wanna…”

“No,” The sniper said, feet dangling off the stairs to the gunner’s mount.

**

The next few days were tedious and long. Crosshair couldn’t interact with his brother’s without snarling but refused to admit to the reason. The mission was a success, almost an afterthought. Hunter wasn’t worried about surviving the Separatists and much as surviving his brother. A cloud followed Crosshair around wherever he went, and he was desperate to share the rain with the rest of them.

The night before they were set to leave, Hunter had had enough. Wrecker had made the fire three times larger than necessary. Flamed shot high over their heads into the starry night. He again heard rumblings in the forest at the edge of the clearing, but this time wasn’t able to tune out the bickering occurring around him.

“No cheating, Wrecker,” Cross hissed at his brother.

“I wasn’t,” Wrecker cried sounding wounded.

“You were trying to look at my cards,”

“I was not, Hunter was…”

Hunter took a deep breath and stood up, "enough of this. Crosshair, cover me. I’ll be right back,”

Crosshair looked questioningly as Hunner strode towards the tree line.

“What exactly are you…” Tech started but Hunter strode right past him, unsheathing his vibrokife as he did so.

Once at the trees he examined the bark, running his gloved hands over a couple before pausing. The bark on the tree in front of him was loose and peeling away. He pulled it off carefully revealing virgin wood underneath.

Hunter carefully cut a small section of the tree with his knife before barrel rolling out of the way of an unsee assailant, knife raised.

Pew! A single shot rang out from Crosshair’s firepuncher, scaring the creature away. Hunter nodded his thanks to his brother and continued to work before finally returning to the campfire.

“Thanks Cross,” he said as he sat down.

“Are you going to tell us what you were doing?”

“In a minute,” he said, still working his knife through the wood. “Did he stick his tongue out?” Hunter asked his brothers with a smile.

Tech and Wrecker laughed as they nodded their heads.

Crosshair growled but stopped as Hunter sat up straight and passed something to him.

“What’s this?” he asked, clearly already knowing the answer.

“Toothpicks. At least, makeshift ones until we get back to Kamino,”

Crosshair glanced down at the pile of misshapen wooden shards in his hand and nodded his thanks to his brother. He picked one up, tentatively placing one between his lips.

“I’m probably going to get a splinter,” he said, with a slight smile.

“You’re welcome, Crosshair.” Hunter said.

[bustybounty]

(no pressure to answer this immediately; Love your work, and hope you are doing well~)

After you found her ship crashed out in your backyard just a couple days ago, you've quickly found out how dangerous incredible your newfound 'bunny wife' truly is. Not only has she acclimated to Earth's culture really well, but she's even discovered some new things about herself in the process! Like how quickly her body can convert the excessive amount of calories she consumes into more T&A; Both for your pleasure, and her own. Or how hopelessly compatible her species is with yours, seeing how she's already given birth to a couple million or so of your hybrid offspring, and is still openly "begging" (note: demanding) for you to pump even more into her. Or how her milk production has become so excessive that she requires industrial-grade pumps to drain her massive chest, and even with them milking her 24/7, she still produces more faster than they can drain!

To be fair, though, you've also discovered a few things about yourself throughout this process. Like how dangerous incredible it feels to breed your 'bunny wife' senseless, or how much bigger you've felt ever since you started drinking the excess milk she produces.

...Then again, maybe this is why her home planet (and home galaxy...) got 'accidentally' destroyed through sheer overpopulation...

She's been so excessive generous to me ever since I rescued her, and I'm making sure that her stay here is very hospitable! I wouldn't want her to feel terrible about her new home after all, it's not just a different town, it's a whole new planet, with a whole new species... that turned out to be EXTREMELY compatible with hers...in fact, somehow breeding with humans provides more outcome than breeding normally...something we were both maybe a little too excited to find out.

Well, her growing curves have also been an absolute bonus that's providing more pleasure for the both of us, which results in faster and more efficient breeding sessions, as well as plenty of foreplay before and after these sessions by playing with those immensely soft and heavy curves of hers. They've even served as a bed before, though usually that's reserved for her constantly hyper pregnant belly, since it's a whole lot bigger than everything else in her body combined. She's so completely overtaken by her womb in every regard that it's hard for her to size down even after a gigantic pregnancy or two.

She's always ready to breed for more no matter what. It rarely takes her longer than an hour after one pregnancy ends for her to demand getting bred again, no matter the cost, no matter whatever it takes, she WILL get another batch of beautiful healthy offspring.

Her milky tits are still extremely impressive despite not being as large as her continental belly, though with the way they swell when she isn't milked enough, they make up for it. The milk is sweet and potent too, rich in nutrients, meaning it's great to drink it too! I know I drink plenty, which fuels my energy and gets me prepared to...well, breed her even bigger~

Overpopulation problems are a bridge I'll cross when I get to them...Probably... I mean... as she's starting to make billions per pregnancy, it's definitely starting to be an issue we should consider fixing, but we're both too horny and breeding-minded to ever think about anything else at this point... Plus, it's not like we can just move everyone to a different planet, at this rate she's not just going to overpopulate the galaxy, she's going to grow as BIG as one, and probably overpopulate the local cluster if not the universe itself...

Give it time and I'll breed her enough for those goals to be attained...she'll love every moment I'm sure~ <3

(Thank you, hope you like this one too! <3)

[raconteur-wanpi]

One Piece 1130

Here comes another review / reaction!

Starting with the Yamato cover stories again, it seems whoever is the suspicious kidnapper is also trying to steal Yamato's katana! Or at least, I'm assuming it's the same person. I feel like this means we're going to find out who it is rather soon. Is my bet on Perospero going to be completely and utterly debunked? We'll just wait and see.

Franky and the rest of the strawhats remaining on the giants' ship seem to have decided to call off the search! It's certainly the right decision, because as we'll see later, the rest of the crew is indeed already on Elbaf. It's interesting to see Franky specifically showcasing determination and speaking out the decision, I kinda love it. You have to remember he was the leader of the Franky Family for a long while, nice seeing that element of his again.

The rest of the New Giant Pirates are starting to show up! I remember both Gerd and Goldberg, but getting more dialogue from them is nice, they seem like genuinely charming characters and I love both their designs. They even showed up in Vegapunk's flashback, helping out Saul pick up all the books in Ohara. They seem to not like Rodo very much, which is kinda funny but makes total sense. It's also worth mentioning that apparently, according to Linlin's childhood flashback, Loki, Rodo and Goldberg were all born on the same day, or at least very close to each other! (From chapter 866)

The strawhats unfortunately don't recognize these two, who are certainly their allies, so instead they hide away from them.

This panel of all of them making their escape from Rodo's weird creepy dungeon is pretty cute, I always love seeing the strawhats casually interact. Sanji saying he used to cross a rope bridge like this is very interesting to me, surely there was one in Germa, right?

* Edit: oops, turns out that's Chopper saying it! Big thanks for the corrections in the replies. It's really hard to tell, but that makes more sense, we do see that in Drum Island.

Anyway, Luffy seems to spot something that catches his interest during this walk-away.

Meanwhile, back on the ship with the Giant Warrior Pirates....

Dorry and Broggy have been framed for the Egghead incident by Morgans also! Well, they did go against the government, so it's to be expected. Their bounties increasing to such numbers seems to actually align with real life inflation rates, Oda did his research.

Aaaandd here it is, one of the biggest things in this chapter. Vivi left a message to the strawhats!!!!!!! Being with Morgans, she was obviously able to draw the marking on the photo before it started getting reproduced for publishing. Everyone predicting Vivi joining the strawhats this arc is probably correct, hopefully! Please let it happen. Go get your girl kids!!!!!!

OK, this is the other huge (pun unintended) thing revealed this chapter. More information on Loki and, well.... the revelation Harjudin might be his brother!? They're both the King's sons, right? They both get referred to as princes here, aren't they!?

King Harold is referred to as Loki's father here, so it's safe to assume he was Harjudin's father also. If this is the case, Harjudin going after the Flame Flame Fruit in Dressrosa makes more sense.

Hmm, this narrative is pretty interesting, Loki getting called things like "cursed", "the shame of Elbaf" "not right in the head" etc, it feels like pretty cruel words. Even if he is indeed a horrible and dangerous person, something tells me we're meant to be wary of people being spoken about that way, so it might be a case of the people of Elbaf taking their measures against this guy too far and pushing him into what he eventually turned into.

One Piece loves this narrative, when you have things like Wano's unjust treatment of the Kurozumi Clan or Doflamingo's treatment when he was a child. Yes, Orochi and Doffy did turn out into terrible, horrible people, but the implication of those narratives is that it's the systems that failed them that created those monsters. It's not to feel sympathy towards them or anything, they really don't deserve that at this point, but rather to understand how they were created, and that the people who unwittingly turned them into such dangers were in many ways in the wrong as well. After all, Tama is also a Kurozumi, for example, and Wano needed to get over their treatment of entire clans for the crimes of a few. We even see that with Yamato being hazed for his father being Kaidou in the cover stories, only for Denjiro to scold the younger generation for this behavior. Not to mention, "the shame of Elbaf" does immediately make me think of "the failure of Germa" and such similar things. In fact, if we wanna push that parallel further, Loki being almost married off to the Charlottes' in a similar way, might have in fact been an attempt at "getting rid of the failure" and letting someone else deal with him, rather than an attempt at making amends with Linlin. I do think it's most likely that Loki will be a bad guy, but I think there will also be a narrative on how cruelty breeds more cruelty. Oda's favorite!

And here he is, the "accursed prince". Wow, what a panel! This is such a good drawing in sense of scale and danger. Incredible artistic work. Immediately leaves such a strong impression on who this character is, it's quite the introduction!

[sereneres]

newjeans’ sunshine…z? ³

newjeans x 6th member!reader / 0.7k

summary. — newjeans has two rays of sunshines – one of them is obviously danielle, and the other one is less obviously you.

warnings. — you do not appear / hanni makes a short appearance but goes away after being bullied

“so what do you and yn-unnie have in common?”

danielle frowns, her arms crossed as she stared contemplatively at the table. “uh…”

“that’s the problem, hyein.” haerin said, sighing as she mindlessly shook her glass filled with juice as though it were filled with wine. “they don’t have much in common to begin with.”

“we do, though. we’ve both modeled as kids, we really like dogs…” danielle said, but upon noticing the somewhat sour look on haerin’s face, hastily added, “and animals in general. we both really like animals…”

“that’s not a lot to go off of though.” hyein said, also frowning. “maybe we could do something based on your looks? y’know, like how you and minji-unnie are ‘husseyz’ ‘cuz you both look like olivia hussey–”

“i still don’t see it.” haerin muttered.

“– and hanni-unnie and haerin-unnie are ‘kittyz’ because they both look like cats.” hyein continued, blatantly ignoring haerin’s interruption.

“that could work,” danielle murmured thoughtfully, “but–”

“they look nothing alike.” haerin said, crossing her arms with an exasperated look on her face. “and they both don’t look like anything in particular, so that obviously won’t work.”

the oldest of the three girls sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “i never thought coming up with ship names would be this hard, but here we are, struggling to come up with–”

“i’m back!” hanni called loudly, the sound of the front door shutting closed behind her echoing throughout the dorm. “man, i’m so ready to just flop into bed and never wake up…”

“where’s minji-unnie and yn-unnie?” hyein asked, turning around in her seat to face the older girl. “didn’t they go with you?”

“they went to the convenience store.” hanni responded as she kicked her shoes off her feet and into the shoe rack carelessly, causing a pair of what looked to be your black flats to fall out. “oh, oops…”

“aren’t those yn-unnie’s?” haerin asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer to her own question. “i heard those were reaallly expensive.”

“oh f–”

“don’t worry, hanni-unnie.” danielle hastily said, cutting the girl off before she could say something she would regret. “i doubt ynnie will care too much about a scratch on her shoes.”

“they do realize i know what fuck is, right?” hyein whispered to haerin, who shrugged and continued to drink her apple juice.

“either way, none of you better say anything to her.” hanni said, pointing at each one of them and looking at them in the eyes. “especially you, haerin.”

“okay.”

“hanni-unnie, what do you think dani-unnie and yn-unnie’s ship name should be?” the youngest of the four girls asked, frowning. “we’ve been coming up with other names pretty quickly, but when it comes to yn-unnie, we always get stuck.”

“…what about ‘sunz’?” hanni suggested after a moment of silence.

“‘sunz’?” haerin repeated, tilting her head at the older girl. “why ‘sunz’?”

“‘cuz they’re both hot.” the aussie said, winking and making finger guns at the three younger girls. “get it? ‘cuz, y’know, the sun is hot?”

“…”

“…”

“…didn’t you make that joke during that one photoshoot?” hyein asked. “are you recycling your jokes now, hanni-unnie?”

“y’know what, i’m not going to stand for this lack of appreciation. i’m going to go to my room–”

“our room.” haerin corrected, prompting hanni to roll her eyes.

“i’m going to go to my room and stay there until someone who actually appreciates my jokes comes and forces me to come out.” the aussie huffed before turning around dramatically and marching to her room.

“…moving on, ‘sunz’ isn’t that bad of an idea.” hyein said enthusiastically. “think about it. dani-unnie is like the literal sun of the group and yn-unnie always cheers us up whenever we’re down!”

“‘suuuunzzzzss’…” haerin repeated, dragging the word out to the point where she was basically hissing. “no, it doesn’t sound right.”

“and ‘catnipz’ does?”

“what about ‘sunshinez’?” danielle interrupted, stopping the argument between the two younger girls before it could even begin. “that’s cute, right?”

“‘sunshinez’…” hyein murmured before nodding. “it sounds great, unnie.”

“why do we always have to add a z at the end?” haerin asked as she frowned. “why can’t it be just like… i don’t know, ‘sunshines’ with an s?”

hyein rolls her eyes. “because that’s boring?”

“…sure.”

“what do you mean, ‘sure’? i’m right!”

“sure, hyein. sure.”

“don’t just say ‘sure’!”

“sure.”

previous. / pairz. / next.

[bridgyrose]

Bees schnees where they are all pinning but Weiss doesn’t want to get in the way of the bees

Weiss found her eyes lingering on Blake and Yang, a blush crossing her cheeks and heart racing as she watched them from across the cafe. It was just supposed to be a school girl’s crush, but even after graduating as a huntress she still couldnt seem to take her eyes off them. Words that she had wanted to say wouldnt come out right, leaving her to watch from afar as Blake and Yang enjoyed themselves. 

“Just ask them already,” Ruby pleaded as she looked up from her scroll. “I cant watch you be like this again.” 

“Be like what?” Weiss asked. 

“Lovesick.” 

“I’m not lovesick!” 

“You havent touched your coffee since we’ve gotten here. If you’re going to stare at them, you might as well talk to them.” 

“They’re dating-” 

“And they like you too!” 

Weiss sighed and took a sip of her now cold coffee, spitting it out. She pushed her coffee away and started with her scone.  “Its not that easy.” 

“What’s not easy about it?” Ruby pulled Weiss’s scone away and glared at her. “All you have to do is go up to them and ask them if you can be a part of their relationship.” 

“They’ll say no.” 

“They left you love letters, invited you on dates… they told you they were looking for a third!” 

“They were just being nice!” 

“You’re hopeless.” 

Weiss quickly grabbed her scone back with a frown. “And you’re not? What about Nora?” 

“That’s my problem I’m working through.” Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. “You’re my best friend and I want to make sure you dont miss out on anything that’ll make you happy. Can you really say you’re happy sitting and watching them instead of trying to be with them?” 

“I-I…” Weiss looked down at her feet as she tried to get the words out. That was the question, wasnt it? Was she happy? She looked at her scroll and sighed as she looked at the pictures she’d taken over the last few months. She couldnt remember the last time she smiled in any of them, even in her graduation picture with her team she didnt have the same smiles as the rest of them. In fact, most of her time as of late had been spent going on missions with Ruby or a few of their friends and avoiding Blake and Yang as they got closer. 

Ruby gently moved Weiss’s scroll out of the way. “I want you to make sure you’re taking care of yourself too.” 

“What if I’m in the way?” Weiss asked. “They have each other already. Having me around will just be a hindrance.” 

“Yang spent months taking those etiquette classes because she wanted to impress you whenever we had to go to Atlas. Blake hounded me questions about everything you liked so she could find something in common when you both did your coffee and tea dates. You arent a hindrance to them, they love you so much that they were willing to go out of their way to do something you liked just to spend time with you.” 

“That ship has sailed-” 

“I have a pumpkin spice latte and a blueberry scone for you,” a waitress said as she sat a couple plates in front of Weiss. “Courtesy of the women over there.” 

Weiss looked at the table the waitress pointed and blushed a bit when she realized Blake and Yang had sent them. She quietly thanked the waitress and took a sip from her coffee. “Okay, maybe there’s something.” 

“Then go to them.” 

“I’m here with you-” 

“And I’ll be available again later. Do this for you.” 

Weiss nodded and picked up her coffee and scone and made her way over to Blake and Yang. Her heart pounded in her chest as she started to slow with each step, finally stopping at their table. “May… may I sit here?” 

Yang nodded and moved a chair over for Weiss. “There’s always room for you.” 

“And I hope we got the right scone and coffee for you,” Blake said. “We werent quite sure what you liked.” 

“The coffee’s a bit sweet, but I do appreciate the thought.” Weiss sat down and looked away from Blake and Yang, not sure what to say. Thank you came to mind, but it didnt seem like it was enough. A few other words came to mind as well, but she still couldnt seem to say them as they lingered on her tongue. The blush on her cheeks deepend as she struggled to say the words she wished she could say. 

“Are you free tomorrow?” Blake asked. “Yang and I were thinking about going ice skating and we’d like you to come along. You know, as-” 

“-a date with us,” Yang finished, her own voice cracking as she spoke. She cleared her throat and tried to hide her own blush. “We’ve been thinking a lot about you and we’ve been wanting to ask for a while but it just never… you know…” 

“Came up.” 

Weiss felt her heart stop as she looked up at Yang and Blake, unable to hide or lie away the smile on her face. Her eyes practically lit up as her voice squeaked. “I’d love to!” 

[akookminsupporter]

Hi Rosie! How are you? I just wanted to share. Apparently, a popular jikook fanfic writer's account was hacked on ao3 by a member of the cult. Do you know what they did? Changed JM's name on the fic to Tae's. Not just one fic, a couple. Plus, unregistered users from the cult left hateful comments on the author's stories.

I know they're fucking insane and disconnected from real life. But this? These people are gone. Nobody can ever convince them. They're so desperate because what they want and fantasize about is not translating irl, that even in the world of fiction, they go and separate Jikook in fucking ao3 fics and make them about tkk? Man, the past year and a half pushed them to the brink. They know and see how different Jimin and Jungkook are compared to the lies and manipulations they were fed.

I'm scared of what they'll do once Jikook are back, especially how they're serving together in a camp that's higher-risk and more isolated. In Psychology, a shared experience like that usually forms an even deeper level of bond.

It's honestly scary how far gone they are. I can't believe someone would fucking do this. Side note, there was another person who asked another Jikook author a couple of months ago if they could use their story and change it into a tkk one (author was not happy, but declined in a civil manner). I was already weired out by that, like why make a jikook story to a tkk one, just by changing names? Why not write one yourself? Just when I thought I'd seen it all.

Tkkrs are the very examples of JOBLESS. Because wdym they just hack into someone's ao3 account and change the names???? like who has so much time in this world

To the second anon, unfortunately, the tweet you sent is no longer available, which is why I didn’t post it.

I have to admit that when I read both ASKs, I actually laughed. That was my first reaction, and then I facepalmed myself because just when you think that subgroup couldn’t sink any lower, they go and prove you wrong. At this rate, I think they’re already making deals with the devil.

It’s just incredibly pathetic, embarrassing, and stupid. And any other synonym you can think of for all those words.

Anon 1, I get your worry about how they’ll react or behave once Jimin and Jungkook are discharged from the army, and Tae as well, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there, even though things aren’t looking great.

The other thing I take from this is that they can see that Jikook is different, even in fiction, and they want that for their ship. It’s sad, pathetic, ironic, and therefore funny all at once. I genuinely wonder if they realise that by doing things like this, they’re just validating Jikook and Jikookers in every way. It’s as if they’re confirming they want what Jikook has for their own ship and what Jikookers have as fans. Even imagination.

[toothpastecanyon]

Return, to the Scene of the Crime - Chapter 3

Playing human again, Alcor makes it longer than he usually does. He's in college now, juggling classes, family, a curious vampire, and a strange, increasingly sinister web of mysteries weaving themselves around him. Without his omniscience to guide the way, he'll have to work hard to get to the bottom of this before it spirals out of control.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

______________________________________________________________

“Now, class, can anyone tell me what year the Dinner Crew was founded? Anyone?”

One hand went up, and a wave of snickers spread through the lecture hall. The professor pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Can anyone other than Lucy Ann put their hand up, please? Okay, Dipper?”

“Um, I’m confused. Is it 2048 when Hank moved to Portland, or 2049 when the first Dinner Crew charter was signed?”

“Uh...”

“Definitely 2048.” Lucy Ann sat back in her chair. “That’s when I joined.”

The professor tried for his politest smile. “Oh-kay, uh, Lucy Ann?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s, um, really an honour to have you sitting in on History of Early Transcendence-”

“Hey, no problem.”

“But! Hah, but, um, the problem is you’re not actually registered as one of our students? So if you could maybe refrain from answering questions���?”

“Oh, sure.” She picked her teeth. “No problem.”

“Thanks, I’m glad you understand. Class, obviously, we’re going by the date of the official charter, so on your test it’ll be 2049.” He changed slides. “Now, can anyone tell me who the first leader of the Dinner Crew was?”

No hands, this time. All the students had craned their heads around to look at Lucy Ann.

“Anybody?” He looked around the room with a frozen grin, wringing his hands. “Uh, hah, come on guys, let’s wake up! Oh! Yes, uh… Okay, Dipper. Again.”

“Hank Pines?” Dipper blinked as Lucy Ann whispered in his ear. “And his middle name was- wait, you’re messing with me, there’s no way he was called Forrest Pines!”

“Oh, you’d better believe it.” She chucked to herself. “Also, you know, Hank was the founder, but it was really a cooperative effort back in those days. Plus people always leave out Vivienne – ticks me off, honestly. I mean, if I had to pick a leader, I might even say it was her!”

The professor gazed out at the sea of students nodding along and taking notes with all the airs of a captain looking at his sinking ship.

Later the class ended, and Dipper was packing up his magi-orb as everyone in the room was filing out. Lucy Ann glanced over at him.

“What’s the next one?”

“Uhh, Russian, in like an hour.”

“Oh, yeah, your Russian class. Am I still-”

“Oh, yeah, you’re still very banned.”

“Well, nobody told me they tweaked the alphabet since I learned it! I was like, ‘why’s she leaving out so many letters?”

Dipper rose to his feet with a chuckle. “Yeah, we all heard.”

“Yeah, yeah, извини. ” Arms crossed, she followed him out. “So, we got an hour, huh? Wanna get something to eat?”

“Ehhh, it’s like a twenty minute walk across campus. There’s nothing really around there.”

“Oh.”

He glanced back. “But we can do something if you want! I’m sure we can-”

“Oh, no, no. Don’t worry about it – heh, believe me, I can entertain myself.” They were going outside; Lucy Ann split off and waved at him. “I’ll see you back at the dorms, alright!”

“O-oh, uh, alright!” Dipper stood there for a second, a little surprised at how abruptly she excused herself, but then he shrugged to himself. “Alright.”

It was always annoying to walk to his Russian class, but on a day like this, he didn’t mind too much. The sun was shining high overhead, a little too hot but not bad in the shade of the trees lining the path. He crossed a green, and saw groups of students hanging out on the grass, gentle laughter drifting his way like the lazy breeze tousling his hair. It was the kind of image he always pictured when he thought of college, him and Mal and their friends talking about their classes, studying together – and he’d never finish his sentence before Mal’d give him a shove and say something like, “Me? Studying? Do you even know me?”

He gave a little chuckle under his breath… one that ended in a sigh. Oh, Mal. He couldn’t believe she’d had to drop out. She was always the one talking about how exciting it’d be to move out; ugh, it wasn’t fair. It was… it just… he wished he could do something about it, you know?

Ugh… maybe he’d give her a call.

Digging in his pocket, he drew out his phone, and scrolled to her contact. The phone rang a good few times; he thought she wasn’t gonna answer, but at the last second it went through - and it sounded like a factory.

“Mal?” He cringed and held the phone a little away from his ear. “Hey, uh, Mal, you there? If you’re talking, I can’t hear you! Mal?”

He thought he heard a mumbling sound through the roar, and then suddenly it dropped to a background sound. Her voice came through in a crackle. “…stupid - oh, there we go. Dipper?”

“Hey, Mal! Where are you?”

“Sorry, I’m just next to the cremation machine. You know how loud that thing is - the noise wards are working now, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I can hear you.”

“Cool. So what do you need?”

“What do I-?” Dipper blinked. “Oh, uh, nothing! Just thought I’d, you know, call.”

“Oh!”

“I-I guess you’re busy, though? Sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

“No, no, that’s… thanks! I just wasn’t expecting it - one sec.” There were some fumbling noises, and then her voice sounded a little clearer. “Just put on some headphones - you can still hear me, right?”

“Yeah!”

“Cool.”

“Yeah, cool…” Dipper said, and cleared his throat. “So! Uh, how are you?”

“Oh, you know. Working. Just uh-“ There was a faint slamming sound. “Getting ready for this cremation. Guy’s got a pacemaker, so I gotta take it out before it explodes in the machine, haha!”

“Oh, haha. Cool.”

“Well, I dunno if I’d call it cool, but it does make me feel a bit like a surgeon, so that’s a little fun. Sometimes I say, ‘We’re losing him!’, that’s,” she laughed to herself. “That’s my little joke.”

Dipper snorted. “Hah! I like that.”

“Oh, finally, someone laughs! You know, it’s usually a tough crowd in here, eh?”

“Well, I’d be more worried if they did laugh!”

“Hah! You’re not wrong there!”

They both chuckled to themselves for a moment. Mallory cleared her throat.

“But yeah, other than that, uh, nothing new. Dad’s doing okay.” A pause. “How’s your life?”

His life. Dipper looked around at the beautiful sunny day, and cringed. “Oh, yeah, it’s, it’s alright. I’m, uh, still at college, doing… college stuff.”

Mal was icily silent, and Dipper gave himself a mental smack on the head; why were these the words his brain was choosing to say? He gave a nervous laugh.

“B-but, uh, haha, I didn’t call just to talk about me! So you’re doing cremations now, huh? That’s cool! That’s great, I-“

“Dipper.”

Dipper swallowed. “Yeah?”

She paused, seeming to think over her words, and then she sighed. “Look, I… I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to bite your head off the other day. It was really nice to see you again, it’s just, stressful, right now, you know?”

“No, no, I get it. With Dad and the funeral home.”

A snort. “Yeah, amongst other things… but hey. You know I’m proud of you, right? My little brother, getting into honors college!”

Dipper grinned. “Little brother? We’re the same age!”

“My little baby brother,” she said, and they both laughed. “So hey. I wanna hear how your day is, okay?”

“Okay.” He nodded. “Okay!”

“So! Dipper! How is your day going?”

He smiled. “Well, it’s going good. I just got out of Early Transcendence History… walking to my Russian class. It’s - heh, it’s way on the other side of campus, and you get out right at lunchtime but there’s like nothing around!”

“Oh, boo.”

“Right? You walk like twenty minutes over there, and then you gotta walk twenty minutes back to get something to eat!”

“You can’t just drive there?”

“I mean, technically, yeah, but there’s no parking close by. You just end up walking again.”

“Sounds like a real nightmare.” A pause. “Oh, come on!”

“What?”

“Some blood just squirted on my shirt - ugh, I really gotta remember to put on the stupid apron.” He could hear her trying to brush her shirt. “But, uh, yeah, what else? Made any cool new friends?”

“Friends? Uh, well…” he heard Mal snickering, and rolled his eyes. “No, no, I’ve made friends! There’s this guy Darren down the hall from me, and…”

And Lucy Ann, he thought, but god, she was such a strange development he still didn’t know how to bring her up. Mallory cut in.

“Okay, so Darren down the hall, that’s one more than I thought you’d have by now.”

“Oh, and I guess I talked to - Marsh!”

“March?”

“I almost forgot, I do have news! You know how I always wanted to start my own ghosthunting show?”

“Whaaat?” She said in mock surprise. “I’ve never heard that before.”

“Hah, well, you know, I think I’m kind of starting to get known for hunting ghosts around here.” He grinned. “Some person called Marsh called me out to her apartment yesterday. We had a look, scanned around for ghosts…”

“Cool! Did’ja find any?”

He deflated. “Uh, well…”

“Sounds promising.”

He tried for a laugh, but then he shook his head. “Yeahhh, I mean… we decided it probably wasn’t a ghost.”

“Probably?”

“I mean, your necklace didn’t light up at all. And you know how sensitive it is, right?”

“Yeah, you kept getting headaches with the old versions. I had to drop the blocking threshold riiight to the floor.”

“Right!” He nodded. “And even weak ghosts put out a lot of magic, so there couldn’t have been a ghost in that apartment. There couldn’t have been.”

A pause. “Okay.”

“And I mean it could’ve just been… a series of coincidences, you know? It’s an old apartment, maybe it’s no big deal if the toilet flushes by itself, the TV turns on… she said the fridge kept opening…”

“Well, maybe it’s not a ghost.”

“Huh?”

"So let me get this straight. The toilet flushes by itself, the fridge opens by itself, and you think that’s a haunting?”

Dipper blinked. “What do you mean?”

“You’re really not seeing it? Who’s the real family genius here, huh?” She chuckled to herself. “I mean, I know you love the preternatural stuff, but that doesn’t sound like a ghost to me. That sounds like she’s got an extra roommate.”

“What, you mean, like… there’s someone else living with her?”

“I dunno, do ghosts go to the toilet? Do they use the fridge?”

“Wh- but-“

“Do they watch TV?” She snorted. “I mean, maybe I’m wrong, but I’m just saying.”

“But that… doesn’t make any sense! Marsh said nothing was stolen, a-and she didn’t see anyone in her house! How could someone just hide away like that? And why would they be hiding? Why would they-“

And then he stopped. Dead.

His eyes went wide. His stomach dropped.

“I dunno,” Mal was saying, and her words just washed over him. “That’s just my theory. Maybe…”

“The jewelry store.”

“What?”

“It’s the jewelry store,” he breathed, and then the gravity of it caught up with him. “Oh, my stars, Mal, the jewelry store robbery! What if it’s him?”

“Wh- jewelry store heist? What are you talking about?”

“Somebody robbed a jewelry store a few blocks from campus - really close to Marsh’s apartment!” Oh my stars, he thought, they drove right past it on the way over! “What if it’s him hiding there! What if - oh, shit, Marsh!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, what are you talking about?”

“It’s-“ He turned around and took off running. “Oh, I can’t explain now, she could be in trouble!”

“Nobody’s in trouble! Dipper, nobody’s in trouble, don’t-“

“I gotta go!”

“No, Dipper! Dipper, don’t-“

He hung up, and dashed back across campus as fast as his legs could take him, his backpack bouncing on his shoulders. He struggled to tap Lucy Ann’s contact; he was nearly to the parking lot by the time he managed to call her.

“Y’ello-“

“Lucy Ann!” He gasped. “Marsh - apartment! Gotta - whoo, gotta get there!”

“What? Wait, what’s going on?”

“I… figureditout!” He stumbled to his car door, almost too out of breath to talk. “Go - go there! I’ll explain!”

“Marsh? What’s wrong? Are you in-“

“I gotta go!”

Then he hung up, and struggled to call Marsh as he pulled out of the parking lot. Shit, she wasn’t picking up; he tried again, and groaned when it rang out. She didn’t even have a voicemail!

Then his phone started buzzing, and he quickly made to answer it - but wait, oh, it was just his sister. She was probably really confused why he hung up… but he didn’t have time, he had to get there now!

He’d explain later.

______________________________________________________________

As panicked as he was, Dipper couldn’t help but park neatly before shutting off his car. He stared up at the apartment for a moment, took a breath, and got out. He took the stairs up two at a time, sprinted for her door, and started knocking on it.

“Marsh! Marsh! Are you in there? Marsh!”

At first he thought she wasn’t home, but just as he thought of stopping he heard footsteps. Footsteps… Dipper suddenly thought of who else might be in there, but before he could do much more than step back the door was opening.

“Wh- you again?” Marsh rubbed her eyes as she glared at him. “Dude, I’m working tonight. You can’t just-“

“You’re in-!” He stopped himself, and leaned in close to whisper. “I think you’re in danger.”

“What?”

“Just come outside for a second,” he said, and led her a little ways from the door. “You remember when I came to find the ghost?”

“Yeah, that happened yesterday. What about it?”

“I think I figured out where it is… and what it is, I…” he thought for a moment. “Can I look in your roommate’s room?”

“Uh, sure? But what’s so dangerous about it?”

“I - I need to make sure. Just… stay back for a second, okay?”

“Uh, okay.” She frowned in concern. “Be careful, dude.”

Be careful - Dipper was opening the door when those words hit him. This was… this was actually pretty dangerous, wasn’t it?

Maybe he should call the police? But no, how would he explain this to them? And what if they didn’t find anything - he’d look like an idiot! Suddenly all the cracks in this theory were starting to show, but he was in too deep now.

No, he just needed to play it cool, find proof, and then he’d be out. Easy!

“Uh, okay, Marsh!” Dipper said, loudly. “I’m just here to look for ghosts again, like we agreed!”

Shit, he just realised something about himself: he was a terrible actor. Dipper waited for a response from the house, but it was silent. Was he not here, or…?

He thought for a moment, then an idea struck him. Putting his backpack down on the couch, he started rifling through it; come on, he didn’t put it away, right? It had to be- aha!

Drawing out the Ouija board, Dipper held it in front of him, and pretended to stare at it very intently. He moved it this way and that, and then acted like he was picking something up.

He walked down the hall, steps echoing in the silence. His breath felt too loud; his heartbeat sounded like a drumbeat in his ears. He took a look in the bathroom, then approached the ever-ajar door to the bedroom like he was sneaking up on a rattlesnake - a cautious shuffle forwards, a head peeking through the door, looking around for-

Ding!

With a little scream he dropped the board and jumped back, only to realise - it was his phone! Oh, just his phone, just his phone. He reached in his pocket to silence it, and gave a little laugh.

“Uh, whoops!” He tried for a grin. “D-dropped it, haha…”

Oh, this was such a bad idea. He gathered up the board with shaking hands, and held it out in front of him like a shield as he stepped through the door. The floor was warped in here, the floorboards uneven and shrieking under his weight. He cringed as he took another squeaky step forwards, and looked around.

No one was here… but the dresser across the room was closed. Swallowing hard, he crossed the floor, grasped the handle, and opened it up.

Just clothes, he saw, and let out a breath. Okay - okay okay okay. If this guy was really hiding here, he must be out at the moment.

Thank the stars… but now what? He could be gone forever - Dipper cringed at that. Maybe he spooked him off yesterday… or maybe he thought he had them fooled, which means he’d come back. And if he was coming back, he’d want to leave some stuff behind here, right? So it’d be hidden somewhere.

A grimace. That made sense… at least, it sounded like it did. So if he could only find a stash, that was evidence!

But where would it be? He looked around the room, took another peek in the closet, and frowned. Hmmm… maybe the posters? Oh, yeah, maybe he put them in a hole behind them!

He took a step towards the poster, and a loud creak echoed through the room.

He paused, there. Leaned from one foot to another - creaaaaak . He could feel the floorboards shift a little under his feet, and when he took another step, this one was even looser. Huh.

There was a rug right by the bed. Dipper stepped towards it, put the Ouija board down, and grasped it by the corner. He gently slid it away, and he could see it immediately; one floorboard was so loose it came out of place just by the movement of the rug.

Dipper rushed to kneel in front of it. Quickly he took out his phone, and shone it down; it was dusty down there, and he thought he could make out something… but it was covered by another floorboard. He pulled up that one as well, shone it down again, and gasped.

There was a small, dusty backpack under the floorboards, and when he reached for it, he felt the weight - it was much heavier than it looked, and there was a tantalising clinking sound that sent his heart right into his throat. With shaking fingers he reached down to open it; he grasped the zipper, dragged it slowly down the side, opened the bag, and gasped as he saw-

Creaaak.

A sound behind him. Before Dipper could move, something cold and metal shoved itself against his temple.

A voice, low and hard and seething.

“You think I’m fucking stupid, don’t you?”

Dipper glanced back - glanced, then felt the gun shove itself harder against him. But he’d seen it: there was no one behind him. “Wha- what, I-I-“

“Fucking around with this ghost shit, pretending you didn’t know I was here the whole fucking time - she set you up to this, didn’t she! She wants to cut me out of the fucking deal!”

His voice was the scariest thing Dipper had ever heard. He felt himself trembling all over. “I-I don’t- I-I don’t know what you’re- I’m sorry, I didn’t-“

“Don’t you fucking play dumb! You think you can make a fool of me?” A hand grabbed his shoulder like a vice. “You think I don’t know what’s going on? She wants to get rid of me! I had a feeling right from the start, and now here you are like clockwork, ready to take it away from me!”

“I-I don’t-“ He shook his head. “Please, man. Please. I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry, okay?”

“Oh, you’re going to be sorry, Dipper.”

“Please d-don’t kill me, please don’t- Please. Please, I-“

The front door. They both froze as it swung open hard, as a familiar voice shouted into the apartment:

“Dipper!”

Lucy Ann. Dipper heard the man curse under his breath. “Shit… okay, you gotta make her leave. Get up.”

“What-“

“Get. Up.”

The gun shoved itself against his ear, and Dipper struggled to his feet. Stars, his legs were shaking-

“Dipper! You in here?”

“Uh…” he felt the man push him forwards, and made his way to the door. “I-I’m here! Everything’s… everything’s fine!”

“Dipper?” He came face to face with her in the hallway. “Oh, thank the stars. What was that call, man? Scared me half to death!”

Dipper gave a loud laugh. “Hahahaha! Yeah, um, it was… nothing!”

“Nothing?”

“Y-yeah, I looked and… and found nothing!” He moved to block her as she looked into the room.

“What?”

“I said, I found nothing.” He looked her right in the eye. “I found nothing, okay? So let’s go.”

Lucy Ann opened her mouth, but then she seemed to take him in; the sweat on his face, the tension in his body, the way his head was leaning oddly forward. There was a flicker of something across her face, but it was quickly swallowed up with a convincing scowl.

“Oh,” she said, and then she gave him a punch in the shoulder. “Then screw you, man! You scared me half to death!”

“Ow, hey-!”

She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him down to her level. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, okay? Or you’re going to be sorry!”

Then he was shoved into the living room, and he stumbled to keep his footing. He blinked several times, and opened his mouth- but Lucy Ann was already gone.

There was a shout from the bedroom, a hard thump, a yell of pain. Eyes widening, Dipper raced to the door just in time to hear a-

BANG!

The sound was painfully, deafeningly loud; he recoiled and covered his ringing ears, and almost immediately someone knocked him to the floor. Squeezing open his eyes, he saw a figure he’d never seen before, a tall, scruffy, bleeding man with the backpack on, yelling and pointing a pistol into the bedroom.

“…what you get!” He was bellowing, but it was hardly louder than the ringing. “That’s… you fucking get!”

Then he grabbed some car keys from the counter and ran for the door; Marsh came rushing in, only to shriek and duck away from the sight of his pistol.

Dipper struggled to get to his feet. He felt like the world had gone sideways, but someone grabbed his shoulder - Marsh grabbed his shoulder, and helped him up.

She was saying something, but he could only see her lips were moving. He shook his head, leaned over and caught himself on the doorway - no, no, he had to see, he had to get to… Lucy Ann!

For one horrible moment, he thought she was dead. She lay against the bed, cradling her eye; his heart dropped when he saw dark blood leaking from between her fingers… but he also saw she was cradling it, letting Marsh help her up, and shaking her head when she tried to pry her hand away. I’m okay, he could see her saying. I’m okay.

She was okay. He was okay. Everyone… was okay.

Dipper let himself bask in that for a moment, let the sheer relief wash over him, and bring him to his knees. He caught himself on his hands, and immediately felt something sharp. Lifting his palms - and resisting gentle arms trying to help him up - he saw blood on them, saw little shards of something slip off and fall back to the ground.

There was something on the floor, subtle shimmers and sparks that caught his eye. He managed to feel out a bigger piece, brought it closer to his face, and that was when he realised what it was - it looked like a shard of multicoloured glass. Broken etching wards sputtered on the surface, flickering it in and out of existence, and when he looked at the floor again, he could see the ripped-off chain of a necklace.

Oh, he thought, and the voice in his head sounded a million miles away.

An invisibility charm.

So that’s how he got out of the jewelry store. He figured it out.

How about that.

It wasn’t funny, but Dipper found himself laughing, laughing harder than he’d ever laughed in his life. He was sure he was screaming, but he couldn’t stop, couldn’t hear anything over that godawful incessant unending ringing.

How about that, huh? HOW ABOUT THAT!

How about that.

[sparkarrestor]

Henry The Green Engine 4: The Flying Kipper

Written By: Rev. W. Awdry

Adapted By: SparkArrester

There is a large harbor next to the big station, where ships from all over arrive. There are big liners and ferries with shining paint and spotless brass, carrying passengers from far away places. There are freight ships as well, coming and going with cargo and the things we need. There are many fishing boats besides those, that unload their catch at special quays. Some are taken by road to shops in the town, while the rest are loaded on a train and taken away.

The railwaymen call this train, “The Flying Kipper”.

Henry was still dour from the accident with Percy and the trousers. Luckily, no jam had gotten on him, but the trousers still felt uncomfortable on his funnel. Worse still, he had made the Fat Controller cross.

“Never mind Henry,” Comforted his Driver, “A nice run with the Flying Kipper ought to cheer us all up! The Fat Controller might even forgive you!”

“Really?” Replied Henry Dubiously.

“Yep! Now, don’t tell Gordon,” And he leaned in close, “But I think we might even have a turn on the express!”

That cheered Henry up. His mood began to improve as he left the sheds and puffed towards the harbor.

At the quay, he saw workmen loading crates onto a long line of fish vans. There was ice and frost, far more than in the morning.

“Be careful!”, Called a workman, “This ice can be trouble!”

“Don’t I know it…” Grumbled Henry, staring at the soot-covered trousers that clung to his funnel.

 But he remembered what his driver said and calmed down as the last door banged and the guard showed his green lamp. With much snorting and whooshing, Henry set off with the heavy train.

“Come on! Come on! Come on!” Puffed Henry as his wheels spun on.

“All right! Don’t fuss! All right! Don’t fuss!” Grumbled the fish vans.

“That’s better! That’s better!” Puffed Henry, as they left the harbor and picked up speed.

They tore through the countryside, whooshed under bridges and clattered through stations. Thick clouds of smoke and steam poured out of Henry’s funnel as they went, and when the fireman added more coal, the fire’s light shone all around, reflecting on the snow.

“Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!” Peeped Henry as he passed green signal after green signal.

They were going so well that he had forgotten to be cross about the trousers and had started enjoying himself as the sun set in the distance. Then, the driver noticed something.

“Distant Signal’s up!” He called, “Caution!”

He shut off steam and prepared to apply the brakes when the fireman spoke up.

“Look! The Home Signal’s green!” He said.

“Oh,” Replied the Driver, confused, “Well, away we go!”

Henry responded with a will, speeding up so quickly that the fireman had to work extra hard to keep his fire fed. He sounded off his whistle happily as he passed the green signal and disappeared into the night.

Up ahead, James was feeling the opposite of happy. He had left earlier with a slow goods train, the trucks bumping and banging every time they stopped at a station. The ice and cold had not helped matters and that, coupled with stalling on Gordon’s Hill, had left James cold, annoyed, and late. So late, that he had to be shunted to let Henry pass him. His crew, tired of his grumbling, sought refuge in the van with the guard. The guard had lit the stove in the brakevan, and was brewing cocoa.

“Oh, this tastes excellent!” Said the fireman as he sipped his cocoa.

“You best finish quickly!” Laughed the Driver, “The Kipper’s due, and James will want to get going!”

“Who cares? We’ll have all the time we need after the Kipper passes!”

The fireman defiantly stayed seated as the guard peered out of his van.

“I can hear the Kipper…” He mused, “It’ll pass us at any moment.”

At that moment he spotted engine-lamps in the distance and thought nothing of it until he realized it was on their line.

“Everyone out!” He shouted.

“But I haven’t finished my cocoa yet!” Complained the Fireman.

“There’s no time!” Yelled the Guard, “The Kipper’s on our line!”

They got out of the van just in time.

Henry slammed into the goods train, demolishing the brakevan and the last few trucks before being thrown to the lineside and skidding across the snow and dirt before coming to a rest on his side. The fish vans hit the wreckage and got battered to bits, sprawling their cargo as they piled up in a heap. Up ahead, James, wondering where his crew was, got jolted forward along with the rest of his train. He was upright and unharmed, but the trucks that weren’t in pieces were now awkwardly standing on the sleepers.

“What on earth?!” He shouted, trying to make out what had happened, “Henry?”

The battered and bruised shape that looked like Henry only wheezed. James’s crew were busy digging themselves out of snow when the guard noticed something.

“Fire!” He cried.

The remains of the brakevan had caught fire from the stove. At once he helped James’s crew out of the snow, and they rushed into James’s cab as he raced to the next station for help.

The breakdown train arrived in the morning. Luckily, the fire got its spirits dampened by the cold, with only a few trucks being charred. The workmen began clearing the mess and checked over Henry. He felt miserable.

“Oh dear”, he thought as he looked up, “I’m in for it now!”

The Fat Controller came trudging through the snow towards him. He paused, and seemed to violently kick something away before reaching henry. 

“The signal was down sir…” Said Henry sadly.

“Don’t worry Henry.” Said The Fat Controller, “Ice & snow caused the accident. The signal was weighed down and the points froze after James got shunted. It couldn’t be helped. Now, I’m sending you to Crewe. It’s a fine place for sick engines. They’ll give you a new shape and you’ll be more useful than ever. You won’t need special coal anymore!”

“Yes sir…” Replied Henry, doubtfully.

Henry was taken to Crewe the next day. They took him to pieces and rebuilt him. He thought it was quite the experience, and was more than happy to return home. Lots of people came to see him. He whistled as he passed by, smiling wider than he’d ever had. He can make steam far easier now, and doesn’t need the special coal, and is more than happy to share the last of it with his friends. He steams so well and can go so fast that it’s enough to make Gordon jealous. But that’s another story. 

[t0ast-ghost]

S3 EP20 (The Way To Eden) Space hippies? I love an episode where someone slightly annoying is on board

Yippee kyack or whatever:

- What. The costume designs here are. I’m not even sure

- Purple hair? I bet they have pronouns too

- CHEKOV LORE?!?

- Time to ask: What the fuck is happening (edit: record time)

- Where did Spock even come from? Kirk was talking to the group and he just walks over to Spock like Spock is just always there. When did he appear???

- Spock picking up on their behaviour and copying it in a way that will get them to respond positively

- The writers created a myth about a planet. And named the planet Eden. C’mon.

- when they just start chanting Herbet it’s like Kirk becomes instantly uncool. I think if a bunch of middle schoolers just started chanting a random name at me I’d cry

- “One of those… was in the academy?” What the fuck Kirk

- I can’t tell if this episode is going to be very against the group (like Kirk is right now) or if their side of the argument will be validated to some extent (I have a feeling they might be validated cause Spock understands them and also stated that they were academic) (edit: it was a secret third option)

- idk I like this photo

- The singing sounds so off from the images, it was most likely added in post production

- “Gonna crack my knuckles and jump for joy, I got a clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy.” Goes kinda hard tbh

- NURSE CHAPEL YEAHHHHHHH. Hiiiiii

- That redshirt who looks at Chekov in the hallway is such a bitch for that look

- Kirk’s tits McCoy cracking the case. Good job👍

- Oh hi Sulu! Don’t join a cult !

- *sits down in chair and crosses leg over knee*

- Spock is so pretty ☺️☺️☺️

- Spock keeping his promise and finding Eden for the others even if the leader is a selfish prick

- We get to see Spock’s room again, I love Spock’s room, like why is there a stone statue water fountain in there? What is that?

- Chekov don’t tell her how the ship works. Do not divulge important information

- This is like the Star Trek tos musical episode, isn’t it?

- SPOCK Yes! Please play please please please please llssezz

- I like when it switches to the redshirts on the bridge just straight up jamming

- C’mon man. LOOK AT HIM

- HES JAMMING OMG SPOCKS JAMMING

- I need McCoy and Kirk to witness this

- Spock is done at the function. He leaves.

- “Adam, you know I reach you. I believe in what you seek. But there is a tragic difference between what you want and what he wants.” Spock really connects with them and it’s upsetting to see him have to witness them being misled

- At this point that guy is gonna blow up the ship

- Kirk doesn’t fuck around. If the door is locked Scotty’s gonna phaser through that fucker

- I can’t with Kirk’s faces rn

- I love the singing playing through the ship with everyone passed out, it’s such a perfect amount of eerie

- Kirk checking on Bones 🥹🥹🥹

- hiii McCoy hiiii

- I never noticed that the scanner could be uncapped and used as a healing device?

- Adam ate a pear lol

- I did NOT want to see that foot shot

- I like that Spock has such a soft side for the younger people in the show. Like he always has a sense of pride towards Chekov and cared so much about everyone in the group this episode

Thoughts are: Spock is good with kids, Kirk is terrible with kids, and McCoy is just himself always so there’s a reason he’s not a paediatrician but he’s still good with kids

Masterpost

Teleplay by Arthur Heinemann

Story by Michael Richards & Arthur Heinemann

[self-indulgent-paw-patrol]

Watched the first Paw Patrol movie with my dad, this time entirely in Brazilian dub (first time I watched was entirely in English), in the early hours past midnight today. Have the best of his reactions. Honestly, most were the same as mine when I watched the movie for the first time too, so let's go XD

"How did he SEE that tiny turtle up ahead???? Oh geez, there goes the bridge."

"I decree this trucker as the only sane person in the entire movie and the movie didn't even start for real yet." "Dad, he spilled his ice tea or whatever was that on himself." "It was the road's fault." "........ Ok you got a point."

"Lary, pause." "They look cute sleeping, right?" "They look like us after we eat. Post-dish depression." (It's our personal pun with "post-birth depression") "Tag yourself, I'm Marshall." "I'm Chase. Your brother is... What's this one's name again?" "Zuma? LMFAO YES HE IS"

"When did he have time to get this thing built?" "Who knows. I always joke that he's out there spawning stuff at will." "Are his parents like millionaire or something?" "No one knows about his parents or family, not even the official website gives any info on that." "HOW DOES HE PAY FOR ALL THIS--" *Cue Skye asking the same thing and Ryder responding* *Dad chokes on nothing and I have to pause so he can cough it out and drink some water*

"Oh fuck. He's-- He's lighting up all the fireworks." *Stops what he was doing in the living room to pay full attention* "THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD."

"Sure, block the roads to launch the cars. This is so HotWheels. They have THEIR OWN LANE."

"WELCOME TO THE BIG CITY, PUPS. WE HAVE LARGE ROADS AND WE STILL HAVE TRAFFIC JAM. YOU'LL LOVE IT."

"Isn't-- Isn't Chase their POLICE dog?" "Yeah" "Chase why are you ALLOWING this, how many traffic laws did they JUST BREAK"

"Sweet Jesus, don't mess with Marshall. He's got a mean cannon and he's LOVING it."

"Wait, Liberty's a street dog?" "Yup" "I thought she had an owner. So she's like one of those lovely strays who make friends with just about everyone they cross paths with." "YUP"

"... What the actual fuck is wrong with Humdinger?" *Shrugs* "He shouldn't be allowed to run for elections on anything."

"Oh no, Chase froze. Looks like those panic attacks you used to have." "........ You remember those too, huh" "Yeah. You made me freeze a lot too. I didn't know what to do with you so I'd freeze like that too." "Oh."

"There goes Marshall saving the day again. I see why you like him too." "He's cute." "I like his fire truck. Are you going to buy his toy too?" "You bet it." "Nice. As you should."

"Okay now I'm afraid of Liberty." "Why?" "Did you see how sure she was about her bait plan?" "Yeah?" "SHE'S GONNA HAVE THE TIME OF HER LIFE MESSING UP WITH HUMDINGER I'M CALLING IT"

"YUP I CALLED IT"

*Liberty calls Delores a toilet brush* "OUCH THAT WAS BRUTAL I LOVE HER EVEN MORE NOW"

"Literal prison BREAK. Nice." *Thumbs up to the TV*

"Aw that was cute. Ryder is a good boy."

"That thing is sucking way too many clouds."

"THAT THING IS SUCKING WAY TOO MANY CLOUDS."

"THIS IS GONNA CAUSE A STORM, RIGHT?"

"YUP CALLED IT."

"Omg she's so excited HER FACE IS SO CUTE! Repeat this entire scene please."

"GODDAMMIT RYDER YOU'RE SO MEAN LAUNCHING HER LIKE THAT ASUASHAUSHAUSHAUSHAU"

"Why is her number 22?" "Ryder numbers the vehicles, not the pups." "So they have 21 vehicles before hers." "Yup." "How many are there?" "Last I checked, last one was an Aircraft Carrier ship, number 25." "Wow."

"Did-- Did Zuma just BREAK his-- Oh, it's a boat too. Two-in-one. Ryder DOES really think of everything, huh?"

"Okay that was nice, I thought we wouldn't get to see Zuma doing anything in this entire movie at all." "Aquatic rescue dog in the big city, right?" "Yeah it's not exactly his natural habitat." "I feel him." "... I forgot you were a beach kid." "In my heart I still am."

"PULL THE LEVER, KRONK!!!!!" *Hysterical laughter* "OKAY HE DESERVED THAT."

"Chase KNOWS how to drift-- MOTORCYCLE???-- DRIVING UP THE WALL???????" *Slowly clapping for the entire scene*

"Is he afraid of heights? He didn't seem to be when he rescued the trucker and I see him doing a lot of stuff in the show." "I think it's not the height itself, it's mostly the panic remembering the times he failed at these tasks." "Trauma, then." "Yeah."

"Is he gonna-- Yup. Spirit jump. Of course." (For reference, the leap of faith scene from the movie "Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron")

"Okay now I'm afraid of Skye too-- Did the clouds just went POOF." "Yeah they did." "Damn, we just had such a badass scene, it killed the badassery."

"Ouch the helicopter-- DAMMIT ROCKY AHAHAHAHAHA"

"Awwww Liberty! That's my girl. Nice." "That's literally the name of the song that was playing when she was riding her new scooter for the first time." "Perfection. So she officially joined the team?" "Yeah I didn't get there yet but she's in the show after the movie came out too." "Did they do that because there was only one female pup in the show?" "Actually there's Everest too, that Husky Siberian! But she doesn't live with Ryder and his pups, she was adopted by the guy who lives in the mountain. In the main team, yeah, it's only Skye." "Still too few girls, they need more." "Tell me about it..."

[majicmarker]

fanfic writer interview

tagged by: @carry-the-sky 🩵⋆˙⟡

what fandoms do you write in?

currently revisiting my daryl/beth (twd) fixation, as well as getting some of my eddie/chrissy (st) squared away.

i started way back when with lily/james (hp), dabbled with some other ships therein, then moved on to jon/sansa and theon/sansa (got). i've also played with katniss/haymitch (thg) and alina/the darkling (sab), and some crossover crackships.

so, y'know. it's really become a "whatever i feel like" thing, which is probably what fanfic should be, anyway.

how many words have you published in 2024?

my darling i haven't the faintest idea <3

what is your greatest achievement this year?

finally wrapping my head around the fact that this is all for fun, removing myself from the fandom arena of it all, and just writing what i want to write and leaving it there. this foundation has always been there, but i've definitely lost sight of it so many times over the years; now, though, i've settled into it.

what are your top three fics you've written this year?

what comes next, hey, bust a move : the revamped and in-progress bethyl/boondock saints-inspired au

wish he would get over you : the eddissy/jason pov that i at last updated, and god willing (or not willing, even, this isn't any of his business) i will finish it—

that was it for this year! i've been focusing more and more on original stuff, but i think having a couple fanfic side-projects now will do me some good. i'm finding the balance.

what was your biggest pit of despair moment?

i don't think anything? not in relation to fanfic, at least, if only because i wasn't doing much of it during this rotation 'round the sun. but in general i think any creative pursuit comes with its highs and lows, and learning how to ride those waves is part of getting better at your art.

what have you learned?

how to ride those aforementioned waves, and letting them be fun.

did you beta any fics? any faves you want to shout out?

not this year! my day job is, for all intents and purposes, beta-ing. if someone asks, though, i'm usually up for it!

what three fics have you read this year that you love?

mostly i've been rereading old loves, BUT i did at last stumble across algorithm love song by @littlelindentree. 10/10 instant classic comfort fic.

what ideas are percolating for next year?

nothing fresh and hip, i'm afraid! with new and good things happening with my original stuff, fanfic is officially my little hobby de-stressor (and about goddamn time, too). once i wrap up some eddissy, i'll focus on the bethyl bds fic and whatever one-shots hit.

there are other wips i'd like to finish, but the truth is they're not a priority right now; i'll work on them if/when the mood strikes. some of them might need a full redo if i pick them up again, but we'll cross that bridge… at some point, probably.

who do you want to thank?

@littlelindentree for, however inadvertently, somehow jedi mind-tricking me into working on bethyl again, which has been really fun and it's reminded me of how much this dynamic inspires me.

@sluttyhenley for letting me in her inbox so we can both Yell and also academically examine the finer points of this ship.

@carry-the-sky for a really lovely conversation a few weeks ago about our Feelings About Writing that was all things helpful and validating

@hangon-silvergirl bc rereading the buzz in particular has helped me out of a few of the worse depressive spots this year <3

tagging: literally anyone who feels like it. tag me back so i can see! x

[lightwise]

TBB S3 E12 Reaction

Alright, this was the last episode that was truly represented in the trailer. I can’t wait to see Hunter kick some Juggernaut butt (why does that sound so bad lol)

- Hemlock wipe that damn smirk off your face

- Again with the shoulder shoves dude

- No why is CX-2 just walking away? We need to follow him and find out who he is!! *low-key screaming in frustration* lol

- I love how Hemlock is so arrogantly confident and uncaring that he comes across as almost respectful in how he takes the time to explain things to other people

- Come on Emerie, you’ve come so far! Don’t keep playing into Hemlock’s hand! You know Omega isn’t safe here and neither are you

- Lol he’s too busy to even wait for the test results. Bitch

- I do wish they had given us Crosshair telling Hunter and Wrecker about Omega. BUT I was very much correct that Hunter would not waste time being angry

- Every time Crosshair says something more about Tantiss it just keeps getting worse and worse 🥺🥺 don’t make that man go back there! Dee’s vocal inflections and the way he talks about Nala Se and Tipoca City is so regretful

- The trust and vulnerability he’s willing to show though with his hand shaking and admitting he doesn’t want to go back he’s so traumatized 😭💔

- No WAY they are bringing back Admiral Rampart! Kudos to those who called that one

- PHEEEE and AZZZZ

- Cross goes from pointing his rifle in Phee’s face to straight up telling her they’re taking her ship 🤣

- Okay, it finally happened. I finally teared up. Phee and Crosshair immediately sass each other, then she drops the fact that she and Tech were close and talked a lot and he TOLD HER ABOUT CROSSHAIR (and in a good light) and we got a BROWN EYES 👁️ 👄 👁️. I was in a puddle on the floor 🥹🥹🥹

- The way she treats all of them like family and helps them and puts her life on the line for them. It is just so satisfying to see her relationship with the Batch continue to develop like this. Truly family to all of them.

- More Andor vibes with this labor camp

- Of course Rampart is still a dramatic bitchy asshole. Prison hasn’t changed him AT ALL (except for the beard. Sorry guys but I’m just not seeing it 😆)

- Aw Wrecker giving Mel a little pat. He’s so sweet

- “Oh relax. I expect you to know a stealth approach when you see one” 🤩🤩 TECH you need to come back and marry this woman RIGHT FREAKING NOW

- Gosh they were so made for each other 😭

- That entire maneuver was insane and incredible

- Hunter’s helmet float 😄 at least one of them was having fun

- As others have pointed out I also really appreciate that they animated Phee with so much aging and tiredness and lines and wrinkles showing on her face. She’s a real woman who’s seen and done a lot of things and she’s incredibly gorgeous and badass and caring and intelligent and she doesn’t need perfect skin or a youthful glow to be completely amazing

- When are we getting the “day in the life of a storm trooper” workplace comedy? I need it Star Wars!

- It’s so good to see the boys working together like this

- The textures and lighting in this episode are just so real looking

- Wow Wrecker really just sucker punched that guy

- And he actually remembers plan 55 😁 so proud of him

- The music when they saunter in 😂 and we got a “how touching” too?!

- Rampart’s face is in the dictionary next to the word offended

- “Hunter, they’re sealing off the bridge!” Hunter: drives faster

- And he was giving Phee a hard time for her flying?? Boy is approaching Evel Knievel levels!!

- I need to see Hunter in a dirt bike rally now 😧

- Pretty sure Hunter is firmly in his Joel Miller Era. He does not care what he has to do or who he has to kill at this point

- “Not exactly a stealth exit boys” such a great line

- “We’re all in this together” sure Rampart sure let’s see how chipper you are about that next episode

- Emerie and Omega’s glances at each other 🥺

- “This is your new home” yeahhh I don’t think so

[marcynomercy]

Fate written in blood

I have a doubt, do you think the narrative is running? Something very shallow? Please tell me that I will improve the writing.

Thank you @tragedybunny for beta-reading.

Summary: The blood has always been her way until the day that fate changed, After being kidnapped by mind flayers and the fall of the Nautiloid Calamity had a new opportunity for freedom and strangely her fate crossed with that of Astarion when the elf put that dagger around her neck. 

 Their fate until now was written by others, but now they would write with their own hands in blood. 

Warnings: Violence, blood, game events, mentions of trauma, distress/comfort, mention of abuse, flashback of torture. (That’s it for now)

Ship: Astarion and Calamity (Tav), Shadowheart and Carniex (Tav), mentions of other characters.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3.

Chapter 2 - Pleasant cold

They got up early and left the camp to continue their search, Calamity had previously planned their actions and done it in a way that they could readjust quickly if something during the day changed the plans. It was  something she learned in her work. Never rely on a single plan, always have options and anticipate possible setbacks.

 So first she decided to go behind the place that had the letter she found in that hidden Kagha chest. The Grove didn’t seem to be a bad place to have as a "resource" and it was a safe place, so it would be very bad if it was closed because of that ritual of thorns. Doing so earned them a fight with some guardians, but that was no big deal as the answers were worth it.

"Oh, apparently Kagha was really getting involved with who shouldn’t be." Calamity hummed with a satisfied smile on her lips.

"So... what are you planning?" Astarion asked, annoyed. 

"Something that benefits us in the long term until we find this Halsin." She replies holding onto the letter. "Now let’s continue and take a look at the temple that was infested by goblins. It would be good to take a look to make sure what we will face when the time comes."

 They were relatively close to the site so it wasn’t a problem, just before entering the ruined village they found the group of adventurers who were in the Grove before whose leader was the same guy that Calamity had punched. After a little dialogue with him and getting the information about a reward for a treasure called "Night Song" they made their way to that temple. The first time she used the tadpole’s powers was in the entryway  with the goblins by reading one of their minds and using that to get in smoothly.Then in a few steps before crossing a bridge they fell to the ground being crushed by a terrible power and a voice that oppressed them demanding obedience. They managed to get rid of it thanks to the artifact that Shadowheart carried. 

 Shadowheart was revealed to be a follower of Shar at this point Being honest, Calamity didn’t really care much for it, only worried about the artifact. What was he? Why did Shar want him? Because he could protect them? Who were those people in the vision they had? What did it all mean? Without these answers she could only rely on the cleric oath to keep this artifact safe even if it cost her life.

 They passed through the party and the guards, the temple desecrated with the goddess statues broken and destroyed, that yielded depressive and sarcastic comments from Shadowheart now that she felt more free to express her beliefs. A goblin was branding the followers with hot iron and turned to them with a certain enthusiasm. She called them "True Soul" and offered the brand - something that was immediately denied. Then a familiar sensation, darkness seems to swallow the temple, leaving them with a vision of the goblin priestess, receiving instruction from a handsome young man. One of the Chosen… The vision dissolves away. They stand before the goblin priestess in the temple once again, Calamity severed the connection abruptly, now she knew that this goblin also carried the parasite.

 She said something about shadows in her mind and offered to help.

"That’s a bit particular..."  Calamity replied.

"Of course we go to my chapel, where it is private, we don’t let others interfere in the dealings between us True Souls."

 They followed her to the place, the door was closed and the priestess called them closer.

"Ready to clear your mind?"

 Until that moment everyone thought that Calamity would make the stupid decision to trust this goblin, Astarion himself was rolling his eyes at the situation.

"Actually, I changed my mind..." Calamity smiled sweetly saying these words calmly and in the blink of an eye her hand moved and the goblin’s throat was cut. "I’m gonna kill you now."

 The priestess fell to the ground,blood gushed, and everyone was staring at the atrocious scene. And when she pulled that blade? The most disturbing was the smile she kept on her lips, a sweet and innocent smile that became disturbing in this situation. Astarion was perplexed by the way she hid her murderous intent, none of them realized, HE did not notice. 

 "True Souls, they’re infected like us but think they’re thinking talking to a god." she commented, rifling through the goblin’s body.

"Was this the intended destination for us? Blessed in ignorance to think we could talk to a God? What joke of bad taste..." He mocked angry in the end.

 When the priestess tadpole abandoned her body everyone was disgusted, but this power... her body moved on its own from the influence of the tadpole. Calamity just accepted it and kept the tadpole for now. She knew she should not trust this, should not accept, but at the same time, something within her wanted this power and desired more. Unfortunately they could not go very far after finding the secret passage, they began to feel some symptoms and preferred to take a rest at the camp. The heavy air, the sweat and the sore fingertips.

That was not good. 

 Lae'zel attacked Calamity by putting a dagger around her neck saying they were transforming. Everyone told her to put down the blade and stop it. Tempers began to flare, mixed with pain, fear, despair and distrust. Calamity’s head hurt again... she hated this atmosphere, this feeling. She was drowned in the same for many years and now everything could end up that way. No, she wouldn’t let me.

  She used the tadpole to spy on Lae'zel’s mind and felt the uncertainty and disgust. She used it to convince her that it was just a fever and that it would pass with a rest. 

"Gah, I don’t trust my own mind. So I think I should trust yours. I will wait. But know this I will be watching. If the sickness does not pass, come dawn... I will end us all." 

That threat was a beautiful knot in the stomach for everyone and that night was difficult. But then a figure appeared in her dreams... with the face of her brother.

 The dream visitor was wearing his face and said he was protecting her, this was a very low blow to her as she only trusted him briefly because of the face he was wearing. He promised that when she woke up she would be better and... really he did not lie. More questions hit her mind and when talking to all her companions the stories hit, same dream same message. 

 Unmasking Kagha was easy and quick, getting rid of the shadow druids was simple and with that they ensured the Grove as a safe point. Calamity talked to the druids about Halsin who had not yet found him, but did not believe he was dead . Her suspicions were that he would  be stuck somewhere in that lair since if they had killed a druid who could turn into a bear the least they could do was have his head was stuck on  a spear and displayed as a trophy. 

 Astarion remembered the scene from the previous day, the way she kept that same pleasant and calm expression while slicing the goblin’s throat. The slight smile drawn on her lips, the smile she was now using to be friendly to the druids and the tieflings... he was impressed how vile she could be and still maintain the appearance of "good girl". 

"We chose a wolf in sheep’s clothing as leader." He commented.

"I don’t think it’s bad, I even like this side of her is practical and makes people lower their guard easily." Shadowheart argued, watching her too. "And she doesn’t really seem like a bad person."

"No?" Astarion questioned.

"Look at her well." Gale said watching her talking to the children. "She saved that girl from Kagha, that boy from the harpies  and was being kind to the others Look into her eyes, see the compassion reflected in her and that’s something you can’t fake Astarion."

  Astarion said nothing more, really she had this compassionate look at that moment while interacting with the children and he became even more confused. How could a killer like her have such a side? Be so ruthless and at the same time so kind.

 The village seemed to have good resources and while exploring ordinary conversations became natural.

"So Calamity, do you have  some love waiting for you in the city?" Shadowheart asked humorously.

"I don’t have time for romance." It was an anticlimactic response for the group.

"Really? So who were you looking for?" Astarion asked curious. "It was impossible not to notice you scouring the rubble of the fall."

"I was looking for my twin brother, we separated before I was kidnapped, and maybe he was taken too, but after not finding him I think he was lucky not to have been taken."

"Or in the worst case, he is one of those ignorant people we meet." Astarion replied, hardly interested.

"Hope that’s not the case." Calamity warned. " My brother is as skilled as I am and much more brutal. Even I would have trouble facing him in a fight... and I would hate that." Her voice became a weaker tone and had a lot of regret, her feelings were clear. 

"It’s understandable, twin ties are often very strong I can only imagine how painful it must be for you to be in that position." Gale laid his hand on her shoulder and even though it was barely noticeable, Astarion saw the way she trembled even for a second in aversion to touch.

"Thank you, Gale, well let’s hope he’s had better luck."

Unfortunately not everything was quiet after all. A devil appeared, playing his game with rhymes of a poem and dragging them to a banquet hall.

"Great now I have a devil in my pocket? Continue with your rhymes and offerings, I will never accept." Calamity was firm in her words. 

"Still, I’ve a feeling you’ll change your mind before it’s changed for you. Try to cure yourself. Shop around - beg, borrow, and steal. Exhaust every possibility util none are left. And when hope has been whittled down to the very marrow of despair - that’s when you’ll come knocking on my door. Hope. Hahaha! Such a tease."

"Keep dreaming about it, no matter how much despair I’m in, even if it’s death before me, I’ll NEVER make a pact with you." The certainty she had in her words and in her eyes made everyone be impressed, even Raphael.

"Hahahaha, I’ve heard those words before and only one was true to them... hum."  He approached her and held her chin to better see her face. 

 The way Raphael looked at her, that he looked in the back of his eyes as if he were spying on his soul. Calamity pushed him in disgust.

"What an interesting twist."

"Are you done with your silly little game?" she mocked.

"I believe your words, but what if it was to save someone else? Your brother perhaps?" Calamity was losing patience to the point of moving her  hand to pull her sword.

 Astarion was faster and held her wrist.

"Are you crazy?! Think well before you act." He warned as he received an angry look from her.

" What a sad situation perhaps I should do a little favor."

"Leave him out of this devil! You made your offer and I denied it!"

"For now." Raphael, with a gesture, teleported them back to the village and the group looked in.

 Calamity was very upset, that devil quoted her brother and he was right... If it were for him, she would make a pact without hesitation.

"Now there’s a bloody devil trailing after us? This gets better and better." Astarion commented angrily.

 I think he wants something from us. Badly. " Gale commented thoughtfully and worried.

"Sure he does, but apparently he’s devoted special attention to our dear Calamity."

"No matter. We’ve dealt with every other oddity thrown at us lately - we can handle this one too. Now, as for this “Raphael”... He knows our secret, he claims he can help… what do you make of him?" Shadowheart asked.

"We don’t trust him, simple!" Calamity responded adamantly. 

"No doubts at all? Good. That’s what I wanted to hear. He’s clever, my order uses the same tactic when dealing with enemies of Shar. You don’t need a scourge or a rack to break people. Fear and self-doubt are sufficient. When actual pain comes, the victim’s already done the heavy lifting for their torturer. There were no right answers with that devil. He was toying with his food - us."

"I didn’t realise you were so… well-versed in mental and emotional torment. It’s a good thing to know."

"And it seems that you are very familiar with this, did not doubt and did not hesitate even though you lost the line by having your brother cited."

"What can I say, part of the trade. I just... Never mind, we need to focus on the current goal and prepare to kick a devil’s ass if we have to." 

 Back at the camp after an exhausting day, Raphael returned to Calamity’s mind. Her concern was turned to her brother but maybe Raphael is the least of the problems, two days... she had been missing for two days. What would they be doing with him now?

 Were they torturing him? Or worse? 

 The best chance is he’s chained up in his room... Shadowheart is right, fear and doubt is sufficient. She was too thoughtful even now in front of the fire listening to the conversation of her companions, her attention was not really there.

"So we’ve all talked a little bit about ourselves at least enough for this group to work." Astarion said looking at Calamity. "But our leader hasn’t said much yet Sorry darling, but I think it won’t hurt to say a little bit."

She stared at him but without any hostility and sighed.

"Well, what can I say? I’m an assassin in Baldur’s Gate... I’m part of the Assassin’s Guild, being more specific."

Astarion raised a puzzled eyebrow.

"Are you referring to the Assassin’s Guild of underworld city? The one that clashes with the Thieves Guild over business?" 

She agreed with a nod.

"Me and my brother... well they called us Black Dogs."

 Silence. 

 Astarion stared at her in shock, even he had heard of them. A pair of terrible assassins who accept any job, the nickname came on account of their unwavering loyalty to the Guild Masters. Without question, without hesitation, they did the work, and it was always so bloody that even the cultists of Bhaal were impressed.   

"You are very different than I imagined." Astarion broke the silence.

"I don’t appear to be someone with blind loyalty? Of course not, I was bound to be so. They recruited us when we were very young, we had no other option to survive and they took advantage of that. They trained us, tortured us, they no longer wanted subordinates with ambitions and opinions of their own." She laughed. "No... They wanted dogs that would obey any order without complaining or hesitating. And that would be happy with it, well that last part we learned to pretend very well. Funny, it was thanks to all this confusion I finally managed to think more clearly for myself after years... I ruined the night apparently, I’m going back to my tent." She got up and left.

 It was dark, she was back in that place, chained to the wall. She was facing the floor... what are they going to do with her?

"Hello little girl." A dark-haired elf entered the room and stood in front of her. " Look at me!" He ordered and she obeyed. "Much better, you know you’re going to be punished for letting that child escape, right?"

 Right, they were ordered to kill a noble family of the city... all of them without exception, but when she saw that crying child cowering in a corner felt pity and guilt, she helped that child escape.

"Can we get started?" A Drow entered the room dragging her twin brother with her.

"B-Brother? Wait! I WAS THE ONE WHO MADE THE MISTAKE! I SHOULD BE PUNISHED! PLEASE LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!" She pleaded, begged in tears.

"Oh my dear doll..." the elf bent down and held her face. "It wouldn’t be an effective punishment if I just beat you or tortured you, no...  it hurts you much more if he suffers." She was trembling in despair.

 The Drow chained the half-elf boy facing Calamity so that she would be able to see his face perfectly while he was tortured in her place.

"Caly, don’t worry, it’s okay." Her brother tried to comfort her, but then he screamed in pain as he felt  the flesh of his back being torn by Drow’s blade.

 The first cut was made slow and very precise.

"NO!" She fought, pulling the chains that bound her arms. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

 It did not help, the Drow continued cutting him slowly and agonizing. He screamed at every cut scratching his back while his sister was forced to watch and see his face in pain. 

"See? Your brother is suffering because YOU made a mistake! You are to blame for his suffering, every cut of his back is your fault!" The elf grabbed and pulled her hair, forcing her to keep her eyes on the scene.

"Brother... Carnifex... Carn... forgive me..." She cried his name as she watched the torture. "FORGIVE ME PLEASE!" 

 

Calamity woke up with a suffocating a scream. It was just a nightmare... a nightmare and a memory. 

 She wiped the sweat from her face and sighed heavily... hell. He may be suffering again that same way alone now, and it’s her fault... it’s always gonna be her fault. 

 "Carnifex my brother... You forgive me, don’t you?"

 She got up and left the tent. Looking around, it seemed that everyone was still sleeping. She walked quietly to the river near the camp and felt that near the shore, the water reflecting the night sky was a calm sight for a disturbed mind. 

 After that day that she watched her brother being tortured she never dared to have mercy on anyone... even if it was a child. 

 She was tired, but  didn’t feel like sleeping anymore, so she just took off her boots and put her feet in the water, it was cold but pleasant. Calamity hugged her knees and took advantage of the calm and cold sensation of the water against her skin. 

"Oh... I didn’t expect you to be awake." It was Astarion’s voice, but she didn’t move. 

 Astarion had gone hunting and decided to come down to the river to wipe his face that could be stained with blood. But he did not expect to find Calamity huddled by the river.

   Honestly, he didn’t know what to think about her, but he had thought a little about what she said. She was shaped to be someone without opinions or ambitions of her own, practically an object so to speak... it irritated him. Now seeing her shrunk there without saying anything, out of curiosity he approached her and saw her eyes full of tears.

"Are you crying...?" he asked, surprised.

"Me? Crying?" She hadn’t even noticed the tears running from her eyes. "Oh... It’s been years since I’ve cried."

 Shit... she looked so helpless. 

 The expression so sweet and sad, but her eyes were empty and cold as a doll... it could drive someone crazy. 

"Astarion... Are you a vampire?" He froze.

"Why the question, dear?" He was sweating cold.

"Well... I don’t see your reflection." She replied tone innocent, as she pointed to the water.

 Unbelievable, he was caught by such an oversight because he lowered his guard to this vulnerable face?! He had to agree with Shadowheart, Calamity had a knack for keeping people off guard.

"Don’t worry, I won’t kill you." She declared at last.

"Excuse me?" he continued, perplexed.

"I have no intention of killing you, Astarion." She stated again with the same empty look and innocent expression.

 He just laughed it off.

"Hahahaha, gods... you really are a figure, dear Calamity." He sat next to her. "What will you have in return?"

"Pardon?" she tilted her confused head.

"Well, you’ll lie secret in exchange for what?"

"Nothing."  She answered automatically.

 Shock again, impossible! She wanted something, everyone always wanted something!

"Don’t be shy, darling, I know you want something." He insisted.

"I don’t want anything." She replied again.

 He looked into her eyes and saw nothing, ulterior motives, malice, lies... nothing but emptiness.

"You..." He held her face and kept looking into her eyes.

 Was that it? She was broken?

"Do you really not want anything? Even after being free?" 

"I want to remain free, and I want my brother to be free too, I want nothing more than that." This could not even be seen as ambition. 

"Gods below... I really thought you’d have some ambition, apparently I’ll have to teach you to be a little more ambitious." Her eyes lit up with these words.

 She looked like an innocent puppy.

 Calamity leaned back a little from his touch and wet her hands in the water and then wiped his face.

"Your face was a little bloody." She explained quickly, and then she held his face gently. "I like the touch of your skin, it’s cold and pleasant like river water."

 Was she serious? Few would say that the skin of an undead is something pleasant, but her words were so genuine and innocent. What was that feeling? For some reason he wanted to take care of her, why?

Well that’s it! Thank you for reading the second chapter.

@spacebarbarianweird @spacesquidlings@thechaoticdruid @vixstarria

Who wants to be tagged in the next chapters please tell me in the comments.

[dominimoonbeam]

To The Edge - 6

This work is mine and I do not give consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted without my permission. I am sharing chapters as I work on this story but it is copyrighted material that I plan to rework and publish when completed.

story tags: scifi romance, hijinks in space, rogues learning to trust, violence, blood, guns, death, explicit language, so much kidnapping,

Works organized and easily found over on the patreon. <3

TO THE EDGE - CHAPTER 6.

Rory woke up slowly, disoriented and achy with a prevailing sense of being in danger flagging in the back of his foggy mind. Still…not the worst way he’d ever woken up.

“What…” he coughed, swallowed, and blinked at the room around him. His bridge. His ship. And his bounty standing there with their back to the stars, watching him. “Oh shit.”

He tried to get up from his seat, legs spasming and boots kicking at the floor, but he stayed seated. “Did you…Did you duct tape me?” He looked down at himself, squirming against the thick straps of silver. “Stardust, this is like an entire roll of tape. You couldn’t just cuff me or—”

“You could get out of them, but you probably don’t have a trick for getting out of duct tape,” they said simply.

“You’re really making me regret showing you how to get out of those cuffs. Really, I regret ever taking them off of you. I should have sedated you and strapped you to a damn cot until we—”

“Too late for that,” they interrupted. “But that’s not a bad idea… Any chance you’ll—”

“What? No. I’m not telling you where the sedatives are.” He wriggled in his seat again, getting nowhere. At least his side didn’t hurt anymore. He was sure he’d be waking up to that sharp burning pain from the stun gun. Really, he should be…  “Did… Stardust, did you put the burn gel on my taser burn?”

They took a step closer, a flash of worry on their previously amused expression. “Does it still hurt?”

Rory sighed, shaking his head. “No offense, but you clearly have no idea what you’re doing. What’s your plan? Where are we going?”

Stardust perked up and flashed him a smile. He hated how impossible it was not to reflect that joy. “I’m getting away,” they announced.

He laughed. This was definitely the strangest kidnap rescue he’d ever dealt with. “Away where?”

Stardust shrugged.

“Is this a rich kid running away from home situation?” he asked, still trying to twist a hand free of the tape. They’d really done a good job taping him into place. “If you wanted attention, you already got it.” The bounty their family had put out for them was substantial. Every hunter, mercenary, and pirate would be looking for this Primer. “Don’t scowl at me like that, I’m the one taped to the fucking seat here. I saved you from pirates—”

Stardust snorted. “Like you did it out of the goodness of your heart?”

“Okay, yes, I did it for a paycheck, but I still did it!”

They crossed their arms and raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

“How about you let me take you to the drop off, collect my bounty, and then you can steal a ship from one of your cousins. Hell, you can blow up your cousins for all I care, just leave me out of it.”

They turned and looked down at the control panel, checking something. He seriously hoped they didn’t break anything… “I should have taped your mouth,” Stardust mumbled.

“Hm… This is your first time kidnapping someone, isn’t it?” he asked and saw their smile from the side of their mouth.

“Knowing as much about my family as you do, that could be a great story, right? You can tell everyone else out here the story of how a Solinoh kidnapped you.” They turned toward him, sharing that smile. “Are you honored, Cosmic?”

Rory laughed darkly, shaking his head. “No, I am not honored to be your first.”

Stardust shrugged, smile shrinking but not completely gone. “I’m saving your life. You should at least be grateful.”

“Saving my life?” the question burst from him. “I’m sorry, but that’s not coming across. Did the pirates scramble your brain? Is this a Stockholm thing?”

“Fuck you.”

“Oh, there’s that classy mouth again…”

They rolled their eyes and walked past him, out of sight.

“Wait…Where are you going?” He struggled against the tape even though it was useless. “Don’t go back there. Stay out of my stuff!” He kicked and thrashed. “Fucking…duct tape!”

Rory forced himself to stop, closed his eyes, and dragged a deep breath. “Ship.”

The quiet hum of space and engines answered him.

“Ship, initiate audio commands. Code seven five nine delta three.”

Quiet.

Rory groaned through clenched teeth.

Stardust walked back onto the bridge, wearing a pair of his boots that were definitely too big.

“You disabled my codes?”

The Solinoh grinned, shoving hands into the pockets of those sweatpants he’d loaned them. He should have left them in their nasty blood-crusted clothes and locked them in the storage room until they reached the drop off. “You were out for a while. I had plenty of time to poke around, Rory Antilla. You should upgrade your security or have backups for this possibility.”

He was going to strangle them when he got loose. “Yeah… No, you’re right,” he said, sarcasm dripping off his words. “I really should have had audio enabled before you stole my ship from me. Live and learn, you know, assuming you don’t crash the ship and kill us both.”

They curled their lip at him, like he was the one being childish. “I told you. I’m saving you. You should be thanking me.”

Rory snapped a harsh laugh. “Saving me? This is you saving me? Fuck, Stardust, I’d hate to be on your bad side.”

A streak of bright light rolled across the window, spilling into the cockpit.

The ship’s automated voice chimed, ‘Docking protocols initiated.’

Rory strained his neck to try to get the right angle to see out the window. “What? Where are we docking? Stardust, there’s nothing out here but a couple of sketchy stations and criminal outposts. And just to be really damn clear, I don’t mean your family’s style of criminal element. This isn’t the luxury casinos and planetary resorts side of the galaxy.”

Stardust sighed, annoyed. “I think I’ll manage. I’ve heard about Styx. It’s an independent trading outpost.”

Rory swung his head the other way to stare at them. “Wait. Wait, wait. You can’t go on that station alone.”

“Yeah?” they asked, only half-paying attention now that their attention was focused on the console. “Why not?”

“Well, for one, you look like an escaped prisoner. Someone will probably scoop you up, thinking no one will miss you, and sell your ass to a skin ship.”

Stardust shot him an appalled look that he’d never seen on anyone born outside the Prime. “You’re gross.”

“I’m not being gross, Stardust, I’m being real!” panic was leaking into his voice now, fists curled and arms twisting at the duct tape bindings again. They were going to get themself killed.

“I’ll be okay,” Stardust pressed again, picking up one of his pistols off the console and waving it at him on their way past, toward the docking door, out of sight.

“Oh, you think my gun will be enough to keep you safe? You spoiled fucking shit! You’re going to get yourself killed and you know what, that’s fine! But you can’t leave me stuck to this damn chair. I’ll either starve to death here or, worse, someone much more competent than you will steal my ship and then it’ll be my sexy ass on a skin ship!”

They scoffed loudly, so he’d hear them over the whirring of the station umbilical connecting them to the dock. “You all think you know what you’re getting yourselves into. You and those fucking pirates… You see me and see a payday.”

“I don’t know you any better than the pirates? Star—”

The door opened and because they were barefoot he couldn’t hear them walking of the ship, but when the door whooshed shut again he knew they’d gone. “Fuck!”

Rory dragged a few breaths, fists still balled but arms going nowhere. “Ship,” he tried, voice even. “Ship, I know you can hear me.” Hear him, sure. But he also doubted it registered anything he said. Still, he had to try. “Ship, override command, return control, code… Oh shit. What was that code…”