#aerial snippet

[maxipad33]

With an impressive wingspan measuring nearly 5 meters, Dutch avian Max Verstappen is widely regarded as one of the top in endurance aerial racing. The downside of such large wings? After a race, it takes two people up to an hour to preen all his feathers. “Of course, sometimes walking around it is easy to accidentally knock things over,” he adds.

snippet from “Flying High with Champion Max Verstappen” in this week’s Hybrid Sport Journal

[willamaybeck]

pjo/hoo @/amusement park headcanons

idk i thought of this forever ago and it's been sitting in my notes forever, so here

piper throws up on a rollercoaster

percy cannot, for the LIFE of him, win annabeth a prize.

"let me show you how it's done, seaweed brain." she calculates how to throw and wins him a tiny stuffed trident.

rachel has to quickly pull grover away from his feast in the trash cans before someone sees

leo & calypso fix a broken-down ride

jason tries to convince thalia to do the bungee jump dive w him--she offers up piper instead but ends up doing it anyway

(she may or may not nearly strike percy w a lighting bolt)

hazel helps a little girl find her lost earrings and frank is basically in love

everyone realizes they "lost" percy & annabeth at the water park ;)

jason was sent to find them and boy--HE DEFINITELY FOUND THEM

frank accidently gives archery lessons

jokes about grover becoming the amusement park janitor

hazel kinda wishes nico were there but she knows he wouldn't have had fun

rachel & calypso befriend each other

piper gets a piggyback ride from leo & vice versa, as well

frank & grover are "guests" in a hypnosis performance

thalia finds this too amusing and takes pictures for the hunters to enjoy

percy & annabeth stroll around themselves for a while just being cute <33

jason mentions smth about nico being gay to piper (an aside, just a short snippet):

annabeth was trying to sneak up on piper w her yankees cap but now she stumbles back to percy by the restrooms and almost cries laughing.

"all this time we thought he had a crush on me, but it was you!"

percy is so mortified

calypso slaps percy when she first sees him (they were all kinda nervous about them meeting again, esp annabeth even tho she knew not to worry; if your bf can turn down a roman praetor for you w/o even fully remembering you, then you should be fine) but then she thanks him for leaving. he's not her happy ending, and she isn't his.

honestly, he was most shocked to see her wearing jeans

leo somehow catches a water ride on fire??

jason & percy volunteer to be in a sword fighting demonstration--somehow none of the mortal audience notices they discarded the prop swords they were given

piper & annabeth are slightly worried they're going to kill each other

calypso guarantees them this a "rather healthy" confrontation

"of course, verbal communication is the best way, but guys think differently."

grover has a picture of juniper in his wallet. rachel finds this incredibly sweet

leo jokingly volunteers to give grover's goatee a trim

no one appreciates the pun.

grover declines.

hazel almost uses golden drachmas as payment for her lunch and frank just can't help but laugh at her

jason & piper fly around the park

the aerial tramway is for chumps

piper fangirls very much upon seeing percy & annabeth's seat--midair snuggling and forehead kisses

jason calls down to thalia to be calm

she's gripping the ride so tightly

she wasn't even supposed to be IN the cart bc it's only fit for two people but rachel & grover pulled her into it

leo's super fuckn fascinated when learning to braid calypso's hair

he tries to copy piper's braids, but she has to inform him it's complicated due to her uneven hairstyle

thalia, rachel, grover, percy, & annabeth all eat lunch together and it's so comfortable.

thalia had never fully met rachel but now she's just crying from how rachel blatantly broke up w percy w/o even dating him

[inonibird]

Sahuldeem Spin-off Snippet #4

Hey, remember how I posted three previous snippets because writing has been hard this year and I felt like sharing excerpts from the various unfinished Sahuldeem spin-off stories I've poked at over the past few years? (I am STILL working on the newest chapter of Sahuldeem; it has just been ludicrously hard to get into it) This next spin-off fic can best be described as: "A story centered around Qymaen’s Force-sensitive granddaughter, set after the Original Trilogy." Treated as a sequel to Sahuldeem, but Force-related shenanigans mean it is less grounded in canon/reality. A bit of a self-indulgent, adventurous romp with some family drama mixed in. (Ludari herself is a re-imagined version of an old ttrpg character)

This short snippet is set near the beginning, as Ludari learns more about the elder-father no one seems to want to talk about. Enjoy~

A few days later, Ludari’s father came into her room, and, instead of wishing her good night and departing as usual, he settled on the edge of her bed, heaving a weighty sigh.

“There’s little I can tell you about your elder-father that I know outside of stories, myself. I never met him. He left Kalee before I was birthed.”

“But elder-mother told you stories,” Ludari said, sitting up straight in bed, every fiber of her body hungry for whatever scraps her father might spare. “She knew him.”

Ludari’s father was quiet for a moment. “Why do you want to hear about him, Ludari?”

“The other children told me he wasn’t always like that.”

“Wasn’t always like…”

“A monster.”

Her father’s face stilled, his slitted eyes falling out of focus, as if picturing something he barely remembered. “You don’t know what he looked like, do you?”

Ludari shook her head. “They just told me he was barely even Kaleesh anymore. More like a droid.”

“Hold on.” Her father rose from her bed and slipped out of the room for a minute. When he returned, he held a portable holoscreen in hand, a cracked, outdated piece of technology that was the norm for backwater Kalee. Settling back into position, he passed the screen to his daughter. “These are old recordings from the HoloNet. They would have aired during the time of the Clone Wars. I was far too young to know anything about it, then. Mother showed these to me years later.”

Ludari squinted at the flickering screen, watching the decades-old HoloNet News broadcasts. Reporters spoke in urgent staccato of the “Knight Slayer” that had come to the attention of the Galactic Republic in recent weeks, and who had, at the time of the newsreel, finally been recorded in action. The footage was grainy and blurred, but amid the white armored figures of clone troopers, a skeletal shape rampaged, a storm of blue-and-green lights that snapped and sliced and severed. The footage paused, highlighting a frame of frozen fury: more metal than flesh, poised mid-assault, what passed for a face pointing up to glare at some unseen aerial intrusion.

The quality of the recording was too low to see much detail, but Ludari merely had to close her eyes to know what every fuzzy pixel had failed to display. She could see her elder-father like he stood right before her, hunched yet looming, taller than any Kaleesh she’d ever met; she could hear the strain of metallic joints and wheezing, labored breaths; she could smell the residue of blaster fire on scorched armorplast, the stink of old blood of felled enemies, and something sour and rancid buried beneath it all. Livid eyes glared back, glinting gold from deep, orbital sockets

“Ludari?” Her father placed a concerned hand on her arm. “Are you all right?”

Ludari peeled her eyes open. “He has a kakmusme,” she observed, and even as she blurted this, she wasn’t sure why that had caught her notice and demanded mention, of all things.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have shown this to you before bed.”

“I’m not scared.” But she was shaking. She couldn’t seem to stop, even when her father moved both hands to her shoulders for a comforting squeeze.

“I’m sorry. I should have known better. Everyone calls him a monster for a reason. The galaxy feared him for a reason.” Her father peered into her eyes, worried. “Do you know what he looked like when he was still Kaleesh? When he was still whole?”

Ludari shook her head again, but her brow creased as something occurred to her. “Like you?”

Her father blinked, then offered a small smile. “Yes, in fact. Your elder-mother has always said so. The village used to have a statue of him in the square, but it was torn down after the stories of the Clone Wars reached Kalee. I barely remember seeing it. He probably even looked a little like you, too, at your age. Wouldn’t have gotten his chin tusks, yet.”

“What was he like at my age?” Ludari asked, desperate for something to distract her from the possibility that, when she closed her eyes for the night, she would dream of a hulking, metallic skeleton cutting off limbs and crushing skulls with powerful claws—or, worse, that the almost palpable vision that had creaked and wheezed and glared at her from behind her eyelids would stand by her bed and watch her sleep.

“Hm. Well, my mother didn’t know him when he was your age, so what she told me was based on stories. But she said he knew how to use an Outland rifle when he was eight years old. Just two years younger than you.”

Ludari gaped. “Eight? You won’t even let me look at your rifle!”

He received a wry, arched eyebrow at that. “And you will learn when you are twelve. No weapons until then. That is tradition. Your elder-father lived in a time of planetary war; the children then needed to learn early, to grow up too quickly. But it’s said that because of him our family teaches all of our children how to shoot and hunt, no matter how many tusks they have.”

Ludari tried to picture herself, at her size, holding a slugthrower rifle. It was difficult. “He fought in a war when he was only eight years old?”

“The Huk War,” his father clarified. “Around 70 years ago. The Huk invaded and tore families apart—slaughtering our warriors, taking our women and children away to sell as slaves. When your elder-father was your age, it was said he protected Irikuum with his rifle. He would destroy entire raiding parties of more than a dozen Huk by himself, he was such a skilled shot.”

Ludari hung onto his every word. The tangle in her chest, which had wound painfully tight at the sight of the old newsreel and the frightening vision of what her elder-father had become, started to unravel and relax. “He sounds brave.”

“I’m sure he was, back then.” Ludari’s father put a hand in his daughter’s hair, giving her curls a gentle tousle. “Feeling better?”

“Will you tell me another story about him tomorrow night? About when he was still honorable?”

His father’s breath caught in his throat a moment, sucked in and held during a brief, silently painful contemplation. “Yes, little Ludari. I’ll tell you more.”

When her father left the room, taking the holoscreen and turning out the light, Ludari sat up in bed, closed herself off from the outer world, and meditated. The Feeling returned to her and seemed to revel in her success, feeding into her a warm, lulling peace that pervaded her body from her core to her fingertips and toes. All she had to do was think about a boy with his slugthrower, lying in the grass under a hot sun, holding his breath as he aimed at a wooden target a hundred meters away.

[eyra]

I hope you’ll forgive my selfishness, but I am dying to ask: What did Remus think the first time he saw Sirius in Beneath a Big Blue Sky??

today is your lucky day. I've mentioned a few times that I've dabbled in the possibility of one day writing more bits and pieces in the Beneath a Big Blue Sky world. whether or not this will ever all see the light of day I'm not sure, but since you asked, I'll share a little snippet of Remus and Sirius meeting for the first time - from Remus's point of view.

enjoy 🐑🐑 x

“Mr Lupin, is it?”

Christ.

Remus nods slowly, shaking the other boy's hand. "If you like," he mutters. If I must be, he thinks. What a mess. What an absolute pain in the arse. "Two strong lads," Lyall had asked the agency for, and Remus knows because he was in the next room listening, and still smarting over the fact that his old dad wanted to hire help anyway. "We'll be reet," Remus had insisted, shaking out his left arm in proof that his shoulder was mostly healed, which it was. They would've managed: he still had his other arm, and all the ewes looked in good health so far, and bringing in two strangers to help run the season seemed like a fine waste of money to Remus and something they'd not done since he'd turned fifteen and proven that he was good and capable of handling just as much work as Lyall during the lambs, and he'd felt all kinds of embarrassed when Lyall had implied that this year he might need some help. As if he were now a problem to be solved, or somehow less of a man this year than he was last year, and certainly less than he ought to be.

But if they must get help - if Lyall must hire someone for a few months - then at the very least Remus had hoped that the workers who arrived would be up to the job. A couple of veterinary students, or something; someone who knew their way around a sheep, and it hadn't seemed too big an ask. As it is, the two boys standing dumbly in front of him on the station platform look less suited to farm work and more like they should be standing in a shop window somewhere, with their brand new boots and spotless, neatly-pressed cream trousers. Cream trousers, and all.

Remus remembers, one night in the late winter not long after the accident, being laid up in his bed in front of the fuzzy little television Hope had insisted on setting up in his room to keep him occupied during his recovery. It had a remote held together with Sellotape and a funny round aerial which didn't quite pick up the Freeview signal, and he'd been mindlessly flicking through the scant channels when he'd happened upon some reality programme or other; something about a load of toffs titting about London with daft haircuts and those cream trousers, and he wonders now if the two boys standing in front of him have seen the show, or realise how ridiculous they look.

Or at least, one of them looks ridiculous. The lanky one with the glasses and the palm that's far too smooth to have seen any real work in its life. He's still beaming down at Remus with a sort of manic smile, which sets Remus's teeth on edge - man looks insane - and then Remus lets his eyes slip away to the shorter boy standing next to him. And he's something else altogether. He's all cheekbones and soft, shoulder-length hair, the colour of Whitby jet, and it's tucked on the one side back behind his ear and then there's one pretty strand hanging loosely over his brow, and he's watching Remus uncertainly and when they make eye contact - when the noise of the four-by-four across the car park fades away to static, and the train on the platform huffs out a great cloud of smoke that Remus doesn't see - Remus feels his cheeks grow hot under his tan and something funny happens in his throat, and he thinks to himself: "Wow," and then, straightaway: "That’s bloody inconvenient."

They drive back to the farm in silence, mostly, and Remus swallows three times before asking the boy in the back seat for his name. Sirius, as it turns out; the dog star, and Remus suddenly recalls a night a decade ago when they'd been up on the fell and the air had been balmy and close and Lily had been reading out of that funny old book about the constellations. "What's that one?" Remus had muttered, pointing at a cluster of stars somewhere over the top paddock. Lily had yawned, and flicked over a few more pages. "Canis Major," she'd said around another yawn, and then: "That bright one's called Sirius, it says here," and Remus had squinted up at it, and frowned, and thought it was pretty good, as stars go. 

⋆｡°✩ ⋆｡°✩

[aviatrix-ash]

Little snippet for a future comic, one I've been planning out for a loooong time! >:3

Starscream and Powerglide will have to put aside 4 million years of aerial combative rivalry in a factional war in order to save the life of the Skyfire they both love.

[bzar-bzar]

Post-Canon BakuDeku Snippet

Here’s a snippet of a post-canon third year BakuDeku fic I started writing a while back. Tentatively called “to the marrow” and really heavy on Katsuki pining. I really want to write/publish it but I got stuck at about 25k. Anyway I like this scene so here. (SFW)

—————

Third-year combat training is much more intense than the previous years, often involving some kind of limiting factor or severe handicap. They’ve all learned through first-hand experience why this is important, and they don’t question even the most ridiculous of scenarios that their teachers throw at them. In battle—in war, anything can happen. Nothing is certain. You have to be ready to win by the skin of your teeth, and you have to be creative.

Today’s exercise is pretty simple in the scheme of things—namely one on ones that center around capture and escape. Because of the rules, Katsuki’s only option during the entire scenario is evasion. And boy fucking howdy, kiting someone with as many quirks as Izuku is fucking difficult, but he’s Bakugou fucking Katsuki, so he makes it happen. He flies around Ground Beta like a bat out of hell, and has been doing such a good job of it that Izuku is pissed.

Katsuki’s win conditions are running out the clock and hoping Izuku somehow domes his head in the course of their rat race around the training ground. But Izuku is just too fucking competent. Black Whip is always snapping at his heels, and it’s only Katsuki’s agility and maneuverability in the obstacle-laden training ground that allows him to keep ahead, even when Izuku manages to predict his path and tries to cut him off using Fa Jin. Katsuki would love more than anything to quip back that Izuku is really fucking good at blasting forward in straight lines, but that his aerial maneuverability is shit, but he doesn’t even have enough of a lead to make a single stupid jab, the green monster hot on his fucking heels. It’s not a big deal though—he’ll have time to gloat when he wins.

Eventually, a loud timer blares, signaling the end of their thirty minutes, and Katsuki lands heavily on a series of wide ducts. He wipes sweat from his brow and out of his eyes, whole body absolutely drenched, arms limp with soreness, heart beating like a fucking engine, and Izuku lands a half second later, Black Whip pulling him precisely to land not two steps away from Katsuki.

“Kacchan,” he yells, fists clenched as he gets in Katsuki’s face, and Katsuki doesn’t back down, just spits to the side, grinning. It’s especially fun because he didn’t even have to do anything dirty to win. He won fair and square, but Izuku is still pissed.

“Forgot what losing feels like?” Katsuki taunts, chest blooming haughtily as he throws his height in Izuku’s face. God the look in his eyes—teeth grinding. “Gotten so used to being the best that—”

“Hypocrite—Fuck you,” Izuku bites, fist knocking against his stomach, a warning, and Katsuki’s eyebrows raise sharply, an electric thrill up his spine. He loves it when Izuku is thoroughly pissed. He spits and snarls just like Katsuki, and Katsuki feels it like his brand on Izuku’s brain, a part of himself in Izuku that will never go away.

Despite winning this time, Katsuki understands that agony in Izuku’s eyes, that feeling that builds up in the back of your throat when you’re trying so hard to fucking win, the stakes of your life and millions of lives all inside of you as you fight with literally everything you fucking have. Because of what they’ve been through, they go through even these stupid skirmishes all out, as if everything is on the line.

Black Whip surges, locking around Katsuki’s chest, and Aizawa’s projected voice snaps them out of it: “Back to base, boys. These matches are long, we don’t have time for this.”

After a final squeeze, Katsuki shrugs off the slackened Black Whip, still huffing, and extends his hand to Izuku.

Izuku’s eyes clear somewhat. There’s a lag, but he clasps it.

“God, you’re slippery,” Izuku laughs, moment gone, and Katsuki smirks back. He could be referring to Katsuki’s flying or the fact that he is covered in explosive sweat—maybe both.

“And you fucking lost. Now get out of here before I use you as a fucking towel.”

[bekolxeram]

“10! 9! 8!”

The helicopter hovers in the clear, starry sky.

“7! 6! 5!”

The crowd on the ground joyously counts down, welcoming the arrival of a new year, a new beginning.

“4!”

Tommy turns to face the passenger sitting beside him, “are you ready, Evan?”

“3!”

Buck mirrors the pilots movement, “never been more ready.”

“2!”

They smile at each other, with a bright, hopeful glint in their eyes.

“1! Happy New Year!”

Their lips crash together as the crowd roars in celebration, their connection only broken by the deafening bang of a firework. Buck jolts around, but his expression soon softens up in awe.

The calm, dark night sky has been illuminated by bursts of shimmering gold, right in front of his eyes.

Here.

There.

Here again.

Pops of color are gradually thrown into the mix, turning the simple, elegant light show into a chromatic symphony.

Red.

Blue.

Purple.

“Wow… I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life,” Buck sighs, still awestruck by the aerial, front-row view to the fireworks.

“I love you, Evan. I can’t wait to start our future together,” Tommy cups Buck’s cheeks with both hands, pulling him in for another gentle kiss.

Something feels wrong to Buck.

“Um… Tommy, who’s flying the chopper?” he stares at the bare cyclic, free from the control of the pilot.

“No one,” Tommy says, a hint of sorrow appearing on his face.

Buck’s blood runs cold.

“What does that mean?”

“It means it’s not real, Evan,” the pilot smooths a thumb over Buck’s cheekbone, “you can’t fly too close to the fireworks in real life, or else you’ll crash and burn.”

“Am I… dreaming?”

“Yeah… it’s a nice one, isn’t it? Too bad you’ll have to wake up soon.”

“Wait, no! I’m staying here, I’m staying here with you,” Buck cries out. “Aw — My head,” a strong dull ache starts pounding his head.

“You can’t.”

“Just… 5 more minutes,” Buck pleads with all his might, fighting against the burn in his throat.

“I’ll see you on the other side.”

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

Buck wakes up in a dimly lit room. There’s a hint of familiarity to this place, but he can’t pinpoint it exactly. He can’t even focus for more than 2 seconds due to the throbbing pain in his head.

Feeling his jeans still on, he pats around to find his phone in a pocket. The bright light from the screen stings his dry eyes, after a few seconds to adjust, he sees a column of unread texts from Eddie.

Eddie: What do you mean “where are you”? In El Paso? With Christopher? Eddie: I’m coming back on the 4th. I’ve told you that already, why are you still asking? Eddie: Are you drunk? Eddie: Wait, don’t tell me you’re in my house. Eddie: Why do you have to pick NYE of all days to drunkenly invade my home? Eddie: I’m doing you a favor, you owe me a big one.

Snippets of memories start flooding back all at once. He remembers leaving Maddie’s house shortly after midnight because it was Jee’s bed time, but he didn’t want to go home to an empty apartment, he decided to head to a bar for drinks instead. The more he drank, the lonelier he felt, so he took an Uber to his best friend’s house out of habit.

His memories begin blurring from that point on, but he vaguely recalls breaking down yelling and crying at someone…

“Easy, there’s a bucket next to the bed. You don’t need to get up if you’re feeling sick.”

“Tommy…”

“I brought you an isotonic drink and some painkillers, just in case, but your head should feel better once you get your hydration level back up,” Tommy hands him the bottle and kneels down on the floor, next to the bed.

“How…?” Buck asks after taking a big gulp of the liquid.

“Eddie texted me last night, telling me Christopher wanted to wish me a happy new year over the phone.”

“So… he tricked you?”

“No, he absolutely blasted me for leaving you heartbroken and alone. He said every person in Los Angeles, men and women, would line up just for a chance to kiss you on New Year’s, but you were on your own moping around because of me instead.”

“Eddie?”

“Chris. He told me if I ever believed you weren’t serious about… us, then I would be, and I quote, ‘a fucking idiot’.”

“Oh, he’s all grown up now,” Buck lets out a soft chuckle.

“Um… I was thinking, maybe we could talk? If you want to of course, I understand I have no right to ask you for anything after what I did to you.”

“Later, maybe?”

Tommy nods.

“Can you just stay with me for a while?” Buck lifts up bedspread as an invitation.

Tommy agrees silently by climbing into the bed, lying down on the empty side and wrapping his arms tightly around Buck from behind.

Buck melts into his touch, and slowly drifts off the sleep once again.

[shes-an-oddbird]

WIP Wednesday - The Suncatcher

Thank you @annoyingcloudearthquake for tagging me! I've been working on this fic for actual years now, since the end of season 3, and I'd really love to finish it as a sort of thank you now that the show is ending. Unfortunately it's one of those fics that has grown out of control and has multiple main characters, alternating povs and is nowhere near done but I made fun little moodboards for each character to help motivate me to finish and thought I would share them and a little snippet with each. Fair warning the story was inspired by my niche obsession with Cirque du Soleil and an odd fascination with Las Vegas.

Summary: When a wealthy group of investors decides to save a struggling Las Vegas hotel, The Suncatcher, former performers Owen and Tommy are asked to revive their first Cirque show and turn it into the must-see attraction on the iconic strip. Together they recruit a misfit group of artists who deserve a second chance at the high-flying circus life and are determined to put on the best show they can even when they run into obstacles around every corner.

Neon - A Night in Las Vegas TK Strand - The Visitor - Aerial Straps/Duo Straps Artist

'The sun sets and a first time visitor falls in love with the heart of the city itself '

He passes Jonah’s door and moves towards the kitchen, stopping again when he hears voices.

“So what do you think?” To TK’s surprise it’s his dad’s voice. He didn’t even know his dad was in town.

“I think-I think you ask very good questions Owen Strand.” His mom answers. “I mean I have complete faith that he could do it, physically he’s there, mentally he’s there – “

“But – “ His dad asks and the long pause that follows makes his gut twist uncomfortably. But what?

“Emotionally I think he’s getting there,” Gwyn finally says, “Alex may have set him back a little bit.”

Alex? Why would they be talking about Alex? Why were they talking about him at all?

“Doing a show would get him out of New York, might be good for him, a way to move on?”

“Yes, but to do a show in Las Vegas of all the places, and a love story at that, especially this love story.” His mom reasons, pouring out all her concerns at once.

He hears a small amused scoff from his dad. “He’s a grown man Gwyn, surely he’s come to terms with the divorce by now.”

“I’m sure he has but it’s a bit more complicated than that, he’s always loved love but it’s never been very kind to him in return.”

“Maybe this time it will be.” Owen urges. “It’s an opportunity to start over, to try again.”

There is a long pause. TK debates whether he should round the corner to the kitchen, back track to his room or stay put in hopes of more information. His dad was talking about a show. It had been a long time since he performed although he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to get back at it. Nothing really compared when your old day job title could be simplified to circus performer.

“He always did love Neon, it would be nice for him to have that back.” Her voice is wistful now but his gut clenches once more at the name.

Neon. As is Neon, Neon. The old Cirque show he’s spent hours of his young life absorbed in? The show where his parents fell in love both in real life and in front of the audience every night? They wanted him to be a part of that Neon.

“So you think I should ask him?” Owen asks.

“I think you already did, good morning TK.” TK flinches. She knew he was there the whole time. He’s not surprised, his mom always could see through walls, but damn does he wish he could have had a minute longer to process everything.

[starry-comet]

Y’all- I made my first tramsformers snippet on a whim and tired inspiration- it’s a Kotrine fic (knockout x elite trine) I tried lol, if you’d like to see similar content feel free to send in a request!

(First fic have mercy on me-)

(It’s nsfw so MDNI!!! 18+!!!) pls)

Story under the cut

The only thing could be heard was banging and cursing, the medic sighed as he looked up from his work scowling. Who could blame him though? Trying to work on the formula to crack synth-en took silence and unfortunately it was being interrupted, soon the cause of the noise became known as the door to the med bay opened and there stood the problem- Starscream- well he was actually being carried by his trinemates, Thundercracker and Skywarp as he kept on cursing and hissing at them. “Stop being so fragging stubborn” Thundercracker grumbled before pushing the red seeker onto a med berth with the help of Sky. Knockout couldn’t help but roll his optics, “what happened this time? Did Shockwaves pet get ahold of him and use him as a chew toy?” He said as he approached the squirming seeker who eventually got the other two seekers to let him go, “no- who do you think I am?” Starscream barks out. “An idiot duh” Skywarp says with a toothy grin. “Alright back up- shoo shoo now-“ knockout mumbles while getting his tools ready, Starscream damaged his wings of all things, making the medic once again roll his eyes, first off seeker wings are basically their legs, can’t survive without them due to their frames being built for aerial combat, damaged wings mean death if they’re grounded unless you’re Thundercracker in which case the larger seeker just shakes the ground to get a better advantage, second- their wings are sensitive and the last time this happened the red seeker did nothing but try and wiggle away while snapping and swiping at him which in turn damaged his finish, annoying. “Hold still now” he said before running his servos across Starscreams wings making him growl faintly and whimper. “Hey- watch it!-“ starscream hisses softly as knockout tapped the ends of his wings before starting to clean up the dried energon clumped around the wound. “You’re lucky the damage isn’t to extensive, you could’ve lost your wing you dumb-aft” the medic mumbles lightly, starscreams wings are so pretty so he’s going to try and repair it as best he can.

While the two red cybertronians are mumbling to eachother Skywarp couldn’t help but watch the doc’s hips as they sway side to side absently, he nudged Thundercracker in the side and motioned toward the medic and the blue seeker instantly caught on, also watching the speedsters hips sway. “I never noticed how our doc has such a small waist..” Skywarps vents out, fans now humming slightly louder than usual, he wonders how it would feel rot hold onto those hips- keep them still as he plows into their dear little medic making his face flush warm as devious and perverse thoughts flooded into his processor.

After he managed to get the red seeker to sit still long enough to clean and wrap his wounds he turns around to let Starscreams trine know. “Okay make sure he-“ they’re gone, where did they go? Before he could question it more he was shoved forward and pushed up against a berth adjacent to the red seeker, a purple servo holding him down before the other starts to gently explore making the medic squirm, faceplate a deep blue. “What are you doing?!- l-let go of me you aft-“ just as knockout finished Thundercracker pulled the purple seeker back a little giving the doc enough room to turn around face blazing blue and his vents stirring. “Skywarp- that wasn’t the plan-“ TC hissed “I know- but he’s just so- so fuckable-“ Sky whined making the blue seeker smack him in the back of the head. Knockouts head turns to face Thundercracker now. “Plan?- what plan?-“ he says trying to sit up before the blue seeker gently pushes him back down, being careful as to not scratch his paint and K.O noticed this. Skywarp only grumbled and rubbed the back of his head as Thundercracker pulled knockout up off the berth gently and carefully checked them over, apparently Thundercracker was very observant and realized K.O. Prioritized his clean finish and wanted to check for damage, how sweet. This led to the medic thinking over the pass few minutes of what just happened and what it was possibly going to lead to making him weigh the pros and cons (teehee cons-) he turned his face towards the blue seeker who still seemed to be checking him over before grabbing their servos and pulling them forward and giving the bulky seeker a soft kiss. Thundercrackers fans made a hitching sound before his wings shifted down as he carefully grabbed their medics waist bringing him closer to himself. Skywarps wings flared up as his faceplate became hot, is he seeing what he thinks he’s seeing?? No, this is not fair- the purple seeker growls before getting behind knockout and pushing himself against their back and grabbing onto their hips while applying some heavy pressure making the smaller gasp into their kiss with TC, seeing this as opportunity Thundercracker pushed his glossia into their mouth while practically pinning them against skywarp. Starscream was able to hear everything, faceplate red before he turned around on the berth only to see his trine pinning their medic against eachother and rubbing their servos all over them only to realize that knockouts modesty panel was already gone and Skywarps digits were already deep inside the moaning mess of a doctor, his wings twitched as Thundercracker noticed his stare before chuckling and pulling knockout towards star making sky’s digits leave the medic which in turn made them whine. Thundercracker stared at Star before Star realized and removed his own modesty panel letting his spike free. The blue seeker carefully lifted K.O before making the medic straddle Starscreams waist, knockout looked down as his faceplate became more hot before adjusting his position and pushing Starscream inside making his legs shake, Skywarp being the menace he is grabbed knockouts shoulders and pushed the medic down fast making Star choke up a moan and the medic cry out a pleasured yelp. Moments later it’s nothing but moan after moan coming from everyone of them, Skywarp has his spike deep in knockouts valve as the medic tries his best to clean Starscreams spike all while he uses his own spike to please the big blue seekers valve. What a day to be a seeker.

[wordy-little-witch]

Buggy brainrot-

I spent a few hours today in the EER with mama and had to distract myself Somehow so you get my silly lil snippets of music video stories in my head-

Buggy accidentally seduces a bunch of people and doesn't even NOTICE because of his special brand of oblivious survival rizz

Basically during the 2 year skip where he gets named a Warlord, he does in fact attend a meeting or a few. The first one, he's a mix of audacious loudmouth show boating and critical assessing eyes.

By the second one he's decently comfortable with knowing the names and faces of his vicinity - he's plotting and he's got more than a few cards, knifes, and other items up his sleeves.

At some point, the meeting goes from relatively calm to absolutely hog fucking wild and somehow, someway, someone's belonging winds up damn near launched into the upper rafters of the room. There's a strict No Devil Fruit policy, enforced by a seastone earring, so while the arguments and in-fighting ensue, Buggy just kind of scoffs, walks put, comes back with a pole, jams it into the broken tiled flooring and proceeds to ignore them while he climbs. Pole art isn't too terribly different from his aerials and trapeze, and he's done just about EVERYTHING under the sun at last once, so it's nothing unfamiliar. His gloves are uniquely textured so he can safely handle his Muggy and Buggy Balls, too, so carefully using his momentum and muscles to climb and shift up the pole smoothly is a pretty simple matter.

He gets to the top, hooks his legs and feet properly, and twists his spine to reach out, unaware of the sets of eyes boring into him.

Mihawk is stone faced, but there is a heat to his gaze. Doffy's sunglasses have slipped down his nose a little. Kuma is pointedly Not Looking. Hancock is... frankly pretending to be uninterested but lowkey is staring. Buggy is oblivious, retrieves the hat or sash or earring, whatever it was, and shifts his weight, releases a hold and smoothly drops, stopping just before the floor to daintily rise, sashay over, and plopped the item on the table, fixing his gloves.

It's the silence that has him looking up, arching a brow. "What?"

Then he sees the time.

"Oh. Meeting's over. Bye~"

And baby boy DIPS.

(Nickelback - Midnight Queen)

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Shanks POV post-Rogers-disbanding, pre-Execution, the cabin brats solo on the seas

He's watching Buggy charm the absolute hell out of a guy at a bar in some no name little town. They've been landlocked for nearing a week now, their previous ship shot to hell by a pirate crew hounding their tail after they'd been sighted some three islands back. The ship held together long enough to pull a full miracle put of nowhere, helped along by a storm. Since then, they'd been gathering cash to pay off her repairs to keep moving, unwilling to part with Speed after all she'd done for them so far.

One source of income came from Buggy's silver tongue and sticky fingers.

The blue haired pirate was leaning over the counter now, twirling a loose lock of hair as he giggled, fluttering his lashes. The man he was buttering up was a few years their senior, bejeweled and slicked hair, a flush of intoxication on his cheeks as he warmly regarded the pretty thing at his side. Shanks could relate, at least a little, on the way the man's attention was focused so thoroughly on Buggy.

Pink tinted lips quirked into a smile, head tilting invitingly, to which the man responded as expected. He was under the blue haired pirate's spell already - Shanks checked the time - three minutes in. Not a new record, but close.

He wasn't sure how to feel about it all, honestly. It was not jealousy, not truly, that curdled his stomach. Instead, something bloomed viciously in his abdomen, something akin to possessiveness. Sure, he figured absently, people can find Buggy pretty in his disguise.

But Shanks was the one who saw his entirety.

Shanks saw the tan lines on pale skin; Shanks knew the taste of his freckles and skin; Shanks knew the scars on his left hip and between his shoulder blades; Shanks could map Buggy's face from memory with lips alone, and he damn well knew it.

The world can be played by Buggy, but Shanks would know the game.

And an hour later, outside of that little bar, he would welcome the smaller body leaning unflinchingly into his side, arm around the other's shoulders, heart full and his lover's pockets heavy, and Shanks would look back, would meet wide, dark eyes with a pink smudge on his chin. And Shanks would grin, sharp and unrepentant, turning to guide those same pink lips up to his own.

He's wear his boyfriend's lipstick with pride.

((NEFFEX - Rumors))

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Buggy wears skirts whenever the fancy strikes, and sometimes it works perfectly for parties. He'll be the first to say that people who don't love dancing in skirts have never tried it before. While his fashion tastes aren't always expected, he revealed in the freedom there - and his crew thrived in such environments.

That was why he hadn't thought to make a big deal out of the first skirt day since Cross Guild was established. It simply WAS, in the same way as the weather, the same way as the meal plans, simply just footnotes in it all. He'd gone most of the day without seeing the two newest additions to the island, and frankly had forgotten to be vigilant of them.

It was a good day, a new shipment, a celebration, nothing too extravagant, just a fun night with his people. Really, Buggy hadn't even thought to glance up for yellow or violet eyes.

The crew was boisterous, but that was normal, music playing and laughter ringing. Buggy was sandwiched between Alvida and Marianne, a newer islander from a small island out East. The dialect there was unfamiliar by and large, but Buggy had grown up learning it from a man he considered a father, and Mari had so few who spoke her mother tongue.

Buggy simply had the idea to make tonight Extra fun.

After all, nobody partied like a Roger, and Roger always had the best songs. Bugs wasn't too bad with a fiddle. When asked, Mari beamed, no slouch herself, and offered to take the lead.

So they took to the stage, each swiping an instrument with playful glares, and heels tapped the rhythm as they began, hop-skipping as they bobbed and weaved, clapping joining as people whooped and hollered, making merry and enjoying themselves.

It was midway through that Buggy was caught playfully, fiddle lifted as one of the older mercenaries bowed him out, picking up the tune. He laughed happily, hands fisting his skirts as he twirled and danced, thoroughly enjoying himself-

And then he caught sight of Mihawk. He was watching, an odd note in his eyes, and Buggy could just barely see the way the other seemed to lean into the music. Fueled by a wild idea, high on the adrenaline and joy, Buggy walked over and offered his hand.

And Mihawk accepted.

He was a great dancer, and Buggy was delighted to be lead in a familiar dance, beaming boldly at the goth man before him. Traditional dances like this were few and far between - it only made them more fun.

That night began a change - first of which culminating into Mihawk fluffing Buggy's skirt with an almost-smile, a quiet statement following. "I should quite like to do this again some time."

Buggy only realizes later what that implied.

((Celtic Woman - Níl Sé'n Lá))

[shroombell]

sunny and sides binary stars au pt.3 Praxus

bluestreak incoming :3 pt 3 of my aerial sparks apocalyptic cybertron with sunny and sides au called the Binary Stars au <3 (not in plot order) sunny is watchful of their surroundings even as sideswipe dances down the ruined streets of Praxus. A certain Praxian sniper is out of sunny's range tho >:)

pt 1 Vos pt 2 Tarn

bluestreak is an autobot, rescued just after the bombing of Praxus as a bitlet just about to get his adult upgrades (hes slightly older than sunny and sides in this au). currently, he is on a mission to scout out his former home to find any leftover resources or survivors/scavengers, as unlikely as that is, until he comes across a strange set of a yellow and red mech. autobot command advises for him to accompany them when they invite him on their travels... but it seems like sunstreaker and sideswipe have a dislike for both decepticons and autobots so Bluestreak will have to pretend he is a fellow neutral. No secret can be kept forever though.

tiny snippet i wrote before drawing this scene under the cut!

Sideswipe's giggles echoed from building to building, even as most of them were now husks once apart of the bustling street this used to be. Sunstreaker felt a pang of regret they weren't able to see it in its full glory, before the bombing of Praxus, like Sideswipe had so desperately wanted but better late than never.

His red twin was twirling through the abandoned and desolate street like he was performing to an imaginary audience, or maybe the ghosts of the many greyed out frames that still lay beneath all the wreckage. Sunstreaker wanted to protest at the loud noises Sideswipe made without concern of attracting the beasts that could be prowling nearby, but as always, he couldn't bring himself to interrupt his brother's happy mood.

A few scratches on his finish from the inevitable fight was an acceptable sacrifice for Sideswipe's happiness.

[ore-ion]

i have finished a snippet from Helion and Pacificus' lore :D!

Close-up:

Lore is under the cut;

- This is probably a few [a lot of] centuries after these two got separated from the crash landing and Helion being recently repaired by a small group of scientists, he hasn't been online for long compared to the other bots on earth. Pacificus, being ever so worried about the small crew he had, has definitely checked up on the other bots that are still left on earth (in their defence, they also didn't want to go back to cybertron, mind you, they left before that one time Zeta tried to use the bots in Nyon as fuel to a fire.) Not the best memories, even in peacetime.

- His alt mode at the time he saw Helion again was a Typhoon class submarine.

- For being a former Starship you'd think Pax would atleast have a little bit of grace when landing and appearing to his crew, but no. he broke the Antarctic ice sheet and left a giant hole. Not like anyone minds about that, except for Helion. He is still miffed about that hole.

- Heli definitely doesn't hate him, not really, he can't. these two just bicker a lot that it's just hilariously silly. if something pissed either one of them off, they'll tell it to the other, and now you have 2 pissed off bots.

Design and lore notes:

Pax/ Pacificus' alt is usually either a big submarine nearing and/or similar in size as the Belgorod submarine, and occasionally an Aircraft carrier ship. He's changed alt modes often to keep away from being a target in case his small crew needs him for transport. There's also that one time he had a purple Cruise ship alt mode.

Pacificus ALWAYS chooses an earth aquatic transportation vessel as an alt mode, he does keep his former Starship alt but never the dire need to use it. However, he does have giant flight engines and can take an aerial alt mode anytime.

As a bot considered as a Titan, he's definitely on the smaller size. Earth comparison to his full Cybertronian Starship size would be the ISS, a little bit bigger than the ISS. He's his own ship, but he had smaller spaceships bonded to him as extra engine support and smaller carrier ships. Most of them left to their own directions while Pacificus' crew was en route to earth.

As most cybertronians do, Pax runs on mainly energon (most efficient, long lasting), however, for being a multipurpose transport starship designed to carry bots to far places with the possibility of no available energy sources, he can adjust his engines to run on any carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen based chemicals. Jet fuel and Hydrogen lasts him a while, and as an aquatic vessel, he has a system to turn sea water into Hydrogen!

[side note: as is Helion having built with a cryocooler and 2 Nitrogen engines (thus why he's cold and has Nitrogen reserves) Pacificus has multiple Nitrogen engines much larger than Helion's and mainly used for emergency power. yes, he can run on nitrogen too, hell, he filters it himself from the sea.]

[kachikirby]

NEW SD GUNDAM GAIDEN WORK HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED

So, first is the little intro about this work. It's a new entry banner called SD Gundam Gaiden NEO. (The Knight Gundam series is separated into different banners that each series falls under. The previous one was New Testament SD Gundam Gaiden.)

The motif for this series is the 2022 Gundam series Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.

The title of this first entry is "The Forbidden Magic" and this first arc is "Shrine Maiden of the Dragon God".

I'll be translating stuff from the snippet on the P-Bandai page. (VPN needed to access it from outside Japan)

STORY

Many years ago, the Benerit Clan wiped out the Dragon Village. However, some villagers, mainly children, were able to flee into the deep forest. It has been said that mysterious magic since ancient times has been hidden there…

In the Benerit Clan, which destroyed the Dragon Village and built a city in the remaining wasteland, a struggle for supremacy was underway among the young chiefs of the three families. The control of that power spread to the surrounding area, and the people of the Dragon Village are once again discovered by the Benerit Clan.

Under orders from the head chief, Delling, the elites of the three families approached the silent forest…

CARD LIST

In numbered order: (1-01, 1-02, 1-03, and so on.)

Knight Gundam Lfrith VS Knight Beguir-Beu

Knight Gundam Lfrith

Knight Gundam Lfrith Jr.

Elder Cardo

Warrior Nadim

Summoner Elnora

Soldier Heingra

Knight Beguir-Beu

Magic Knight Aerial

Mage Suletta

Summoner Prospera

Spirit Spirit Geist

Spirit IceBurn

Sprit Ericht

Shrine Maiden Miorine

Warrior Demi Trainer

Hunter Demi Trainer

Hunter Keinanji

Hunter Chuchu

Blacksmith Nika

Shopkeeper Martin

Waitress Lilique, Aliya

Monster Goblin Kapell-Kuu

Monster Orc Clibarri

Monster Bear Azrawan

Monster Killer Hosler II

Soldier Demi Garrison

Warrior Dilanza

Fencer Heindree

Mage Zowort

Noble Knight Dilanza

Noble Knight Michaelis

Noble Knight Gundam Pharact

Monster Pharact Dragon

Noble Knight Guel

Noble Knight Shaddiq

Noble Knight Elan

Chief Delling

Shaman Nugen, Kal, Nevola, Golneri

Item - Shrine Maiden's Tomato

Revealed Individual Card Translations

Magic Knight Gundam Aerial

"Water, Fire, lend me your strength! Magic Sword Gunbit Rondo!"

Welder of the Magic Sword Escutcheon

Mage Suletta

"If you move forward you gain two, if you run you gain one...I-I'll protect you!"

Dragon Village Mage

Shrine Maiden Miorine

"I made this tomato. Eat this, and you'll definitely win!"

Shrine maiden who worships the dragon

Noble Knight Dilanza

"I'll correct the ignorance of these hicks!"

Unites the Warriors of the Benerit Clan's Jeturk Family

Noble Knight Guel

"I'll get the priestess, I'll get the chief's position, I'll get it all, I'll show you!"

Benerit Clan, Next Head of the Jeturk Family

Noble Knight Gundam Pharact

"I can expose your true form."

Unites the Mages of the Benerit Clan's Peil Family

Noble Knight Elan

"I'd like to hear more about you."

Benerit Clan, Next Head of the Peil Family

Noble Knight Michaelis

"The dragon's shrine maiden is still alive? This is getting interesting."

Unites the Fencers of the Benerit Clan's Grasley Family

Noble Knight Shaddiq

"If you're a survivor of that village, I won't leave you alone."

Benerit Clan, Next Head of the Grasley Family

Additional art

Current Thoughts

I hope these aren't the final card artwork because it looks a bit bland with the default silver background. The ones with gradient look a bit better, but they are nowhere near as the fully rendered backgrounds in New Testament or previous works.

They do not give a gender, but I feel like Aerial is male here and idk how to feel about it. The card list does mention Ericht separately as a spirit, so that kind of alleviates my concerns. I just don't know how to feel about it.

The first chapter is Shrine Maiden of the Dragon God, which likely refers to Mio.

One of the spirits is Spirit Geist, which is one of Roux's main summoned Spirits in Kikoushin Densetsu, which makes me think this is in the Dabat Kingdom, but at the same time, I'm not sure since we've yet to learn where and when in the SD Gundam Gaiden timeline this takes place in.

It would make sense to have a story that takes place in that kingdom's area, since Seikihei Monogatari is the only one whose yet to have a post-Saddrac Knight Saga era work connected to it.

[ginneke]

for the writer asks: 💥

💥 Is there a chapter, scene, or WIP you're most excited to write? Share a snippet or tell us about it!

...How about a two-for-one type deal to try to trick myself into writing them?

—

First is from Feelings That I've Known In Paradox - an AU blending botw and oot together with influences from other sources (e.g. steins;gate). In (brief) summary: Befriending the childhood version of the always-angry guy who's nonetheless one of Zelda's closest allies isn't vital to Link's job of trying to avert a bad future, but it seems like a good idea at the time....

To borrow a turn of phrase, though, it's all fun and games until someone loses [redacted].

-

He chattered on about the things he cared most about �� like flying, which he thought even forest fairies must be able to appreciate. Those pink meadow fairies he'd occasionally glimpsed had wings, so why wouldn't these guys? And if they didn't, well, Revali could at least share a bit of the sky with them through stories, which was very generous of him. They should be grateful.

Naturally, talk of flying soon led to his favourite topic of all—archery—and how Revali was almost ready to officially take lessons in the Rito tribe's aerial techniques, if his skills were judged up to par. He felt quite certain they would be. After all, Revali had an advantage the other kids didn't have.

And that inevitably brought the topic round to...

"He was so annoying! Always showing up when I was trying to concentrate, always getting in my way — and whenever I tried asking what he wanted he just got this look like... Like I'd shouted at him or something."

...Okay, on reflection he might have shouted a little bit, the third time.

—

Second extract is from nebulas and novas (and night sky), the sensible and thematically appropriate name for what can otherwise be called Moonlight!Revalink Road Trip Part Two: Electric Boogaloo

-

"We named it the Kestrel Bow," Revali says as Link nocks an arrow to the string and tests the draw. The grip fits his hand perfectly, the way that Revali's Great Eagle Bow never did. "It seemed fitting, as you're—"

"—'Always hovering around'," Link finishes, before Revali can get the words out.

—

Want to send me an ask? Questions here: [link]

[perpetualdaydreamerr]

Upon the Eternal Shore: An EPIC the Musical Fanfiction (Chapter 5)

Snippets of the 7 years Odysseus spent with Calypso.

---

CONTENT WARNING: heavily implied r*pe, non-con, victim-blaming, emotional abuse, PTSD, descriptions of violence. Please consider before reading.

---

Day 705

-

The majority of Odysseus’ days recently had been spent remeasuring the cliffside. He had long since accepted that this would be one of the more inexact parts of the map, given the impossibility of properly measuring and recording the jagged rocks and steep overlook above them. For one thing, he had been entirely unsuccessful maneuvering his log in between the stones. They were far too uneven- and his aerial view from the cliffside itself offered a decent enough idea of what it looked like from above. Enough to etch it in, anyways. But recently, he'd designed a more flexible measuring system. A series of rope, tied together in a net. Every square measured a half-log by half-log. It was hard to maneuver, harder to keep straight- but it was much more flexible for certain landscapes. It helped him clean up his depiction of the river’s bend, and it was a new tool for his ever growing arsenal.

Today was a break from the rocks. Instead, he'd taken to extending his hand dug-perimeter so that it cut through the center of the island. He was partially concerned that his measurements were off- resulting in his lack of progress. Forming a center line would at least give him another point of reference. Still, it would take hundreds of holes, each a few logs apart. Weeks of work.

The sun was slowly melting down the sky when he finally allowed himself an opportunity to rest for the day. Digging was always especially hard on the body- and he'd been doing it with such a ferocity that he'd practically blinded himself to just how bad the pain had gotten. His back was rigid and achy, his hands practically numb to sensation.

He fetched his map from nearby and allowed himself to sit down. The gentle breeze of the island tugged at the smallest of tears at the corner of the page. He peered down, letting out a slow exhale.

He let his eyes close for a moment. He was so very tired. He recalled an afternoon in Ithaca, when he'd helped lay the foundation for Penelope's garden outside of the palace. It had been meticulous work, ensuring every paver was completely level. He remembered looking down at his hands coated in calluses and caked in mud- how proud he had felt. It had been an honor to dirty his hands for her- to use his own sweat and labor to bring her joy. He had planted her the most beautiful orchids in the world.

The orchids on Ogygia brought him no such joy. As his eyes fell on the small representative feature on the map, he felt nothing more pleasant than utter indifference.

But as he stared at the symbol, he felt his chest grow tense. The garden, sketched in by his very own hand, seemed to form the letter “T”. It was hard to see at first. The end of the letter was spindly and faint, where the flowers ended at a stream’s edge. But sure enough- the flowers formed the shape of a long line, cut through by a shorter one.

His breath hitched. He bent over, narrowing his eyes at the paper.

Above it, to the left, the edge of a forest- an “L”. Unmistakably! A long, thin stretch apart from the rest of the forest by a few log measures, separated distinctly by a pathway. He hadn't considered it before, had naively overlooked it, but he saw it now.

Excitement grew in his stomach as he continued on, sprawling over the papyrus. Where a small bridge crossed over the river, an “X”. Where the river dipped down, a “U”.

“XLTU”. It didn't mean anything, not yet. He was missing letters, neglecting them somewhere. He felt his heart begin to race in his chest, beating so loudly it interrupted his thoughts. “P”, where the spring was- if one counted the road next to it. “P” for Penelope, he was so close to her, now. And an “H” beside it, the shape of a valley in between the hills. “E”- the jagged shape of the cliffside, jutting in and out. It was becoming so clear, now. He just hadn't seen it. He'd been too tired, too distracted to see it before.

“XLTUPHE”. Incoherent still, but closer. He could feel it, deep within his gut.

He wrote the letters in the sand, hands trembling. Something was still off. The “P”- perhaps a “T”, instead. The road, ignoring the spring. XLTUTHE

He sat the paper down on the sand, terrified he'd accidentally tear it.

Another “E”- the contour of the sand along the grass in the northwest- and another where Calypso grew fruit trees. The “U”, nonexistent- the river dipped too much, too unevenly to count it. He scribbled out his letters in the sand as he continued, writing out the new approximation.

“EXELTTHE”

He felt the air leave his lungs. EXELTHE. One extra T, but that was no matter, he'd contrived another by mistake. It said EXELTHE, clear as day, hidden in the contour of the landscape. “Exelthe”. “Go forth”. A command. A simple, but now painfully obvious solution. The answer. The key.

He could hardly catch his breath. Joy rushed into his body like a tide. The gods had been testing him for years- but he'd proven himself worthy, yet again. His wit had cracked the puzzle of Ogygia. He had won.

A laugh bubbled in his chest, trembled out of his lips. He'd done it. He snatched the map from the ground, quivering with anticipation. He attempted to stand up so quickly that his heel slipped in the sand and he fell. He laughed at the error- effortlessly laughed for the first time in years.

“Calypso!” He cried out, glee married to his voice as he sprinted through the sand. She was further down the beach, still in eyesight, preparing supper over the fire. His vision blurred as he kicked up the sand behind himself, holding the map like a fragile vase he was afraid to break.

He trembled with excitement as he ran towards her. A grin crawled across his face, pure delight rippling through his chest. “Calypso!” He cried again.

“Odysseus?” Calypso greeted him, standing and turning from the fire in front of her. She looked perplexed by his expression- by the look on his face, but he didn't give her the time to question it.

“I did it!” He announced feverishly, holding the map forward proudly. “It was a game- always just a game! And I solved it, Calypso!”

She looked back at him, feigning confusion. He laughed. “Don't play dumb- exelthe!” he said, pointing to the “L” of trees. “There's the L- and the T- I found all of letters-” he squinted, trying to remember where the second “E” had been hiding. “But I found it- see- there's the E!” He traced the letters where he found them, looking up occasionally to see her face. For once, he wanted to see her face.

“What are you talking about?” She asked carefully, her face contorted into a frown.

“You aren't looking at the map-” he tsked, shaking his head quickly. “Look- look, Calypso- it spells ‘exelthe’- now you have to say it!”

“What?” She narrowed her eyes at the papyrus. She bent her head down. She was playing him for a fool, hoping he hadn't really found the puzzle.

“Say it!” Odysseus insisted, his voice raising in volume, every word trembling out of his lips. “Say it! Say ‘exelthe’! SAY IT!” He was yelling now. He couldn't help himself. His entire body shook wildly.

She didn't say anything at all. Her eyes only met his’ again, big and sad. She looked as though she finally understood something. She looked as if she wished she didn't.

But she was cheating. He'd won, and she was refusing to admit it. He reached out, grabbed her wrist, yanked it desperately. “You're not saying it, because it'll let me go! It'll let me go home! I figured it out fair and square, Calypso! Say it, and- and I can go! It's too perfect! Look, it says it right there!” He shook the map in his hand, gripping her wrist tighter yet. “You're just not looking at it right, tilt your head-” he moved his other hand, took hold of her jaw, shifted the map.

She didn't respond. Tears welled in her eyes, but her tongue remained mute. She didn't pull away.

“You put those damn letters there!” Odysseus cried, his voice raising an octave. “You left that message, and now you want to take it back because I figured it out! Say it, damnit!” He dropped the map, took hold of her shoulders, shook her.

Calypso’s voice was cautionary and soft. “...I can say ‘exelthe’ if it pleases you, Odysseus-” His breath hitched when the word left her mouth. The code word- the solution- spoken by the goddess herself. He looked around wildly for some consequence of it. A ship, or a clearing in the water, or some sort of sign. The sun glistened the way it always did. The clouds looked all the same. It was the all too familiar island, without change. “...But there's no… puzzle here. There's no game. You haven't found anything. Whatever you’ve created in your mind- it's not… real.”

He let go of her shoulders. He picked up the map. His vision blurred. The world felt as though it was slowly tipping- tipping over. He tried to find the letters again. They weren't as clear, now.

“It's not… real?” he repeated softly. “It's not… You're just saying that, aren't you? You're just tricking me…?” The enthusiasm in his voice had died. He looked back at her, wide eyed and pleading.

“I swear it by Zeus, Odysseus,” she said carefully. A vow. “It’s not a trick.”

A short, cough of a laugh escaped his throat. It wasn't real. Any of it. Any of the patterns he'd found had been merely coincidence or contrived. It was just a map. A highly detailed, pointless map.

“There's no answer.” His words came out in a rasp. His hands trembled on the papyrus. His knees sank into the ground before he realized he was falling.

A shrill, guttural eruption tore through his throat. His own voice echoed in his ears, burning with agony. His hands clutched the papyrus and gripped it- tearing it down through the middle. It was useless. Useless. There was no solution, no letters. He felt the lick of the campfire on the back of his hands- tasted the heat. He turned, threw the scraps into the fire.

“Odysseus-”

“It's not real!” he cried, tears choking out of his eyes, blinding him, spilling down his face. “None of it’s real!” He lunged for the stack of maps sitting against the tree. It never rained, they never soiled.

He threw one after the other into the fire. He screamed again. His body heaved back and forth, like a ship caught in a storm.

He watched every one of them burn. Ink, papyrus, weeks, months, years, curling into ash. The letters that have never existed, the hope he'd forced into existence, disappearing in a matter of seconds. The fire roared, devoured them. He only stopped screaming when his throat could no longer force a sound.

-

Link to other chapters

[lurking-latinist]

When I read enough easily-crossed-over stories, such as for instance all of these boat and boat-adjacent books, what inevitably happens is I end up with a nebulous meta crossover setting where they can all hang out outside of their respective canons, because I have spent far too much time in This Time Round.

Also I was thinking about that post I made about how Aubrey and Laurence are not that similar actually, and speculating that if Aubrey had (in an equivalent situation) taken the cure to France he wouldn't have spent the next however many books regretting everything, he'd come around a lot quicker to just owning it.

That's not what happens in this snippet but I did write a snippet from the nebulous meta crossover setting, see below. I am terribly afraid it is wildly out of character but I actually don't think it is.

Edit: Now on the Archive.

****

“So you are Laurence,” observed the big post-captain, accurately; “the lunatic who gave up the Reliant to go flying about in the air. Aubrey, in Surprise.”

Laurence looked at the other man’s extended hand for a moment as if it were a foreign object. He took it and felt his own hand vigorously shaken. “That’s what you object to?” he said, unforgivably blunt, but he had not expected such a greeting, not now, not from anyone in that uniform. Some of the spacefarers had been kind, but he found the nature of their service still more disconcerting than the Aerial Corps had once been.

“Object? Why, you must do as you see fit,” said Aubrey, puzzled, and then his face cleared. “Oh, that. I own Dr Maturin—my particular friend, a physical gentleman—” (he nodded across the room towards a small dark man in a shocking old wig, deep in conversation with one of the starship physicians, who was distinguished by a sky-blue jumper which evidently passed for a uniform) “I own I did not see just how it was, till he explained it to me. I am only sorry to hear the Government should have behaved like such very mere scrubs.”

“So I thought,” said Laurence, quietly. “And yet I fear there are worse names for my own actions.”

“None to be used in this company. Now come,” said Aubrey, sweeping him along to a table, “tell me how you navigate, seeing there is a vertical component….”

****

[NOTES: a. In fact Jack and Stephen had a massive row which he's not describing; he didn't start out this OK with Laurence's treason but I think he and Stephen together would end up there, especially as it wasn't his England that got invaded as a result. b. I know Laurence comes to terms with it in the end but this is set before that. c. Stephen's new friend is Dr McCoy of Enterprise but neither of them know him yet.]