#anyways i should continue playing uranium

[sol1t41r3]

aged up

[tinyinvadr]

Hi, I am asking if you can do SpongeBob as a Tiny 4" Sponge in an AU where he's small and tinier than the rest of Bikini Bottom as well as him able to size-shift (Shapeshift) as a giant at times as well? I am such a SpongeBob and G/T Fan. I like ZIM too.

Sure thing! I don’t see SpongeBob G/t super often, so I’m always happy to contribute something different! (I’m pretty sure I’m the only person with a G/t blog that’s primarily focused on Invader Zim, ‘cause every one of my obsessions turns into G/t at some point and it all gets very specific, so, yeah)

Anyway, I decided to do the episode “F.U.N.” I changed up most of the dialogue, ‘cause I don’t really like rewriting stuff word-for-word. There are a few lines that are the same, and I left the F.U.N. Song intact, ‘cause it’s a classic, but I tried to make it my own take on the episode. I did want to write an original story, but I have a hard time coming up with ideas for SpongeBob because the show’s been on for so long and has done so much already.

F.U.N.

SpongeBob hadn’t planned on going to the Chum Bucket that day. Well, no one did. Ever. But he had a good reason to go.

It was a standard day at the Krusty Krab. Plankton stole a Krabby Patty, and SpongeBob got it back. But for the first time, the sponge noticed something different about him: insecurity.

No matter how hard he tried, he would never amount to anything ever. His restaurant would always be a failure. HE would always be a failure.

SpongeBob felt for him. He always did, though he wouldn’t admit it to Mr. Krabs. The two of them had quite a bit in common, actually. They were both small. Really small. And it’s hard to make a name for yourself when you’re small. Hard to get others to take you seriously.

But they were also quite different, in that SpongeBob was an optimist. No matter the challenges thrown his way, he would always overcome them, and he believed Plankton could too if he had that support. If he only had a friend, if only the entire town hadn’t deemed him irredeemable, he could have a chance.

And SpongeBob was determined to give it to him.

So there he stood, at the massive doors of the Chum Bucket, waiting for Plankton.

Opening the doors, the tiny owner of the Chum Bucket was met with the equally tiny sponge.

“Oh. It’s you.” He sighed. “Haven’t you tormented me enough?”

“No. I mean, I was wondering if you wanted to come out and play with me.” SpongeBob replied.

“What!? No!” Plankton immediately slammed the door, but SpongeBob stayed there. He wouldn’t give up that easily.

After a minute, Plankton opened the door again.

“Alright, SpongeBob. I’ll comply. What exactly are we doing?”

The sponge was overcome with excitement. Instead of giving him a proper answer, he just wrapped Plankton in a tight hug.

“You have three seconds to let go of me.” Plankton stated, unamused.

SpongeBob let go and backed off, but he couldn’t stop smiling. They were finally making progress! He could turn an enemy into a friend!

So the two of them walked all the way to Jellyfish Fields, where the sponge would introduce his newest friend to one of his favorite activities: riding jellyfish.

“I don’t see the point of this. Why would I want to ride around on an electric blob if it’s not being used to destroy my enemies?” Plankton asked.

“Because it’s fun!” SpongeBob exclaimed, already seated on top of a jellyfish and holding on tight as it swam in loop-de-loops.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Plankton asked, rolling his eye.

The jellyfish dropped SpongeBob off on the grass beside Plankton, and he was left at a standstill. Fun? He’s never had to explain that before. It seemed pretty self explanatory. But with how lonely and hated he was, it was only reasonable that Plankton never experienced fun.

“Well... it’s kind of... sort of like... let me spell it for you.”

“F is for friends who do stuff together! U is for you and me! N is for anywhere, anytime at all! Down here in the deep blue sea!”

Though at first unsure how to react to the spontaneous musical number, Plankton quickly chimed in.

“F is for fire that burns down the whole town! U is for uranium! Bombs! N is for no survivors! WHEN YOU-“

“Plankton! Those things aren’t what fun is all about.” SpongeBob interrupted. “Let me help you.” He took Plankton’s stubby little hands and started to dance with him.

“F is for friends who do stuff together! U is for you and me! Try it!”

“N is for anywhere, anytime at all! Down here in the deep blue sea!”

Just from briefly dancing, Plankton looked exhausted, so SpongeBob let go of his hands. “I... I don’t understand this. Why do I feel all tingly inside? Should we stop?”

The sponge chuckled. “No, that’s how you’re supposed to feel!” He caught the slightest trace of a smile on his new friend’s face, and soon, it was a full-fledged grin.

“Well, I like it! Let’s do it again!”

“F is for frolic through all the flowers! U is for ukulele! N is for nose-picking, sharing gum, and sand licking, here with my best buddy! Ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

After a day of fun, the two parted ways. The next day, SpongeBob went into work, where his boss, Mr. Krabs, was waiting for him.

“SpongeBob, I need to talk to ya.” The crab lifted the tiny sponge up with his claw and set him down on the nearest table.

“What’s the problem, Mr. K?” SpongeBob asked.

“Look, son. I saw you and Plankton at Jellyfish Fields yesterday. I understand that you want to help, but I know him. He’s sneaky, he’s manipulative, and he’s after me secret recipe.”

“Mr. Krabs, I really think he’s changed. We had so much fun yesterday, I don’t think he could’ve faked that.”

At that moment, Plankton entered the Krusty Krab. Mr. Krabs glared at him from across the room, then went back into the kitchen.

“SpongeBuddy, are we still going to the movies?” Plankton asked.

“Of course!” SpongeBob replied cheerfully, looking down at Plankton from his perch upon the table.

The small green creature made his way towards the pulley-powered elevator that was attached to each table. Certain accommodations had to be made in order for the miniature sponge fry cook to do his job, so elevators were a staple.

Mr. Krabs quickly returned from the kitchen, his claws suspiciously concealed behind his back. “Before you go, I thought I’d offer your good friend something, if he’s interested...”

He revealed that he was holding a plate with a freshly made Krabby Patty on it, and placed it on the table, right beside Plankton.

“No, thanks. We’re getting popcorn.” He replied, shaking his head.

The crab continued to glare at him, waiting for him to make his next move, but Plankton just stood there.

“Well, we’re leaving now! See ya later, Mr. Krabs!” SpongeBob announced as he escorted Plankton back to the elevator. As they left the restaurant, the sponge glanced back at his boss as he let out a disappointed sigh. Though he did feel the slightest bit guilty for befriending Mr. Krabs’ worst enemy, he knew it was the right thing to do.

The two of them arrived at the movie theater, and got the biggest box of popcorn at the concessions stand. Due to their size, they were able to share one seat. Though really, their seat was the edge of the popcorn box, which was seated upon the actual theater chair.

Everything was fine. Well, except for when Bubble Bass sat on them, but he got back up right away to go after the spilled popcorn.

Then, everything changed.

The movie suddenly stopped, and on the screen, the shadow of Mr. Krabs was being projected.

“Listen up! He’s deceiving ya! Reach into his pocket now and take what he’s got!”

SpongeBob and Plankton exchanged glances, neither of them sure what was happening.

“I’m talking to you, SpongeBob!”

Reluctantly, he did as he was told, only to find that somehow, Plankton did steal the Krabby Patty after all.

“What? Plankton, I... I thought you changed! I thought... we were friends...”

The sponge began to cry, which only meant one thing. Normally he was very small, but whenever he cried, SpongeBob absorbed his own tears, causing him to grow to massive proportions.

It was a well known fact that SpongeBob had the tendency to expand, what with how absorbent he was, and no one was particularly threatened by him, due to his kind and friendly nature, but it was still a major inconvenience, especially when this happened indoors.

“Plankton... why would you lie to me?” SpongeBob asked in a soft whimper.

Suddenly, Plankton began to cry as well.

“I’m sorry! I used you to get the Krabby Patty! But now that I have you as a friend...”

SpongeBob wiped his tears. Plankton was really about to give up the Krabby Patty, the sandwich he’d been trying to steal for his restaurant all this time, for the sake of their friendship.

“It changes NOTHING!”

Letting out an evil laugh, the tiny green villain ran off with the Krabby Patty, ripping right through the movie screen.

After calming down, the sponge reverted back to his default form, and Mr. Krabs met him at his seat.

“Mr. Krabs... I’m sorry. It’s my fault he got the Krabby Patty.”

To SpongeBob’s surprise, his boss smiled, and lifted him off the seat. “It’s alright, lad. You had the right intentions. Anyway, Plankton didn’t get away. Don’t you know what’s behind these screens?”

Mr. Krabs walked over to the screen and pulled it aside at the rip, revealing that Plankton and the Krabby Patty slammed right into the wall behind it.

“Solid concrete!”

Plankton stepped away from the wall, stumbling around in a daze. “You’ll pay for this, Krabs.” He mumbled.

“You know, SpongeBob? Maybe you should keep trying to be his friend. It keeps him confused.”

Maybe one day he would change, but SpongeBob learned that day that you can’t expect progress that quickly, no matter how catchy the song is.

[leverage-ot3]

notable moments from The Rundown Job

leverage 5.09

the HEART EYES in parker and eliot’s eyes as they watch hardison crack the code of the vault is my religion

- - - - -

Hardison: Kiss for luck?

Parker: Who needs luck?

confident baby

- - - - -

(Parker begins doing elaborate moves and turns to get through the lasers, quickly reaching the far wall)

Hardison: I never get tired of that

THE HANDSHAKE BETWEEN HARDISON AND ELIOT BC THEY LOVE THEIR BADASS GIRLFRIEND

- - - - -

Parker (opens a case to reveal it is full of diamonds): Oh! Bup-bup.

(Eliot snaps at Parker to get her attention)

Hardison: Eight new schools. Okay, take care, sister Agnes. (hangs up)

(Parker closes the case and gives it to Eliot for mailing as Hardison dials the phone)

Hardison: Hey, Nate, we’re done in D.C. We’re flying back tomorrow. See you.

Parker: They’re so shiny. Couldn’t I have just kept one?

Hardison: Road to redemption, Parker. Just think how good it’s gonna feel when you get that Christmas card from those orphans. Hell, we may even get Eliot to smile.

parker deserves all the shiny things

“the road to redemption” THEY CHANGE TOGETHER

- - - - -

Riley: Why’d you quit, anyway? (pushes button again)

Eliot: Started running with some different people...

(Riley pushes button again but it doesn’t seem to be working)

Eliot: Like a hacker...

(Hardison enters room and nods. Riley pulls a gun from his drawer and shoots toward Eliot, but the gun is empty)

Eliot: And a thief.

(Parker taps on Riley’s head. He turns. She is holding the clip and a bullet from his gun)

Parker: Click. (tosses clip and bullet on table)

eliot “I started running with some different people” spencer loves his partners and I adore that with my whole (whole) heart

- - - - -

Eliot: Good night.

(Parker stuns Riley, who slumps on the desk)

I’m glad they’re enabling her tasering obsession

- - - - -

Eliot (checks his watch): I’m gonna keep her alive. You guys find a way to get her out of here.

Hardison: With what? I…

Eliot (walks away): You stole a Michelangelo with tinfoil and chewing gum. Figure it out!

eliot is like bitch please you’re smarter than this

- - - - -

the way the three of them back up to each other, covering their backs ,,,

- - - - -

Hardison: This is a violation of my constitutional rights.

Vance: You’re Alec Hardison. You cracked the Pentagon servers when you were 12. N.S.A. has a file on you a mile long.

Hardison: Do they? What do they say about me? I hope they gave me a cool nickname.

Vance: Parker here... No file on you, which is...

(Parker appears to be sleeping)

Vance: Is she asleep?

Eliot: She bores easy. What do you got on us?

hardison probably does have a cool nickname

also I LOVE how they still have no clue about parker

+

eliot being like “she bored easy” 🤷🏼‍♀️ the MARRIEDNESS

- - - - -

Hardison: Y-you’re talking about stopping a terrorist attack in an afternoon. We’d need all your intel.

Vance: That truck back at the crime scene... It’s an N.S.A. Mobile response intelligence unit–

Hardison: With the Schneier cryptography system and the j-dam satellite uplink? That... I know nothing about, ‘cause that would be treason and wrong. (to Vance) Are you for real

hardison: I wouldn’t know anything about that because that wouLd Be TrEaSoN

- - - - -

Vance: So, you grab the truck... (moves to sit by Eliot) Hell... Your girlfriend’s already out of her cuffs.

(Parker sits up holding the handcuffs and tosses them to Vance)

...they didn’t deny that parker was eliot’s girlfriend. they didn’t bother to correct him because it is, in fact, true that she is both their girlfriends. in this essay I will-

- - - - -

Agent: No, I can’t let you in the truck.

Hardison: A gigabyte gone... your job, gone.

Agent: Security clearances.

Hardison: You’re not gonna let who...

Eliot: What are we, terrorists? Okay, that was my plan was to come here, show you a real badge that I somehow got, and then bring somebody crazy to break into a secure vehicle? We’re gonna move this down the block. He’s gonna spend about an hour doing spot-checks on databases. I showed you my badge. Man, here, take my badge. (tosses it to Agent) Call it in. I got to deal with this guy

it’s funny because it’s true

- - - - -

Hardison: It’s got every database... N.S.A., CIA, FBI. It’s got hard backdoors into most commercial systems, live feeds into every security camera on the grid. Man, if this wasn’t such a gross violation of our civil liberties, I would be in love right now.

they never stop calling out the government and I’m Here For It™

- - - - -

Parker: Where do we start?

Eliot: We start with getting you two on a plane out of here. You didn’t sign up for this. Trust me.

Hardison: And you? You’re going to handle this by yourself? Come on, she’s a lady, man. She needs the right touch. What you gonna do with your big punching hands... Punch the screens? No.

Parker: We agreed we all change. Better or worse, we change together.

Eliot (after a moment): What do they got on the gunman?

ELIOT JUST WANTS HIS PARTNERS SAFE

also,,, for better or worse, we change together??? BITCH THOSE ARE WEDDING VOWS

- - - - -

Parker: Do you know why you bring a cooler full of ice to a robbery? No? I do. Everything we need to know is in that basement. I’ll drive.

Hardison: Hold on.

Eliot: Exactly.

Hardison: No, hold on. (holds on to table)

Eliot: Oh, you... oh, hell, man (sits down in chair across from Hardison. the van horn honks twice and eliot looks around, fumbling) No seat belts up in this thing- (looks at Hardison) d-do you got a seat belt?

Hardison: No, uh-uh, hold the wall (holds the wall)

eliot and hardison being exhausted boyfriends at parker’s reckless driving, I love this song

- - - - -

Parker: How do you lose track of a whole laboratory?

Eliot: There’s over 200 tons of uranium missing from the United States nuclear storage.

Hardison: The air force lost a hydrogen bomb off the coast of Georgia.

Eliot: Countries are big things, Parker. A lot of secrets slip through the cracks.

wow I love knowing these things and having to live with it

- - - - -

Hardison: The Spanish flu killed 50 million people during World War I, and now somebody’s got it. (opens door)

Parker: Look, we can do this. Just treat it like any another job.

Hardison: This isn’t just any other job.

Eliot: All right, all right. Stay focused.

Hardison: I focused! That bug in there killed 50 million people! 50! And that was when the population was lower.

Parker: Now?

Hardison: Now? 150 million people. 150 million dead. Hey, we’re thieves, man, and we’re good at what we do, but this is way, way out of our league. And you expect us to go catch some psycho with a city killer? A country killer?

Eliot: You scared?

Hardison: You’re damn right.

(Hardison turns to enter the truck but Eliot grabs his wrist, holding him back)

Eliot: I’m not. I got the best thief And the smartest guy I know chasing this guy.

(Hardison looks at Parker, but Eliot grabs his head and pulls him back)

Eliot: Hey, listen to me. You’re smartest man I’ve ever known, Hardison. I need that brain to get me to him. ‘Cause you know if I lay my hands on him, it’s done. Get me to him. (lets Hardison go)

tHe WaY hE gRaBs HaRdiSoN’S fACE

eliot knows hardison is spiraling but he also knows how to get him out of it because he knows hardison like the back of his hand and knows how to get through to him

THEY LOVE EACH OTHER

- - - - -

there are so many good ot3 shots in this episode it brings me so much joy

- - - - -

parker climbs hardison like a T R E E to turn off that detonator as eliot provides counterbalance

- - - - -

Eliot: Did it work?

Hardison: I... I don’t know. I’m trying to get the phone speaker.

Vance (on phone): Move, move, move! Get to cover! Pull everyone back to the perimeter!

Eliot: Ohh! My boy! (hugs Hardison) That is what I’m talking about!

tHe HuG, yOuR hOnOR

- - - - -

they really be playing grand theft auto in this one

- - - - -

(Udall fires toward the trio and they dive for cover. Eliot and Parker look at each other and nod. Parker looks at Hardison)

Parker: For luck.

(Parker kisses Hardison, then she and Eliot nod at each other. Parker grabs the briefcase and runs off the train while Eliot runs toward Udall. Hardison goes after Parker, and Udall shoots Eliot in the leg. Eliot reaches Udall and punches him, knocking him out. Hardison continues after Parker, who stops and opens the briefcase)

F O R L U C K

also high key the look parker and eliot share? it had the same vibes as “we do the things that they can’t, won’t”

+

parker high key kissing hardison “for luck” but also kissing him because eliot can’t

- - - - -

Hardison: Yeah. Yeah, that’ll do... that’ll do it. (he pulls her into his arms) Don’t do that to me. I can’t lose you. Do you understand? I can’t lose you. Don’t scare me like that.

Parker: Yeah.

Hardison: I can’t

he loves her so, so much

- - - - -

Vance: Promise you’ll at least consider working with us again.

Eliot: I work with them now.

Vance: Honor among thieves?

Eliot: Something like that. (walks away)

something like that,,, HE LOVES THEM, YOUR HONOR

- - - - -

Vance: World can always use some more good guys.

Parker: Yeah, well, too bad we’re the bad guys

smh, “sometimes the bad guys are the best good guys”

- - - - -

Parker: You’re shot. You should go to the hospital.

Eliot: I don’t do hospitals. (drops crutch)

Hardison: I told you. He takes getting shot very lightly

he drops his crutch to lean on parker and hardison THIS IS NOT A DRILL

- - - - -

after watching this episode, I agree with y’all wholeheartedly that this was an ot3 GOLDMINE

edit: also, notice how much is written in pink (the colorcode for ot3 notes and meta). like, more than half of it. because LITERALLY ALL OF THIS IS OT3 MATERIAL

[mybirthstoneisemerald]

Through his songs - ETRA AU part two

"Thanks for the meal."

He was about to clean the table when Richard stopped him.

"Let me."

"Thank you." He went upstairs without looking back.

After what happened this afternoon, Seigi took the guitar, went to his room and locked himself.

Then he came out to prepare their meal. They ate in silence. Sometimes, Richard would ask someting and he would respond.

Now, He's back to his room. Alone with the guitar. He's not sure if he'll continue practicing since Richard will probably hear everything.

While he's having a debate in his mind. He heard a gentle knock outside.

Should he pretend to be asleep? No. It's still early. It's an obvious excuse for not wanting to see Richard for a while.

Wait. No. He runs his fingers through his hair. He's irritated but not to the other man but to himself for wanting to see Richard but not really.

He sighed as he stood in front of the door but not opening it yet.

"As much as I can remember, I only asked you to teach me once. Did it really upset you that much even though I'm seriously willing to learn how to play it?"

So he's not teasing—

"Maybe half of my intention was to tease you but if I really upset you then I'm sorry."

So half of his intention was to teast me. Damn it. I can't even be mad at him!

"...you don't even want to see my face."

Before even saying,'No! That's not it!" His body moved on its own and he immediately opened the door but regretted it after realizing that Richard was standing so close at the doorway making their distance inch apart.

"Whoa!!"

Seigi lost his balance and fell in his back as he tried to move backward.

Richard looked at him. The man offered his hand to help him stand.

As he was about to take the offer, he saw Richard's expression, suppressing his laugh.

He still took Richard's hand and stood up. he's not sure why he still took it. But not because he wanted to touch the man's hand. Not that reason. Probably.

"If you want to laugh, then do so." ,He looked away.

"I'll be here for three days. Then my next business will be in New York."

Sad.

His expression became confused when he saw Richard smiled.

"I told that to Jiro and Saburo and they've got the same expression just like you."

He didn't respond.

I want to see him talking with the dog. No. Not that! Accckk!

He's not sure what he's going to say. They finally see each other after being apart for almost a month and after three days. Richard will be gone again.

"Although I said business, it's actually a personal business."

He looked at him. "Is everything okay?"

More than any confusing thoughts, Richard's well being is his priority.

"I'm more concerned about you. If you want to practice but you don't want to be heard by me. I can just go to a hotel and spend my time there—"

"...but they don't have pudding." Seigi laughed after he continued what the other man is going to say.

Richard smiled, "Yes. "

He sighed, "I'm sorry for acting weird."

"I'm not really sure if I'm already on the level where I can show you what I've learned but more than that, if you are here, then I want to see you as much as possible."

...a moment of awkward silence between the two. And Seigi broke it first.

"Can you just turn around for a second while I hit my head against the wall?"

Seigi, who realized what he had said, asked Richard to turn around.

"Aren't you being stupidly honest recently?"

Seigi covered his mouth while looking away, he can feel the hotness in his face.

"Isn't it the same as before?"

"No. You're much more stupidly honest today."

"Is this because I'm lacking Vitamin U?"

He tried to use the line he saw in the internet. Let's see if Richard will get—

"Vita...what?"

"Uranium. You know. The U as in Uranium."

It failed.

"Now you're just being stupid. Anyway, I don't want to stop you from learning things. So I suggest to practice on your own in the backyard while I stay inside. I will still hear it but not that much. But for evening..."

"I won't practice in evening while you're here."

Richard nodded, "Thank you."

He noticed how the man suppressed his lips as he tried not to let out a yawn.

"Let's talk again tomorrow. Do you have anything in your mind that you want to eat? I'll go in the market early morning to buy ingredients."

"Light meal would be okay."

"And... the fridge."

Hmm?

"It seems pudding is out of stock."

...

"Wait what?"

"Good night,Seigi."

Richard went upstairs without looking back. As far as he can remember, he made ten servings of pudding.

And they are all devoured in an instant.

And it's done~! (≧▽≦)

Hmm.. I wonder how Seigi will do his guitar lessons. 💕😌

[petertingle-yipyip]

Where Happiness Begins - Peter Parker

Chapter Five - Don’t Throw It Away

//WHB Masterlist //

//Series Inspo: @cxptain-capsicle @stuckonspidey // Series Tags: @writingsbychlo @mc225g @fandom-princess-forevermore @peterparker-glee-other @olliekookie @rosegoldhome @chubsluda @missmulti @eternaleviee @freerebel @disgustangg //

Word Count: 4,427

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Summary: It seemed like everything was going good with Y/N and her new friend, Peter. But Peter makes what could be the biggest mistake of his young life. Even though Y/N warns him, don’t throw it away, does Peter do it anyways?

“How was the internship?” Ned asked happily as he plopped down next to Peter at their usual lunch table.

“It was cool.” Peter answered, carefully choosing his words. He knew he couldn’t tell Ned about what the internship exactly consisted of, but he could be vague. “I met Tony Stark and his daughter.”

“You got to meet Tony and Y/N Stark? They’re like, living legends!” Ned said with excitement. “Did you see their suits?”

“I caught a glimpse of them.” Peter shrugged. “They’re working on some cool stuff.”

“Awesome!” Ned exclaimed quietly.

“Yeah, and Y/N said most of the work would be done at home but I could call her if I ever wanted to work at the facilities. It’s kind of an on-call deal as to when I’ll be here or there.”

“You have her number!?” Ned practically shouted.

“Keep your voice down!” Peter hushed him. “She said to call when I need something.”

“Dude, just call her.” Ned said to Peter. “You’ve been staring at what I assume to be her phone number forever.”

“I can’t just call her for no reason!” Peter argued. “She told me to call if I need anything. And I don’t need anything at the moment.”

“Well you need to talk to her. And this is getting embarrassing.”

“She hasn’t reached out to me since I last saw her. Do you think maybe she doesn’t want to talk? Maybe it was an empty gesture.”

“She wouldn’t have given you her phone number if she didn’t want to  talk to you.” Ned sighed in disappointment. As much as he loved Peter, he knew his friend was a dumbass. “Maybe you should start texting Y/N instead of whoever else you’re always texting.”

“I don’t text anyone!” Peter defended quickly, suddenly anxious that Ned had seen something he shouldn’t have.

“That’s the problem, Peter!” Ned sad, throwing his hands forward. “You’re not texting anyone! You have Y/N Stark’s phone number and you’re not doing anything about it. She’s a genius, dude. Smarter than you even. And you’re letting this opportunity fall through your fingers.”

“I’m not losing anything.” Peter shook his head, turning his attention elsewhere while Ned continued to talk. It’s not that he didn’t want to talk to Ned about you, but he knew he couldn’t talk to Ned about you the way he wanted to. He wanted to talk about how powerful you really were, how when you’re in your suit you act like you’re unstoppable, and how if he didn’t know any better he’d believe you were. Maybe he did believe that after all.

“What is she like in person? Is she funny? Sarcastic? I bet she’s confident, just like her dad. But not she rules the world, just like she knows she’s badass. I mean, she’s the youngest Avenger. She has to have some confidence, right? Nah, she definitely has to know sh-”

“Did Liz get a new top?” Peter interrupted Ned.

“Liz?” Ned asked, confused by the sudden change in topic. “No, we’ve seen that before. Just never with that skirt.”

“Should probably stop staring before it gets creepy though.” Peter said dreamily, momentarily forgetting all about Y/N and being sucked back into his crush on Liz.

“Too late.” Michelle announced from the other end of the table. Both boys turned to her quickly. “You guys are losers.”

“Then why do you sit with us?” Ned asked carefully while Peter made a gesture of offense.

“Cause I don’t have any friends.” She answered plainly. “Besides, how are you going to stare at Liz while talking about Y/N Stark?”

“You heard that?” Peter asked in a loud whisper.

“I’m pretty sure everyone did.” She replied using the same tone. “You’re not very quiet, Parker. If you have her number, just use it. What’s the worst that’ll happen?”

The bell rang after that comment, sending all of them to their classes. Peter tried to push through the rest of the day like normal. Finish class, go to decathlon practice, go on patrol. That’s the way his days always went. But for some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Michelle had said at lunch.

How are you going to stare at Liz while talking about Y/N Stark?

It wasn’t like he was talking about you in any way other than a friend. You two were friends, right? New friends, but still friends. You had saved him a few times in Germany, and he helped take care of you afterwards. Cause that’s what friends do. That is what friends do, right?

The day seemed to drag until he finally got to decathlon practice. Peter didn’t want to quit and bail on the trip to DC, but he also knew he had to stay and be Spiderman. He had to make sure you and Mr. Stark didn’t regret giving him the suit. He had to take his responsibility as Spiderman much more serious now.

“Let’s move on to the next question.” Liz said to his other teammates. “What is the heaviest naturally occurring element?”

Peter wasn’t really listening to anything after that. It was obviously Uranium. He had to focus on explaining why he wasn’t going to Washington with his team.

“Peter… It’s Nationals.” Mr. Harrington tried to reason with the boy. “Is there no way you can take one weekend off?”

“I can’t go to Washington because if Mr. Stark needs me, or if Y/N Stark needs me, then I have to make sure that I’m here.” Peter said carefully.

“You’ve never even been in the same room as Tony Stark.” Flash commented from the back. “Let alone the same room as Y/N. She’s a total babe, no way she’s hanging with you.”

“Wait, what’s happening?” Peter’s teammate spoke up from the stage.

“Peter’s not going to Washington.” A teammate said from the floor.

“What?” The first teammate said as Abraham rang his bell. “No, no, no, no, no, no.”

“Why not?” Abraham asked.

“Really?” Liz asked sadly. “Right before Nationals?”

“He already quit marching band and robotics lab.” Michelle added casually, causing everyone to turn to her. “I’m not obsessed with him, just very observant.” She defended herself.

“Flash, you’re in for Peter.” Liz said over his shoulder, giving Peter one last look.

“Oof, I don’t know. I gotta check my calendar first. I got a hot date with Black Widow coming up.” Flash retorted, giving Peter a look.

Peter had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping on Flash and exposing his secret. He remembered the joke you made on the ride back to the states. He let a small smile grace his face as he thought of your laugh, your smile, your bright and hopeful eyes. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have you in his life.

Usually, patrols were fairly simple. Stop a mugging. Help an old lady across the street. He even helped someone get their bike back. He had given directions, and someone even bought him a churro. Until the ATM robbery. That night was so intense Peter wasn’t sure if he remembered it right.

There were weapons he had never seen before. He wasn’t sure he was going to come out of there on top. But he was Spiderman. He had to. That also happened to be the night Ned discovered Peter’s secret. Peter had to explain everything, which only gave him more stress than keeping his secret. He was scared that if Ned knew, he’d be in danger. But no one knew that Ned knew. So Ned would be okay, right?

He had to call you that night.

He held the phone to his ear as he laid in his bed that night. Instead of falling asleep or catching up on homework, he just stared at the ceiling and talked to you. “Hey, Y/N.” He smiled when you finally answered.

“So what are we calling this, exactly?” You asked your dad as F.R.I.D.A.Y. showed you blueprints for a new Spiderman suit. You were finally able to start easing back into your normal activities. You were medically cleared of your concussion, your ankle had dulled to an ache when you stood on it for too long, and your fracture and ribs were still healing. Movement of your upper body was less painful and you could breathe deeper without a sharp sensation.

“I don’t know. Iron Spider?” Tony shrugged, sliding across the lab in his desk chair to be by your side. “Has a nice ring to it.”

“And what about the suit we just gave him not too long ago?” You questioned, leaning on your dad’s shoulder.

“I have a new upgrade every so often. Same goes for the kid. You could also upgrade your own suit as often as you like. You just don’t.” Tony shrugged again, pushing you off by your forehead. “You designed his sensory filters so you’re on that first. Pull up your old designs and upgrade them.”

“I don’t even know how I did them, honestly.” You said, scrolling through the projected files to find your Project Parker files. “I’m pretty sure F.R.I.D.A.Y. did most of the work.”

“Well, figure it out.” Your dad with an eyeroll. “I’m staring to doubt if you’re really my daughter.”

“Haha, very funny.” You said sarcastically. “How am I supposed to upgrade these? I mean, just how clear does he need to see?”

“You know him better than I do, Y/N/N.”

“Yeah, but the upgrades are your idea.” You muttered. “Besides, Peter said they were perfect as they are.”

“Either way, they have to be redesigned.” Tony waved a hand dismissively.

“And why’s that?”

“New mask means new aesthetic design means reconfigured to a new shape.”

You and your dad spent hours flipping through designs. Some of them were nonsense scraps, things that you knew were unfathomable in the few hours you had to put it together that night, but now could be played around with. One of your personal favorites were the four additional appendages that are multi-functioned. Some things needed an overhaul from the start, something you weren’t happy with when you gave him the suit in general.

“Can we change the color?” You asked suddenly.

“Blue and red was your call, doofus.” Tony laughed.

“I know, but if he’s the Iron Spider now, shouldn’t his colors match if not coordinate with Iron Man?”

“Incoming call on Ms. Stark’s cell phone.” F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced before your dad could answer.

“Who is it?” You asked, not letting your attention shift from your past designs.

“Petey.”

“Petey?” Your dad asked with wiggling eyebrows. “Since when do you call him Petey?” Tony laughed.

“Answer it please. And put it on speaker. Thank you, F.R.I.D.A.Y.”

“Of course, Ms. Stark.”

“Hey, Y/N.” Peter said, the smile evident in his voice.

“Peter Parker, as I live and breathe. I was starting to think you didn’t want to talk to me.” You laughed lightly, noting a small flaw in the mask design. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much. Just thinking.”

“About?”

“There’s a trip to Washington this weekend with the decathlon team.”

“Cool. Take lots of pictures.” You said aimlessly, expanding your lens designs.

“I’m probably not going.” He chuckled nervously.

“Just go to Washington, kid.” Tony interjected.

“Mr. Stark, hey. Hi. How- how are you?” Peter said quickly.

“I didn’t get a ‘how are you’ and I’m a bit upset about it.” You teased.

“Look, we said keep your extracurriculars up. Didn’t we?” You asked, him humming an ‘mhmm’ in response. “That includes decathlon.”

“But what if something happens here?” Peter asked as he wandered aimlessly around the room. “I mean, I’ve been texting Happy but he’s been ignoring me.”

“Yeah, we know.” Tony laughed. “He’s been sending us screenshots of your messages. Congrats on the churro, by the way. Anyways, listen kid, we didn’t bring you with us to Germany for you to sit here and obsess over things you don’t even know are going to happen.”

“Dad’s right, Pete.” You agreed, swiping your design towards your dad. “Are you using the new nanotech for this suit? Cause if so, we could use nanite lens instead of expandable?” You asked Tony before turning attention back to Peter. “You can’t sit here and put your life on hold because of Spiderman, because of this internship. Your team is depending on you, aren’t they?”

“I guess. I mean, Flash is gonna stand in for me. And- and Mr. Harrington understands.” Peter tried to reason with you.

“So that means Mr. Harrington is very disappointed but knows he can’t force you to go.” You shook your head. “Peter, you’re brilliant but also so dumb.”

“Hey!”

“It’s true, kid.” Tony agreed. “Are the lenses retrofitted?”

“Custom cut. Mask was fit to the lens.” You shook your head. “Go to Washington. We’ll handle whatever is going on that you don’t want to leave for.”

“There’s nothing specific.” He tried to defend himself.

“Yes, there is. You’re a terrible liar.” You smiled slightly.

“No, I’m not.” He argued. Your silence was enough pressure and he caved. Sighing heavily, he continued. “There were these guys tonight, and I think they had like, alien weapons.”

“We’ll look into it.” Tony said carefully, looking at you with an interested but confused look. “Go to sleep, Peter. We’ll talk later. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“But don’t do anything he would do.” You joked.

“There’s a small gray area. And that’s where you operate.” Tony explained.

“Night, Petey.” You said, directing your focus on how to reconfigure the fit of the nanosuit versus the original. “How is this going to work? The mediums are completely different, there’s no way to transfer the program.” You asked your dad, who leaned over to see what you were looking at. Tony reached over your shoulder to touch and adjust your designs, but you smacked his hand away.

“Night, Y/N.” Peter said softly before hanging up. He knew you and your dad would look into it, but he also couldn’t sit by and do nothing.

As the week went on, things with those ATM robbery guys escalated. Peter met a guy with wings, chased the guys, found out they were selling the weapons, and decided on going to Washington. Only Peter wasn’t going to Washington for the decathlon. He had put a tracker on one of the guys and saw that’s where they were headed. He had to go and do something. Even though Mr. Stark told him to not worry about the guy with the wings when he had fished him out the lake, Peter didn’t have it in him to let something this big go. It was happening in his own neighborhood. It was his job!

“I thought you didn’t want to go to Washington.” You said when Peter answered the phone as he rode the bus with the team. “What changed your mind?”

“You did?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

“Telling you?”

“Why did you bring the suit?” You asked plainly. “You’re going for decathlon. You don’t need it.”

“I just didn’t want May to find it if I left it.” Peter lied.

“Hmm.” You paused, thinking about whether or not Peter would be telling the truth. “So I’m not going to see any news stories about Spiderman in Washington?”

“Course not. Don’t be silly, Y/N.”

“I’m trusting you, Peter.” You said through a sigh. “Don’t make me regret it.”

“You won’t.” Peter smiled in relief. He wasn’t completely sure you’d believe him but he was glad you didn’t question him anymore.

Later that night in the hotel room, Peter and Ned had the suit laid out on the bed. He had connected the suit to Ned’s computer, while Peter had a flashlight in his mouth as he tried to find the tracker. Ned sat with the laptop, watching the programs and code display themselves on the screen.

“Peter… Why are we removing the tracker from your suit?” Ned asked casually as Peter worked.

“Uh.” Peter said before taking the light from his mouth.  “Because I gotta follow these guys to their boss before they move again. And I don’t really want Mr. Stark to know about it.”

“What about Y/N? Why not tell her what you’re doing and she can talk to her dad?” Ned suggested.

“Y/N wouldn’t want me to do it either.”

“So you’re lying to Ironman now? And his daughter?”

“No, no, no. Not Lying.” Peter tried to explain. “They just don’t really get what I can do yet.”

Carefully, Peter peeled the tracker off the fabric. “Gotcha.” He said triumphantly as he held it up. “Alright, have fun tracking this lamp.” He said, sticking the tracker to the nearest lampshade.

Meanwhile, you were eating dinner with your family when this was happening. A small beep in your bracelet drew your attention.

-Tracker removed from Project Parker suit. Immediate maintenance required. Last known location: Washington, D.C.-

“What the hell?” You mumbled, swiping the notification away. You’d look into it later.

Back in Washington, Peter wasn’t quite done toying with his suit.

“There’s a ton of other subsystems in here.” Ned commented, scrolling through the code.

“Hmm?” Peter mumbled. He had remembered something you had said about there being more to what the suit could do but he never really gave that much thought.

“But they’re all disabled by the Training Wheels protocol.” Ned snickered.

“What?” Peter said quickly, jumping to see what Ned was seeing. “The Training Wheels Protocol?” Suddenly, he remembered something you had said in Germany.

Once the Training Wheels are off, I’ll show you what that suit is really capable of.

“Turn it off.” Peter demanded, now offended, He knew there was more his suit was capable of, but he never thought he had needed training wheels.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Ned shook his head with a small laugh. “I mean, they’re probably blocked for a reason.”

Peter groaned before pushing himself up and climbing onto the other bed. “C’mon man. I don’t need training wheels.” He huffed and jumped in a circle on the bed. “I’m just sick of him treating me like a kid all the time. It’s not cool.” He pouted.

“But you are a kid.” Ned countered.

“Yeah, a kid who can stop a bus with his bare hands.”

“Peter, I just don’t think this is a great idea.” Ned tried again. “I mean, what if this is illegal?”

“Look, please. This is my chance to prove myself.” Peter said, kneeling by Ned’s bedside. “I can handle it, Ned, come on.”

“I really don’t think this is a good idea.” Ned told his friend.

“The guy in the chair.” Peter whispered, hoping it would be enough to convince him.

“Don’t do that.” Ned breathed with a shake of his head.

“C’mon.” Peter pushed.

Ned hesitantly sighed, but deactivated the Training Wheels protocol. The suit flashed, blue lights running the seams. A new alert was sent to your bracelet, interrupting dinner yet again.

“Again?” You scrunched your eyebrows.

“What’s the issue?” Tony asked, gesturing to your flashing bracelet.

-Training Wheels Protocol has been disabled at off-site location. Confirmation required. Stark Industry Key Identifier not entered. Immediate attention required. All systems are now active.-

“You’re kidding.” You mumbled as your bracelet flashed an alert. “I’m going to kill him.”

“What’s wrong, hon?” Your mom asked as you shook your head.

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Just a notification. Can I be excused for a minute?” You asked her and your dad.

“Sure.” Tony nodded. “Make sure you come back. It’s your turn to clear the table and do dishes.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You waved your hand before stepping into the hall.

“Y/N, oh my gosh, hi!” Liz answered your call. “I haven’t heard from you in forever!”

“I know! Sorry, everything has just been so busy around here.” You laughed lightly.

“I bet. With the new internship you have set up with Peter. That was really cool of you to do that for him, by the way.”

“Speaking of Peter, he went with the decathlon team, right?”

“Yeah. I think he’s still in his room. The rest of us are at the pool.”

“He didn’t wanna go with you guys?” You asked, checking the tracker on Peter’s suit. It still said the hotel. “Or did you not invite him?”

“Of course I invited him.” She said, hearing a hint of annoyance in her voice, annoyed that you’d even suggest she’d leave him out. “He just hasn’t come down. Why?”

“He’s not answering me. I thought maybe he was with you guys.” You shook your head again in disbelief. “It’s not important. I can talk to him when he gets back.”

“Well, maybe Ned can get a hold of him. Here, let me hand him the phone.” She said. Before you could protest, you could hear muffled voices within the transfer.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., I need you to record this conversation with Ned Leeds. Discreetly, please. Send the file to my Project Parker folder. And keep it locked. My passcode only.” You said quickly. The system beeped and the recording began.

“Hi, Ned Leeds?” You asked when you heard a male voice through the phone. “Y/N Stark. How’s Washington?”

“Holy shit.” Ned sighed.

“Yeah, listen. I need to talk to Peter. He’s not answering my calls.” You said plainly.

“Well, the thing about that is- He’s not really around right now.” Ned said nervously.

“What do you mean, not around?” You pressed.

“Well not like he’s gone. He’s here. In Washington. With us. He’s just busy?”

“Busy doing what? I swear to God I will go to that hotel right now and beat the information out of you myself, Leeds.” You said, your patience running thin. “You’re going to tell me what that boy is up to. Everything that you know, do I make myself clear?”

“He’s just stretching his legs, getting the hang of some new resources.” Ned hurried. “He’s not doing anything wrong.”

“Then why are you so nervous?”

“I’m not nervous!” He replied quickly. “And Peter is fine. He’s just upgraded his old programs.”

“Upgraded?” You paused for a moment, wanting to check something. “Hold on, Ned. Don’t go anywhere.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., I need to see Peter’s live feed. Send me the video from the Baby Monitor protocol.” You said, watching your phone show you what Peter was seeing. You saw him in an old storage building, where scraps from the past battles were stored. You watched as he filtered through different web options, vocalizing small questions and comments as he went. “Son of a bitch.”

“Uh, Y/N?” Ned said, pulling your attention back to him.

“Did you know?”

“What?”

“The suit, you moron. You two are bunking together. Did. You. Know?” You asked carefully. You could feel the anger bubbling in the pit of your stomach. You were beyond pissed.

“Yeah, I knew.” He said hesitantly.

“Did you help?” You challenged. “That’s a complex, multi-million dollar suit. It’s not something that can just be hacked whenever. So I’m going to ask one last time. Did you, Ned Leeds, help hack the suit?”

“It may have been from my computer.” He slowly confessed. “I told him it was a bad idea. I didn’t want to do it but he kept saying I was his guy in the chair. I told him it was probably illegal, and now we’re going to jail. Aren’t we? Oh my god.” Ned said in a panicked voice.

“You have better have a good explanation as to why before I kill you both.” You hung up quickly before dialing Peter.

“Would you like me to save the audio file, Ms. Stark?” F.R.I.D.A.Y. asked as you waited for Peter to answer.

“No, just delete it.” You sighed. “Ned doesn’t need to get dragged into this more than he already is. He obviously didn’t want anything to do with it. Peter’s the one to blame.”

No answer.

“Peter Parker, I know you are not ignoring my calls. I know you are not that stupid.” You said plainly. “And if you are, you are going to be in deep shit with my dad. You’re lucky I got the notification that the suit was tampered with and not Tony. Actually, I know you’re not ignoring me because I saw your feed. You’re in a goddamn Damage Control Deep Storage Vault. God, Peter, how could you be so stupid? So disrespectful? So irresponsible. And you had the audacity to bring your friend, Ned, into it? How stupid are you, honestly. And to top it all off, Ned didn’t want to hack the suit. He didn’t want anything to do with it and yet here we are, two notifications from your suit interrupting dinner.

“That is a multi-million dollar suit and you’re taking it apart like it’s a toy. Maybe it was a mistake to let you keep the suit. There was absolutely no need to take it with you to Washington and you know that. Trying to make sure May didn’t find it, my ass. Now, you’re ignoring me, with a highly advanced, highly equipped piece of Stark tech, doing God knows what with it. Why did you need to do it, Peter? Why? What are you trying to prove?

“I swear to God, the moment you are home with Aunt May, I am going over there and I’m taking that damn suit back. I guess you weren’t ready for that kind of power. I’m serious, Parker. Did you even think about the consequences of what tampering with that suit could mean? What if what you were doing had damaged the suit? How were you going to explain that to me and my dad?

“There’s no way to explain how the tracker had been removed and the Training Wheels protocol was disabled. Those things have to be physically altered. I made it that way on purpose, that way someone had to do something about it. You had to earn the freedom and liberties that that suit has to offer. But you went ahead and took it into your own hands and toyed with the suit.” You had to pause to take a deep breath. You had been talking so much and so fast that your mouth had gone dry.

“Look, I’m pissed. Tony is going to be even more pissed when he finds out. And I’m not keeping this from him. I hope you didn’t expect me to. You really disappointed me this weekend, Peter Parker. I seriously cannot believe you’d be so stupid.” You spoke slower. “Call me once you’re back. We need to talk.”

[bellero]

The Parker Twins (part one).

Summary- This is just a re-imagined version of Homecoming but Peter has a twin sister.

Warnings- swearing, bullying.

NOTE- the response to the prologue was so overwhelming and completely unexpected. Thank you so much for all the love and support!

The Parker Twins Masterlist

You were stood on the sidewalk slightly bouncing up and down. Peter was finally coming back from his ‘retreat’ to Germany, he had text you saying he was almost home, that happened to be ten minutes ago. You were now freezing cold and grouchy, you went to pull out your phone to text your brother when a black car pulled up. You let out a grin, you waved at Happy who had gone to the trunk to get your brothers things, you skipped over and helped him haul the suit and Peter’s duffel bag out onto the sidewalk, he gave you a small smile and a nod.

Tony and Peter jumped when you yanked open the door and sat down in the front passenger seat, “god, not you again” Tony grumbled under his breath causing you to glare at him “can’t say I’m too happy to see you either” you snapped back before turning your gaze towards your brother who was looking between you both with an amused glint in his eyes, “anyway, when’s out next ‘retreat’, you know?” he asked, you smirked slightly at his excited demeanour, Tony paused for a while, “we’ll call you” he answered with a small shrug, “do you have my number?” he asked, you snickered at his confused expression which caused him to glare at you. Tony shook his head at the young boy “no, I mean, we’ll call you. Like, someone will call you” he explained gesturing with his hands, Peter nodded his head. Tony leant across Peter and pulled on the door handle. You muffled your laugh when you watched Peter awkwardly wrap his arms around the older man “it’s not a hug” he pulled out of Peter’s awkward embrace, “I’m just grabbing the door for you” you laughed at Peter’s flustered face as he climbed out of the car, he ducked down and looked at you, “you coming?” he asked, you nodded your head and told him you’d catch up, he shrugged and closed the door leaving you and Tony in silence.

He leant back and straightened his legs out as much as he could and crossed his arms, “can I help you with something?” he asked, you turned around in the seat and crossed your legs, “did he get hurt?” you asked. Tony was thrown back at your question, “what’d you mean?” he furrowed his eyebrows and leant forward “I mean did Peter get hurt?” you asked again shuffling in the seat slightly to get comfortable. Tony paused for a short while, he noticed your playing with your fingers. You were also extremely fidgety. He let out a sigh “he got hurt, but it wasn’t bad… okay? I wouldn’t have let anything bad happen to him” you nodded your head and cleared your throat, “okay…” you suddenly perked up “was Thor there?” you asked with wide, excited eyes. Tony chuckled and shook his head, “unfortunately the God of thunder couldn’t grace us with his presence” his response caused you to laugh, “thanks for looking out for my brother” you smiled, he nodded his head.

You pushed the door open with a heave and stepped out of the car, you quickly ducked back down “also, you should really talk to SHIELD about updating their firewall… hacking into their system is child’s play” Tony smiled and shook his head “I’ll be sure to tell them that” you yelled goodbye as you slammed the door shut, you waved at the car and watched as it sped of down the street, twirling around you walked back into your apartment complex.

You were walking down the hallway of your school, an extra skip in your step and a grin on your face. You were clutching a piece of paper in your right hand whilst you craned your neck to find Ned and Peter. You spotted them walking down the hallway away from you so you ran after them, you could faintly hear Ned’s voice “he’d be all, "Good job on those spreadsheets, Peter. Here’s a gold coin." I don’t know how jobs work” you let out a laugh and jumped at them, you swung an arm around each of their shoulders and shoved yourself in the middle, “that’s exactly how they work. Also, guess who finally got an ‘A’ in algebra” you bragged waving the paper around, Peter took it out of your hand and laughed before pulling you into a side hug “the look on Mr. Williams’ face was great, ugh I hate that guy” you grumbled before taking the paper back from Peter, you looked over to Ned and saw the little figurine in his hand a narrowed your eyes in confusion, you cocked your head to the side “Ned... why’re you carrying around a Lego figurine?” you asked, he quickly lit up and started telling you about the new Lego Death Star he had, “anyway, I’ll knock out the bones of the Death Star at my place. Then I’ll come by afterwards. For the most part, the difficult thing is the base of it. The top half we can knock out in two hours, tops” he further explained, “that’d be great. Y/n, you wanna help?” Peter asked, you sucked in a breath between your teeth “I would but I don’t want to” you said causing the two boys to let out a laugh and shake their heads, “anyway I gotta get to class, see you at lunch!” you called behind you whilst you walked away.

You were sat next to Peter and Ned in the Cafeteria, you reached over and grabbed Peter’s cookie before breaking it in half, leaving the one half for yourself. “Did Liz get a new top?” you heard your brother ask his friend, you paused and looked at them “no. We’ve seen that before, but never with that skirt” you rolled your eyes and scoffed at Ned’s reply, you continued to eat your food. “We should probably stop staring before it gets creepy though” your head snapped up at your brother, “too late. You guys are losers” you let out a laugh at MJ’s comment “she’s not wrong” you muttered which made Peter and Ned glare at you.

You let out a groan when you saw Flash making his way over, he walked past “what’s up, Penis Parker?” he asked with a smirk, you let out what sounded like a growl and stood up, ignoring Peter’s protests you marched over to Flash and tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around and looked at you with a grin plastered on his face, “you know what, Flash? For somebody who loves to boast about how straight he is, you sure do go on about my brother’s dick a lot... is there something you’d like to share with everybody or?” you trailed off, most of the Cafeteria were watching intently and the two of you, “what, Peter’s too scared to fight his own battles so he had to send his little sister?” he mocked, you rolled your eyes “personally I don’t think Peter should have to waste his breath on somebody who’s main goal in life is to be a contender on the Bachelor” you stepped closer, “now, do us both a favour and shut your mouth”.

You stepped back and smiled at him before walking back to your table, you sat down and ignored everybody’s gazes, you took a bite out of the cookie before spitting it back out into a napkin “ew, who the fuck puts raisins in cookies” you grunted before letting out a sigh. You turned to your brother who was just staring at you “Y/n, how many times have I told you not to chew him out like that” he groaned, you shrugged your shoulders “somebody has to put him in his place, and who better to do that than me” you said before putting what was left of your food on the tray, “see you soon!” you called behind your shoulder as you walked off.

You were sat next to Abraham whilst Liz quizzed the academic decathlon team, “next question. What is the heaviest naturally-occurring element?” Liz asked, Charles beat you and rung the bell “Hydrogen’s the lightest. That’s not the question. Okay. Yeah” you snickered slightly causing him to glare at you, you turned to Abraham who rung the bell “Uranium” he spoke, you high fived him when Liz told him it was correct. You rolled your eyes when you heard Flash speak “you’ve never even been in the same room as Tony Stark” he snickered, “wait, what’s happening?” one of the girls asked, somebody explained that Peter wasn’t going to Washington, “wait what? Right before nationals?” you asked, he shrugged his shoulders. 

“He already quit marching band and robotics lab” everyone turned to MJ, “I’m not obsessed with him. Just very observant.” She spoke quickly causing you to laugh quietly, “Flash, you’re in for Peter” Liz said which made you let out a groan and hit your head on the desk, “I don’t know. I gotta check my calendar first. I got a hot date with Black Widow coming up” he sarcastically spoke, you looked at him “I’m pretty sure I can vouch for Black Widow herself when I say she’d never go out with a greasy little shithead” you deadpanned, you heard the class snicker quietly. 

You were chasing your brother who was walking outside of the school, you quickly caught up with him and grabbed his shoulder, “Peter! What’d you mean you’re not coming to Washington?” you asked, he rolled his eyes at your annoyed tone, “I need to be here in case Mister Stark needs me” he explained, you narrowed your eyes “I’m pretty sure you can take a weekend off... C’mon, Pete. You’re really gonna leave me alone with Flash?” you groaned, he laughed and shook his head before jumping the school gate, he turned to you “I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine, I’ll see you later!” he yelled before running off, you let out a sigh and started walking to your apartment.

You and Ned were sat on Peter’s bed, you had almost completed the Death Star. You froze when you heard the window open, you looked at Ned with wide eyes ‘please tell me he took off the suit’ you thought in your head. You turned to where Ned was staring. Peter was crawling on the ceiling, he closed the door quietly using his webs he jumped down and let out a sigh before turning around and freezing at the site of Ned. You jumped when he dropped the Death Star, “dude! we spent ages on that!” you whined, Ned completely ignored you and continued to gape at Peter.

“You’re the Spider-Man. From YouTube” he stuttered out, Peter quickly took off the suit causing you to cover your eyes “ew” you mumbled, Peter shook his head “I’m not” he sounded panicked.

“Peter, he literally saw you crawling on the ceiling with the suit on” you said with a slight laugh, you could feel him glare at you “Ned, what’re you doing in my room?” he asked, you rolled your eyes. Of course he forgot. Ned explained that May had let him in, “you said we were gonna finish the Death Star” he said. Peter was about to say something when May walked in “that turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster. Let’s go to dinner. Thai? Ned, you want Thai?” May asked, Ned nodded his head but Peter interrupted before he could say anything, “no! He’s got a thing” he said quickly, May nodded her head and left the room closing the door behind her. “She doesn’t know?” Ned asked, Peter shook his head whilst he pulled on a jumper, “nobody knows! Well, Y/n and Mr. Stark knows because he made my suit, but that’s it!” He explained. 

“Tony Stark made you that!? Are you an Avenger?” Ned asked excitedly, Peter shrugged his shoulders but grinned “yeah, basically.” You snorted a laugh and shook your head, he glared at you before turning back to Ned, “you can’t tell anybody about this. You gotta keep it a secret” he begged, him and Ned were now by the door.

Ned narrowed his eyes, “a secret? Why?” he asked, Peter let out a groan of annoyance “you know what she’s like” he motioned outside the room, “if she finds out people try and kill me every night, she’s not gonna let me do this anymore. Come on, Ned, Please?” He sounded desperate at this point, you understood why. May was fiercely protective over the both of you, if anything happened to either one of you she’d rip New York apart. “Okay, okay. I’ll level with you,” Ned paused for a few seconds, “I don’t think I can keep this a secret” you groaned and flopped down onto the bed, “this is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, Peter!” he yelled, you quickly stood up and shushed him before walking over to them, “Ned, May cannot know. We cannot do that to her right now” you spoke harshly, Ned looked between the both of you and Peter let out a sigh “I mean, everything that’s happened with her... please” he begged. 

Ned let out a sigh, “okay, I promise I won’t tell anyone” you both let out a sigh of relief, “I can’t believe this is happening right now” Peter mumbled under his breath. It was silent for a few seconds before Ned spoke up “can I try the suit on?” he asked practically bouncing up and down. You let out a short laugh and shook your head, Peter shook his head ‘no’. Ned was halfway out the door before he paused and looked at Peter, “how do you do this and the Stark internship?” he asked, you and Peter looked at each other before turning back to him “this is the Stark internship. Just get out of here” and with that Peter shut the door. 

The Parker Twins Tags-

@winchesters-favorite-girl @mersuperwholocked-lowlife @platonic-plots@daughters-and-winsisters @just4muggles @humanexile @family-business-one-shots @rosegoldquintis @sassy-specter @unicorn-sparkles123 @saturn-aka-six @octo-cow52 @thegirlwholikestomanythings @zeusmyster @6gotosleep9 @miyaint @grimzszs @sara29392 @deansdeliciouspies @emwinchester1 @lizlil @antiscocialfanwarrior @anothershorthuman @mellilla-rose​ @paintballkid711​ @ixchel-9275​ @ficnalunaus @steve-rogcrs​ @floral-marauders​

[traceemerald]

-November 17th, Factory Tyrant's Journal, Entry 5-

I'm going to start off today by crafting an ore washing plant (IC2).

Generally, for every crushed ore I put in, I get 1 purified crushed ore (smeltable into 1 ingot, or can be processed further in a thermal centrifuge), 2 tiny piles of metal dust (each one is basically equal to 1 nugget), and 1 stone dust (used solely for construction foam, which I don't plan on using so stone dust can just go to my recycler).

Also the ore washing plant won't work unless I supply it with water, but that shouldn't be too difficult.

Since ore processing is starting to require more machines now, I think it's worth it to make something that I can just dump my ores into and it automatically processes them into ingots.

To do this, I'm going to be making an extra macerator, electric furnace, and geothermal generator, just so I can keep the ones in my cave where they are in case I need them for other purposes.

Actually, I can't do this now because I don't have enough rubber, so I'm instead going to be making an extractor (IC2), which basically just lets me get more rubber per rubber.

Sticky resin, the item I've been smelting to get rubber, (it's also the item I get directly from rubber trees) will give 1 rubber when smelted, but will give 3 rubber when put in an extractor.

Anyway, the extractor's not that expensive, so I can continue working on my ore processing machine.

One more machine I need for my ore processing machine is a pump (IC2), which just scoops up liquids from the world and puts them in its internal supply, I'm going to be using this to keep my ore washing plant full of water.

After a fairly tedious building process, I finished the machine, hopefully.

It may just look like a mess of pipes and wires (and to be fair it kinda is), but theoretically it should work once I set up all the item filters.

There are a few parts in this that I haven't explained yet, all of which are Buildcraft things.

The black pipes that don't have water in them are cobblestone transport pipes, these will move items around, but can't extract them from machines.

The black pipes that do have water in them are cobblestone fluid pipes, which are the same but with fluids and not items.

The brown pipes are wooden transport pipes, which are able to extract items, but require power to function (luckily not that much power).

The brown machines with levers next to them are redstone engines, which generate a very small amount of power from a redstone signal, and are only useful for powering wooden pipes.

The multi-colored pipes are diamond transport pipes, which function as item sorters.

The gray machine in the back that's not connected to anything is my lava tank, I didn't mean to leave it there for the pictures, it's not part of the machine.

Anyway, I'm going to go mining so I can get enough ores to properly test this thing.

I found a decently-sized cave during the mining trip, I probably would have called it large if I hadn't played in 1.18 before.

Results of the mining trip are 2 stacks plus 13 coal, 1 stack plus 54 iron ore, 1 gold ore, 60 redstone, 2 nether quartz, 4 copper ore, 32 tin ore (I was running low on tin, actually), 17 lead ore, 1 silver ore, 6 uranium ore, 15 certus quartz, 2 cinnabar ore, 4 peridot, 8 amber, 1 rare earths, 51 electrotine, 11 fire crystals (going to start calling them by what the element represents instead of the element's name), 11 order crystals, 13 entropy crystals, 24 earth crystals, 48 air crystals, 2 charged certus quartz (rarer variant of certus quartz, also used in AE2 crafting), and 3 destabilized clathrate (can be smelted into redstone dust).

The ore processor's item filters have been set up (apart from uranium since I'm not putting that in there yet), and I've found a slight problem with it, or rather a problem with Buildcraft pipes.

If an item transport pipe is trying to put something in a machine, but the machine cannot accept that item (like if you try putting copper ore in a macerator that's already full of iron ore), the item will start going backwards through the pipe system, and once it hits a wooden or diamond pipe, it will simply be ejected into the world, and will despawn if left unattended.

What I thought would happen is the items would back up and wait for their destination to be free before continuing.

Fluid pipes don't have this problem, which is good because they're way cheaper than IC2's fluid pipes (which only come in bronze or steel).

Anyway, I'll have to redesign my ore processor to use hoppers and water streams for item transportation, so this entire journal entry can be simplified to "I made a machine and it didn't work".

I should probably have tested this in creative mode first, but I'm trying to minimize the amount of creative mode testing I do in this world.

-End Journal Entry 5-

[tea-with-eleni]

Bit late to Stranger Things...

So, background: My mom is from Oak Ridge, TN. For those not in the know, Oak Ridge is a former top secret government town in eastern TN created for the sole purpose of refining uranium for the atomic bomb. It had signs all over the place from when it was top secret classified, and most of the government homes were still there. Everyone knew about the former government facilities, which became the Oak Ridge National Lab. 

Mom graduated high school in the early 80s. Her little brother was three years younger - so, middle/early high school in the early 80s - and played Dungeons and Dragons. (Oak Ridge was a town full of science/tech types and, thus, nerds.) When the World Fair happened about forty minutes away in Knoxville, all the teenagers got summer jobs there or were somehow involved. 

You see the parallels already? My sister and I were a little bit unsure if she should watch it or should stay the fuck away. 

Anyway. She finally started watching tonight. 

Thirty seconds in to the first episode: “That’s Y-12.” 

“I know those signs.”

At the high school: “...I HAD THAT SHIRT.” 

Some frantic googling later: “....the school bus was from the next county over.” 

My sister: “Wasn’t your mascot the tigers?” “No, the wildcats. And that does NOT look like my high school.” We’ve seen the alleged high school. Based on the mural on the side of the building, their mascot was actually enriched uranium. The show missed a trick here. 

“Good taste in music. I had that tape recorder.” 

“Etowah? Tennessee.” 

“WE HAD THOSE! MY BROTHER AND I!” Referring, I believe, to some stuff the boys were bringing Eleven. 

Referring to Barb, owner of the shirt in the previous episode: “I had glasses like that in ‘83 too.” 

My cat came up to demand affection. She does not approve to my parents singing along to the soundtrack. 

“I kinda liked Barb. Oh well.” 

“We leave with Barb gone... teenage girl being stupid... it was the 80s. Poor mom, she’s gonna get eaten by the bedroom. Cop man is freezing to death on the porch.” “Our three nerd-boys are in the basement with a psychic.” 

We will continue with Episode 3 another night. 

[tumblunni]

Ok so.. I feel really ungrateful as fuck saying this.. but it kinda bugs me how much perrin being nonbinary just.. isn’t really shown at all.

At least, in what i’ve seen so far, yknow? I watched the first ep of someone else’s let’s play to see if i was gonna like this game, and i like this game SO MUCH that I stopped right there and am downloading it at the speed of light yo!!! My hype is maximum and I really don’t want this to be seen as a hate message or anything, it's just a mild opinion piece about something that bummed me out a little, as a nonbinary person.

Ok so.. again, this makes me sound like an ASSHOLE but I have to say it.. Perrin looks like a boy. 100% of all LPers I have seen have assumed they were a boy. I, a nonbinary person, assumed they were a boy. (And felt like absolute shit afterwards, man I still have to work on my internalized gender stereotypes!)

Now in real life I absolutely wouldn’t go around being some douchebag who tells other NB folk they aren’t dressing ‘right’, or whatever. In real life people can feel very different ways about being outside of conventional gender norms. Some people feel like “both at once” or “neither” or “something else entirely that doesn’t touch either side of our society’s current binary stereotypes”. And regardless of whether you’re agender/bigender/genderfluid or any other type of genderqueer person, your fashion sense doesn’t have to fit any strict rule to “prove” it to people. Some people try and dress in androgenous stuff, some people try to mix parts of both gendered fashion worlds, some people like to wear very neutral baggy stuff as a different way of being androgenous, some people like to wear wild and fun stuff that never had any gender stereotype in the first place/because it helps them feel confident in themself if they have a big brave kind of fashion, yknow? (that’s why I dyed my hair at least, and why I think a lot of lGBT people do) And of course, some people just prefer ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ clothes regardless of not being that gender, and if we can accept that cis women can enjoy ‘tomboy’ fashion then we should accept that trans people don’t have to fit into even more rigid fashion rules in order to ‘earn’ their gender.

BUT this isn’t real life, it’s a videogame

We have a lot more context here, with the context that this is a character designed within a fandom whose previous attempts at NB representation have kinda started setting up a trend. In that context, this is a bit worrying that it’s happened again, and maybe future fangame creators are feeling like they have to do it, or something?

Like the NB protagonist Pluto in Pokemon Uranium.

They’re still someone I deeply love, but their design looks incredibly masculine aside from a side ponytail. If anything their design communicates more that they’re a younger option compared to the other two, or something?

And the two NB protagonist options Ari and Decibel in Pokemon Reborn

Their designs look like more traditionally masculine and feminine-leaning ways of being nonbinary, ykno? And that wouldn’t be bad on it’s own, but let me try and explain what I mean...

A similar issue occurs in the unrelated dating sim Hustle Cat:

Which is generally incredibly progressive and actually the first dating sim I’ve ever seen that lets you play a nonbinary protag! But you still get only two character models to choose from.

Like it’s great that they had two options to aknowledge how not all trans people are the same, but it starts to look a bit.. odd, when those two options are ‘feminine and masculine’ and no form of androgenous is ever an option. or even like.. someone with a ‘masculine’ body build but a ‘feminine’ fashion sense. That would be kind of a stereotypical way to depict a trans character but it wouldn’t just be making a random design that could fit amoungst the already existing gendered protags and then just saying they’re trans. And a lot of people found it weird how these ones seem to be drawn as like.. both on the far masculine end, just a cis man and a trans man.

Like.. even as a nonbinary person myself, I wouldn’t have known these characters were nonbinary if you hadn’t told me. And that leaves me feeling horrible about myself that I judged them on first sight, but I mean this is within a genre of entertainment that’s literally never had any Me in it and i’ve got used to being all ‘no you’re just reading too much into it’ whenever i headcanon anyone as genderqueer...

And just.. I feel like if you’re gonna just draw another two masculine and feminine looking characters, or just a second masculine one (or a weird two masculine ones that’re labelled male and female with no option for in-between...) then couldn’t you have saved time by just letting us choose our pronouns for the two you already had? like I already play a lot of games headcanoning the protag as just a masc-fashion version of my enby self, I feel like kinda the point of adding a third design would be to make it something the others aren’t already delivering. Look at it this way, you already HAVE two nonbinary characters who look masculine and feminine, just like the player could also play them as a trans boy and trans girl. Pronoun selector box is the greatest invention of our time! So what I’m really saying is not “don’t have super masc NB protags” but just “can we have another option too?”

Oh, but then that’s also been done not-so-well by certain games too.. Awesome amazing multiplayer party game dating sim Monster Prom let’s you choose your pronouns!

...except these are your only character options! All of these are very clearly intended to be read as masc or femme, you’re probably gonna feel dysphoric as heck if you play them as trans, and none of them work super well as nonbinary either. I think pretty much every NB player has always gone for Oz (yellow one), cos he’s the one that’s most capable of fitting that headcanon just by virtue of being perpetually shadowed. Tho still his default is “he” pronouns, his fashion sense is masc and his voice is masc. Still I’m really fuckin proud of the fandom for collectively latching onto NB Oz and using “they” all the time in fanworks, and then the developers being okay with it, like holy shit man you healed my goddamn heart... <3

Still, it makes me feel a lil like this would have been easy to fix? like I’m not saying redraw everything to have them all change bodies/fashion style depending on your pronoun choice, but like.. maybe just not draw them with such super disparate body styles in the first place? like in this style every girl is hourglass and has weird legs out arms out pose, and every dude is a chunkfest with twice as big hands and feet. Like you could have maybe just made two of the characters be a very curvy girl and a very buff boy, and then the other two be more neutral in appearance but still retaining the same designs. Like I think if you just gave the blue girl a baggier shirt that doesn’t highlight her boobs and hips so much, she could easily be my favourite ‘most NB-able’ design! maybe also tone down the eyelash and lipstick effects?

I think probably a similar thing could have been done with the Reborn protagonists? like there’s nothing inherantly feminine about wearing a tanktop and having a fancy undercut hairstyle and such, its just the way they drew Ari that makes them look feminine. I guess maybe that’s a necessary evil of fangames, since they usually use edits of already existing characters from the games? Then again the games have plenty of androgenous characters already, even if nobody is canonically confirmed as LGBT. *shrug*

Anyway

I absolutely am not trying to nitpick and attack the game for not being perfect in this one aspect. i’m still super excited to even see someone like me in a videogame at all, and I’m definately not one of those people who’s like ‘I’d rather have nothing than have something flawed’. I already admire you greatly for what you’ve done for the inclusivity of this fandom, and I hope that my discussion of this stuff doesn’t discourage you from continuing.

And I guess my point is, in summary

What I mean is not “there are no nonbinary people who prefer to dress masculine instead of androgenous”, but instead that when you’re designing a nonbinary person as the only option a nonbinary player gets or the only nonbinary person in the game, with no playable option, it would probably be a little better to draw them androgenous.

Like, you’ve put that NB character into the role of representing all nonbinary people ever, to the hypothetical audience of people who’ve never heard of the concept before and aren’t super educated about the intricacies of gender presentation. And then also rather than using traditionally gendered outfits to aknowledge that NB people have many ways to present themselves... you’ve given us less ways to present ourselves.

Also it’s a little bit odd that you have an NB rival but said “we’re not ever considering an NB player option in the future”. Sorry but I cannot understand the logic? Like.. you know NB people play your game if you wanted to put NB representation in it, but you didn’t put it as playable because... reasons?? I hope maybe that interview was just taken out of context and you meant something more like “it’s not planned for now because it’s a lot of work and the game is still in its demo stage”, which is absolutely an understandable reason and how Uranium and Reborn did it. But Uranium and Reborn were kinda odd for being a world where literally nobody else aside from you could ever be NB, so I am really grateful that your game did add an NB character. And one in a big role!! This is what i mean about how grateful I am and how I feel awful that my bad internet typing skills are making this post come off as more aggressive than intended.. *sigh*

OH and also maybe a tip for Periin? just.. like.. mention their pronouns. It’s really frustrating to watch everyone doing let’s plays of this thing and constantly assuming Perrin is male because their design is very masculine. Even me! Even me was assume! :( So like... maybe just have Perrin actually tell the audience that they are nonbinary at some point, during this introduction? or have the protagonist’s inner monologue mention it, or another character mention it on the way towards meeting Perrin? like I dunno, maybe a Perrin fan npc?cos it would seem a bit more natural to talk about gender if it’s someone saying “wow I admire Perrin’s androgenous fashion sense” rather than like.. a stranger saying “i can’t tell if you’re a boy or a girl from your face”.

I can understand how it can be tricky to figure out how to introduce a LGBT character’s LGBT-ness without having them go around saying it to every new person they meet, it’s something I’ve had to fix in the editing process even as a trans person writing trans characters. But just having their gender only be mentioned on missable promotional material outside the game means that a lot of players won’t ever hear about it, and it like.. has zero impact of actual inclusivity on the game. It’s why people were angry about DUmbledore only getting revealed as gay after the series already ended. Him being gay missed all of its chances to make gay readers of the series feel welcome, or have any part of his character be informed by his sexuality. like the plot between him and grindlewold could have been way more effective if it was him losing a boyfriend to the dark arts, just sayin...

anyway whatever, bunni is bad at writing coherant posts in summary thanks for perrin and sorry for whining about perrin, aaaaa

[lushscreamqueen]

HORRORS OF SPIDER ISLAND on The Schlocky Horror Picture Show

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Hello, good evening, and welcome to the Schlocky Horror Picture Show. I'm your host, Nigel Honeybone. Witness tonight, if you dare, a handful of girls enslaved by a diabolical human beast on an island where there is no way out! Watch him strangle his victims with his mammoth claws! One bite from a giant spider turns a man into the world's most hideous monster with a diabolical lust to kill, craving the blood of beautiful women! Shock upon shock, terror upon terror, in the blood-curdling, hair-raising, spine-chilling, Horrors Of Spider Island! And all that just from the poster art... BREAK: Dare to invade the beast's realm and prepare to witness things no human was ever meant to see...then after the ads we can get back to The Horrors Of Spider Island On The Schlocky Horror Picture Show. MIDDLE: Welcome back to the Schlocky Horror Picture Show and, well, I'm not exactly sure where to begin with The Horrors Of Spider Island. From the poor black and white photography, horrendous dubbing, low-grade production values, completely idiotic characters, stock footage padding, Z grade monster effects and sheer schlock factor, this movie is loaded with all the proper ingredients for a true cinematic train wreck. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, I find it not only watchable but strangely, and dare I say disturbingly enthralling as it unfolds. It isn't just the sight of all that female flesh on parade. Sure, a couple of the girls are curvy and cute, but I don't really find them that attractive to look at, and just a few shots of these whiny, complaining broads stomping around the so-called "jungle" will pretty much cure even the worst case of girl trouble. And Babs! Wow, look out! That woman is almost Amazonesque. In some shots she looks beefier than Gary! I could almost hear the cabin creaking and shaking in despair as she clomps around inside. Don't get me wrong, I like a woman with more meat on her bones, but she sometimes looks like it was her that ate the flight crew. A few more days on the island and Spider-Gary might not have been the only one hunting down the survivors. The strange appeal of The Horrors Of Spider Island certainly isn't because of the monster, either. Spider-Gary has got to be one of the silliest monsters, in both execution and origin, to ever grace the silver screen. He looks more like a dog-faced boy than a spider-monster, and the finished product looks like one of those portraits of inbred royalty a few centuries back that were covered in hair from head to toe. It certainly doesn't remind me of a spider. He doesn't climb walls, sprout extra limbs or shoot webs out of his backside and his so-called rampage is about as thrilling and scary as the speed humps in a shopping centre parking lot. The poster artwork for the film really makes it out that once transformed, Gary became a veritable killing machine. Well, what kind of killing machine takes a three and a half-week break between kills? That's not a rampage, that's just an annoyance. Any interest generated by this film is not because of a riveting story with earnest characters. Most of the girls seem like carbon copies of one another and the plot is as about as exciting as an afternoon doing your taxes. Most of the women are portrayed as weak, incompetent, mostly useless and utterly unprepared to survive, while the film makes it clear that all the male characters are the leaders, saviors and clearheaded thinkers. The only problem is, these guys are still morons. Gary walks off by himself and gets bitten. Moron. Bob, knowing full well that there is something dangerous on the island responsible for at least two deaths, be it man or beast, still walks off alone so he can have a private tryst with Gladys. Moron. Joe is the only guy with some semblance of a brain, and naturally the film plays him up as being somewhat inexperienced with the ladies. While we're at it, let's talk about production values, or the complete lack thereof. This film just looks terrible. I don't know if it's because the film print hasn't aged very well, or if it's because the

cinematographer should have been shot for incompetence. Some scenes are entirely too dark, even in the infamous day-for-night shots used in times past, while other shots are almost blindingly bright. Continuity was a word that was evidently not in the vocabulary of the producers. A twin engine plane later has four engines, a dead woman is at first under then above the water level of a pond, and the sun seems to rise and set at the drop of a hat. However, by far the worst continuity error is the Spider-Gary make-up. It's apparent that all the close-ups of Spider-Gary were shot separately. This is evidenced by the fact that in nearly all of them, he is standing in a black void, as if shot in a dark studio. Still, in these close-ups his entire transformation can be seen, fur covered face, dagger-like teeth, hairy hands and long fingernails. Yet in all the location shots, it's obvious that the actor is only wearing the hairy hands and claws, but his head appears as normal as ever. True, this is hidden somewhat by the crappy lighting and use of shadows, but it can still be spotted. Since this was a Yugoslavian/West German production, when the film made it's way to American shores it had to be dubbed into English. Now, who out there honestly say that they have ever seen a foreign-language film with good dubbing? Sure, some films are better than others, but depending on the original language with which the film was shot, and how it differs from English, dub jobs can get pretty bad. Horrors Of Spider Island is no exception. At times it's just okay, while at other times it's horribly bad. Some of the girl's voices are just so bland that I wonder if the same woman provides the voices for all of them, a bit like Sylvia Anderson voicing most of the female parts in Gerry Anderson productions, they all start to sound like Lady Penelope. Still, despite these setbacks, there is an overall sense of unbelievable awe at the hokiness of it all that transcends the crappy building blocks and elevates the film, just ever so barely, to the level of fun bad movie making. In much the same way people stare morbidly at train or traffic accidents, this movie compels the viewer to keep watching, if only to see where the wreck is going to finally stop. Place your bets as we enter the second scarifying part of The Horrors Of Spider Island! CLOSING: Pow! The movie is over. No "The End," no end credits, just bang, like a slap in the face, the viewer is jolted back to reality. Or maybe I watched a badly edited dud copy. Horrors Of Spider Island leaves more unanswered questions than 2001: A Space Odyssey. What happened to the flight crew of the plane? Did they all die on impact or did some survive only to die later? Were there any other passengers other than Gary and the dancers? If so, what became of them? Gary and the gang were afloat in that raft for four days before they found the island. That would be more than enough time to dispose of any extraneous people draining their dwindling water supply. Where did those funky spiders come from, anyway? Were they just some previously unknown species that was native to that island, or did the local uranium deposits have anything to do with their far-out appearance? Enquiring minds want to know! Why didn't the professor turn into a monster when the spider got him? One bite and Gary becomes Spider-monster, but the Professor remains unchanged, other than being quite dead. Maybe he wasn't bitten? Perhaps the Spider just stuck him in the web and the poor old guy died before he could extricate himself. If so, how did that little spider, as big as it is, get a grown man off the floor and into such a perfectly spun web? Or maybe it was a gang of spiders that broke into the Professor's crib and whacked him? What the devil did Spider-Gary do for those twenty-five undocumented days? No one saw or heard a thing from him. He must have eaten something! Maybe he snacked on the Professor's corpse! Still, you'd think that at some point the ladies would have seen or heard something of his presence on the island. On

the other hand, maybe he spent the whole time cooped up in that hollow tree. Yes, that must be it. After being bitten by a funky spider and turning into a Wolfman clone, I'd hide out of sheer embarrassment, too. Still, he did manage to keep his trousers in near-pristine condition all that time. No doubt he dropped his dacks and wiped his backside with something when nature called. Hey, he may be a monster, but he still has standards! Anyway, just when you thought it was safe to go back to the Public Domain I shall return next week with another brain-bursting b-grader, so please join me as I again guide you through an atmosphere-filled excursion to the dark side of The Schlocky Horror Picture Show. Toodles!

by Lushscreamqueen

[expatimes]

Biden denied key US intel briefings as Trump delays transition

As President Donald Trump continues challenging the election results and delaying President-elect Joe Biden's transition planning, a key part of US intelligence is being kept from the incoming president.

The Presidential Daily Brief (PDB), the ultra-secret daily briefing of the nation's most sensitive intelligence, is a key part of keeping the president fully informed and, in recent years, the president-elect prepared.

In 2000, when the presidential election was still in legal limbo due to a recount in Florida, outgoing President Bill Clinton decided to let then-Governor George W Bush read the daily brief of the nation's most sensitive intelligence.

Clinton was a Democrat and his vice president, Al Gore, was running against Republican Bush. Gore had been reading the so-called PDB for eight years; Clinton decided to bring Bush into the fold in case he won - and he did.

President Donald Trump has not followed Clinton's lead.

Oklahoma Republican Senator James Lankford said on Wednesday he will intervene if Trump does not loop Biden in soon.

“I've already started engaging in this area ... And if that's not occurring by Friday, I will step in and push and say this needs to occur so that regardless of the outcome of the election, whichever way that it goes, people can be ready for that actual task, ”Lankford told Tulsa, Oklahoma radio station KRMG.

He said Vice President-elect Kamala Harris also should be getting the briefings, which should not be a problem because she already has security clearances as a member of the Senate intelligence committee.

Lankford on Thursday reiterated his view Biden should be getting intelligence briefings as a growing number of other top Republicans including Senators Chuck Grassley, Lindsey Graham, John Thune and others joined in calling for the Trump administration to reverse its posture.

“I would think - especially on classified briefings - the answer is yes,” Grassley told reporters at the US Capitol when asked if he thought Biden should now begin receiving presidential daily intelligence briefings.

“Yes, I think so,” Graham told reporters when asked about Biden receiving presidential briefings.

National security and intelligence experts hope Trump changes his mind, citing the need for an incoming president to be fully prepared to confront any national security issues on the day one.

“Our adversaries aren't waiting for the transition to take place,” says former Michigan Republican Representative Mike Rogers, who was chairman of the House intelligence committee. “Joe Biden should receive the President's Daily Brief starting today. He needs to know what the latest threats are and begin to plan accordingly. This isn't about politics; this is about national security. ”

US adversaries can take advantage of the country during an American presidential transition and key foreign issues will be bearing down on Biden the moment he steps into the Oval Office.

Among them: Unless Trump extends or negotiates a new nuclear arms accord with Russia before Inauguration Day, Biden will have only 16 days to act before the expiration of the last remaining treaty reining in the world's two largest nuclear arsenals. Perhaps US spies have picked up tidbits about the Russians' red lines in the negotiations, or about weapons it really wants to keep out of the treaty.

That is the type of information that might be in the PDB, a daily summary of high-level, classified information and analysis on national security issues that has been offered to presidents since 1946. It is coordinated and delivered by the Office of the National Intelligence. Director with input from the CIA and other agencies. It is tailored for each president, depending on whether they prefer oral or written briefs or both, short summaries or long reports on paper or electronically.

Having access to the PDB could also help Biden craft a possible response to North Korea, which has a history of firing off missiles or conducting nuclear tests shortly before or after new presidents take office.

Biden has decades of experience in foreign affairs and national security, but he likely has not been privy to the latest details about how Iran is back to enriching uranium, or the active cyberattack operations of Russia, China and Iran. China's crackdown on Hong Kong is heating up. And the threat from armed groups, although curbed, still remains.

Biden is trying to play down the significance of the delay in getting access to the PDB.

“Obviously the PDB would be useful but it's not necessary. I'm not the sitting president now, ”Biden said on Tuesday.

He was also asked about needing access to classified information as soon as possible if Trump does not concede the race.

“Look, access to classified information is useful. But I'm not in a position to make any decisions on those issues anyway, ”Biden said. “As I said, one president at a time. He will be president until January 20. It would be nice to have it, but it's not critical. ”

While the Bush team had access to the intelligence brief in 2000, the election recount delayed the Bush team's access to government agencies and resources for more than five weeks. Biden is missing out on all counts: More than a week into his transition, Biden does not have access to the PDB, the agencies or government resources to help him get ready to take charge.

“President-elect Joe Biden and his transition team should not suffer a similar delay,” John Podesta, who served as the White House chief of staff under Clinton, and Bush's chief of staff Andrew Card wrote in a joint op-ed published this week in The Washington Post.

“We have since learned the serious costs of a delayed transition,” they wrote. "Less than eight months after Bush's inauguration, two planes flew into the World Trade Center, killing nearly 3,000 Americans."

The 9/11 Commission Report on September 11, 2001 attacks warns of the danger in slow-walking presidential transition work in general, not just the intelligence piece. The Bush administration did not have its deputy cabinet officers in place until early 2001 and critical subcabinet positions were not confirmed until about that midyear - if then, the report said.

For now, the office of National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe says it cannot begin talking with the Biden transition team until a federal agency starts the process of transition, which the Trump administration is delaying.

The office, which oversees more than a dozen US intelligence agencies, said it must follow the Presidential Transition Act, which requires the General Services Administration to first ascertain the winner of the election, which Trump is contesting. GSA administrator Emily Murphy, who was appointed by Trump, has not yet officially designated Biden as the president-elect.

. #world Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=13905&feed_id=16532

[thunderbirdcarebear]

The Measure of a Man - Chapter 4

So a few people who’ve had this for proof reading and stuff may well be confused. Chapter 4 had reached 17 pages long and I still hadn’t finished so it’s been split. This seemed like a good place to do it anyway. So here’s chapter 4 and know that chapter 5 won’t be too far behind. Just not sure how far.

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3

Weeks turned into months. Never once did the Tracys stop looking for their missing father, but they all knew they had to continue on with their mission of International Rescue in his honour. Every person they saved, they did for Jeff. Every parent returned to children, every sibling returned to their family, every life that was not lost through their action was because they all knew that Jeff Tracy would not have wanted them to stop just because he was no longer with them. But that didn’t mean they stopped looking. While the majority of their focus was on the task at hand, there were sensors running in the background of their vehicles, looking for some trace of him wherever they went. There was always searching going on, whether directly through the deployment of a Thunderbird, or John’s incessant scanning.

“I thought I might find you here.”

Scott looked up to see his middle brother approaching, a travel mug clasped in one hand and a gentle smile on his face.

With a nod, Scott moved over a little so that Virgil could sit down next to him. “How exactly do you manage to climb up here without spilling the coffee?” he asked, taking the offered beverage.

Virgil chuckled. “I’ve gotten very good at climbing up here after you.” He looked out at the view around them. Scott’s favourite place was to sit on the wide ledge of Tracy peak, just above the treetops so the Pacific Ocean stretched as far as they could see in every direction. “Though I’m glad you’ve stopped flying all the way to the top.”

Scott smiled as he took a sip.

“So,” Virgil said, leaning back on his hands as he looked out. The sky was turning pinks and oranges as the sun lowered towards the horizon. “Wanna talk about it?” Even without looking back at him fully, Virgil was aware that Scott had looked away from him and was focusing on the lidded mug. “It’s alright. I got time.”

There was a sigh and the sound of the loose stones on the ledge being disturbed as Scott placed his cup down. “It was a close one today.”

“I know,” Virgil said, looking back round at him to see him examining his fingers. They’d only been home from Taipei a few hours but Scott had retreated straight up the peak once everyone was home and safe. He noticed the way his shoulders were hunched and he kept his gaze averted. “I gotta admit when I heard you over the comm. earlier I was worried.”

Scott nodded. “That moment when I realised the pack had been damaged by the heat from that dish…” He shook his head. “I should have kept my mouth shut. Just flown back to One as I was going to, but I realised it had been damaged and I just spoke without thinking.”

Virgil put his hand on his arm. “You have good instincts, Scott, and quick reflexes. Yes, I was worried, but then when I saw you on top of One I relaxed again.”

“Yeah,” he replied, quietly, looking back out at the horizon again.

“That’s not all, though, is it?” He watched as Scott seemed to shrink into himself a little. To most people, the gesture would go unnoticed, but to Virgil it was as obvious as if he’d curled up on the ground like a child. “It’s that guy, isn’t it? The Hood.”

Scott looked round at him. “Yeah,” he said, his voice little more than a whisper. He cleared his throat as he went on, his tone rising slightly. “It was like he was taunting us. I know he’s the one who was responsible for Dad’s crash! I know it!”

“I know, Scott,” Virgil agreed. “And I’m with you. We all are. But you need to come back home now. No more hiding up here and brooding every time a lead goes cold or comes back empty. Kayo brought him out of the shadows and right onto the GDF’s radar, so now they’re focusing resources on capturing him.”

A small smile managed to find its way onto the older brother’s face. “We’ll find him.”

“We will,” Virgil replied. “Now, come on. I think you’ve been up here long enough to get away with not having any meatloaf surprise.”

The small unsettled smile broadened into an easier one as Scott nodded once again.

With every rescue they carried out, they were all constantly on the lookout for any sign of their father, which was why, when Gordon had found that signal transponder, Scott had gotten his hopes up. He should have known that guy would have planted it there to pique their interest.

With a sigh, Scott shook off the thoughts. They now had the GDF convinced which meant a renewed search on their part too. Hopefully this would mean Jeff Tracy would be located soon.

He looked round at Virgil as he stood up. “Thanks, Virge,” he said.

“Anytime. But will you please stop assuming this is all on your shoulders? Let us help share the burden. We’re in this together, remember?”

“I know, Virgil, I know,” Scott responded.

“Good. Now, I assume I’ll be meeting you at the bottom?”

Scott looked over the edge. He wasn’t anywhere near the top of their little mountain island, but, similarly, they weren’t particularly low down either. “Hmm, do I feel like climbing down there?” he mused.

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “You’re gonna fly off, aren’t you?”

“I’d never fly off and leave you,” Scott said, smiling at him as he stepped off the ledge, hovering in the air in front of him. “How about I just follow you as you climb back down?”

“Fair enough,” Virgil said with a chuckle. He looked down, judging the best place to start his descent then slid himself off the ledge, his strong fingertips grasping the ledge as he began his steady climb back to the base.

Several weeks later, Virgil sat at his piano, his fingers drifting over the keys. He wasn’t really playing, wasn’t really focusing at all. His mind was wandering, thinking over all that had happened recently. So many rescues they’d had to attend. An undersea laboratory. That dislodged solar collector in Taipei. A space mine gone rogue. A reopened uranium mine. A sabotaged Fireflash. The widespread power cut in London. A runaway train. To name but a few. But it was the most recent one that was on his mind.

Alan had not long returned from his mission. Normally, the youngest Tracy would be chomping at the bit for a chance at a solo mission to space but when it’s your own brother you have to rescue… Well, Alan was understandably shaken up when he returned home.

A twitch of a digit and a note rang out louder than Virgil had anticipated, making him jump. He looked down at where his hand lay, the ‘E’ note still fading in his ears. E… Eos. She called herself Eos.

Only a few hours prior to Alan’s necessary sudden departure, this ‘Eos’ entity had impersonated their brother and convinced them all that there were no calls, that all was good in the world and nothing was amiss. He still felt a touch of guilt that they’d all been taken in by the subterfuge. How had none of them recognised that this wasn’t their brother? Why did it need to be a phrase so out of character before they noticed?

His fingers curled up into fists as his guilt became frustration that he’d been duped. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and closed the lid over the keys, protecting his precious instrument from the sudden need to bang his hands down on it in anger he felt at himself.

He got up and walked away, heading over to the other side of the room. The sun was setting, casting soft warm light over their garden and he could feel the gentle breeze as he approached the open windows.

“You alright?”

For the second time that evening, Virgil jumped at a sudden unexpected noise, though this time it wasn’t from an errant movement of his own.

“Whoa, sorry, Virgil,” Gordon said as he neared his immediately older brother. “I thought you’d heard me coming.”

Virgil shook his head. “No, I hadn’t.” He looked back out over the garden.

“John’s alright, you know,” Gordon said, standing next to him and looking outside.

“I know,” Virgil replied.

“But you’re still worried.” Gordon sighed as he sat down near the edge, his eyes scanning the view ahead of him. “I am too. But he is alright.”

“But what if we’d been too late?” Virgil asked, sitting next to him.

“Dude, you’re sounding like Scott. Isn’t it his job to worry and overthink everything?”

A small smile formed on Virgil’s lips. “He has been.”

“He’s not up the peak again, is he?”

“No, I think he’s with Alan. And I think that’s the only reason he’s not up the peak. Al was so shaken when he got back.”

“I know, I saw. He’s alright now though. They both are.”

Virgil nodded. “I know. Alan was brilliant up there and John has made a new friend. Okay, so said friend tried to kill him earlier, but…”

Gordon chuckled. “Well, from what I can gather, they’re gonna do each other a world of good. John won’t be alone up there anymore and she can learn from him.”

“Wow, Gordon, when did you become wise?”

“I always have been,” he said, leaning back on his hands and crossing his ankles on his outstretched legs. “I just choose not to flaunt it.”

“Right…” Virgil smiled at him, then returned his attention to the garden.

They sat together in comfortable silence for a while before Gordon looked round at Virgil again. “Virge?”

“Mmm?”

“Where do you think Eos came from?”

“John reckons the code was one he’d written years ago.”

“Yeah, but how did an old gaming code end up sentient?”

Virgil frowned. “Well, he did say the code evolved.”

“But how?” Gordon asked, drawing his legs closer to cross them underneath himself. “How does a computer code evolve into a sentient being like Eos is?”

“I wonder…” Virgil mused thoughtfully, his finger rubbing his chin.

“What?”

“Well, what if the code evolved because of John?”

“You mean he wrote some kind of evolution subroutine into it?”

“That sounded a bit technical for you, Gordon,” Virgil commented with another smile.

“I do know computer stuff,” he answered.

Virgil nodded. “Yeah, I know. But no, I don’t think it’s that at all. What if this has happened because of John’s ability?”

“You mean when he created that code he somehow wrote some of his ability into it?”

“Something like that,” Virgil said. “I’m not certain how his ability even works. It seems to be the most complex of all our abilities.”

“I’ll say,” Gordon agreed. “Flying, strength, breathing underwater or in any atmosphere… Okay, they’re not exactly normal traits but compared to his, ours are pretty basic.”

“When things have settled down, perhaps we can ask him,” Virgil suggested.

“Mmm, I think the last I’d heard after Eos had been throwing bagels at him, he was going to turn in.”

“Yeah, she did put him through the wringer a bit, didn’t she?”

“Uh huh. Turning up the gravity in the centrifuge? What’s that gonna do to him?”

Virgil shrugged. “I don’t know but it can’t be good for him. I’ll see if I can convince him to come back down for a check over soon.”

“Yeah, good luck with that one,” Gordon said, grinning.

Scott sat in Alan’s room, watching him pace back and forth. “Alan, you’re gonna wear a hole in the floor,” he said, realising, even as he said it, that that’s exactly what he did when he was stressing over something. Aside from flying up the peak that is. “You got there in time, John is fine.”

“But I was only just in time, Scott,” Alan said, stopping and looking at him. “He can’t survive without his air supply, not like…”

“Not like you, you mean,” Scott finished. “Believe me, I know how you feel. I frequently wish it’d been me in place of one of you when things have happened.”

A hand reached up to cover his forehead as Alan let out a long slow breath. “I only just got there, Scott.”

“Yes. I know. But only just getting there is still better than getting there only just too late. John is fine. You did an amazing job under very difficult circumstances and I’m proud of you, Alan.”

The young blond looked up at his oldest brother as he stood and approached him. “I mean it, I am. And Dad would be too.”

“You think so?” he asked hopefully.

“Seriously? You saved your brother’s life all by yourself, of course he would!”

“I didn’t really, John’s the one who convinced Eos to stand down,” Alan responded.

A smile crossed Scott’s face, his eyes softening as he looked at his youngest brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. “But John didn’t save himself from being trapped outside Five with no air. That was you. No one else, just you.”

Scott watched as Alan thought about that. “I guess so,” he replied slowly.

“No guessing, Alan, you were a true Tracy today.”

There was the smile that Scott had been trying to induce in his brother, that bright smile that starts off small and builds up until his whole face lights up.

“Now, no more worrying about the ‘almosts’ and ‘what ifs’. You got there, he’s safe and you did your job brilliantly.”

“Thanks, Scott,” Alan said, leaning forward and resting his head against Scott’s chest.

A small sigh and Scott wrapped his arms round him. “Anytime, Kiddo. Now go on. Try and get some rest. I got a report to write.”

“Alright,” Alan whispered, looking up at him as he stepped back.

Scott reached out and ruffled his hair, grinning as Alan swatted his hand away.

The following morning when Virgil walked into the kitchen, he wasn’t surprised to see Scott already there and by the look of him, he’d already finished his run.

“Morning,” Virgil greeted as he went to the coffee machine.

Scott raised his bottle of water as if in salute while he swallowed the mouthful he’d just taken. “Good morning,” he replied.

“Good run?”

“Mmm hmm,” the elder answered. “Right round the perimeter.”

“Hmm, I think your flying ability helps your running.”

“How do you know I’m not just fast?” Scott asked.

“Because it’s barely 0700, Scott. Now, unless you got up about two hours ago for your run, which I doubt, I reckon that ability of yours helps.”

Scott chuckled. “I’ve never really thought about it, to be honest,” he conceded. “Maybe it does a bit. But oh well. Yeah, it was a good run.”

“And the divide?” Virgil asked, referring to a rocky outcropping that split the beach around the back of the island. It was tall, made up of jagged rocks and started at the cliff face, reaching far out into the ocean.

“What about it?”

“Well, I tend to climb over it and I know for a fact that Gordon swims round it. Did you climb?”

Scott could tell by the smile on Virgil’s face as he sipped his freshly made coffee that he knew full well there was no climbing or swimming involved. “You know I love that jump.”

Virgil laughed. “Next time you go out on a full perimeter run, I want to come too. I want to see you jump it.”

“If you like,” Scott said, finishing his water with a smile as Gordon walked in from the garden. “Hey, how was your swim?”

“Refreshing,” Gordon replied. “The ocean is nice and cool today.”

Virgil smiled at him as he sat down with his breakfast before looking over at their elder brother. “Scott, Gordon and I were discussing what happened yesterday last night.”

“Mmm, I had to have a chat with Alan, too,” Scott said, sitting next to him.

“I know. But we were thinking we should see if we can convince John to come back down, even if it’s just for a day. You know, so we can check him over.”

“Hmm, you’re probably right.” Scott brushed a finger against his chin thoughtfully. “After everything that happened yesterday, oxygen deprivation, extreme gravity, being tossed around by the mooring claw-”

“He what?” Gordon spluttered, putting down his orange juice he’d just started drinking.

“I called him last night to see how he was doing with Eos. He genuinely seems to be alright having her up there but he did disclose some of the things that happened before we were aware of a problem.”

“Then we definitely need to get him to come back down,” Virgil reinforced.

Scott nodded. “I’ll get a shower and change then I’ll call him. Unless you want to do it?”

“If you like,” Virgil agreed.

“You want me to come down?” John said, frowning in confusion. “But why?”

“Did you actually just ask me that, John?” Virgil asked, folding his arms over his chest. “Think it through.”

“If this is anything to do with yesterday, I’m perfectly fine.” He admitted he felt a bit drained and stiff, but it was nothing that some painkillers wouldn’t resolve.

“We’d like to be certain, John. That was quite the ordeal you went through.”

John just shook his head. “I don’t need to come down, Virgil,” he insisted.

“Are you certain, John?”

Green eyes rose to meet one of the approaching camera units that now served as Eos’ eyes. “You’re siding with them?”

“I believe what I did to you was wrong and I could have damaged you. I believe I may in fact have damaged you and for that I am sorry.”

“It’s alright, Eos,” John said softly. “I’m not going to hold it against you.”

“Thank you, John, but I still agree with your brother.”

“I’m not going to win this one, am I?” he asked.

“No,” Virgil said, smiling.

John sighed and shook his head. “Alright, fine, I’ll come down, but-”

“I know, I know, it won’t be for long.”

“You know I find it easier to focus up here. Especially since we moved to the island.”

Virgil nodded. “I do know, John. But you know that we need all these systems down here, right? We’re not trying to keep you off base.”

“Of course I know that, Virgil. For one thing, I helped Brains to design the systems. It’s just that trying to keep my mind on my own systems with all the extra ones I’m not used to running at the same time…” He pinched the bridge of his nose, already concerned about the return. The gravity sickness he suffered due to being out of the atmosphere for too long was awful, but coupled with the white noise of all of Tracy Island’s systems, he frequently ended up with a migraine on his first day back. Even the microwave was a distraction he wasn’t used to.

“Want me to get the others to turn off all the non-essential systems?”

John lowered his hand and looked back at his immediately younger brother. “Would you?”

“Of course I will, John. I don’t want you to feel unwell if I can help it.”

“Thank you, Virgil,” he said, his posture relaxing just slightly at the prospect.

“Alright, see you soon. Give me ten minutes before you start your descent to make sure I’ve gotten to everyone and they’ve started shut down procedures.”

“FAB, Virgil.”

“Shall I initiate a time-delayed activation of the space elevator, John?” Eos asked, her camera lens dipping as she regarded him.

“Please. Ten minute delay from now. That’ll give me time to sort myself out.”

“What do you need to sort out, John?” the AI asked curiously.

“I need to transfer the systems scanning for distress signals and the early warning systems down to the hub in the villa, reroute the signal scanners so I don’t miss any leads that might point us to Dad’s whereabouts and put the station in sleep mode basically.”

“Sleep mode. Powering down to save resources by shutting off lights and life support until prior to your return.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Why waste power lighting and heating this place and pumping the air supply if there’s no one up here to benefit from it. The gravity ring will be halted too.”

“A sensible course of action,” Eos agreed.

John smiled at her then made his way towards his living area, adjusting what he needed to as he went simply by thinking about each system.

“John? I have some questions.”

“Go right ahead,” John said, entering his bedroom and taking a small case from beneath his bed. He had a few items he always took to and from Earth with each visit, including books and holophoto-displays.

“My first is what shall I do while you are gone?”

John looked up from unzipping the case. “Oh. Um, I, uh, I don’t know.” He frowned, thoughtfully. He’d never had to consider anything like this before. “I could leave the database running if you like. You can access it and do some research while I’m gone. When I get back I can go through your findings with you.”

“What do you recommend I research?”

“Hmm, well, I said I’d show you how good the world can be, so why not look up some good things?”

“Good things?”

“Kindness, love, family, a really nice cup of tea,” he suggested, not entirely sure.

“You suggest I should research caffeinated beverages?” Eos asked after a brief pause.

“You must have already started some research if you knew what tea is,” John pointed out.

“I looked it up as I was unsure how it was relevant.”

“It’s not really, I suppose, it’s just something I consider good. Everyone has different opinions. Perhaps you could start by looking through our family photo albums. There is a lot of good in there. You could always contact me on the island if you’re uncertain.”

“So I will start with looking up what it was like to grow up with your brothers?”

John chuckled. “Hopefully you’ll see that we were happy. For the most part we still are. We’re always there for each other and we support one another and we care about each other.”

“Alright John. I shall contact you with my thoughts if I may.”

“Good idea,” John said, returning his attention to his bedside table to retrieve his books. “You said you had questions, plural. Was there something else you wanted to ask?”

“How is it you can alter the systems here without a direct interface?”

John dropped his book and turned to face her. “I…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m, well, I’m different to most people. Me, my brothers, Kayo, we’re all different to most people.”

“Because you can access the systems?”

“That’s unique to me, I think. We’ve all got different abilities. And, well, there are some people in the world who’d want to use us the way I was worried they’d want to use you. Our abilities make us special, I suppose, which some people would try to take advantage of to gain power.”

“I understand, John,” she said quietly. “Just as you said could happen with me, I agree could potentially happen with you. So, you say your abilities are all different?”

“Mmm hmm, my ability seems to be technological in nature. I’m pretty much linked to Thunderbird Five and I can access any of her systems just by thinking about them. I can pretty much access anything technological and interface with it, everything from a massive computer system like the Thunderbird Five control hub right down to a basic calculator.”

“Impressive, John,” Eos said. “And what of your brothers? Are their abilities similar?”

“Not really,” John said, sitting on the edge of his bed as he started explaining to his new friend everything his brothers and Kayo could do.

"What took you so long?” Virgil asked as John stepped out of the elevator.

John looked up at him. “I’m sorry, Eos was asking about you guys,” he replied, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“She’s curious,” Virgil commented, then put his hand on John’s shoulder. “Already?”

John nodded. “Is everything shut down?”

“Only the refrigerators are still running pretty much. Aside from the stuff in the hangars and the transmission receivers.”

The space monitor nodded again, sighing. “Alright,” he murmured.

“Come on, bed,” Virgil insisted, slipping an arm gently round his brother’s shoulder and guiding him towards his room. “We can check you over when you’ve gotten used to being back down here.”

“Thanks, Virgil.” He allowed himself to be steered into his bedroom and flopped down onto his bed, a hand covering his eyes as Virgil closed his blackout curtains.

“Anytime, John,” Virgil whispered, unplugging the digital clock by the bedside. “Want me to grab some painkillers?”

“Please,” John replied.

“Alright, I won’t be a minute.”

“Thank you,” John whispered sleepily.

Virgil smiled at him as he backed out, closing the door quietly behind him. He turned as he exited, walking straight into Alan.

“Whoa, Virge, watch where you’re going, Bro,” Alan said, staggering slightly. “It’s like walking into a wall with you.”

Virgil chuckled. “Sorry, Alan, you okay?”

“Yeah, I take it John’s back?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“You going for painkillers?”

“Yeah,” Virgil replied.

“Poor guy. It’s no wonder he’s always up there.”

“He deals better with only the systems he’s directly linked to than all the others we have operating,” Virgil reminded him.

“I know,” Alan said. “Oh! I forgot to turn my game console off!”

“Well, go! His headache is already worse than usual.”

With a concerned nod, Alan ran off back to his room as Virgil made his way down to the kitchen.

Upon entering, he saw Gordon and Scott sat at the table with Kayo. “Was that John we heard coming back?” Kayo asked.

“Uh huh,” Virgil said, heading towards the medicine cabinet. For the most part, they kept medications in their infirmary below ground in the hangars, but there was also a supply in the kitchen to ensure that the infirmary supply was kept fully stocked should an emergency arise.

“Oh dear, already?” Scott asked, watching him.

“I think that as well as his usual return to gravity groans as he calls them, coupled with the sensory overload of our systems, he’s also suffering with whatever happened to him yesterday.”

“You’re probably right,” Gordon said.

“Want me to take the meds to him?” Kayo asked. Virgil turned to face her after closing the cupboard. “I’m the logical choice, after all.”

“Oh? And what makes you say that?” Scott questioned curiously.

“I don’t need to open the door to get into his room, meaning I won’t let in any light if he’s suffering with photosensitivity.”

“He is,” Virgil said. “As soon as we got to his room, he laid down and covered his eyes so I closed the blackouts.”

“Then I go.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” Gordon agreed.

“Of course it does,” Kayo reasoned, taking the medication from Virgil and the glass of water he’d poured, and headed out of the room, leaving the three brothers looking at each other.

John lowered his hand from his eyes and looked around the darkened room. His head felt heavy but he was glad there was little light. He was used to the glow of his holographic systems, even the sunlight up on Five, but somehow the light through the atmosphere felt different to him. It was out of the ordinary and he didn’t like it at all.

Taking a deep breath, he held it for just a moment and released it slowly before frowning. He wasn’t alone anymore, he could hear someone else in his room.

“That you, Virgil?” he rasped quietly, not wanting to raise his voice much further. Perhaps his brother had returned while he’d had his eyes closed. But normally he’d have heard him enter. Feeling a little on edge, he eased himself more upright and looked around, his eyes struggling to adjust to the almost pitch darkness effected by the blackouts at his window. His shoulders sagged slightly as his aching mind finally caught up with him. “Oh. That’s you, isn’t it, Kayo?”

“You really are out of it if it took you that long to figure it out,” she murmured quietly, sitting down beside him on his bed.

“I’m not normally this bad,” he admitted. “Let me get the lamp.”

“Virgil unplugged everything in here earlier,” Kayo reminded him.

“Except the clock,” John said. “I felt him turn that off as I entered. He probably just missed that one.”

“It’s plugged in behind the unit, isn’t it? Easy to miss.”

“He’ll remember all the plugs eventually,” John mused, a hint of teasing in his soft voice.

“Perhaps,” Kayo said, putting the water down on the unit and reaching down to plug his lamp back in for him. “There you go.”

“Thank you,” he said, his mind focusing on the device. Soon, a small soft glow lit up just around the bed. “I can’t manage more than that I’m afraid.”

“That’s alright,” Kayo said. “Anyway, I brought you the painkillers and some water.”

“Thanks,” John repeated, taking them from her as she offered them. “By the way, how do you take things through walls with you?”

Kayo shrugged. “I’ve no idea,” she answered. “Not really thought about it, to be honest. But I guess I just have to be holding something for it to be able to pass through with me. I mean, it’s gotta work something like that. Otherwise I’d have trouble with my clothes every time.”

John spluttered on his water, having taken a sip to swallow the tablets as she’d spoken. “Oh, uh, yes, well… khmm…” With a slightly shaking hand, he put the glass down on the unit, trying to hide the colour rising in his cheeks.

Kayo smirked, laughing slightly. “Sorry, John, but it’s true.”

“Yes, well, I suppose that theory does sort of cover it.” He smiled awkwardly then glanced away, reaching out to take another sip of the water.

Her smirk softened into a fond smile. “Want me to bring you some more water?”

“I’ll be alright,” he replied, handing her the now-empty glass as she held out her hand for it. “I think I need to try and sleep off this headache and let my mind adjust to the change in system presence.”

“Alright,” she said, standing up. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you again, Kayo,” he said, laying back down.

“Anytime,” she said, watching as he reached down to unplug the lamp before retreating from the room.

“John, sit still,” Virgil admonished for possibly the fifth time in the space of half an hour.

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t exactly comfortable,” he replied with a frown. He was lying on a bed in their infirmary while Virgil and Brains checked him over, the paper lining crinkling beneath him and feeling horribly rough against the bare skin of his back. “The floor of the gravity ring is better than this thing.”

“Well, the paper is there for, uh, hygiene,” Brains pointed out. His focus remained on the data screen he was regarding before he finally turned back to his would-be patient. “There seems to be n-no permanent damage from your, uh, encounter yesterday.”

“Permanent damage?” Virgil asked, helping John sit back up.

“Well, the pressure caused by the heightened gravity will leave him feeling pretty m-muscle sore and there seems to be no lasting effects from the oxygen deprivation. He wasn’t deprived long enough for-for any damage.”

John reached for his shirt and pulled it back on as he listened to Brains. “I do feel quite achy,” he agreed, reaching up to cradle his forehead almost without thinking about it.

Virgil noticed and looked at Brains. “Are we finished with the systems?” he asked, aware that they’d been running almost constant scans on him since he entered the infirmary.

Brains looked up from his readings to look at the two men in front of him. “Huh? Oh, oh yeah. Sorry, John,” he replied, saving the information to John’s records before shutting it all down.

The astronaut smiled gratefully at them as he lowered his hand again. “I’m sorry you have to do this for me,” he said softly.

“These systems aren’t urgent,” Brains reminded him. “Better we turn them off than have you suf-suffering from sensory overload.”

John nodded. “And to think I used to struggle at school in the IT labs. In comparison, that was nothing!”

Virgil chuckled slightly. “You’ll get used to it again,” he reminded him. “I know you rarely stay down here more than a few days at a time, but the overload never lasts the whole time, does it?”

“You’re right,” John said. “I guess it’s like the equivalent of jetlag for my abilities or something. Or needing to be acclimatised.”

“Exactly. Now, come on. You need something to eat.”

“I’m not really hungry, Virgil,” John murmured, shying away slightly.

“You’re never really hungry, John, but still, you need to eat something.”

John sighed and slid off the bed. “Alright.”

Virgil smiled at him. “And anyway, once you start eating, you might find you were hungrier than you thought.”

“Maybe,” John said as he followed his younger brother out of the room.