#but id already drawn the 3 of them before i learned he gets turned!!!

[leoserblog]

Ill finish this on procreate at some point BUT id be lying if i said i didnt love vampire raph, casey and april

[per-ineptia-ad-astra]

Star Trek Episode 1.24: This Side of Paradise

AKA Yet Another Creepy Utopia Planet

Our episode begins with the Enterprise heading in to orbit around an Earthy-looking planet named Omicron Ceti 3. Omicon Ceti is a real star, by the way—also known as Mira or Mira A, it’s a red giant and part of a binary star system with its sister Mira B. It’s not a real likely place to go looking for such a nice homey sort of planet, though, because Mira is a pulsating variable star, which means its size and brightness is constantly fluctuating, and it’s hard to evolve life when your sun keeps flickering like a neon sign in a noir movie all the time.

Uhura reports to Kirk that she’s been transmitting a contact signal every five minutes just as he ordered, but she’s only getting dead air in response.  Kirk tells her to keep it up until they get into orbit, then moves on to talk to Spock. “There were one hundred fifty men, women and children in that colony,” he says. “What are the chances of survivors?”

Looks like the chances are, uh...not great. And by ‘not great’ I mean ‘nonexistent’. Spock explains that ‘Bertold rays’ are a recent enough discovery that there’s still a lot not known about them, but one thing that is for sure known is that exposure to these rays causes living animal tissue to disintegrate. Nasty. Evidently this planet is heavily exposed to these rays, because a group of colonists-- “Sandoval’s group”-- came here only three years ago and Spock says there’s no possibility they could have survived. Well why the heck would anyone build a colony in such a place? All Spock can say is “They knew there was a risk.”

Kirk questions whether they can risk sending a landing party down under such conditions, but Spock says the disintegration doesn’t start immediately, so they’ll be alright if they don’t stick around too long. The helmsman reports that they’ve successfully established orbit, and he’s found a settlement—or at least, something that was a settlement at one point. Kirk tells Spock to equip a landing party of five to accompany him down there, including a biologist and McCoy. That’s gonna be a fun mission briefing. “Yes, we're beaming down to a planet bombarded with deadly radiation, but no need to worry, crew, your tissues will probably only disintegrate a little bit."

Sometime later, the landing party—Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, a blueshirt and a goldshirt—materialize into a meadow near a dirt path and a picket fence. They’ve thoughtfully arranged themselves into a nice alternating pattern.

[ID: A shot of a sunny meadow with a dirt road, a few trees and a white picket fence in the background. Newly beamed down are six Enterprise crewmembers standing in two rows: in the front are Kirk and Spock, in the back are McCoy, a goldshirt, a blueshirt, and Sulu.]

The goldshirt, incidentally, is DeSalle, who we last saw back in The Squire of Gothos. The character was originally written for this story as Lt. Timothy Fletcher, but was changed to DeSalle after the production crew realized they’d cast an actor who had already appeared in the series. Yes, really. AGAIN. The blueshirt is Kelowitz, who showed up briefly in The Galileo Seven and Arena, and likewise started out as another character but was renamed after being cast. I don’t know how this situation managed to happen so often on TOS, but apparently it did. At least they both seem to have managed to hold onto more or less the same positions that they had the last time we saw them, a rare feat for any minor TOS crewmember.

The group walks forward towards some nearby farm buildings arranged around a dirt yard, with a horse-drawn cart sitting out in front of one of them. But there’s no horse to be seen, and no people either. They wander through the yard and over toward what looks like a paddock, but without any animals in it. Everything seems quite thoroughly deserted.

Kirk leans on the paddock fence and glumly muses, “Another dream that failed. There’s nothing sadder. It took these people a year to make the trip from Earth. They came all that way...and died.” Hold on, it took them a year? What, do they not give colony ships warp drives? Did they have to hitchhike here?

“Hardly that, sir,” someone says, and suddenly we see three men in green jumpsuits standing at the edge of the yard, looking very relaxed and also very not dead.

As the landing party all turn around to stare in shock the man in front strides forward and says, “Welcome to Omicron Ceti 3. I’m Elias Sandoval.” McCoy looks like he’s getting ready to spray the dude with holy water.

After the titles, we get a brief captain’s log to sum things up, just in case everyone forgot what happened during the commercial break:

“Captain’s Log, Stardate 3417.3. We thought our mission to Omicron Ceti 3 would be an unhappy one. We had expected to find no survivors of the agricultural colony there. Apparently, our information was incorrect.”

The colonists start happily shaking hands with the landing party—but happily as in “oh, it’s so nice to meet you” not “oh thank god you came to rescue us we’re all on the brink of death”. Sandoval says they haven’t seen anyone outside the colony since they left Earth four years ago, although they’ve been expecting someone to come by for a while. Apparently their subspace radio didn’t work right and they don’t have anyone who could “master its intricacies”. Now, I’m no expert on establishing colonies on alien planets, but ‘person who can work our only communication device’ does rather seem like a position you would want to make sure was filled before you left.

Kirk has to explain that they haven’t come to visit because of the dead radio. He does not explain why they did decide to come when they did. Spock’s comment about the colonists knowing there was a risk indicates that whether or not Bertold rays specifically were known about before the colonists left, they at least had reason to believe there was something dangerous about the planet. So why’d the Federation let them go and then wait another three years before sending anyone to check up on them? Eh, probably just another failing of twenty-third century space bureaucracy.

Sandoval’s not bothered about it, though. He tells Kirk that it doesn’t make much difference—the important thing is the party is here now and the colonists are happy to see them. Then he invites them on a tour of the settlement and casually strolls off, leaving the landing party to stand there and try to process what the hell they just witnessed.

“Pure speculation, just an educated guess...I’d say that man is alive,” McCoy says. Thanks Bones.

Spock says that his scans show that the planet is getting ray’d just as their reports indicated, so that’s not the issue. Under this intensity, the landing party could safely hang out here for a week if necessary, as per the usual Star Trek rule that you can be exposed to a deadly thing and be just fine up until the exact moment it kills you, but there’s a mighty big difference between a week and three years. Or as Kirk succinctly puts it, “These people shouldn’t be alive.”

“Is it possible they’re not?��� Sulu asks. Great out of the box thinking there Sulu, love it.

Kirk takes a moment to consider that, which is fair—compared to the kind of weird shit they’ve encountered so far, the walking dead wouldn’t even stand out that much. But McCoy points out that when they shook hands with Sandoval, “His flesh was warm. He’s alive. There’s no doubt about that.” Spock fires back with a reminder that, “There’s no miracle connected with [Bertold rays], doctor, you know that. No cures, no serums, no antidotes. If a man is exposed long enough, he dies.” Okay dude, calm down, all McCoy said was “he’s alive” not “my god! Bertold rays have been fake all along! wake up sheeple!"

As Kirk points out, this whole debate is pretty pointless anyway for the moment—they’re arguing in a vacuum, and they’ll need more answers if they want to get anywhere. So they go to follow Sandoval, who leads them towards a nearby farm house, while a few colonists do various farm chores nearby. Sandoval explains that the colonists split into three groups, with forty-five people at this settlement and two more settlements elsewhere on the planet. Apparently they thought that arrangement would give each group a better chance for growth, since if some disaster struck one group the other two would probably still be alright.

“Omicron is an ideal agricultural planet,” he says. “We determined not to suffer the fate of the expeditions that went before us.” It’s rather vague what expeditions he’s referring to here, since at no other point in the episode are any previous attempts at settling Omicron Ceti 3 mentioned. But given that Sandoval specifically mentions the possibility of disease afflicting one group as a reason to split up, and Spock earlier said that Bertold rays were a recent discovery—and that the colonists knew coming to Omicron Ceti 3 was risky-- it seems possible that previous groups tried to settle the planet and, without knowing about the Bertold rays, mistook their effects for some kind of disease native to the planet. Of course that doesn’t explain why this group of colonists decided it would be a good idea to try to settle here again anyway, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few months, it’s that not everyone sees the possibility of dying to a terrible disease as a compelling reason to change their plans in any way.

As they stand in the farmhouse talking about this, a woman steps forward from another room in the house. She’s in soft focus, just in case we might forget she’s a woman, and instead of the green jumpsuit all the male colonists are wearing, she’s wearing green overalls over a lavender shirt, a combination that somehow manages to be an even worse fashion disaster than the jumpsuits themselves. She starts to say something to Sandoval, then stops in surprise as she sees the landing party. But for once the romance-o-vision isn’t for Kirk—it’s Spock that the camera zooms in on as the woman stares at him.

“Layla, come meet our guests,” Sandoval says cheerfully, oblivious to the wistfully romantic background music. He introduces her as Layla Colomi, their botanist. Layla says that she and Spock have met before, but “It’s been a long time.” Kirk gives Spock a bit of a side-eye for that, but Spock offers no details.

Well, all romantic tension aside, they do still have a mission to attend to here, as Kirk reminds Sandoval. Sandoval tells them to go ahead with any examinations or tests they want. “I think you’ll find our settlement an interesting one. Our philosophy is a simple one: that men should return to a less complicated life. We have few mechanical things here, no vehicles, no weapons. We have harmony here. Complete peace.” Oh yeah, that bodes well. Remember the last place we saw complete harmony and peace? At least that explains why everyone on this farm is using equipment straight out of Stardew Valley, which is presumably not the most advanced agricultural technology available by the twenty-third century. I’m not sure why Sandoval’s idea of a simpler lifestyle excludes vehicles, though. They’re not exactly the most recent thing on the timeline of human technological advancements.

Sandoval tells the landing party to make themselves at home, and they all head off. All except for Spock, who lingers just a few seconds more to give Layla a completely neutral look before walking away as well.

Everyone goes off to conduct their respective investigations. Sulu and Kelowitz wander through a yard over towards another farm building. Kelowitz isn’t sure what exactly they should be looking for, though. “Whatever doesn’t look right—whatever that is,” Sulu replies, climbing up to sit on a railing on the building’s porch. “When it comes to farms, I wouldn’t know what looked right or wrong if it were two feet from me.” I hope you enjoyed that line, because “didn’t grow up on a farm” is about all the backstory TOS is going to give us for Sulu until the movies.

[ID: Three screenshots showing Sulu pulling himself up to sit on the railing of an old-fashioned farmhouse as he says, "When it comes to farms, I wouldn't know what looked right or wrong if it were two feet from me." Growing up from the ground nearby are two large plants with thick brownish-purple stems and large pink flowers on top.]

Hey Sulu, what's that about two feet from you? Oh well, I'm sure it's not important.

Kelowitz opens up a nearby barn and notes that there’s no cows there—in fact, the barn isn’t even built for cows, just for storage, and indeed it only looks big enough to be useful for holding cow, singular. Having a storage barn isn’t itself that weird, although the fact that there is nothing currently stored in the storage barn is a bit strange. But also, as Sulu points out, come to think of it, they haven’t seen any animals here, native or imported. No cows, no horses, no pigs, not even a dog. Which is a bit odd for an agricultural colony. They must have had or expected to have animals at some point—otherwise what was pulling that cart?

Back in the house, Sandoval is asking Layla about Spock (once again referred to as a ‘Vulcanian’). She says that she knew Spock on Earth, six years ago. Sandoval, apparently having noticed the dreamy background music by now, asks if Layla loved Spock. She says that if she did, “it was important only to myself...Mr. Spock’s feelings were never expressed to me. It is said he has none to give.”

“Would you like him to stay with us now? To be one of us?” Sandoval asks. Layla smiles at him. “There is no choice, Elias,” she says. “He will stay.”

Elsewhere in the house, McCoy is scanning a colonist. He doesn’t look exactly happy with the tricorder result he gets, but all he says is, “That’ll be all, thank you very much,” and the colonist leaves, passing Kirk coming in. Incidentally, I can’t help but note that this room contains two paintings on the wall and what appears to be a cabinet full of china. I suppose the paintings could have been done by a colonist, but the china could surely only have been brought there. Who decided to pack fancy china on a year-long space voyage to an agricultural colony?

[ID: A shot of the interior of a farmhouse with blue walls, with a large wooden table in the middle of the room, a cabinet with china and glassware in the corner, a wooden desk with a copper tea kettle and some other kitchen items on it against the back wall, and a painting hanging on the wall showing some blurry trees. Sandoval, a middle-aged white man with short brown hair wearing a green jumpsuit, walks past the camera as he says, "Oh, captain, I've been looking for you."]

Kirk asks if McCoy’s found anything yet. McCoy replies that he’s surveyed nine men so far, ranging in age from twenty-three to fifty-nine. And they’re all in perfect condition. Not just healthy—perfect. Textbook responses across the board, from all of them. “If there are many more of them,” McCoy muses, “I can throw away my shingle.”

At that point Kirk’s communicator goes off. It’s Spock, calling in from one of the crop fields. He’s made the same observation as Sulu—there’s no life on the planet aside from the colonists and the plants. No animals, no insects. Spock doesn’t have any explanation yet, so Kirk tells him to carry on with his investigation and hangs up.

McCoy notes the absence of animals as peculiar, and Kirk says it’s especially so because the expedition records show that they did bring animals with them to raise for food. And pull their carts, presumably. But it seems none of them are still around. McCoy says he’d like to see the expedition’s medical records, a request Kirk has apparently anticipated because he’s got the floppy disc on hand with him.

Sandoval comes in and says that he’d like to take the two of them on a tour of the fields, to show off what the colony’s accomplished. McCoy says he’ll have to bow out, since he’s still working on the medical examinations. “However, if I find everyone else’s health to be as perfect as yours...”

“You’ll find no weaklings here,” Sandoval says, which uh, sure is a hell of a way to phrase that. “No weaklings! None of those miserable, pathetic sods with imperfect health! Only the strong survive! THE SLIGHTEST BLEMISH SHALL BE CAUSE FOR EXILE!”

Leaving McCoy behind, Kirk and Sandoval head out to the fields, where Sandoval gushes to Kirk about how great this place is: they’ve got moderate climate, moderate rains all year round, and the soil will grow anything they stick in it. Which is pretty miraculous, considering there’s no such thing as growing conditions that are perfect for every plant. But as we’re about to see, that’s not the only weird thing going on with their farming practices.

The conversation is interrupted by DeSalle arriving to give Kirk the biology report. Sandoval excuses himself to attend to work elsewhere, leaving Kirk and DeSalle alone to discuss the report. At first, it seems to be just as Sandoval said: they’ve got a variety of crops growing here successfully. The weird thing is that they don’t actually have very many of those crops. There’s enough to keep the colony going at the size it currently is, but barely more than that. Which tracks with what we’ve seen of the place so far: a couple of tiny fields that look more about the size for someone’s backyard garden than for a prosperous farm, tended by the occasional person idly scratching at the ground with a hoe. For a supposedly bounteous agricultural colony, that’s pretty weird. What have they been doing all this time?

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle all one color,” Kirk muses, taking a moment to stroll a few steps away so he can say this dramatically in the distance instead of actually talking to DeSalle. “No key to where the pieces fit in. Why?”

Kirk’s communicator goes off. It’s McCoy, saying Kirk had better get back over there. “Trouble?” “No, but I’d like you to see this for yourself.” Of course. No one can ever just explain something over the phone, can they.

So Kirk heads back to the house, where the thing that Kirk just absolutely has to see for himself turns out to be McCoy just telling him what he’s found out, but he definitely couldn't do that over the communicator for, uh, reasons. What he’s found out is pretty interesting, though: McCoy checked up on Sandoval’s medical records from right before the colonists had left, which said that Sandoval had had an appendectomy, and had scar tissue on his lungs from childhood pneumonia (the weakling!). Yet when McCoy scanned Sandoval himself today, the results came back just as perfect as all the other colonists’. Kirk’s first thought is instrument failure, but McCoy says no, he thought of that and tested it by scanning himself, and it recorded him just fine, down to “those two broken ribs I had once.” Which sounds like an interesting story. But Sandoval’s scan? No scar tissue, and one healthy appendix. That’s right, Sandoval’s apparently managed to regrow an entire organ. Do you think you would notice that happening? Like, would it itch?

While Kirk and McCoy try to figure that out, Spock is hanging out in a field scanning with his own tricorder, while Layla stands nearby smiling ominously at him. Spock muses that there’s “Nothing. Not even insects. Yet your plants grow, and you’ve survived exposure to Bertold rays.” Yeah, how are those plants growing without insects? Presumably the native plants have evolved some way around that, but the ones the colonists have brought from Earth would need some help. Are the colonists just manually pollinating everything? Maybe that’s why they haven’t grown very much.

Layla says this can be explained, but when asked to do so, she just says, “Later.” Spock looks annoyed and remarks, “I have never understood the female capacity to avoid a direct answer to any question.” Hey! Cut that bullshit out. No one on this colony has directly answered a question since you got here, there’s no call to go ragging on a whole gender for it. Besides, just saying “Later,” is hardly a stunningly deft diversion, it’s not like she threw a smoke bomb down and disappeared.

“And I never understood you,” Layla says, walking over and placing a hand on his chest. “Until now. There was always a place in here where no one could come. There was only the face you allow people to see. Only one side you’d allow them to know.”

[ID: Three screenshots of Spock and Layla, a white woman with a lot of long blonde hair wearing a lilac shirt and green overalls, standing outside in a field with a large tree in the background. Layla, seen from behind, is pressing her hand to Spock's upper chest and saying, "There was always a place in here where no one could come." Spock replies "you know that's not where my heart is right".]

If Layla was hoping this little speech would prompt Spock to cry out that yes, she’s figured him out, he does love her but has never been able to show it! she’s disappointed, because he just looks uncomfortable and steps away. He tries to steer the conversation back onto the mystery of the colonists. “If I tell you how we survive,” she asks, “will you try to understand how we feel about our life here? About each other?”

That’s a pretty vague thing to make a promise about, so Spock deflects by saying that emotions are alien to him; he’s a SCIENTIST. “Someone else might believe that—your shipmates, your captain—but not me,” Layla says. Oh sure! Obviously none of the people who have lived, worked, and risked death alongside Spock can be expected to know anything about Spock. Only you are the Spock Expert, gifted with incredible insight by virtue of having a crush on him.

“Come,” she says, sauntering off through the field with her hand outstretched to him. Spock rather pointedly folds his hands behind his back instead and follows her.

Back in the house, Kirk and McCoy are struggling to have a conversation with Sandoval. Kirk tells Sandoval that he’s received orders from Starfleet Command to evacuate everyone on the colony, since, y’know, deadly rays and all that. He expects Sandoval to start making preparations. But Sandoval, calmly, casually, says, “No.” It’s not necessary, he insists—they’re in no danger.

But...but the Bertold rays. Sandoval is unmoved,  pointing out that as McCoy’s own instruments show, the colonists are in perfect health and there have been no deaths. Okay, what about all those animals? What happened to them? “We’re vegetarians,” Sandoval says blithely. Which, as Kirk points out, does absolutely nothing to answer the question. Actually it raises further questions.

Sandoval remains thoroughly unbothered and thoroughly unhelpful. “Captain, you stress very unimportant matters. We will not leave,” he says, and goes back to gazing out the window, evidently considering the conversation over.

Elsewhere, Spock and Layla are still walking, and Spock is getting annoyed that Layla still hasn’t explained just what it is they’re going to see. “Its basic properties and elements are not important,” Layla says helpfully. “What is important is that it gives life, peace, love.” Oh boy.

Spock is dubious, but Layla pulls him forward, over towards another one of those large pink flowers. “I was one of the first to find them,” Layla says. “The spores.”

[ID: A gif of Spock approaching a large pinkish-purple flower and saying, "Spores?" The flower then sprays a cloud of white spores all over his face and torso while Spock recoils.]

For a moment Spock just looks startled, but then he starts clutching his head and falling onto his knees in the grass, dropping his tricorder and gasping, “No--” For the first time all episode, Layla’s absolute serenity starts to fracture slightly. Over Spock’s agonized protests, she insists that it shouldn’t hurt—it didn’t hurt any of them. But, as Spock gasps out, he’s not like them. Whoops, did the biologist forget to account for biological differences before handing out a facefull of spores? I bet you didn’t even check if he had any allergies first, did you?

Just as it’s looking like this might put actually put a crack in Layla’s blissed-out impassivity, Spock stops thrashing about and starts seeming less anguished and more confused. Layla’s concern vanishes once again, and she goes back to smiling happily while stroking his face. “Now...now you belong to all of us...and we to you. There’s no need to hide your inner face any longer. We understand.”

Spock still seems unsure, but then he takes Layla’s hand in his and smiles. Not the slight hint of a smile or sardonic quirk of the lips you’d expect to see from Spock, but a huge, broad grin from ear to ear. “I love you...I can love you,” he says, and then he kisses her.

Hoo boy.

After the break, we get a quick Captain’s Log to recap:

“Captain’s Log, supplemental. We have been ordered by Starfleet Command to evacuate the colony on Omicron 3. However, the colony leader, Elias Sandoval, has refused all cooperation and will not listen to any arguments.”

Sure enough, we see Sandoval exiting the farmhouse, followed by McCoy and an extremely frustrated Kirk. “Captain, your arguments are very valid, but do they not apply to us,” Sandoval says, as calm as ever. He tries to walk off, but Kirk grabs his arm and pulls him back.

“My orders are to remove all the colonists,” he says, “and that’s exactly what I intend to do with or without your help.”

“Without, I should think,” Sandoval says, and strolls off, leaving Kirk standing there fuming.

Sulu and Kelowitz come walking up to report that they’ve checked out everything and it all seems normal, except for the missing animals. Of course, they also both said they had no idea what to look for in the first place, so maybe take that with a grain of salt. Kirk tells them about the evacuation orders, and says he wants landing parties to start gathering the colonists and preparing them to leave. And by the way, where did Spock and DeSalle go? Sulu says they haven’t seen either one in some time, but McCoy says DeSalle was going to examine some native plants he found. Native plants, huh? I think we can guess what happened to DeSalle.

Since Spock still hasn’t reported in, Kirk gives him a call. Or tries to, at least—Spock doesn’t pick up. On the other end of the line, we see why that is: Spock's communicator is laying abandoned on the ground, while Spock himself, now dressed in the same horrible green jumpsuit as the colonists, is stretched out on the grass with Layla, watching clouds. The communicator beeps away while Spock happily describes how one of the clouds looks like a dragon. "I've never seen a dragon," Layla says. BEEP BEEP. "I have." BEEP BEEP. "On Barengarius 7." BEEP BEEP. "But I've never stopped to look at clouds before." BEEP BEEP. "Or rainbows." BEEP BEEP. "You know, I can tell you exactly why one appears in the sky, but considering its beauty has always been out of the question." BEEP BEEP.

"Not here," Layla says (beep beep), and they smile dreamily at each other before going into another makeout session. Meanwhile, Kirk is still on the line, and not getting any happier about it. Layla finally picks up the communicator and holds it up for Spock, who takes a break from kissin' to say, "Yes, what did you want?"

Naturally, this throws both Kirk and McCoy for a loop. While McCoy stands there with a "what the fuck" look on his face, Kirk takes a moment to recover and then demands, "Spock, is that you?"

"Yes, captain, what did you want?"

"Where are you?"

"...I don't believe I want to tell you."

[ID: Three shots of Kirk and McCoy standing in front of the farmhouse, Kirk holding his communicator while McCoy looks on. Kirk has a stunned expression on his face and looks around with his mouth open, trying to figure out what to say.]

Kirk plows on ahead, telling Spock that, whatever the hell he thinks he's doing, he's got orders: they're getting the colonists out, and Spock is to meet back at the settlement in ten minutes.

"No, I don't think so," Spock says casually. "You don't think so, what?" "I don't think so, sir."

Kirk has to take a moment after that one. It's rather amazing that McCoy's made it this far into the conversation without saying anything himself. Presumably he's just in shock. Eventually Kirk tells Spock to report in immediately, but by now Spock and Layla have gone back to kissing, leaving the communicator open but abandoned in the grass once more.

"That didn't sound at all like Spock, Jim," McCoy says, putting in his bid for the Enterprise’s bi-weekly Massive Understatement contest.

"No, it--I thought you said you might like him if he mellowed a little."

"I didn't say that!"

"You said that."

"Not exactly,” McCoy protests, and then somewhat grudgingly adds, “He might be in trouble.”

I'm sure McCoy did say that, or something like it, but "I hope Spock has his brain taken over by alien spores" was presumably not where he was going with it. He obviously sees this sudden change of behavior as something to be concerned about--even moreso than Kirk, who seems more irritated than anything. But then, it's only been a couple episodes since McCoy had his own run-in with an alien influence making people act a lot more mellow than usual, and he didn't enjoy that experience at all, so it's not surprising that "trouble" is his first thought here.

Kirk tells McCoy to take over the landing party detail and start getting the colonists up to the ship, and to make sure the party works in teams of two, with nobody being left alone. Meanwhile, Kirk himself takes Sulu and Kelowitz and heads off to find Spock, using the open frequency from Spock's communicator as a homing signal. They follow a dirt path out of the main settlement and soon find said communicator, laying open and abandoned in the grass just off the path. As Kirk picks it up, they hear laughter nearby, and Sulu points in astonishment further down the path, where Layla is watching Spock dangle upside-down from a tree branch like a kid on a jungle gym.

[ID: A shot of Spock and Layla among some trees at the end of a dirt path. Layla is standing on the ground and holding hands with Spock, who is hanging upside-down by his knees from a large tree branch, laughing.]

For a moment all Kirk can do is stare weakly at this weird spectacle. Then he collects himself with a stern AHEM and marches over like a principal about to deliver some very serious detention.

Meanwhile, back at the main hub of the colony, the landing party seems to have gotten well underway with preparations for departure, with several colonists and crewmen piling up luggage and equipment in the middle of a field while McCoy stands nearby overseeing everything, a job I’m sure he’s enjoying since we all know administrative work is McCoy’s favorite thing. Then DeSalle arrives, carrying a couple of the spore flowers and tells McCoy to take “a good, close look” at them, because they’re very interesting. McCoy steps forward to check them out right before the scene cuts away again, leaving us with little doubt as to what’s about to happen next.

During that little interim, Kirk and his crew have made it over to where Spock and Layla are cavorting. Spock just grins happily at Kirk, clearly not bothered one bit, even as Kirk asks if Spock’s out of his mind. He didn’t report to Kirk, he says, because...he didn’t want to.

Kirk glances back and forth between Spock and Layla, who’s standing there smiling rather smugly, and tells Layla that she’ll need to come get ready to evacuate with the rest of the colonists. Spock cheerfully says that there’s not going to be any evacuation. “But perhaps,” he adds, “we should go and get you straightened out.”

That really doesn’t bode well, but rather than ask just what Spock means by that, Kirk tells Sulu that Spock is under arrest in Sulu’s custody until they get back to the ship. Which will certainly work out well because it’s not like Spock is strong enough to chuck Sulu all the way across the field barehanded or anything. Not that Spock seems especially perturbed about being under arrest; instead he just shrugs, drops down from the tree, and says, “Very well. Come with me,” before heading off across the field, leaving else to follow in confusion. That’s how you arrest someone, right?

Of course, Spock leads them right to another group of spore flowers, which the group stops and stares at obligingly for a moment. Then the flowers explode a bunch of spores at them. Somehow, even though he’s standing right next to Sulu and Kelowitz, Kirk manages to totally avoid getting any spores up his sinuses, while the other two are immediately affected. “Yes...I see now,” Sulu says blissfully, with that trademark Very High grin that George Takei does so well. “Of course we can’t remove the colony. It’d be wrong.”

Kirk grabs him by the shoulders—Kirk’s go-to method for snapping people out of it--but when this somehow fails to bring Sulu back to his right mind, all Kirk can do is say that he doesn’t know what these plants are or how they work, but “you’re all going back to the settlement with me, and those colonists are going aboard the ship.” This stern proclamation has absolutely no effect on anyone. The whole group just stands there happily watching Kirk stomp back toward the colony. “I can see the captain is going to be difficult,” Spock remarks.

Kirk’s day isn’t about to get any better, because upon making it back to the colony he’s greeted by McCoy, who we can immediately tell is under the influence as well because his accent is absolutely out of control. It’s so thick even the subtitles pick up on it.

[ID: A screenshot of McCoy walking through a meadow with his communicator out, saying, "Sho’nuf."]

“Hiya, Jimmy boy!” McCoy very happily says to a very unhappy Kirk. “Hey, I’ve taken care of everything. Now all y’all gotta do is just relax. Doctor’s orders!” With a very resigned look, Kirk asks how many plants McCoy’s beamed up to the ship, and McCoy says it must be going on a hundred by now.

So Kirk beams up to the ship and heads right to the bridge, where he tells Uhura to put him through to Admiral Komak at Starfleet, though what he expects Komak to do about all this I don't know. But it’s too late. Uhura turns around to show that she’s smiling as happily as everyone else, and says, “Oh, I’m sorry Dave, I mean, captain. I can’t do that.” She’s short-circuited all the ship’s communications, except for ship-to-surface, since they’ll need that for a little while yet. Then she leaves, pausing in the door of the lift to tell Kirk that it’s really all for the best.

Kirk stands there seething for a moment, then stomps over to grab a plant that’s been left in Spock’s chair. He throws it across the bridge, and the camera lingers ominously on it as Kirk heads back into the lift.

Things aren’t any better on the rest of the ship. Kirk soon finds a long line of crewmembers of all different shirt colors, patiently waiting to transport down to join the colony. Out of what I can only assume is some desperate futile hope that someone will follow his orders if he just keeps trying, Kirk orders them all to go back to their stations at once. Unsurprisingly, they all ignore him. Kirk points out to one of the redshirts that this is MUTINY! but it doesn't get him very far.

[ID: A gif showing a young white man with brown hair wearing a redshirt as he says, "Yes, sir, it is." The camera then zooms in very dramatically on Kirk's stunned face.]

So...they’re all going down to join the colony? All four hundred thirty of them? Or four hundred twenty-nine, I guess, if Kirk refuses to join the fun. That’s almost ten times the amount of people the colony currently has in it. That seems like it could present a bit of a problem, because if you’ll recall DeSalle told Kirk earlier that right now the colony’s growing enough food to feed their current population, with little left over. How are they going to handle such a large and sudden influx into their population? Do they have housing for all these people? Or are they just all going to eat dirt and sleep on the ground because they’re all too high to notice anyway?

After we’ve had a commercial break to contemplate this shocking turn of events, Kirk takes some time out to give vent to his feelings in a captain’s log:

"Captain's Log, Stardate 3417.5. The pod plants have spread spores throughout the ship, carried by the ventilation system. Under their influence, my crew is deserting to join the Omicron colony, and I can't stop them. I don't know why I have not been infected, nor can I get Doctor McCoy to explain the physical, psychological aspects of the infection."

And indeed, just in case we had any doubt, we then see McCoy strolling through the field and happily telling Kirk, “I’m not interested in any physical, psychological aspects, Jim-boy. We all perfectly healthy down here.” Kirk grumbles about how much he’s been hearing about things being perfect lately. “I bet you’ve even grown your tonsils back.” “Sho’nuf!”

Kirk tries desperately to get McCoy to do something to figure these spores out—run a blood test, take a scan, type the symptoms into WebMD, something, anything—but McCoy is more interested in rambling on about mint juleps.  Meanwhile, back in the farmhouse, Sandoval’s having tea with Spock while they talk about how nearly everyone’s beamed down from the ship and things are “proceeding quite well.” Kirk storms in and demands to know where McCoy’s gotten to, and Spock says he went off to make that mint julep. Which could prove quite difficult unless this tiny half-assed farm colony has somehow managed to set up a working distillery around here somewhere, but Kirk’s got bigger concerns right now than where McCoy’s going to get his bourbon.

Sandoval wants to know why Kirk won’t join them in their private, spore-sponsored paradise. Kirk asks where these spores came from, anyway, and Spock exposits that there’s no way to know—they just drifted through space until they arrived at this planet, which is perfect for them because it turns out they actually thrive on Bertold rays. The plants act as a repository for the spores until they can find a human—or half-Vulcan—body to inhabit. No explanation is forthcoming as to how Spock knows any of this.

Spock and Sandoval insist that the planet is “a true Eden” with belonging and love and no needs or wants for anyone, but Kirk is skeptical. “No wants, no needs. We weren’t meant for that. None of us. Man stagnates if he has no ambition, no desire to be more than he is.” Of all the things wrong with this situation I’m not sure “BEING TOO HAPPY IS BAD FOR YOU” is the take I would go with, but okay. Spock says that Kirk doesn’t understand, but he’ll come around...sooner or later.

Kirk, disgusted with this whole conversation, goes back to the ship. The bridge is dark, silent, and utterly empty. We get a slow pan of the blinking lights and displays of the consoles, with no one left to man them. Kirk walks over to his chair, hits the intercom, and starts calling one part of the ship after another, with no response from any of them. With nothing else left to do, he sits down in his chair and starts glumly recording a captain’s log so angsty it could be a LiveJournal entry:

"Captain's Log, Stardate 3417.7. Except for myself, all crew personnel have transported to the surface of the planet. Mutinied. Lieutenant Uhura has effectively sabotaged the communications station. I can only contact the surface of the planet. The ship...can be maintained in orbit for several months, but even with automatic controls, I cannot pilot her alone. In effect, I am marooned here. I'm beginning to realize...just how big this ship really is, how quiet. I don't know how to get my crew back, how to counteract the effect of the spores. I don't know what I can offer against...paradise."

Hold on hold on HOLD ON what do you MEAN the ship can be maintained in orbit for several months? Every time someone takes their hands off the controls for five seconds we get told that the orbit is decaying and they’re gonna plummet into some hapless planet within a few hours at most but now all of a sudden it’s fine to hang out up there for several months? MAKE UP YOUR MIND.

Kirk gets up to go sit at the helm, just to get a change of scenery mid-mope, and as he finishes his log/rant the camera slowly pans down to reveal the spore flower that he chucked across the bridge earlier. Which is weird because we just got a wide shot of the bridge and that flower definitely wasn’t there then.

[ID: Two shots. The first is a wide shot showing Kirk alone on the empty, darkened bridge, preparing to sit down at the helm. There is nothing in on the floor in front of the helm. The second shot is a closer shot of Kirk sitting at the helm with his chin in one hand, now with a large spore flower poking up in the front of shot.]

The flower promptly shoots Kirk in the face, and for a moment he just continues to sit there with spores in his hair and a “yeah, this might as well happen” expression. But then he slowly starts to smile, suddenly as happy as everyone else. Exactly why Kirk’s been unaffected by the spores up until now, even after hanging out for quite a while on a ship that’s supposedly been thoroughly contaminated by them, is never really explained. Maybe he's just on a lot of Zyrtec. But it seems even Kirk’s determination to not be happy can’t hold out against a point-blank spray in the face. He calls Spock to say that he finally understands now, which Spock is happy to hear. Kirk says he’ll be down just as soon as he packs up a few things, so Spock says he and Layla will wait for him at the beamdown point.

So Kirk goes off to his quarters to pack up a suitcase, the contents of which seem to mostly consist of uniform shirts. Apparently paradise for Kirk does not include one of those green jumpsuits, which, really, who can blame him. He opens a small vault by his bed and pulls out a couple of black cases, one of which he opens to reveal a medal. This seems to stir some sense of conflict because he sits down and stares at it for a long moment, but then puts it aside and heads to the transporter room, where he puts the suitcase on the platform and then prepares to set the controls.

But then Kirk hesitates, and stands there for a moment looking conflicted. Possibly he’s still having feelings about those medals, or maybe he’s having second thoughts about whether he packed enough shirts. In any case, he eventually exclaims, “No...No! I...can’t...LEAVE!” Then he punches the console for good measure.

Apparently this little emotional outburst is all it takes to cure the spores, because Kirk gasps a little, looks momentarily confused, and then seems to be back to his old self. “Emotions...violent emotions. Needs...anger,” he tells the empty room. “Captain’s log, supplemental. I think I’ve discovered the answer...but to carry out my plan entails considerable risk. Mr. Spock is much stronger than the ordinary human being.” Then he treats us to this remarkable line:

[ID: A shot of Kirk in profile at the transporter controls as he says, "Aroused, his great physical strength could kill."]

um

Down on the planet, Spock and Layla are still waiting at the beamdown point when Kirk calls Spock up and says he’s realized there’s some equipment on the ship that they’ll need for the colony, and he needs Spock’s help to get it all beamed down. Really, you’d think there’d be quite a lot of equipment on the Enterprise that a farming colony could make good use of, but I guess they’re really determined to stick to the whole no-technology approach. Despite this, Spock cheerfully accepts the explanation, gives Layla a quick smooch, and beams up.

But upon materializing, Spock is greeted not with a smiling Kirk ready to go move some equipment with his bro, but Kirk standing there holding some nonspecific heavy metal rod thing that he’s smacking threatening against his hand. “All right, you mutinous, disloyal, computerized half-breed,” he says, “we’ll see about you deserting my ship.”

Spock reacts to this bar-brawl-starter with nothing more than a nonplussed expression and polite correcting Kirk on his syntax. Kirk, determination unshaken, continues laying into him with a stream of insults that would have made that fucker from Balance of Terror go, “Whoa, hold on there a minute.” Undeterred by not being able to use any actual expletives, he compares Spock both to a machine and to various fairy-tale creatures, makes fun of his ears, and rounds it all off by having a go at the entire Vulcan race. He even insults Spock’s parents.

[ID: 1. A shot of Spock standing in the transporter room looking perplexed as Kirk, off-camera, says, "Whose father was a computer and his mother an encyclopedia?" 2. A gif from Monty Python and the Holy Grail of John Cleese as the French knight on the battlements yelling, "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"]

Spock stands there taking it all stoically for quite a while, even as the background music gets increasingly tense. He finally starts to crack when Kirk goes after Spock’s relationship with Layla, and when Kirk keeps going despite Spock angrily telling him, “That’s enough,” Spock finally flips out big time. You know what that means, it’s time for a STAR TREK FIGHT SCENE! This one’s got it all: close-up shots of the actors intercut with long shots of very obvious stunt doubles; cardboard props getting punched; even people picking up random unidentifiable bits of starship equipment that may or may not have ever been there before to use as weapons. The only thing we’re missing is Kirk doing some kind of weird wrestling move.

[ID: Three gifs showing a fight scene between Kirk and Spock. First we see a long shot where Kirk and Spock are clearly being played by stunt doubles, as Spock punches a metal rod Kirk is holding, bending it in half. He then punches Kirk in the jaw, sending him careening into the wall. Then a close-up of Nimoy and Shatner as Spock advances on Kirk and throws a punch but misses, denting the control panel in the wall behind Kirk. Kirk dodges out of the way towards the console, and Spock throws another punch that hits the side of the console. Then back to a long view with the stunt doubles as Spock throws Kirk into the opposite wall, which Kirk careens off of, falling on his back on the floor, while Spock picks up something resembling a square metal stool or stepladder and raises it over his head. Finally, we see Nimoy and Shatner again as Kirk lays on the floor looking up at Spock, raising the thing he's carrying over his head.]

We dramatically cut to black as Spock stands poised above Kirk, raising whatever-the-hell-that-thing-is over his head threateningly. Apparently the ad break gives him enough time to cool down, though, because instead of bringing the thing down on Kirk’s skull, he hesitates.

“Had enough?” Kirk asks. “I didn’t realize what it took to get under that thick hide of yours.”

Spock slowly lowers the thing, looking a bit regretful about having to do so. Kirk says he doesn’t know what Spock’s so mad about, anyway. “It isn’t every first officer who gets to belt his captain...several times.” Dude, you just stood there and unleashed a screed of personal and racial insults at your best friend here. A “sorry” probably wouldn’t go amiss here.

“You did that to me deliberately,” Spock realizes, and then realizes that the spores are gone. “I don’t belong anymore.” Kirk explains that since the spores are “benevolent and peaceful,” violent emotions overwhelm and destroy them—that’s the answer. Which...definitely makes sense, chemically speaking. Sure.

Spock, still looking pretty glum about all this, points out that Kirk’s method might have worked out alright for curing one person, but they’ve got over five hundred infected people down there, and trying to pick a fight with all of them probably isn’t going to go so well. But no worries, Kirk’s got another plan. He wants Spock to rig up a subsonic transmitter that they can hook up to the ship’s communications system and then broadcast to all the communicators. Spock says he can do that, but hesitates as Kirk turns to leave. “Captain. Striking a fellow officer is a court martial offense,” he points out.

Kirk mulls over that one for a moment. “We-ll...if we’re both in the brig, who’s gonna build the subsonic transmitter?” he says, and Spock concedes the point. Besides, it’s a bit late to be worrying about striking fellow officers now.

[ID: A gif from The Naked Time of Kirk and Spock standing in an Enterprise conference room. Kirk slaps Spock across the face, and Spock retaliates by backhanding Kirk so hard he is thrown across the table in the center of the room and falls onto the floor on the other side.]

But what with the insults and the punching and de-sporing and everything, it seems that something has clean slipped Spock’s mind: Layla’s still down there waiting for him to come back. As she stands around the field, McCoy wanders over and asks what’s up. When she tells him that she’s been out here for some time now waiting for Spock and Kirk to come back, he gentlemanly offers to fix that for her and calls the ship. Spock picks up, and Layla asks if everything’s okay up there.

With obvious discomfort, Spock tells her that yes, he’s...quite well. Layla, oblivious to anything being wrong, asks if she can come up there, because she wants to talk to him, and besides, “I’ve never seen a starship before.” Wait a minute, never seen a starship before? You’re on a planetary colony! What, did you drive here?

Spock asks if she’s still at the beamdown point, and if McCoy’s there. Layla says yes to both, so Spock tells her to give the communicator back to McCoy, since she won’t need it to transport, and he’ll have her beamed up in a few minutes. One might think that at this point they might take this easy opportunity to also beam up McCoy and get him cured (it shouldn’t be hard, McCoy is already 85% comprised of negative emotions to begin with), so he can start investigating these spores, just in case Operation Go For the Eardrums doesn’t work. But they don’t. Kirk awkwardly asks Spock if he’s sure about talking to Layla while she’s still spore’d, but Spock just nods and heads to the transporter room.

He beams Layla up, and she happily runs over to give him a hug—they’ve been parted ever so long, after all—but when he just stands there stiffly, not reacting at all, she slowly pulls back and says, “You’re no longer with us, are you?”

Spock says it was necessary. Layla begs him to come back to the planet and belong again, but he says he can’t. She starts crying and saying she loves him. "I said that six years ago, and I can't seem to stop repeating myself. On Earth, you couldn't give anything of yourself. You couldn't even put your arms around me. We couldn't have anything together there. We couldn't have anything together anyplace else. But we're happy here. I can't lose you now, Mr. Spock, I can't." Look, if the only time the relationship you want can possibly work out is when the other person is being mind-controlled by alien spores, I think it may be time to consider whether this is really a relationship you should be pursuing in the first place.

“I have a responsibility to this ship...to that man on the bridge,” Spock gently tells her. “I am what I am, Layla. And if there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them. Mine can be no worse than someone else’s.”

Layla soon realizes that all this anguish has resulted in her getting de-spore’d as well, and she’s not happy about it. “And this is for my own good?” she demands angrily. Well...yes, I mean, it is, but Spock doesn’t say that. Nor does he respond when she asks, “Do you mind if I say I still love you?” but she hugs him again anyway.

[ID: Layla tearfully embraces Spock and says, "You never told me if you had another name, Mr. Spock." Spock replies, "You couldn't pronounce it."]

ROMANCE

We’re obviously supposed to read this little story arc as the tragic tale of true love destined never to be, because Spock is only able to express his feelings for Layla under the influence of the spores. He has experienced paradise, but alas, he cannot linger there, and so on. It’s never set all that well with me, though. The problem is we never really get Spock’s side of the story and so it leaves open the question of how much he actually did want this relationship in the first place. Layla said earlier that “Mr. Spock’s feelings were never expressed to me” so evidently he never outright said “I love you but I can’t be with you” or anything of that sort to her. When they’re alone in the field before Spock gets spore’d he seems stiff, standoffish, awkward, and deflects all of her overtures with what appears to be discomfort, even annoyance. He clearly has no interest in talking about whatever history they had together, even when they’re all alone. For all that Layla goes on about how she can see a side of Spock that his crewmates don’t, we see interactions with those crewmates multiple times throughout the show that prove that Spock is perfectly capable of showing people that he cares about them, even if the ways he does it are usually a bit atypical. We don’t see any of that in his initial interactions with Layla.

If we accept the premise that the spores only make people act as they would if they had no inhibitions or fears holding them back, then yes, Spock saying he loves Layla after he’s been spore’d would indicate that he did secretly love her all along. The problem is that we know the spores make people do things that they would not ordinarily want to do. You think all of those four hundred thirty people on the Enterprise secretly longed for a quiet life among the soil but all chose to instead join the space navy for some reason? Should we believe Scotty is actually deep down perfectly okay with abandoning his beloved ship to a slowly decaying orbit? I doubt that Kirk has always harbored a subconscious desire to give up exploring the final frontier to pursue a peaceful agrarian lifestyle, but he very nearly does do just that. So the question of how much a relationship with Layla is what Spock “really” wanted seems to be a bit hazy.

Mind, I’m not saying this makes Layla an evil person who deliberately drugged Spock so she could have a relationship with him or anything like that. It’s clear throughout the episode that the spores induce those who are infected by them to spread them around to anyone nearby who’s not in the spore fandom yet, so there’s no reason to believe Layla would act as she did if she wasn’t under the influence herself. I just personally find it hard to buy into the tragic romance of a star-crossed relationship when the thing crossing the stars is that one of the participants is only enthusiastic about the whole thing when they’re not fully sober. It makes me question how much of their previous relationship really was Spock having feelings for Layla but being unable to express them, versus Layla projecting a lot of feelings onto him and writing off his disinterest or discomfort as denial.

Kirk and Spock go back to working on the signal, while Layla deals with her heartbreak by disappearing into thin air for the rest of the episode. Spock says that the sound they’re going to send out is on a frequency that won’t be heard so much as felt, but apparently it will be felt quite emphatically. Kirk compares it to putting itching powder on someone. Which may seem like another silly technobabble deus ex machina, but speaking from personal experience, driving someone into a frantic frustrated fit by playing an obnoxious noise just on the edge of hearing sounds totally legit. All they need to complete the sensory overload meltdown experience is find a way to simulate some flickering florescent lights and put tags on the backs of the uniform shirts.

And indeed, as the device starts to work, we see Sulu and DeSalle working in one of the fields—for a certain value of ‘working,’ anyway, they’re kind of just digging around aimlessly—when Sulu accidentally elbows DeSalle in the back. He apologizes, but DeSalle shoves him back, and before long they’re having a full-on brawl right there in the field, which can't be good for the crops. As the device on the ship hums away, two more crewmembers start their own fight over by the farmhouse, and when a third tries to break them up he promptly gets dragged into it as well.

The effects haven’t quite reached everyone just yet, though, as we see McCoy chillaxing under a tree with some unspecified concoction. Sandoval strolls up and says that he’s been thinking about what sort of work he could assign McCoy to. When McCoy protests that he does one kind of work and that’s doctorin’, Sandoval says that he’s not a doctor anymore—they don’t need any doctors here.

This does not go over well.

[ID: A gif showing McCoy reclining against a tree in a grassy meadow, a stalk of grass in one hand and a grass of something brown with several leafy stalks in it. Sandoval is standing over him. McCoy says, "Oh, no?" and then slowly stands up, tosses his grass stalk aside, looks Sandoval in the eye and says, "Would you like to see just how fast I can put you in a hospital?"]

Undeterred, Sandoval says that he’s the leader and he’ll be assigning McCoy whatever work he wants to, but when he tries to walk away McCoy pulls him back and snarls, “You’d better make me a mechanic. Then I can treat little tin gods like you.” Sandoval throws a punch at him, but McCoy dodges and whacks Sandoval in the stomach, putting him out flat on the ground. See, I told you it wouldn’t be hard to cure McCoy. Everyone else on the Enterprise was perfectly happy to give up their careers to go do a bit of light farming, but tell McCoy he can’t be a doctor anymore and no amount of spores are going to save you.

While Sandoval is busy rolling around on the ground, McCoy stands there looking confused for a moment, then—presumably having only just now noticed that instead of a mint julep he’s actually been drinking a coke with a bunch of cilantro in it—throws his drink aside and admits that he’s not sure why he just clobbered Sandoval. But Sandoval has other concerns for the moment. With a look of dawning horror familiar to all us chronic procrastinators, he abruptly realizes that they haven’t actually been doing anything all this time. “No accomplishments, no progress. Three years wasted. We wanted to make this planet a garden...”

McCoy points out that the colonists really will have to leave—they can’t survive here without the spores handling all that radiation for them. But the dream’s not over; the colonists could be relocated to start again somewhere a bit less deadly, if that’s what they want.

“I think I’d...I think we’d like to get some work done,” Sandoval muses. “The work we set out to do.”

McCoy calls Spock and says that Sandoval wants to talk to Kirk. Spock notes to Kirk that the crew are all starting to rather sheepishly call in by now. Sandoval tells Kirk that the colonists will fully cooperate with the evacuation now, and Kirk tells him to start making the preparations. Real ones, this time.

Sometime later, everyone’s back on the bridge getting ready to head out. McCoy reports that he’s examined all the colonists and they all remain in perfect health. “A fringe benefit left over by the spores.”

One would think that this would have been quite the eventful afternoon for the medical sciences, given that they just discovered spores with such incredible healing powers that they can make people regrow organs, and McCoy just confirmed that anything healed by the spores stays healed after the spores are gone. Sure, they’ve got some side effects, but Kirk’s already discovered a simple way to get rid of the things once they’re no longer needed. Strap someone to a bed, give em a facemask full of spores, let them lay there for a while having a nice buzz while they heal their cancer or whatever, then play an irritating noise at them until they sneeze the spores back out again. Boom. Done. You’ve solved medicine. Or, y’know, we could vacate the planet and never speak of it ever again, that works too.

Notably unmentioned by anybody during this little denouement is the fate of the other two settlements on the planet that Sandoval mentioned back near the beginning of the episode. The length of the timeskip isn’t specified, so it’s possible that the crew went and collected them as well in the interim, but we never get any details as to how that little adventure went, assuming that it did happen and that the Enterprise isn’t about to get halfway to the next starbase before Kirk realizes he forgot something.

As they watch the planet diminish behind them on the viewscreen, McCoy muses that this was “the second time man’s been thrown out of paradise.” Kirk disagrees. "No, no, Bones, this time we walked out on our own. Maybe we weren't meant for paradise. Maybe we were meant to fight our way through--struggle, claw our way up, scratch for every inch of the way. Maybe we can't stroll to the music of the lute. We must march to the sound of drums."

Spock remains unimpressed by this bit of philosophizing. “Poetry, Captain. Nonregulation.” Kirk notes that they haven’t heard anything from Spock about this whole ordeal, since, y’know, that definitely seems like something Spock would want to talk about. He says he’s got little to say about Omicron Ceti 3.

[ID: A close-up of Spock on the bridge as he says, "Except that for the first time in my life...I was happy."]

oh my god someone needs therapy

On that INCREDIBLY CHEERFUL note, the Enterprise flies away and the episode ends.

It’s somewhat baffling to me that of all the quite reasonable objections available to the whole situation with the spores, the main problem that Kirk—and by extension, the episode—seems to have is that “the spores make things too EASY and mankind was meant to STRUGGLE!!!” I mean, effectively what we had going on here was people being drugged without their consent into a state that overwrote their own desires, ambitions, emotions and much of their individual personalities and replaced them with bland, happy conformity to a goal and lifestyle none of them actually chose. That seems a bit worse to me than “people weren’t working hard enough.” Kirk goes on and on about how the spores made things too easy, but what they really did was make people apathetic to whether they succeeded at anything or not. Sandoval’s horrified when he’s cured of the spores because the colonists had much different plans for their colony; far from making those plans easier, the spores made them impossible. The dreams and desires of the Enterprise crew for a life of exploration among the stars would have been forever unmet if they had permanently joined the colony, they just wouldn’t have been able to care. Kirk seems to believe that the ultimate evil of the spores is that they deprive people of ambition; to me it seems that the worse evil is that they deprive people of their individuality and their autonomy.

Then there’s the fact that while the spores make people happy and friendly, they also make them remarkably blasé about the well-being of anyone who isn’t part of their collective. They have to be—caring about whether someone else is upset or hurt would make them unhappy, after all. Spock and McCoy are completely unconcerned with the mounting distress of their best friend, and beyond peer pressuring him to get with the program and take the spores like everyone else, they don’t seem to much care if he remains the only unhappy person on the planet. The colonists seem completely unbothered by the fact that all the animals they brought with them died a rather grueling death by radiation poisoning. Everyone on the Enterprise is happy to abandon the ship and join the colony with no message left behind for Starfleet, with apparently not a thought to spare for any friends and family back home, who would only ever know that their loved ones disappeared into space never to be seen again.

Or at least, they would if things actually went according to plan, which they probably wouldn’t, because the spores also made everyone cheerfully oblivious to the idea that anything could potentially cause a problem or pose a threat to them. After all, if Kirk hadn’t had a recovery at the last minute, the Enterprise would have been left unmanned in orbit around the planet, with no way for anyone in the colony to get back onboard. Uhura also goes out of her way to make sure that they no longer have any off-planet communication. So it’s probably not going to be long before Starfleet notices that one of their prize starships has abruptly gone incommunicado, and I’m willing to bet they’d be a bit quicker on that investigation than they were about checking on a tiny backwater colony (although it is Starfleet, so who knows, really). And since they know exactly where the ship was headed on its last recorded mission, it probably won’t take them long to find it. If Starfleet sends another ship along to investigate quickly enough, they’ll find the abandoned Enterprise hanging out in orbit around the planet, and Kirk’s log clearly lays out what happened, so all the other ship has to do is figure out how to neutralize the spores and everyone’s going to get rescued from Omicron Ceti 3 pretty quickly whether they want to be or not.

If Starfleet doesn’t show up in time...Kirk says the ship can be “maintained in orbit” for several months, but then what? It can’t stay up there forever. Sooner or later, the orbit will decay and the ship’s going to crash into the planet, and if it crashes anywhere near one of the colonies, their magic healing powers are going to be put to the test. Also their magic agriculture powers--rich soil and mild weather is all well and good, but is that going to be enough to carry all those crops through the ensuing environmental effects of an impact that big? Especially since, as already mentioned, the colony has enough to feed them and that’s about it—so they really can’t afford to lose any crops for very long.

Sure, maybe the Enterprise wouldn’t crash close enough to any of the colonies to ruin them, but why take the risk? All they had to do was have a helmsman set it on a course out of orbit, then take a shuttlecraft back to the planet. Doesn’t occur to anyone, evidently. Nor do we see anyone bothering to bring any supplies or equipment from the ship to the colony, even though there’s gotta be lots of stuff up there that would be useful. All in all, it seems quite likely that Paradise would have eventually collapsed in on itself simply because the spores make people unable to pay attention to any potential threats or obstacles long enough to do anything about them.

So what’s the moral here? ‘Society can’t survive if everyone is stoned all of the time’? I mean, okay? Sure? Cool? Glad we sorted all that out.

That said, despite having ranted for the past nine hundred words about the weird moral, I’m not saying this episode is bad. As a serious point about human nature I don’t find it especially compelling—YMMV, but I just personally tend to side-eye stories that center around the idea of “wouldn’t it be awful if we all had it too easy??”--but as fifty minutes of extremely Star Trek-y silliness it’s glorious. We’ve got Spock hanging from a tree and talking about dragons while making out in the grass, McCoy going full Georgia and wandering about with something he thinks is a mint julep, Kirk stomping around in increasing agitation as he tries to get some sense out of somebody and then making emo log entries while he sits on the bridge alone...it’s great.

The original draft of this episode apparently had the romantic subplot be for Sulu, who would have been motivated to stay with Layla after having been diagnosed with a serious medical condition that was cured by the spores, kind of like the eventual plot with McCoy in For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky. D.C. Fontana rewrote the story to focus on Spock, since if you have an episode about something that causes a strong emotional reaction, throwing Spock and his ever-present internal conflict into the mix is kind of the most immediately obvious way to generate some pathos and drama. The spores originally granted those affected with them telepathic abilities, enabling them to link with everyone else who’d been spore’d and form a hivemind. There are some traces of this in the final episode with spore’d people talking about “joining us” and “being one of us” and so on, but without the telepathy part it just kind of makes it sound like they’re in a cult. Also, the cure for the spores would have been consuming alcohol, so presumably in that draft McCoy never got infected.

For the purposes of the Trek Tally I’m going to count the spores as a Space Disease, which might be broadening the umbrella of that term a bit but hey, close enough. Next time we’ll be looking for life, Jim, but not as we know it, in The Devil in the Dark.

[mystic-oneshots]

Video Games ( Jumin x MC) (Juminweek - Day 3)

I know at the time of this post Jumin week is officially over but I haven’t been able to post in time as I haven’t been very well. I also had ides for what to write and changed them half way through! However, Here’s day 3! I got heavily inspired by Animal Crossing as that's what I've been playing when I’m not playing Jumin’s route on repeat! I can imagine Something like this happening so I had to write it. I hope you enjoy!

(Video games vs soap operas)

My head rests against the soft feather pillow as I adjust the linen bed sheets around my body. I snuggle in wiggling my toes and ankles around the covers to get warm. It doesn't take long to get comfortable.

A warm glow faintly lights the room from the lamps positioned on either side of the bed. The door to the on-suite bathroom is left open ajar, letting the light from that room sneak out into the dimly lit bedroom where I lay. My husband's phone occasionally brightens up as either a message or an email gives him an alert, although he isn't able to see them right now. The last spot of light comes from what is sat in my hands.

Each night since receiving the gift from my husband, I have been spending some time playing on my 'Nintendo Switch'. Specifically to play 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons'. I am often off before my husband comes and joins me in bed, so we can spend some time in each others arms before drifting off to sleep. Tonight however, I have been informed that I would be having a meteor shower in the game, and I don't want to miss it!

Jumin emerges from the bathroom. He tugs gently at the collar of his pyjamas as he walks towards his side of the bed. His eyes don't leave me despite mine being glued to the small screen of the console. The sheets are lifted and his body soon comes to join me under the duvet. His eyes still don't leave my presence.

"Can I ask a question?" Jumin says, bringing his body in closer to mine and placing his arm underneath my head. The heat of his body gives me a sense of stimulation, however, it's not quite enough to bring me out of my trace the game has caught me in.

"Uh-huh" I respond, not taking my eyes off the screen as I move my thumbs around the control buttons. I can feel him frowning in response to me not looking at him.

"Can you explain what makes this game so special to you?" He curiously asks. His eyes drift away from me and onto my screen as I move my character round the environment. Seeing him take an interest in something that is way beyond his expertise is an entertaining yet welcome thought. It was at this point I divert my attention to him instead. I crack a smile at him and I place the console down on my lap. I wonder why he'd ask that?

"Are you interested in it?" I tease. Jumin's eyes lift to meet mine. His ash black locks fall effortlessly in front of his eyes. His expression is warm and gentle but I can see curiosity sparking in his smile with a faint smirk.

"One could say so. I just want to know why you're so invested in it! It seems like it's all you're doing in you're spare time now." His free hand tucks a loose wisp of hair behind my ear and his thumb delicately rubs across my cheek. Through his touch he I could feel that he's somewhat disappointed. It breaks me a little. I didn't realise I was that invested and it was secretly affecting him.

"Have I been spending too much time on it? I'm sorry! Ugh, why didn't I realise that-"

"Don't be ridiculous, princess!" He laughs. "I must admit, I wish to have some more attention, but then again, I can see how happy it makes you so that is enough to satisfy me. I want you to show me what you're playing so I can understand why you love it so much!"

Hearing him say that makes my heart flutter. He's genuinely curious. That's adorable!

My head turns to fully face him. A joyful sigh escapes my lips before I pull my body in closer to his. I rest my head on his shoulder and his head falls to lay on top on mine. His free arm wraps around my waist as I bring the Switch up to my face again. I tilt the console enough so Jumin has a clear view of the screen in between my hands. It's so nice to be able to share this with him!

"Will I need to explain everything to you?" I question him.

"No, I've seen advertisements for this game before so I get the base idea of the concept. If I have any questions I'll ask." he responds. I hum back in content.

I show my husband my island that I have spent hours on to make perfect. The first place I decide to take him to is the airport to show of the creativity of my island entrance. Cliffs littered with flowers, small knickknacks, and the odd waterfall stand before my character.

He remains quiet as I tour him around the cliffs and pathways, pointing out my villagers homes and the areas I've decorated to resemble different community places. I know his silence is a good thing. He's not bored nor not paying attention. When he's like this, I can tell he's invested. It was something I had to learn to get used to, however, that's how he's always been apparently.

"Was that a cat?" He quickly exclaims. He sounds excited! I let out a light-hearted laugh as I make my character retrace her steps. Indeed it was a cat. Someone who I spent a lot of time and dedication to find. A cat named Raymond.

"It took me weeks to finally find him! He's one of, if not, the most popular villagers in the game but that's not why I wanted him..." I tell Jumin. My voice trails off and I feel his grip around me tighten.

"Why did you want him?" He softly asks. My cheeks flush red. I'm thankful that he can't see my face properly right now for I'd be rather embarrassed if he did. I hesitate to answer at first, trying to laugh it off and hoping he wouldn't notice my awkwardness.

Truth is, I wanted him because he reminded me so much of Jumin. For a start, he's a cat! He wears a little suit and talks in a sophisticated way which is very typical of Jumin too. I doesn't help that his house is designed to look like an office either! It was like Jumin was in mind when they made him!

"It's a silly reason really..." I mumble under my laughter. It's not really silly but it's just a bit cringe worthy.

"It's because he reminds you of me isn't it?" He speculated. My cheeks only flush more. How on earth is he so good at figuring me out? It's like he can read my mind!

I move my head from his shoulder and turn my body to face him. His eyes are drawn to the peachy hue of my cheeks which trigger a chain reaction in his own. Seeing him become flustered makes me feel less embarrassed. It also makes my reasoning feel less child-like and more meaningful.

"I think that might be enough for tonight." Jumin's arm reaches for the console in my hands and carefully plucks it from my hands. He places it on the bedside table before bringing his hand back around my body. He pulls me in closer for a tender cuddle, holding my head against the warmth of his chest.

"What do you think of my island?" I gingerly ask. His fingers run through my scalp relaxing me as my eyes start to slowly become heavy.

"It's very creative, darling. You certainly have an eye for detail, although I already knew that and wouldn't expect anything less from you." A tone of flattery runs through his voice. "Seeing what you've done has now made me consider about getting one myself! I'm sure there's a way we can connect on it to play together right?"

"What really?" I jolt my head up to look at his face. A huge smile bares his lips as he nods and hums in reassurance. I giggle as I settle down again against his chest.

This happy feeling is exactly what we need to sleep well tonight.

[versatilewindow]

A Night in ‘Las Vegas’ (its actually Daphne’s mansion)

Find it on Ao3!

Summary:Party at Daphne's, Velma experiences requited gay panic. Written for @scrubyjay<3

A/N: if u asked me a week ago what id be writing, scooby doo lesbian fanfic definitely wouldn't have been anywhere near my mind. im kinda surprised i even had this much to say about them.

In the past few years, the Mystery Gang had made a habit of meeting up before a new semester of college started to relax and hang out before their studies took over their lives. Daphne was hosting at her childhood home (as she called it, though most would consider the estate a real true mansion) as usual, (Her parents were off on their yearly honeymoon or what Daphne would call their regularly scheduled time for absolute debauchery among other acts that are certainly in a legal grey area.) and she had full reign of the staff and tonight's event. This semester’s theme was “A Night in Las Vegas”, meaning the gang would be dressed in their best cocktail outfits, and that there were actual slot machines and gambling tables, complete with dealers using rigged card decks to make sure no one would threaten the casino’s nightly earnings, not that they were actually gambling it’s all for realism.

This was the week before most the gang’s final semester, most as in Shaggy decided that he’d rather learn some cooking skills on the job rather than some pompous 75 year old teacher at the nearest cooking school, not realizing he would instead have to deal with an egotistical 40 year old going through what was surely the world’s worst case of mid-life crisis. The rest of the gang was spread around the country, Fred was at the local state college on a football scholarship, studying business and was the VP of the school’s biggest fraternity. Daphne was studying investigative journalism at Colombia, if asked she went to school in New York, and she was in fact related to the Blakes financially backing the new Blake scholarship for students studying journalism. Velma was at Stanford double majoring in Criminal Psychology and Forensic Science, and was set to continue her studies in a Phd program at Harvard. 

Out of all the gang, Velma was the most excited for the night, she rarely got to see the others because of the physical distance between them. She walked up the marble steps outside the front doors of the Blake estate, duffel bag in tow, (they always ended up absolutely sloshed at the end of these dinners, opting to stay in one of the many guest rooms with plush king sized beds rather than waiting for a taxi) and pressed the buzzer which linked to a pager on the butler’s uniform. It was only a few moments before Jenkins opened the heavy oak doors.

“Ah, Miss Dinkley, glad to see you’ve made it here safely, would you like someone to take your bag to your room?”

“No, thank you Jenkins, Daphne wanted to get ready together and I have some things I’ll need in the bag. Is she in her room?”

“Yes, allow me to escort you there.” With that Jenkins turned into the Foyer, walking under the first of many grand chandeliers, and up the grand blush pink marble stairs towards Daphne’s suite. Before she knew it they were in front of the door to the bedroom.

Jenkins knocked on the pale door, “Miss Blake, Miss Dinkley has arrived.”

“Oh Yes! Send her in please! The door’s unlocked!” A light rustling was heard behind the door as Jenkins opened the door for Velma, revealing Daphne moving towards her vanity in a silk lavender robe that ended mid thigh. “Velma! I’m so happy you could come early!” The taller woman changed her course towards the shorter one, who seemed almost frozen in the doorway. “Come on in! Thank you Jenkins, let me know when the boys have arrived.” Jenkins responded with a light bow before swiftly turning away, no doubt to continue the prep for tonight's event. 

Velma walked in the room, closing the door behind her, and setting her bag down on the loveseat in front of the room’s TV. “I’m glad I could make it too, I wasn’t sure if I would’ve been able to trade shifts with someone at the bookstore, but Sarah S., remember her from high school? She was trying to avoid a family event that was going on earlier today, her aunts are always setting her up on dates and she didn’t want to deal with that again. So it all worked out!” 

Daphne smiled at Velma, “Oh Sarah’s wonderful, I almost forgot she worked at the bookstore too during the breaks. There’s a robe for you in the bathroom to change into before we do our manicures.” Velma turned into the attached bathroom, quickly changing into the orange silk robe she usually used while at Daphne’s, the light geometric patterns reminding her of all the sleepovers the two shared in high school. Stepping out of the bathroom, Velma saw that Daphne had already set up the station to paint their nails. “So what’s tonight’s color scheme for you? I’m going with glittery hot pink.” Daphne had started with the base coat already.

“I brought an orange leather skirt, and I was thinking of a black top, but the options I brought don’t really fit with the cocktail dress code for tonight.” Velma sat down across from her friend in a dark luxurious chair, fiddling with the collection of polishes in front of her. 

Daphne grabbed a mid-tone orange from the selection, “Don’t worry about your top, you know I have a lot to choose from.” The smile on her face was audible, and she continued, “If it’s the leather skirt I’m thinking of, it would pair great with this sheer, flowy turtleneck I have.” Daphne’s delicate hands grabbed Velma’s, and with skillful light touches started applying the polish. The two took turns with the materials, falling into a comfortable silence finishing the task quickly.

“It’s make-up and hair next, right? I have some things in my bag.” Deeming her nails dry enough, Velma stood and made her way over to the aforementioned bag, pulling out a travel toiletries bag that had her small selection of make-up. It’s not that she was against make-up in any way, it was really more for special events than the day to day, also her college-student budget meant some luxuries were limited, and make-up was on that list. Adjusting her glasses, Velma turned to where Daphne was standing next to the vanity chair, she had a slight pout on her face, the one she used to get what she wanted from anyone.

“Can I please do your make-up? You know I love to do it and you love the outcome every time.” The pout stayed on her face.

“I suppose I could let you do my makeup Daph, seeing as you’re asking so kindly.” Daphne let out a light giggle at the fake sass in Velma's statement. (They both knew that Velma would never say no to Daphne, with or without the pout, not that Velma would ever admit it.) Velma sat down, leaning against the back of the chair, removing her glasses and setting them down on the vanity to allow Daphne full vision of her canvas.

Feathery touches moved across Velma’s face, applying the primer on to soft moisturized skin. “Are you wearing contacts tonight?”

“I brought them, but I’m not sure I’ll remember to take them off before sleeping tonight.”

Daphne continued with the base make-up. “Don’t wear them, you look cute with your glasses.”

A light blush covered the tips of Velma’s cheeks and nose, it certainly wasn’t her first time hearing that phrase, but something about hearing it from Daph’s rosy lips made it different. 

Working swiftly, Daphne made her way to the eyes, she grabbed Velma’s eyeliner, leaning in close to work on the wing. The controlled, concentrated breaths tickled the lightly covered freckles on Velma’s face, the flush from before continuing on strong through the powder pink blush Daphne already placed on the high point’s of her cheek bones. Daphne leaned away from her to examine the work done, hands lingering behind on Velma’s face, a satisfied smile appearing when she decided the two sides were even. “We’ll do lips after we change, you good on your own for hair?” Velma nodded while putting her frames back on to inspect the work Daphne had done on her face. It was simple, what she liked best, but it was better than anything Velma could do on her own. Daphne had perfected her technique in blending and choosing colors, if she didn’t know the other for years, Velma would’ve expected Daphne to enroll in a fashion and design school. 

The two made quick work of the rest of their prep work, gossiping about the town’s latest scandals. (The Adam’s were being investigated for tax fraud, and the Miller’s were going through a particularly nasty divorce.) Velma straightened out her hair, smoothing it from the usual halo of frizz, stealing glances at Daphne while she did her own make-up and hair. Their gazes met each other once, staring deep into the other’s dark eyes for a beat before looking away as though nothing happened. 

The evening drew to a close, night just beginning to settle in, the others would be here soon. Their attention was now drawn to the expansive walk-in closet in the room. Daphne pulled out the sheer turtleneck mentioned before for Velma, it had shiny glittery threads spread throughout, perfect for tonight’s event, and a hot pink sequined mini dress. They both changed in front of each other, as they had many times before, but something in the air was different, there was an unspoken tension between the two of them growing from the lingering touches and frequent glances from earlier. Velma looked up from her skirt’s zipper to see Daphne’s bare back in front of her, dress unzipped. She said a light ‘I got it’ before pulling the hidden zipper up the pale back, the dress tightly hugging the curve of the toned body before her. 

The tension dissipated as they walked over to the rack of shoes covering a wall of the closet, Daphne thinking out loud, wondering if she should go with boots or a strappy pump. She grabbed a chunky platform heel for Velma, one she often borrowed, before deciding on black suede thigh high boots. Daphne’s pink phone pinged, a text from the boys, they were five minutes away. As she pulled the boots over her long legs, Daphne saw Velma staring at her thighs, pinked nose, where skin met suede, and blushed herself, not mentioning that she’d caught the other. 

Shrugging this off, Daphne stood and walked out of the closet, to the door of her room, waiting for Velma. As the shorter walked to the doorway, fingertips touched the small of her back guiding her through. The two walked to the main room on the ground floor where it had been transformed to feel like a real casino, the lights were dimmed, 5 slot machines took up a wall, a dealer’s table next to the grand fireplace, tall, small tables with tea lights and stools took up the center floor, and two servants stood at the edge, one with a tray of hors d'oeuvres and the other a tray of champagne. Meeting the ladies at the bottom were their friends, and Jenkin’s informing them that dinner would be served within the hour. The boys cleaned up well, Shaggy’s usual mop of hair gelled back, with burgundy suspenders against a white button up holding up light green slacks. Fred opted for a more classic black and white suit, with a sapphire blue tie to add his own flair. Even Scooby looked prepped for a red carpet, his nails cut, a light almond scent from soap rather than his usual distinct dog smell. 

The forty or so minutes before dinner was served went smoothly, Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne spent their time catching up at the slot machine; Fred and Velma playing black jack while laughing about funny stories from the past semester. The waiters did their jobs, handing out each person’s favorite snack before the meal, or snacks in Shaggy and Scoob’s case, leaving no glass unfilled, although they insisted they all have at least a glass of plain water for every couple of refills. 

Once it was time for the meal, the servants put their trays down to push the tables together, so the group could enjoy the dishes together. Daphne pulled her stool next to Velma’s brushing her hand against the smooth skin of the other’s thigh, and noticed how the seated girl’s relaxed, slightly tipsy posture tensed at the quick touch. The dinner continued with similar interactions, a tap of one’s foot against the other, a brush of knees under the table, dabbing away sauce at the edge of the other’s lips. If the boys had noticed these seemingly innocent interactions, they either didn’t care about the clear subtext, or were too drunk to even notice the tension growing with each lingering touch.

After they had finished eating, the ladies continued with their behavior at the table even though the others moved to the dealer’s table for poker. With a well placed hand on the other girl’s thigh, Velma took things a step further and gave a light squeeze, causing Daphne to get out her stool, pulling the other by the wrist to the nearest bathroom, offhandedly mentioning their destination to the hired boy bringing out chicken nuggets for Shaggy. 

In the bathroom, Velma locked the door behind them as the taller girl pulled her onto the granite countertop in a rushed passionate kiss. Contrary to popular belief, Velma was no stranger to Saturday night party bathroom hook-ups, but she was in her childhood best friend’s home having a bathroom hook-up, with her childhood best friend no less. The flutter in her stomach that was growing during dinner, turned into heat and a blazing fire at her core as Daphne’s supple pink lips trailed down the side of the other neck, lightly biting where the top of the turtleneck ended. A quick hand undid the button at the top of the sheer shirt, allowing Daphne more places to nip and kiss. Velma’s hands pulled the other closer as a soft moan left her lips, making Daphne continue the attack at her neck with more vigor. With a light squeeze on her butt, the orange haired girl looked up from the other’s neck with half lidded eyes before asking, “do you,” a kiss on the cheek, “want to take this” a kiss on the other, “to my room?” a kiss on the nose, “I have some things there that could make this even better” a kiss on the lips. At this, Velma hopped off the counter, straightening out her disheveled clothes as best she could before unlocking the door and rushing towards the stairs, Daphne close behind with a large grin on her face. The only thing that pulled them away from their mission of making it to the room was a quick stop telling the boys they were turning in for the night.

The next morning, Daphne figured it was a good thing her parents insisted the boy’s sleep on the other side of the house.

Bonus: after the ladies mentioned they were off to bed

Shaggy turned to Fred, he was drunk, but sober enough to notice the smeared lipstick on Daphne, or the trail of lip marks down Velma’s neck. "You're gonna have to pay up man, did you see them?"

Fred slumped down onto the table and mumbled, "Why couldn't they stick it out a few more months till after graduation, I'll have your money on Monday."

A/N: uhhhh, velma got RAILED, lets leave that as the description for the smut. I would also like to get dommed by Daphne Blake. Lmk if u liked it!

[sparklingpax]

Y E S id LOVE to see how you draw The Boi!!

I think you’re referring to when I posted about asking if anyone wanted me to put out a tutorial about anything so....ok! :D

Your wish is my command~

///

Uhh so for y’all other artists or people who might also see this, disclaimer again that I’m not  a professional so pls pls pls dont come at me if you see mistakes...which there are mistakes...like I’m 99.9% sure some of this isn’t really “symmetrical” or its warped weirdly because I Suck at perspective and I’m still learning! :’) 

The point of this tutorial thing is just to show my general process of how I draw Optimus (a headshot of him, just his head and neck, to be specific; his body is another, longer story o//o’’) and others’ execution of it can definitely vary. I mostly just showed the steps in which I completed the different parts of his helm. 

Which I’d also like to add that I’m an Idiot and forgot to record my screen so instead I took photos of the different compeleted steps after drawing the whole thing O//////o’’ but anyway......I do still hope this maybe sorta helps....^^’’ 

///

1.) Sketching; I like to draw a human head actually (same goes for body; I’ll start with a human form as the sketch and then do a second sketch of the armor over it before I start lining; and those dont include other sketches I do over those to clean them up....^^’’)

2.) Cleaner, More Specific sketch; This is the last sketch before lineart where I place things and color the lines so I get an idea of what the final product might look like...if I end up doing it right! I try to place everything that should be in the final, so before this are other sketches....but this is the last one. Ok. Moving on--

3.) Crest; this can move around a lot while lining the rest of the helm as you may find you’ve centered it incorrectly...or at least...that’s what happens to me...but nonetheless, I begin with the crest~

And a note about how I make it: I use the line tool to make the shape, duplicate the shape, make that one smaller, fill it in completely, then take the eraser and turn the canvas so I can erase in the lines. When you finish, it’ll look like a grill of sorts (is that the term??? O///O’’) and it saves the trouble of extra lineart,,,idk call me lazy but it looks good in the end,,,, ^^’’

4.) Top of his helm; When I draw this the first time, I close up the bottoms so I can clean them up later when I draw the other parts of his head, but as I said above, by this point I’d already finished the drawing so that’s why it looks like that, but basically, that blue part of his helmet goes next! :D I also try to do extra lines as I go along so I don’t forget later...^^’’

5.) Add in the audio receptors + Side face-plate things!! Preferably, start with the receptors, then do the side thingies. And for the grill on those, take your line tool and draw in a rectangle that follows the shape at the top but is straight on the bottom and fill it in. Then, erase the same amount of times on each side to create the same look~ Obviously, be neater than me...since this example here is kinda lopsided....but I suppose you probably get the idea.. :’3 

6.) Draw in the blue plating on his face, then the chin on a separate layer below, and on yet another layer, add the tiny blue things at the bottom. Clean up the chin lines that cross into the blue plating spaces, and that should give you this step! If that,,,makes any sense? If my rambles make it confusing, just look at the final result here and compelete the three components on three separate layers so it’s easier for you. Also, when you’re done with that, combine the side blue plating and the chin bits so you have less layers to go through in the end...if you wanna...

7.) As for the antennae things, use the line tool for sure, and erase or change the brush size up so you can play with line-weight...and again call me lazy but you can combine them when you’re done cleaning them up (again, I reccommend putting each one of these on a separate layer first so you can clean them up individually and then combine to one) and duplicate the layer for the other side. For front view, literally just flip it so it’s symmetrical, for 3-quarter, you might need to use your “transform�� (hahah lol) tool to fix it a bit. Or just draw the new side in, either way, that completes step 7.

8.) Neck!! Now this wasn’t a more “serious drawing” or anything, so I kinda made a neck shape and drew in random cables and lines so it looks complicated but it’s actually not....tbh when you do draw him, you can kind of do that because ultimately, the shades of black used to color his neck area are dark enough to conceal what exactly was drawn in there so it’s not the most important thing in the world...since you’ll see there’s lining in there but it’s too hard to make out what exactly....basically, from afar, having all this “complication” will give the look that he has a complex neck area, with all these cables and wires and it looks alien! And that’s exactly what you should go for without needing to make it too hard for yourself. I remember someone told me once that in a lot of art, especially art displayed on social media or that kind of thing, you wanna focus on details but not too much; always do a double-take to see what it looks like as a thumbnail so you won’t end up stressing over every tiny miniscule detail. Idk but it seems like good advice~ 

9.) Eyes/mouth; For the eyes the only thing I wanna say is that I make a shape and fill it in. I know he has other little details surrounding his optics, but for the sake of showing you how I do this in my lil style, I like to simplify it by just making the shape and filling it in, then duplicating the layer and “gaussian blurr-ing” it so it has a softer look. The mouth is...the mouth. Do with it what you shall~

10.) Optics! The blue part! The most fun part in my opinion! I actually have a more “complicated” (not really lol) version of his eyes which I use if I’m going to color the piece or do something more “serious,” so this here’s the simplified version. Like I said with his eyes, I like to keep it simple when it comes to his eyes, since idk it just...looks good to me ^^’’ I take the pen tool and draw in two circles, ovals, whatever the shape is supposed to be. I do not use the circle tool because it feels a little.....stiff..? Idk ^^’’ But anyway, then I duplicate the layer, gaussian blur, and combine both. Another thing I like to do is change the first layer (the one that didn’t get the blur) from “normal” to “Add (Glow)” ((as it’s written in Clip Studio settings, that is)) and mess with that a little, THEN combine these layers. The last part is adding your shine bits; just take your white pen and go wild, and if you wanna, do the whole “duplicate, blur, combine” thing with the shine bits as well; it adds to the look~ 

And ofc, take away the sketch layer (but don’t delete it, just in case you need it! ^w^)

I have another process for coloring....but I didn’t include it since it’s fairly simple ^^’’

Unless you wanna see that too....but for now.....I hope you could get something out of this tutorial here! Sorry it was so long!! 

I also just realized I forgot his eyebrows, but you can add those in along with the eyes/mouth step if you don’t forget like I did...idk, for this particular look it seems not to take so much away from the drawing but....I should have remembered ahh--

Anyway! Thanks so much for asking!! And thanks to all of y’all for reading/looking through all this!! <3 

See ya around~

-Kuni :D 

[oficytheft]

Finding His Way Out of the Time Stream: < Chapter 6 >

Leonard was not happy with being benched, even if he still wasn't quite at 100% just 3 days after coming back he was close enough even without his gun; and with how Dahrk and the Legion had manipulated his younger self into helping them? He had a bone to pick with the resurrected asshole. Instead though there he was on the ship with Zari, Amaya, and Helen of Troy; the others had gone to help Stein, and since the ladies charm didn't seem to affect him? Sara had asked him to stay on the ship encase any of Darhk's pose showed up on the ship. He'd decided that the best place to sit was perched on the center console on the bridge, one leg propped up as he rested his elbow on his knee to prop it up and rest his chin in his hand well his other leg dangled.

He had his gun off his leg and in his trigger hand ready to shoot if he needed to, but currently? He was just watching as Helen paced back and forth looking worried well Amaya and Zari went to make sure the doors were sealed shut. Could he have gone and helped him? Yeah, but he was kind of hoping someone ended up on the ship so he could start a fight. After so long being stuck in the time stream he was starting to get antsy just staying in the ship for so long. Finally, he slid down off where he was sitting and walked over to lean against the door frame to Sara's office. "Really don't get all the fuss, do they just not have attractive people in Ancient Greece?" He knew that wasn't it, if that was the case then she wouldn't be having the effect that she was on people in a future time. It was probably just some naturally occurring meta power that she didn't know how to control.

"Unfortunately I'm afraid I've been cursed by the gods, a thoughtless remark by someone who saw me and my beauty was turned into a curse." Leonard couldn't help but roll his eyes, he'd gotten the rundown of the myth from Gideon when they'd learned who it was that they were after. He figured that if Darhk was interested in the woman? Maybe she had a connection to one of these totem things or something, that's why he'd recruited the water witch after all from what they'd learned; who was to say that wasn't his end goal with her too. "I don't understand why you aren't affected though unless you prefer the company of men to women."

Leonard couldn't help the roll of his eyes before he lifted his gun, resting it on his shoulder before answering. "I prefer the company of people that don't make me wanna shoot 'em, a pretty face doesn't mean anything to me." His attention was drawn away then, focusing on the screen on the far wall where she could see Amaya fighting the water woman. "Well, that ain't good." He turned then and raised his free hand to let the end of his gun fall into it, telling her as he walked away. "Stay here or come help I don't care, just don't get yourself killed. Don't need to hear it from the esteemed Captain."

He didn't bother to check if the woman was following him or not as he made his way down the hallway, he didn't exactly rush but when he saw Amaya fighting in the hallway he took note of Helen peaking out from behind the corner of the other end of the hallway as he aimed his cold gun at her feet in order to avoid hitting Amaya just in time for the blonde to stab her in the back. Neither one seemed to do more than cause her pain though before she liquified herself and slid through the vent grate at her feet. "Great! Now she could be anywhere on this damn tin can." And they couldn't have Gideon do a scan of the ship until it was up and running again, should have told Amaya to move and just froze the bitch solid.

When the team got back to the ship with an unconscious Sara? Leonard made it very well known how incompetent he thought they all were, and as soon as Gideon was back on he told her to scan the ship for Kuasa once she was done fixing their captain. He had no plans to take over this half-baked mission of fighting some mysterious demonic being that could use magic time travel well she was out, but someone had to make sure that they weren't all going to get killed in their sleep. He didn't bother sticking around the medbay after they all got Sara hooked up, he'd already been itching for a fight before and now? No better. He headed to his own room rather than Mick's like he had been the last few days, preferring to channell his frustration there.

Not that Mick wouldn't get him being upset, Sara just reminded him too much of Lisa and the idea of her being hurt felt too much like the idea of Lisa being hurt. And this was why Leonard Snart didn't get close to people, this is why after Mick had nearly died in that fire in 2014 he had stayed away for 10 months. He didn't like the lack of control he felt when people he cared about ended up hurt, plans going off the rails he expected and accepted fairly easily. People he gave a shit about dying? Well, it was expected with the life he lived even before but it wasn't something he was so great at accepting. That's why there were so few people he let himself care about. When he got to his room he started opening totes and pulling out his things that had been put into storage, he'd mostly been pulling anything he needed out without unpacking the last few days because he was busy getting fully filled in on what was happening and fixing his gun.

If anything Leonard was good at focusing his energy on tasks that needed to be done, of the two storage boxes that he had to unpack he only had half of one left when Mick eventually knocked on the door. Leonard waved his hand in the air in a motion that at this point Gideon understood as 'go ahead and open the doors', he didn't bother turning around as he put the clothes in his hands in the open drawer before turning back to the nearly empty container and pulling out a small zip-up binder. As Mick spoke well walking into the room and plopping himself down in the chair at Leonard's desk. "Thought for sure I'd get to see you punch one of em."

Leonard didn't answer right away, walking over to his bed to set the binder down and open it up. "Well I'm sure it would have been very cathartic I think you're forgetting that you were there and figured 'lets let her take on the trained assassin witch on her own' along with the rest of them." He spread the contents of the binder across the top of his blanket as he spoke, turning to look at Mick with a raised brow. "I die and you take the cash from my go kit?" All of the documents were still in there, a slew of fake ID's ranging from social security cards to passports. The only thing missing, as he'd mentioned, was the substantial amount of cash he kept in it just encase.

He watched Mick raised the beer he'd been holding and pointed at him with the neck of the bottle before replying, clearly ignoring his implication that Mick was just as likely to be punched as the rest of them if Leonard had resorted to that. "You were dead-technically that money was either mine or Lisa's." He wasn't wrong, and if Leonard was honest with himself? He wasn't surprised, he probably would have done the same thing if the situation had been reversed. He turned back to his bed and began shuffling it all neatly back into the binder, making a mental note to go use the fabricator to make some cash to put in it later as he slipped the binder into place under his pillow.

He reached in and grabbed the last thing out of the box before flipping the lid shut and pushing it towards the wall of the room along with the other empty one, taking his parka and hanging it on a hook on the wall near the door. "Sara wake up?" The likely answer was no or Mick probably would have mentioned it when he'd come in, the grunt he got in response was answer enough. "Between this and helping pull my younger self outta the timeline to mess with your head? Damien Darhk is practically begging for me to personally end his life." He leaned so he was perched on the edge of his bed as he spoke, crossing his arms in front of him as he spoke.

"Gideon said she'll be fine, put her in a coma or something to help her heal." Mick told him before putting his empty bottle down on Leonard's desk. "You sleeping in here tonight then?" Leonard hadn't really thought about that one way or another, he'd mainly started putting his things away as a way to focus the agitated energy that he'd felt. It had worked, he had all of his things back where they belonged now and he felt much less agitated than he had been before.

He decided at that moment that not messing with Mick was out of the question, and so he quirked an eyebrow and asked him. "Why? You hoping to lure an ancient greek princess in there tonight?" He didn't think he was; when they had a falling out and were away from each other for a few months? Sure. Sometimes Mick slept with other people, over the years Leonard himself might have gotten drunk enough once or twice that the same was true. But when they were together? When they were on good terms? Well, good terms for them anyway. Not the case.

He almost smirked when he elicited exactly the response he was expecting when Mick pushed himself out of his seat and moved so that he was standing in front of him, he managed to hold that back though well he uncrossed his arms and propped his hands onto the edge of the bed. "I wanted to sleep with a woman it wouldn't be some powered bitch who messes with people's minds. An' if I wanted to sleep with her I wouldn't be here making sure you ain't thinkin' 'bout going ta off Darhk." He was almost offended. Sure Mick knew that he saw Sara a lot like Lisa, but he also knew that Leonard wasn't stupid. He supposed that he did just come back from them thinking he was dead though, so Mick being on edge about the idea of him facing life or death wasn't all that strange.

"Careful Mick, I might start thinking you think I'm incompetent if you start assuming I'm gonna do stupid things. I want him dead, don't have a death wish." He pushed himself up slightly off the bed and reached up to lock his arms together behind Mick's head and shifted his weight to his right foot, his left leg moving to hook his foot behind one of Mick's ankles and pull it forward just enough that his only real option was to put his hands down on the bed so that they wouldn't fall onto it . He saw that the other realized what he was doing a second before he felt his mouth on his neck and couldn't help the smug smirk that came to his face as his eyes slipped shut and he let out a hum of satisfaction.

[unexpectedreylo]

What Does Rey See In Kylo/Ben Anyway?

It’s practically a tenet of Reylodom that Kylo Ren/Ben Solo is one smitten kitten when it comes to Rey. It’s probably because his feelings for her are more obvious or at least closer to the surface.  

But what about Rey?  There are definitely signs she’s drawn to the sexy emo honeypot:  her flustered response to his bare torso, her seeking him out after her experience in the cave, her initiation of the magic hand touch, her clobbering Luke after he interrupted the magic hand touch, her dropping everything to ship herself right into the enemy’s hands (and dolling herself up to see him), that elevator conversation where she’s looking at his lips and chest while getting into his personal space, her tearful disappointment, the fact she spared him while he was unconscious on the Supremacy, etc..

The curious thing with characters is that it’s never a mystery why a man has a thing for a woman, especially if she is an attractive young woman.  But with women being choosier about mates (it’s science!), people always want an explanation as to why a female character is drawn to a particular man.  Especially if he’s a so-called “bad boy.”  

Aside from this symbolizing Rey’s exploration of her own id, including its darker aspects, I think the following is going on:

1.  Physical attraction.  She might not understand why this “bad guy” who has done terrible things turns her on, but by golly, he does.  Maybe it’s his voice.  Maybe it’s his hair.  Maybe it’s his projection of alpha-ness.  Maybe it’s his eyes.  On a primal level, she realizes he’s an attractive man and she wants to climb him like a tree.

2.  He understands her on a level no one else can.  Rey has two things going on:  family abandonment and being really powerful in the Force.  The latter terrifies her, especially since she has all of these abilities that accelerate once the Reylo mind meld happens.  Kylo is the only one who has that power to the degree she does and he’s actually had some training.  When Luke closes her off, Kylo is the only one left who she can confide in.  It’s not like her muggle pals would “get it.”  Moreover, he’d been open to her since the beginning.  He also shares her struggles with family estrangement and betrayal, coming to understand at least to some degree why those dynamics turned him.  Family issues and super powers with the Force serve to isolate them so each are able to recognize the same loneliness in the other.  

3.  The pull to the light.  This is a very important factor that tends to get overlooked.  As powerful as she is, she is strongly drawn to that light in Kylo/Ben probably because it radiates in him as much as it does in her.  Her natural impulse is to reach out for it and hold onto it.  This is why I think the vision of LightSide!Ben she had in TLJ caused her to fall in love with him.  Notice everything she does after this until their sad parting are the actions of a woman in love.  She may not fully realize it on a conscious level but yeah, nobody beats up their mentors for a guy one kinda likes.  She’d seen evidence of Kylo’s light even before the magic hand touch:  his gentleness with her, his honesty, the compassionate way he listened to her. I think she was already re-evaluating her opinion of him.

4.  Her compassion for his vulnerability.  I think Rey figures out three things about Kylo in TLJ.  One, there’s still light in him.  She sees there’s a redeemable but very damaged soul beneath the bad guy veneer.  She learns the hard way though that breaking through the veneer is going to be really difficult.  Two, Snoke really screwed him up.  Three, Luke really screwed him up too albeit not intentionally.  Even though TLJ novelization author Jason Fry says Rey had taken off her compassion hat by that last Force bond, I think it’s dormant, not gone.  Once Kylo exposes his soft belly again, she’ll be back.

[changingourdestiny]

Burnt Memories Part 3: The Phoenix’s Wrath

Summary:

With Blaze back on board for their mission, Fireteam Paralight set off to Venus to defeat the Vex Gate Lord and bring its head back to the Awoken. But they soon realise this mission is easily said than done...

Previous Part: Here

Next Part: Here

“The more we learn about the Vex, the more I understand why our Exo friend is so worried about them.”

Fireteam Paralight warped through the stars as Ghost recapped over what they learned during their time on Venus, “During the Collapse, the Vex transformed the planet Mercury into a machine in days. They would have spread to every planet if the Traveller hadn’t stopped them.”

“Isn’t Mercury already metal?” Blaze asked, “It wouldn’t be that hard. Then again, it is a liquid…”

“That’s the element you’re thinking of, Blaze.” Rae replied, “Mercury is a garden planet…or was anyway…”

“You sure you’re ok with going on this mission, Blazie?” Firefly piped up. “Yeah.” Blaze nodded, “I mean, miss out on taking out a giant robot? No chance! Plus, I kinda want to see Uldren’s face when we bring the head back. We’re gonna wipe his smug grin right off his face!”

“That’s the spirit!” Rae cheered, “Next stop, Venus!”

———————————————————————

“Here we are.”

Rae, Adam, Blaze and their Ghosts approached a large Vex gate. “So now what?” Rae asked. “I think you’re going to have to step inside the ring.” Ghost replied. Rae looked down at the ring which lay a few feet in front of the group, red lights illuminating the edges. “What’s the plan?” Blaze faced Rae. “Two of us will get into tactical positions while one of us steps in the ring.” Rae explained, “Blaze, you and I are more suited to fighting at a distance. I’ll get up on one of the pillars where I can get a good shot at it. You stay near the base of the pillars where you can get cover while fighting the Gate Lord. Adam, you’re gonna step in the ring. As soon as the Gate Lord appears, there’s no doubt other Vex are gonna swarm the area, so can you watch our backs?”

Adam gave a confident nod. “Alright then. Places, Fireteam Paralight! It’s now or never.” Rae began to scale a large nearby pillar while Blaze ducked behind another smaller one, “Ready when you are, bud!”

Adam took a deep breath and stepped into the ring. The red lights turned white as the gate began to glow. “Here we go.” Stormbringer announced as the Gate Lord began to materialise. “No turning back now team!” Rae yelled, “Let’s do this!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Blaze called back. As the Gate Lord fully formed and dropped to the ground, Rae felt the familiar tingle of arcane energy through her arm as she lobbed a vortex grenade at the giant Vex, “Vortex incoming!” The vortex hit the Vex square in the chest, doing significant damage to the Gate Lord. “Ok, so same as the usual Vex. The weak spot is the chest.”

“Goblin’s on our six!” Blaze called out. Adam spun around and began shooting them down with his pulse rifle. “Thanks, Adam!” Rae waved to Adam. “Rae, watch-!” Blaze attempted to warn Rae, but it was too late. A blast from the Gate Lord’s gun sent her flying off the pillar, causing her to land on her. “Damn it!” Blaze cursed, “Adam, cover Rae! I’ll distract this bucket of bolts!” Adam nodded in response before running over to Rae and setting up a shield to protect her as she struggled to get to her feet. “Pain…all over…ow…” Rae groaned.

Blaze dashed from pillar to pillar as she shot the Gate Lord’s weak spot, until…

*click, click, click!*

“No, no, no! Not now!!!” Blaze exclaimed. As Blaze began to panic, the Gate Lord noticed the struggling Warlock and the Titan who was too busy dealing with the oncoming waves of Vex to notice the Gate Lord heading towards them. Adam’s shield had weakened severely due to the seemingly endless Vex attacks. Blaze’s eyes went wide as she saw the Gate Lord take aim at her teammates. Blaze felt her skin begin to heat up as she let out a roar, “GET AWAY FROM THEM!!!” Blaze ran towards the Vex, dagger drawn, and began to climb the Vex’s leg until she got to the weak spot on its chest, “EAT THIS!!!” Blaze’s hands erupted into flames, causing the dagger to follow suit, and stabbed it straight into the Gate Lord’s chest. It let out a shriek of pain as it began to thrash around, firing its gun wildly with one hand and violently clawing at Blaze with the other. Blaze clung to her dagger for dear life, feeling the near-unbearable pain of the Vex clawing at he as it slammed itself into anything it could find. The rest of the Vex retreated upon seeing the Gate Lord thrash around erratically as Adam and Blaze whipped around to face it upon hearing its shriek. “Is Blaze nuts?! She’s gonna get herself killed!!!” Rae cried as she watched Blaze cling on to the enraged Gate Lord. Suddenly, with a mighty roar, Blaze’s entire body was engulfed in a roaring inferno as two wing-like flames erupted from her back. Blaze pulled her arm back and jammed her flaming hand into the Gate Lord’s chest. The Gate Lord let out a bloodcurdling scream-like sound before going completely limp and collapsing backwards onto the ground. The flames around Blaze subsided as she yanked her arm and dagger out of the Vex, panting heavily. She attempted to get to her feet but stumbled backwards and fell. “Blaze!!” Rae ran towards the Awoken Hunter and knelt beside her, “Blaze?! Are you ok?! Say something!”

“…id…ok…l…r…at…” Blaze mumbled groggily. “What? I-I can’t hear you.”

Blaze let out a cough, causing a small cloud of smoke to come out of her mouth, as she grinned, “Did…did I look cool, or what?”

Rae let out a small, relieved laugh, “You…are the craziest person I’ve ever met! You know that?”

“Heheh…you haven’t spent enough time with Cayde then.” Blaze chuckled as she sat up, “Ugh…I swear, those two royal pains better appreciate this…because I am never fighting another Gate Lord again…”

“If they don’t…well, I doubt we’d be able to do anything to the queen, but agree to punch Uldren in the face?”

“I’ll light my fist on fire, and you can use your energy drain thing.”

“Deal!” Rae chuckled, “You rest up. Adam and I will get the head.”

“’Kay…”

Blaze picked herself up off the ground and slouched against a nearby pillar. Firefly appeared beside the Awoken, “Nice work, Blazie!”

“Heh…thanks Firefly.” Blaze smiled, petting the Ghost on the head.

As Rae and Adam worked on carefully separating the head from the rest of the Gate Lord’s body, something caught Blaze’s eye. A small glimmer of golden light was emanating from a crack on a toppled pillar, caused by the Gate Lord thrashing about. Intrigued, Blaze quietly got up from where she was resting and made her way towards it. Peering through the crack, Blaze saw an object emanating a gold glow. She used her dagger to pry the crack open further and pulled the object out.

It was a brown rock with golden markings that were glowing brightly. “What is this thing…?” Blaze asked, glancing over the rock in her hands. “There’s something engraved here.” Firefly called to Blaze from the other end of the pillar. On the side of the pillar, Blaze saw a single word carved into the pillar. It had faded over time but was still readable. “Para…gon…ial…isy…kal…mai…” Blaze sounded out the word, “Paragonialisykalmai?” As soon as the word left Blaze’s mouth, the stone shone brightly as a wave of light shot out from it. “W-WHOA! Firefly, did you see that? …Firefly?” Blaze turned to Firefly who seemed to be frozen in mid-air. Blaze glanced around and saw that Rae and Adam, who were separating the Gate Lord head, were also frozen in place. It was as if all of time had completely frozen. “Okaaaayyyy…” Blaze muttered to herself as she turned around, “That’s not norma- HOLY FUDGE!!!” Blaze nearly fell backwards in surprise. Floating in front of her was a dragon-like entity made of golden light floating in front of her. “Greetings, little Lightbearer.” A feminine, motherly voice spoke, “What guidance do you seek?”

To Be Continued…

[the-velociruby]

Earnest Discussions with Velo C. Raptor, #1

My Experiences with Bumbleby

I wanna try expressing my opinions & opening up a little bit here, if no one minds. This’ll be a first in a bunch of personal discourses, if anyone wants to see these kinds of posts from me. So as I am making my presence known on this site (probably a bad idea), I’ve been representing myself as a Bumbleby shipper. I wouldn’t say I’m the most devout shipper out there, nor do I really want to be viewed in that way, but when there’s a pairing that I really enjoy I’ll latch onto it tight. And Bumbleby happens to be one of them. Why do I enjoy it so much you may ask? Well, let’s dive right into that.

When I was first getting into anime, with Fullmetal Alchemist & Attack on Titan being my firsts, I was really getting into it. But my interests in most of the shows I watched died out as I finished them, and I felt a little empty without a show to be obsessed with. I was also an avid fan of Red Vs Blue at the time, so when they first announced RWBY as I was getting into anime, I was really interested. After watching the trailers, I was hooked. After watching the very first episode, I was in love with it. Granted, I didn’t like Volume 2 all that much (despite the bees’ dance), so my interests in it did die a little; that was quickly remedied by Volume 3, and then I was officially obsessed.

So while watching RWBY in its early years, I came to a few conclusions that others may have had at first: that Cinder Fall was the biggest bad, Adam Taurus was supposed to be some sort of mysterious badass (cue vomit in mouth), and everyone was gonna have a happy ending of some kind. Oh, and there was also something really important I concluded at the time: I thought everybody was straight. To me, it looked like almost everyone had a love interest of the opposite gender, such as Jaune & Pyrrha, Ren & Nora, Weiss & Neptune… and Sun & Blake. I didn’t really look hard enough into the show to think otherwise; I just assumed that Sun and Blake were gonna hook up while Yang was just gonna have her adventures happily by herself or with Ruby. It didn’t really bother me when I thought Rooster Teeth was gonna go for an all straight romance; I was pretty much fine with it because I would support the show I enjoy no matter what. Although admittedly, I did find that somewhat boring.

So if I thought RWBY was gonna go a heteronormative route, what got me into Bumbleby? Back to me first getting into anime: a thing I would do was go on the internet and search the shows I watched in the hopes of finding more content, which was how I came upon the world of fanfics and fanart. I remember how I’d look for & read FMA fanfics nonstop. RWBY was no exception; thus, I was introduced to Bumbleby through the fan-made works of its supporters (same for White Rose, which is also my favorite but a guilty pleasure because I think it’s much less likely to be canon). At first I was confused by such work, thinking ‘why would anybody ship Blake and Yang together if Blake had Sun?’ It didn’t make sense to me at first, but I found myself drawn to the numerous depictions of Blake & Yang together nonetheless.

And then it hit me: they look good together. GREAT, in fact. I was stunned, never having thought that such a relationship could have ever been conceived before. It was as if nothing could compare, nor the other RWBY ships could stand up to it. Not even Arkos, probably one of if not the most significant ship in RWBY, was designed so perfectly like Bumbleby was. Just everything about those two complimented & contrasted with each other so well – black against yellow, amber eyes complementary to lilac ones, and their fantasy inspirations intermingling with one another. The more I would find fanart and fanfics of it, the more I would fall in love with it. It was by far the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, and it was the works of other fans that convinced me that they were the perfect ship.

But to me at first, it didn’t look like Rooster Teeth agreed with that train of thought. I still believed that they were gonna put everyone in a straight romance (and by that I mean I still thought Blake and Sun were gonna hook up). I didn’t really have any of the investigative skills I have now to look deeper into the show to think otherwise, though I did question moments in the show that wouldn’t have made sense for a friendship-Bumbleby or a romantic-Black Sun. Still, I was certain that Blake & Yang were straight at first, so I pretty much made Bumbleby a guilty pleasure. Honestly, I would’ve still supported Rooster Teeth and RWBY if they went with Black Sun, as I didn’t fall for the series simply for the romance.

Then Volume 4 came out, then Volume 5, and now Volume 6. Now, I have come to new conclusions: RWBY has a bigger n’ better bad in the form of Salem, Adam is the bull-horned bastard that he is who deserved damnation, and everything is a lot more greyer than previously thought (as in not morally black and white). Oh, and I concluded something else that’s really important: not everybody is straight. Black Sun turned out to be a friendship more so than a romance; Yang and Blake were painfully missing each other during their separation; then they were reunited and that’s all that matters (music reference haha); everything just started pointing towards a deeper relationship between the ex-partners. Bumbleby was more than likely to be canon, and it pretty much is at this point. Their stories were practically woven together, setting everything up for them to be together. Everything about Bumbleby just seemed right now. I couldn’t have been more elated.

So some individuals outside the Bumbleby fandom may think that I’m “delusional” for believing in its confirmation. Some of those people may think I’m approving of something “toxic” (which is a ridiculous sentiment might I add). Frankly, I don’t care for any negative things others might say about my preferences. This is the internet, only real life can hurt my feelings. It also never matters to me if the characters in a canon or non-canon ship are of the same gender & sexuality or not, what matters is that they’re depicted to be happy and in love. I ship two characters I adore because it makes me happy. Frankly, I’m always afraid of never finding a special someone. The thought of not having a partner and living alone severely depresses me, and I have these thoughts constantly. But when I see two amazing characters I appeal to in a happy, healthy, and fantastically developed relationship, especially one like Bumbleby, it will always give me a little hope for my own future. Or if a ship’s simply canon then I’ll just love it like a blind puppy dog.

So I guess that’s all I have to say. I enjoy the Bees, they’re on their way to canonization if not already, and I couldn’t be happier. I also couldn’t be more thankful for the contributions of others in the RWBY fandom to Bumbleby. If I didn’t find the passion behind Bumbleby that others have, a passion I learned to share & understand, I’d probably be a generally more miserable person than a joyful one. Thank you for taking your time to read this earnest discussion. If anyone wants to see more of these from me, please be sure to let me know. Also, send me any asks if you want me to elaborate on anything!

[khaosgaming22]

Backstory Part 1- Recording

Alright i think im ready, Chase start recording, copy and paste when finished onto memory unit 14. Heh 14... oh right im live! Hi! So if you’re seeing this, im dead, in the ground, ripped apart, fed to a Hive god. Ugh I don’t want to go out like that! Anyway, before I start rambling, because I tend to do that, trust me that’s going to happen throughout this, im gone...or ive stepped to far into the shadow of quote unquote “the darkness” whatever that is.

In other words im a Dredgen, now if there are any greenhorns out there who don’t know what that is...ask Ikora. Im not a teacher, and... oh stop- okay fine. Since my ghost is looking at me like that ill explain. Ties into my story anyway...

*Ahem*, a Dredgen is basically a guardian who has turned to the darkness and is an enemy of the Vanguard...and i guess Shin Malphur.

Now that that’s out of the way, we can move on to my story and the reason ive become Dredgen if i have...

I think it begins with a name, Aleina. Love of my life before i started glowing and shooting high powered weapons everywhere. We were in the owl sector of the city and she wanted to show me something, she dragged me into a ship and flew to an area of earth i don’t even know where. But we got there and it was the most beautiful thing id ever seen. To be fair id spent most of my life in the city and its not that pretty but I digress... She told me Malcom had showed her this place when they were on a joyride, she called it Sacramento. Still not sure what it means but whenever i think of her it goes through my mind. Also the reason I remember this was because of what happened next...

We were sitting on the beach and watching the sun go down, waves dying down slowly and coming to a rest at our feet. She was leaning on me and about to fall asleep when I said “Im glad that Im not a guardian, even if i was immortal, if you weren’t...I would have to live without you forever...”

This is the part where karma bit me in the a**. Just as I said this she took her head off me and said, “Ken, You’re...glowing???” From that point on, my life was forever changed. I was the one thing I never wanted to be, a Guardian, immortal servant of the light.

We went home to the tower after and told Malco- Oh right! Ha Ha! Im an idiot! Who’s Malcom? That’s probably what you’re wondering. Let me back up a sec, Malcom Rayez was Aleina’s adopted father. He was also the person id soon look up to when I became a Guardian, but before that happened I hated the light. I hated being immortal, I hated being a guardian and having a destiny that was already predetermined...that didn’t include Aleina...

Now that I was a guardian I figured I had to make the best of it, I learned about the 3 types of Guardians from books and Malcom, and decided to follow in his footsteps and be a hunter. I went on a few small missions with him at first, nothing big like a vanguard strike, more close to patrols. Gathering info or holding a line, that kind of stuff.

Anyway, I went with him for a long while, back and forth from the tower to the city and back to space trying as hard as I could to still be with Aleina when I could. But no matter how many patrols and enemies of the light I took out, I still hated being a guardian, I referred to myself as a slave to the light once, Malcom didn’t like that.

Even worse, the further I went with the thought of hating the light and being stripped of my life with Aleina, the more I pushed her away...

Years went by and eventually she became sick, this was around the time I started to do more interesting missions with Malcom, I wanted to be there for her but I couldn’t. Again the light had pushed me even further away from her, I couldn’t take it anymore. That’s when it got bad...

I mentioned earlier how if you were seeing this there was two reasons; 1 I’d suffered my final death, or 2 I’d become a Dredgen. This next part will finally explain all that. Back to what i was saying, I had reached the end of my rope, my leash to the light, I needed to find a way out.

Malcom was, at the time researching Luna, he had told me of a place on the moon he had seen, a massive Hive fortress. He said he could sense the darkness seeping out of the cracks, turning his warm light cold as ice. Told me how a fireteam of six guardians went to quell the source of this evil and died for good.

I figured, no one really knew what the darkness was, we just knew it was the opposite of the light. Something about doing this rubbed Chase the wrong way and I told him to leave me alone, so he did. Then I did the most dangerous, stupid, craziest thing I have ever done...

I jumped into the damn H-E-double hockey-sticks mouth. Without my ghost.

I visited the city hospital one more time before I left, she was knocked out cold, I kissed her one last time, pulled my cloak over my head and walked out. I asked Amanda for a favor, told her if anyone asked where I went tell them I went to Venus. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I knew Malcom would come after me if he knew where I was.

I arrived on Luna pretty quickly and landed my ship a little further from the landing zone just in case. I had read about another guardian, a titan? Maybe he was a hunter? Not important, a guardian who went to Luna and came back a changed man, a worse one at that. I think his name was Rezyl...

I transmatted my sparrow and jumped on, seeing a few Fallen Dregs but nothing I couldn’t handle, just lackeys. Soon I came to a pit, almost crashed my sparrow but braked in time, lucky. I looked into the pit, had to be at least a mile deep, no way down. No stairs, no transmat pad, no cliffs and smooth all around. Like it wasnt a formation, but made.

Fortunately for guardians we can survive long drops, but even this would take some inginuety. I grabbed my knife, turned around so my back was facing the pit, my front the Earth on the horizon, and jumped into the chasm.

I flip myself around, plunge my knife into the rocky side of the pit and start sliding down. I get about halfway down until I realize the pits bottom was solid shut. I quickly jump off the side of the wall, holster my blade and take the rocket launcher off my back. I aim the missle at the bottom and pull the trigger, the projectile races down to the bottom and blasts a hole in the hard stone. I put my launcher back and ready my hand cannon.

I make it through the hole in the bottom and its pitch black, I send some solar light to my knife and use it to see. I hear them before I see them, Thrall, tons of them, they’re drawn to my light and the chittering is getting louder. I load my hand cannon and charge toward them. The bullets that exit the chamber echo in the cavern until they find their mark.

Eventually the wave of Thrall are strewn across the cave floor and im walking over the dead hive trying not to trip over them. I keep treking through the cave and eventually get to a large room with some light. I see three Wizards trying to summon something, I decide I don’t want to know what it is and take out my sniper. I land shots on the first and second but it didn’t seem to do much and the third is summoning Acolytes to chase after me. I switch back to my hand cannon and start firing. I jump up on a ledge and take out the first Wizard as it lets out a screech that makes me pull my cloak up over my head. When the screeching ends I focus on the Wizard sending Acolytes trying to shoot at me and screwing up my aim. I load my last rocket into my launcher and aim for the head scoring a direct hit.

I move down from my ledge and throw a grenade at the group of enemies eliminating two of three problems. Then I move onto the last Wizard trying to take out my sniper but he throws a cloud of poisonous gas and I have to stop to dodge it. Then I summon my Golden Gun, I put 3 rounds into his head and he goes down. Im about to move on until I hear a rumble. I turn around to see the biggest Hive Knight i had ever seen in books or on missions, standing in the middle of the summoning circle and it looked...dark....

...You still here?

[a-jynx]

The Lost Hunter - Hannah’s Challenge Entry - Part 3/4

Summary: The boys knew you talked about giving up hunting, but they never thought you were serious… Well, not until they came into your hometown and learned that you were a well-known cop statewide. How had you given up on hunting so easily? Why didn’t you ever call, or message to tell them you were alright..? But, more importantly… What are you trying to keep from them that such a big secret..?

Pairing I chose: Winchester brothers x gender neutural!sibling (first time writing GN fic, so bare with me!)

Warnings: Cursing, death threats, blood, somewhat detailed fight scene, sibling rivalry, cute secrets near the end, (all four parts), also, it’s long af but I did put a Keep Reading!

Prompt I Used: “I know this may be hard to believe, but I’m on your side.” (In part 2)

Forever In Tags: @waywardnewcomer, @natashacamillaus, @iliketowrite02, @casiskween, @supernatural-teamfreewillpage, @laceyn-1201

~ Hope you enjoy! Tags and requests are open ;) ~

Part 1  Part 2  

- 

Forcing Cyran to open the cell, yet keeping Dean cuffed, I grabbed onto his shoulder before roughly pulling him towards my desk, only to stop him from sitting down as I shook my head. “Oh, no, you’re coming with me.” I spat while pulling him towards the interrogation area with Cyran trailing close behind us as he tried to wriggle out of my tightening grip. Holding him against the wall and pulling out my entry card, I slapped it against the scanner and forced him into the room, as the sliding door shut behind us.

“Okay, start explaining.” I spat as I shoved my card back into my coats’ pocket as Dean stumbled forward, stopping as he turned towards me and thrusted his index towards me with a growl.

“Me start explaining?! You’re the one that disappeared off the face of the earth for 5 almost 6 months! With no call, no message saying you were okay - hell even Bobby didn’t know where you were!” Dean shouted as I clenched my jaw, before moving towards him with a death glare working up in my e/c eyes.

“I’m twenty-three years old, Dean! You didn’t and still don’t have any say where I go, what I do, or how I do it. You and Sam can go and hunt to your little heart's content, but count me out.” I growled with a snarl only to have our attention drawn from each other and towards the door as Cyran appeared with a scared look on her face.

“Y/N, what’s going on-”

“Excuse me, doll, but this is family business, so if you could butt out-” Dean started with a smirk as I went wide-eyed, turning back towards him as I tied my fists around his collar with a growl before backing him up against the metal table with a thud.

“Don’t you dare disrespect her, got it? You can disrespect me all you want, but if you even try to say a word to her I will take your tongue from your mouth!” I shouted before throwing him down as my chest heaved with anger.

“Y/N, it’s… It’s okay.” Cyran moved forward as she wrapped her arm around my arm as I glanced down at her, feeling my death glare slowly soften.

Almost forgetting Dean was in the room, he hummed as Cyran and I turned towards him; my face reading annoyed.

“Anyone care to explain what the hell is going on here!?” Dean growled as I huffed before taking a step forward, a small smirk on my lips. “In the time I’ve been gone, I’ve become the best detective in Michigan, and this is my partner.. Cyran Barclay. And now, that you’ve come down to ruin the small home I’ve established - get out.” I growled coldly just as the door slid open, once again causing all of us to turn our attention towards it, only to see Anderson standing with a confused look.

“Uh, Lieutenant we got a call about a possible homicide, they’re saying that it could be tied in with the federal murders.. Scott and I are heading out now, we’ll, uh.. We’ll meet you there.” Anderson glanced over our small group gathered in the interrogation room before leaving us alone.

“Dammit, okay, take him back to the holding cell-”

“Excuse me, why are we talking about me like I’m not here?!” Dean’s voice growled from behind me as Cyran glanced behind me, frowning before returning to her attention towards me. “Yep, you two are definitely related,” she smirked as my brows lifted in slight surprise as I stuck my tongue out at her, before she spoke again.

“I’ll take him back to the holding cell, you go and get ready to leave.” Cyran moved towards Dean as she spoke, leaving me to watch her grab my eldest brother by his forearm and practically drag him out of the interrogation room, and back towards the cells as Dean did little to get away from her.

“Y/N, come on! You can’t really leave me in here - I’m your brother, for godsakes!” Dean shouted as I followed close behind him and Cyran, frowning as she pushed him into the holding cell, thus causing him to stumble forward before turning towards me.

“I already know Sam is on his way here, have him bail you with however much your ticket will costs. Then, leave. I don’t need either of you screwing up what I’ve built for myself, Dean. I’m a big kid now, I can handle life without my big brothers being there for me…” I paused my rant as I glanced at Cyran, a soft smile on her face as I cleared my throat and turned on my heel, pulling out my card and having it hover over the scanner.

“Bye, Dean.” I sighed before slapping the plastic chip against the scanner, thrusting the card back into my pocket as Cyran and I started towards the elevator. Our time was running out already, and this call could be the end of the federal death cases’... I hope.

*South Haven, Michigan - Y/N’s POV - Abandoned warehouse on the edge of town*

Cyran and I arrived at the warehouse, the run down building already swarming with Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana police cruisers surrounded the area below the towering, rusty metal dome. Putting my own cruiser into park, Cyran and I climbed out to see an ambulance on sight, this causing us to rush over as my eyes landed on Anderson..

“Shit, Anderson what happened? Where’s Scott?” I moved closer as two paramedics moved away from him, allowing us to talk before sending him to the hospital.

“I.. I don’t know. One minute, Scott and I are walking down one of the rows with the containers, then the next thing I know a gunshot goes off, Scott yells and screams and I fall to the cement floor, hitting my head and bleeding out my thigh…” Anderson gestured to his left thigh, which was wrapped with unholy amounts of gauze.

“Mark, why didn’t you guys wait for backup!” Cyran hissed as she frowned, pure fear written in her eyes as I glanced to her then back towards my friend, and co-worker.

“Is Scott still in there?” I questioned, grabbing onto his shoulder as he nodded gently, causing me to nod before releasing his shoulder and turning on my heel to move into the warehouse.

“Y/N! What the hell-”

“Cyran, Scott’s in there alone. And none of these cops are going to go in after him - he’s my friend, I’m not about to let him die from some.. Psychopath.” I breathed as I glanced down, now realizing that Cyran’s hand tightly gripped onto my wrist, a small smile tugging on my lips.

We stood there for what seemed forever, just staring at each other when a sudden gunshot pulled us out of the small daze, pushing her behind me as I pulled out my own gun aiming it towards the warehouse in case someone decided to run out - which would be suicidal.

Suddenly, my wrist was pulled causing me to turn around and see Cyran staring up at me with loving, yet fear-filled eyes before sighing.

“You better come back to me, Winchester.. I’m not gonna find another like you.” Her voice just barely above a whisper as I grinned more, leaning forward and pressing my forehead against hers’ before licking my lips and whispering back, “I’m not gonna leave you.. I’ll be back, I promise.” Slowly Cyran released my wrist as I turned on my heel, moving quickly towards the entrance as other officers stood at ready - some behind riot shields, other truck and car doors, and some just standing in free range - but none of them were as idiotic as I was..

*Abandoned Warehouse - Brother’s POV*

“Wait, wait, wait - so you’re saying that Y/N has worked here, built a somewhat nice life outside of hunting, and they become the Lieutenant at the MPD where you just happen to be arrested by her partner, Cyran Barclay?” Sam asked as I glanced at him, arching my brow and flexing my hands once again before nodding my head left-to-right.

“Yeah, that basically sums it up..” I shrugged as I glanced around, trying to find out where Y/N and that Cyran girl had disappeared too.

“But.. But why wouldn’t they at least call, or send a message to Bobby saying that they were alright..? Give us some type of relief knowing that they were alive during the months they were away..” Sam mumbled, more to himself then to me, as I glanced over to him once again frowning as I opened my mouth to say something, only to go quiet as I saw the large abandoned warehouse surrounded by different state cops.

“I’m feeling lucky..” I sighed as I pulled Baby into a small parking lot across the road, turning off her engine and reaching into the glovebox in front of Sam.

“Plan?”

“Well, hopefully, Cyran will just see us as concerned brothers and won’t say shit to other cops about us impersonating cops,” I paused as I pulled out two ID’s that stated we were federal agents from Washington, before gently tossing one into Sam’s lap. “And if she does?” Sam arched a brow towards me as I shrugged, before slapping the box shut and shoving it back into the glovebox.

“Then… Then we attempt to grab Y/N and get the hell out of South Haven.” I huffed as he shrugged and followed me as I got out, both of us slamming the doors shut as we wandered over to crime scene, seeing Cyran talking to the Anderson guy from earlier.

“Officer Barclay!” I called out as we showed our badges to some cops guarding the scene, them being easily fooled as she placed a hand on the injured officers’ shoulder before moving towards us, the paramedics packing the man into the ambulance before they took off.

“What in the hell are you two doing here?! I thought Y/N told you to leave once you got bailed!” She hissed as I frowned, clearing my throat as I glanced around before grabbing under her elbow and tugging her away from the peering eyes of the other officers.

“Ma’am, please, we’re just concerned brothers looking out for their sibling-” Sam tried to explain, only for her to hiss at him.

“Y/N was doing fine before you two even got here! Hell we-” Cyran went to yell, but was cut off by the sudden gunshots and yelling came from inside the warehouse, causing everyone to turn their attention towards the building as I looked around, feeling my heart sink to my stomach as I grabbed Cyran’s shoulders, tugging her attention towards me as Sam stood there with the same have-you-see-a-ghost look.

“Cyran.. Where’s Y/N..?”

*Inside Abandoned Warehouse - Y/N’s POV*

I moved carefully through the warehouse, little noises making me turn towards it with my gun and jaw clenched. “I’m fine, okay.. I just need to find Scott and get the hell out of here..” I whispered to myself, turning to each noise as a sudden gunshot went off causing me to slam my back against the wall, but keeping my gun out at arms length, ready to fire at anything.. Or anyone.

“Scotty?! Scott, come on, you’ve gotta give me some type of sign!” I shouted as the sound of heavy boots moved around me. The sound echoing off the metal as I looked around, feeling my anxiety shoot through the roof.

“Y/N?! Y/N, I’m in here!” Scott’s voice suddenly sounded, the echoing coming from the hallway as I lowered my gun to about my stomach as I took off running when a few more gunshots and a scream erupted from upstairs.

“Shit - hold on, Scott! I’m coming!” I shouted upwards as I holster my gun, taking off up the stairs with my arms pumping quickly by my sides while my legs began to burn like hell fire was building up in them.

I ran further up the stairwell, my heart thumping harder and harder against my chest as I skidded to a stop - where the hell is he?! “Scott?!” I shouted down the hallway, drawing my gun once again when I heard the sound of grunting coming from a few rooms down.

“Shit, Scott!” I ran down towards the room, feeling my courage take over my anxiety as I slammed the bottom of my boot against the door, knocking it open to a.. Clean, modern designed room that held no sign of struggling..?

“Scott..?” His name barely left my lips when suddenly something bashed into the back of my head, causing me to blank as black spots clouded my vision as I slammed against the hardwood flooring with a grunt.

“Well, well, well - look what the cat drug in! Little Y/N, coming to save the day!” Scott’s voice rang through my pounding head as I groaned in agony, turning onto my back as I watched my revolver get picked up, his boot putting heavy pressure on my chest.

“You should’ve stayed in Kansas, Lieutenant..”

- 

Part 4 coming soon ;) 

[filthy-reckless-rp]

Congratulations Ailin! Kylie Greenaway is all yours. Oh my gosh, we could just gush about Kylie for the rest of time but more importantly so could you. You’ve definitely tuned into her character, focusing just right on her relationship with Joy and her tendency to backbench the things that she wants for the sake of others. Her #intensity too was just exactly how I envisioned her relationship with Frankie and I loved reading you build on that aspect of her. There’s so much to work with and we cannot wait to see what you do with her!! Plus the Greenaway/Watts family interactions, I am excited!!

Please send your account in ASAP and you know the rest.

--Admin P

Canon Application:

Character Name: kylie greenaway

Why do you want this character?: kylie is this young woman with such a huge potential that lives in the shadow of a sister that underestimates her because of her own ego, that just wants to be the best and will be the best, whereas kylie’s desires are simpler: friends, love and the right amount of fun that any twnety-one year old wants to be having in the big apple. she pretends to be so different, so distant from the paps world, the rumors and the tabloids, but she’s drawn to it because she wants it, too! she’s been neglected by her family and herself. she shrunk herself into occupying the lesser space the better, and left all that space for joy to be the star of the show. the sharpay evans, and she’s just kelsey, the pianist, that gets substituted by a stereo. and yet kylie isn’t resentful towards her sister? no, she isn’t. she likes seeing her thrive and more often than not finds herself being worried. all in all, she wants her sister’s love and happiness before some… acting career. or julliard. or any crush. for now, of course. all things change in the UES with the right stimuli and the right amount of pressure. will the shadows continue to be enough or will she be swayed to hop into the fame bandwagon? to say screw you and take up the space she could be occupying? to allow herself be hurt over her failed not-relationship with frankie? nobody can be so good and pure all the time… least of all in the upper easy side.

Any changes?: hell nah i adore her

Wanted connections?: we’ll see but she got plenty so i’m pumped

Character’s birthday: july 19th (i couldn’t find if joy’s bday was up so i done it, but if it’s already up somewhere nd i missed it do tell me pls <3), with cancer sun, scorp moon and libra rising.

3 virtues and 3 flaws, explaining each:

PEACE-MAKER: kylie’s not the fondest of confrontation. well, she can do confrontation, but she doesn’t want to most of the time. she wants to be liked or, at the very least, more invisible than anything else. perhaps that wouldn’t be so and she wouldn’t be battling her desire to go out to the world and show them what she’s made of if she hadn’t grown up next to thundergirl joy. it’s okay, it’s whatever, and not talking about it nor acknowledging it is totally the way to go for it to not blow over, definitely. in kylie’s head, ceasing to be the peace-maker, ceasing to compromise her own desires for her sister’s would mean the end of an era. an era of calm and balance, and she’s not ready for that. she’s not, she’s not. this is not to say she doesn’t have a backbone, because she’ll bite back and she’ll bite back hard. she’s a peace-maker in the way that she keeps balance and shrinks herself, but she takes absolutely no bullshit. sarcasm queen supreme.

ADAPTABLE: you won’t find kylie greenaway being down in the dumps. ever. she is constantly happy, constantly adapting herself to circumstances. constantly spreading smiles that radiate warmth and welcomeness, or she’s quiet. that’s the closest she gets to being down in public, becoming aloof and taciturn and ignoring absolutely everyone except for her parents.

THEATRICAL: with her people, she adores to put on a show and make people laugh. when she tells an anecdote, she invests herself wholly and acts it out like a play. kylie’s charisma is magnetic and her theatrical antics are one of her worst-kept secrets. even in the way she presents herself, she puts on a show. she likes to call attention to herself, she likes to be the spotlight when the spotlight is willfully given to her, and she can own up to it with natural skill.

CONCEAL-DON’T-FEEL ARCHETYPE: it’s whatever is one of her most commonly used phrases about… well, just about everything. it’s easier if she just ignores that things affect her, that she has actual emotions aside from a smile or her nose in some type of book. but what is she supposed to do? show that she’s hurting, lost in life or scared shitless? hell no, that’s not her, y’know. perhaps when she was younger, she’d tell her mother about it, but then again, where did she learn her conceal don’t feel routine from if not from mrs. greenaway?

COWARD: this is not to say kylie greenaway doesn’t enjoy jumping off choppers, or high-risk sports like swimming with sharks and hamptons brunches with cricket games post-caviar, she does. but if she doesn’t impose herself to people when they push her around and occupy the space she is entitled to taking up, when she has to shrink herself again, it’s because she is afraid. doing that would include upsetting a certain stabilished balance and it’s whatever (more like “i’m terrified things will never be the same and people will absolutely hate me for that”, read by “people”, her sister and the rest of her family).

EMOTIONAL EXTREMIST: kylie’s very intense, she lives and breathes for the rush of adrenaline certain situations and emotions give her. in love, she’s an extremist. not with the other person, no, because she does understand people have their rhythm to life (although she would very much enjoy someone keeping up with her franctic pace), but within herself. she’s had more crushes than she dares count and they’ve all been so intense that she’d dare call it love each and every time. right now, she doesn’t take up space in her own life, but it feels like if she were to own up to the space that’s rightfully hers and start really living and stop postponing life like a snoozhed alarm, she’d go hard and win it over in a whim, unapologetic and proud. extremes are the only way she can feel comfortable, greys make her uncomfortable within herself, although she tends to choose the middle ground for surviving circumstances (exterior), inside it’s a whole other world.

If you don’t get this character, who would be your second choice?: nah im good

Para Sample (A couple of paragraphs, as the character you’re applying for):

sat by the window, her leg hops up and down franctically, without her noticing in the least.           ‘ kylie … ‘         no response ,      teeth stop squeezing the top of the pen and it starts tapping against the marble counter where a maid cut fruit and her mother supervised the process ,    not like beatriz knew how to properly cut fruit apparently .          ‘ kylie ,     are you listening to me ,   child ? ‘         a hand comes down on her tapping pen ,   stops the motions dead ,     the young woman’s eyes drift from her turned - off cellphone screen to her mother’s furrowed brows and displeased face .

she missed her father .

         ‘    yeah   ——–   no ,     not really .      sorry ,     mom ,     i’m –   ‘           damned before telling you what’s up with me ,          kylie thought and while the thought mildly distressed her ,    it wasn’t long until she’d supressed the nostalgic wave of times gone by when she’d tell everything to her mother ,     with her head laid down on her lap and manicured nails wading through her long ,     un - dyed locks .      but her mom’s not willing to wait for kylie to explain herself and it’s only enough for kylie to be looking at her for the woman to keep droning on about …     whatever it was that she was droning about .      failed marriages or gossips about old people ,     possibly her sister’s character in the tv show and how absolutely   incompetent   was her agent proving to be .     meanwhile ,    kylie’s waiting for a …      CALL  !!     a call !     her phone screen lights up and she grabs it before her mother can see the caller’s ID ,     or the panicked thrill in her face ,     hops off the stool .          ‘    i   —–   gotta go ,     i -   ‘           giggling nervously ,     the woman slowly starts backing away ,     grinning at her mother’s confusion .      she needs to get the phone ,   but she can’t do it in front of her mother ,     so she’s quick to turn on her heels and sprint off ,    reaching the front door in a flash as she called out   BYESEEYOULATERSORRYILOVEYOU  ,    the sound of the door slamming shut .

with no breaths inbetween ,     nothing to calm herself down ,     she picks up and it’s the producer ,    once again calling her to see if she’s made up a decision already .            ‘  kylie greenaway !      the missing half to my greenaway duo !  ‘           of course ,     of course ,      ( her heart drops a little ) ,      it’s okay ,     it’s whatever .                    ‘  heeeey ,   doug …   ‘             she begins ,     walking over to her car and getting inside with her phone on speaker ,      backing it out the driveway .                ‘  can y’ hold on a sec?     i gotta get out of the house and y’know ,     the paps .  ‘             it’s not like she’s waiting for an answer ,    much like her mother in that sense ,     she turns the cellphone’s screen downwards and waits for the gates to open ,     tinted glasses up and unforgiving to the photographers .       once she’s far enough so that no rumors could possibly spark up ,      she lowers her window ,     smiles to the mirror as she heads for the coast .                 ‘   sorry ,     safety measures .   ‘             her voice is apologetic enough for doug to perceive it ,     but he’s a producer and he doesn’t give a shit .            ‘   safety for what ,    sugar ?      will you tell me if you’re joining the team or you’re joining the team ?     ‘cause it will happen eventually and i’d like it to be sooner rather than later .     did   you see the script i sent you ?      we’re waiting for an answer to announce it to the crew ,   sugar .    ‘

that makes her stomach turn ,    cartwheel turns in her guts .     kylie swallows thickly .             ‘   you think you can hold off telling the crew for a little bit longer ?     i  ——  wanna tell my sister first .  ‘          tell her what ?         ‘   IS THAT A YES I’M HEARING ?     FUCK YEAH SUGAR YOU KNOW IT !   ‘         oh fuck .                ‘    NO !    no no no no no ,    no !!      i mean i want to   talk  to her about it first and see how she feels with it ,     i’m not saying yes !    ‘           but there’s no remedy ,     doug’s gotten the   emotional   yes that he wanted ,     so now all that’s left is …         ‘   we’ll meet with the writers tomorrow ,     do what y’ have t’ do before then ,    sugar .      you’re gonna be famous as   fuck ,     gorgeous !     ‘             is that good news ?    her heart’s thrumming in her chest ,     ringing in her ears ,    deafening her .    she’s terrified ,    terrified ,    oh so terrified .    how’s she supposed to tell joy     hey i was offered a part in your tv show and i kinda maybe already said yes without talking to you but anyway you don’t mind do you?      maybe if she clarified     you’re still the favourite in everything and you can keep the paps and the tabloids   the blow wouldn’t be that hard .                ‘     o -  okay …     i’ll ——- yeah ,    sure ,    i’ll do that .     see ya then …    ‘              

okay ,     so she’s terrified but she’s also    happy .     excited .     thrilled .          ‘   i’ll send you the specifics tomorrow ,   keep an eye out and keep your panties on .    ‘           the line goes dead .         there’s a moment of …    nothing .     silence .     pulling over ,     she stops .         her hands girp the steering wheel with mighty force ,      her breathing is agitated and her eyes remain wide and set on nothing in particular ,    the mid - distance .         but then she begins laughing ,     a watery laugh that comes with her eyes glassing over .     fingers let go of the steering wheel while she leans back on her seat and breathes out .       the tears wash off ,    replaced by a wide grin that takes up her whole face .  

‘   here’s to new beginnings ,     kylie .   ‘              she mutters to herself ,     turning the radio up and flooring the accelerator .         terrified ,    but excited nonetheless .

[aion-rsa]

Life Lessons Gamers Can Learn From MMORPGs

https://ift.tt/3ca34q2

If you ever worry that the hours you plough in to open world video games is time wasted, don’t sweat it. Every minute in a fantasy realm has actually been spent enrolled in a complex training simulation preparing you for the banal realities of 21st century life.

The creator of Dead Pixels – a comedy series about Meg and Nicky, two gamers utterly devoted to fictional fantasy MMORPG Kingdom Scrolls – explains how online games have been stealthily shaping us for the real world through nine simple life lessons.

Lesson 1: Submit to the rules

Games basically train you to be a good functioning member of capitalist society, a good employee. You have to submit yourself to a rigid set of rules, learn what you’re not allowed to do and get on board with that, or you’re not going to get anywhere. Subvert the rules if you want to, but if you do, you’re never going to make any progress.

Lesson 2: Grind away

To progress anywhere, you need to accept drudgery. Grind away. Do lots of busywork. If you’re happy to do that and to turn up for work every day, then you’ll go a long way and be rewarded with lots of nice shiny things and make money and XP and get levels. If you choose not to do that, then you’ll languish and essentially never amount to anything.

Lesson 3: Money gets you further, quicker

The more fortunate people in life will always get ahead. In Fortnite, you can buy tiers. My 10-year-old son will tell me that some friend of his is already on Level 40 because they’ve just paid his way to the top. That’s a good life lesson to accept – that however hard you work, if people have more money and more access than you, they’re going to get ahead of you first. It might sound bleak, but it’s useful to know.

Lesson 4: Really bad, unfair things can happen

Games are much needier now than they used to be, they actually want you to have fun. Back in the day, Spectrum games, 8-Bit games and platform games required much more skill. Once you’d bought a game, it was basically ‘Fuck you, we’ve taken your money. If you can’t get through it, tough shit’. Nowadays, because of season passes and subscriber models, games want you to be happy and keep playing. They’ve stopped teaching us to be patient.

Play pretty much any modern MMORPG or even FPS, and there are never really any consequences. You can’t ever really die and even if you do, often your progress will be reset within the last few minutes. It’s very rare that you get to something beyond your skill level. I’m playing Doom Eternal at the minute on the Switch, and there’s only so far you can really fall in that game. Original Doom was incredibly difficult and very punishing. That’s something games used to teach you but don’t anymore: that really bad things can happen and we just have to deal with it.

Lesson 5: Stay in your lane

You made a choice at the start of the game as to your character class, and built up that character every time you played. After 100 hours, if you decide that you don’t want to be a warrior, you want to be a mage, you’re basically fucked. You have to start again, retrain and go through every step of it again. It’s the same in real life if you were a plumber and decide you want to go and be an optometrist, it’s tough shit. You’ve got to relearn your craft and start again.

Read more

Games

Dead Pixels creator: ‘So many films and TV shows get gaming so badly wrong’

By Louisa Mellor

Games

World of Warcraft: The Legacy of the Most Popular MMORPG in History

By Jason M. Gallagher

Lesson 6: Rewards > Escapism

In an online game, how often do you get on a dragon and fly through rainbows and under waterfalls? You don’t. You grind for items and mine for gold, and pull up the weeds in Animal Crossing. You’ve got this paradise island and you spend your time on it breaking rocks like you’re in a chain gang.

We enter these online utopias thinking, ‘My job is bullshit and I hate it and I’m miserable so I’m going to play this game where I can do anything I want’ and then what we do in the game is a form of busywork that more or less mirrors our day jobs. That’s because something innate in us that likes rewards and likes being told that we’ve done something well, so we’ll do these things because there’ll be a little reward at the end. The reward won’t necessarily make the game easier or more pleasurable, but we still covet it.

Lesson 7: Bureaucracy is in our blood

I remember playing a side quest in Elder Scrolls, going to see this woman who was locked out of her house in a little village. She’d lost her keys, so you had to search all of the places in the village to find this woman’s keys. At that point, it occurred to me that I was simulating the absolute worst part of my actual day, which is ‘Where are my fucking keys?’ The worst thing is, I’m just doing it for some incremental increase in XP which will ultimately increase my level which will mean I can access a new part of the game which will look like this part of the game, and will have enemies in it that will be benchmarked to my new level, so they won’t be any more challenging or any more fun than the current game. We, irresistibly, are drawn to bureaucratic systems.

Lesson 8: Change is the only constant

More so than they did before, games are constantly changing and shifting. The idea in Dead Pixels season two is that in-world game Kingdom Scrolls has shifted to focus on a different demographic, moving away from being for the hardcore and trying to grab that Fortnite market. In season two, characters Meg and Nicky feel like that world doesn’t value them anymore, it’s just going after a younger audience. Ultimately, they realise that there’s no choice but to get on board with it and try to enjoy it.

Your relationship to those properties and those worlds does change as you grow older. It’s like the Toy Story thing, there’s a time in your life when it’s time to put down childish things and become a grown-up and that’s a tension in Dead Pixels: how much longer can Meg and Nicky stay in this world?

Lesson 9: You don’t have to be in the same room to be with someone

To be slightly less bleak, the biggest benefit of online gaming is the connection you have with other people, to the extent that the actual game pretty much becomes irrelevant. The fact that you’re doing busywork doesn’t really mean anything, because you’re doing it with someone – especially right now – that you can’t physically be with. In lockdown, Fortnite essentially became the school playground. My son’s a social butterfly on there, he has scheduled activities all afternoon with his schoolfriends.

In Dead Pixels, Meg and Nicky can physically be together but they’re more comfortable when they have a third element to communicate through. That’s a huge positive and something I’ve experienced playing games with my brother, who I don’t get to see as much as I’d like. That’s at the heart of this show, that’s really what it’s about: here is a world that allows these two people to connect and communicate in a way that they can’t in real life.

As told to Louisa Mellor

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Dead Pixels season 2 starts on Tuesday the 26th of January at 10pm on E4.

Subscribe to Den of Geek magazine for FREE right here!

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[som3thingcr3ative]

Völuspá (Prophecy)

Ivar the Boneless x reader

Chapter one/?

Synopsis: Astrid, a girl born in the year 2000, has never fit in. Raised by a Norse family with her twin brother, she grew up among people who feared her. And then her archaeologist twin finds something that links her to the tenth century- the rest, as they say, is history.

WARNINGS; Slow burn, mention of self-loathing, Ivar, language, probably will be NSFW, weapons (?)

PART 1 2 3 4 5 6

“Astrid, you’re a living cliche.”

I glare at my twin from astride my horse, swinging my leg over his back and landing easily on my feet. Hvardr, my icelandic pony, looks at me askance when he feels my gloved fingers curl into a fist against his shoulder. I relax, draw in a deep breath and calm down enough to rub my fingers into his thick winter pelt. “And why is that, brother?”

Damon, the entire reason why I was here at three in the morning- here being the archaeological research building- frowns at me. His blue eyes cut to my pony, to the wolf sitting at my feet, and then to my clothes. “Do I even need to say anything?”

“Don’t test me, Damon. Not after you woke me up and made me come here. I’d much rather be curled up with Einar right now.” Hearing his name, the wolf looks up at me. I reward him with a quick scratch of his ear.

“Alright, then come in.” Damon says, pushing open the door for me. Grinning at him, I take a handful of Hvardrs’ mane and tug. The pony feels the pressure and follows me through the door, his barrel-like belly knocking into Damon’s arm and pinning him just briefly against the door. “Did the horse have to come in?” I hear him grumble.

A glare answers him and he quiets, waiting patiently as I take off my outermost layers- the fur and deerskin jacket and my gloves. I rub Einar’s fur to shake off the snow, and then follow my brother into the main building.

“You learned Old Norse much faster than I can ever hope to- don’t say something smart, I already choked on my words- so here I am, asking for your help.”

I raise an eyebrow at him. As long as I’ve known Damon, he rarely asks for help. So this must be important to him. He sees the answer in my eyes, so he continues, guiding Einar and I into an ID-locked room where three other archaeologists wait, surrounding a large runestone.

“You want me to translate?” Damon nods, and the other three move away from the stone, one grabbing a notebook and a pen. With a heavy sigh, I wave my hand at him. “If I’m going to do this, you’re writing it. Now let’s get this shit over with so I can actually sleep.”

Einar sticks to my side, wary of the two men and one woman who he does not know. Wolves are naturally skittish, and he is no different. He doesn’t trust them, and then the woman attempts to pet him, I can’t snap out a warning fast enough. She jerks back when Einar growls, baring his teeth and pinning his ears. I roll my eyes and tame Einar’s raised guard hairs, regaining his attention. Then I run my fingers over the runes carved into the stone.

Gods-send stands before the saxon army and they cower-

“There’s a small statue too,” Damon cuts in. I glare at him over my shoulder, already having given myself to the words on the stone. He broke my concentration, and the spell I’d found myself in. He holds out a statue to me. It’s petrified wood, in perfect shape. “We were hoping you could translate the runes on the base?”

I scoff. The question almost seems like an insult or a challenge.

But as I hold the statue, my mind wavers. I feel a tug in my chest to the object; it is small, and carved with what looks like a knife, but it is beautiful. It is of a woman, standing with one arm holding an axe above her head, the other resting on the head of what looks like a wolf. There are little marking carved into her face- a line vertically splitting her bottom lip and going down to her chin, three dots, one small, between her eyebrows, one larger just above that, and a third small dot on top.

My eyes are drawn up to the reflective glass that makes the walls of the room. To the tattoos on my face- to the black line on my bottom lip that trails to my chin, to the dots on my forehead, the one between my brows is small, like the upper one, but the middle is larger.

I glance at the stone again, run my fingers over the carvings, holding the statue reverently in my other hand.

Blood-bound to Ivar the Boneless, Queen to his King, she is as feared as he.

One alone will demand respect, but two together will make even the gods tremble.

She of gods knowledge, she of the sight.

The woman, the wolf.

The statue weighs my arm down. It holds an energy that I cannot bear to carry- I turn it over, stare at the single word carved into the base.

It clatters to the ground. Einar jumps up, sprints after me as I run to Hvardr. My chest heaves with every breath. I cannot think straight, I cannot think at all. The door feels like nothing against my shoulder as I push out into the winter storm. Hvardr and Einar trail me, but I can feel nothing but cold fear, even as I mount my stallion and gallop off, toward home.

Still, the runes taunt me.

My name, carved into the base of a statue that is me, but cannot be me.

Astrid.

[soldierstark]

Chemistry | Part 3 | COLE SPROUSE X READER

Description:The reader is learning to deal with her new found feelings for Cole when she gets a call from Lili about a suprising upcoming scene they'll have to film for season 2. The reader is upset because now her first kiss with Cole will be filmed because she waited to long to make her move.

Word Count: 1888

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

I woke up with a start at the sound of my phone ringing from the coffee table that sat in front of my couch. I rubbed my face wearily having just awoken from a mid-afternoon nap. After all the traveling I had done the past month to promote the show, I was wiped out and had a crazy new sleep schedule.

I reached forward and grabbed my phone only to see that it was Lili calling me. I accepted the call and put the phone up to my ear. “Hello,” I greeted with a yawn.

“(Y/N)!,” Lili screeched into my ear sounding very excited.

I pulled the phone away from my ear slightly, my heart racing from the sudden surprise of her loud voice. “What? What’s got you so excited?” I stood up off of my couch and started walking around my apartment.

“Have you read the script for the 3rd episode yet?” she asked sounding eager.

I looked over at my kitchen counter where the first 3 scripts of season 2 were sitting, having arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon. “No, I ‘m almost done with episode 2 though,” I answered. “Why?”

“You are not going to believe what happens in the final scene (Y/N),” she said. “I’m so excited for you it’s finally going to happen!”

“What?  What’s finally going to happen and why are y-,” I stopped talking when I was hit with a moment of realization. “No,” I whispered into the phone.

Lili giggled. “Oh yes.”

“Are you serious?” I asked in disbelief. “It’s finally gonna happen?”

“Yes!” she squealed. “I thought you’d be more excited,” Lili added in a normal voice.

I leaned my back against the kitchen counter and ran a hand through my hair.  “I mean, I guess I’m excited. I just always thought my first kiss with Cole would be- well, not filmed for the whole world to see.”

“Well that’s what you get for not making a move (Y/N),” Lili said in a sing song voice. “It’s not too late though, we probably won’t shoot that scene for another week.”

“Lili,” I sighed exasperated. “I can’t just go up and kiss Cole out of the blue because then I’ll have to tell him that I like him and he’ll turn me down and then things will be so weird between us that we won’t be able to shoot the kissing scene,” I babbled without taking a breath.

“You’re smart, funny, pretty, and a very talented actress (Y/N). What makes you think that he’ll turn you down?” Lili asked.

I snorted. “Because he’s freaking Cole Sprouse Lili and can do ten times better than me. I’m not going to waste my time chasing after a boy I’ll never have because he’ll never like me back. This is just a crush I’ll get over it eventually.”

“Oh whatever,” she replied sarcastically.

“I’m serious Li-,“ I started but stopped when I heard a beep from phone. “Hold up I think I’m getting another call,” I said before my phone away from my ear. I checked the caller ID and yelped when I saw who it was “Oh my god it’s Cole,” I said to Lili, putting the phone back at my ear.

“Answer him,” she stated simply.

“No! I’m talking to you.”

“Bye,” she said cheerily then hung up.

I groaned loudly debating whether or not to take the call, my heart leaping out of my chest. My eyes stared at my phone, knowing exactly why he was calling me.

I let out a sigh and accepted call. “Good afternoon Cole Mitchell Sprouse,” I greeted.

I could hear Cole chuckle over the phone. “I assume you know why I’m calling you,” he said simply.

“Yes indeed I do. I haven’t actually read the script but I just got a call from Lili so,” I trailed off as if that explained everything.

“Ah alright. So are you excited?” he asked sounding nonchalant.

“Pshh, no,” I lied. “Why would I be excited?”

He sighed dramatically. “Oh (Y/N) you know there are millions of girls who would kill to be in your position right now.”

I knew he was right. “Sure,” I drawled out sarcastically.

“Oh you know I’m right. Anyway do you want to rehearse lines later? We should get a jump start on memorizing these scripts.” For a moment I thought he sounded nervous but I pushed that into the back of my mind.

“Um sure sounds good though we will only be rehearsing the lines,” I said sternly into the phone. It was a good thing Cole couldn’t see me because I was blushing like crazy.

He let out another dramatic sigh. “Fine if you insist. So I’ll come over to your place later then?”

“Good with me,” I answered.

“Alright see you later. Bye (Y/N)”

“Bye Cole.”

  I was sitting in the makeup trailer waiting to start filming when Lili came bouncing in all smiley holding two cups of coffee. She placed one in front of me and clapped her hands together excitedly.

“Today’s the day!” she squealed taking a seat next to me.

“Wooo,” I replied raising a fist in the air weakly.

She leaned back into her chair and swiveled to face me. “C’mon (Y/N) get pumped. You’re finally going to get to kiss Cole!”

I took a long drawn out sip of coffee and sighed. “Let’s not make a big deal out of this okay?”

She looked at me suspiciously. “Alright,” Lili said trailing off.

The door to the trailer opened and who but Cole himself strolled in, all dressed up in his emo Jughead clothes. “Morning ladies,” he greeted us with a smile. “You ready to go?” he asked looking over at me.

I nodded my head standing up out of my chair as well as Lili. “You’re not needed on set for another hour,” I said raising an eyebrow at her.

“Oh I’m not missing this,” she replied walking over to Cole. I rolled my eyes with a smile and followed them out of the door.

“You like the taste of coffee right Cole?” I asked looking up at him.

Cole gave me weird look. “Well you do see me drinking it all of the time so yea. Why?”

We entered the sound stage that held the set for my characters house, where our scene was being shot. “I just drank half a cup so fair warning when we kiss you’ll be tasting it.” Cole chuckled nervously, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

“Aw look who’s blushing.” Camila cooed as we walked up to her and KJ.

I groaned. “You guys too? Why do all of you want to watch Cole and I make out so bad?” I asked in exasperation.

KJ put a hand over his heart. “Because we want to watch our on screen OTP finally get together,” he replied with his strong accent.

“Uh huh,” Cole said glaring at KJ who smiled at him mischievously.

I looked between them with my lips pressed together. “What? Why are you smiling like that?”

“No reason,” KJ replied innocently. I could hear Cole mumble under his breath but I couldn’t quite hear what he was saying.

“Places everyone!” the director yelled. “Let’s try to do this in one take alright.”

The crew started scrambling to their positions while Cole and I looked at each other with wide eyes. This was it. I walked into the living of my characters house while Cole stood outside of the front door.

I bit my lip in anticipation and wriggled my hands together trying to shake off the nerves. I wondered if Cole was as nervous as I was, though he had no need to be. I was only nervous because I liked him and since he didn’t like me, well, he probably felt fine.

I took a deep breath trying to steady my heartbeat as the director started counting down. I could see KJ, Camila, Lili, and also Casey now, standing with the crew smiling like idiots. Why the hell where they so happy about this?

“3, 2, 1, action!”

I looked over at the front door in confusion as the doorbell rang. I walked over and looked through the peep hole even though I already knew it was Cole behind the door. I unlocked it and opened it open only for Cole to come rushing in.

“Hello to you too,” I said sarcastically shutting the door behind me. I walked into the living room where Cole was standing looking at me with a conflicted expression.

“Why did you do that?” he asked me in frustration.

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him in confusion. “Do what?”

“Punch Reggie in face (Character/Name)!” he yelled waving his arms in the air.

I snorted. “Jughead you were there. He deserved it, he was teasing you,” I said raising my voice slightly, trying to sound slightly frustrated.

He took a step closer to me. “(Character/Name) he’s the captain of the football and almost a foot taller than you! You could’ve gotten seriously hurt,”

“Well I didn’t because I know how to whoop ass Jug,” I said with a slight laugh.

“That’s not the point,” he yelled. “My point is, you can’t go around beating up everyone who teases me (Character/Name).”

I stepped closer to Cole looking livid. “One of the perks of having two dead parents Jughead, is that I can do whatever I dam well please. Don’t take that away from me.”

“Laws aren’t a bendable thing! It’s still assault you could get in big trouble!”

“I don’t care Jughead he deserved it!”

“Because he was teasing me? It’s not that big of deal! Why would you punch a guy in the face for that?” he screamed stepping even closer to me.

“Oh shut up,” I said in disbelief. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Cole and I were less than a foot apart, breathing heavily form arguing. There was obvious tension though I didn’t know where it coming from.

The script said that we both had to realize how close we are to each other and make it surprising. So I looked Cole up and down quickly then relaxed my facial features of mock anger. Cole’s blue eyes looked determined as his hands reached up to my face and slammed his lips onto mine.

I tensed up a bit at the contact but returned his kiss immediately, wrapping my arms around his neck to pull him closer. The soaring sound of my blood echoed in my ears and I could hear my heart beat in my head. I didn’t even care that there were like 30 people watching us.

Cole started stepping backwards, maneuvering us the wall behind us. We separated for a second to get some air and he used that time to switch our positions and press me against the wall.

We met in the middle and continued to kiss heatedly. Cole arms were wrapped around my waist keeping me close to him while his torso pressed me into the wall behind us. My hand took his hat off of his head and rummaged through his hair enjoying every second of it.

I really loved my job.

And if it hadn’t been clear to me earlier, it sure was now. I definitely wasn’t acting anymore.

Tagged: @oceanshockey @happinesschasers @fiftyshadesofjug @side-angel  @jj-trickster @xbobaaa @stardustpadalecki

[jm-3am]

The letter that goes nowhere.

Hello.

Um.

Did I end up accomplishing all 20 things on my list?

Oh. Not at all.

How’d you find this then? Well, I guess after it’s all said and done, the people who are really curious and really taken aback will go on a detective hunt, right?

Right. Well.

I should have written this before I went hysterical, but my head’s not screwed on correctly. You know? Yeah. You know. You’ll probably know by now.

And by now, it’s apparent that I’m not who I said I was.

I’m not really soft. Or nice. Or sunshine despite all the overly flowery terms and emojis, I’m mostly. Um. Nervous.

I think that’s the best way to put it. Stressed could be an extension of this.

Should I even begin to explain why? Or should we skip that part? I don’t know. It’s not very interesting - you’re typical screwed up childhood story. Just another novel - another semi-decent plot that’ll never be a blockbuster.

My earliest memory might be when my parents dropped me off to some relatives and left me there for a while. Call it abandonment issues, but when you’re used to hearing your father say you’re unplanned, a mistake, you cost him his good job in NYC and forced him to move down to the suburbs, and your mother argue “well should I have aborted it?” before he sighs and says no because abortion is a sin, then what? What was I supposed to think? I thought they were giving me away.

I think I was 3, going on 4? Anyway. I learned real quick that nobody’s worth it. Absolutely nobody. My life was worthless because it cost someone a job. My life was worthless because it made people fight. It was so worthless they gave me to strangers because they were tired. And they had to take care of my twin brothers who were babies.

I love my twin brothers, actually. Even though they always call me dumb for not getting vine references and not understanding pop culture, and make fun of me for “supporting the gays” because while they’re super conservative, I’m that one strange pseudo-religious liberal. They’re good people (I think.) They hold the door open for others, they clean the church, they say please and thank you. Actually, these are basic manners, but I guess the arm really does bend INWARDS. They’ll be okay when they grow up I suppose, but right now (despite them only being 2 years younger than me and the closest people I’m allowed to come in contact with - I can’t possibly tell them how I feel). How and why would they understand? Besides, Min always says this, but he won’t come to my funeral. He can’t deal with his sister “being mental.”

Mother? Mom? Well, I suppose she’ll cry. Maybe then I’ll actually get to hear her say the words “I love you” - I remember once, I was maybe in 3rd grade and my teacher had brought her child to work for take-your-child-to-work day. I was surprised how easily she said she loved her daughter - in front of all of us! That night when I went home I asked my mom to tuck me into bed. She at least followed me to my room and said she’ll close my door. I think she was trying. I really think she was. I told her I loved her - I asked her to say it back. She said no. She told me to just go to sleep. In high school I pretended to do a “cultural interview” and asked her why Korean mothers don’t tell their kids they love them. She said it’s embarrassing and unnecessary. Also, the most important thing for any family relationship isn’t love - it’s respect. Huh. I learned something new that day.

I gave up on loving my family. I certainly never learned to respect them. I acknowledge their presence.

They barely acknowledge mine.

 It’s sad. I’m looking at the letters on my desk (I think this letter is already longer than all the other three COMBINED). Why three?

Father doesn’t get one.

2017. The last time I wrote a letter to him.

I found it in the trash later as I was taking it out.

The flowers I had hand drawn onto the edges were smudged with banana. It was a pretty funny sight. It was my suicide letter, actually. Asking him to change, to try harder, if he actually wanted me to stay because I was tired.

Did I take it out of the trash?

Why would I.

It was addressed to “아빠” - I call him father or by his last name, now.

Just like the rest of the people at our Church.

I wonder why “adults” have enough authority and credibility to make up lies that are more believable than the truth. We were at a church gathering when my father attacked me with a golf club and the brothers had to pull him off of me as I slid under the billiards table - we were at church when my 5 year old brother was accused of pulling the fire-alarm and he slapped him so hard Matt went flying backwards and hit his head on a display (turns out, another kid in a different room was playing and hit the fire alarm). Everybody saw it. They heard it. They even stepped in to stop him.

But that was just because he lost his cool. All the times I skipped church at home with bruises so bad they couldn’t be covered, every time I limped in and sat still for 2 hours, every strangely placed band aid. “She fell down the stairs” - “she went ice skating with friends and fell” - “Her lip? It’s because she keeps peeling away at it” - “the bruise on her forehead? She was getting into the van and hit her head on the TV”

Nobody ever asked if it was true.

I just (this is so selfish), but I wanted one person to look me in the eye and say, “Is that what happened?” - Nobody did.

I guess that’s how credible the preacher’s words are.

Besides that what else is there? Being dragged out as he gripped my hair and threatened to chain me to his truck and drive down the road while I gasped for enough breath to apologize.

Taking a knife and hacking off my hoodie that I was wearing.

Throwing my albums.

Throwing me against the door and hitting me with a wooden broom until I eventually said sorry for something I didn’t do.

And each time, my mom took my brothers and hid.

I remember the one time my brother and father got into a fist fight. Do you know what my mom did? The woman I thought was scared. Who I thought couldn’t handle this. Who I even protected and got hit with a frying pan IN HER PLACE?

She tackled my father to the ground.

I realized then... it’s not that she couldn’t. She didn’t.

She had priorities.

It was always Josh.

Despite it all. I don’t hate my brothers. Again. How can I. It feels like they’re always the one who eventually step in to stop me from myself.

Especially Josh. I really tried to keep going this time. This year I thought. I thought it would be different. Actually, since the middle half of 2018 I was doing so much better!

He begged me to live. Just live.

Day by day that’s what I did.

He even helped me, supported me going back to what I used to love.

Dancing, and iKON, and going online to start blogging again. He helped me lie about needing a laptop for college, helped me when I came close to being figured out - clean accounts, new IDs for phone checks and laptop confiscations. He tried so hard to keep me alive.

Why. Can’t I be grateful?

I don’t know.

I just don’t know.

I never did get medicated.

Never got diagnosed, actually.

2017 March - I tried killing myself in the bathroom and my mom broke the door down.

2017 December I tried to kill myself in my room, and my brother slept on the floor the whole night to make sure I couldn’t go anywhere. All the kitchen knives he locked in a cabinet in his room with a key that he wore around his neck.

Same with our medicine cabinet. The youngest sat in a chair right next to our medicine drawer all night.

But nope.

We never talk about it to doctors. Or counselors.

We’re not allowed to.

Who’d believe us, anyway?

“Why are you depressed?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then you aren’t.”

$500.00

isn’t that how it works?

I don’t know. The one time I cried in front of a counselor my father assigned me - it was at church - and they read me some bible scriptures and told me to pray every night and if I believe in the Lord? It’ll all be fine.

I cry to the Lord every time.

He’s never saved me before.

I didn’t want to be the type of person who pointed fingers yet here I am. I suppose I blamed everybody except for the problem. Me.

In the end, nobody else is at fault. It’s me.

I should live this life because it’s given to me, and I should deal with it. It’s my lot. I’m that ungrateful one who’s kicked it aside. Is that why they say “kicked the bucket?”

I also didn’t want to be the cause of anybody’s sadness or... discomfort, actually. I think discomfort is the right word. When I lose people it’s beyond just a ‘sadness’ - I shake, I go numb (I really realize what it feels like for blood to stop flowing), once I melted in panic, and another time I hid from the world in a little closet refusing to believe it.

In retrospect though, I realized I kept living. At first I was really angry that the world could keep turning without her. My childhood friend. I was really really angry that everybody seemed so fine. Her mother kept going to work, her father even moved on, our friends stopped mentioning her, and even me. The person I thought was her closest friend - even I stopped thinking of her everyday and that angered me. How dare I? You know? How could I? If I didn’t remember her, then how sad would she be? How wronged would she feel? But the more I grew the harder life got, and weekends full of piano lessons and sneaking up to her attic afterwards so we could play with her cat turned into recitals, practice, games, church services, and studying.

All that damned studying.

Because that’s apparently the only thing I was good at. And news flash - wasn’t particularly good at it, either.

Anyway, where was this going?

Right.

Nowhere.

Is anybody still reading?

Probably not.

It’s a bunch of mumble jumble but in the end. In the end.

I hope people don’t think I’m delicate, or breakable or that they should have treated me any differently.

Actually, I’d say I’m pretty strong and unfazed.

Nothing really hurts me - I’m so used to hearing the worst of the worst.

“You’re fat, you’re ugly, you look fake, you seem fake, you’re awkward, you’re dumb, shut up, prude, slut, weirdo,” - literally, none of that fazes me. If you told me that I’d just think “wow... you’re very honest with yourself and others. That’s not very mannerly, and I hope you don’t treat others that way, but thanks for sharing your opinion! It was interesting to listen to.” After all, they’re just sharing a snippet of their mind to me. It may even be the truth. Why should I be offended? What gives me the right to be mad? It’s their opinion on me.

Would I be mad if they said that about others I knew? Yeah. Because I know not everybody’s like me. They shouldn’t go around hurting those who don’t deserve it.

Anyway, again, where was this going? Ah. Right. I’m not hurt by anything. Not affected by much. Even if people completely ignore me! I don’t get particularly sour or sad about it - happens naturally and all the time.

I hope people aren’t beating themselves up thinking “I should have done X, Y, Z.” No actually.

You couldn’t have known.

I despise oversharing. IT always leaves me feeling guilty and cautious. Like I’ve changed a dynamic. 

I don’t want that.

I always wanted to be a comfortable shelter to people.

Someone they can open up to and give sadness too, but didn’t necessarily have to hear back from. Like a one way valve.

So. Whoever made it this far.

You couldn’t have known.

You couldn’t have done anything different.

Despite what you think - you DID give me small bits of happiness.

I finally. I finally knew what the outside world was like.

People predicted that by the time I was 30 and married to someone my family thoroughly vetted I’d learn what it’s like ‘outside.’ I doubt them though. I’m paying for my own education so I can find some sort of work - so I don’t have to be a stay at home mom, who goes grocery shopping, takes care of the kids, cleans, goes to church, repeat. So that my circle wouldn’t stay this small.

But.

I guess some people really live their whole lives in a small circle.

All I have is my family, the small town church circle (with nobody my age... the closest person being 28), and the friends I was allowed to have over to my house (only) but not allowed to go out with from high school (who, all had closer best friends since... well, I never hung out with them outside of school).

For a few months though I felt alive (nervous as hell) but alive.

Who knew people could get so close online? Share pictures and stories and accomplishments and love? Be happy together, sad, mad, even 19+ together (hahha). I was mind blown. Amazed.

I wondered.

If that. was. normal? Did the world... did people in the world do that?

Meet up? Keep connections going? Care?

This is turning weirdly. Educational.

I guess I should accomplish something from the top 20.

May... I’m not like you. I can’t run away. I’m a coward, actually. I can’t call the police, can’t talk to the authorities. I guess I should tell you it’s because it’s 1 vs 4. I know nobody at home will side with me. I can’t blame them. They’re scared, and they have nothing to lose. Actually, if they just lose me it might be perfect. I was always the one who didn’t go the way they planned.

Yooj. I’ll just. I’ll just text you. I think you deserve it.

Dekota - I’m sorry. In 10 years you and your girlfriend will be taking bubble baths together, and walking to the market while the sunsets just to get ice cream, and your shoes will kick pebbles out of the way, and your hair will be dyed whatever color is cool in 2029 and the world will be better. promise. You’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it, okay? I did see your last twitter message to me. Yeah. I’m okay now.

Autumn: Always keep your head up, you’re the most beautiful, the most loyal, the most diligent, the most honest. Without you I would have never gotten away from Hope. You changed my life.

Bri: I suppose this is a good time to say, you’re my fav? Haha. You’re also the only one in the family I called up. I regretted that a lot. It took a lot of your time, and I was being selfish, but. You have a really nice voice. Remember I said you sounded like my God sister? No. I realize now that that voice is yours now. You sounded like you. You did sound like home though. The few hours(?) I spent talking to you made the years I was alone and lonely feel okay. If it were up to me, I would have never hung up. I heard a lot of your poems, but I never got to read you one...

“Love is not always staying

in the same place

Love is being in the right one

when they’re looking for you”

I don’t know what I’m saying - never really been in a heart wrenching, or particularly nice, or desperate kind of love, but that’s my interpretation I guess. I imagine it’d be like that, don’t you? I hope you find someone who’s always there for you when you need it.

Sam: As I’ve said before. I never wanted an older sister, I always looked up to my cousin and wanted an older brother, but unnie. I got to know you, and I realized. I wanted an older sister. Actually maybe I just wanted to keep calling you unnie. Thank you for everything. I hope the world, the people around you, I hope they appreciate you for everything you’re doing and all that you are. Eventually, I hope you’re at the top - I hope you go so high in life and have so much fun on the way that you don’t regret it. I hope you’re content and happy - I was because of you.

Dep & Bea - The parents hahah the two BEA-utiful people (I can’t believe I’m pushing through with that! But I am!) Thank you for accepting me. I never knew the word “parents” and “children” could be so fun. I’m glad I got to experience it for a while ^^ ~ your latest daughter (who by the way, has now understood your hate for pineapple pizza, it is all up to personal taste, right? Kekeke, I heard Korea has a sweet potato pizza?! What do you think about that?!!)

Christina - sorry I killed double heart anon (oh my, that sounds so cruel! Double heart anon wasn’t even that active, right?! I just wanted to brighten your day because you brighten ours. Actually, on my phone you’re “Christina 빛이나” (It rhymes!!!) I wish that you keep shining

똑똑 Alfa! (Knock knock - no no no it actually was supposed to be “smart” but the no one came out and now it’s a double meaning!) You’re by far the smartest person I’ve befriended - I’m sure we can all agree, we’re super proud!

Joyce - “Joyce over flowers” - nim hahaha the flower of our group chat, I’m honored to have seen you graduate and keep on going for your dreams, I’ll always watch over you and make sure you’re safe! No matter what you choose to do and where you choose to go, I hope it’s only a flower path for you ^^

Celine - you’re art, you know that? You know?! Everybody should tell you this! You’re ART!

Drew - Intellect if I’ve ever seen one - I know we mostly talked about stanning and how terrible the big three were, but besides that I hope you never lose your cute smile and your whole aesthetic touch. I hope you go through life being as beautiful as always. When you’re happy you glow - your humor made my days and nights!

Nista - Sunshine :’) I’d go blind by staring at your beauty! Your personality always made me happy and warm on the inside, sunshine!

Quinn - I don’t know if I was special to you, but you were special to me; I know I promised we could talk about anything and everything, but you still can! You can still talk to me; I’ll always listen to you. You’re probably one of the people who understood me the best. I hope... that eventually you stop understanding me and find the happiness you deserve and the fulfillment you were looking for

Heera - I’m still on your side. I’ll always be on your side. Through your ‘questionable’ food choices to your ‘anti bobby’ ways - I got you. I really do. And if I let you down, I’m truly sorry.

Anis - I’ll always be sending a hug your way.

Hope - I forgave you. A long time ago, before I even realized it. So let’s move on. Okay?

Jae - You had the most on your plate. I hope you’re handling them one by one. You’re wayyyy more amazing than you give yourself credit for. You’re superhuman~~~ really! Your future is bright, just remember to take one step at a time (AND YOUR WATER BOTTLE!!!)

Julia - It’s been years and I never had the courage to go back but, I did think about you a few times. I actually found you on twt once I started back up. You looked happy. You were doing and saying nice things. It made me happy. I didn’t follow, I didn’t message you, I didn’t bother you by pulling you back into our past that was parts painful and parts hilarious (you’ll never ever see this - but I admired you a lot).

JJ - There were words I never said to you because saying them out loud was scary. I loved you. A lot. And new people came, crushes that moved in then out really quickly, because nobody was you. I hoped that I would eventually learn to love anew, but I know that deep down I never fell out. I’ll probably never fall out.

This letter came nowhere. It’ll go nowhere.

Just like me ^^ But that’s good. It’s not meant to, anyway.

- Just Me (Jung Min)