#but then again… the killed get revived someplace else

[zerosocialskillz]

Y’know all of this made me think of a version of Inanimate Insanity but it’s actually a killing game like Danganronpa instead of a reality show

Like if MePhone4 watched Danganronpa and tried to host one himself and shit. Complete with pretending to be a despair-loving freak and all of that jazz

[darkeninganon]

Heyo! Back at it again with Ghost Dream (Gream). He has a little weirdness happen in this chapter, mostly because my brain just yeeted off to Pluto. I don’t think I need any Trigger warnings, I mean... Tommy gets a little shaken up emotionally, but beyond that, this is a pretty safe chapter.

Gream smiled, setting up the final blocks to complete the diorama on the table. It had taken many days, but finally Gream had completed it, with the help of Tubbo, Ranboo, and Tommy. It was an exact replica of the server. Well, with a few changes. Some places had no walls, and the building in place of the prison was nothing more than an obsidian box surrounded by red and orange string. There were also the dolls, almost exact replicas of the people of the SMP.

Almost.

Tomothy had a blue sweater on, instead of whatever the real Tommy was wearing. William was grey-skinned, had no white streak, and was wearing a yellow sweater. Prezbo was wearing a classy suit, reflecting his position of power. Lethe was wearing a cloak and bandages over his eyes. Gream even made one like himself, naming it "Nightmare", it lacked a mask though. He was not about to try and figure out how to make a doll-sized mask. There were so many more as well: A centaur-like creature named "The Warden" sat on top of the prison box, a tall cloaked figure standing in a sandy area along with many other smaller ones, including a fox man; most notably was a figure in a bloody suit with crooked eyes, a pink scar slashing vertically through one, a beanie, a gold tooth, and a square smile. "Fangs", "Raev", "Sir"....

Gream shook his head, fear and dread creeping up his spine and making his stomach roll. He sighed, setting the dolls down after inspecting them. Raev was his favorite in the group; Gream had given him bright orange hair and a smile, plus a cute green-black suit. It clashed with the hair and fur, but Gream didn't mind, it was kind of cute in a way.

Gream continued to just stare at the little scene, sitting cross-legged as he took it all in. All of these characters were related, their stories tied together in some way. Gream reached over, pulling Nightmare from the little brick house he stood on and placing the doll in the cell The Warden stood on. That was where Nightmare belonged.

Gream spun to look at the door as the floor creaked, Tommy looming in the doorway, staring at the ghost.

"Hey there. Your table is finally done?" The teen asked, stepping into the room and over to the table. He wouldn't deny, it made him nervous; it was a replica of the SMP with New L'Manburg, the oldest version of the Community House, and the maximum security cell of the prison, plus Snowchester and Las Nevadas. It was like the server had been spliced between several time periods. "Looks good."

Gream looked back at the table, nodding. "Thanks. I also made the dolls." Gream motioned to them. He noticed Tommy tense, specifically when looking at the one in the prison. "That's Nightmare. He belongs in jail."

Tommy knew Dream was... quiet, to put it lightly, but he had never seen Gream do the same. "Yeah, and why's that?" he asked, sitting next to the ghost.

"He did a lot of bad things." Gream grabbed the doll, pulling it from the "jail" to look at it more.

"Well... sometimes people do bad things for a good reason-"

"That doesn't make it okay. Nightmare did a lot of bad things. He wanted to have a family... He wanted Tomothy to be his little brother, but Tomothy chose William, and William was a megalomaniacle dick to everyone, even Nightmare. But then William died and things got better." Gream placed Nightmare back in the cell. "But... William managed to convince Tomothy that Nightmare was evil, and Nightmare saw people drifting apart because he gave Prezbo a test, and Prezbo failed it." He grabbed the two dolls, holding them close. He then placed Prezbo back in the town he had built, placing Tomothy in a bare plains-like area with wooden fort-like walls around him. "Prezbo kicked Tomothy out of their home because Nightmare got mad and threatened the town. Then, Nightmare tried to... twist? Corrupt? No, neither of those words work..."

Tommy's breath hitched, and it took a moment for him to speak; "Manipulate?" His voice pitched up. Fuck, he really had to get that under control. It was such a tell.

Gream looked to Tommy, nodding solemnly. "Yeah. Nightmare tried to manipulate Tomothy into liking him. Like William had done when alive. Instead, Tomothy just hated him more." Gream picked up another doll, rolling it around. "Then, Nightmare asked for Lethe's help. A favor. Lethe needed to protect the server, but he had to forget everything unless there was actual danger. A True threat. They cast some... spell or something, and Lethe forgot." Gream placed the doll in the area that looked like Snowchester, and now Tommy could see who it looked like: Ranboo. "there is a way to reverse it, but... I don't know if Lethe knows it."

Tommy watched, listened. It was so obvious who was meant to be who. It was like Gream... Wait... "Hey, so... you said Nightmare wanted a family, right?"

"Yeah."

"So... he made everyone think he was evil... and now he's in jail, yeah?"

"That's right. Mostly. He is in jail."

"Well... did... I mean, how did he get in there?"

Tommy watched as Gream seemed to think, staying silent and still before grabbing "Nightmare" from his cell. "Well... everyone teamed up against him. But... even though he'd never see anyone again, he was happy."

"Why?"

"Because, they were finally a family." Gream placed the little doll back in the cell. His voice was soft, wistful.

Tommy nodded. "Pardon me." He stood and left, Gream nodding to show he had heard. Tommy barely made it to the stairs, clinging to the railing as he finally broke. Gream was... He wasn't just playing out his memories, he was sharing what he felt and his thoughts at the time. Dream was... Jealous? No, that didn't excuse his actions, at all! He was still worse than... But... No, he wasn't. Dream was just more physical, less mental.

Tommy took out his communicator, sending a message to Tubbo and Ranboo: We need to talk. Meet me at Snowchester. Bring the others Ranboo. Tommy grit his teeth. He couldn't let Wilbur near Gream. Wilbur would see Gream as an easy mark, and likely a way into Las Nevadas. Sure, seeing Dream's version of everyone on the SMP was unnerving, but it was even more unnerving that he has so perfectly replicated Quackity and Las Nevadas. Quackity who was likely the reason Gream even existed in the first place, and also someplace Dream had never seen. Gream probably didn't even know he had done that.

Tommy swung open the front door, hoping to meet the others right at the tunnel; nearly smacking right into Wilbur. Fuck.

"Tommy! There you are! Now, look, I know me and Quackity were a bit intense-"

"Not now Wilbur."

"Okay, but hear me out! We need so much more stone, and more importantly, we need to team up with-"

"I have more important things to worry about here."

"It'll just take a moment! We team up with Tubbo and Ranboo and let them expand into our land right by Las Nevadas, and-"

"I'll talk to you about it later, alright?"

"Alright, but real quick, We also need to come up with a plan to get Dream out of Prison-" Tommy tensed, unseen by Wilbur; "Because, you know, he has that book that brought me back. God, imagine how useful that'll be! No more death ever! We can fight for eternity and no one can stop-"

Wilbur's head was snapped to the side. Tommy had punched him. "He's not a fucking tool you can just lock up once you're done using him! What the fuck man?!" Wilbur groaned, rubbing his jaw as he slowly turned to look at Tommy, clearly wanting to say something, but too shocked to do so. "You will... never get the revive book, or the power it holds... Dream is... I hope Sam kills you again." Tommy turned away from Wilbur, storming over to the tunnel. He knew Wilbur was following silently behind, confused and desperate to say something, to get to the bottom of why Tommy just punched him.

Tommy stood by the tunnel, furious. Sure, Dream was a dick, and everything would have been solved if Dream had just talked to Tommy, but at the same time... Asking Gream more about Nightmare would shed some light. But he needed everyone else to show up first, to see what Gream was doing. Tommy tapped his foot, staring at the sky as they waited for everyone else.

Ranboo burst from the tunnel, trident in hand, panicked expression, netherite on. "What's going on?!" Someone crashed into the poor half enderman, causing him to make that distinct noise of an enderman in pain as they crashed to the ground.

"Shit! Sorry-" Phil couldn't complete his apology as the rest on the Syndicate tumbled out of the hyper tunnel, crashing into each other.

Tommy snorted, trying his hardest not to laugh as the four people untangled themselves. Ah yes, the most fearsome group on the server, couldn't navigate a hyper tunnel. Tommy lost it as Tubbo came speeding out of the tunnel with a scream, crashing into his platonic husband and causing Ranboo to let out another pained enderman noise. Something about Ranboo yelling like an enderman was just so funny to Tommy, surely he was cursing in the language of the End.

"What did you want to talk to us about, Tommy?" Niki cut in, her usually calm voice cold, snapping Tommy out of his laughing fit.

"Right, uh... Let’s walk and talk, yeah? It's a little tough to explain." Tommy lead the group to the mansion, casting a quick glare at Wilbur. "So, you all know about Gream, yeah? Of course you do, anyways, he was building and working on a table to play games with when it comes to spending time with Big Mike, since neither are really allowed to leave due to safety." Tommy glanced back, making sure everyone was following along; Techno and Wilbur looked completely lost, while Niki looked confused but was clearly listening. "So, the thing about this table, more importantly the dolls he made for the table, is that they're... well... This is going to sound really weird, but it’s everyone and everywhere on the server. You’ll see." Tommy pointed to the door, and everyone crowded around to peer into the room.

Gream sat by the table, looming over it. Even with the cursed mask on, it was clear he was concentrating hard on something. The table and dolls had his full attention. Tommy motioned for everyone to linger back, hiding just outside the door-frame; before he walked in, he let out a quiet cough to not startle Gream. The ghost looked up at the noise, spotting Tommy and nodding at the teen.

"Hey Gream. I... actually had a question for you about that uh... Nightmare character." Tommy carefully walked up to the table, pulling the doll from the cell.

"Well, ask then."

Tommy smiled nervously, fidgeting with the toy. "Well... You said he did bad things because he was angry... jealous, actually. Um, why didn't he just talk it out?" It was such a huge risk, and for all Tommy knew, this could make Gream angry and have the ghost snap like he did back at his house.

Gream was silent, perking up as if thinking about something. Finally, he sighed. "Nightmare... Nightmare can't figure out his emotions... and he doesn't like talking about them... Someone... Hurt him once, someone he loved. It’s something I understand, but... you prefer talking about things, right?"

Tommy was quiet, frozen. "What?"

"I..." Gream pulled on the edges of his mask, a puddle of acid began to form under him. "Ever since the incident with Jack and Puffy I... Tommy, you're not telling me the truth, are you? No one is!"

Tommy flinched. He could hear netherite armor being thrown on behind him, but he took a breath, relaxing as he placed the doll back in the cell. "You're right. I haven't been honest. But-" Tommy held his hand up as Gream glared at him; "But I have my reasons. Nightmare... He did bad things for a good reason... He knew he'd go into jail for it, didn't he?"

Gream was silent, thinking again before nodding.

"That's why he asked Lethe for a favor. Well... People do bad things for good reasons all the time. I'm... withholding information from you for some very good reasons. It's not just for your safety, it's also for me. The things I'm keeping from you... they're things I don't like talking about, ever." Tommy sighed, running a hand through his hair. It sucked having to try to explain it, but now... Now they'll get to see things from Dream's view... something that no one was interested in before-

"Dream died?!"

Tommy cringed as he was reminded that Wilbur was there. "Yes, Dream died. Congradu-"

Wilbur shoved Tommy out of the way, grabbing Gream's hand and shaking it vigorously. "It's amazing to meet you! You and I were such- Oh man, we had so much fun together! I was... What was the word again? Oh yeah! I was your vassal! You helped me blow-"

Tommy shoved Wilbur away. "Alright, enough! Leave the poor guy alone!" Tommy stood between Wilbur and the ghost, Gream didn't need to know that he helped destroy L’Manburg or was a traitor or anything like that. Wait... Tommy shook his head. Dream was never really on their side.

"You... I don't like you."

"I'm.... What? What do you-"

"You're a megalomaniac aren't you?" Gream crossed his arms, glaring at Wilbur from behind his mask. "You... You were... Why do I hate you?" Gream turned away, pacing around until he looked to the table. He grabbed Nightmare and William, setting them up along with Tomothy on a hill. He stared at them, gently fiddling with Nightmare as he stayed quiet.

Wilbur went to go say something, but Tommy stopped him, staring intently at the ghost.

"You could have been a good leader... But I don't want to be a good leader. I hate you so much, I'm going to be worse than ram man... I will tear this place apart because I hate you... Tomothy gave up everything and you gave up nothing, you are going to get him killed..."

Gream removed Tomothy, setting him up with Prezbo on top of an obsidian wall. "Can't we all just be a family... No, you're the bad guy... but why?" Gream stopped, picking up Nightmare and holding him close. "But why?"

[melanielocke]

Lost in the Shadows - Chapter 34

AO3

Taglist: @alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @foxglove-airmid @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @justanormaldemon @styxdrawings @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised

Previous Chapter: Chapter 33

Next Chapter: To be posted

Magic was everywhere in the land of the thief of souls. It was different than the land in between. The land in between was weaker, but wilder. Magic floated into its own direction, taking the shape it desired and bending to Lucie’s will with relative ease.

Magic in the realm of the thief was gripped by a firm hand, forced into subjugation by a powerful force, the thief itself. But walking through this land, Lucie had learnt a secret. Just like Lucie herself, magic didn’t like to be controlled. It liked to roam free, it liked chaos.

She could sense the thief. He kept all magic in an iron grip. But he did not belong here, he never had, and although he’d subjugated the magic, it didn’t love him and didn’t want him. Lucie could use that to her advantage. If she lost, the magic would continue to be kept under his grip. If she won, it would be free again. The magic favored her. The thief must have found this place a long time ago and made his home here, collecting souls for his growth and his power, but he did not belong here.

‘He was here when I saw him,’ Alastair said, pointing at one of the corridors.

Lucie shook her head. ‘No, I can feel him. He’s somewhere in that direction.’

Lucie followed her senses until they made it into the courtyard, where a man was sitting on a bench, in conversation with a soul. She guessed she should have expected a soul would be there too, but it would be alright. None of them really wanted to be here, did they? Even if they collaborated with him, or sought to improve their own fate. She wondered how many she could turn against him.

He was wearing his antlers right now, looked a lot like the monster from her dreams, but his eyes were normal and if it weren’t for the antlers he might have looked like an ordinary mortal man. Someone who’d come here because he wanted to never die and gain immeasurable power, yes, but mortal.

‘I was wondering when you’d come here to challenge me, Lucie,’ the thief said with a grin. ‘Just like your mother. You need not worry, I’m still sealed. But this is my realm, and I have the power here.’

‘We’ll see about that,’ Lucie hissed.

Cordelia drew her sword, Alastair had his dagger gripped tightly, ready to attack. Thomas didn’t have any weapons, and Lucie still wondered if they should have left him outside.

‘Alastair, I didn’t think I’d be seeing you here so soon,’ the thief added. ‘You have found your love, and not much time left to save him. So much for loyalty, I guess.’

‘Why set him free and die, when killing you would set us both free?’ Alastair asked, with that wicked smile Lucie remembered from school.

‘We made a deal, Alastair. You promised me your soul.’

‘I promised you my soul, yes. But not my loyalty. Our deal doesn’t hold if you’re dead. None of them do.’

The thief was caught off guard by Alastair’s betrayal and Cordelia took the opportunity to run at him with her sword.

‘Stop her!’ the thief yelled at the female soul.

The soul jumped up, putting herself in front of Cordelia. She didn’t carry any weapons, and Cordelia easily slashed her down. She didn’t appear hurt, there was no blood, nothing, yet she fell to the floor.

‘Get back up!’ the thief yelled at her and she did.

Lucie got a sense of how this worked. The souls couldn’t die, they were already dead, but cortana did weaken them and push them out of the way. The thief had to command them to give them new energy, and it was Lucie’s turn to command the souls, to grip at his source of power and take it away. She opened her bag and snatched a piece of dextrose from her bag, shoving it into her mouth. She would need every bit of energy she could get.

‘I command you to stand down,’ she yelled at the ghost.

The soul obeyed, standing awkwardly, unable to move. She wasn’t sure how long she could on, but it seemed like the thief had given up on this soul. Instead, he jumped out of the way from Cordelia’s attack and held up his arms in the sky.

Souls came barging in, so many of them. They all moved in Cordelia’s direction.

‘Stop that!’ Lucie yelled. ‘Do not attack Cordelia.’

‘I am your master!’ the thief yelled back.

Lucie could feel his power, and fought against it. He was strong, but she had the will of the souls on her side. She could promise them freedom. She guessed at this point some of them did not understand what that would mean. Lucie didn’t either, but she was certain it would be better than this. Perhaps they would be reunited with loved ones who had died a long time ago, perhaps they would get another chance at life. To many of them, it didn’t matter. Lucie offered hope for something better, and that gave her the upper hand when trying to control the ghosts.

It was draining, more than Lucie could imagine, and she began to understand why her mother had slept for a 130 years after sealing the thief. She reached for another piece of dextrose. It worked, if only a little. It was so tempting to just let go, to give up and acknowledge there was only so much she could do, but as long as she held back the souls, Cordelia stood a chance. Watching him jump out of Cordelia’s reach, using the occasional soul as a human shield made Lucie suspect that while his magic was extra ordinary, he was not trained in combat.

Would he be able to disappear, could he travel across his realm? She’d thought she’d seen Tatiana teleport, but really she just traveled between the different realms. If she traveled someplace else it looked like she disappeared, but she couldn’t travel to different spots on the same plane. Could the thief? Lucie suspected he could, that if he lost this fight he would run before Cordelia could deliver the killing blow.

Lucie wouldn’t let that happen. She opened her bottle of too sweet lemonade and drank half of it before picturing a wall of power, trapping them all in the courtyard. She didn’t doubt the thief would be able to break it down eventually, but if he tried then he would give up on the ghosts and Cordelia could kill him. Lucie had to let go of them for a moment, to build her magic wall. No one would enter, no one would leave, at least as long as her wall lasted. The ghosts were back under the thief’s control and attacked Cordelia with skill and vehemence the thief himself did not possess.

Thomas and Alastair were fighting too, but from this distance Lucie couldn’t be sure they were helping Cordelia, or being controlled themselves. Would it make a difference that Alastair wasn’t his yet? Lucie couldn’t be sure, she didn’t know what was happening exactly. Instead, she focused on her wall, finishing it so the thief would not break it down in time, so Cordelia could kill him.

Cordelia was fighting the souls, striking them back, but there were too many of them. It left her no opening to go for the thief. Lucie would have to win those souls back soon.

***

Cordelia didn’t know why Lucie had lost control of the ghosts. She assumed she must have lost control, which meant there was no time to lose. Alastair was fighting her too, but she could tell he was holding back. He had not drawn his dagger against her.

‘He can control me,’ Alastair fought to say. ‘Didn’t realize that would happen so soon.’

The thief laughed. ‘You fool. You’re mine. You were mine the moment you made that deal. You never would have found your way out, and now you won’t save your loved one either.’

Cordelia couldn’t reach the thief protected by too many souls. That was the problem, all of the souls were decent fighters, and Cordelia had to fight with all she had to hold them off. They didn’t stay down long. The thief had to revive them, but he could. They were dead, of course. You couldn’t kill something that was already dead. She could see her brother fighting to restrain himself, a sight that filled her with rage.

‘He’s not yours!’ she yelled at the thief. ‘He’s mine! He’s mine!’

The thief only laughed. ‘He gave himself to me. He chose his fate, now it’s time I sealed yours.’

The souls slowed their pace, many gave up the battle, no longer under his control. Cordelia could fight the remaining few off. Lucie was back at it, with a newfound determination to keep the souls away from her. The thief was straining against her, and the circle of souls protecting him was still there, but many of the souls stood still, aimless. Alastair grinned, dagger in hand, as he attacked the souls protecting the thief. He wasn’t fast enough on his own, the souls regained their position faster than he could cut them down, but if Cordelia helped him they could win.

She ran to Alastair, to the circle of souls he could not keep up with, and started slashing at the souls, paving a way for Alastair to run through, lashing out at the thief of souls with all he had. One of the souls grabbed Alastair, pulling him back, but Cordelia slashed at the being until it was forced to let go, dragging Alastair’s dagger along with it.

Her brother didn’t have the time to pick it back up, instead he attacked the thief himself, experienced in hand to hand combat as well. He wouldn’t kill the thief this way, but Cordelia understood what he was trying to do. She had the sword, she could kill him.

Something odd happened. Cordelia couldn’t be sure what it was. He disappeared for a second before appearing right in the same spot, a distraught expression on his face. What was he trying to do? He had failed at something, hadn’t he?

Cordelia moved forward, this was her chance. Alastair pushed him onto the ground. The thief struggled against him, and then he changed. A moment later she was faced with two Alastairs, fighting each other, rolling on the ground. The thief not only looked like Alastair, he fought like him too, and it didn’t take long for Cordelia to lose track of which was which.

‘Kill him, Cordelia!’ one of the two called to her.

It was Alastair’s voice, it sounded like him. But could she be sure?

‘No, kill the other one. That’s not me!’ the other Alastair called at her.

She couldn’t go by voice then, it was the same. He mimicked Alastair so well… A question, she needed to ask him a question only the real Alastair could answer. The thief couldn’t know his secrets, could he?

‘Hurry up, Layla!’ one of the two Alastairs yelled.

Layla… Would the thief know? Alastair called her that often, theoretically he could know… One of the two was holding the dagger, the second holding it off where everything he had. One had picked it up from the ground then, but was it Alastair or the thief.

‘How can I tell which one is real?’ Cordelia yelled, sword ready to attack when she realized which one she’d have to kill. Knowing that if she chose wrong, she might kill her own brother. She didn’t know what would happen, it was his soul but not his body, but it was not a risk she was willing to take.

‘The thief wouldn’t know about my calling you Layla,’ the one holding the dagger yelled.

‘Of course he does,’ the one lying on the ground, fighting him off yelled. He tried to wrestle the dagger away from the other one, but they seemed so evenly matched. It was as if the thief hadn’t just shifted into Alastair, he had become him. ‘Mãmãn gave you that nickname. When you were five, you were sick with pneumonia and had to stay in the hospital. Mâmân and I stayed with you, and we read you from Layla and Majnun. You loved it so much…’ Alastair hit the other one in the face in an attempt to stop the attack from the one pinning him to the ground.

The other Alastair continued the story. ‘You wanted to be Layla then. So we called you that, and we have for years. Well, mâmân saves it for special occasions, but for me it became a habit to call you Layla.’

This wasn’t working. The thief somehow had found a way into Alastair’s mind, and whatever she asked, they would both give her the same answer.

‘He didn’t shift. He became me!’ the Alastair underneath called. ‘Kill him now, Layla!’

Cordelia hesitated. ‘Lucie, Thomas! What do I do? Who do I kill?’

‘Can’t help you, Daisy!’ Lucie yelled. ‘And I can’t hold off the souls much longer. They’re too close together to follow the energy, I can’t tell which one is the thief. You have to make a decision.’

Thomas came to stand beside her. ‘They’re not the same exactly. Almost, but not quite. Like with old movies where you can see the lines of the special effects.’

Cordelia shook her head. ‘I don’t see a thing.’

‘I could see through illusions before. This is not an illusion exactly, but there are traces of the original thief there. I think it’s my sight. The real Alastair is the one being pinned down right now, the one who doesn’t have the dagger. The one holding him down is the thief.’

Cordelia hesitated. ‘Thomas, I need you to be absolutely sure.’

‘He’s a good shapeshifter, but not good enough. There’s a shadow of his antlers. Trust me.’

‘How do I know he’s not making you say that?’ Cordelia asked.

‘Listen to him, Daisy!’ Lucie shouted. ‘Thomas is under my control. And hurry, I’m all out of sweets and I cannot hold on.’

Cordelia didn’t hesitate anymore, she ran to her brother and pushed the thief off of him. He shifted back into his own shape, a man with antlers and glowing red eyes.

‘I always did underestimate the sight,’ he hissed. ‘Oh well. I know your secrets now, Layla.’

The way he called her Layla made Cordelia’s stomach twist. He had no right.

‘It’s a dark place, your brother’s mind. I quite like it. And I know how you fight now.’

Cordelia swung cortana at him, but he jumped out of the way in a move she and Alastair had often practiced together. Being her brother, even if only temporary, had taught him something about how she fought, and how to fight himself.

One of the souls attacked her from behind. Cordelia only realized when Alastair stabbed it with his dagger. He’d gotten it back just in time. The thief was unarmed now, but Lucie’s control was slipping. Now or never.

Cordelia trusted Alastair to keep any remaining souls out of her way and she ran for him. He wouldn’t escape this time, he wouldn’t jump out of the way. She knew what Alastair would have done, and was prepared for the thief to do the same. She didn’t let him, cutting off his escape route and changing the direction of her sword at the last minute, slashing the sword through his arm and then his chest.

He looked surprisingly human as he fell, red blood gushing out, but not for long. Not all monsters were like that. Her father had told her stories of black blood, or pale, watery blood. The thief had been mortal once. This place had changed him, sustained him for much longer than should have been possible. It ended so easily.

He was dead before he hit the ground. As he fell, something changed in the air. Cordelia couldn’t put her finger on it, but the realm had changed. She turned around, walked to Lucie, Alastair and Thomas. Lucie was breathing hard, leaning against the wall.

‘You did it. He’s dead, and the realm is free.’

Cordelia frowned. ‘The souls are still here. How do we let them go?’

‘That is not for you to worry about.’

Cordelia did not recognize the voice behind her. It rose from underneath the ground, chains shattering as it formed. A man, wearing dark robes, face obscured by a hood, and carrying a scythe.

‘A reaper,’ Alastair whispered. ‘He kept a reaper here.’

‘When so many souls did not return from here, I went to investigate. He caught me by surprise, and my imprisonment allowed him to keep collecting souls unbothered. Now that he’s dead, I am free and I can bring these souls over.’

‘To the other side?’ Lucie asked.

‘You may control the dead on this side, no mortal can know what lies beyond,’ the reaper said. ‘That is a secret kept by my kind. You will all learn when your times come, but none of you are among the dead. Although two of you are close.’

‘What is this place?’ Thomas asked. ‘It wasn’t always his world, was it?’

‘It is a place to forget,’ the reaper said. ‘Souls who struggle to move on may remain on earth, and many do for some time, but many come here. This place helps them forget, to adapt to what they need to be. The living make their way here every once in a while. That is rare, but normal. They return with power, forever changed. Your power will grow from this experience, Lucie. And it is quite magnificent already. As for the rest of you, I cannot tell what this realm will do to you. For too long the man you knew as the thief of souls kept this land’s magic in an iron grip, distributing it as he saw fit. Now it roams free. All of you will be able to return here when you wish. But be careful with how long you stay. It can be that years pass while you are here, time is always difficult.’

‘That’s how the thief became immortal, wasn’t it? He just stayed here,’ Lucie said.

‘He became one with the magic of this place, keeping it all in his control. It wasn’t meant to be that way. Now that I am free, it won’t be controlled like that again. You must return home. Two of you are here with their soul only while the body lives, but its state is fragile. You might still die. Thank you for freeing me, the reapers will recognize you all as heroes.’

‘What of the creatures of this realm?’ Lucie asked. ‘They have attacked us in the past.’

‘They were under his control. Now they’re not. They are wild creatures, and can be dangerous, but they will not spill into your world as easily. You should be safe.’

‘So the world won’t need a hero anymore?’ Cordelia asked.

The reaper’s face was grim. ‘The world will always have use for a hero. This is not the only evil, nor the only place where dangerous creatures come from. Now go home, before it is too late.’

[multifandomfanfiction]

Beauty and the Genius Chapter 9

TITLE: Beauty and the Genius Chapter 9 PAIRING: Spencer/OC RATING: T CHAPTER: 9/? SUMMARY: When David Rossi joins the team, so does his daughter Gwendolyn. But what happens when she and the resident genius start developing feelings for each other? How will it affect Rossi and Reid’s team dynamic?

[A/N - Longer chapter this time.]

“After my parents died, I…kind of went off the rails for a while. I dropped out of Cal Tech. I lived underground, basically. But I kept teaching myself code. It was like the one thing that kept me together. Of course, my skills got me put on a list. Of people who could potentially do very bad things,” Penelope explained.

“So they offered you a job?” Spencer asked, “Like Frank Abagnale. The Bureau figured if you can’t beat ‘em, hire ‘em.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Garcia, what’s on the encrypted file?” Morgan asked.

“I’m required to keep a record of everything the team does. And after my system got hacked and Elle got shot, I just didn’t want anyone else to be able to get at you.”

“I’ll talk to the doctor, see if he’ll clear you to leave,” Spencer said and left the room.

Gwen went with Derek and Penelope, but not before doing her usual ‘goodnight’ with Spencer. Of course Penelope teased her all the way back to the apartment.

There was a police officer stationed out front. “Hi. I’m Mike Fleming. I’m on till midnight. Officer Cranbeck will be here after that, okay?”

“Thank you,” Penelope told him.

“You’re welcome.”

Morgan led her to the entrance of the courtyard. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

Penelope stopped to look at the bloodstain on the steps.

“Come on. It washes off. I promise,” he reassured her.

They entered Penelope’s apartment and Morgan looked around and laughed. “I, umm…I would expect nothing less.”

Penelope laughed. “You should be flattered. Not many people are invited in off the grid.”

Morgan spotted a film player on an end table. “Super-8?”

“Yeah.” Penelope walked over to it and turned it on. A film of a younger Penelope started playing. “I always imagined myself fighting crime. My parents were hippies. I think it horrified them.”

“Now why does that not surprise me?” Gwen teased.

“How old were you when you lost them?” Morgan asked.

“18. Drunk driver.” Penelope turned off the projector.

Morgan picked up a piece of paper and examined it.

“I volunteer once a week to counsel family members of murder victims.”

“Baby, you don’t get enough of this stuff at work?”

“I look at those crime scene photos all day long. I can’t know that those families are out there trying to cope and not do something to help.”

Gwen rubbed Penelope’s back and said, “You’re a good woman, Penelope Garcia. Far too precious for this world.”

“Thanks.”

“You do know it was stupid to encrypt that file?” Morgan asked her.

“Yes, I know. Old habits, I guess.”

“You need some rest. You both do.”

“You’re right.” Penelope hugged Morgan. “Go. Be free, my love.”

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m fine. I got my goon squad parked out front and a badass witch on my side.”

Gwen giggled at the comment.

“Goon squad or no goon squad, that couch right there is gonna be my best friend until we find this guy. Now leave it alone.”

“Okay.”

Penelope looped her arm around Gwen’s and started to head to her bedroom. “But if you’re thinking of trying to take advantage of me, let me call my doctor so he can revive me afterward.”

They both laughed.

“What about me?” Gwen asked.

“You’re hot, Sabrina. But I know a certain doctor would beat my ass if I tried anything with you.”

Gwen blushed furiously as Penelope pulled her into the bedroom.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They woke up to gunshots.

“Garcia!” Morgan yelled, running into the bedroom.

“What’s going on?” Penelope asked.

“Stay right there. Stay there!” Morgan looked out the window and then walked over to the two women. “Come here. Come with me.” He dragged them both into the corner. “Get in the corner. Get in the corner. Gwen, your gun.”

Gwen pulled out her gun.

“Were you sleeping with that?” Penelope asked.

“Downside of having an FBI agent for a father.”

“If somebody walks through that door, you shoot okay? Shoot first, then ask questions,” Morgan told her.

“I got it Derek!”

Morgan walked out the door and fired a shot.

“Morgan!” Penelope yelled.

“Stay there!”

They heard Morgan running down the stairs.

“It’s okay, Penelope. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.” “But what if something happens to you?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

There was movement in the doorway and Gwen cocked her gun.

“Rossi. Rossi. Woah. Woah. Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot.”

Gwen lowered her gun. “Call me Rossi again and I will you shoot you.”

Penelope ran into Morgan’s arms crying as they heard sirens in the distance. “Why is this happening to me?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know.”

The ambulance arrived and the BAU team followed shortly after.

Spencer rushed to Gwen’s side. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Spencer. Really.”

“I should have never left you alone.”

“Okay, first off, I can take care of myself and second, I wasn’t alone. Morgan was here.”

“Thank god he was.” Spencer sat down once he was convinced that Gwen was unharmed.

“What’s going on?” JJ asked, walking up to Penelope.

“I don’t know. This guy’s gettin’ seriously bold and I can guarantee it’s not over.”

“You okay?”

“I don’t know what he wants from me,” Penelope said.

“Could you know something about him?” Spencer asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe you have something he wants?”

“I don’t know who he is. I’m so scared.”

“I know,” JJ told her.

Rossi, Hotch, and Emily came into the apartment.

Rossi looked at his daughter, who nodded. She wasn’t hurt, so there was no need to fuss over her.

“Hey, did you get a look at him?” Emily asked Morgan.

“Nothing solid.”

“Garcia, we need to get you back to the hospital,” Hotch told her.

“No,” Penelope said.

“You know what? You should still be there. We need her someplace safe,” JJ agreed.

“I feel safe with all of you.”

“We can take you to the BAU.”

Penelope nodded, staring off into space.

“Garcia?” JJ asked.

“You okay?” Spencer asked her.

“When we were at dinner… They wanted to seat us by a window, but he insisted on sitting at the worst table in the place. And he sat with his back to the corner.”

A couple of detectives walked in, talking quietly.

Hotch turned to them. “Detective, can you clear the room for just a minute?”

“I got a dead cop downstairs. I consider this part of the crime scene.”

“I know. Just a couple of minutes.”

“Do what you gotta do.”

“Thank you.”

The detectives left the apartment.

“Tell us about the car,” Spencer told Penelope.

“Why?”

“Just go with him,” Morgan said.

“You said it was white, 4-door, American. What else?”  Spencer asked.

“That’s it. It was just a car.”

“No, come on, think. Anything. Go back,” Morgan told her.

“The seat belt was buckled behind his back.”

A look dawned on everyone’s face.

“Why does that matter?” Penelope asked.

“It wasn’t a rental. It was for surveillance,” Morgan explained.

“Agents don’t wear seat belts. They need to get out in a hurry.”

“All right, let’s cut the crap,” Rossi said, storming over to Penelope.

Gwen knew what was about to happen.

He sat down across from Penelope. “You need to be straight with us. Right now.”

Penelope looked over at JJ for help

. “Look at me, not them.”

“I’m not hiding anything,” Penelope told him.

“You got shot. Most people get shot for a reason.”

Penelope looked at Morgan.

“Eyes here!” Rossi yelled.

“Ease up, Rossi,” Morgan said.

“Derek, he knows what he’s doing,” Gwen reassured him.

“You got a roomful of people here willing to believe that an FBI agent is trying to kill you. We need to know everything you do on company time that we don’t know about. Come on. Spit it out!”

“It’s nothing bad! It’s just…I counsel victim’s families and they know where I work, so sometimes they ask me to look into cases for them.”

“What does that mean?”

“It just means that the cases, the unsolved ones, I tag them, so whoever’s investigating them knows that the FBI considers them a priority.”

“You’re not authorized to do that,” Hotch told her.

“I know. I was just trying to help.”

“But whoever’s working those cases thinks you’re watching them,” Emily explained.

“I just wanted to put pressure on them so that they don’t slide.”

“How many cases are we talking about?” Hotch asked.

“I don’t know. 7, 8 maybe. I need to get into my system.”

“You can’t. You’re suspended.”

“Wait a minute, Garcia. On your date, you said this guy was pressing you to find out if you were working murder cases,” Morgan said.

Penelope nodded.

“Hotch, we gotta look at those files.”

Hotch sighed and looked at Rossi.

“I told you, I’m sick of this jagoff being in front of us.”

“Dave’s right. We’ll go back to the BAU. Morgan, Reid, Prentiss, Gwen, you stay here and make sure no forgets to log out of the system. Garcia should not have access,” Hotch told them.

“Understood,” Morgan said.

Gwen shared a smirk with her father.

Taglist: @imagining-in-the-margins , @subhuman-queer, @anotherr-fine-mess and anyone else who would like to be tagged!

[thatnamelessbutler]

(OoC: So, what's the AU thing about?)

((ooc: Okay so basically I got an idea form a song completely unrelated to the fandom and long story short, Bi n Bu are no longer able to escape from the Egg except through a very specific method, and then Karl comes back along and bippity boppity your body is now our property!

So, yeah. Body-swap AU except Karl kinda dies because to get the swap to work everyone's body had to die. Karl's gets healed afterwards through magical time shenanigans-

So Billiam and Rune(Bu's new name in this AU) wake up in the library, in our current DSMP present, in the weird body of this weird guy who's apparently a weird color-shapeshifter.(yeah, i'm going with the cryptid creature Karl for this one because. it's cool as heck and I never see this anywhere)

a little while after they wake up in the present, karl wakes up after being dormant because he literally died and it's like "HEY WAIT WHAT THE HECK YOU STOLE MY BODY" and everyone else goes "shit shit shit shit"

p.s if you're wondering where hubert is he's dead. the egg killed nearly everyone except billiam and butler because bi is its main caretaker and bu will never leave his side

(more under the cut please there's so much and i actually love this au so much)

Now I'm not a system but I imagine these four(yes, four; Billiam, Rune, Piam(Billiam's Piglin side), and Tune(Bu's Other) operate kind of like one. They have an innerworld and everything, they aren't just all constantly crammed into the front. That would get confusing, stressful and difficult to manage overall. Bu's usually the one fronting because no one else wants to; Billiam doesn't wanna do it because he doesn't wanna mingle with the "poor", Tune doesn't wanna do it because it always gets tripped up with literally everything about the body, it's not even dangerous enough to protect now, and Piam doesn't wanna do it because he's kind of scared of the Overworld someone that doesn't know how to be a Human Person

Oh yeah and I've also talked about all this and more with my bestie so here's a copy-paste of that conversation-

I think an encounter with Sapnap and/or Quackity would go terribly too, until they sit down and explain things as best they can wait no actually "So basically, we killed your fiancée so we could inhabit his body and escape from a really bad situation. sorry" Acid Sapanap would go feral and I can't even begin to conceive what extremely destructive thoughts Quackoty would start having Me MHM Sapnap probably pulls a sword on them and they automatically reach for their own before remembering "Oh shit, we don't have it. OH SHIT-" and then they just gotta r u n Butler's trying desperately to teleport but without a pearl, eeeeeh that's not gonna do anything buddy I'm not sure if Karl has armor in his inventory or not but either way they wouldn't have the time or coordination to equip it Acid they just immediately die it'd be so funny Me "NOT AGAIN, WE JUST GOT FREE- death" Now lets hope either Karl has some extra canon lives, or those lives Billiam bought carry over Acid PFFFFT, BILLIAM'S LIVES GET CARRIED WITH THEM AND IT'S JUST revives ok listen we don't gotta dies revives please let's just dies revives why do you do t dies revives this is just gonna last forever isn't it? dies rev- Me wheeze YEAH "GET OUT OF KARL'S BODY!" "We can't!! It's already been done!! dies" "WHY WON'T YOU DIE!!?" "We are!!??" ohhh, bonus angst points if every time they die, Butler goes a little more dormant- Butler was only meant to have one life, he never got any Totems and his soul cannot take this in the way Billiam's can After about 15 deaths, Billiam gets Sapnap to stop for about five seconds, and in those five seconds he realizes that he can no longer hear or feel Butler Acid oh god Me If he manages to get far enough away and find someplace to hide(perhaps the library again), he dips into the headspace and finds Butler just gone. He looks around for a while and finds them far away from where they were, collapsed on the ground, flickering slightly, and entirely unresponsive. And no matter how much he tries, they just won't wake up, and their Ender half has disappeared completely. He can't do anything except wait for them. Acid fjsjdj oh my god imagine Billiam just goes feral after that he's like "what did you do to m y B u t l e r" and just jumps on Sapnap with his bare hands Me Oh absolutely, he will Murder Sapnap without a second thought and he doesn't care how many deaths he has to go through to do it even though dying more will make it take longer for butler to wake up, and then afterwards he'll be pacing around random areas stress-stimming intensely and waiting for his child to wake up Acid yeap Me Somehow he finds his way to Kinoko Kingdom and is like "oh, this looks like a good place for a walk" and then spends the entire time not actually looking at anything and drowned in anxiety

AND THEN THESE WERE LAST NIGHT'S THOUGHTS, SOMEHOW LATER ON THEY END UP AT SAPNAP'S PLACE CAUSE THEY TECHNICALLY DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO STAY Unless you count the library but I don't think that would be very comfortable-

Anyway, Rune was fronting when they fell asleep and then their chronic nightmares came back. Sapnap wakes up(or was he ever really sleeping?) to some almost animalistic gasping in the other room and runs in to find Karl Karl's body curled on the bed, barely humanoid and random flashes of color spiking over him in waves and clawlike hands digging into his head

So he tries to wake him up, and when he does Bu's first reaction is to scramble away in pure terror because he's not fully out of the nightmare yet, there are even tears running down his face that just get absorbed back into the mass of color. Sapnap tries to calm him down, and eventually succeeds enough to ask him what the hell happened, and who's fronting once he remembers that that is a thing-

Thing is, Bu's gone nonverbal, but hey at least Karl was some sort of shapeshifter so they can just shift blobs of color into the air to answer Sapnap's questions

He very quickly learns only to ask yes/no ones because he can't read Galactic which is the only thing Bu can respond in, but that whole night ends on a pretty good note :3

Acid IS KARL IN THE SYSTEM CANON? HE'D BE THE MAIN FRONTER IF IT IS I THINK Me After that nightmare Rune finds himself trusting Sapnap a little more but also not as able to front, he's just so tired of it. No one else wants to front, he always has to stay there and he never gets a break. At least before, Tune had control during the night and he got to rest some. Now his sleep schedule is just as abhorred as before and no one else even comes near the front. He tries as long as he can, for everyone else's sake, but after weeks of fronting alone he just can't anymore. So he finally leaves the front and just collapses face-first into idk a patch of grass in the innerworld or something, and he's so exhausted of being a person that he can't even think straight, He doesn't want consolation, he doesn't want promises, he doesn't even want cuddles he just wants someone else to take over for a bit. Me OOH MAYBE He wakes up and wanders around the innerworld figuring out what the heck is going on and wondering why he can't see the outside anymore and oh god is he dead, are they all dead maybe they're all dead and none of them know it, and then Rune comes out of front and practically begs to not have to be a person anymore, he tells Karl "please i just want a break, just go out there or get someone else to go out there for a while please" and, well, Karl takes a chance and goes out to front and holy shit is this the real world, holy shit are those his fiancées, holy s h i t Acid THAT'S THE BESR OUTCOME ACTUALLY Me YESSSSSSSSS MASQUERADE SYSTEM + KARL THE MAN HIMSELF JACOBS Acid YESSS Me Karl and Rune are now host and co-host, because. no one else wants to front Acid Karl tricking Billiam into fronting.mp4 Me GSHDFGBSGDHFBSF Rune and Karl lock him into front and Rune proceeds to lean against the nearest flat surface, slide down and then dissociate for the next couple/several hours Karl makes sure no one disturbs him, even if Tune and Piam are Very Worried about their exhausted Human hybrid Acid them taking care of Rune (affectionate)

Acid OK WAIT I WAS THINKING AND IN SYSTEMS PEOPLE USUALLY MANIFEST SO I WAS THINKING HOW THAT'D WORK IN THE MASQUERADE SYS AND I REALIZED THAT EVERYONE IN THERE IS TECHNICALLY DEAD IN A WAY WHAT IF THAT'S THIS AU'S LIMBO? ONE DAY WILBUR POPS UP AND COMMITS MULTIPLE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY Me HOLY SHIT OH SHIT EVERYONE THAT PERMA-DIES JUST ENDS UP AS AN ALTER IN KARL'S WEIRD COLOR-SHAPESHIFTING BODY XDDD You can always tell who's fronting by the colors, as long as you actually know them enough to know their colors- Acid Wilbur: hello Quackity, I am BAC- Karl: oh my GOD Wilbur shut the FUCK UP we understand it you're gay now please get out of front I have a date in 10 minutes Acid OOOOO YES Me Like Rune is purple/pink(mainly pink) gray-red/dark purple/orange/green eyes(right/right/left/left, respectively), and then he has some other colors sifting through, like a dark indigo-blue and a yellow the color of Endstone Tune is all of that but some of it is darker(the pinks/purples and Endstone color), some of it's the same(the eyes, except they have a light pink shine over them) and some of it is inverted. Clouds will waft around the body when it's fronting and whenever you look through the clouds you'll see the colors inverted Billiam is solidly pale pink except for his eyes(maroon) and his hands and feet(gold, with veins streaking out and tapering off at about the elbow) Piam is a slightly redder pink, with spots of a Netherrack color here and there, and his gold is more orangey, like there's fire reflecting off of it karl is just. karl. Of course he's got the signature swirls in bright violent and teal but other than that he's just a smorgasbord of color, usually bright and neon. When he's near/thinking about Sapnap and/or Quackity, little hearts start popping off him

[eviesmyspiritanimal]

A Black Spot in a Sea of White

Summary: Mal, Evie, and Jay suffer a horrible loss. In memory of Cameron Boyce, forever our one and only Carlos de Vil. He will be forever missed. ❤Familial feels and seemingly unending angst with an unexpected happy ending.

  “How is he? Where is he?!” Mal demanded as her, Evie, Jay, and Dude stormed into the medical wing. The woman at the receptionist desk looked up at the trio, completely unimpressed by Mal’s boisterous entrance.

  “Who exactly are you speaking of?”

  “Just the only guy in this whole hospital that is currently seizing himself to death!” Mal screeched.

  “Are you family?” she questioned, bored with the situation.

  It was like a bomb had gone off. Mal immediately felt such anger and frustration that she almost couldn’t answer the woman. After a moment of her mouth moving in unmentionable words, she finally was able to speak.

  “Of course we are his family. Now tell me where he is!” Mal slammed her fist on the desk, her eyes glowing a dangerous shade of green. Dude barked, emphasizing her hit. The woman immediately looked considerably more afraid.

  “The Intensive Care Unit,” she stuttered, much more respectfully than before. The threesome immediately took off.

  Mal’s mind raced, a million regrets floating through her mind. She should have noticed that he seemed sluggish on the field. She should have insisted that he not go to the tournament. She should have known.

  This was Carlos. That boy was her little brother. She needed him. Evie needed him. Jay needed him. He was the light of hope and humor that shone bright in their lives. And now, all because of their inattentiveness, he could lose his life.

  The three of them burst into the room, an air of purpose surrounding them.

  The room was horrifying, sheets separating individual beds. There were frail bodies lying beneath each of those sheets, and she stared at them with wide eyes.

  There was a doctor as well as several nurses surrounding one particular bed. Mal stepped forward carefully and she felt Evie grab her hand gently. Jay rested his hand on Mal’s shoulder that was opposite to him.

  They slowly made the journey to the bed.

  A floorboard squeaked and the doctor turned to look at them. He was a gray-haired man with a mean receding hairline. His eyes were crystalline blue and his skin was pale. Combined with his snowy white coat, he seemed to be devoid of any and all color.

  Almost like death, Mal couldn’t help but think.

  His eyes softened somewhat when he saw the three VKs, and he moved over to greet them.

  “It’s good that you all are here. I am Doctor Mortem. I already know the three of you, being that the lot of you are such an infamous group.” He shook the bluenette’s hand, and then Evie had to let go of Mal’s hand for a moment so that the purple-haired girl could as well. Evie quickly latched back on as soon as Mal was finished. Jay removed his hand from Mal’s shoulder to exchange his greetings.

  The three of them stared at the man expectantly, simultaneously eager for and dreading the news that was to come.

  He eyed them all in turn very slowly with a gravity in his gaze that left Mal with a deep chill in her bones.

  “We have had to revive him five times since the incident. His body isn’t able to take much more of the stress that comes with the resuscitation, and if we were to attempt it again, it would likely trigger another seizure that would actually succeed in killing him,” the doctor paused, sighing as he rubbed his face with a hand. Mal felt the fear inside of her building rapidly.

  “I am afraid that he won’t make it much longer.”

  It felt like a knife to the stomach. Stabbing again and again and again. Mal flinched as if she had truly been physically hit.

  She was about to lose all circulation in her hand as Evie squeezed tighter than she had ever thought was humanly possible. Mal could feel Jay’s chest just behind her left shoulder blade as it trembled like a leaf. Dude was huddled next to her leg, pressed as closely as he could get.

  “C-can we see him now?” Evie weakly asked, voicing what Mal herself couldn’t say at that moment.

  “Of course,” the doctor nodded his head solemnly and maneuvered around them to leave the room. The nurses surrounding the bed dispersed as well, going to other parts of the room to attend more patients.

  She almost couldn’t even recognize him. The seizure did something to him- it made him look just as frail as the other bodies surrounding them. He was lying there, his eyes glaze over and his chest rising and falling in shaky breaths.

  They moved forward and Jay moved over to grab the girls two chairs. Evie shared a glance with Mal and she opened her arms a bit, offering the purple-haired girl a hug. Mal looked at her with longing, both wanting to be comforted by her sister’s embrace and not wanting to show weakness.

  In the end, she settled for locking arms with Evie and pressing her forehead against the bluenette’s quietly. There was the sound of chairs being dragged around and stopped carefully, and Mal suddenly felt Jay’s hand resting on her shoulder.

  She knew it was time to face the facts. The two girls hesitantly pulled away from one another and split up. Evie and Mal sat down on opposite sides of the bed and Jay stood at the end of the bed, his hands holding the bar at the foot of the bed in a death grip as his knuckles turned white.

  Dude jumped into Mal’s lap, looking at his boy quietly. After a moment, he stepped onto the bed gently and nudged his hand.

  Carlos carefully and slowly moved his head to look at the dog. A ghost of a smile appeared, and he feebly raised his hand to pet Dude’s head.

  “Hey, Lil’ C,” Mal spoke, forcing her voice to sound stronger than she felt. His eyes shifted up to look at her. “We came here to see you,” Mal explained, reaching out and taking his hand gently.

  “Evie’s on your other side and Jay’s right down there,” Mal motioned her head toward Jay at the foot of the bed. Carlos never took his eyes off of Mal. Mal couldn’t help but worry that he might not have heard her. Or worse, that he didn’t have the energy to look at the other two.

  “Mal,” he started and paused for a long moment, the green-eyed girl attentively listening. Evie took his other hand in the time that he was quieted. “Am I dying?” he whispered, looking Mal straight in the eyes.

  Her mouth immediately went dry, and her heart almost felt like it stopped beating as she avoided his gaze to consider her response to his question. He had asked her specifically. He knew that Mal wouldn’t keep the truth from him. He knew she wouldn’t lie.

  Mal hesitantly brought her eyes back to his, hoping that she wouldn’t have to utter the words.

  After a moment, his eyes fell away from her own and she knew he understood. They sat in silence for a moment and she could hear Evie’s whine rise in her throat, that definitive sign that Evie was about to cry.

  But she couldn’t hold her regrets back any longer. She had to tell him. She didn’t care if he’d die hating her, but she had to try to apologize.

  “Carlos… I’m sorry that I didn’t realize you were down today. I should’ve-”

  “Mal. Don’t be sorry. Above anything else, don’t be sorry,” he insisted, a strength in his voice that was completely opposite of his true condition. Mal looked over at Evie, but quickly looked away upon seeing her tearstained face and bloodshot eyes.

  “I love you guys. If it had to happen earlier today or now or sometime in the next few hours, I’m glad that I knew all of you,” Carlos weakly told them, turning his head to look at Evie and looking down his bed at Jay before finally returning his gaze to Mal.

  “You guys were there for me when nobody else was. You helped me,” he turned to look at Evie, “defended me,” he glanced at Jay, “and inspired me,” he looked at Mal. “You three were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I want you all to know that I am so grateful for all that you’ve done.”

  Mal glanced at Jay and saw the glassy sheen to his eyes. She knew Evie was already crying.

  They were quiet together for a few moments before Carlos coughed hard, shaking all over. He lay back down after a second, and Mal had to calm herself after the momentary panic that she endured.

  “I’m scared,” he rasped, looking at the ceiling. “Where will I go?” he asked, trembling a bit.

  “I… I don’t know,” Mal told him, her green eyes searching the side of his face as she attempted to memorize every bit of it.

  “But someplace grand, I’m sure,” Evie piped up suddenly, her voice raw with fresh emotion, and Mal was thankful for the save.

  “Probably lots of dogs,” Jay suddenly spoke, offering a smile.

  “And ice cream. Definitely ice cream,” Mal added. They all, even Carlos, shared a quiet laugh at that.

  “You know, with you guys here to help me face it… it doesn’t seem so bad anymore,” Carlos murmured, his eyelids drooping slowly.

  “I’m going to miss you, though, when I get there,” he whispered. “It won’t be the same without all of you to enjoy it with me.”

  “Yeah… We’re going to miss you, too, bro,” Jay replied, and Mal detected a tightness in his throat that normally wasn’t there as he reached down and gently touched his foot beneath the sheets.

  “We love you more than anything, Carlos,” Evie expressed heartfeltly. It was obvious she was about to lose it again.

  Dude licked Carlos’ hand that was in Mal’s.

  “We’ll see you there one day,” Mal told him, her eyes growing harder and harder to see through the increasing amount of tears.

  His eyelids finally fluttered closed, a small smile on his face as he peacefully breathed his last.

  And Jay, Evie, and Mal collapsed to tears, because that was their brother.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  Many years passed since Carlos was buried. Along the painful road of life, Jay and Evie left Mal, too, their lives but a wisp. The three remaining VKs had spent their old age together, marveling at how the world had changed and actually had kept on turning for so many years beyond Carlos’ death.

  But eventually, Mal had been left alone to live in the world by herself.

  Until one glorious awakening.

  Mal opened her eyes, but quickly shut them tightly. The sun was so blinding. She must have forgotten to shut the blinds the previous night.

  She eventually squinted, barely opening them as she adjusted to the light. It then occurred to her that she was not lying in her bed, and was instead in the grass.

  Mal’s eyes shot wide open as she gawked at the world around her. There were beautiful trees, the sun was shining brightly, and there were… dogs?

  In the distance, she spotted a whole pack of dogs, wrestling and playing with one another. They romped through the soft grass and rolled carelessly in the mud near a stream.

  After a moment, it became apparent to Mal that she wasn’t feeling any sort of pain in her hand. She had gotten a really bad pain in her hand as of late. She attributed it to many years of overworking her hands and fingers with the pencil.

  She looked at her hand and was completely baffled when she saw smooth, soft skin instead of the usual wrinkles and wornness that comes with old age.

  Mal glanced up, looking around the place once again. However, her searching gaze immediately halted upon the sight of three certain beings that were approaching her.

  It was Jay, Evie, and Carlos. All three of them were as young and healthy as they had been just before Carlos passed away. The threesome helped her up.

  Mal hesitantly reached out to Evie, cradling her cheek in her hands. Evie leaned into the touch, looking at her with adoring eyes. Letting go of Evie, Mal then turned to Jay, holding his shoulders in both of her hands. Her face lit up in the biggest grin she had in years. Mal flung her arms around Jay, Evie, and Carlos the best that she could and they all held each other in a tight hug.

  After a moment of reveling in the touch of her family, she raised her tear-filled gaze to look at Carlos. He had a wide smile on his face. Oh, how she had missed that smile.

  “You were right, Mal.”

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 229

Last time, Vegeta blew a hole in the Budokai stadium!

What do you have to say for yourself, Vegeta?    “I’m a baaaaaad wittle boy.”

The crowd flees the arena, and even 18 is disturbed by Vegeta’s actions.    She says she’s never sensed a ki like this before, wait, since when could 18 sense ki signatures?     She couldn’t do that before.

Babidi, on the other hand, is thrilled, because 200 people were killed.   Wait, why should that matter to him?  That doesn’t help him reach his goal, unless he just enjoys innocent people dying on sheer principle.   Babidi’s a terrific villain.   He’s kind of underappreciated, really.  The ranking should be 1) Cell, 2) Vegeta, 3) Buu, 4) Babidi, 5) Frieza.

The crowd pleads for Mr. Satan to save them from this tiny golden monster in their midst, so he steels himself and tries to get tough, but then he backs down and asks them nicely to settle down.

Vegeta ignores Mr. Satan completely, and tells Goku to fight him, unless he wants more people to get killed.    At this, Goku suddenly realizes that Vegeta might have let himself get mind-controlled, just so he could make an ultimatum like this.   

Vegeta’s only response is to shoot another part of the stadium.   This isn’t a bluff, and it’s not a negotiation.    If Goku won’t fight, then Vegeta will keep killing people until he does.

And you can tell that this pisses Goku off.    Yeah, he wanted to fight Vegeta too, but not like this.   

Gohan tries to intercede, but Vegeta just shrugs him off.    He’s not listening to anyone except “fighting with Goku.”

So Goku turns Super Saiyan, and it looks like they’re going to throw down right here and now.  

Vegeta basically admits to doing all of this on purpose.    If Goku’s so intent on saving the world from Babidi during his one day back on Earth, then the only way Vegeta can get his undivided attention is to join Babidi’s team.   Right now, the only way to stop Babidi is to go through Vegeta.   Literally.   

Here’s what makes this so awesome.    I feel kind of goofy even explaining this, because it feels self-evident to me, but maybe there’s someone reading this who hasn’t watched DBZ before.   In which case, dude.    This is the stupidest possible way to experience DBZ for the first time.    Just watch the show and come back later.    This liveblog will still be here.    Unless Wordpress shuts this site down.   

Where was I?  Oh, right.   So what makes this work is that the Supreme Kai is absolutely right to call Vegeta’s stunt foolish.... but.   But!  Anyone who’s watched the entire series up to this point gets it.    As horrible as it may sound, on some level, we wanted Vegeta to do something stupid like this, to piss Goku off, to really get him riled up, so that they would finally have their big rematch.

I remember when Goku first turned Super Saiyan.    For a while there, they had all this Super Saiyan Goku merch, and Vegeta looked so ordinary in his regular non-Super Saiyan form.    I thought it made sense for Goku to have this epic ascension, but it seemed like a waste that Vegeta would never be able to match it.   How could their rivalry continue like this?    They could never fight each other again, because Goku was so far ahead of him that it would have been pointless.  

Then Vegeta turned Super Saiyan, and it looked like they could finally settle things, just as soon as they got all those damn dirty androids out of the picture.  Only by the time that finally happened, Goku was out of the picture too.    Now the rivalry was truly impossible, because they would never see each other again.   

Then Goku comes back, for one day only, and it looks like we finally have this narrow window for Goku and Vegeta to fight.  They even got paired off in the tournament bracket.   First round, so there was no chance of Goku getting disqualified against Mr. Satan in some unlikely hijinks.    The fight can finally happen.   Goku vs. Vegeta, they’re both Super Saiyans or Super Saiyan 2′s or whatever, even steven, let’s see who comes out on top.   

But now, here comes Babidi and the Supreme Kai, with all this Majin Buu bullshit, and Vegeta has to wait inside a spaceship for like an hour.   And both sides of this conflict are idiots.   The Supreme Kai has no idea who he’s dealing with.    He didn’t know what Super Saiyans could do, he didn’t know Dabura and Yakon were on Babidi’s team, and his sidekick Kibito was the first one to die.    The whole thing was dumb and quite frankly not nearly as awesome as Goku and Vegeta punching each other.   

And let’s face it, after all these years, Vegeta’s still mad that Goku overpowered him way back in Episode 30 or whatever it was.   Since then, Goku’s saved his life, first from Krillin, then from Recoome.    Why, it’s gotten him so riled up just thinking about it that his face is all twisty.    What the hell...?

Is it stupid?   Yeah, it is.  Like I said, the Supreme Kai is right.    This is absolutely ridiculous.    Vegeta’s risking the fate of the universe so he can settle a petty grudge.   No one thinks this is worth it.    No one gives a shit whether this sawed-off asshole gets his do-over.   Well, I mean, the audience probably does.   I know I always did.  What I’m saying is that no one in-universe ever cared about this guy getting to avenge his pride.   

But Vegeta cares, and the fact that he’s the only one who cares is probably why he’s so desperate and upset about making this happen. 

I think this is what makes the character so appealing to people.    In spite of all the shitty things he does, people can relate to Vegeta’s passion and to the sheer loneliness of that passion.    We all have things we alone care about that other people dismiss as meaningless or unimportant.     What’s the big deal?   It’s just a TV show.   It’s just a drawing.    It’s just a story you wrote.    It’s not that important.   Meaningless, really.    Let’s go back to what’s really important, which is making Gohan feel better about whizzing that fight with Dabura, or congratulating Mr. Satan for his championship victory.   What a kooky character he is!

I think we’ve all been there before.   I’m not saying we’ve killed 200 people to make the point, but we’ve been in situations where everyone laughed it off and dismissed how we felt because “what’s the big deal anyway?”   And that’s one reason Vegeta leaves a lasting impression with people, because he’s powerful enough that he can make people understand why it’s a big deal to him.  

Against all of this, all Goku can say in response is to call out to Babidi.   He demands to be teleported someplace where there’s no bystanders.    Some place, like... I don’t know... Goku Town.

We did do it, Babidi.    This is awesome.   Good job, everyone.

Then the Supreme Kai gets in between these two, and he’s all “No!  This fight is too metal.    I can’t allow it!   If you’re going to fight Vegeta, you’ll have to fight me first!”

And Goku’s like “Sir, that was a very metal thing you just did, but please, get out of the way before I kill you.”

The Kai is stunned.    Goku’s not bluffing here.   He will kill the Supreme Kai right here and now, if that’s what it takes.  

But the most awesome part is Vegeta’s reaction.    He looks just as surprised to see how determined Goku is to settle this.    He’s been so focused on getting this battle that he forgot who he was dealing with.   

Defeated, the Supreme Kai stands down.    He did a brave thing, stepping into Goku Town, but he knows he can’t pay the rent.  

Man, this episode rules.   The Surpeme Kai is just so... despondent.  He’s completely lost control of the situation.  

And Babidi’s convinced that he’s won.   Once Vegeta and Goku start fighting, it’ll only be a matter of time before Vegeta inflicts enough damage to transfer the energy needed to revive Majin Buu.   And nothing can stop that fight from happening.    Everything’s coming up Milhouse Babidi.

So he grants Goku’s request and teleports them away.   Mr. Satan is relieved, because this means he can claim they ran away before he could unleash his righteous fury.

So, I think this is the Giskard Wasteland, but I’m not up on my Dragon World Geography.   This may even be the same setting as the original Goku/Vegeta fight, but I don’t feel like looking it up.  

From here, the Supreme Kai bows to the inevitable, and accepts that Goku and Vegeta will fight.    All he can do now is force open the hatch to Stage 4, so he and Gohan can proceed down Babidi’s ship and stop him before Majin Buu can be revived.   Of course, that means he’ll have to risk jolting Babidi’s ship, which could accidentally break Buu’s seal prematurely, but at this point he has to risk it.   

Note that this is precisely what Vegeta wanted to do at the start of the last episode.  If the Kai had gone along with it then, he would be in the exact same predicament he’s in now, except he’d have three Super Saiyans backing him up instead of just one, and he wouldn’t have the ticking clock to worry about.   

But Babidi has no intention of allowing the Supreme Kai to leave Stage 3 so soon, and he orders Vegeta to kill him and Gohan before they can carry out this plan.   

But Vegeta refuses, insisting that he doesn’t care what Shin and Gohan do, so long as it doesn’t get in the way of his objective, which is to kick Goku’s ass.

Babidi has some sort of leverage here, as it seems to cause Vegeta physical pain to resist him like this, but he remains steadfast.    Babidi might control him body and soul, but Vegeta still has his pride, which must be satisfied before he’d ever consider anything else.   

Babidi is astonished, as this has never happened before.    It begs the question of whether Babidi could ever truly control Vegeta.    Maybe if he defeated Goku in battle, Vegeta might become more pliable.   Or, perhaps beating Goku is the only thing keeping Vegeta and Babidi on the same side.  

But Dabura convinces Babidi that they’re better off letting Geets and the Supreme Kai have their way.    If Vegeta’s so determined to fight Goku, let him, because that’s good for Buu.    And they might as well let the Kai and Gohan out of Stage 3, so they won’t accidentally break Buu’s seal early.    It’s not like they can win on their own, since they’ll have to go through Dabura.

   So Babidi opens the hatch, but before Gohan goes through, Goku gives him a senzu bean, because he remembered he still had some from when he got them for Gohan’s girlfriend.   I like how Goku just casually says that, when the situation is too tense for Gohan to object.    “Hey, son, before we start our epic laser battles, I just remembered that thing I got for that girl you’re in love with!”    

Then he gives him one last piece of advice: Get angry, like he did when he fought Cell.   Goku seems convinced that if Gohan is furious enough, it’ll make up for his ring rust.   

Gohan takes minute to lament that Goku’s one day back in the living world ended up this way.    It is kind of sad.   Gohan just wanted to hang out with his dad, and all of this crap happens.    It’d be kind of funny if Babidi controlled Gohan’s mind, and he blew up the stadium demanding a hug.   

So they leave, and now it’s just Goku and Vegeta.    Goku’s like “Fuck this, I can’t take any damage in this fight, so I’m gonna go balls to the wall, right now.”    Well, that’s not his exact wording, but you get the idea.  

So Goku turns Super Saiyan 2!    Good job, Orange Brick DVDs.    It’s worth cropping Goku’s head so we can see all that stuff on the sides.

Of course, no one calls it Super Saiyan 2, because he term hasn’t been coined yet.    Vegeta just notes that Goku is stronger than Gohan was when he fought Cell, so you get the idea.

So then Vegeta powers up and now he’s a Super Saiyan 2, too!

When I first watched this arc, I honestly didn’t get that “Ascended Super Saiyan” was meant to be a distinct form, because it looks virtually indistinguishable from the original Super Saiyan.   I learned to tell the difference eventually, mostly thanks to the video games, which allow you to compare the models before and after, but in this leg of the anime, it’s just about impossible.   I think the animators had trouble keeping this straight.  

The main feature I picked up on is that Goku’s SSJ2 form has beadier eyes, at least initially, and more of his bangs stick up.    With Vegeta, I don’t even get that much to work with.   His hair looks a little more “knife-y”, but that’s about it.   

Anyway, Goku realizes that this will take a lot longer than he planned.   

And this is it.    Goku-Vegeta II.   The fight we’ve all been waiting for, but at what cost?  

[mysamcedesmadness]

So, Hate to Burst Your Bubble (But, This is Mine)

Something that @bamonstrash sort of requested that I wanted to do, but didn't want to make a whole story for (I had no idea that you were also @unbotheredbeauty) 

So, Hate to Burst Your Bubble (But, This is Mine)

The last time that they saw these kids, there was a disturbing amount of swooning and fawning over Henry that legit made Charlotte pretty uncomfortable. It wasn't because of any attachment to him back then. It was just weird. This time around, she was in a much different headspace.

She and Henry had been dating now for months, and they were both pretty serious about it. They spent most of her free time together and with the Game Shakers staying in town again (this time to hopefully do what they set out to do the last time around), she didn't think much of it.

They already "knew" Piper from their first visit to Swellview, so they'd contacted her again to rent the house. The Harts remembered it going "surprisingly well" last time, somehow, and approved it. Therefore, Henry would have to spend a little more time at home that week… but not so much as last time. Which meant that Charlotte was gonna spend a little more time there, too.

All Henry planned on doing was chilling when company was over (Jasper), then chilling with Char in his room when Jasp was gone. Her summer clothes had been hitting the spot. She never really wore revealing stuff over the years, but since they got together, she'd started showing more skin and he realized that might be for his benefit. What else could he do but fully revel in the new looks she served? She had the crop tops, tube tops and short shorts WORKING for her.

Piper rented the house out, but as soon as their parents were gone and she collected her fee, she vanished, too. Which meant that those four kids kept knocking on Henry's door to ask for things. He and Charlotte were into some pretty intense kissing when that one girl knocked, then opened the door and asked, "Are we able to use the laundry room supplies?"

Charlotte had jumped off of the bed and practically across the room and a very frustrated Henry snapped, "Use whatever you want! Nobody else knock on this door. I'm doing very important things, here!"

He heard her report to the others, "His friend is here. I think they're doing work for Captain You Know Who. He wants some privacy. Said use it whatever we want." But, by that time, Charlotte was ready to head home.

"If you leave, I'm killing those kids," Henry half joked.

"What do you think Captain You Know Who would say about that?" She teased. He was pouting. "Chill out. You've had more than enough kisses today, Friend."

He folded his arms, "I wanted ALL the kisses!"

"See you tomorrow," she said. On her way out, she saw that the kids seemed to be working in the living room. "Bye, kids," she said.

"Bye Charlotte!" Hudson cheered, waving excitedly. Trip gave her a peace sign and Kenzie smiled a little bit. Babe was already heading back upstairs, probably to pester Henry again. Charlotte called out specifically, "Bye Babe!"

"Bye, Charpay!" She said from upstairs. Charlotte rolled her eyes and left.

.

Charlotte was at work early to finish up some things that she had left the day before and to make sure that Ray had not been neglecting calls. So, she was there whenever Henry came in, exhausted looking and flopped himself on the couch. "Morning, Hen. Long night after I left?"

"The longest. I had to bribe the kids with the promise of visiting the Man Cave again to get them to go to bed and leave me alone."

"The kids, or Babe?"

"Babe… and Hudson. Trip's a cool kid and Kenzie's got a good head on her shoulders. They went away fairly easily. Hudson… was super hyper and Babe was really talkative. But, they let me test out games that they were working on. They have some good ideas in progress."

"What did Babe say when she came to your room?" Charlotte casually asked, not talking her attention off of what she was doing.

Henry thought for a moment, trying to remember. The dang girl had said so much! "She asked if I was done with work for the night and offered to keep me company."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow and wondered, "And your response?"

"I was getting ready to shower."

"She offer to keep you company there?" Charlotte asked, snarky about it.

"No!" Henry answered, not getting her tone. "I'm naked in there!" She simply rolled her eyes and continued working. "Anyway, they'll be here after they've had breakfast and washed up. Then hopefully, that's the last of them I have to see. I like them, just don't feel like them impeding on my time this way. Do you know where Piper's been?"

"She went to the water park with the Bilskys. That's why she needed that money. Billy didn't want her to come if she was gonna steal and cheat like his family."

"Ugh. Rude. So what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander?"

"She's very likely gonna keep her money and steal and cheat anyway," Charlotte shrugged her shoulders. The elevator sounded and they both looked to see Babe stepping off, by herself, all dolled up. Henry rolled his eyes and laid back down. Charlotte rolled hers and returned to her work.

"Hi, Henry, Charmin!"

"Her name is Charlotte," Henry said, not getting up or even returning the greeting. "I thought all of you were coming after breakfast and stuff. I haven't even had coffee or donuts."

"They were taking too long to decide what they were going to eat. I don't usually have breakfast anyway. Trying to keep my girlish figure." She posed, showing off this alleged figure.

Charlotte commented, "You might not know this, because I think they just came out with it yesterday, but they're actually very many healthy options for breakfast."

Henry sat up now, with an eyebrow raised, looking at Charlotte's back. What was that he'd just heard in her tone? Whatever it was, he simply replied, “Charlotte’s likely got plenty of fresh fruit, if you’re hungry.”

“Charlotte’s got fresh fruit, for Charlotte,” Charlotte said, with a tight smile. There it was again! What the heck had gotten into her?

Babe commented, “It’s fine. I think she and I have different ideas of what kind of bodies that we want.”

Now, Charlotte turned around in the chair completely, to check to see if this girl was for real. She had sat right next to Henry as she said this, and very close to him, at that. He smiled and slid over a little bit.

“Some of us want healthy functional bodies,” Charlotte informed Babe.

Babe slid closer to Henry again and wondered, “What kind of body do you prefer, Henry?”

Charlotte got up and started gathering her things. There was no way that she was about to endure a day of this, or even a morning.

“The healthy functional type hasn’t steered me wrong, yet,” he said, nearly falling off of the other side of the booth moving away from her. “Char… You goin’ someplace?” He asked, nervously. Because, she couldn’t possibly be about to leave him here with this clingy girl who was throwing herself at him very uncomfortably. At least tell her off or something, so I don’t have to!

“Yeah, I’m not feeling too great. I think I’ll go for a run and maybe feed the rest of my leftover fruit to the ducks at the pond.” Henry definitely noted that she had plenty of fruit she could’ve shared with Babe, so she must have purposefully wanted her to realize that she wasn’t entitled to anything that was Charlotte’s… including Henry, which she made known within the next few moments when she leaned over him and gave him a long kiss on the lips.

Now, anybody that knew Charlotte could tell you that Charlotte didn’t give Henry long kisses on the lips in front of people. It took her weeks to even give him short kisses in front of people. She also generally pulled away from his short kisses if people were present. This wasn’t just a kiss, it was a declaration! And Henry was HERE for it! He grabbed her, nearly pulling her on top of him to return the kiss until she saw fit to pause. She nonchalantly and discretely glanced towards Babe as she wiped her peach lip gloss on Henry’s bottom lip with her thumb. “See you later, Babe.” Okay, so not only was it SO HOT to Henry that Charlotte was clearly feeling some kind of way about Babe flirting with him, but that take charge, possessive “back off sister” kiss that she had given him was the fuel of his dreams. All he wanted right now was her to straddle him on this floor.

Babe’s eyes and mouth were wide with shock and shame. She forced herself to give a small wave and say in a quiet voice, “Bye, Charlotte.”

Charlotte headed for the elevator and commented, “Girl, you look flushed. If I were you, I’d really get that diet in check. Nutritionists will tell you that unhealthy eating habits can lead to bad skin.” She stepped onto the elevator fighting the urge to laugh. Was that mean? Yeah, but eff her, though.

Babe and Henry were silent for a while, then he wondered, “Did you maybe wanna get something from the auto snacker?” She blinked for the first time since seeing that kiss and shook her head. “I’m gonna have churros for breakfast. Char’s big on healthy. I just like whatever is goood.” He jumped up, some pep in his step, suddenly revived for the day and humming to himself as he headed for the snacker. “Big plate of churros,” he sang in a high pitch voice, pressing the button.

Ray came out of the back, checking his text from Henry: Guests in Man Cave. Don’t be Ray.

He quickly turned and dodged being noticed by Babe, but Henry saw him and gasped whenever he did. Ray changed into Captain Man with disdain in his face and marched up to Henry, “Guests? In my Man Cave? What makes you think you had the right?” He snatched the plate of churros from Henry’s hands and shook his head. “Girl child, today was not a day that Captain Man planned on having guests.”

She nodded her head, super sad and tried not to cry, “I’ll tell my friends not to bother.”

Captain Man’s chewing slowed as he wondered what in the world he was witnessing in this girl’s behavior, but he wasn’t too distracted to swat Henry’s hand when he reached for a churro. “Hey. What’s wrong with you? You’re in the Man Cave with Captain Man. Why are you looking like a sad sourpuss?”

“To be fair, you just kicked her out of the Man Cave. Like, on sight.”

“She looked like that when I came in,” he said and tossed the plate behind him. Henry scoffed at the churros flying everywhere and tried to catch some. Gosh dang that Rick Twitler! Also, I am NOT cleaning this mess up. He walked back to the auto snacker for another plate of churros while Captain Man interrogated Babe. “So, Girl. What’s your problem?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Are you lying to Captain Man?”

“Sorry! I’m sorry! I just… Would prefer not to talk about this right now…”

Henry stuffed a churro into his mouth and said, “She was doing fine up until Charlotte left. I think she felt uncomfortable because of the goodbye kiss.”

“Charlotte gave her a goodbye kiss???” Captain Man asked, extremely shocked. He placed a hand over Babe’s and said, “I understand your distress. Not only is that terrifying, but what sense did it even make?" Babe was now sad and confused… "Wait!” He pointed at Henry, “Is this some kind of weird fantasy for you?”

Henry sat down and shook his head, “Charlotte didn’t kiss her, Dude. She kissed me, in front of her. Like lengthy lip kiss with tongue.”

“That sounds less believable than Charlotte kissing her, to be honest.” Henry made a face. “Come on, Henry. Charlotte kissed you? IN FRONT of this girl? Why would she do that?”

"Uh duh, she's my girlfriend."

"Uh, duh. She's been your girlfriend and she still doesn't kiss you in front of people. Ever. Wonder why she'd do it now? Today, in this place, in front of this girl?" He mused, thoughtfully. "Oooh! She's scared you're gonna cheat with a cuter, younger girl!"

Henry scoffed, "None of that is true. Well.. she is younger. No offense, Babe."

"This girl is WAY more your type than Charlotte."

"I don't have a "type" and Charlotte clearly is within my type, if I do have one, otherwise why would she be my girlfriend?"

Captain Man told Babe, "I still think it might be an elaborate hoax. So, if you really want Charlotte, time will reveal if that's possible for you." He patted her hand. "Now, get out of my Man Cave. I'm off the clock." Babe got up,not the least bit comforted as Ray stole Henry's second plate of churros and walked off.

Henry rolled his eyes and offered, "I'll take you somewhere for breakfast. Maybe to meet up with the clique."

They were quiet on the way. Henry thought he'd be happy to see her shut up, but now he was worried that Char had crushed the poor girl. “So… You know where your friends are? I can escort you to ‘em.”

She smiled and nodded, “That would be very kind of you.” Then, more silence. They started walking in the direction of where her friends had gone for breakfast and she wondered, “Why doesn’t it say on any of your social media that you’re in a relationship?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “We’re not that flashy with our personal business. I guess with the whole secret identity thing, I’ve kinda gotten pretty used to just keeping my business to myself, and Char’s always been a private person.”

“Okay, so why didn’t you tell me? We’ve talked a lot, online, over the phone, and since I’ve been in town. Never once did you even suggest that you were dating somebody.” He laughed uncomfortably. “I’m glad that this amuses you.”

“I’m amused that I’m being interrogated for something that you’re not entitled to knowing, yes. I didn’t tell you, because I saw no reason to. We chat sometimes about video games. We’ve talked on the phone a limited number of times about very generic things. I don’t owe you my life events.”

“Maybe not, but I think that you know that I liked you and it could have been polite for you to say, “By the way, I have a girlfriend now.” How did this even happen? She’s very uptight and boring, and honestly it seems like Captain Man agrees with me that you could do better…” Henry stopped walking and glared at her. She giggled a little and tried to clean it up, “I just mean that the two of you don’t seem to fit together.”

“Okay, maybe we don’t seem to fit together, to a complete stranger. The good news for me is that you don’t have to understand it. The bad news for you is that you don’t have the right to say anything negative about her. If she’s uptight and boring, then that must be what I want, and I never asked you your opinion, anyway. So, yeah, no. It’s not happening. You’ll not be talking like that about her in front of me. You better call Kenzie with that BS.” He started walking again, more than a little pissed off and she quickly followed, apologizing for her words. He barely heard her. Once she was at the diner with her friends, Henry was going to leave, but Charlotte happened to be there with them. She had her gym bag and was dressed for a workout, glistening from her run and laughing with the others. So, he came inside.

“Hey, what are you doing?” he wondered.

She pointed to the group, “I ran into them after my run and Trip treated me to a latte.”

Henry chuckled, “Moving in on my woman, Trip?”

Trip brushed dust off of his shoulders and said, “Technically, that’s my ex-fake-fiancee, so you moved in on mine.” Babe sat down and grabbed a menu, silently. “What about you? Stepping out behind her back with Babe?” Babe kicked Trip under the table and he let out a loud, “Ow!”

“No, she got kicked out of the,” he looked around and whispered, “That cave, you know… I felt bad and brought her to you all.”

Charlotte looked at him, wondering what he wasn’t saying, but this wasn’t the time. Instead, she announced, “It was pretty good having the time to chat with everyone without all of the mindless flirting, but now, I think I’ll take my leave. Maybe I’ll see you later, guys.”

As she headed out Henry said, “Try not to stay out too late,” then chased his girlfriend down. “Char, wait up.” She paused as he called from the door and whenever he reached her, he took her hand, gave her a kiss and started walking with her. She smiled at the Game Shakers yet again, all watching them from their table. Babe was pretending not to with her face in the menu. “So… are we into PDA now, or only when Babe is nearby?”

She sighed and leaned against him, “I don’t know. I’m not sure what came over me, but she just KEPT ON FLIRTING and flinging herself at you and completely disregarding me as a person. Last night, she called me Charpay!”

He gasped, “Like the little dog?”

“I was thinking like the Disney character, but either way, learn my name if you’re going to try to compete with me for my man.”

“There’s no competition,” Henry told her. “And, I think she got your message, loud and clear. Though, she asked me why I didn’t tell her. Like… You’re a 14 year old girl who I have only ever casually spoken with about shared interests, meaning specifically videogames and dog videos. Why would I tell her anything?”

“Maybe she thought that you were leaving the door open for her behavior, and honestly, can you blame her?” He stopped and let go of her hand. She folded her arms and tilted her head, “What? You don’t think that you should’ve nipped it in the bud? Because, I happen to think that if Hudson or Trip was acting that way around me and I didn’t clarify on the spot that it wasn’t going down, you’d be pouting about it.”

“I mean, yeah, but that’s different.”

“How?”

“Because it’s in your personality to do that. I hate having to say mean things to people, even if it might be true. I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings.”

“Oh, so I like to hurt people’s feelings?” He sighed and shook his head. “Tell me what you mean.”

“You stand up for things more than me. I’d rather just take it easy and let things fizzle out. You like to have conversations about stuff and try to control the direction of things.”

“Never thought being a mature person with good communication skills could be seen as a negative trait, but go off, I guess.”

“I’m not saying it’s negative! I’m saying that’s you, but it isn’t me, so don’t expect it to be me.”

“And I’m saying that I didn’t appreciate you letting that girl think she had a chance with you by not getting her together when she was flirting with you right in front of me!” She squealed, then marched off.

Henry whispered, “How the heck did we go from kissing to fussing?” He followed her, calling her name, but she didn’t slow down. She made him catch up to her. “Hey! I didn’t know that it was bothering you like that. I thought it was only inconveniencing me and that after this weekend, it was gonna be over and done with. If I had known that it hurt you, of course I would have stood up for you. I just… Never think that you’re thinking like that, about me. I always just presume that nothing bothers you, and you don’t care about trivial things.”

“I almost got attacked by a lion to avoid an awkward kiss with my best friend. I’m not as together and you keep painting me!” They both laughed, and then hugged, and then kissed. “I’m an actual disaster, sometimes. And I didn’t like seeing her fawn over you. I didn’t like the flirting. I didn’t like you not correcting her behavior.”

“Thank you for waiting until we were alone to say that. It means a lot that you didn’t blast me in front of anybody. I won’t let anything like that happen again.” She smiled. “You’ll be proud to know,” he bragged, as they continued walking, “That I happened to have to tell her a thing or two for trying to call you some names.”

“What?”

“She said you’re uptight and boring! Can you believe that? Now, I’ll tolerate those very rude but accurate words from Ray, but not from her!”  Charlotte scoffed and looked at the sky, shaking her head.

[jane-argeiphontes]

SOMA: After the Launch Chapter 4

Chapter Four “The Gel and the Devil”

Simon set down the Cortex Chip on the table at Phi, he unloaded everything he managed to scrounge up from that room in-case he would need them. Why not be prepared for anything? Unless he lost his sanity before he made it to the other side. How long would it take it for him to start hallucinating? He guessed it depended on the mental stability of the person, if they were quite sane then it would take years but if they weren’t then goodbye sanity. 

“Gotta keep it together, Simon,” he told himself out loud. “Do it for Catherine. Keep it together! Don’t stop. Keep going, keeeeeeep going, don’t stop, keep going.” He turned back to his board. Crossing out the Cortex Chip he looked at the Structure Gel supposedly in Johan Ross’ room back in Tau. He had flashbacks to when Ross would follow him and stalk him whilst he roamed around the site, urging him onwards whenever Simon stopped to take a break. He never went upstairs to Sarah, either he didn’t want to look upon her or he didn’t even know she existed at all. 

“You have to stop it!” he would shout.

Simon wasn’t interested in his goals and ambitions, the world was gone! What was the point of stopping the WAU? Let it have the Earth, let it have everything. All that mattered to him was what good it brought him. Catherine, the ARK, and another chance at life. The original him died long ago with hopes and dreams silenced, now he had the chance at it again except that not much was left. The world may be gone but there’s plenty of things to do down here. Maybe there were stuff still intact up there? The Omega Space Gun was intact enough to even launch a new satellite into space.

“Ok,” he spoke and cleared his thoughts of worry and stress, “let’s do this.” He began the travel back to Tau, keeping an eye out for the Leviathan and that Whale in-case they wanted his robotic insides. When he reached the WAU, he found more growth of the gunk and foliage than before. On a cracked screen brought in from the original Site Alpha, it displayed images of the above before the Impact Event. No doubt, planning and learning to “revive” what was up there. It’s sick, twisted version of it. 

Then, he looked back at the hole next to his way out. A dark trail of Structure Gel leaked out of it down back into Alpha. Some scrap metal followed along with what looked like a leg or a mutilated arm. Ross? He’s been brought back once, he could have been brought back again. That or something worse found him. An angler fish? No, no, he already saw that on his way to Tau and it was barely his size. An octopus? Maybe. That’d be terrifying, covered in faces on every angle with glowing lights illuminating the dark with a false sense of hope. Regardless, they were heading in the same direction so he’ll find out whether he likes it or not. When he passed by the ruins of Alpha again, he wondered if there were any human staff here? What happened to them? There were rooms seemingly built to house them but not a single body or indication was to be found. Out of every Site he’s been to, this one is in the worst state of the WAU’s overhaul to “save” Humanity. 

The trail would stop then reappeared from what he could tell, larger clumps became smaller and smaller every time he found them again with his Power Suit helmet’s light. The anglerfish stalked him from afar in the dark, the human face on its side writhing in seemingly anguish. Did it have a human brainscan? Did the WAU graft someone onto the fish? God, Simon didn’t even want to imagine it. He pushed on into Tau, passing by the crushed body of Neil Tsiolkovsky, the Russian crew member of Tau. Simon wondered about using his suit for Catherine. It was mostly intact except for the face region and basically the upper half of the body. Nevermind, he’ll go with the original plan. Better a good suit then one where the top half is useless, he wouldn’t get to see Catherine’s face and he didn’t have the skill to repair it. 

He managed to get back to the living area, still set up and livable if he needed a place to hang out. There was the bodies of Auclair and the rest of the ARK team were there. He read the old records and files still active on the terminals he found, thankfully a few kept paper journals during their last days. To extend his trip here, he searched around for the possible whereabouts of the crew. Auclair was in his room, malformed by the WAU into this...cacoon thing. What was it doing with him? Was it trying to rebuild him? Back at Omicron he saw what the “rebuilding” looked like with that crew member in the orange jumpsuit. Malformed: one leg was longer than the other, the proportions of his body oddly shifted, and the machinery in his chest of course. 

Then he found the trail again. It led to one of the corner vents in the main area of the living quarters, the grate was popped open. Simon crouched down, turning on his flashlight to get a better look at the insides. Structure Gel bubbling and slightly growing until it died back down only to do so again in a cycle. “The hell is here?” He went over to Johan Ross’s room, pressing the button only for it to deny access. He pressed it again. Access denied. He slammed his fist against the button. Denied. “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!” He kicked the door with full force, making a small dent in the metal.

The Data Buffer cracked to life. “You had your chance to save Humanity and what did you do?! You threw it away! Now it’ll infect and infect the world, making the grand illusion that we’re still alive! All for what?! The ARK? Another illusion of our existence! A mockery!” 

“Ross? You’re alive! The Leviathan--”

“The WAU tried to silence me! I breathed again thanks to the Structure Gel, no matter what it keeps me alive with it pulsating in my veins. Now I have to use the weapon of my enemy in order to destroy it. I need a body Simon! I can’t make one on my own, and I need the same Gel in yours. So, I’m going to replace your copy with my own.” The door opened with Ross leaping atop Simon, sending him to the ground. Ross clawed and smacked against the helmet; he howled like an animal and clawed like one too at the Power Suit. 

Simon threw him at the desk inside his room. Ross’s arm dislocated itself, the tissue and flesh still weak from the revival. “It’s over for us. It’s done,” he told the deranged man. Or what was left of the man, he was still human at her despite whatever the WAU put him through. His mind may be centered on one goal, but if he didn’t have that goal he would realize that it was over, that there was no point anymore to taking his Structure Gel to infect it. He was still human to a degree, nothing like Sarah but what else would convince him?

“I have to stop it! Humanity--”

“Ross,” Simon tried a less aggressive tone, “Think about it. It’s just you and me, the last sane beings left on this earth. The only true human that was left alive is dead. Sarah’s gone, she couldn’t go on anymore. Nothing else mattered, no way to reproduce and save us, even if you killed the WAU what would you do after that? Kill yourself? Kill everything is brought to life? All the life still living?”

Ross just looked at him, blue lights flickering in his weakened state like a broken computer, his posture slumped. His metallic and rotted insides slowly spilled out with some just hanging there still attached to their original pieces, the tube connected to his head scrunched up every time he took a deep breath. He leaned against the chair with what was left of him. They both listened to the fan go and the clock go by. “Is it really over?” His voice was broken. “Did we really lose? Can we have lost?”

Simon took a seat in front of him. “The ARK launched, our memory and the copies of us are up there. Thousands of years, maybe even more, they’ll be in Paradise. Now down here, us, the WAU, these creatures, we’re all that’s left of the living. Sure, Humanity may be gone but at least life is still flourishing. We’re still living. Maybe someplace up there is still intact, maybe something is still up there worth living for. The scans, even though they’re not us or truly human they still have a chance to make this...work. Without the WAU, none of this was possible. Sure, it may have led to people losing it. To the monsters killing people at Tau, the fall of Theta, Upsilon’s abandonment, and so much more. Despite all that, here we are. You died, Ross, a part of you did but the WAU saved you. Saved what was left of you yet your mind is still intact, you still have that. Think. Use it. Is killing the WAU really going to make the world much better than it already is?”

Ross didn’t say anything. Simon didn’t know where that part came from, he did know that Catherine would be proud of him. What else did they have to live for? They had to live just because the world needed live to continue, even if they weren’t human they had to go on. 

“You...you have a point.” Ross’s voice was gloomy, he didn’t want to admit it but what else did he have left? Everyone he wanted to protect was dead. They’re long gone. The last human left alive didn’t want to live, they simply wanted to die. He looked up at Simon.“Why did you come here? Why come to Tau? To my room?” 

“I’m trying to fix...my friend, Catherine. The WAU gave me some kind of vision, I guess, on how to fix her. Kinda like how I made the body for me using...Herber. The one part that it didn’t tell me was how to actually get her into the suit. Catherine was the only one who knew how and I doubt it’ll tell me in any way that makes sense.”

“Friend? Hmm...I can figure it out if you get me some of her notes. The schematics or anything,” Ross suggested. “Why not? I’ll put myself to use down here.”

Simon, surprised by this revelation, was speechless with joy. “Y-You will? You’ll help me get her back?” Such hope was in his voice at the thought of his chances being greater. 

Ross nodded. 

“Theta. She had a room in Theta. Akers was there with his Proxies if they’ll be trouble. I think he died when the tunnel flooded.”

“What else did you need?” 

Simon explained everything from the vision to him. The Power Suit, the Structure Gel, and the Cortext Chip he’s already collected. How he came here to get one of Ross’s jars of Structure Gel that was hidden in a compartment in his vent. Ross turned around, climbed up and revealed the jar that was there. 

“This is how I knew the WAU was changing, I watched it infect one of the plant life when I was out with Glasser so I collected a sample before he had to pull me back.” Ross thought back to his colleague, the only one that believed him about the WAU and the threat it posed. “And he died trying to get me to Omicron. Glasser, the ever noble and proud man, charged forward unto death without a second thought. Here I am, doing what I can to honor him. He studied life so I’ll make sure that there’s life to be studied.” 

As the two talked, a monitor over in the communication hub sparked to life:

WARNING, SATELLITE DESCENT DETECTED. IMPACT NEAR SITE THETA.

[pandions-circle]

After the order from the King left his lips, you went into a small panic. What were you to do? Where were you to go? What would happen to the rest of the magical users in the kingdom? You had to think, you had to think....

Time passed, and you followed through with his order. People were kidnapped, never to be seen again. The executioner’s dungeon was stained red, like the beautiful, fluffy carpet of the King’s bedchambers. Parents, children, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, and all those in between. Missing. Gone forever.

Or so the King thought.

He would not be troubled by the disappearances of the, in his words, filthy witches, warlocks, and whatever else they’d wanna be called. What he was more intrigued with was something quite different, a bit unrelated, but beautiful the same. For a long time, his garden had soured in poor soil and blaring sun. But now, under your guidance, the flowers were starting to smile again.

“Sire, the garden’s revival is none of my own doing,” You’d say.

“Perhaps good fortune,” he’d respond. “A sign from the heavens that we’ve done good by getting rid of the curses placed on this land.”

You’d smile, bittersweet, as he’d sip his lukewarm tea.

“Perhaps, your majesty. But truly, nature has a way of repairing itself.” You’d counter. He’d hum in response, a sort of dismissal, and you’d take it as such. Standing and bowing, you’d leave the room to return to your duty outside. Meeting a family, who’d had a child present with mild clairvoyance. You’d reassure them, they would see their daughter again. She was afraid of you, but you calmed her, saying you were going to take her someplace lovely, with lots of pretty flowers. Into the castle, through the grand halls, down into the dungeon, towards the execution room...

There, you’d meet the King’s son, the Prince, and the executioner, who had not an ax, but a bucket full of cow’s blood. He’d call the little girl to him, and together, the two of you would recite the spell, animalis abscondam hominum, and the little girl became a beautiful, blue butterfly. You’d smile together, because out of all the gifted people there were, the two of you had just hidden the last one unable to be supressed, temporarily. The executioner would splash half the bucket over the block quietly, and wait for the King to walk by the doors of the stairs in order to let the blade of his ax to crash through a meaty watermelon and into the ground.

Later, while you were eating dinner together, the King would compliment you once again on the garden to show off to his guests, letting go the fact that he ‘listened’ to you kill a child. You’d smile again, again bittersweet, and tell the table the same thing you’d told the King earlier.

“It is not my doing that the garden is coming alive again,” You’d chuckle. “It truly is nature who decided to grace us.”

A finely dressed woman would pipe up with,

“Oh! But what of the butterflies i’ve heard about? People all over have been talking about them!”

The King would look to you, and you’d look to him with a smile.

“They come with the flowers, your majesty. Butterflies love bright colored things.”

The King grinned widely, crooked, sugar-rotted teeth showing his pride at being praised. He’d drink and talk up his achievements till midnight, after everyone had been dismissed and he was thoroughly drunk. You’d wait, with the Prince, until everyone had left, and the chef would walk in with the final piece: a large, luxurious chocolate cake. And a large, sharp, decorated cutting knife.

You are an adviser to a king who hates anything to do with magic. One day, you are tasked to hunt down all magic users in the kingdom to execute them.

You accept the task reluctantly, but you don’t know what to do next; you, yourself, are secretly a magic user.

[tallmansions]

A Fallen London Story in Four Parts

This was originally a Christmas present for @anakronisma, but as my “Inspired...” quality is always reset every time I sleep, I only just got around to finishing it. Hope you like it, dearest. I tried to do your character and the world justice, but I probably didn’t lmao.

Doctor Kohri is anakronisma’s, and Fallen London is © 2015 and ™ Failbetter Games Limited: www.fallenlondon.com.  This is an unofficial fan work..

Part I: The Sociable Clockmaker, Veilgarden

A flurry of unfortunate circumstances brought Doctor Kohri to me that afternoon, three o’clock on a particularly brisk winter day. From what I understand—and I can guarantee I understand most of it—she was in hot pursuit of a suitable gift for her friend, subsequently settling on scouring the streets around Veilgarden for something marvelous, something quite unlike anything else in the window displays. She had tried the Bazaar, and while its many splendors and varied specialty shops had drawn her eye, her friend had access to the same mannequins and arrangements in addition to her more esoteric selections—selections that Doctor Kohri would not think to peruse even had she the contacts, which she did not.

I had learned of these events not because Doctor Kohri had any desire to tell me, but because the friend in question had cautioned me that the good doctor might come looking my way. How this suspicion came sneaking to this friend is not, in good manners, mine to say, but it would have been even poorer manners not to take such a suspicion into consideration. I was polishing the counter when Doctor Kohri entered. The bells in my shop chimed the time as the door jangled shut behind her.

She didn’t introduce herself, but as no one had come into my shop at all until that point and she fit the description given exactly, I knew it was her. No one else in Veilgarden, wearing such a sober grey dress, would walk with such a straight back. She asked me if I sold baubles, to which I replied that I sold only what interested me and so should be more appropriately termed curiosities. I don’t think she saw the humor in it, but I don’t take my stock humorously, and so I appreciated her reserve.

Doctor Kohri took her time in browsing, asking questions about my products when one struck her fancy. I remember she paid careful attention to the small silver clock with the brass doors above the clock face. I explained to her that the doors would open on the hour, and out would pop the tiniest of bejeweled owls—right on the hour, like I said. She had just missed the three o’clock mark and looked rather interested in seeing the spectacle unfold, for it really is not a sight to be missed. One can get so lost in my shop when the clock strikes the hour. The place erupts into chaos. All the clocks show off each of their tricks—all at once, mind you—and a small bejeweled owl behind brass doors set in a small silver clock can go quite unnoticed in the bedlam. One gets accustomed to it, after all these years, but for the first-time customer, it can be jarring. I’m surprised Doctor Kohri didn’t startle when she first entered the shop.

I could tell she wanted to see the thing in action, but she hadn’t quite persuaded me to deconstruct my piece on display. I asked her to wait one moment while I fetched the extra owl from the back of the shop, and so I can’t say for certain what transpired in the minutes I was indisposed. I do know that I heard the door jangle open and shut once more, then a bit of a scuffle, but as several boxes had toppled out of their proper places in my storeroom, I found myself in a scuffle of my own, trying to make sure no parts had got mixed up.

Once I emerged from the back, with apologies for my age and slow movements on my lips, I found Doctor Kohri bent over a fallen figure, utterly ignoring my excuses. She seemed to be trying to revive the person, pressing her fingers here and there along the body in what I can assume was in a medically sound fashion. I tried to assure her that the person would be quite fine, but she told me she had taken a very chancy risk in fighting her assailant off and hoped to extract some information. Alas, it seemed the person was dead for the time being.

The good doctor was rather put out about that, I can tell you, but there was nothing to be done, and she said she was rather in a hurry and couldn’t stand around waiting. This moment did not appear to be the time to be polite and ask to where she was off or why she had stopped in my shop at random if she were so desperate to secure a gift in a timely fashion, and so I opted for understanding silence. Well, said she, I must be off. And so she was. I admit to some disappointment at not being able to show her my owl, but I remained composed and soon the door closed behind her.

As for the cadaver, the constables made quick work of it and I soon returned to my usual puttering about the store. The lady did not come by to inquire about the doctor until later.

Part II: The Scattered Zailor, Wolfstack Docks

Well, it was ‘round four o’clock, and I’d got my pay, see, so me and the crew was doing some comparisons and gaming, for you best be careful with some of them harbormasters before you get to the gaming part. Glim’s not the quality it used to be when you have pirates from here ‘til the Principles of Coral raiding honest ships for their cargo, so sometimes when the pirates’ve been fiercer, that harbormaster you see there sometimes gets the plaster.

That doctor, she looked Tengrist to me, I don’t know about you. I’ve never gone as far as the Khanate—pirates about, y’see—but ever so often you get some from the Khan’s Shadow who’re even sick of that life, you get ‘em over here as stowaways or passengers. She looked like she had some of that blood in her. Came up to me and the crew like she were ready to push off port, only she asked if we had any trinkets to sell. Trinkets! Like talismans and the ink on my chest are trinkets! This one here, it ain’t any of that Salt creepy-like get-up some of them other zailors got. It keeps the zee-bats away like no one’s the wiser. And it ain’t for sale.

Stone, did that make her skin go pale! Anger, I’d wager. Didn’t look like she’d heard the word “yes” today. Kept trying to barter with me and the crew, kept saying she needed a gift for her friend. I said Lady—and she says It’s Doctor—so I says Doctor, you’re asking the wrong crew and you’re in the wrong part of London.

So the other zailors lurking about have a good chuckle at that, let me tell you! But that dress keeps her ramrod straight like, and she says something about getting jumped in Veilgarden and the foolish sod was dead for now and anyone who’d like could find out how he died. Doc didn’t have a weapon to grab and looked pretty stick-like to my eye, but the laughing sort seemed to take her seriously enough, don’t know why.  Something about her eyes.

Now some right idiot says something about how she knew who’d jumped this doctor—probably hoping for some more glim, greedy thing that she is, I know her. Well, Kohri—because the lady told me later that was the doc’s name, it’s Kohri—looked snap up at that, started edging towards the zailor who’d gabbed, but then every son of a b— on the docks started saying they knew something, and then even I couldn’t tell who’d spoke up first, much less figure if anyone had the truth.

Kohri went somewhere during all this, I don’t know. Saw a group of zailors shouting and heading all in a pack towards some building, but since it was pay and all, I expect they were headed for a mushroom wine or for honey or anything other than some good glim gaming, hey, nice and legal.

Now that I scrub my brains a bit, the lady came by just not too long after that. She plays a good game herself, but don’t you mention that to her.

Part III: The Voracious Lurker, Spite—perhaps

I send people out, I send people to hunt, to find, to feed me

They scribble and wriggle into every little corner of every little shop of every little house

I don’t like scraps. I demand decadence.

My little ratlings, my scrabbling people

And she hurt them the doctor Kohri she hurt them she hurt them and didn’t bring me

something to eat.

 She can kill my ratlings, they’ll be fine, I always have more, I always want more, but she has to replenish

which she didn’t.

She was like a ratling herself, scurrying to search for something to send her friend

She found me instead.

 Followed a tip, the tip of a zailor off the tip of her tongue, wondered why a ratling would cause her harm

None of my people cause harm

They feed me

Spices and salamanders and zee-bats and soft skin and syrups and

I’m hungry again. What have you brought me?

 Ah, yes

Of course

Doctor Kohri.

 It wasn’t the ratling’s fault

It wasn’t personal

I was just hungry

And oh

Kohri stumbled her way to me

 I used to be like her

Inquisitive

Daring

Watchful

Reserved

No.

I was never reserved

I liked to eat.

 Spite is good to me

This place gives me lost ratlings

I feed them—for a time, I give them someplace to stay, I set them free again to bring me my dessert

Give me give me give me give me Kohri’s head on a platter.

Let me eat.

She killed my ratling.

She came in here and I was ready to eat.

But the lady followed her in and swept her away.

Part IV: The Irresistible Lady, The Shuttered Palace

Kohri? She’s safe at home, I’d assume. She finds herself in the strangest situations, did you know? I had a feeling she’d contort herself into all sorts of delightful and embarrassing positions the moment I told her I had a gift for her. I knew she’d go running all over London and perhaps even beyond trying to return the favor. Can you imagine having a friend like that? I can, and it’s tiring, let me tell you!

I mean that in the best possible way, of course. “Tiring” means you’ve done something exciting enough to wear you out.

Well, I don’t like to spy on my friends, if that’s what this is all about. I keep an eye out. They can handle themselves, certainly, but some of them are newer to London than others. Some are newer still to the Unterzee itself. So I keep a close watch without interfering too much—just the right amount. Enough to excite me, to tire me out.

Now, I happen to know a little shop in one of the cozier corners of Veilgarden, and one of my friends—I do have many friends, you know; being the poetess-in-residence gives me many friends—this friend told me of another friend headed to that shop. Friends everywhere, you see! I thought I could catch up with her, but by the time I arrived, I could see the constables clearing out. I pay my dues as rightly I should, but that isn’t to say I like hanging about a constable when I see one, and so by the time I was able to pop my head in, Kohri was already gone.

I heard she had a scuffle on the docks, if that’s why you’re so concerned about her wellbeing. I most certainly would not have had anything to do with that. One of my friends might have done, however.

But Kohri does have the habit of watching for things beyond her, and then following them into the twisting shadows and searing secrets they spin for her. Someone has to have friends enough to protect other friends. Perhaps she thought to find me something in that hoard of luxury hidden under cobwebs and rust and bones and spilled wine. Perhaps she thought to seek answers for a day spent fruitlessly wandering, wandering, wandering. Perhaps she was not as familiar with London’s more reclusive and interesting denizens as she believed. Perhaps she thought she could handle herself when faced with ancient horror.

Or perhaps I’m making all this up! Kohri is asleep at home, that I can tell you. If you ask her anything about the matter, I assure you she won’t have any answers for you. She will most likely have fewer, in fact. I highly doubt she remembers anything of today at all! Silly doctor doesn’t even know her own health. Tomorrow she will awaken with a signed copy of my latest verses by her bedside table, and I will tell her how I delivered it during her most delirious moments, and she will not question me. I recommend you do the same.

I suppose this means I won’t be getting my gift from her, but don’t you go telling her that.

[spicynbachili1]

Fallout 76 tips and tricks: how to get the most out of the Fallout 76 beta

Those that are about to play Fallout 76’s beta on PC could also be questioning methods to get the very best head begin. In spite of everything, it’s reportedly the complete sport and the time spent throughout the beta won’t be wasted since progress will carry over to the primary sport when it comes out. Assistance is at hand as this information will go over among the modifications that Fallout 76 brings, in addition to explains issues like starvation, crafting, and far more.

Fallout 76 ideas and methods

Fallout 76’s public beta (or “Break-it Early Take a look at Software”) will start late on Tuesday 30th October for PC and is assured for individuals who have pre-ordered the sport at taking part retailers. You’ll find out extra about Fallout 76 and all the things we learn about it proper right here. However for these wandering into the world for the primary time because the Atom Bombs dropped, you could be questioning simply methods to survive on this hostile wasteland.

Ideas for weapons and armour in Fallout 76

First issues first, the trendy clothes like hats and outfits don’t supply any defensive bonuses. If you wish to forestall injury, you’re finest off equipping physique armour or discovering one of many coveted Energy Armor units hidden in Appalachia. Fuel masks alternatively do present a tiny bonus.

Since weapons and armour can break, you’ll often must restore them. This may be executed at any workbenches, both at your CAMP or in different places. If a chunk of apparatus ought to turn into damaged, it gained’t disappear out of your stock, however you gained’t be capable to equip it.

Lastly, relating to these coveted Energy Armour frames, you’ll find them usually subsequent to Energy Armour Stations. Do you have to come throughout one, in case you switch armour plates that you’re unable to equip into your stock, you may enter the body and lock its possession to you. After this, you may exit the body and put it into your stock, or permit it to be transferred routinely to your stock after a brief period of time.

Perks and SPECIAL

Very similar to all the opposite Fallout video games, the chief stats of Power, Notion, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck, are all the key stats that govern how your particular person perks work. This time, you start with 1 level in every, relatively than create your personal character with a sure construct. Everytime you stage up, you’ll be capable to rank up a single stat by one, to a most of 15. Factors are now not obtained when you attain stage 50, so spend the factors correctly.

Additionally upon levelling up, you’ll be capable to select a Perk Card. There’s normally a brand new sort of card per SPECIAL rank, although this isn’t at all times the case. This card doesn’t should be from the stat you simply elevated, so you may take a Perk Card specialising in one-handed weapon injury, though you simply elevated Charisma. They’re filtered by class for straightforward navigation.

Some stage ups, specifically each different stage from 4 to 10, then for each 5 ranges you achieve, you’ll obtain a Perk Card Pack. This include an assortment of semi-randomised perks, with some which might be duplicates and others that you just gained’t be capable to use instantly. You may share the results of any perk card together with your occasion too, supplied you could have not less than three factors in Charisma, with every Perk Card requiring you to have a complete of 3x the Charisma in comparison with the cardboard’s factors.

One different factor to notice is that the Perk Playing cards aren’t everlasting. You may combine and match at any time, which means you’ll find a second to swap sure perks for sure conditions. For instance, if in case you have the Perk Card with a hacking skill, swap to that construct briefly to hack the terminal or lure, then change again when you’re executed.

Managing ailments and mutations

After being uncovered to the weather and fallout for 5 ranges, you’ll begin to contract ailments, maybe even start mutating. Ailments are solely eliminated with cures or by letting it run its course. Mattress relaxation in an honest dangerous with a body is one technique to forestall ailments completely. Satirically, dying doesn’t even eliminate it, or certainly any radiation you could be accruing.

Radiation is a bit more problematic as solely RadAway can eliminate it. Nevertheless, it may possibly additionally introduce new mutations that both improve or deteriorate a selected a part of you. Helpful mutations might be stored in case you so want, by utilizing the Starched Genes perk card, which lets you maintain any lively mutations ceaselessly, or forestall any new ones from coming.

Fight ideas for Fallout 76

Be sure to have a melee weapon as backup. Ammunition is just not straightforward to return by, though weapons are plentiful initially. It’s also possible to go to any Tinker Station to craft extra ammunition, however you’ll want the corresponding junk to make them.

Because the sport has a relatively restricted view, both first or third particular person, VATS might be your finest pal. For those who faucet the button when nothing is there, you’ll simply get an audio cue, but when one thing is there, it’s going to flag up. This may be nice for recognizing enemies or minefields and different traps, however every press does value Motion Factors (AP), even when it doesn’t detect something. Due to this fact you must use it solely while you suppose you may want it.

VATS has additionally modified in Fallout 76, in order that your goal is highlighted in actual time. The proportion to hit will enhance relying on how distant you’re and your stats. You don’t must manually goal, however with the proper perk card geared up, you may goal particular factors on their physique. The vital meter can be again from Fallout four, which means you may pull off a vital hit as soon as it’s stuffed with any shot.

Lastly, don’t be too afraid to tackle an enemy that’s the next stage than you. They are able to dish out extra injury than decrease levelled variations, however the remainder of the stats don’t scale in the identical method. For instance, a Bloatfly might be killed relatively rapidly regardless of being a number of ranges greater, however it may possibly additionally deal extra injury in case you get too shut. Do you have to run right into a excessive levelled, huge scary monster with every claw the scale of a small automotive, then you must in all probability run.

PVP and loss of life in Fallout 76

Once you start the sport, Pacifist mode might be routinely enabled. You gained’t be capable to take part in PVP occasions and even shoot one other participant and injury them till you attain stage 5. Upon reaching this threshold although, you’ll nonetheless take diminished injury if somebody shoots you. However in case you hearth again, injury might be their common figures. Do you have to not want to have interaction with PVP actions, Pacifist mode might be re-enabled by way of the choices menu.

If PVP is enabled, do you have to kill anybody who doesn’t combat again, you’ll have a bounty positioned upon your head. You’ll due to this fact not be capable to see anybody else’s location, which means that anybody can come in your head and a decently sized bounty for his or her troubles.

Dying isn’t fast as any participant can revive somebody who’s downed with a Stimpack, or different related talents from Perk Playing cards. Nevertheless any injury sustained whereas on this state will case that participant to die. This may go away a “loss of life bag” that incorporates all their junk, however not weapons and ammunition. Fortunately, you’re going to get a quest to retrieve the gadgets so that you’ll at all times be capable to know the place they’re. You may mitigate any threat from loss of life by redeploying your CAMP to a close-by location.

As with every MMO, if any location appears oddly empty, it might be as a result of somebody received there first and cleaned out the realm. By trying on the map, you’ll be capable to discover any gamers who might have gotten there first, so you could want to wait some time for all the things to return again, earlier than committing to exploring the realm.

Ideas for Crafting in Fallout 76

There are many crafting stations within the sport, with Vault 76 and the Overseer’s Camp being explicit crafting hotspots, a bit like a type of startup hubs in greater cities. Nevertheless, since just one particular person at a time can function any workstation, it might be higher to put money into creating your personal crafting station at your personal CAMP. When you’re at it, be certain to construct a “Vault-Tec Stash” for storing all of your gadgets and junk.

Additionally, be sure you acquire as a lot junk as you may have in your particular person inside cause. It may be scrapped into base elements which might be helpful for crafting, weapon and armour modding, constructing, and even getting ready elegant wasteland delicacies, although it’s higher to carry it intact again to your CAMP. Nevertheless, there’s a catch in that while you die, you drop all of your junk you presently have in your stock in a “loss of life bag”. This may be retrieved by merely choosing all of it up, so long as no one received to it first. When you could have sufficient junk, you may both spend some caps to move it to your CAMP, or head there personally to retailer it. Preserving gadgets within the Vault-Tec Stash will let you use them at a workstation or when at your CAMP.

As for constructing constructions at your CAMP, Blueprints might be positioned to avoid wasting your format. Because of this everytime you log off of the sport or simply want to maneuver the placement of the CAMP to someplace much less hostile, you may restore your camp to the way it was by mentioning the blueprint record. Simply be conscious of the place you’re constructing your camp as it may possibly solely be constructed on flat floor and never close to every other buildings that exist already.

Discovering recipes and mods

When you’re looking for loot, you also needs to maintain a watch out for recipes. You’ll start your new life in post-apocalyptic Appalachia with a number of primary recipes, however the one method you’ll discover any extra is by discovering them within the wild and in chests, or buying and selling from designated merchants and different gamers.

These wishing to be the following high chef can discover meals recipes by discovering meals or vegetation for the primary time, whereas mod recipes might be discovered by dismantling a weapon with that mod. For those who dismantle a weapon or armour piece in excellent situation, you could even acquire a recipe for that merchandise, however in any other case merchants and looting chests appear to be the easiest way to seek out them. It’s also possible to get a tutorial on methods to put together food and drinks by following the primary quest-line, which can even reward you with some bonus loot to get you began.

Additionally, in case you see any timber, be sure you seize it as wooden is required for cooking recipes. Even critters transferring round can present invaluable meat used to make a small snack in a pinch. Our bodies of water might be collected and processed to filter out any impurities, so be sure you maintain a gradual provide.

Common ideas for Fallout 76

Earlier than I’m going, there are some extra normal issues to remember didn’t have their very own place. These vary from high quality of life modifications to necessary modifications to core options inside Fallout 76 like quick travelling:

For those who’re not proud of how your in-game character seems, you’ll be able to customise their look at any time. You don’t even must exit the sport first so as to take action.

The Pip-Boy at all times takes up the complete display, which is ok for a singleplayer expertise. However for Fallout 76, this could imply that the world is occurring with out you, and you would due to this fact be weak to being attacked. You may toggle your view of the Pip-Boy in order that it reveals your environment just a little higher when perusing the menus.

As that is a web based sport, be certain to make use of your quick-slots so that you’re not navigating by means of menus to alter weapons or heal your self.

For those who simply choose taking part in Fallout video games in third particular person, that is completely attainable and is completed in a lot the identical method as earlier video games.

Bored with the identical outdated loading screens? Images taken inside Photograph Mode might be used in case you quick journey or any time you’ll load your character into the world of Fallout 76. So if you wish to add that private contact, get to snapping footage.

For those who’re on the lookout for normal loot, don’t fear an excessive amount of about different gamers taking gadgets from containers earlier than you. Since every container is made for that participant, solely it is possible for you to to loot its contents. Objects unnoticed within the open nonetheless are a unique story, with bobbleheads being a main instance. This stuff do respawn after a time nonetheless, so don’t be too disheartened if another person takes it first.

Finishing mini-challenges is value doing in case you’re occupied with gathering Atom Factors. These are premium foreign money which might be in any other case out there to buy instantly on the sport’s launch, and are used to purchase beauty gadgets. For those who don’t need to fork out actual money, then mini-challenges would be the different technique to earn them.

Preserving nicely fed and watered is extra necessary than you may suppose. You’ll actually be extra thirsty than hungry, although neither of the 2 bars decreases too rapidly. You do get a bonus for having each of the bars over 75%, so be sure you’ve received a gradual provide of rations.

Quick travelling can now value caps. You may quick journey anyplace you’ve visited earlier than, however the additional away out of your present location it’s, the extra it’s going to value you. Have a gradual provide of caps for these instances the place an extended trek is simply an excessive amount of to bear. The one places that don’t value caps are Vault 76, your deployed CAMP, and the placement of any participant in your occasion of 4.

Once you discover Bobbleheads and magazines, they supply a brief buff relatively than a everlasting one. Because of this do you have to discover a second copy of that Bobblehead or journal, they’ll refresh the buff.

These must be sufficient tricks to get you began in your journey within the exterior world, away from the secure confines of Vault 76. We hope you’ll test again quickly when the sport launches formally for extra on the ruined world of Appalachia, what every perk card does, and what you must craft sure weapons.

from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/fallout-76-tips-and-tricks-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-the-fallout-76-beta/

[simwoman2002]

A Black Spot in a Sea of White

  “How is he? Where is he?!” Mal demanded as her, Evie, Jay, and Dude stormed into the medical wing. The woman at the receptionist desk looked up at the trio, completely unimpressed by Mal’s boisterous entrance.

  “Who exactly are you speaking of?”

  “Just the only guy in this whole hospital that is currently seizing himself to death!” Mal screeched.

  “Are you family?” she questioned, bored with the situation.

  It was like a bomb had gone off. Mal immediately felt such anger and frustration that she almost couldn’t answer the woman. After a moment of her mouth moving in unmentionable words, she finally was able to speak.

  “Of course we are his family. Now tell me where he is!” Mal slammed her fist on the desk, her eyes glowing a dangerous shade of green. Dude barked, emphasizing her hit. The woman immediately looked considerably more afraid.

  “The Intensive Care Unit,” she stuttered, much more respectfully than before. The threesome immediately took off.

  Mal’s mind raced, a million regrets floating through her mind. She should have noticed that he seemed sluggish on the field. She should have insisted that he not go to the tournament. She should have known.

  This was Carlos. That boy was her little brother. She needed him. Evie needed him. Jay needed him. He was the light of hope and humor that shone bright in their lives. And now, all because of their inattentiveness, he could lose his life.

  The three of them burst into the room, an air of purpose surrounding them.

  The room was horrifying, sheets separating individual beds. There were frail bodies lying beneath each of those sheets, and she stared at them with wide eyes.

  There was a doctor as well as several nurses surrounding one particular bed. Mal stepped forward carefully and she felt Evie grab her hand gently. Jay rested his hand on Mal’s shoulder that was opposite to him.

  They slowly made the journey to the bed.

  A floorboard squeaked and the doctor turned to look at them. He was a gray-haired man with a mean receding hairline. His eyes were crystalline blue and his skin was pale. Combined with his snowy white coat, he seemed to be devoid of any and all color.

  Almost like death, Mal couldn’t help but think.

  His eyes softened somewhat when he saw the three VKs, and he moved over to greet them.

  “It’s good that you all are here. I am Doctor Mortem. I already know the three of you, being that the lot of you are such an infamous group.” He shook the bluenette’s hand, and then Evie had to let go of Mal’s hand for a moment so that the purple-haired girl could as well. Evie quickly latched back on as soon as Mal was finished. Jay removed his hand from Mal’s shoulder to exchange his greetings.

  The three of them stared at the man expectantly, simultaneously eager for and dreading the news that was to come.

  He eyed them all in turn very slowly with a gravity in his gaze that left Mal with a deep chill in her bones.

  “We have had to revive him five times since the incident. His body isn’t able to take much more of the stress that comes with the resuscitation, and if we were to attempt it again, it would likely trigger another seizure that would actually succeed in killing him,” the doctor paused, sighing as he rubbed his face with a hand. Mal felt the fear inside of her building rapidly.

  “I am afraid that he won’t make it much longer.”

  It felt like a knife to the stomach. Stabbing again and again and again. Mal flinched as if she had truly been physically hit.

  She was about to lose all circulation in her hand as Evie squeezed tighter than she had ever thought was humanly possible. Mal could feel Jay’s chest just behind her left shoulder blade as it trembled like a leaf. Dude was huddled next to her leg, pressed as closely as he could get.

  “C-can we see him now?” Evie weakly asked, voicing what Mal herself couldn’t say at that moment.

  “Of course,” the doctor nodded his head solemnly and maneuvered around them to leave the room. The nurses surrounding the bed dispersed as well, going to other parts of the room to attend more patients.

  She almost couldn’t even recognize him. The seizure did something to him- it made him look just as frail as the other bodies surrounding them. He was lying there, his eyes glaze over and his chest rising and falling in shaky breaths.

  They moved forward and Jay moved over to grab the girls two chairs. Evie shared a glance with Mal and she opened her arms a bit, offering the purple-haired girl a hug. Mal looked at her with longing, both wanting to be comforted by her sister’s embrace and not wanting to show weakness.

  In the end, she settled for locking arms with Evie and pressing her forehead against the bluenette’s quietly. There was the sound of chairs being dragged around and stopped carefully, and Mal suddenly felt Jay’s hand resting on her shoulder.

  She knew it was time to face the facts. The two girls hesitantly pulled away from one another and split up. Evie and Mal sat down on opposite sides of the bed and Jay stood at the end of the bed, his hands holding the bar at the foot of the bed in a death grip as his knuckles turned white.

  Dude jumped into Mal’s lap, looking at his boy quietly. After a moment, he stepped onto the bed gently and nudged his hand.

  Carlos carefully and slowly moved his head to look at the dog. A ghost of a smile appeared, and he feebly raised his hand to pet Dude’s head.

  “Hey, Lil’ C,” Mal spoke, forcing her voice to sound stronger than she felt. His eyes shifted up to look at her. “We came here to see you,” Mal explained, reaching out and taking his hand gently.

  “Evie’s on your other side and Jay’s right down there,” Mal motioned her head toward Jay at the foot of the bed. Carlos never took his eyes off of Mal. Mal couldn’t help but worry that he might not have heard her. Or worse, that he didn’t have the energy to look at the other two.

  “Mal,” he started and paused for a long moment, the green-eyed girl attentively listening. Evie took his other hand in the time that he was quieted. “Am I dying?” he whispered, looking Mal straight in the eyes.

  Her mouth immediately went dry, and her heart almost felt like it stopped beating as she avoided his gaze to consider her response to his question. He had asked her specifically. He knew that Mal wouldn’t keep the truth from him. He knew she wouldn’t lie.

  Mal hesitantly brought her eyes back to his, hoping that she wouldn’t have to utter the words.

  After a moment, his eyes fell away from her own and she knew he understood. They sat in silence for a moment and she could hear Evie’s whine rise in her throat, that definitive sign that Evie was about to cry.

  But she couldn’t hold her regrets back any longer. She had to tell him. She didn’t care if he’d die hating her, but she had to try to apologize.

  “Carlos… I’m sorry that I didn’t realize you were down today. I should’ve-”

  “Mal. Don’t be sorry. Above anything else, don’t be sorry,” he insisted, a strength in his voice that was completely opposite of his true condition. Mal looked over at Evie, but quickly looked away upon seeing her tearstained face and bloodshot eyes.

  “I love you guys. If it had to happen earlier today or now or sometime in the next few hours, I’m glad that I knew all of you,” Carlos weakly told them, turning his head to look at Evie and looking down his bed at Jay before finally returning his gaze to Mal.

  “You guys were there for me when nobody else was. You helped me,” he turned to look at Evie, “defended me,” he glanced at Jay, “and inspired me,” he looked at Mal. “You three were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I want you all to know that I am so grateful for all that you’ve done.”

  Mal glanced at Jay and saw the glassy sheen to his eyes. She knew Evie was already crying.

  They were quiet together for a few moments before Carlos coughed hard, shaking all over. He lay back down after a second, and Mal had to calm herself after the momentary panic that she endured.

  “I’m scared,” he rasped, looking at the ceiling. “Where will I go?” he asked, trembling a bit.

  “I… I don’t know,” Mal told him, her green eyes searching the side of his face as she attempted to memorize every bit of it.

  “But someplace grand, I’m sure,” Evie piped up suddenly, her voice raw with fresh emotion, and Mal was thankful for the save.

  “Probably lots of dogs,” Jay suddenly spoke, offering a smile.

  “And ice cream. Definitely ice cream,” Mal added. They all, even Carlos, shared a quiet laugh at that.

  “You know, with you guys here to help me face it… it doesn’t seem so bad anymore,” Carlos murmured, his eyelids drooping slowly.

  “I’m going to miss you, though, when I get there,” he whispered. “It won’t be the same without all of you to enjoy it with me.”

  “Yeah… We’re going to miss you, too, bro,” Jay replied, and Mal detected a tightness in his throat that normally wasn’t there as he reached down and gently touched his foot beneath the sheets.

  “We love you more than anything, Carlos,” Evie expressed heartfeltly. It was obvious she was about to lose it again.

  Dude licked Carlos’ hand that was in Mal’s.

  “We’ll see you there one day,” Mal told him, her eyes growing harder and harder to see through the increasing amount of tears.

  His eyelids finally fluttered closed, a small smile on his face as he peacefully breathed his last.

  And Jay, Evie, and Mal collapsed to tears, because that was their brother.

   ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

      Many years passed since Carlos was buried. Along the painful road of life, Jay and Evie left Mal, too, their lives but a wisp. The three remaining VKs had spent their old age together, marveling at how the world had changed and actually had kept on turning for so many years beyond Carlos’ death.

  But eventually, Mal had been left alone to live in the world by herself.

  Until one glorious awakening.

  Mal opened her eyes, but quickly shut them tightly. The sun was so blinding. She must have forgotten to shut the blinds the previous night.

  She eventually squinted, barely opening them as she adjusted to the light. It then occurred to her that she was not lying in her bed, and was instead in the grass.

  Mal’s eyes shot wide open as she gawked at the world around her. There were beautiful trees, the sun was shining brightly, and there were… dogs?

  In the distance, she spotted a whole pack of dogs, wrestling and playing with one another. They romped through the soft grass and rolled carelessly in the mud near a stream.

  After a moment, it became apparent to Mal that she wasn’t feeling any sort of pain in her hand. She had gotten a really bad pain in her hand as of late. She attributed it to many years of overworking her hands and fingers with the pencil.

  She looked at her hand and was completely baffled when she saw smooth, soft skin instead of the usual wrinkles and wornness that comes with old age.

  Mal glanced up, looking around the place once again. However, her searching gaze immediately halted upon the sight of three certain beings that were approaching her.

  It was Jay, Evie, and Carlos. All three of them were as young and healthy as they had been just before Carlos passed away. The threesome helped her up.

  Mal hesitantly reached out to Evie, cradling her cheek in her hands. Evie leaned into the touch, looking at her with adoring eyes. Letting go of Evie, Mal then turned to Jay, holding his shoulders in both of her hands. Her face lit up in the biggest grin she had in years. Mal flung her arms around Jay, Evie, and Carlos the best that she could and they all held each other in a tight hug.

  After a moment of reveling in the touch of her family, she raised her tear-filled gaze to look at Carlos. He had a wide smile on his face. Oh, how she had missed that smile.

  “You were right, Mal.”

                    A/N: I felt it only necessary to write this since we have all lost our Carlos- our Cameron Boyce. He will very much be missed.

[janethepegasus]

BMC Miraculous Ladybug AU RP Thing: Revival of the Dead

An RP me and @pika-ace did relating to the BMC Miraculous Ladybug AU where an akuma revives everyone from the dead, including Kean, Eric’s son.

(An Akuma walks towards a graveyard, once he got in, he starts spreading magic through the tombstones.) (Suddenly, people who died in those graves appear above their graves, they looked healthy and alive when they appeared.) (One of those graves that got revived was Kean, upon being resurrected to life, he opens his eyes and looks around, confused and scared)

Kean: Mommy...? Daddy...?!

(He looks around, seeing all the revived dead people come back to life thanks to the Akuma)

(Kean shivers and quickly runs and hides)

(He hides behind a tree. He peeks and sees the akuma putting halos around the revived people's foreheads, making them be under a mind-control spell to be his servants) Akuma: Soon, an army of the undead shall rise above the living! >:)

Kean: ...I need to find mommy and daddy!!

(He runs away from the tree and runs out of the graveyard.)

(The next morning...)

(Eric was walking towards school, somewhat ready to get through the school day.)

Eric: *long sigh* God I have GOT to stop staying up late with Jordan... -_-

(As Eric was walking towards school, Kean turns from a corner and spots Eric walking down the sidewalk)

Kean: DADDY!! :D

(Kean runs towards Eric)

Eric: Fuck, now I’m hearing things...

(Eric looks and sees Kean running towards him)

(Eric freezes and turns white as a sheet)

(Kean runs up to Eric and hugs him) Kean: Daddy! :D

(Eric is as still as a statue; he can’t react or even process the child holding him)

Kean: *looks up at Eric* Daddy?

(Eric blinks and suddenly jumps and shoves Kean away from him, still pale) Eric: ...What is this...?

Kean: *confused* Daddy...? What's wrong...? :/c

(Kean steps towards him but Eric takes a step back) Eric: You stay back!!! Who are you?! Eric: I don’t know what you are or what this akuma is trying to pull but this isn’t real!!! You’re dead!!

Kean: D-Don't you remember me...? I-I'm Kean...! A magic man brought me to a s-scary place a-and i don't know h-how i got there...!

Eric: You...Wait...do you know what happened to you?

Kean: Um...maybe...? All i remember before today is...when i saw a car coming towards me...and that's it. :/

(Eric still looks wary) Eric: And someone brought you back?

Kean: Yeah! A scary magic man did it!

Eric: ...Okay...but I need you to prove that you’re really who you say you are

Kean: O-Okay...!

(Eric thinks of a question that only Kean could answer)

Eric: ...What did you always do on the morning of my birthday? Kean: Ooh! :D I’d get up all by myself and Mommy and I would do breakfast and stuff so you could sleep and then I’d jump on you and wake you up! :D

(Eric’s eyes widened) Eric: ...You really are Kean...!

Kean: :DDDDD

(Eric starts to tear up, kneels down, and hugs Kean tightly)

Eric: Oh my god...! Kean...my boy...

Kean: Daddy! :D *hugs back*

(Eric keeps hugging Kean when he remembers that he was on his way to work)

Eric: *blinks* Oh! I have to get to work!

Eric: But I can’t take you...alright. *picks Kean up* I can be a little late. (He brings Kean back to his and Jordan’s apartment) Eric: Kean, do you think you can stay home alone for a little while?

Kean: I’ll be okay Daddy! :3

Eric: Okay, I’ll be back soon.

Kean: Okay, bye daddy! :D

(Eric leaves and goes to work, his mind still reeling)

(A few hours later...)

(Eric leaves school as fast as possible and gets home to find Kean waiting) Eric: Oh my god this was real...

(Eric opens the door and sees Kean) (Kean smiles and runs up to Eric) Kean: Daddy! :D

(Kean hugs him) Eric: H-Hey...Son...

Kean: Hi Daddy! :D

(Eric picks him up) Eric: Did you find something to keep you busy?

Kean: Yeah I did! :D

Eric: Good. Kean: Daddy, where’s mommy?

(Eric tenses up)

Eric: Um...mommy’s not...here, she, Uh...things have...changed see Mommy and I aren’t...I’m not- (Just then the door opens and Jordan walks in) Jordan: Hey peach!

(Eric looks at Jordan)

(Jordan trails off, seeing Kean in his arms and he makes the same face Eric did when he first saw him)

Kean: *smiles at Jordan* Hi Mr. Jordan! :D

(Jordan drops whatever he’s holding)

Jordan: ...K-Kean...?

(Jordan looks at Eric) Eric: I-I can explain...I think...

(Eric explains to Jordan, as best as he can, about why Kean is suddenly alive)

Jordan: Okay...not as bad as I was expecting but still...

Eric: Yeah...It’s...a bit shocking seeing Kean here...

Jordan: Have you told anyone else? Eric: No.

(Eric looks at Kean, who’s joyfully smiling at Eric and Jordan)

Jordan: Okay, well since an akuma’s clearly behind this we should probably tell the boys or Joe

Eric: Yeah...

Eric: But are we sure it’s an akuma? I mean nothings happened in the city so- Jordan: Will. Eric: Uh, right

(Eric pulls out his phone)

(He texts Jeremy and Michael that there might be an akuma about and to come to their place)

(A couple minutes later, Jeremy and Michael arrive at Eric and Jordan’s apartment)

Michael: Sup. Jeremy: Soooo you think we got another akuma?

Jordan: Yep.

Jeremy: How do you know? Kean: Who are they Daddy? Jeremy and Michael: O_O

Jeremy: ...Is...is that...Kean...? O_O

Michael: As in ‘kid that I lost years ago’ Kean??? Eric: ...Yes.

Jeremy: ...Holy shit... Eric: Language. Jeremy: Oh, right! Kid o~o

Michael: Okay yeah there’s definitely an akuma...

Jeremy: Yeah! Cause I know for certain Kean is supposed to be dead!

Michael: Oh my god Jeremy you can’t blurt out that a kid used to be dead!! Kean: ?? owo???

(Jeremy and Michael sweat nervously)

Jordan: ANYWAY we need to find the akuma. Eric: Kean, did the scary magic man do something when you saw him?

Kean: Yeah! He put rings on people’s foreheads and they followed the scary magic man! Jeremy: So the Akuma mind controlled them? Kean: Yeah!

Eric: *sees no ring on Kean* oh thank god...

Jeremy: Sooo...we just...find the Akuma and beat him up?

Michael: Sounds good to me

Kean: You...are gonna...beat up...the scary magic man...?

Jordan: Pretty much, kiddo

Jeremy: Yeah, we do that a lot with Akumas, it's basically our job to do that. :/

Kean: Well, okay...he’s mean and scary so...

Eric: Don't worry son, we'll be okay.

Kean: Okay daddy...

(Eric kisses Kean on the forehead, to reassure him that he'll be okay)

Jordan: Shall we? Eric: Let's go. (They all transform)

Kean: 8Oc

Kean: DADDY'S A SUPERHERO!!!!!!! 8Dc

Leo: Yep! Your dad's a superhero! X3c

Kean: 8DDDDDDD

Timber: *chuckles* Your kid likes ya as a hero, Peach! X3c

Cyber: I suppose so...

(Cyber looks at Kean and smiles)

Kean: Can I come with you, Daddy?

Kean: Please??? OwO

Cyber: Well...

(Cyber looks at Kean, who has a bright smile on his face)

Cyber: ...Alright, but stay out of trouble

Kean: Yaaaaay!!! :D

(Cyber picks him up and they head out)

(They run through the city, looking for the Akuma) (While Kean looks like he’s having the best day of his life) Kean: WEEEEEEE!!! 8DDDD

(Cyber beams but Timber and the others look at him worriedly; surely Cyber remembers that Kean can't stick around...right?)

(They stop at a building and look around, trying to find any signs of the akuma)

Timber: See anything? Hound: Uh...I see an army that's walking like zombies, does that count? *he points*

(They look and see a bunch of the mind controlled revived people walking down the street)

Leo: Yep, that looks about right :S

(Kean whimpers, seeing the mind controlled army walking down the street)

Cyber: It's okay, I'm not gonna let them hurt you...

Kean: Okay Daddy...

Timber: Is the akuma anywhere? Cause fighting lackies means nothing if there's no final boss. Hound: *fake cries* Dad...you've learned so much... :')

Timber: Heh heh, yep! I learned a lot from my gamer son! X3c

Kean: Mr Jordan's a daddy too? :0c

Timber: Yep! And your daddy got ya a "big brother"! X3 *gestures Leo*

Kean: Huh?

Leo: Yeeeeep, it's...a long story. But i love your dad just as much as you do, kiddo!

Kean: ....I have a big brother!! :D *he reaches for Leo happily*

(Leo reaches towards Kean and he hugs him)

Leo: *internally* Don't get attached don't get attached don't get attached...

(Leo hugs Kean for a little bit and then breaks the hug, giving Kean back to Cyber)

(Kean smiles at Leo happily) Leo: *internally* Dammit... Cyber: Kean, do you see the akuma anywhere; you're the only one who knows what he looks like

Kean: Umm..... *looks around*

Kean: ...There! *he points to a figure overlooking the zombies*

Timber: There's the akuma!

Cyber: Okay! *he puts Kean down* You hide someplace safe while we handle this, okay?

Kean: Okay!

Hound: Let's get 'em >:(

(They leap down towards the akuma)

Leo: HEY YOU WANNABE NECROMANCER!!

(The akuma looks at the Holders)

Akuma: Ah, the heroes have arrived >:)

Leo: Hell yeah we did! And you know what we're gonna do, right?!

Akuma: Of course

Hound: Then let's beat em down! >:(

(They start to fight)

(They fight against the Akuma, but during the fight, the Akuma sends a signal to the mind controlled army, making the army grab the Holders and pull them away) (One of the mind controlled people grabbed Cyber, he looked and it was the man who was once Night Thief)

Cyber: No...!

Man: Hello my dear Eric~ nice to see you again! >:3 *pulls Cyber into the horde of people*

Timber: WILL!!!

(Timber grabs Cyber's arm and starts pulling Cyber away from the former Night Thief)

Timber: Get the hell away from him!!!

Man: Not a chance! Not just because i have to drag him into the crowd, but also i miss my dear Eric so much! I haven't seen him in YEARS!

Cyber: I'm MARRIED you insane freak!!!

Man: O_O M-My Eric...is married...to my murderer?!

Cyber: He may have killed you but it was to save me from a life of torment with you!!!

Man: So?! He killed me!! He killed me because i was in love with a handsome man like you! Don't worry, once me and the others drag you all into the horde, i might give

ya a quick kiss, for old times sake. >;3 *he pulls Cyber down into the horde but Timber keeps pulling him away, making a little tug-o-war with Cyber*

Timber: BOYS!! A little help over here?!

Leo: *kicks a guy that was trying to grab Leo away from him* Got it!

Hound: Coming! (They bound over and tackle Night Thief, letting Timber pull Cyber away)

(Timber pulls Cyber away and gives a quick hug)

Timber: Thank god...!

(Cyber shivers a little bit, pieces of memories with Night Thief appear in his mind, thanks to Night Thief trying to grab him away)

Timber: It's okay, I gotcha...

(Timber hugs Cyber tightly)

Hound: Uh Dads? We got zombies surrounding us!

Timber: Oh! Right! *breaks the hug* Kinda got lost in our zone for a bit! ^^'

Leo: Can't really blame you XP Timber: *to Cyber* Just stay close to me; I'm not letting that creep take you again. >:(

Cyber: Right!

(They keep fighting, working their way towards the akuma)

Leo: Get away you zombies! >:( *kicks a zombie away from him*

Hound: Yeah! >:(

(They keep working their way through the horde until they eventually got to the akuma)

Cyber: Alright, enough hiding behind your army!

Timber: Let's take em down! >:(

(They start fighting)

(They fight for a while, giving it their all. Meanwhile, Kean peeks out from his hiding place and sees Cyber and the others fight the akuma)

Kean: *softly* Go daddy! >:D

(They keep fighting the akuma until Timber, Leo, and Hound pin the akuma down)

Leo: Get the akuma, Dad!

(Cyber was gonna take the akuma but stops, if he does the thing then.....Kean would disappear...even if Kean died...he didn't want to lose him again...)

(Cyber takes the akuma, but doesn't break it) Timber: Will, what are you waiting for?!

Leo: Break it!!

(Cyber says nothing and stares at the akuma in his hand, glancing back at Kean)

(Kean looks at Cyber, a bit concerned) Kean: Daddy...?

(Cyber bites his lip, his hand shaking as it holds the akuma) Timber: Will...

(He looks at Kean and then towards the Akuma. Then Cyber leaps towards Kean, with the akuma still in his hand)

Timber: Will?!

(Cyber approaches Kean, gets on his knees, and hugs him tightly, tears starting to form in his eyes)

Cyber: Kean... Kean: Daddy...it's okay... Cyber: Wha- Kean: I have to go bye bye now, don't I? :(

(Cyber tears up upon hearing that)

Cyber: I'm sorry... Kean: It's okay...you're happy already, right Daddy? You have Mr. Jordan and my big brother

Cyber: ...Yes...but...i miss you Kean...you were the light of my life...you were something special to me...losing you...it destroyed me...i-i lost myself because i

lost you... *tears start to fall on his face* I don't...want to lose you again...

Kean: Daddy...

Cyber: ...Just...let me have this moment with you...then i'll...let you go... *Cyber keeps hugging Kean, letting out a few sobs as he held him close*

Kean: Okay... (Timber, Leo, and Hound join him and watch sadly as he hugs him)

(Cyber hugs Kean for a while, sobbing as he held him close) (Eventually, Cyber breaks the hug and kisses Kean’s forehead) Cyber: *softly to Kean* I love you so much Kean...I wish you could stay with me forever...but I can’t...just remember...daddy will always love you, no matter what. You

will always be my little sunshine...

Kean: *tears up* I love you too daddy...

(They share one last hug, then Cyber gets up, wiping the tears off his eyes)

(Cyber then crushes the akuma and restores the damage)

(All the revived people fade away and go back to their graves) (Kean looks at everyone and waves goodbye) Kean: Bye Daddy! Bye Mr Jordan! Bye big brother! :D (Kean fades away and goes back to his grave)

(Cyber collapses into sobs but Timber catches him and holds him close)

(Leo and Hound tear up as well)

(The boys join and make it a group hug)

Leo: God i'm gonna miss that kid :'( Hound: Me too bro :'(

Timber: He was a good kid...

Timber: He was Will’s pride and joy...he meant everything to him...and losing him...crushed him... (Cyber nods as he keeps sobbing)

Timber: I know it's hard Will...but don't forget, you still have a family right here

Leo: *sniff* Yeah, you got me, Jordan, Michael, and everyone else that cares about you...

Cyber: ...Yes...I do...and I love you all...

(They keep hugging each other, letting tears fall on their faces)

(They eventually go home; a few days later, they meet up at the graveyard to visit Kean's grave)

(The four of them go through the graveyard and find Kean's grave)

(Jeremy puts down a bouquet of flowers that he and Michael bought)

(Eric tears up as he looked upon Kean's grave)

Eric: I miss him so much... Jordan: *puts his arm around him* I know, peach...

Jordan: We all feel the same way...

Jeremy: I'm glad I got to meet him, even just for a little bit... Michael: Yeah...

Jeremy: He's a nice kid...

(Eric nods)

Eric: He really was... :')

[mechagalaxy]

John T. Mainer - Great Beer Shortage

Great Beer Shortage

From the war journal of Captain Panda McFluffypants, Guardians of Bunny

Do you remember it brother, were you there? 3320, the Unification Raid. Sure, maybe in the history books they tell it that way. Not for us. Not for those who were there in the mud and the blood and the…..I can’t even say it. Water.

Squad wars was not Clan War. No in clan war you had your best officers your finest NCO, and your drunks. We had many fine drunks in the Defenders of Bunny, scattered helpfully from the heights of the Spirit of Bunnies and even the mighty Varangians, down through the Defenders of Bunny and that meant that good booze was available, flowing like the blood of our enemies, and twice as flammable. I mean Bolverk was always brewing beer, John and Charles had mead flowing like rivers of honeys wet dreams, the one thing we never had to worry about was drink.

I was tapped to command the Guardians of Bunny, and threw myself into the task of getting my boys and girls ready to get our new friends as we fought for control of the Portal Stabilization Devices. That is right, this is Mecha Galaxy, and we fought EACH OTHER for good spots to defend the universe from. Well we looted the Unification forward bases of anything worth stealing first, but honestly you can’t get three clans within hailing distance without a war breaking out just out of sheer high spirits.

We had high spirits, we smacked HF Dragoons right in the sporran, and shook them down for fine scotch to augment out mead and beer supplies, but our next battle against the Frito Banditos cost us half our booze in ransom and another quarter in the after party. I don’t know who Jose Cuervo was, but the bastard found a use for vol-wurms that will either kill you our cure you. To-kill-ya they call it. Damn near did boys. It’s the stuff that gets you through the fight that might not let you live the night, but boy it makes the hatoraide flow smooth.

We planned on renewing our booze supplies against the Brotherhood Dragons, but it seems they were not loaded for bear but for Bunny and we got our little fuzzy tails shot off. That one cost us dearly, the last of our scotch and a good portion of our mead supplies. To wash away our humiliating ass whipping we drowned our sorrows in the last of our booze and a fair bit of their booze as they made good hosts, and ran a mean bloody BBQ.

I had always been the smuggler of the Guardians, my own Magnus having used its unique freeze abilities to convert the secondary warhead storage to a beer and mead cooler, but since I am the OC during this here squad war, I have actual nuclear warheads in the booze storage, like I am supposed to. I don’t know why, I mean the paperwork requesting nuclear release is pretty simple (is it Zeon? If no then don’t bother with nukes, they aren’t required. If its Fusion they might be required, but they won’t help, so again no). Zeon shot at the Avengers, but hey there is no sense going nuclear about it, those two shoot at each other weekly.

I did my job as the OC and played officer and trusted my degenerates would smuggle enough booze from base that we could deploy properly. I made an assumption. When you assume, you make an ass out of you and you make me sober, which is even worse. I was wrong, everyone thought everyone else was bringing the booze, and we hit Unification Space with nothing but….no I can’t say it. Hydrogen Di-oxide. The stuff that falls from the sky on some worlds, the stuff you put boats on and pull fish out of. Not the stuff you drink the stuff you dilute your drink with.

This wasn’t a big problem. We were hitting the twin system Anheuser-Busch. This system produced more beer than the next six worlds combined. I mean I may not be the biggest fan of their major export, but every single citizen of the twin systems felt they were a gifted craft brewer and there were more local varieties of beer here than tentacle videos in Shogunate space.

We were sober, and that was dangerous. I established a beach head and sent Little John on a deep raid. I told him to come back drunk or not at all, and kindergarten rules applied. If you didn’t bring enough for the whole clan, you were not allowed to drink at all. I love kindergarten; all the best lessons were taught there.

Initial reports were confusing. The twin systems still had everything we expected, but instead of producing rivers of beer, vast lakes of ale, dark lochs of stout and secret ponds of bitters they produced nothing but Unification Reviviers, Unification Large Revivers, and Unification Cleansers. The first two had no fat, no sugar, no alcohol and tasted like carrots pulled from a bunny’s ass after he had been buried for six months someplace warm and damp (and in our clan, we can judge that thank you). The Unification Cleanser was to purge all toxins from the system, as it seems they didn’t even really want to use the stimulants, let alone the hatoraide without a nice herbal cleanse afterward.

The signs were everywhere.

Alcohol is a tool of Xeon. Caffeine is a silent colony drop Chocolate is surrender

OH MY FREAKING GODS

I have deployed us to a universe without coffee, beer or chocolate! I realized the Unification was bad when I saw the cold dead worlds burned free of all life by whatever Chroniode weapons they and Xeon were exchanging, but hey who hasn’t wanted to nuke a world or two, I figured outside the occasional genocidal jack hole which every universe produces, they were just regular folk. I was wrong.

Kim is looking rocky. She was fine without the booze, but the warning about no chocolate seems to be hitting her hard. Johnny and Anthony look almost sober, and as frightened by the experience as I was to witness it. Glen is chanting “no coffee, no hope, kill me now” and I am getting worried.

They never warned me about this in Command College. Granted I took it at the Illyrian Hegemony’s Frunze Institute where you had vodka flasks as part of your uniform, and coffee that dissolved spoons left too long stirring, and I don’t think the subject of sober troops was ever raised outside of jokes. I have six bunnies, no beer, no coffee, no chocolate and almost ten thousand enemy mecha.

If I don’t find a beer soon, I may see if I can decrypt the nuclear release codes myself. I am on Anheuser-Busch and striding my mecha past the Bud bottling plant where I can get any of six pure water varieties infused with aloe, juniper, mint, rosehip or something called kale.

We will do our duty, we will punish Unification for daring to strike at our dimension, we will shatter the enemy’s war machines and will to fight. We will do all this, even if it costs our sanity and our soul. Here we are in the desert of dreams, the cold fields of unfeeling sobriety, the Great Beer Shortage of Anheuser-Busch.

Remember us

John T Mainer 28840