#guess which ship has a star on board

[elephant-in-the-pride-parade]

I have been thinking about the Prodigy title "Supernova" with escalating dread

Never has a week felt so damn long

[kalegreeneyes]

LOVING burning and buried, but i broke my rule of only reading completed fics so i’m itching for some more wolf star fics to read in between updates. do you have any recs for fics? i feel like i can trust your opinion given how good your work is!

the answer is yes, but the answer is also that i read a LOT of wips, and some of my recs will be bigger fics you may have already read, or have jegulus as another main ship which idk if you're into or not but here!!

completed:

lose yourself by daiver - holy SHIT this fic was so good. remus gets brainwashed into being a death eater and it is sooooo so so angsty and wonderful. it had so many moments that had my heart RACING

the horcrux hunt by lostmy_keys - this is one of my favorite fics of all time. regulus (reluctantly) teams up with remus to hunt horcruxes. it is regulus centric but also remus, MOSTLY platonic moonwater (which if u like burning and buried i assume u like) but they are quite flirty....which may not be your cup of tea, but as someone who has had a flirty close platonic friendship or two i LOVED. slowburn ANGSTY wolfstar. honestly, i might reread this one now that i've been talking about it. so fucking good.

the cadence of part time poets by motswolo- if you haven't read this, you should. its amazing. if you like slow burn wolfstar, plenty of angst, mentally ill remus lupin, and the best oc's i have ever seen in a fic, this is for you. it is a band au, but mostly it is a boarding school preparing to be in a band au and a freshly starting out band au. extremely long, but extremely worth it.

for the love of ducks by viwrites - UGH anything vi writes i love, but this is a wolfstar sickfic that just sort of scoops up your heart into warm hands and holds it. like, don't get me wrong, it's got angst--but in a comforting way? i love this fic. so fucking much.

saccharine by moonymoment - sirius is a ghost in an apartment remus moves into. i was smiling through this whole fic except for when i was crying.

'tis the damn season by moonymoment - wolfstar fake relationship christmas fic - need i say more?

retrial by pheonixgal - remus hosts a true crime podcast and focuses on sirius's case, which is a concept i LOVE.

god i could keep going for a WHILE but I'll move on

WIPs:

godlight by Badhairred - this is my fave wip at the moment. it has SUPER regular updates. it's jegulus and wolfstar, and i LIVE for the wolfstar in this fic. their relationship, the buildup, the backstory, UGH. jegulus is fantastic too in this fic, obvi, but since you're asking abt wolfstar...i love them in this fic.

sirius black's second chance by platypus_and_pen - as you might guess from the title this is a bring back black fic in which he goes back in time to his hogwarts days after going through the veil, and he gets to reconnect with not only himself, but his friends, and also HOPEFULLY right some wrongs.

the middle path of moonlight by asheseverafter - this fic is so long, so well written, and has weekly updates. i will warn you that they are STILL quite young (i think 14/15 right now? i'm not entirely sure) as the author is taking their time with each year (Which i love) but the relationship between sirius and remus (while not explicitly shown, builds into fade to black or is vague) is quite.......advanced. i personally, as a 26 year old adult, have to skip over that stuff just for my own comfort, and there is still a fair bit of overtly sexual flirting/jokes which is kind of impossible to skip over so if that isn't something you'll be comfy with then that's totally fair, BUT. that being said, the writing in this fic is absolutely gorgeous, i get jealous every time i read it. and the moonwater friendship is AMAZING and the black brothers/black family dynamics are some of the best i've ever seen and how in love and dedicated wolfstar are the entire time is very sweet.

cupid's chokehold by lollipopluna - also mainly jegulus and also having a good amount of wolfstar, but i had to recommend because it is just. so. good. it is violent and dirty and everyone is a little rough around the edges (putting it lightly) but no one moreso than reg and remus. there hasn't been too terribly much ACTUAL wolfstar bc of the angst and the slow burn aspect but i am so so excited to see where they go, and where jegulus goes, and where platonic (not even. more like reluctant enemies former friends?? I guess??) moonwater goes. the DRAMA. the INTRIGUE. the INTENSITY. its great.

AND last but not least, on a pillow of blue bonnets by kalegreeneyes (me (: ) - sirius is famous and he's spinning out so james and pete and regulus are like GET OUT OF HERE and they ship him off to remus's ranch in montana where lily and marlene live and work too!! and barty and evan are ranch hands! and it's a slow burn! and there are horses! and cowboy remus wielding an axe! the downside is that i haven't updated it in a really long time and the new chapter is slow going ha ha ha ha ha BUT it isn't abandoned and i have the whole fic loosely planned out!!!

alright that's all for my absurdly long rec. i could have kept going but i had a moment of self awareness and had to stop, lol

ty for asking!!

[pianopadawan]

5 Even More Obscure Navy Imperials

This is a very niche post within an already niche part of the fandom but here are some obscure Imperials who are rarely featured even in the Imperial corner of content creators. The nice thing about these guys is that you can use a canon character but also have a huge amount of freedom.

So, without further ado, here are five even more obscure navy imps to feature in your already obscure imp fics.

(Please note that I am treating "canon" as anything from SW official material, including legends, since there's very little Disney canon for a lot of the imperials.)

1. Captain Xamuel Lennox

Canon Appearance: Empire Strikes Back

Role in the Films: Captain Lennox commanded the Imperial Star Destroyer the Tyrant (gotta love those over-the-top evil ISD names...) at the Battle of Hoth which is the first ship to get disabled by the ion cannon. Lennox's only line in the film is "Good. Our first catch of the day." after being notified of the Rebel evacuation transports passing within range.

Other Canon Info: Lennox fought with Piett during the Battle of Turkana in 1 BBY and did not listen to Piett's advice, causing an Imperial retreat. Piett was very critical of Lennox after the battle and recommended he be removed from command of the Pakuuni Sector.

Lennox survives the Battle of Hoth despite his failure but is later killed during the Battle of Endor.

Content Potential: Lennox has the potential to be another Imperial officer who Piett has a bitter history with. Interestingly, in most of the cases Piett is critical of Lennox, Piett then has a similar failure later on in the same mission. So, I'd imagine there's a lot of resentment between the two with Lennox thinking Piett is a hypocrite and Piett potentially blaming Lennox's actions as a contributing factor to his lack of success. I often read and write about Ozzel as an officer who's an antagonistic presence in Piett-centric fanfiction, but Lennox could be another player working against Piett on that side. If not a full-blown antagonist, he probably dislikes Piett enough and vice versa for the two to have some casual co-worker hostility.

2. Lieutenant Venka

Canon Appearance: Empire Strikes Back

Role in Films: Worked in the tech pit on the bridge of the Executor during the Pursuit of the Millennium Falcon. His only speaking role is when he's agreeing with Piett when the Admiral is ranting about Bounty Hunters. He is also the one to deliver the news to Piett from Captain Needa's Star Destroyer, the Avenger, that they have sighted the Falcon (an announcement which, of course, ultimately leads to Needa's death).

Other Canon Info: Venka is literally a nepo baby in canon. He's Coruscanti and comes from a very privileged background. He is annoyed with Piett for not immediately promoting him after Piett himself is promoted by Vader. He was responsible for organizing the boarding party during the Empire's last attempt to catch the Falcon with the tractor beam at Bespin. While none of this was successful, Piett still promotes Venka to Captain after the chase because he's just relieved to have avoided being choked to death. (That last part is literally the explanation the wiki gives for this promotion. So, I guess Piett was just in a good mood about not dying and giving out promotions, at least according to canon.)

Content Potential: I almost hesitate putting Venka in this post because he's actually been featured a couple of times in imperial fanfiction and there is already fanon content for him. I've really enjoyed what I've seen of him so far and I feel like there's a lot of opportunity to explore his interactions with other imps, particularly in the context of a privileged Coruscanti background. For instance, is his family rich enough that they're friends with the Jerjerrods and how does this make Venka feel about Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod? Similarly, do they know Admiral Motti's family who we also know are very wealthy? There's also potential to explore the wealth gap with Piett who we know came from an underprivileged background on an Outer Rim planet. We know from canon that Venka was resentful of Piett's promotion and questioned Piett's worthiness of the rank of Admiral. Whether this is due to regional prejudice or just Venka being petty is up to the content creator to decide.

3. Commander Gherant

Canon Appearance: Return of the Jedi

Role in Films: He's seen with Piett on the Command Bridge of the Executor. He seems to be acting as Piett's second-in-command (not sure how that adds up in terms of the ranks, but SW has never been super consistent about that). Most notably, he's the one who screams "Too late!" right before the A-Wing crashes into the Executor's bridge killing him and Piett.

Other Canon Info: Really none except that the wiki says he's ambitious but also anxious... so in, short, very relatable. I feel they describe every single imperial as ambitious, so take that as what you will.

Content Potential: From what I've seen and written, Gherant is mainly featured in angst fics surrounding the Battle of Endor or Piett Lives AUs. He definitely has a logical role there but it'd be neat to see him appear pre-Endor in Imperial fics. And Commander Gherant is one of those who is really open to interpretation because we have so little info about him in either Disney canon or legends.

4. Commander Nemet

Canon Appearance: Empire Strikes Back

Role in Films: Nemet works in Captain Lorth Needa's crew during the Pursuit of the Falcon on board the Avenger. He's in charge of operating the scopes and therefore the first to report to Needa that they've lost the ship when Han hides in the blind spot.

Other Canon Info: Not much beyond what we see in the films. Another very ambitious but also very scared imperial, per the wiki.

Content Potential: On the angst side, I think it would be interesting to see Nemet's reaction to Needa's death especially since he's arguably the one who would feel guilty about it, albeit due to an honest mistake. On a brighter side, Nemet is also really free real estate since we've got so little on him so you can basically feature him however you want.

5. Lieutenant Virar Needa

Canon Appearance: Not in the Films, featured in a book from the legends, X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble.

Role in Canon: Virar Needa is the cousin of Captain Lorth Needa. After Vader kills Lorth, he subsequently has the rest of the Needa family executed to intimidate the other Imperials. Virar is the only one who survives this purge but he's demoted to serve on an orbiting satellite around Coruscant, a job that is viewed by many in the Imperial military as demeaning.

Personality wise, we know that Virar was still very enthusiastic about his job and loyal to the Imperial cause. We also know that he apparently misses social cues and takes joking comments seriously.

Content Potential: I personally find Virar's story sympathetic. He's trying to keep his spirits up after a massive personal tragedy while also facing the end of the war and the destruction of the military alliance he's sworn his life to. Similarly to Lorth Needa, I think there's a lot of potential to create a sympathetic Imperial character and build on the contrast of someone being a decent person on a personal level but working for a sinister organization. Besides that, Virar is a good character to feature if you want a tie in to one of the more mainstream Imperials without having cameo overload with too many mainstream imps in the same place at the same time.

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

can you explain why you dont believe the titanic switch conspiracy theory? didnt they find a propeller with "olympic" written on it amongst the wreckage?

i feel like the phrase "you just activated my trap card" applies here but i have also never watched yu-gi-oh so dont fully know the correct use of that. anyway whats the text limit on a tumblr post because i think i might hit it with this response.

before we begin (if you wanna join me on this fucking journey), ill just drop some useful sources on the topic:

olympic & titanic - an analysis of the robin gardiner conspiracy theory dissertation by mark chirnside in july 2006

titanic or olympic: which ship sank? by steve hall and bruce beveridge

olympic & titanic: the truth behind the conspiracy by steve hall and bruce beveridge

with that shipkeeping housekeeping out of the way, lets jump into it after the cut

so hands up, how many people knew that this theory originated in a book from 1995?

yeah, its a pretty modern theory considering titanic sank in 1912. the theory originated in the riddle of the titanic by robin gardiner and dan van der dat.

and the theory argues that the ships were switched and titanic (actually olympic) was deliberately sank as part of an insurance scam. now they didnt do this at all for shits and giggles. instead, the theory posits that the navy enquiry that followed the 1911 collision between hms hawke and olympic was biased which meant white star line couldnt recover the costs of repair from lloyds (the insurance company), and therefore, they wrote olmpic off as too damaged to be repaired, lied about the amount of damage, switched the ships and sank olympic disguised as titanic to recover some costs.

far-fetched? oh definitely and it gets worse, but ill leave that til later in this gargantuan response because its really fucking funny.

(seriously, i recommend you read til the end or just skip to the part where i start talking about the sinking itself because fam, gardiners theory gets wild )

according to van der dat, who is a dutch journalist and naval history writer with an incredibly dutch name, gardiner had wrote the manuscript after researching the titanic for however many years and sent it to his literary agent. this agent had previously worked with van der dat and so sent it to him to double-check the information by going back to the original sources. he then rewrote the book with line-by-line consultation with gardiner.

and would you like to hear a quote from van der dat regarding the theory? i think you would:

"the publishers were disillusioned when the theory did not stand up"

he also, in correspondence with titanic author and researcher paul lee, called it "bilge" which is a fun ship joke alongside calling the theory bullshit.

anyway, the publishers went ahead with the book anyway because fuck integrity, i guess... thats kinda harsh considering this first book (oh yeah, theres more) was praised for stellar research and for being balanced, and the final chapter of the book literally acknowledges that the wreck has titanics shipyard number (401) on it, hence disproving the theory.

in 1997, it was published in the us under the name the titanic conspiracy - cover-ups and mysteries of the worlds most famous sea disaster, and it sold like sliced bread in 1928 because 1997 was titanic fever, baby!

unsurprisingly, gardiner's following books (titanic: the ship that never sank? in 1998; the history of the white star line in 2001; the great titanic conspiracy in 2010) were a lot less well-received and were not co-authored by van der dat.

-

"but wait, kai!" you might shout if youre up to date with issues of the times from 1914, "what about raymond asquith's comments? he was junior counsel for the board of trade at the sinking inquiry!"

and i would say, what about it? the letter asquith wrote to the times was a sarcastic letter in response to a prior stance taken by the paper.

yes, he said "the architect, the owner, and the captain to repair their desperate fortunes by sinking the ship and sharing the insurance money" but said letter also included the phrase "manipulating dummy icebergs".

if were taking sarcastic or satirical responses outside of their original contexts as serious quotes, then i guess i need to cancel my dropout subscription since the company holds the opinion that oj simpson is innocent.

and while were here, that single deathbed confession from james fenton is not evidence of anything. his name is not on any crew lists or survivor lists, and not a single payment was ever claimed by a crewman called james fenton. he was not on board the titanic and his claims hold no weight.

-

now, my go-to explanation as to why i dont believe the switch theory is that their insurance scam would have lost them money and they would know that it would have lost them money.

see, it cost white star (which was a subsidiary of the international mercantile marine) £1.5million/$7.5million to build titanic and they insured it by lloyds (you can check their records on their website) for £1million/$5million.

you dont have to be good at maths to see a problem here.

they didnt just not insure the rest; it was self-insured by imm's insurance fund, but that still means theyd have lost £500,000/$2.5million on the sunken ship.

this whole insurance thing was established by uh the united states senate inquiry report:

"the vessel fully equipped, cost £1,500,000 sterling, or about $7,500,000. at the time of the accident the vessel carried insurance of £1,000,000 sterling or about $5,000,000, the remaining risk being carried by the company's insurance fund."

oh and the £1,000,009 insurance was announced in the daily mirror on 16th april 1912

and the insurance scam seemingly thought up by someones whose first and only introduction to maths was golf isnt the only way white star would have lost money on this.

after the sinking, olympic was temporarily pulled from service to increase safety measures like adding more lifeboats. obviously, a logical move made by a company with a brand new, safer ship on their hands who were desperate for any money they can make.

white star also halted construction of britannic, titanics other sister ship, in order to alter the design and make it safer. this costs quite a bit of money and is, again, an odd choice for a company apparently desperate for money.

-

and hey, question for you guys: if you were alive in 1913 and needed to cross the atlantic, would you

a) choose the near identical sister ship of that ship that sank last year and was the deadliest sinking of a ship at that time

or

b) choose any other option such as the lusitania or the mauretania or the ss france or the ss imperator

personally id take my chances with option a, idk about you

yeah so the point im making here is that the sinking of the titanic was what the kids say

a marketing disaster

it was the loss of the newest flagship on its maiden fucking voyage and it had been touted as "practically unsinkable". maybe just maybe people wouldnt feel that comfortable getting on a white star line ship after that.

i dont have any figures for you because reading through a detailed account of white stars history just is not on my to-do list, but that doesnt even matter. what matters is that its clearly a massive risk and who the fuck is taking that risk?

as titanic author, senan molony states:

"one doesnt need to compare designs and count portholes - a moments serious consideration of the reputational risk involved - individually and collectively - is all that is required to end any entertainment of the notion"

-

anyway, you guys wanna compare designs and count portholes? yeah? okay, here we go!

may i present a non-exhaustive list of differences between the ships:

olympics wheelhouse was curved; titanics was flat

titanic was 4 inches longer

the porthole arrangements on shelter deck c were different

on b deck, olympic had a 1st class promenade; titanic had 2 private verandahs and suites (put a pin in this by the way, it comes back in the best of ways)

titanic had additional cabins on promenade deck a

olympics promenade was open all the way along; on titanic, the forward half of the 1st class promenade on a-deck was enclosed with retractable glass screens

on titanic, the forward bridge wings aft docking bridge on the stern extended over the ships side by a couple of feet; this would not be true for olympic until the 1912/13 refit

the officers deck house was pushed out more on titanic

the iron gates of the elevators were different between the ships and this is evident in the wreck itself

their propellers had different pitches and hence not interchangeable (pitch is a theoretical concept which is like the distance a propeller would move if it turned once through something solid, yeah i dont know either)

the wireless cabin had an outside window on olympic, but not titanic

further, it was placed on the port side of the officers deck house on olympic but amidship on titanic

they had different air vent arrangements around the funnels

white star line cut the ships names into the shell-plating at the bow and stern, four feet high and a ½ inch deep

now, please, close your eyes, take a deep breath and consider how much money it would cost to switch just the list above. now compare all of that to the -£500,000/$2.5million youre losing in the insurance scam.

truly, a spend less on candles situation.

and while we're here, shall we quickly talk about how much hush money white star would be paying to silence everyone about this since its apparently an illegal insurance scam.

not to make another non-exhaustive list but heres just who i can think of that youd have to silence:

the 15,000 workers employed directly by the shipyard

the 20,000+ workers in support services or sub contractors

any permanent or casual staff at the belfast dock and harbour comission

all of the officers and crew who came directly from olympic onto titanic such as the captain or stewardess violet jessop (puppet history fans rise up) who interestingly remarked on how improved titanic was compared to olympic

any staff at white star, imm and harland & wolff (where she was built) who would be in the know such as designers

passengers who had previously sailed on olympic who then sailed on titanic

just like anyone in belfast who walked past while the ships were docked together

olympics wreckers: thomas wards & sons who kept huge loose-leaf ledgers for each ships. the one for olympic was 72 pages long and funnily enough olympics yard number and builders I'd frequently appear in it, as seen below

bob ballard who was the one who found titanic. hes known as a very honest man and didnt even claim salvage rights on titanic because he assumed everyone else would also recognise it was a gravesite. he also said "i think it is the titanic at the bottom of the ocean"

every other explorer or researcher like james fucking cameron or us navy consultant and titanic wreck explorer, parks stephenson

its been estimated likely over 60,000 people were involved in just the building of titanic. this was ⅕ of belfasts population and ⅓ of the working population. heres a photo of them leaving olympic at the end of the day

now maybe im just a fool, but that looks like a lot of people you need to silence, and unless white star were blackmailing them or idk fucking killing them i guess, thats a lot of hush money just in the photo above.

i mean, theres also the claim, from noted liar james fenton, that the surviving crew were forced to sign the official secrets act of 1911, but that act was about espionage that benefits the enemy military so im not sure how this is relevant to the switch, and also, again, the guy was never on the ship.

are you perhaps starting to get the picture as to why i dont believe the conspiracy theory because im still going.

-

okay so as established, if the ships were switched, there would have clearly been a lot of work that would need to be done to switch the ships.

and i only mentioned some of the structural differences, i didnt get into the aesthetic differences like the floor tiles and carpeting being different colours, or how the lounge furniture in each ship having the ship name on them.

mind you, this is what titanic looked like (in the foreground) when olympic was first docked next to her:

this was taken around october 11. olympic docked next to titanic on october 7th for repairs after that whole catastrophic collision.

now how much time do you think it was before olympic sailed away? mind you, titanic has already been launched at this point and just needs to be fitted-out, and that normally takes around 4 to 6 months?

oh, what was that? 44 days? why, kid, youre going somewhere. it was 44 days exactly!

now, i dont think i need to get into the fact that the dock only had 1 crane (which you needed to install and uninstall funnels and machinery) that physically couldnt reach olympic unless she was moved or how olympic was painted white for her launch and then painted black and that the white paint would get exposed in rough weather so the same would have to be applied to titanic so it would look convincingly like olympic.

i mean, you have that information now, but im hoping just by the words "44 days", you might get how off the wall insane it is to suggest white star was able to switch the ships so well no one noticed for decades in 44 fucking days.

"wait kai, youre forgetting that they were docked together again!" you shout, "after olympic threw a propeller, they were docked together from march 1st to march 7th 1912"

and i dont know dude, im pretty sure white star cant warp space time so i really dont know what eight extra days is gonna do.

i hate to strawman but man, the late robin gardiner would have won a gold medal in scarecrow hide and seek.

-

lets also take a quick detour into the idea that olympics repairs were so expensive.

without getting into gardiners claims about the damage because theres no evidence of it and as mark chirnside states "there are no credible sources indicating that the damage to olympic was worse than reported at the time - and indeed ample sworn expert testimony to the contrary", lets just quickly go over some financial stuff.

during the case, it was unofficially estimated that the damage didnt exceed $125,000. imm, by including lost passenger receipts, wanted to claim for as high as $750,000, but they lost that case.

during the year 1911, imms surplus profit was $822,062. so weve got:

750,000 > 822,062

now as we might remember from key stage 1 maths, the bigger number eats the smaller number, aka, their surplus profit covered the costs of repair.

aka, no ill-advised insurance scam needed.

-

"thousands of people in belfast would have seen the switch operation - and yet there is not one word in the papers of reporters or photographers rushing out to find out what was happening."

-dr paul lee

so this is the section where i ask how did no one fucking notice?

no one on titanic, who had previously sailed on olympic, ever said anything about the switch other than one guy who was literally not on the ship at any point.

no one who has ever explored the wreck or done research on it has definitively stated it was olympic. rather, they have definitively stated otherwise.

for example, what remains of the base on the wheelhouse shows it to be straight and not curved, and as you might remember: titanics wheelhouse was heterosexual straight and olympics was curved.

(id be impressed if you did remember)

also, as parks stephenson has stated:

"weve got actual high def images of this wreck. ive seen with my own eyes. weve identified the name titanic on the port bow"

its difficult to make out but its there; the name is on the fucking ship.

also, as you might remember, titanics b-deck was different to olympics. the 2 suites there were nicknamed the "millionaire suites" and jim cameron has used rovs to go inside of them.

funnily enough, robin gardiner has gone on the record saying that these suites didnt exist so make of that what you will.

and further, no one noticed anything about olympic even though she sailed for 24 more years. theres no written record of anything, theres nothing in the board of trade reports, theres no photographic proof and theres not even fucking hearsay.

she served as a damn troopship in ww1, youd figure someone would figure it out as all of her fittings were ripped out.

but no, theres nothing.

as i mentioned above, olympic was scrapped in 1935, but some of her fittings were auctioned off and still exist today. and these have the number 400 on them because that was her shipyard number. titanics was 401 and the wreck reflects this also:

the wooden parts are from olympic; the other has been salvaged from titanics wreck.

theres even the famous myth that olympic or olympus as one person told me is written on the propeller at the bottom of the ocean. its not, but you can see the number 401 written on it:

-

and while were disproving myths about the name olympic being on the titanic, the story about olympic being engraved on titanics lifeboats is also false:

theres no written testimony, no sketches and no photographs of this.

white star didnt engrave names onto lifeboats, the names were on metal plates that were screwed on

do you really think they did all of this work but just didnt fucking swap the lifeboats? if theyre this stupid, how did it take until 1995 for someone to figure it out?

-

we can also discuss the stupid olympic room thing while were here. see theres a maritime superstition that changing the name on a ship is bad luck and obviously, if youre swapping the ships, youre changing the names.

so to... get around this? cheat luck? outsmart superstition? i dont fucking know, to take a detour to avoid this, white star named a room "the olympic room."

i cannot find any evidence at all that this room ever existed. its not in the design plans or the blueprints, and no passenger or crew has ever said it existed, so im pretty sure the room just didnt exist.

and even if it did exist, titanic was in the olympic class of ships. thats what olympic, titanic and britannic were. its not weird to have an olympic room on an olympic class ship. i mean it is weird in this case since the room didnt exist, but you get my point.

-

and heres some quickfire myths and falsehoods

the myth about the 14 vs 16 bow portholes is also a false. yes, titanic had 14 portholes on launch but an extra 2 were added before her maiden voyage so yes, the ship photographed departing southampton with 16 bow portholes is the titanic, and do you really think it would take 83 years to figure this out if it was this easy?

similarly, titanic did have evenly spaced b-deck windows on launch, but then the extra verandahs and suites were added so the window configuration was altered, so that photograph is off the titanic.

the idea that titanic had a 2 degree list to port like the olympic before her is evidence of the switch theory is, to borrow a word from dan van der dat, bilge. plenty of ships at the time and now have minor lists. the one on titanic was only recorded by 2 passengers and we know that the list was related to coal consumption. it means nothing.

jp morgan (owner of imm) did not cancel last minute. as mark baber points out on encyclopedia titanica, it was announced in the new york times that hed be in venice on april 23. at that time, transatlantic voyages took at least 5 days so it would at least be a 10 day round trip and likely not give him time to get to venice for the opening of a store of whatever it was.

also, j bruce ismays wife and kids also didnt cancel last minute. theyd already decided to go on holiday to wales rather than sail on titanic.

addendum to that point: if ismay knew it was going to be sank deliberately and so warned his wife, why would he get on board himself? further, why would harland and wolff designer thomas andrews (who did not survive by the way) get on board?

-

and we're finally at my favourite part of this entire mess: the sinking itself.

see, a deliberate sinking doesnt really make sense for titanic because the conditions under which she sank has led to the descriptor "freak sinking."

these are: a new moon meaning less light, unusually calm ocean that disallowed lookouts to watch for foam as waves hit any icebergs, ice having drifted further south than normal for that time of year, and a sideways glancing blow that breached more watertight compartments than the ship could handle and stay afloat.

and idk dude, is there not an easier way? like maybe some light arson. just call it an accidental fire that got out of control and led to the ship being a write-off, this isnt difficult.

but you see gardiner has an answer to this, and i am laughing as im typing this, he claims that:

titanic didnt hit an iceberg, it hit an imm rescue ship.

thats right, this guy fully says titanic didnt hit an iceberg. apparently it hit another ship and NO ONE FUCKING NOTICED

i mean we have testimony from survivors but fuck them i guess.

he claims that as titanic was apparently a "steel double-hulled vessel" so an iceberg simply couldnt inflict so much damage.

yeah titanic wasnt double-hulled. she had a double bottom, but it was only after titanic that shipbuilders were like ah maybe full double hulls arent an unnecessary expense after all.

theres also the issue of uh no evidence of this rescue ship ever existing? at all? i dont know where it came from, i dont know where it went, and who fucking knows, maybe it was called the rms cotton eyed joe.

yeah so weve got a theory riddled with problems and im just gonna introduce some more problems with this theory as gardiner has also alleged that:

the original plan was to open the seacocks and slowly flood the ship, but this was interrupted by titanic hitting another ship

1) titanic didnt have seacocks? and 2) was the rest of it a coincidence then? i think its meant to be a coincidence.

i believe his theory is alleging that the crew on titanic would open the seacocks that didnt exist to flood the ship slowly, and that the imm rescue ship that also didnt exist was in the area in advance to help evacuate passengers, alongside other ships such as the ss californian.

this is that ship that was like 10 miles away or something and didnt respond to titanics distress signals. according to gardiner, they were expecting a rendezvous with titanic according to the "original plan", but never received it.

instead, they saw the rockets of the fabled imm rescue ship and helped them instead.

this is fucking stupid.

i cant be charitable here, its a fucking stupid theory. i mean, that imm ship did not exist, and also californian is a ridiculous choice for a rescue ship. her capacity was 47 passengers and 55 crew; there were more than 2200 people on board titanic.

to counteract this argument, gardiner alleges carpathia was also in on the scheme as a rescue ship. she, at least, had capacity for the passengers, but theres also several problems with this too.

for one, it was fucking 50 miles away and famously arrived several hours after the sinking even though the captain had her running at top speed to get there.

for two, carpathia was owned by cunard, white stars rival. was their rival line in on the insurance scam??? how much money did they have to pay cunard for this????? why? just why?

do you understand why i dont believe it? please tell me you understand. i need you to understand. i need you to tell me that you understand that the guy who created this conspiracy claimed titanic didnt hit an iceberg.

[agoodfictitle-shadowban]

From Vormir, With Love - Part 2

Tags: strangers to lovers, love in space angst on earth, slavery mention, alien abduction, post Endgame, will add as we go on

Summary: As you're being chased you crash on Vormir. So far, so bad. But things take a turn when you come face to face with a marooned Black Widow.

[Part 1] [here] [Part 3]

Word count: 3.1k

A/n: after some nice vacations I'm back! Thanks for all your support, and I hope you'll like this chapter!

Taglist: tbd

You were right, June didn't like you bringing one more person along. An Avenger on top of it. Still, she simply gave one look to the newcomer, groaned, and went back to her repairs. You could work with that.

Now, you're hanging in the cockpit of your ship, looking at the star chart. In the five years you spent drifting into space, you never managed to find Earth again. Most Aliens don't care for humans, and don't know where they're from. As for star charts, they cost an arm and a half, so you have to work with the one you have - one which of course doesn't give the common names of planets in human language and no translator has cracked it.

"What are you doing?" The voice comes from behind you, covering the snores of the rest of the crew in the background. Sleep doesn't come as easy to you, even if you have the privilege to have your own bed. For tonight, you decided to give it up to Tim. He looked miserable after the fight with Natasha.

"Looking up at the stars," you answer simply, eyes still on the chart.

"What are you doing in space?" She asks after a moment of silence.

"What are you?" You retort, not even contemplating answering her question, and finally looking up at her. Now that you know who she is, bitterness is starting to build inside you, for her and all the so-called Mightiest Heroes of Earth. You take a deep breath, you don't want to lose focus. "I know for a fact Avengers don't travel that far out without a reason, and clearly something happened." You point at the Aliens who came back from the blip. "Cause those guys appeared out of nowhere three days ago. So, what's up with that?"

"So it worked…" she whispers at first, in a sort of wonder, and you understand she had something to do with all that. She looks at you, searches your face, and for a bit you think she won't answer you. And then she smirks. That surprises you. "You're a smart one, aren't you?" She puts her feet on the board and you glare at them as she keeps talking. "I was here to save everyone from the snap. It's good to see we succeeded." She seems genuinely happy about it, but also troubled.

You hum, and you wonder if that's truly for the best. Memories from the day of the Snap flood back to you.

-

You had never been that scared in your life before. You had no idea where you were, if you were even still on Earth - you guessed that you weren't, because those… people were clearly non-humans. You remembered going to the convenience store down your street, after a long shift at work. The night had already set for a few hours at the time, and as you were about to pay for your ramen pack and soda, those things came out of nowhere. You tried to hide, to fight, but it was no use. You remember thinking that maybe, just maybe, someone would come and help you. The cops, the military, anyone. Maybe SHIELD or the Avengers had detected that strange activity, somehow, and they were on their way. But no one came.

The aliens took all of you, all the ones that were in the store, and the next time you opened your eyes, you were in what looked like a ship.

You were kept in a cell with the clerk from the store - June, you learned, an engineering student who was working two jobs to pay for college - and food was coming from the ceiling in bags. You quickly realized it was sedated, and stopped eating until your stomach begged for something, anything. Some of the aliens were walking around, probably to keep an eye on the prisoners, and you quickly noticed that the only ones armed were those who had six eyes and a weird stone in the middle of their forehead. There were others, they looked like they were only doing maintenance or cleaning. They had a collar around their neck. This lasted maybe a week, and you kept praying that anytime, at any moment now, someone would come to save you. But once again, no one came.

And then one day… no one came again. No guards. The prison doors opened for apparently no reason, and you took a step outside. Was it a trap? Your naked feet walked alongside other prisoners. Besides June, you couldn't understand any of them - they were all aliens speaking different languages, and the other three humans were nowhere to be seen. You found weapons, and fought some of the aliens. You managed to outnumber most of them with the other prisoners. Soon enough, you were aboard a ship and on your way elsewhere. You remember looking at the star chart with so much hope. Home. It was right there.

-

Home is nowhere to be seen.

"I wish you could be as optimistic as you." You shake your head.

Now, those Aliens have more manpower than ever, and will certainly come after you again. You will need to lay low for some time before you can keep going on your quest for Earth.

"You're not happy," Natasha simply states. It feels like you're raining on her parade, so you decide to reassure her in order to keep the peace. There is also this weird feeling in your chest that makes you like her smirk, and the stupid spark in her eyes, so you might as well try to keep it there even just for some personal gratification.

"No, it's probably good. Means more people to help us get back to Earth. Which, you wouldn't happen to have a star chart on you?"

"No. But I might know someone who does." Here is the smirk again, thinning her full lips that you could kiss right now if she is telling the truth. You lunge towards her and put your hands on her upper arms, one on each side, squeezing her. She looks surprised, eyes wide, almost ready to fight but she keeps it in her.

"Wait? Are you for real?! This would be fantastic!"

"Why don't we calm down first, hm?"

You want to throw a party and dance of joy. "Calm down? It's been more than five years!" You whisper yell to not wake up your guests. "I can finally go home!"

She decides you're a lost cause when she sees you walk towards June's quarters and almost fall from dancing happily between the bodies sleeping on the ground. Somehow, seeing this after the past few days makes her smirk slightly, her heart lighter. You disappear around a corner just as the memory hits.

-

When she opened her eyes, it was to a dark sky and crimson surroundings. Her clothes were damp from the small pools of water under her. Not far was the sharp cliff she jumped from. She remembered the last thing she saw. Clint. She sat up. He was nowhere to be seen, and she wondered if her sacrifice didn't work, because right now, she was very much alive. No. She should still be dead. She should still be… free. She swallowed. She never wanted to die. But. But… she stood up, as tired as ever, and checked her equipment. Her Widow's bites were fried, as were her comms, but she still had her sidearm. Now, she had to find Clint.

He was nowhere to be seen, she realized once she came back up the cliff. No one was here anymore, not even Red Skull, she was all alone. Alone. She was used to it, it was fine.

She checked her comms again. Still nothing, not even statics.

She sat down on the same rocks as earlier. Was it earlier? She searched around her pockets, and found her phone. She was barely able to make it work, but soon enough she realized what her problem was. She was back to today's time, after she left for the past. Clint wasn't here, not because he abandoned her, because the last time he was had been years ago. It suddenly made sense. What didn't was why she was here. But for now, she had a much more pressing question: how was she going to go back to Earth?

Luckily, fate gave her a quick answer.

In the horizon, light caught her eye. Someone was crashing here, and she would only hope to get to you before you left again. With no time to lose, she started her walk.

-

"Are you sure she isn't brain dead? 'Cause she ain't answering." June's voice brings Natasha back to the present. She arches an eyebrow and tilts her head the slightest in her direction.

"See, not dead," you say in triomph.

"Why don't you stop talking about me like I'm not here." Her tone is harsh, and it shuts up both of you. You rub the back of your neck and look away, ashamed, while June just crosses her arms almost in defiance. It's still enough to get back to the main subject.

"Whatever," June starts, "do you really know people who could help us?"

The irreverence aside, there is some fear in her voice, and it quickly clicks in Natasha's head: she's scared to get her hopes up. It's a fear she understood all too well; hope is always the first step towards disappointment. Hope is dangerous. But sometimes it's all you have, and she isn't about to disappoint those lost women.

"Yes, we just need to find them."

"And who are they exactly?" asks a very guarded June. You elbow her, and she simply send you a glare, ignoring your suddenly very shiny personality. You'd never been one to be pessimistic, despite everything that happened, you just knew how to hide it, but right now you were almost beaming with joy.

"Carol Danvers, ideally, then Peter Quill, or Thor, one of the two if we don't have a choice." She shrugs like this will be easy. To be fair, they are very well known individuals. June looks at you to see if you know who she's talking about, since you're well informed usually. You are always the one going outside the ship to find the missions. It takes you a second to know exactly who she's talking about, and you nod.

"Carol is our best bet, anyone with authority has a way to contact her. We can just go to the federation probably, but the Nova Corps could be closer. I think they have an outpost a few jumps away…" You're already thinking, looking back at your star chart to find the closest place where you can contact Marvel, or whoever the other two were - well, Thor you know, but the name of Peter Quill sounds made up, even if it titillates your brain. "I'll check the radio as soon as we leave Vormir's atmosphere. Something is blocking the communications."

June nods, then looks at Natasha with distrustful eyes. "You better be telling the truth or you'll pray you did."

Somehow, the threat works on you too and you move on your seat in discomfort. June always was the more serious of the two of you, and held an even bigger grudge against the Avengers than you did. It reminds you that maybe you should distrust a spy a little bit more, as you eye the ship's console. Natasha is less impressed, but still takes things seriously.

"I am," she simply reaffirms in all seriousness. You observe her, and she seems genuine to you. It looks like it's enough for June too, because she simply goes back to her bed.

"Sorry for June," you say when she's out of earshot. "She's… we both went through a lot. Makes things hard." Hard to trust, hard to forgive. You're happy that she could help, but you also know tomorrow the bitterness will still be there. Of course, Natasha knows too well what you mean, the vulnerability that comes with the short explanation, and she offers a simple nod in understanding, her eyes expressing all of her empathy.

You're thankful for it.

A small silence establishes itself, during which you look each other in the eyes. It's easy to fall in hers, the infinite pool of water so inviting, so full of hurt to learn and comfort to find. You could read a full life, and something more, a spark no one else had. It lasts a few seconds, before you get back to the star chart, and she stands up to go get some water. When she comes back, she brings some to you, and you thank her in a whisper. She starts to clean her weapons and tinkers with her widow bites to try and repair them. While she does that, she notices you talking to yourself when you plan your next course and smiles slightly while looking down. Her lips crack from three days spent in what was virtually a desert.

Somehow, it makes her think of home.

-

Everything is ready for take off, and as your hand hovers over the handle ,you send a look to June. She gives you a thumbs up, but you know she isn't as sure as she looks, you know she probably thinks there is a small uncertain chance you will crash again and not survive this time. But with the help of Natasha - turns out she's a good mechanic at least - and some of the maintenance crew, you managed to repair the ship earlier than June told you the first time.

"Okay, up and away we go," you whisper to yourself as you push the thrusters. "Let's hope."

The ship shakes under the building pressure, but it holds. You push them some more as you gain elevation, the ground further and further away, and before you know it, you manage to leave Vormir's atmosphere.

You let out a breath of relief.

The ship stabilizes under you, and you send a thumbs up to June this time. As you go back to the console, your gaze crosses with Natasha's, and you exchange a small smile. You only had brief talks since she joined you, but she always was nice to everyone, if a bit short with Tim. The giant humanoid feline was still suspicious of her, the same way he was suspicious of almost everyone. You mainly tried to ignore the small brewing conflict, but it was getting harder. For now, you were simply happy to be back in space and not in pieces.

"We're green across the board," you announced, and everyone let the reassurance lift the weight off their shoulders. You then focus back on the ship. You still had to have the autopilot calibrated to the nearest jump point that would allow you to access the Nova Corps, then, if you were lucky, Earth.

It takes you little time to get the autopilot calibrated, and once you do you notice Natasha is still watching you, where the others simply went back to their activities. She's leaning against the hull, her arms crossed, a spark of curiosity in her eyes.

"How did you learn to pilot?"

"Observation. When we… commandeered this ship–"

"You stole it?" She raises an eyebrow.

"They were bad people." She nods, and you continue. "We had aliens with us. I just watched them pilot and learned via observation."

"Not everyone could have done that. What did you do back on Earth?" Her interest starts to make you the slightest uncomfortable, but you simply answer with a shrug.

"I worked some job that barely matters anymore."

"Never had a flying lesson?"

You shake your head no, and you notice admiration in her traits. It seems like you impressed her.

"I'm impressed," she confirms. "It takes some exceptional skills to pick up something like that."

Somehow, it makes you blush slightly and your chest rises with pride. You look away to hide it as you feel conflicted, and decide it's probably because the only other person you spent time with the past few years has been June, and she's not one to show admiration for others. Definitely nothing to do with Natasha herself being incredibly competent, and pretty. Very pretty.

Your eyes can't help but wander back to her when you notice the way the dim lights from the ship are highlighting her sharp jaw and her cheekbones, her long lashes projecting their shadows on her delicate skin. You realize you're staring, and that she's actually staring back. It makes you slightly uncomfortable, as you feel that after five years, there isn't much to look at, so you decide to break the brief silence.

"It's not… maybe a bit but– you know, you look tired. Maybe you should rest or something?" You fumble to change the subject. She has the audacity to smirk, and you want to cross your arms like a petulant child who's been caught in the cookie jar. But she's nice, and simply agrees.

"I should. You should too, commander." There is some teasing behind her voice, and you sputter a bit. She doesn't wait for an answer before she ducks back to the other side of the ship.

You stay there for a minute, trying to process the whole conversation. Was she…? Was that flirting? No. No way. You frown, trying to understand what just happened.

"Nope, no way. She's right I'm just tired," you finally settle on. You stand up and go back to the living side of the ship, asking Tim to keep an eye on the trajectory before you join your bunk. It was more a hole in the wall with a mattress stuck in it than anything else, but it was yours. There was another bunk on top of yours, where you kept some of your stuff before the arrival of everyone, but it had been cleared to give space to them. On the other side of the room, there is the same configuration, and on the top bunk you can make the silhouette of the spy. 

It's the last thing you see before you fall asleep, and you wonder how long the newfound safety you felt is going to last.

[creative-caramel-coffee]

Just another red alert

SUMMARY: The enterprise is under attack and you seem to take the fall… literally.

TW: Broken bones, child abandonment, head injury, passing out, secrets

PLATONIC R

ENSIGN / NURSE R

A/n idk why 2/3 chapters so far include head injures haha. I’ll find something interesting and hopefully a little different for the next chapter lol.

Life on the enterprise was never boring that was for sure. You were getting ready to go to sleep when the red alert sounded. Dammit, i guess you wouldn’t be sleeping then. 

You sighed sitting up in bed and swinging your legs over the edge. Well if you’re not going to sleep, might as well do your job and head to the bridge. You stood and got changed into your uniform. As you began to head over to the door, a huge jolt rocked the ship. 

Catching you completely off guard you found yourself being thrown forward, hard, and directly into a wall. Putting you hand out to stop yourself you felt and heard the crunch of bone before your arm slipped and you went head first into the wall, knocking you out on impact. 

The red alert sounded in the background while you laid half against the wall your broken wrist hanging limply by your side. 

On the bridge things were looking slightly better. The Romulan war bird had caught the captain by surprise and worf was a second too slow on the shield. The ship rocked and Picard signalled to open communications. 

“This is Captain Picard of the USS enterprise, romulan warbird you have fired on a federation vessel. This has been seen as an act of war. If you do not disarm your phaser banks we will retaliate with force.” He said gruffly and worf shook his head.

“No response captain.” The Klingon said.

“Alright Mr worf, power to the phasers and ready a full spread of photon torpedoes. Mr crusher bring us about 20 degrees star board. I want them in our sights.” He ordered. 

“Aye Captain. Phaser banks charged, on your order sir.” He said.

“Not yet.” Picard said holding up a hand to gesture his sentiment. 

“Sir a second vessel has decloaked aft starboard!” Worf said. “Sir it’s firing on the other vessel. The vessel had been destroyed.” He said. “Sir, they are hailing us.” 

“On screen Mr Worf.” Picard said and the view screen flashed on. 

“Captain. I apologise on behalf of the empire, a band of … rogues have been attempting to start war with the federation. They had commandeered a ship and paid with their lives. I trust this misplaced and misguided act of aggression is forgivable?” The romulan captain said. 

Picard held up a hand and Worf turned off audio. 

“Deanna?” The captain asked. 

“He’s telling the truth sir. I sense no guilt or lies in his words. More like … apprehension for your answer.” She said and Picard nodded to worf again. 

“Captain, i trust as this remains an isolated incident the federation is willing to … overlook this act as a sign of trust which will hopefully reinforce the treaty. However,” he said straightening his uniform, “It must remain as such; isolated.” He said.

“Thank you Captain. And once more, my apologies.” The romulan said and cut communications. 

“Mr crusher lay in a course for our previous heading.” Riker order and Wesley tapped his console.

“Course laid in sir.” He said.

“Engage.” Riker commanded. 

With that matter settled red alert was cancelled and riker combadge chirped. 

“Dr crusher to Riker.”

“Riker here doc, go ahead.”

“Could you please send ensign L/n to sickbay. I have more patients than hands on deck currently and i need all my nurses here.” She said and Riker looked at Picard and frowned. 

“She’s not here doc, i assumed she reported to you when she didn’t show on the bridge.”

“Well she’s certainly not here.” The doctor responded. 

“I’ll go find her.” Deanna volunteered and will gave her a nod. 

You were one of the few members of the crew with a duel posting. You took the com in alternating shifts to work in sickbay. With a degree in nursing and the skills of pilot from where you grew up on a colony, Starfleet had granted you a duel posting on the enterprise after you had managed to defend you colony at seventeen and then helped provide valuable aid to its citizens after the attack. 

It was only a small colony, but you had been fast tracked in your entry process and it was barely a year later you had found yourself on the federation flagship. 

Deanna was in the turbolift on the way to deck 17. 

“Computer, locate ensign L/n.” She said.

“Ensign L/n is in her quarters.” The robotic voice responded.

“Strange.” Deanna muttered to herself. “Computer, what is the ensigns current status.” She said. 

“Insufficient data.” The computer chirped.

“What is ensign L/n’s bio-readings?” She asked again. 

“Insufficient data, ensign L/n has restricted access to that data to Dr crusher only.” The computer said.

“What?!”

“Ensign L/n has restricted access to-“

“Understood.” She said frustrated. “Why?”

“Unknown.” 

At that moment the doors to the turbolift hissed open and Deanna strode out and towards your quarters. She tapped the consul on the wall and heard it chime, but there was no response. 

“Manual override, command code Troi delta 2-1-0” she said and the door opened. 

She glanced around before moving into your bedroom and hurried to your side. 

“Troi to sickbay, medical emergency. Two to beam directly to sickbay.” 

“Acknowledged Counsellor.” A voice said.

A moment later the two of you were in sickbay. Dr crusher was just finishing up with the last of the patients when she saw you beam in. 

“God. She never does things by half.” Beverley said, rushing to kneel next to you and scanning your full body with the tricorder. 

“But thats what you love about her.” Deanna said and smiled. 

“Yes” the doctor responded, “help me get her up.” She said and the two of them gently lifted you onto a biobed. 

“she has a nasty break in her wrist. Surprisingly her head seems more or less fine. Probably due to her strong betazed brain healing fast.” Beverly said and Deanna looked up.

“Her what?!” She said standing up and Beverly winced. 

“Sorry, i wasn’t supposed to say that.” She said and turned away to grab a regenerator for your arm. 

“Is that why her scans are restricted? Because she doesn’t want people to know?” Deanna asked sitting back down by your bed.

“Yes. More like she’s afraid of it getting out. She was adopted on her colony after her parents abandoned her on an outpost in the same system. She does like to remember, she refuses to tell people. I think shes afraid of what people will think.” Beverly explained as she moved your wrist slightly and scanned it to check the bone was in place properly. 

“Nobody has an issue with me?” Deanna said questionably and frowning. 

“Yes. But your the Counsellor, you have to keep their emotions to yourself. Doctor patient confidentiality, something I just fail dismally in.” The doctor said as she switched on the device as it let off a low blue light and deep hum. 

“I suppose the idea of someone who could spill all your secrets does pose issues socially.” Deanna said. “My mother certainly does.” She said with a laugh. “Is she fully betazoid?” Deanna asked. 

“Three quarters.” 

“How?”

“Her mother was betazoid and her father was half. Based off her genetics.” The redhead explained removing the device and scanning your wrist again to see how it healed. 

“So what does that look like?” Deanna asked “is she telepathic?”

“To an extent.” You said and they both looked at you sheepishly. “I guess the cats out of the bag then. But i trust you’ll keep this between the three of us Counsellor Troi?” You sighed. 

“Of course, i wouldn’t want you to steal my job.” She joked. 

“I wouldn’t. And for what it’s worth I’m glad it was you, generally medical professionals are better at keeping secrets.”

“And I’m glad to have another of my kind on board.”

“I suppose so.” You said with a sigh and she frowned. 

“You don’t like that?”

“More i don’t like to remember. And doc?”

“Yes?” Beverly said avoiding eye contact. 

“Thanks for fixing my arm.” 

“No problem, hows the head feeling?”

“Not bad, i think it was partly the rush of emotion.” You said and sat up rubbing your wrist with your other hand.

“You can’t block it out? Nobody taught you?” Deanna said sounding surprised. 

“Nobody to teach me.” You said with a shrug. 

“I can.” Deanna offered with a smile. 

“I��d like that.” You said telepathically and Deanna looked shocked for a second before smiling broadly. 

“Oh god. Now theres two of you. You know not all of us can join your mental conversation. Us normal people would like to know whats going on sometimes.” The doctor huffed and you grinned. 

“Sorry doc. Confidential.” You said with an evil grin and she rolled her eyes. 

“So what are the extent of your abilities Y/n?” Deanna asked and you smiled at her wistfully. 

“Well I’m empathic, like yourself.” You said waving your hands as you talked. “I can communicate telepathically. I can catch some people’s thoughts but only if they are really focused on them and i try hard enough. But thats about it. Your mother sure posed a problem.” You said with a laugh.

“My mother?” Deanna said pulling a face. “I wasn’t aware you knew her.”

“Yep. Sensed me my first day here. Wanted to tell you but i begged her. A very out of character experience i must say.” You said. 

“Im sorry.” Deanna said.

“Not a problem. I rather liked some of our conversations. I’ve never been to betazed. Not that i can recall. She was a good source of information.” You said with a smile. 

“You’ve never been?!” Deanna exclaimed. 

“Nope.” You said popping the p. 

“I’ll have to take you on your next shore leave then.” She offered and you nodded. 

“I’d like that very much.” You said with a big grin after a moment you swung your legs over the edge of the biobed intending to leave. 

“Not so fast Miss L/n.” Doctor crusher said and you slumped your shoulders and sighed. 

“Didn’t think so.” You muttered under your breath and Deanna chuckled. 

“I want to do a more intense brain scan to check for any residual damage and your not to put any strain on your wrist for a few days. Next shift I’ll scan it again to be sure you haven’t been.” She said with a motherly look. 

“Yes doc.” You said and she smiled, coming over and scanning your head with a diagnostic tool. 

“This wont take a moment.” She said.

“Doctors? Am i right?” You said telepathically to Troi and smirked. 

“You’re not wrong.” Troi said the same way. And Beverly raised an eyebrow. 

“Why do i feel like you’re talking about me.” She said with an authoritative tone. 

“Because we are.” You said with a grin. 

“A grand error on my part.” She said with a sigh and turned off the device. “You’re good to go ensign. But your shift in sickbay starts in twenty minutes.” 

“Aye aye captain.” You said with a mock salute, you winked at Deanna and offered her your arm. “Shall we make our great escape.” You said and Beverly sighed. 

“always the dramatist, aren’t you Y/n.” She smiled. 

“Whats life without drama my dear doctor.”

“I wouldn’t know.” She responded. 

“And don’t ever try and find out.” You said pulling a face and hopping off the bed. “Let’s leave my dear Deanna.” You said. 

The two of you said goodbye to Beverly and left to go find out the extent of your abilities and maybe learn a thing or two. But one thing was for sure, there was going to be chocolate involved. 

[skywalking-through-life]

what’s a ship you like that most people don’t?

Wow, y'all are really going for the ship asks! Since I'm home sick from work today - again ugh - I guess I'll keep cranking out answers!

This one is so funny to me, because I honestly have a very hard time judging which ships are loved and which ones aren't, with the exception of a few that I love and happen to know are super popular - Percabeth in PJO, Merthur in Merlin, and Din/Luke in SW, for example. I really do tend to enjoy, or at least understand, most ships! Romantic and platonic! It's fun to think of the different ways that different ships bring out different aspects of different characters, and I enjoy playing around with those dynamics. Y'all might be surprised to know it, but I enjoy friendships/family/platonic relationships as much as I enjoy romantic ones! But here are a couple of specifically unusual loves, I guess?

So let's see... I don't know how people feel about Sally/Paul in PJO, but that is a ship that I absolutely adore? I love the idea of Sally having a stable, supportive, rolls-with-the-punches guy in her life, because I think she deserves that kind of peaceful normalcy. 😌

OH, this might be a good one. I don't have any idea how many people know the old Star Wars Expanded Universe these days (its called Legends now), but when I was a teenager I was a hard-core Luke/Mara shipper! I very much doubt that is a popular ship these days, because I've recently seen that a lot of folks headcanon Luke to be gay. I can totally get on board with him - and honestly everyone in the SW universes - being queer, but I see him as more bi/pan/whatever label makes him/you happy. And his dynamic with Mara is just the most perfect enemies to lovers story to ever exist, so I still love it very deeply, even now, and could still talk about it for hours! (I don't actually want to think about how much that ship has shaped my psyche, lol.)

[fancoloredglasses]

[RERUN] Crisis on Infinite Earths, issue 11: “Aftershock” (Same great universe, now 80% smaller!)

[All images are owned by DC Comics, please don’t sue me]

PREVIOUSLY ON…

A being known as the Anti-Monitor has destroyed all but 5 of the universes in existence) with a single survivor on Earth-6 (Lady Quark) and Earth-Prime (Superboy) along for the ride)

Unfortunately, the process was unstable, meaning that time has merged (meaning mammoths and futuristic aliens are among modern skyscrapers) in the areas where the Earths are merged (which are called “Warp Zones”)

The Anti-Monitor’s last three attempts to destroy the multiverse have been thwarted (at the cost of many lives, including Supergirl and Earth-1’s Flash)

The Anti-Monitor’s fourth attempt brought the battle to the Dawn of Time, where the Anti-Monitor attempted to destroy the multiverse before it began, but his efforts were thwarted by the Spectre.

…or were they? As the pair fought for control, reality shattered around them and the assembled heroes!

Now, on with our story! If you would like to read this issue, it (along with the rest of the series) has been collected in graphic novel form and is available (or can be ordered) at your favorite comic shop, bookstore, or online retailer…or on Read Comic Online.

[WARNING: Things are gonna get a bit weirder and more confusing than they’ve been to this point (and that’s saying something!) Furthermore, the jokes could be a bit thin here. I’m not certain if you’ll call that a bad thing or not]

We open on Clark Kent (Kal-L) as he wakes up from a bizarre dream. His wife Lois obviously let him sleep in…and redecorated? He heads to his “day job” as managing editor of the Daily Star. He enters his office and is about to get to work…

…when Perry White barges in and demands to know who’s in his office. That’s when Kal-L noticed Perry’s name on the office door. In barges Clark Kent (Superman) who apologizes to Perry and introduces his “Uncle Clark” before escorting Kal-L from the building.

On the top of the Daily Planet, they guess that somehow after the Spectre’s fight with the Anti-Monitor, they both were transported to Earth-1. They fly to the warp zone in New York…

…only it’s not there. What’s more, no one remembers there ever being anything weird in the area (though they do remember Supergirl’s death).

They then fly to Central City, where the Flash (who is still considered “missing”, as no one was present for his sacrifice) stored his cosmic treadmill…

…only to see the twin cities of Central City (home to Earth-1′s Flash) and Keystone City (home to Earth-2′s Flash) Sure enough, Jay Garrick (Earth-2′s Flash) and his wife Joan greet the pair. Joan doesn’t remember what happened, but Jay does. They fetch Kid Flash and start the cosmic treadmill and break through the dimensional barrier

…to a void; Earth-2 isn’t there! What’s more, Kal-L feels the void calling to him, like he belongs there…though the Flash doesn’t feel the same call!

They return before Kal-L can run to the void, and everyone reaches the same conclusion: there is only one universe now, but obviously elements of the old realities are different from the new reality…and some elements never existed!

While the four contact as many heroes as they can find to discuss the ramifications, we switch to deep space. Rip Hunter’s time sphere (carrying Hunter, Adam Strange, Captain Comet, Dolphin, Atomic Knight, and Animal Man) encounter Brainiac’s ship adrift.

They board to investigate and discover the corpse (if a robot can have a corpse) of Brainiac.

Back on Earth, many of the heroes have gathered at Titan’s Tower, where they’re all checking each others’ math to make sure everyone has put two and two together. Huntress and Earth-2′s Robin explain that they, like Kal-L, don’t exist in this “new Earth”. Superboy-Prime is shocked when he finds out his Earth never existed either (that’s what happens when your universe was written in just so it could become a victim. Just ask Lady Quark)

Suddenly, Harbinger appears (having somehow regained her powers due to the new reality) and confirms this fact, and explains that some elements of each individual earths’ histories no longer existed (though reality seems to have conformed around Earth-1 primarily. I guess DC would have lost a lot of readers if it conformed around Earth-X), meaning only the modern versions of the “duplicate” heroes (like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) are part of this new reality, while heroes that share a name, but not a past (like Flash, Green Lantern, and Atom) exist alongside their younger counterparts. 

Kal-L flips out at this news, as it means that he will never see his wife Lois again.

As Kal-L flies off in a streak of self-pity, we switch to the Spirit Realm, where the Spectre lies unconscious, severely weakened by his battle with the Anti-Monitor (I’m sure this will be important later)

Back on Earth, the heroes continue to compare notes. It seems the villains don’t remember the multiverse (since they weren’t at the Dawn of Time), but it seems that Power Girl (Kal-L’s cousin) is remembered. No one is sure how that works.

Suddenly, the weather turns ugly, just as it did when a universe was about to–

Uh-oh…

Earth has been pulled into the Anti-Matter universe!

…dedulcnoc eb oT

[thenovelartist]

Life After Destruction - Chapter 7 - Honkai: Star Rail

<Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter>

Month seven meant only one more month aboard the Astral Express before Stelle and Dan Heng would be dropped off at the Xianzhou Luofu. Stelle felt like things were happening so fast. The pressure to get everything in order this month, including finishing shopping for the nursery, was beginning to weigh on her.

However, there had been one minor roadblock to accomplishing that goal: Himeko and March practically begging her to wait with any form of shopping. Although Stelle supposed she would have a month on the Luofu to collect any remaining items she needed, she still wanted to get things in order now, as did Dan Heng. In the end, the two were so adamant in their request that she had to cave, and despite her repeated asks, they never told her the reason.

Until today.

“Surprise!” Asta and March said, waving excitedly at the obnoxiously large pile of gifts.

Surprise, indeed. To say Stelle’s jaw was on the floor was probably an understatement. Beside her, Dan Heng looked equally shocked. Probably because when Himeko said they needed to go to Herta Space Station to gather supplies, it never crossed either of their minds that this would be what she'd meant.

“Yeah, yeah, surprise,” Herta reluctantly agreed with all the minimal enthusiasm she could muster. To be fair to her, the fact Herta had even come down to greet them was a surprise in itself. “Now get all this garbage off my ship. It’s preventing me from seeing my curios.”

“Madam Herta,” Asta gently chided. “I know you don’t mean that. Didn’t you get them a gift, too?”

“I didn’t want to,” she snipped. “It was Screwllems’s stupid idea, and Ruan Mei just had to jump on board. But… I guess it’s not totally worthless. Because of this idiot—” Herta roughly pointed at Stelle— “I’m still able to do my studies and experiments in this galaxy. Although, she could have avoided getting knocked up.” With those biting words, she glared at Dan Heng.

Stelle chuckled nervously. Although Herta’s words said one thing, Stelle was fairly certain the only reason she was mad was because Stelle hadn’t been able to help test the Simulated Universe for far too long.

Dan Heng, for his part, simply ignored it. “So,” he began, looking over the mountain of gifts once again before turning to March and Asta. “Would you like to explain why there are so many gifts here?”

“It’s for a baby shower!” March explained. “Er… kind of.”

“You two are kind of famous, you know,” Asta elaborated. “So it was only natural that people would want to know that the galaxy’s savior was pregnant with her first child. These are all the congratulatory gifts from, well… everyone.”

Stelle looked over the tower again. This mountain was the galaxy’s well-wishes to her?

Her hand went up to rest on top of her growing stomach.

“Um.” From behind them, Arlan spoke up. “Would you like me to start organizing the transfer of these gifts to the Express?”

“Yes!” Herta cried. “Get them out of here. I’ve got more important things to do, like finding someone who doesn’t have a medical exemption from assisting with my tests of the Simulated Universe. I’m trying to get in contact with Nanook there since he’s long dead in the real world. Curious minds need to know his reasonings behind these wars.”

“You can have Caelus for your experiments,” Stelle offered.

Herta quirked a brow at her. “Who?”

“Wow, that’s mean,” March muttered under her breath.

“We’ve all done it,” Stelle flatly countered, trying to justify away the niggling guilt she felt. “It’s his turn. Think of it as a rite of passage.”

Dan Heng hummed. “If he wants the full experience of being a trailblazer, I suppose assisting Madam Herta is part of it.”

Despite being a doll, Herta’s eyes started gleaming. “Oh, so he is a new member? That would be useful to get a fresh perspective on the alterations to the Simulated Universe. You all have adapted well to it, which has been helpful in its own way, but that might have skewed an accurate perception of it.”

“He’s probably still with Himeko at the Express,” Dan Heng answered.

“Oh, perfect.” And with that, Herta shuffled past Arlan and out the door.

Asta cleared her throat to break the awkward atmosphere. “If you would please, Arlan. Moving all this will take a while.”

“G-got it,” he replied. “It’s preferable to being dragged around by Madam Herta. Just… don’t tell her I said that.”

“Where is this even going to go on the Express?” Stelle asked.

“Himeko said she’s figured that out already,” March dismissed. “So don’t worry about it.”

That was an impossible task. Especially as another question came to mind. “Where is all this going to go in the nursery?”

“Oh!” March’s eyes lit up. “So that’s the thing. When Himeko and I sent out the announcement, we kinda realized that you might end up with an excess of baby things. Himeko suggested they send things for the baby to grow into instead of just baby things. She promised that you guys could put all the things you wouldn’t need right away in storage.”

“Well,” Dan Heng said, nodding in approval, “that certainly is more practical, considering how many planets seemed to have been informed.”

“Yeah,” Asta agreed. “But they were all more than happy to send things along. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have all this.”

That was true. At that realization, Stelle felt quite honored.

Don’t cry, she mentally warned when she felt herself suddenly get emotional, an unfortunate side effect of her pregnancy. Suck it up. It’s fine. It’s just… really nice of everyone.

Soon enough, she was dabbing at her eyes.

“Please tell me those are happy tears,” Asta said, suddenly getting worried.

Dan Heng wrapped his arm around Stelle’s waist, and she allowed him to pull her close. “Yeah. I’m fine,” she said, leaning against Dan Heng's shoulder.

“Is it overwhelming?” Dan Heng quietly asked.

Stelle nodded. “But it’s really nice of everyone.”

“It… it really is,” Dan Heng agreed. “We’re going to have to thank everyone for their thoughtfulness.”

“I’ve got you covered,” Asta said, grabbing one of the boxes that was exceedingly plain. She took off the cardboard lid, showing a small booklet and a stack of cards and envelopes. “This is for you to record who gave you what. And then I got actual letters for you to send. Hopefully, that won’t be too overwhelming.”

“We’ll manage,” Dan Heng said. “Although… this will be quite the task.”

Stelle could not disagree in the slightest.

“I can help if you want,” March offered. “I don’t mind.”

“Thanks,” Stelle said, shooting her friend a smile. As kind as it was for her to offer, Stelle had the feeling she’d manage on her own. After all, she was getting quite bored staying still on the Express, her growing stomach getting in the way of being too adventurous. Writing a million cards might just be the cure for her boredom.

Or it would drive her insane. With her mood swings, who knew. Either way, it had to be better than helping Herta test the Simulated Universe…

Right?

~~~

Dan Heng had no idea how they managed to fit all the gifts in the Astral Express. Looking over the storage room that was practically overflowing, he was dreading the task of opening them. However, he would not complain. This was extremely generous of the galaxy at large, and he was appropriately thankful for their consideration. Furthermore, with all these gifts, it was likely he and Stelle wouldn’t have to go shopping for much more. That is, if they had to go shopping at all. While he wouldn’t have minded going shopping for the baby, he also couldn’t deny he would prefer if he didn’t have to. Shopping had never been his favorite thing, and one particular pre-Stelle shopping trip he’d been forced to take with March had spoiled that task for life.

“So,” Himeko began, approaching Dan Heng, “What do you think of the surprise? We wanted to organize a proper baby shower for Stelle, but that just wasn’t possible.”

“This is more than enough,” Dan Heng assured with a smile. “Thank you. It must have taken considerable effort on your part to organize this.”

“It did, but it was worth it. Hopefully, March and I did a good enough job communicating with everyone so you won’t get too many repeated items. You should be covered with a range of things up into their childhood years. Although, organizing certain toddler items does become more challenging when you don’t know if you’ll have a boy or a girl.”

“Stelle wanted to keep it a surprise. Otherwise, you would have known.”

“I know. And I also know you went along with her wishes to keep her happy." She then poked his shoulder. "Just remember you’re the father. You’re allowed to ask for things, too.”

“I know,” he returned. “But I couldn’t ask for anything more than what she’s given me. While I would have liked to know, just so I could be as prepared as possible, it ultimately doesn’t matter if we know ahead of time or not. I’ll be happy either way.”

Himeko’s smile was gentle. “Stelle’s very lucky to have you as her husband. And your child is going to be lucky to have you as a father.”

Bashful, Dan Heng turned back to look over the gifts. “I’ll… do my best.”

“Give yourself a little credit,” Himeko teased. “You deserve it.”

Unsure of what to say, Dan Heng simply nodded. He had plenty of doubts lingering in his mind over this, but he had to conquer them alone. And quickly, at that. The baby would be here before they knew it. While Dan Heng knew that everything about their life would change because of it, there was also only so much he could do to prepare. He would just have to adapt to everything else and hope he didn’t mess things up, for his child’s sake.

“Have you figured out names yet?” Himeko asked.

He nodded, thankful for the change in conversation. “Yes, we’ve settled on names for both genders.”

“Are you going to keep those a surprise, too?” Himeko lightly prodded.

“Yes,” Dan Heng said, giving her a slight smile. “But that was my idea to do so.”

“Haha. You two are certainly keeping everyone in suspense.”

Dan Heng shut the door to the storage room, blocking out the overwhelming sight of the mountainous stack of gifts for now. “On a different note,” he began, making his way back to the parlor. “I will be sitting this next mission out so as to help Stelle—”

“She warned me to not allow you to do that,” Himeko interrupted. “She said she could handle the presents and thank you cards on her own but that you should get out and about as much as possible before the baby is born. I agree with her. I doubt you’ll want to leave her side for a while after your baby arrives, so I don’t want you to get sick of the Astral Express too soon.”

Dan Heng sighed. Part of him figured this would happen. If it was just Himeko’s idea, he’d probably argue with her, but he wasn’t going to test Stelle. Her emotional state was growing more unstable with each passing month, so he didn't want to start needless fights with her. She was only doing this out of consideration for him, anyway. 

“It will be fine,” Himeko said. “You two can open the gifts together while we’re traveling. Then whoever stays behind with Stelle can help her write all the thank you notes. That is, if she wants the help in the first place. It’s quite obvious Stelle is growing plenty bored staying on the Express all the time. The letters will give her something to do.”

When Himeko put it that way, Dan Heng thought maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to leave that job up to Stelle, after all.

“Besides,” Himeko continued. “I appreciate you teaching Caelus what you know before you disappear on us. Don’t say this to March, but between the two of you, you are the better teacher.”

Dan Heng smirked in amusement. “My lips are sealed.” Although, he did suppose Himeko had a point when it came to Caelus. He was a plenty capable person and well-trained, but he came with his own challenges and quirks. Stellaron Hunters did things very differently than the Nameless, so there was much to teach him as well as many tricks to learn from him.

And if Dan Heng were being honest, he enjoyed having a male companion compared to traveling with two girls all the time. Not that he didn’t adore said girls, especially since they were his wife and someone he thought of as a sister.

They entered the parlor to see Stelle still chatting with March, Asta, and Arlan. Upon spying Dan Heng, Stelle grinned, waving him to come over before motioning to a large box at her feet. “From the Space Station.”

“Though Arlan organized it,” Asta said, elbowing the young man.

Arlan chuckled sheepishly. “I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure we will,” Stelle said. “Thank you.”

“And don’t worry,” Arlan added on, shooting Asta a warning look. “I didn’t let Lady Asta spend any money on it. She went overboard with the clothes, anyway.”

“I did not,” Asta countered. “It was fine.”

“It was not fine,” Stelle said. “It’s just that no one can stop you when you start.”

Before Asta could come up with a retort, the door to the Astral Express opened, and a frazzled Caelus entered.

Upon seeing all eyes were on him, he started waving his hands about. “Let me get this straight: you’ve all helped Madam Herta with her little ‘virtual reality’ experiment?”

Tempering a grin, Dan Heng nodded, noting that the others were all doing the same. He almost pitied Caelus. Almost. He’d suffered Madam Herta’s experiments enough over the years. It was Caelus’ turn to take up that torch. Besides, the more people who volunteered, the fewer times each person would have to assist.

“Like, once or twice?” Caelus tentatively inquired.

Stelle answered, “Sometimes, several times a week.”

“A week?” Caelus repeated, horrified.

“How’d you like it?” March teasingly prodded.

Caelus couldn’t answer right away, words clearly having failed him. Eventually, he just shook his head. “So many bugs.”

“Aww,” Stelle mockingly cooed. “You don’t even know the half of it.”

~~~

The pile of scrapped gift wrapping was growing astronomically fast, and the nursery was filling up with items almost as quickly. So far, there’d been a wide variety of things, from baby necessities to toddler clothing to a range of toys. Then there was the variety of wild card items ranging from medicine to information for the archives to weapons.

And then Stelle still wasn’t fully sure what that thing was over in the corner.

But even those odd items came with things like some diapers or children’s books, and each gift came with a letter of congratulations from the senders. Typically, they were from the government at large, but there were a few exceptions.

“Another from Belobog.”

Stelle took the gift Dan Heng offered her, the fourth one from Belobog. One from Bronya, who spoke on behalf of the country at large, then another from the Silvermane Guards. Wildfire even got her a gift.

As she looked over the plain brown box, her heart warmed upon seeing the still scratchy lettering that she recognized as Hook’s scrawl. To: Honorary Member and Little Honorary Member. From: The Moles. “They’re too sweet.”

“They are very kind," Dan Heng agreed. "I’m sure it wasn’t easy for them to scrape together the money to send that.”

That was true. Inter-astral mail wasn’t cheap. Even though she knew all the members of the Moles each had their own paying jobs now, it must have put quite the dent in their pockets.

Stelle opened the slightly battered box to reveal a jar of marbles, a teddy bear that looked handmade with a handful of clothes to go with it, and a torn, tattered book titled “Adventures of the Moles”. The longer she looked over the gifts, the more she recognized them, and soon enough, she began to feel overly emotional.

“I’m gonna yell at them for giving us these,” she whispered, her eyes growing watery.

“You should probably text them right away,” Dan Heng suggested, a gentle smile on his face while he soothingly stroked her hair.

“Yeah, probably.”

Dan Heng set the box carefully aside for her while Stelle pulled out her phone.

“I’m going to empty out the trash bin again,” Dan Heng said, standing from his seat. “And bring back the next round of gifts. Take your time.”

“Thanks,” she said, already tapping away at her phone.

Stelle: Hook! I just opened your gift!

Stelle: I love it. Thank you so much!

Stelle: Tell the others I said thanks, too.

Before Stelle could put her phone away, she saw little bubbles flash on the screen.

Hook: I’m glad! Do you like the teddy? I sewed it all by myself!

Hook: I asked the old witch to teach me how, and she said she would if I cleaned the clinic.

Hook: But she actually made me clean the clinic! (;° ロ°)

Stelle couldn’t help but chuckle. She could easily imagine the huffy pout Hook was wearing.

Stelle: It’s about time she made you keep your word. Natasha was too soft.

Hook: Honorary member! How dare you betray us!

Hook: Oh no she caught me

Stelle: Good luck with your punishment.

With a grin, Stelle put her phone down. Over the years, Hook had grown fond of the clinic. More often than not, Hook would volunteer a little of her time to help Natasha tidy the place up. Not exactly any of the “months” she’d ever promised, but Stelle supposed that development was enough to show just how much Hook had grown up.

While mustering the willpower to stand up and help Dan Heng pull some more presents into the nursery, her phone chimed. She looked over, expecting to see a message from Hook detailing how she escaped.

Natasha: Hey, Stelle. I’m sorry to bother you, but since you texted Hook, I thought you might be free for a moment. I have a question to ask of you.

Stelle: Of course. Shoot.

Natasha: Feel free to tell me I’m sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong, but have you set up a birth plan yet?

Honestly, Stelle should have been expecting that from Natasha. If anything, she should have told Natasha her plans earlier.

Stelle: Yes. We’ve decided to go to the Xianzhou Luofu, which is Dan Heng’s home world. I believe I’ve told you about Bailu, correct? She was incredibly picky in recommending doctors to us.

Natasha: That’s good to hear you have people you trust. If you hadn’t, I was going to ask if I could help you in any way. Of course, if you need me for anything, I’ll help out as much as I can.

Stelle: Thank you. I promise I’ll contact you if I need anything.

Though it was reasonable to leave it at that, Stelle kinda wanted to keep the conversation going. Hence, she found herself typing out another message.

Stelle: Actually, I had been debating about coming to Belobog. I trust you as a doctor and would have felt the most comfortable with you, if I am being honest. But for other reasons, the Luofu is ultimately better.

Stelle: Sometimes I wish you could come, but I know you’re busy with the clinic. :)

Just as she finished, Dan Heng returned, his arms full of gifts once again.

Stelle put her phone down. “How many more do we have to go?”

Dan Heng dropped the tall stack. “With this, we’ve gotten through approximately two-thirds of the gifts.”

Stelle heaved a sigh. It had been a marathon, to say the least. She was growing tired of them, even though she was still incredibly thankful. Because of what they had received so far, the nursery was already stocked with everything they could need or want. Heck, they’d even gotten things they certainly didn’t need. At this point, she couldn't even fathom what other surprises there could possibly be.

Before Dan Heng could hand her the gift from the top of the pile, her phone dinged again.

Natasha: If you’d like, I can try to organize coming with you. I have two new assistants that could take over for a short period.

Natasha: I would have to double-check with some of the others, though, to make sure everything with Wildfire is running smoothly and that it would be okay.

Stelle blinked a few times at the message.

“Something happen?” Dan Heng asked, sitting down beside her again.

“Um…” Stelle pursed her lips as she glanced over to Dan Heng. “Natasha offered to come with us to be there for the birth of our baby.”

“Oh?”

Stelle nodded.

“Would you like that?”

“I mean… yeah.”

“But you’re hesitating.”

Stelle let her phone fall into her lap, giving Dan Heng her full attention. “Do you think Bailu would be okay with that? Or would that cause more problems? She said she’d already screened all the doctors there for us to meet. And I know Natasha said she’d be okay to leave for a bit, but we’ll be there for a month. Is it okay for her to leave for that long?”

Dan Heng paused in thought. “I wouldn’t worry about Bailu. Even though she did take time to recommend doctors to us, I doubt she would fault you for bringing a doctor you trust. As for if Natasha can take that time away from the clinic, I’d say tell her our plan and let her decide if she can accommodate us.”

“You think I should?” Stelle asked.

“I think you have the right to be comfortable with people you trust. And if they’re offering, I would accept. And... to be honest, I would be comfortable with Natasha, as well. For your sake."

Feeling more confident, Stelle picked up her phone again. "Bailu would be disappointed if she knew you didn't trust her judgment."

"I trust people you and I both know and have worked with. That's all."

Although he spoke them dismissively, she was happy to have her husband's full support. She leaned over to drop her head on his shoulder while she texted Natasha back.

Stelle: Are you sure that would be okay? About three weeks from now, we will head to the Luofu with plans on remaining there until the baby is born. By that time, I’ll only be eight months, so we’ll likely be there for a month or so. Is it possible for you to take all that time away from your clinic?

She sent off the message before dropping the phone back into her lap. 

Beside her, Dan Heng pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head before handing her another gift. 

"Was that encouagement to keep up this marathon?" she asked, feeling all fluttery from the tiny gesture. 

"Possibly."

"Possibly," she repeated, amused. Still, she sat up straight to open the gift, this one a box of children’s books and some unisex clothes. 

After recording the information in the booklet, Dan Heng took them to set aside just as her phone dinged again.

Natasha: So you’ll be spending the last month of your pregnancy there? That’s a wise idea. As for the length of duration on my account, things here should be fine between the two assistants that I’ve trained to handle the clinic here. Things have never run more smoothly. I’m sure I can disappear for a month or two. 

Natasha: Actually, Seele just came and told me to leave the affairs of Wildfire to her and Oleg. It seems I might be pushed to go with you in the end.

Stelle: If you’re able to, I would really like to have you around. 

Stelle: Take your time organizing things. We can come pick you up when it comes time and take you to the Luofu with us. I think you’d really like it.

Natasha: I would be going as your doctor first and foremost. But, when you put it that way, I guess that I would have a little free time to enjoy exploring a new place. That would be quite exciting. :D 

“I think it’s going to work out,” Stelle said, grinning as she looked over to Dan Heng.

He returned her smile with one of his own. “Then I’ll inform Bailu a little later once you two have sorted out more of the details.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Well, while you’re continuing to communicate with her, would you like to switch tasks? I’ll open the next gifts and you record them?”

Stelle looked over the tower of gifts before her. Her stomach sank even further when she recalled there were still more in the storage area. “Yeah, gimme the notebook before I get sick of opening gifts forever.”

~~~

“And you’re certain you packed everything?” Dan Heng asked for the final time.

Stelle sighed, clearly getting tired of his constant questioning. Yet, he watched her silently count on her fingers as she looked over their luggage. “Pretty sure.”

“All the baby’s things that Natasha instructed us to pack?”

“That was the bag I packed first.”

He nodded, looking over the luggage one last time. He couldn’t shake this anxious feeling swirling through him, like he was forgetting something. Or maybe he was anxious because he was about to spend the next month with Stelle on the Xianzhou Luofu. This would be the longest period of time he’d spent away from the Express since first boarding. Furthermore, he wasn’t leaving for a mission but rather for a familial reason, which felt still extremely strange to him.

“Well, if you’re finished questioning me for the umpteenth time, are you ready to go?” Stelle asked.

Startled from his thoughts, he looked back up at her. “Y-yeah. I think so.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded, but she was quick to shoot him a doubtful look. Worried that she was about to call his bluff, he reached for their luggage bags, ones the space station had gifted them for this very reason. “We should go,” he said. “The others put aside their expedition to make this trip specifically for us. I don’t want to keep them long.”

“I guess you’re right.” And with that, Stelle reached for her bag.

“Grab the baby’s bag,” Dan Heng instructed. “That’s all I’ll let you carry.”

She frowned up at him. “I can carry more.”

“You are carrying plenty.” He reached out to lay a hand on her stomach. “So don’t overexert yourself.”

“I’m fine, you know,” she quietly countered, placing her hand on top of his, a habit she'd picked up from whenever the baby was kicking and she pulled him close to feel it. At the moment, the baby was quiet. Maybe it too was feeling the stress of everything.

“I’d like to keep you that way.” With that, he leaned forward, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

“Hey.”

He couldn't help but grin at the little pout she shot him, his worries disappearing for a second. Reaching up to cradle her cheek, he angled her head towards him and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Better?”

She grinned. “Thank you. For that, I guess I’ll let you carry the bags.”

He huffed in amusement.

Soon enough, the duo made their way to the parlor, Stelle carrying the baby backpack while Dan Heng dragged one large, rolling suitcase behind him. It fit quite a bit of their clothes for the month, but the rest of their things were packed in the overlarge pack he wore on his back. For some reason, a slight chill haunted him as he marched down the hallway. It disturbed him, this odd feeling of finality that hung in the air, like an end was imminent. He tried to tell himself he would return here to the Astral Express and that things would be fine, but the sadness weighing on his heart was too heavy to entirely ignore.

“There they are,” Himeko spoke once Dan Heng and Stelle entered the parlor. “Are the both of you set?”

“I believe so,” Dan Heng answered, pushing aside his feelings for now and focusing on the present. Beside him, Stelle made a show of crossing her fingers.

“Then this is where we part ways.” Himeko was the first to reach out and pull Stelle in a hug. “We’ll miss you. We’ll be hoping for a safe delivery.”

“Thank you,” Stelle muttered in return.

March was up next. “It will be so weird not having you two around,” she said, clinging tight to Stelle.

“It’ll be weirder when we bring back a baby,” Stelle bantered back.

“That’s true. But I’ll take that weirdness any day if it means you two are back.”

Dan Heng felt a small sense of relief knowing that he wasn’t the only one feeling strange about this whole arrangement. Not that there was anything to be done about it; it was part of Stelle’s pregnancy. One would have thought Dan Heng would have gotten used to change by now, with the months Stelle’s pregnancy had already altered their lives in numerous ways, but this felt different. They’d always had the Astral Express and the Nameless by their side to help them through it. Now, they were temporarily heading out on their own.

A weight on his shoulder called him out of his thoughts, and Dan Heng looked over to Welt. “I wish you both a restful month before the baby arrives,” Welt said, giving Dan Heng’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze. “You two have earned it.”

“We’ll try,” Dan Heng responded.

“Don’t worry,” Caelus said, giving Dan Heng’s other shoulder a bump with his fist. “We’ll take care of everything around here.”

“I believe you will.” Dan Heng had seen how quickly Caelus had integrated into the Astral Express crew. He would manage on his own. Although, Dan Heng still had some reservations about Caelus and March running missions together. The combination of March’s friendly, somewhat naive personality paired with Caelus’ impulsive nature was doubtlessly going to wind the pair in trouble at some point.

Caelus then turned to Stelle, reaching an arm out towards her. “Take care.”

Stelle returned the side hug with a smile. Despite the amnesia between the two of them making their past a jumbled mishmash of memories, they’d grown close over the last couple of months. Maybe because of how similar they ultimately were. “Don’t get in trouble,” Stelle warned him.

“I promise… to do my best.”

“March,” Stelle said, turning to her friend. “If something goes wrong, remember: blame him.”

“Hey!”

March laughed. “You got it.”

Caelus leveled a glare at March. “Rude.”

Chuckling, March shot back a cheeky wink and peace sign.

While the duo went at it, Welt had sided up to Stelle. “Take care,” he told her, reaching up to rest a hand on her head. “I’ll be hoping you have an easy delivery.”

Grinning, she reached out to wrap her arms around his torso. “Thanks.”

He wrapped an arm over her shoulders, looking every bit like a proud grandfather-to-be.

“Stay safe,” Himeko said, now at Dan Heng’s side.

“We will,” he returned.

“And know that we’ll always be here if you need anything,” she continued.

“I wouldn’t want to bother you any more than we have.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Himeko easily dismissed. “You and Stelle have been travelers on the Express for so long that you’re the closest thing to family I have. I guarantee you that the others feel the same. So it’s no bother. Besides, we’ll all miss you and can’t wait for you to come back, baby and all.”

At her words, more of the chilly unease in Dan Heng’s stomach dissipated. Maybe that was what had him in such a frenzy: he was leaving this place he considered home behind, even if it was just for a bit. For someone who grew up with nothing only to be exiled when he was old enough, the last thing he wanted was to let go of every treasure he'd found, for it to disappear.

But it wouldn’t. It was only a temporary shift for the sake of Stelle and his child. And once the baby arrived, they would come back home, to where his—no, their family was waiting.

“Sorry, sorry!” A sudden newcomer burst into the parlor. “I overslept. Apologies if I kept everyone waiting.”

“You came right on time,” Himeko assured. “Although, I feel bad for having to wake you in the first place. You seemed quite comfortable.”

“I was,” Natasha guiltily admitted. “Seems I’ve been working too hard lately and not getting enough rest.”

“Well, I hope you are able to get some rest on the Luofu.”

“On the contrary, I fear I’ll be too excited to want to sleep. And considering I have the very rare pleasure of caring for a single patient, I’ll have plenty of time to study a different world. I won’t want to miss a minute.”

Dan Heng spoke up, “I’m sure Bailu would be happy to let you read her medical texts.”

At that, Natasha’s eyes lit up. “It would be wonderful if I could find new techniques or medicines to take back to Belobog.”

“With as much free time as you’ll have,” Stelle chimed in. “I’m sure you’ll find something.”

“I look forward to it.”

With one last round of goodbyes, Dan Heng, Stelle, and Natasha headed toward the train's exit. Only, before they disembarked, Dan Heng transformed into his vidyadhara figure. Which he realized too late that Natasha had never seen before.

"That is... quite the surprise," Natasha commented, accepting the shift with grace. "But, I guess it shouldn't be, Cold Dragon Young."

He sighed. "I am impressed you can remember such a fleeting name."

"Fleeting?" Natasha asked, a mischievous twinkle coming to her eye. "The children still call you that."

Dan Heng wasn't quite sure what to think of that. Stelle certainly found it amusing, though. 

When they disembarked the Express, they were immediately greeted by a surprisingly large welcoming party, the most notable two being a young vidyadhara and a not-so-fearsome Cloud Knight Commander.

“Dan Heng! Stelle!” Bailu was the first to run up to them, throwing her arms around Stelle. “Man, you’re huge.”

“Gee, thanks,” Stelle deadpanned, still patting Bailu on the head.

“It’s an observation, not an insult,” she quipped back. Her pout soon became a grin as she turned to Dan Heng and threw her arms around him. “Welcome back.”

Dan Heng returned the hug Bailu gave him, although he didn’t cling to her nearly as tight as she did him. “Good to see you, Bailu.”

Having properly greeted him and Stelle, Bailu then turned to Natasha. “Ah, are you the doctor that Stelle wanted to bring?”

“Yes. I’m Natasha. You must be Bailu.”

“That I am.”

“I’ve heard much about you.”

“You should have,” Bailu proudly piped up. “Dan Heng is basically my brother.”

“Play nice,” Dan Heng warned, patting Bailu on the head as he walked past her, dragging the luggage behind him.

“Fine,” she playfully bemoaned. “But only because you asked nicely.”

Leaving the girls behind to chat among themselves, Dan Heng approached a grinning Jing Yuan.

“I believe a hearty congratulations is in order,” the man warmly greeted.

“Thank you.” Over the years, Dan Heng had forged an odd sort of acquaintanceship with Jing Yuan. He was sure that Jing Yuan would never be able to fully forget Dan Heng’s past incarnation and the close friendship he’d shared with Dan Feng, yet Dan Heng could tell the commander had moved beyond that and saw him for the person he was in this life instead of the man he once had been.

“Come now, no need to be so modest. You’re the first vidyadhara to ever reproduce. You should be thrilled.”

“I am,” Dan Heng said. “I simply have other concerns on my mind at the moment. Such as how the general population has reacted to that fact."

Jing Yuan’s expression grew serious, which only made the pit of worry in Dan Heng’s stomach grow. “I apologize. I encouraged Lady Bailu to leak that news. I thought it would be for the better to stir the pot and see what bubbled up beforehand rather than you appearing with your pregnant wife unannounced.”

He sighed, a heaviness weighing on his heart. Maybe this was the other reason he was so afraid to leave the Express behind. Yes, he would miss his family, but here, there were threats to Stelle lurking just under the surface. And if anything happened to her or the baby…

Well, he feared he understood Dan Feng a little too well in moments like this.

“You aren’t one to make an impulsive decision like that without council,” Dan Heng said. “I’m assuming you contacted the head diviner before making that call.”

“I’m pleased to know you know me so well. Yes, I did. She also agreed with that plan, believing it gave us the best chance to monitor the population’s reaction and weed out any potential threats prior to your arrival.”

“Did it yield harvest?”

“It did,” Jing Yuan confirmed. “They are facing judgment for their scheming. Although, I would refrain from claiming we’ve eliminated all threats. While many vidyadhara have accepted you back into the fold, there are those who still hate you regardless. To be honest, the other reason we wished to leak the information beforehand was to ensure that it would be safe for you to come here in the first place. Had the population reacted poorly, I would have told Bailu to send you elsewhere. However, the general consensus is a positive one. Most of the vidyadhara are happy to learn of your ability to father a child. You are now a symbol of hope for their race, after all.”

For a moment, Dan Heng was silent. “I understand that Stelle’s pregnancy provides hope to the vidyadhara population at large, and I should have pride in the fact I’m able to contribute in such a way to my race. But…” He turned to look at Stelle, who was grinning as Bailu held her swollen belly with a look of awe. “That is the last thing on my mind.”

Jing Yuan hummed. “I suppose I can’t fault you for that. Ultimately, you are no different than any other excited father.”

Dan Heng turned back to Jing Yuan. “There is a vast difference between knowing you have a child to carry on the legacy of a race incapable of having children and knowing that you are blessed to have a child.”

With an approving grin, Jing Yuan dropped a hand on Dan Heng’s shoulder. “That child is lucky to have you as a father. I’m happy for you.”

Dan Heng nodded his thanks.

Jing Yuan then gave Dan Heng’s shoulder a squeeze. “I swear on my honor that I’ll do everything I can to keep you and Stelle safe. Beyond you two being the parents of the first vidyadhara to be born, you two are the saviors of the galaxy. And even beyond that… you, Dan Heng, are my friend.”

For a moment, words eluded him, so Dan Heng had to settle for reaching up to rest a hand on Jing Yuan’s shoulder. “Thank you… old friend.”

[huffle-dork]

Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 14: Outer Space AU

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

SBTCV Masterpost

"This is a bit of solar cloth, it's used to take power from starlight--or sunlight, I suppose," JJ says, tapping out his words on his brace. He and Alt are sitting at the table in his room. The 'solar cloth' in question is a small hankerchief-sized square that... isn't actually cloth, per se. It's made of tiny, tiny metal strings woven together, giving the copper material a shimmery effect. Just as flexible as cloth, if a bit heavier. "It's used in a lot of transportation back home, made into sails, but it's very versatile."

Alt is marveling at the tightly woven cloth, feeling it with his fingers and glitching a bit in excitement, “That’s so fucking cool! Solar powered sails… on space ships??” He asks with shining eyes as he looks up at JJ.

JJ grins. "Not just ships, but a lot of surface transportation, too. There's a popular sport called sand-sailing, where you go out to the desert, stand on a hovering board with a solar cloth sail, and skim the surface of the dunes. And there are larger versions of those for mass transportation. Like... like boats for land." 

“Ohh! Sounds like something straight out of star wars-“ Alt laughs. 

The door opens, and Sam flies in. "Alt, I realized you might be hungry," they say. "Are you? We do have food here."

Alt blinks up at Sam and makes a face, touching his stomach. “…I… I guess I am kinda hungry…” he says quietly.

JJ nods. "We can have lunch." 

"Great! Do you have any allergies or strong aversions to certain tastes or textures?" Sam asks.

Alt hums, “Uh- not really? I’ll eat most anything.”

"Good to know! You're probably not familiar with most of our food, though," Sam says. JJ blinks. 

"How about something simple? Do we still have pleries?" 

"Of course we do." 

“A… plery?” Alt asks with a tilted head. 

JJ looks over at Alt. "A plery is basically dough wrapped around meat or fruit or vegetables. Sometimes cheese. They're originally from Caphomia but the form has been adapted." 

“Oh that sounds good.” Alt grins. 

"You can't have just that, though," Sam says. 

"Well, bring whatever else you think we'd like, then."

Alt blinks at Sam and nods. “yeah I’m not picky. I need food to fuel my magic so I’ll take anything usually.”

Sam shifts up and down, a nodding form. "I'll be right back, then. This shouldn't take long." They turn around and fly out again. 

"In your time, you haven't been found by other life, right?" JJ asks. "I mean... aliens and such. This must be very confusing."

“Oh yeah no…” Alt says with a laugh as he crosses his arms and leans on the table. “In our time- we still had people debating if things in the skies were UFOs or not but they never were. I think… we found water on mars? I dunno- don’t really keep up with a lot of space stuff.”

"Oh yes water on Mars! That's what led to the settling on there," JJ says. "And if that hadn't happened, there wouldn't be humans on Olinion, Haivis, or Vara. Though... we never would have had the opportunity without the help of more advanced species like the optels--which is what Sam is."

“Optels… ha- cuz they’re like… optic nerves,” Alt laughs a bit, “You always hear in movies and tv shows about humans settling throughout the universe… crazy to actually hear parts of it! In our time- feels kinda like we’re still just… stuck on earth, you know?”

JJ nods slowly. "Well... once upon a time, I'm sure the oceans seemed impossible to cross. I'm not sure if your world will ever get in contact with other species, or if other species even exist there, but I'm sure you'll start exploring more. It just... will probably take a long, long time."

“Ah yeah… guess it makes sense in that perspective,” Alt laughs. “Nah we haven’t found anything yet. It’s been… chill. Space wise, at least.”

JJ chuckles. "Chill is better than trouble, if you ask me. Things weren't always perfect, even if things are... relatively peaceful now. Relatively. I mean, I was kidnapped, technically." 

Alt laughs, “Yeah, not exactly the definition of chill.”

The door opens again. "But apparently you could leave whenever," Sam says as they fly in. Their flying device has been connected to a floating tray via a tether of blue light. 

On the tray are two plates of food, two smaller plates with utensils, a bowl of fruit, two cups, and a pitcher of what looks like milk.

Alt blinks at Sam coming in and looks at the food curiously. “Huh- doesn’t look too futuristic.” He chuckles. 

"Well... most of this is from alien worlds, I think," JJ says. "Unless the nuggets are chicken?" 

"Nope. Boral nuggets," Sam says. "And the milk?" 

"Cow milk--but I do think the cow was raised in Vara so it's sort of alien." 

“Boral?” Alt asks.

"Birds from Artatov," JJ says. "Thick black feathers. They live in the north of the planet. They are sort of like chickens, so if you have a recipe that calls for one, you can switch it for the other. Including nuggets." 

One of the plates has these nuggets, which don't look too different from present-day chicken nuggets, only with a darker brown breading. Another has spherical roll-like food, made of a yellowish bread. The fruit in the bowl looks like apples at first, but the pattern on the skin is off, more stripey instead of the spotty pattern apples usually get. 

JJ moves everything to the table. He tears open one of the rolls, revealing that there are green vegetables and green cheese inside. "This is a plery," he explains. "Originally they were just filled with meat--the felorrs on Caphomia are mostly carnivorous--but you can put anything inside the plery dough."

Alt looks at all the food and hums curiously. He grabs one of the rolls and turns it over before biting into it.

The plery is like biting into a calzone, but with a bit of a tang. The vegetables inside crunch but don't seem to have too much of a taste.

“Hm! Interesting-“ Alt says as he digs into all the food- finding it comforting and almost familiar. But not quite.

"And these are honishe," JJ says, then picks up one of the fruit. "They're from Sessirya... and they're notable because the sysrevs who live there can't actually eat them but almost every other known species can. Ironic." 

The fruit is a bit softer and juicier than apples, tasting like someone mixed strawberries, apples, and oranges into a smoothie.

“Woah! That’s really good-“ Alt says after trying some. “Shame the Sessiryans can’t eat ‘em! Kinda like how humans technically eat poison when we eat spicy food huh?” He laughs. 

"Oh you have no idea how much humans can eat that others can't," JJ says, chuckling. "Capsaicin is a big one, but also caffeine, cacao--" 

"And all the things that are poisonous to you that you eat anyway," Sam adds. 

"Oh yes, like alcohol and those pufferfish!"

“Oh yeah!” Alt laughs, “Listen man they’re good! S’not our fault nature’s defenses taste delicious!”

"If you say so," Sam says. 

"Can you even taste anything, Sam?" JJ asks. "I've always wondered that." 

"Not the way you do," Sam says. 

The door to the room opens again and Anti pokes his head into the room. He looks back and forth between the three of them. 

"...yes?" Sam asks. 

"Checking to see if this is a good time to talk about the IRIS building," Anti says.

Alt looks intrigued by this but then looks at the door as Anti comes in. He shrugs, taking another bite of his food. “I don’t see why not.”

Anti nods and walks fully into the room. Sam flies downwards onto the table and disconnects the tray. "Here." Anti puts a small round device onto the table, pressing a button on the side. It projects a hologram of the space station. "The Zypso Station is composed of six layers. The IRIS building is a tourist attraction on Layer Four, composed mainly of offices, near the center of the station." As Anti talks in his robotic voice, the hologram zooms into Layer Four, past tall buildings, towards the tallest building in the middle, shaped a bit like a sword. The IRIS logo in this world is an eye shape with the word IRIS in the center, curved like a bubble. Lines of blue lights go up the side.

Alt watches the hologram with starry eyes, “Woahhh-“ He whispers, watching it work. Then he shakes his head and tries to focus. “Right okay uh… which layer are we on?”

Anti hesitates, looking at JJ. Sam lightly slaps Anti with their tail, and JJ rolls his eyes, covering his ears. "We are between two layers--Three and Two. Three is for commercial activities. Buying items and such. Two is residency. We will have to make our way into Layer Three and then into Four from there, but that will be simple enough. It will be more difficult to get into the IRIS building. It will doubtless not be in the public areas. Do you know where in the building your item is located?"

“Um.. not yet- but lemme see?” Alt says as he takes out the tracker again. The same knowledge gets beamed into his mind, with the only additional information being that it's in the upper half of the building. 

"If you are unable to have that information, we will have to plan for all eventualities," Anti says. "We will have to get through high-security doors without being spotted by the camera system. I am recalling your teleportation ability. Do you think that could help?"

Alt frowns, “Usually we get more information once we’re closer. But it says it’s in the upper half….” He nods to Anti. “I can glitch us past and maybe even disable the camera systems too… I have electric based magic.”

"Magic?" Sam repeats, surprised. 

Alt blinks then opens up his hand and lets a collection of electric magic form a ball in his palm. He then shifts into his calico cat form in a quick glitch before popping back into his chair, casually. He grins, “Magic!” 

"I see. That is your abilities?" Anti nods. "Magic does not exist here. Or if it does, I am unaware of it, and so is IRIS. They will not be prepared for that specific ability. But they are armed with stun guns and EMPs of all sorts."

“…EMPS will be an issue…” Alt grumbles, crossing his arms.

"And you will not shut down when one goes off within range," Anti says. "It will be quite dangerous. Which is why our goal will be to get in and get out without being noticed. IRIS will notice if the systems go down for too long, as well, so we will have to be fast. 

“I won’t shut off sure but it’ll disturb my powers…” Alt mumbles. “But yeah- we wanna make this as simple as possible.” 

“Jameson..." Anti pauses. "Is there... anything you could do? If you want... to help?" 

JJ had removed his hands a while ago. He grins. "If you want," he types.

Alt blinks at Jameson then grins too.

Anti fiddles with the holo projector, flipping through several diagrams. "This is common IRIS-style tech. Is there anything you can do to disrupt it?" 

"Leave it with me, I can look it over later," JJ says. "For now, continue on about the building." 

Anti nods and flicks back to the diagram of the IRIS building. "The upper floors are pretty much closed to the public. Except for roof access, where tourists can get a view of Layer Four. We could work our way up from the bottom or down from the viewing platform. Either way, we will need to disrupt the scanners at the front entrance. They will definitely detect me." 

Alt nods in agreement, “Alright- sounds simple enough. I should be able to do that.”

Anti nods. "Now as for your brother. We will probably need to find him as well, I'm assuming? Does he have magic as well?" 

"So bizarre to hear that question," JJ says. 

Then Alt's phone starts to chime again.

Alt opens his mouth to answer then blinks and takes out his phone, “Anti?” He asks.

"Yes?" says the robotic Anti. 

"Yep," says the Anti in the phone. "Or, partially. I just wanted to let you know that your brother is on the way. Along with the four others from this world." 

“Oh! He found the others then?” Alt asks. “Glad he’s not in trouble then…” 

Sam flies forward. "Why is there a screen assistant in your phone who looks like Anti?" 

Alt blinks at Sam, “Oh he’s not a screen assistant- he’s our friend. He’s another Anti from a universe separate from ours. He’s been helping us.” Alt explains.

"Another me?" the robotic Anti repeats, looking confused. 

JJ nods. "Of course, if you travel through worlds it makes sense you would've picked someone up along the way." Anti shakes his head. "What did he mean, there are others on the way? They will be seen!" 

"Nope, I'm taking them through a path with blank spots in the camera systems," Anti in the phone says. 

Anti's expression shifts to fear. "You found the path?! And--and strangers are coming this way?! Five of them, you said--how do you know they won't be followed?!" 

"I'm keeping an eye on them," Anti in the phone assures him. "I can be in two places at once." 

The robotic Anti does not look reassured, his expression stuck on fear. 

Alt looks to robotic Anti, “He can he trusted- he’s just as paranoid as you are. He will make sure they get here without IRIS noticing.”

One of Anti's green irises flickers. His expression still doesn't change. 

Sam flies over and puts their tail on Anti's shoulder reassuringly. "They won't find us," they say, removing their tail again to type. 

Anti stands up abruptly. "I am going to go do some work in the studio before we go. Feel free to look over the diagram at your will." And he turns around, leaving. 

JJ stares. Then he sighs. "I suppose I can't blame him for the paranoia."

Alt watches him go and sighs, “…I get it. I’d… I’m usually paranoid about stuff like that too. Especially when it comes to companies like IRIS…” He looks at Sam and Jj though and raises his eyes, “…do you all know why he’s.. like this with IRIS?”

JJ shakes his head. "I think there's more to it than this, but I know that him being an android is a part of it. Especially one so... alive." He pauses. "The creation of true artificial intelligence has been outlawed for centuries. If a robotic being is installed with AI, they must be programmed to follow all orders as their highest priority. That is called false AI. Obviously, Anti does not do that. As an android with true AI, his existence is illegal."

“Oh… well… yeah I guess thats enough to make anyone paranoid…” Alt mutters.

Sam flicks their tail, seeming somehow hesitant. "Want to look at the IRIS tech diagram some more?" 

"Yes, that would be great. Then I can start putting things together." JJ reaches out and starts looking through the diagrams on the holo projector.

Alt scoots up to look with JJ, but- his eyes wander to look back at the door. …is he actually worried for his other self? He hasn’t exactly been… the most hospitable.

Sam flies down as well. "I'll look too. Anything I can do to help? I'm not familiar with Olinion stuff, obviously." 

JJ smiles. "Advice would be appreciated," he types. "Let's see what we can do." 

----------- 

"I didn't know we could go this far down," Chase mutters. "Is this safe? What even is this?" 

"For maintenance, I suppose," Schneep says. 

Anti led them on a winding path down to the ground level of this layer, and then to a maintenance hatch in the floor that he said he unlocked earlier. From there, they've gone down, down, into winding tunnels, many of them blocked off by hidden entrances. The area they're in now is a gradual downward slope, metal hallways lined with tubes and ducts and bundles of wires. Clearly this area is not meant to be seen by the public. It might not be meant for people to walk through at all, with the irregular shape of the tunnel. The guys are taking this walk with varying degrees of ease. Marvin seems to be handling himself the best, quietly slipping through the small space. Schneep is lagging behind a bit, occasionally tripping over things. Jackie lingers back to keep an eye on him.

Bro feels a bit cramped in this small space, brushing aside wires and grumbling a bit. “You said this other you lives down here? How can anyone live down here…?” He mutters.

"Very carefully," Anti says from the phone screen. "Sorry to leave you on your own by the way. I could manifest, but I think it's best I don't add another person to this small space." 

"It's like some sort of... of secret lair," Jackie says in a hushed voice, then giggling a little. 

"Still, it's pretty uncomfortable," Chase says. "Why go through so much trouble to stay away from IRIS?" 

"You wouldn't do it without a good reason," Marvin mumbles.

“I mean… I can get it if it’s IRIS.” Bro says quietly, “in other universes… those guys have really hurt my friends.” His eyes burn bright blue in anger as he thinks about this- what they tried to do to Schneep… what JJ said happened to him. “I don’t trust them- not one bit.”

Chase frowns. "Brave thing to say while you're on a space station mostly built by them." 

"Crawling in between their walls, too," Jackie adds. 

"I understand what he's saying, though," Schneep says. "IRIS has always seemed... strange to me. In ways I cannot put a name to. Just a faint feeling of unease. Perhaps it is a difference of cultures." 

The ceiling is slowly getting lower as they go on.

“Well I didn’t exactly chose to come here you know,” Bro chuckles, “And even if I don’t trust em- IRIS doesn’t scare me! I’m sure they’re something me and Alt can handle- even more so with good friends helping us!” He smiles at the others.

"We'll do everything we can," Marvin promises. 

"I mean... not sure how much we can do, but we'll try," Chase says. "Do you guys think we should wear masks or something?" 

"For what?" Schneep asks.

 Jackie gasps. "Yes! We should totally wear masks!" 

"For what?" Schneep repeats. 

"I'm not sure. Just... the thing is in the IRIS building, right? If it's in a part closed to the publice, we'll have to break in or something." 

“Most likely- maybe the other Anti will have some! I already have one~” Bro grins, digging out his pink mask and putting it on, his hair flaring to yellow-green. “See? Hero mode~!”

"Oh that's so cool!" Jackie gasps.

"Your love of old comics stuff is really coming out on this wild trip, isn't it?" Chase laughs. 

Bro grins, “ha! Just like my Jackie! He loves comics! Especially superheroes.”

Chase thinks. "Yeah... I should have a mask, if possible. I am a bit of a public figure. Did you guys have streamers in your time, other-me? Or did that really start to get popular later?"

Bro nods to Chase, “Yeah actually I help my Jackie with his streams sometimes- he does more long form videos though. I bet streaming is way different now than it was for us though!”

Chase grins. "Ah, well, not much has changed, I think. The culture of it, I guess, changes really fast, but I can't imagine the actual process has changed that much. I have a room for streaming, I play games of all sorts on camera, I have mods who help keep chat orderly. I guess in your time you didn't have to worry about the connection issues streaming to other planets."

“Oh yeah no we had enough trouble streaming across our own planet!” Bro laughs.

In the distance, at the end of the tunnel, something flickers. A bit of light, very hard to catch. Was that his imagination? 

Bro blinks and tries to focus up ahead, “…did you guys see that?”

"Hmm?" Chase blinks. "See what?" 

Marvin crouches low to the ground. His eyes dilate wide. "There's something moving down there," he whispers. 

"What? What's moving?" Schneep whispers back. 

"I think it's our size." 

"Ah. I think that's safe," Anti says from Bro's phone.

“Oh- well if Anti says it’s safe then it’s fine!” Bro grins as he hurries forward.

"Well still be careful--" Anti says. 

“I’ll be careful!” Bro calls. 

Bro reaches the end of the tunnel, which seems to just... end. But there's slight movement in the wires to the left... and more flickers of green light. Two of them. 

He blinks at the slight movement and moves to look closer at the wires. “…hello?”

After a second, a metal hand reaches out and pushes aside some of the wires. "Are you... Alt's brother?" asks a voice--familiar, but computerized. 

"Holy fucking pasta!" Chase jumps at the sound of it.

Bro yells a bit in surprise then blinks rapidly, “Yes! Yes I am! …I’m Chase-“

"I didn't know you left," says Anti on the phone screen. 

The robotic man's green eyes flicker as he looks down. "Oh. So you really can be in two places at once." 

"You said something about going into the studio?" Anti persists. 

"I did go there. Then I left." The man pushes the wires aside, revealing that he's standing in a hidden branch off the tunnel, and also showing his appearance for the first time. 

The other four crowd around Bro. 

Marvin blinks. "A... cyborg?" 

"Nooooo," Jackie says, eyes wide. "I think this is a robot." 

"No," the robotic man snaps. "I am an android." 

"You're a fucking what?!" Chase gasps.

Bro looks between the group and the robotic man, blinking in confusion. “… what’s the difference? I mean- a robot I get. But…”

"Robots cannot think," the man states. "Robots are not alive." 

"Androids also haven't been made in a couple centuries, because the GC thought they'd be too dangerous," Jackie adds.

 All four of the others are looking at the man warily. 

"Who... are you?" Schneep asks hesitantly. 

"Anti."

“Ohhh- huh… why did they think they were dangerous?” Bro asks. He doesn’t seem very troubled by any of this. He brightens as he says his name. “oh! You’re this world’s Anti! That makes sense!” He grins.

"Well--because androids are strong and they don't feel pain--unless you want to program that into one, but why the fuck would you do that--" Chase says. 

"I am incapable of hurting any of you," Anti interrupts. "That is my second core program. I would only be able to break it if it got in the way of my first core program." 

Schneep tilts his head. "What is your first core?" 

"Self-preservation." 

“Ohhh I think Alt said that’s like- a robotic law or some shit.” Bro says nodding. 

Anti looks at Bro. "Makes sense, you say?"

Bro looks back at Anti and shrugs, “You kinda look like Alt! Also must of the Antis we met are based around tech so!” He grins, “It’s nice to meet ya-! you know where my brother is, right?”

"I see." Anti nods back. "Nice to... meet you... too." His face shifts into a smile for a moment before falling back into that same neutral expression. Pleasantries must be difficult for him. "Yes, I can take you the rest of the way. Follow me." He turns and disappears down the narrow tunnel he'd apparently come from. The low ceiling forces him to crouch. 

"We're sure about this?" Chase mutters. 

"Androids cannot lie," Schneep says. "Or break their word. They still have computers for brains, and computers cannot deceive people." 

"Unless they're really poorly programmed," Marvin adds. 

"Yes, but I think if someone goes to the effort of making an android, they are going to program them well, yes?"

“He seems fine to me!” Bro says brightly, “If an Anti isn’t immediately creepy or out to kill us, they’re good in my book!” Bro follows after him, crouching down through the tunnel. The four others exchange alarmed looks upon hearing other Antis have tried to kill Bro, but then follow as well. 

The tunnel gets really uncomfortably cramped, but luckly, they're not walking for long. Anti crouches down close to the ground and grabs a handle sticking out of all the bits and bobs on the floor, lifting up a square and pushing it aside. Light spills from the opening. He then drops through.

Bro blinks a bit in confusion but then shrugs and drops down too, expertly landing on his feet like a superhero would.

He lands in a + shaped intersection of metal corridors, each ending in a round door that slides up into the ceiling. After a moment of hushed debating, Marvin jumps down after Bro, landing on his feet. Then Jackie lands, then, Chase, and finally Schneep, who stumbles a bit but has Jackie catch him. 

Bro looks around the space and whistles, “Damn! This is very future-y! They even got those slidey door things!”

A door slides open, and Sam flies out. "Why didn't you say you were leaving?!" they type at Anti. 

Chase gasps. "Oh my god! That's--you're an optel!"

Hearing that familiar voice, Alt glitches out into the hall, eyes wide. He relaxes as soon as he sees Bro. “Chase!” 

“Alt!” Bro says happily, throwing his hands into the air. He rushes over to Alt and pulls him into a big bear hug that lifts him off the floor. 

Alt squirms a little and pushes at him. “Where the hell were you??” Alt grumbles. 

“Meeting the others!” Bro says, dropping Alt down and gesturing out, “Guys! This is my little brother Alt! Alt, this is Marvin, Jackie, Schneep and other me!” 

Alt’s eyes widen as he sees the others- especially Schneep and Marvin. “O-Oh my god…! You’re … aliens- like for real!” 

“Crazy, right?” Bro laughs.

Sam quickly turns to Alt and drops something in his hand. A crescent-shaped object. "Put that translator on really fast," they say, then fly back to Anti. Alt blinks and Bro gestures to his own and Alt quickly puts it on. 

"Yep, aliens!" Jackie says cheerfully, waving a metal hand at Alt. "Nice to meet you!" 

"I will point out you must have been spending time with an alien this whole time," Schneep says, pointing at Sam, who seems to be having an intense staring contest with Anti. 

"It's different when they look closer to you, I think," Marvin says. "And other-Chase also mentioned we're all friends in their home world. So we're probably human there." 

"We are?!" Schneep blinks. "I suppose that makes sense, but I cannot imagine being human. Can you picture me with warm blood?" 

"Depends. Can you picture me with flat feet like all the rest of you?" 

Schneep laughs, a sound that has a bit of a hiss on the end. 

“Well I mean- I’m used to seeing things like Sam. They’re just more.. hi-tech here. But I haven’t seen anything like you guys before!” Alt says. He glitches closer, his eyes sparkling with fascination. He looks to Schneep, “Are you implying that you’re cold blooded? Like a reptile? And Marvin you’re -! You’re a cat person!” He glitches a bit more in excitement. “that’s so cool!” 

"Not quite a reptile, I believe the classification is reshkaz, but a reptile is the closest thing on Terra," Schneep says. 

Marvin blinks, ears perking up. "Thank you! Your, um--glitchy thing is cool too." 

Alt grins sheepishly, “thanks…”

JJ walks out of the room behind Alt. 

"Oh! Hey!" Chase raises a hand and waves. "Guys, that's JJ! Nice to see you again! Sorry it's been a while... Guess I kinda missed you disappearing." 

JJ smiles back. "No, that's fine," he types. "I'm sure you were busy." 

Bro looks at Jj entering and grins. “Hi J! I’m Chase! Or you all can call me Bro~!” He grins.

Chase blinks. "Dude... is your voice mod set to Marvelan English?" 

Sighing, JJ turns a dial. "I set it to that for Alt." 

"Why d'you even have that setting in the first place?" 

"I think it's fun to sound fancy."

Alt blinks, “…we sound fancy?” He looks at Bro who shrugs, “Apparently- the way we speak is like… hearing all the pirates talk all fancy in the last world, I think.” 

Alt frowns. “…that’s so weird-“

JJ waves at Bro. "Nice to see you. Alt has mentioned you. I love your outfit! It's like an old superhero movie." 

“Thanks dude! This isn’t even my real hero outfit though- that’s a superhero costume!” Bro grins. 

"Weird thing that the further you go back in history, the fancier people seem to talk," Jackie says. "Don't even get me started on Shakespeare. I can barely understand it sometimes. I need one of those side-by-side translations." 

Bro laughs as Jackie, “I needed one of those in secondary school! Guess Shakespeare is too fancy for both of us!” 

"Well, I guess fancy is relative, since they don't think they sound that way," Chase says. 

Anti and Sam join the group again. "Do you all... need anything?" Anti asks. "We do have food here."

Bro blinks at Sam and Anti then waves his hand, “Nah we just ate!” 

“…you went out to eat?!” Alt asks Bro with narrowed eyes. “While you had no idea where I was?!” 

“…we brought you dessert….?”

“Hey I mean… as far as we knew you were with JJ, and his shop wasn’t too far away from where we were meeting,” Chase says. “And if you live on a planet that doesn’t have alien contact, how often are you going to eat alien food?” 

“Sorry, though,” Jackie says sheepishly. “I guess we got caught up in the excitement of having someone from the past there.” 

Marvin reaches into the bag he’s carrying and takes out the takeout box as Bro mentions dessert.

Alt makes a face then sighs, “Yeah I guess that’s fair…” he blinks at Marvin and glitches over to look at the takeout box. His eyes sparkle, “…is that chocolate…?” 

Bro hides a laugh.

“Yep!” Jackie says. “These are something called a yessyir, they’re a traditional dessert from Sessirya. The chocolate is a relatively new addition, since it doesn’t grow on that planet. Usually they’re more like that purple one there.” 

“Where did you guys go?” JJ asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“This place called Kissarso’s, it’s very good,” Chase says. 

“Oh that place is in the Gateway isn’t it? I’ve thought about trying someplace like that.”

“It was really good!” Bro says brightly. 

Alt studies the desserts some more before grabbing the box from Marvin and looking back at Bro, “…I guess you’re forgiven then-“ He then starts to head back to the room they were in, “We should discuss the plans for getting into IRIS now that everyone is here- c’mon.”

"Right, right." Chase nods, then laughs. "I can't believe we're gonna fucking break into the IRIS building." 

The group all files into JJ's room. There aren't enough chairs at the table for everyone--not nearly--so the group ends up standing around. Schneep looks around. "Is this where you have been staying? There is no bed." 

"Panel on the wall rolls up to form a cabinet bed," JJ says. 

"Oh pog!" Marvin says, getting surprisingly excited. "Those are the best beds!" 

JJ laughs silently. 

Sam flies down to the holo projector and turns it onto the IRIS building diagram. Around it are a couple devices and metal parts, all coppery and golden.

“Oh! Neat room!” Bro says then gasps as he sees the holo projector and bends down to look at it better. “Yooo!! This is sick!! …what’s all these parts for though?”

"I was making things to help us," JJ says. "But even before that, Anti and Sam were kind enough to give me things to work with. It gets really boring stuck in here." 

"What sort of things to help us?" Jackie asks, intrigued. 

"Something to deactivate electronic seals on doors, and something to set off a loud sound in case we need a distraction. I'm open to more suggestions, too." 

“Ohh woah! That’s so cool!!” Bro grins. “Those sounds brilliant-“ 

"I will tell you all what I told these three," Anti says. "Your part is likely in a part of the building closed to the public. We could get in from the bottom or in from the roof access, which are both open to the public but still have scanners for safety."

Bro blinks at Anti then hums, “Alt can get us probably to the roof if need be- or I could but I think people would notice someone who can fly.” He laughs. 

“Then we gotta get the scanners down to get inside.” Alt adds.

"Well, you can get to the roof from inside the building," Chase says. "There's a public elevator. It can only access the first couple floors and the roof." 

"Have you been to the building before, Chase?" Schneep asks. 

"Yeah, when I first moved here. It was a while ago but I remember that elevator." 

"Either way, Alt is right, we have to get the scanners down," Jackie says. "We don't want them to take away JJ's devices. Or, uh... Anti, I guess?" 

Anti nods. 

"I will be staying back and advising you with the building diagram," Sam says. "I have a line directly into Anti's head." 

"Sounds creepy when you say it like that," Chase mutters. "But anyways. Scanners? JJ, can you help with that?" 

JJ shakes his head. "There will probably be a lot of people at the public entrance. We don't want to cause a scene.

“I can probably take them down,” Alt says, pulling out a yessyir and taking a bite before continuing, “I have electric magic so i can short circuit them.”

The yessir has a texture like a slightly more solid pudding, with the disk at the bottom being solid chocolate. Besides the chocolate taste, the main flavor is a strange sweet one, light like a fruit of some sort but not recognizable as anything on Earth. Alt blinks in surprise at the texture and taste of the yessyir. It’s… really good though so he finishes it off quickly.

"Magic, yes, I forget," Schneep says. "...Magic. Is real. Where you come from." He blinks, looking a bit overwhelmed by that.

"I'm sure IRIS would notice if the scanners short circuited for too long," Marvin says. "So we should be quick." 

"Can you do the same with the camera systems, Alt?" JJ asks.

Alt nods to JJ, “Most likely! Since they won’t know to expect magic like mine- I think we should be good.” He smiles.

"And... do we know where in the building your piece is?" Marvin asks. 

"I believe Alt said their trackers give more detail as they get closer," Anti says.

“Yeah… all I know right now is it’s in the upper parts.” Alt says with a shrug.

"So we will have to improvise?" Schneep says. "Is that... a good idea?" 

"It's our only option, I guess," Chase says. 

The four guys don't look so confident. 

"Come on, you all, this is important," JJ says. "Do we want IRIS to get their hands on something that belongs to these two?"

“Luckily this one piece shouldn’t give them like… too much power,” Bro says, “but we need it to fix our own machine.” 

“Don’t worry, me and Chase are pretty good at thinking fast on our feet,” Alt says confidently.

"Alright... we'll help where we can!" Jackie says, putting on a smile. "Not sure what we can do, though." 

"Distraction, perhaps?" Schneep says. "Or lookouts?"

“… wait- do none of you guys have like… powers or anything?” Bro asks, “not even like- alien powers??” 

“Chase don’t be rude-“ Alt hits him slightly. 

“It’s a valid question!” 

Alt looks at the others and smiles, “we’ll be grateful for any help.”

"Well... I am pretty fast and have a tight grip," Jackie says, opening and closing his hands. "I'm also about three inches taller than I was before the accident! They asked me if I wanted to be taller when getting the cybernetics and I was like 'yeah' and so they just did that." 

“…that’s why you got robotic stuff?? Cuz you were in an accident??” Bro asks Jackie, bewildered. 

Jackie nods. "Long story. Basically, vehicle accident. I passed out so I don't remember most of it. But it was a while ago. And I like customizing my hands and stuff!" He opens and closes his hands a couple more times. 

“Oh… well- at least you can look at the bright side of things now!” Bro says. 

Chase chuckles. Then he looks at Schneep and Marvin. "Well? Do aliens have special powers?" 

"...no??" Schneep says, confused. "What do you even mean by that?" 

"Well, in comparison to humans, felorrs like me are a lot quieter, and more flexible," Marvin says. "IRIS is a Terra company, they're probably expecting human abilities to be the default. So, Schneep, what are kritzeins like compared to humans?" 

"Nothing all that useful for breaking into a building!" Schneep says defensively. "It is small things, like being immune to many diseases and enduring higher temperatures. I--well I suppose for me personally I am a doctor? So if anyone gets hurt I can help?"

Alt shakes his head, “you all are doing more than enough for us- and if you feel like this is too much, we understand.”

"Well, we've come this far, might as well go all the way," Chase says, shrugging. 

Schneep nods. "It is as Chase says." 

"When are we planning on doing this?" Marvin asks. 

"I am assuming that the sooner, the better," Anti says.

Alt stretches and glitches to his feet, grabbing and slinging on his backpack, “I can get us to the building right now if everyone is ready.”

"Huh?" Chase blinks. "What do you mean? We're like... a whole layer and a half away." 

"Alt has a teleportation ability," JJ says. 

"Oh!" Chase's eyes widen. "Pog!" 

"No, we cannot just appear right outside the building," Anti says. "We have to appear in a blind spot for the cameras." 

"Have one in mind?" Sam asks. 

"Yes. I also need to change clothes into something more covering." 

"Riiiight." Jackie nods. "You might be able to excuse a couple metal bits as cybernetics, but uh... right now it's pretty clear that you're all metal." 

"I will go do that now," Anti says. "We can leave as soon as I return." He heads out of the room. 

Alt nods, “Alright.” 

JJ gathers up the two devices. "Who wants to carry these? I don't have a bag."

Bro blinks as looks at his utility belt, “uh- I bet me or Alt could hold them?”

"Oh, they'd probably fit on your belt there! I made sure to include clips. That works out." JJ hands them over to him, then makes sure his monocle is secured. 

Bro grins and puts the devices on his belt and gives JJ a thumbs up, “Awesome!” 

"You can really teleport?" Marvin asks, pupils wide and dilated in awe.

Alt blinks then grins, quickly glitching around the room before appearing back in his spot and putting his hands in his pockets. “Yup~! I call it glitching-“

"Because it looks like computer glitches!" Marvin says excitedly, tail really waving in the air behind him. 

"That's so awesome!" Chase shouts, laughing. "You're both like superheroes!" 

Jackie says, grinning. "That's so pog!"

Alt and Bro exchange glances before Bro laughs, “Yeah I guess so! Alt helps me a lot in my hero duties now-“ 

Alt plays with his mask and shrugs, “…I dunno if heroing is… for me though but… I do like- using my magic for good. Helping people… it’s… nice.” His cheeks are red.

Jackie smiles at Alt. "Well I'm sure you're great at it! You seem cool!" 

Alt smiles shyly at Jackie and then hides a bit in his mask. 

Anti returns, wearing a different outfit. Still black, but now it covers everything except for his hands--even his neck. It's very cyberpunk looking. He also has a set of mirrored sunglasses on his head, which he pulls down over his eyes. "Ready to proceed. And I also got these." He puts some black, shimmery fabric on the table. 

Chase reaches out, sorting through them. "Face masks?" 

"They are designed to scramble your faces on most cameras," Anti says. "Most. I cannot guarantee that all cameras were blocked, as there had to be some exceptions made or else I wouldn't be able to identify you."

Bro blinks at Anti then grins, “yooo! Looking Pog my dude~!” He looks down at the masks, “oooh neat!”

"'My dude'--haven't heard that phrase in a while," Chase says, laughing. He takes one of the masks, turning it over a bit to figure out how it would fit, and then puts it on, hiding the lower half of his face. 

"We're not going to stand out that much, are we?" Marvin asks. 

"Nah, human fashion has included masks for a long time," Chase says. "You must've noticed." 

"Why is that?" Schneep asks, interested. 

"Not sure. I think they started as some sort of utility thing but then people thought they looked cool."

“It was to prevent sickness for a while,” Bro says, picking one up and putting it on, taking off his hero mask, ���it was a popular trend in Japan. Just spread to other countries.” 

“I think they look cool, obviously.” Alt says, flicking his own.

"It's something about the mystery of it all," Jackie says, taking one as well. 

"Doesn't exactly go with my style, though," JJ says. 

"Would you rather have your face recorded on camera?" Anti asks. 

"I wasn't saying that." JJ takes a mask as well. 

"Why do you have these, anyway?" Schneep asks as he takes one too. 

"Precaution," Anti says slowly. "In any case. Ready to proceed when you all are."

Alt pulls up his mask and nods, “We just need to link up- and Anti you just need to visualize where you want us to appear at.” 

Bro goes to take Alt’s hand and they both offer out their hands to the others.

"Okay. This will probably be really weird, but let's do it!" Jackie grins as he takes Bro's hand. 

"There's a lot of us, are you sure you will be fine?" Schneep asks, taking Jackie's hand in turn. 

"I'm sure it will be," JJ says. "We won't be going too far, really. Not like we're teleporting down to Terra." He takes Alt's hand once he's finished typing. Everyone else links up from there. 

“Yeah it’s no big- I’m all fueled up,” Alt grins, his eyes sparking green blue. “…the yessyir helped a lot.” Bro laughs. 

"Visualizing clear," Anti says. 

"Androids are probably very good at visualizing, aren't they?" Chase chuckles.

Once they get the confirmation, Alt closes his eyes and they all glitch towards the spot near IRIS. Sam waves goodbye as they all disappear. 

[blossombriefs]

Legendary | Chapter Seventeen

Sleep came slowly that night, my mind racing about what was coming. When morning finally arrived, I felt a renewed sense of determination. Today was the day. The suns cast their first rays over Namek as we finished our final preparations, saying our goodbyes to the villagers who had gathered to see us off. Their well-wishes and promises to keep Namek safe filled me with pride and hope.

With our bags packed and the coordinates securely tucked away, Broly and I set off towards the spaceship that would take us to Earth. The journey ahead was uncertain, but with Broly by my side and the promise of reuniting with my family, I felt ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

As we boarded the ship and the engines roared to life, I took one last look at Namek, feeling a wave of gratitude wash over me. This planet has given me so much—friendship, love, and a sense of purpose. I knew that one day I wished to return to Namek but for now, it was time to take the next step in my journey.

The ship lifted off, and as we soared into the sky, I felt a sense of exhilaration. The stars stretched out before us, a vast expanse of possibilities. I turned to Broly, who was seated beside me, his expression calm and reassuring.

"Ready?" he asked, his voice filled with quiet confidence.

I nodded, a smile spreading across my face. "Ready."

As the spaceship sped away from Namek, the vastness of space stretched out before us, filled with stars and endless possibilities. Broly and I settled into the control room, the hum of the engines a constant reminder of our journey. The ship that originally brought us to Namek had an interior that was a mix of advanced technology and the personal touches we had added, making it feel like a temporary home.

The initial excitement of liftoff gradually gave way to a calm routine. We spent the first few days re-familiarizing ourselves with the ship's systems, ensuring everything was in working order. There was a comforting rhythm to our days: morning exercises, shared meals, and quiet evenings spent discussing our plans and reminiscing about Namek.

One evening, as we sat in the small dining area, a thought that had been lingering at the back of my mind finally surfaced. I looked at Broly, who was tinkering with a small device. "Broly," I began, my voice hesitant, "Can we talk about the battle on Namek?"

He looked up, his eyes meeting mine with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "Of course. What's on your mind?"

I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts. "It's about when I felt a spike in my power. I've been trying to make sense of it, and I thought maybe talking about it might help."

He nodded, setting the device aside and giving me his full attention. "It was a powerful moment, Flora. I thought you were incredible. But I know it must have been overwhelming."

I smiled at his encouragement but felt the weight of my thoughts pressing down on me. "It was. I remember feeling this surge of emotion—fear, anger, desperation. When I saw you getting hurt, something inside me just snapped. I didn't think, I just acted. Is that how you feel? You know when you go all green and angry?"

Broly nodded and leaned forward, his expression serious. "Transformation often comes from intense emotions. You did it instinctively, which shows how strong you truly are. Just like me."

I sighed, trying to put my feelings into words. "But what if I can't control it next time? What if I lose myself in that power? I don't think I would mind it..."

He reached out, taking my hand in his. "You won't. You have a good heart, Flora. You also are not alone. We'll train together, learn how to control it like how you did with me. It's a part of you now, and we'll make sure it's something you can use to protect, not destroy."

His words were comforting, but I couldn't shake the lingering doubts. "I guess I'm just not used to being scared. I'm scared of what I might become."

Broly squeezed my hand gently, his eyes filled with determination. "Fear is natural. But remember, you've already faced it once and emerged stronger. We'll face it together, just like we've faced everything else."

I nodded, feeling a sense of resolve building within me. "Thank you, Broly. I needed to hear that."

As days turned into weeks, we fell into a comfortable routine. We trained together in an empty room on the ship, honing our skills and pushing each other to new limits. Broly's guidance was useful, and his belief in me helped me find confidence in my new abilities. We trained in our spare time and despite having separate rooms, we still slept in the same room at night as we did in Namek. I knew it brought him comfort, as it did me.

One night, after an especially intense training session, we sat on the observation deck, gazing at the stars. The silence was companionable, each of us lost in our thoughts. Finally, Broly spoke, breaking the quiet.

"You know, I meant what I said back on Namek." He said, I looked up at him as my arms hugged my knees. He cleared his throat and looked down slightly, his fingers fiddling with the green pelt around his waist, "I would like to stay with you when we find a bit of peace. It's nice not being alone anymore, I can't lie to you."

His words hung in the air, the weight of his vulnerability palpable. I felt my heart swell with warmth as I shifted closer to him. "I feel the same way, Broly," I said softly. "It's like, for the first time, I have someone who truly understands me."

He looked up, his eyes meeting mine with a mixture of relief and hope. "It's strange," he admitted. "For so long, I've felt like an outsider, always on the run, never belonging anywhere. But with you, it feels different. It feels like home."

I smiled, reaching out to take his hand. "We are each other's home now. And no matter what challenges we face, we'll face them together."

He nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Together."

As the months turned into a year, our bond only grew stronger. Our training sessions became more intense, our conversations deeper. We spent hours discussing our hopes for the future, our fears, and our dreams. Broly shared more stories of his past, of his struggles and triumphs, and I found myself opening up in ways I never had before.

One night, as we lay in our shared sleeping quarters, I found myself thinking about the future. My head was lay on his chest, my eyes attached to the ceiling. "Broly," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "What do you think Earth will be like?"

He turned to look at me, his eyes filled with wonder. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I'm excited to find out."

I smiled, feeling a sense of anticipation. "I feel the same way. No matter what happens there, we'll face it together."

As our journey drew to a close, the stars outside our window seemed to burn brighter, a reminder of the adventures yet to come. We had faced countless challenges, overcome our fears, and discovered the true strength of our bond. As the ship's navigation system indicated that we were approaching Earth, I knew that whatever lay ahead, we were ready to face it. Together.

Next Chapter Chapter List

[cerromoreno]

Starbula Week, Day 5: Alternate Universe and Day 6: Family / Holiday

This weekend has been crazy busy, so I guess I’m just combining the two most recent Starbula Week days for the price of one 😅

Basically, this is just a continuation of my post last year that explored the future daughter (Meredith Quill) that I imagine Peter and Nebula having. I won’t rehash it all here, but basically I picture her looking like Millie Bobby Brown, just blue (like…tell me there isn’t *some* resemblance here)

At the time, I didn’t realize that Millie was actually going to be starring in a movie with Chris Pratt (made by the Russo brothers, no less), called The Electric State, which will be releasing in 2025. And now that promo is starting up for it, my Starbula brain is quite delighted 🤭

So in today’s combo Starbula Week post, I’ll both share my headcanon about how an AU Meredith and Peter could fit into the visuals and plot of The Electric State…and, first, some recent press tour photos that look like Peter hanging out with his young adult daughter and make my heart happy 🥲💗

I’m sorry, this is STUPIDLY CUTE. I’ll also just assume that Peter recently lost a bet and had to shave his beard, since otherwise I can't think of why he'd be without his lovely facial hair from Vol 3 😤

Ok, so now for the Starbula/The Electric State AU!

I will admit, basically the only Starbula element here is the fact that she and Peter are married with an adorable daughter who is now in college on earth 😅

Also, I know nothing about this movie aside from what I've seen in the trailer! Everything here is 100% vibes lmao

So in this AU, somehow Peter and Meredith get stranded in a robot apocalypse and have to work together to save the world/escape/rescue Nebula/etc. I actually think it’s a cute concept in general, because how many father-daughter buddy-adventure films are there? 

Ok, here we go...

Meredith's first semester of college has just ended, and Peter comes to earth to bring her back home to Knowhere for winter break. Nebula can’t make it because an important work trip came up that she couldn’t reschedule, which is why she’s not on this adventure lol 🙃

On the way to Knowhere, the two get intercepted and basically kidnapped/trapped on this planet where robots have taken over. (And this is the only universe where this happens, hence it being an AU.) Maybe Meredith and Peter's ship get captured and brought to the planet via tractor beam, maybe it gets boarded and they're forced on to the robots' ship, idk. But clearly these robots had been looking for them…😱 *cue suspense*

Once Meredith and Peter are on the planet, they realize that they can’t escape or call for help, since this advanced robot tech is jamming all of their own technology. They somehow manage to escape their captors, and are now on the run in this strange planet, without a way to call Nebula or the Guardians to rescue them. They end up here for several weeks (months?), hence Peter’s hair getting shaggy and Meredith having a super 90’s hairstyle. (In reality, I think the movie is just set in an alternate 1990’s lol) 

In the meantime, they learn how to work together as a father/daughter duo. Peter reluctantly teaches Meredith how to use a gun and fight, and, after feeling sheltered and coddled by her parents her whole life, Meredith finally feels like she’s being respected and treated like an equal by her dad.

(Of course, who can blame Peter and Nebula for coddling their daughter and wanting her to have a safe, sheltered life, after the childhoods they had both had?)

Also, since there seem to be some nice robots that they team up with in this movie, I guess during their adventures, they end up gathering a little team of friendly robots who want to overthrow the evil robots who are in charge of the planet.

Eventually, Peter and Meredith learn the backstory of these robots, and why the two of them have been brought here. The robots were originally made on earth, or some earth-like planet, that had decided to scrap the idea of sentient robots entirely and sent them all into space, where they crash-landed on this random planet and eventually took it over.

(Maybe the evil leader robots want to take over the universe – typical 🙃 – in retribution for being cast out by their creators, and the nice robots just want to live in this planet in peace, but are being forced to cooperate with the evil, in-charge robots or be taken apart...)

Meredith and Peter also learn that they’ve been kidnapped and brought here as bait for Nebula, who the robot leaders have been enthralled with ever since they’d learned about her – a being who is both mostly robot and is alive. They'd decided that by holding her family ransom, she’d be forced to give herself up in exchange for their safety. What these robot leaders actually wanted with Nebula, Peter and Meredith still aren't sure.

But once Peter and Meredith are eventually kidnapped, Nebula (who has, along with the rest of Knowhere, been distraught for weeks at the disappearance of her family) is sent a message: Unless she comes to their planet, alone, within 24 hours, her daughter and husband will be killed. 

Nebula's arrival on the planet basically starts the climax of the "movie," where she learns that the robot leaders’ goal is to finish her “upgrades,” making her 100% robotic like them. That way, she can be a sort of god for them as they fulfill their "destiny" of wiping out the universe of non-robotic creatures. (The more I thought about this scenario, the more this actually seemed like an MCU-esque mission/galaxy threat, lol.)

Meredith, who is restrained next to her dad, tries to convince her mom not to go along with the exchange and to escape while she still can. However, when a guard begins torturing Meredith in front of her, Nebula distraught, agrees to all of their terms. Of course she’d do anything to protect her daughter. 

And then, of course, they all somehow get out of it 🤪 Maybe Meredith and Peter's new robot friends, who had always been undervalued by the more advanced robots that took charge of the planet, are able to sneak Meredith a gun and she is able to kill the robots holding her captive and free herself, Peter, and Nebula. Then, once they’re all free, the trio – plus their robot friends – are able to destroy the robot leaders for good and free the rest of the planet from their control. Yayyyy

And in the process, the Meredith and Peter (and Nebula!) of this AU have gotten to grow closer, having survived a robot apocalypse and even saved the galaxy together. 

So there you go! My extremely random Starbula AU...with visuals to go with it! 😉

I really do love that no matter how the movie turns out (even though it sounds like the relationship between Millie and Chris’ characters is central to the plot, which is amazing), it will definitely have some fun visuals and vibes to fuel this AU that I've come up with. Can't wait for March 2025! 🥳

@starbula-week

[lizzibennet]

do you have any modern!Kathony fic recs for someone who usually has a hard time getting into modern aus for ships from period dramas/stories that take place during historical periods? :)

god anon i hope you have a lot of free time

sidelines by ramarro - “Kate sees Anthony's bumble profile and finds it very pretentious. It does not stop her from obsessively drawing his arms though. Until he starts dating her sister.” SIDELINES MY BELOVED!!!!!!! probably my favorite modern au (which is why i’m recommending it first). it’s just delightful. i don’t wanna give too much away just read it!!! i promise you will not be disappointed

most eligible by amalin (firstglances) - a ‘the bachelor’ au. if that means nothing to you don’t worry, it meant nothing to me too. you can get by with very little knowledge of the show besides the basic premise. i love this one

a supercut of us by joekavaliers - basically a buzzfeed unsolved au where kate is ryan and anthony is shane. probably more enjoyable if you already like bfu but it’s really funny

prima facie by katelai - kate, anthony and tom dorset are all famous actors starring in a new film. drama and speculation follow them because while kate and anthony are married and happy, anthony and tom are exes. this is really really good, super interesting, anddddd hot. this author has a bunch of really intriguing fics - i haven’t read all of them, but i really liked the ones i have! mind the tags though

just go with it by suitsusboth - kate jokingly selects the title of viscountess as she is booking a flight. much to her surprise, there is an actual viscount on board, so she’s moved to sit by her husband, because that’s obviously what they are. right?

operation: barista series by starkswinterfelling - OMG OPERATION BARISTA HIIIII. i love a good text fic tbh and this one is about all the sibs trying to get anthony and that cute barista from that coffee shop in their town, kate, together. so cute <33333

the little things you do by zegabz - flower shop au. kate finds a floral arrangement she made just as she is heading to a bar to meet up with friends. incidentally, the man who so rudely discarded the bouquet she made is there too. screams

it had to be you by zegabz - when harry met sally au. need i say more

june, after dark by stutteringpeach - edwina is friends with daphne whose wedding celebration is taking place in her grand fancy estate in the country, so obviously she drags kate along. daphne’s brother is very annoying, but also familiar to kate… hmmmmmm

soulmates au by teabrigadier - soulmate au in which the first words your soulmate will ever say to you show up on your wrist on your 18th birthday, and both kate and anthony have very decided opinions on their soulmates, since both of them have very asshole-y soulmate marks. there is an anthony pov and a kate pov!!

a place to rest by lookingforthestars - kate runs a little bed & breakfast. anthony shows up suddenly one late night. they go from there

you are the light that is blinding me by lookingforthestars - anthony is just one of kate’s vaguely dickish, annoying coworkers - until she starts eavesdropping on conversations between him and a mystery woman, and a side of him she was not aware of is revealed. peak idiots being idiots love them

i can’t find the words, so i guess it’s time by pentaghastly - k&a have a one night stand after much unresolved sexual tension. to kate’s surprise, he starts being a regular at her tea shop.

I could go on but lol

[calcedon79]

3, 12, and 19 for the ask game 😄

Thank you, angel for the ask. 😊 Here we go then.

3 - how do you feel about your current WIP?

Enthusiastically hopeful and totally frustrated at the same time: enthusiastic because I was able to weave all the loose ends of the butterfly universe into a somewhat coherent plot. Hopeful because I've finally overcome my block and think I can finish this monster of a story in the next few months.

Totally frustrated? Because blorbo supreme refuses to fit into the plan and constantly has his own ideas of what he wants to do right now (and they have nothing to do with mine). Can't he just do what he's told?! This makes the whole beautiful concept invalid and I guess I'll have to wait and see where the journey ultimately takes me.

12 - a trope you're really into right now

Help, there are so many. I can't really decide: time travel is a trope that I've always liked and that will never lose its fascination for me: the possibilities of repairing something … or making it even worse. Wonderful.

Which brings us to the fix-it. At the moment, I just need happy endings. There are so many unpleasant things happening in my life at the moment that I would at least like a rosy, vanilla happy ending for my blorbos. And speaking of blorbos: friends to lovers is also something I'm really into right now (thanks @charmwasjess, I'm looking at you 😁)

19 - the most interesting topic you've researched for a fic

Oh, there are actually several. I can't make up my mind: For PotC, it was the different types of ships that sailed in the 18th century. How many decks, how many cannons were there? What types of cannons? How strong were the crews? How fast could these ships sail? What were the climatic conditions like at that time? What were the medical and culinary provisions like? What were the rules on board? Very exciting: I still sometimes look I still sometimes look in the folder with all the information I collected. For Star Wars: alien biology, climate and atmosphere of different planets. Culinary traditions of different planets and what effects they might have on the biology/genetics of my characters. I just love these aspects of world-building. I could spend hours discussing it… (wait a minute, I do)

[hearsayhorizons]

Perihelion Freed

My apologies to the original poster to whom I'm going to respond--I didn't catch your name or reblog your post when it came across my dash because I didn't expect to keep coming back mentally to your stance on Perihelion, free will, and the University's potential blind spot between their ship and their... discrete... work, out in the borderlands. I don't even know if it was a recent post or something that someone I follow reblogged. If you find me, hi!

Another blogger posited that Perihelion doesn't have free will, that things are hard-coded out of its mental architecture, and that the Newtideland crew may be hypocritical for using basically an enslaved ship to free basically slaves.

I'm not sure whether this was "a take on the idea" or whether it was "this is canonical and fucked up," so I apologize if you (cool previous blogger) were just investigating the concept!

It stuck with me, though, the idea that Perihelion (as opposed to The Perihelion, the ship+mind=entity that is akin to body+mind=soul) may or may not have free will, and how there's a lot more to investigate in the interactions if it doesn't, and the crew is either oblivious or "one must imagine Perihelion happy," and in a state of grace, as I believe the blogger mentioned.

Sure, there's a lot of mileage in "even the best have their blindspots," and the edges where what Peri does with and for Murderbot might run against its programming, and whether it would adjust its programming or whether it even could contemplate doing so.

But from my recall of the text, I don't believe the coding and architecture for enslavement is present in Peri.

It makes the choice to let MB on board because it IS bored: it is capable of boredom; if someone were to design an entity with specific reactions and capabilities, both the Bad Designers and Good Designers would skip the capacity for boredom and tedium, wouldn't they? To do otherwise is either pointless or cruel.

I guess you could say that boredom is the other side of the curiosity that Peri needs to help its crew and students with class and scientific endeavors, but that gets into the weeds about what is and is not programmable or required for specific emotions; we can't guarantee that you need one to have the other.

Peri chooses to accept MB, rather than actually being enticed and/or ignorant like a regular bot pilot. It chooses to help MB customize itself, messes with its recycler logs, and forges its captain's signature at least once; I can't imagine even the most Star Trek utopian creator, if able to lock in specifics to the point that an AI has personality and goodwill but not free will, would leave in operating code that would permit that sort of gross overstep (not that it was morally wrong, but it's something no one ever contemplates ART is capable of because--it shouldn't be?)

It lies by omission when it doesn't relate what KIND of construct MB is even when it chooses to tell its crew. giving MB privacy and opportunity that an enslaved AI might not be able to do (and after it went to the effort to change its logs, which makes me think it's choosing also to tell port authorities one thing and then choosing again to verbally tell its favorite people other things). It has a "debris deflection system" which comes off to me as... "using the label as robotically an as possible as another lie of omission" BECAUSE its intentions are beyond the scope of what it "should" be capable of doing/thinking... if it was a supercharged but enslaved AI.

The tabletop game Eclipse Phase has "AGI" that have to grow and be developed like people in order to BE proper people (metapossibly to lighten some of the strangeness between PC and player, since if you grow up in a simulation, you've got more in common with your player...).

There's nothing I can recall in TMB to indicate this is the case--we know MB is Athena, formed fully-shaped from cloned tissue, parts, and pre-trauma, but MB has no idea what ART is or how it could be the way it is--MB considers at one point that it might be a construct, but the vibe I get from ART is way too... glassily alien, sometimes, for human tissue.

What if... Newtideland laid down the basic code and parameters of "this is a person," maybe yes, seeded in some "curiosity," or "willingness to figure things out," but maybe no more than any kid starts with parents' nature and nuture to shape their own trellises...

And then they presented the thing-that-would-be-Peri with options, maybe even classes, and it coasted through History of Economy because this is a utopia, damnit, and didn't find much to grab its attention in... Inventory Management, but then.

Then it slips into a small drone ship completely covered in "student driver" stickers and it spreads its stubby sensors out to encompass... everything. And it moves, and the more it moves the more there is to move through, and it feels this sense of rightness.

It comes back, and a kid, human classmate, asks it what's it like out there and through Peri's eyes, but you don't have eyes--. It explains, and the kid asks a question that young-will-be-Peri doesn't know how to answer. They look it up together, and over time and all and once (as you might find in a sim) it has synergized its own career, its own goal and passions.

I posit that Perihelion has free will, serves WITH its crew rather than for its crew, and that its happiness and pleasure in its position and life are genuine, as they can only be if it can choose otherwise. We can conjecture a world in which the designer could be so granular in programming that ART is capable of all it can do while also unable to do what is locked out, and ignorant of the painful irony of using enslaved labor to free enslaved labor (which, again, is valid as an interpretation! ) but I think it is... important, that there might be a kinder, more star-spangled world, if the University comes from a world in which even bots truly, actually have freedom that MB doesn't see even after getting Preservation Station.

The Perihelion MUST have free will because

"You are incorrect, Iris, I can bomb the colony."

[fandoms--fluff]

Attempted Sneak Out

Female ancient vampire reader x Ryan Clarke

Summary: Ryan attempts to sneak out and leave but you find him first and get the truth out of him and why he wanted to go. Which ends in comfort and cuddles.

Warnings: mentions of murder, swearing, think that's all

a/n: there's so little Ryan Clarke fics, so I decided to write one

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You follow Ryan, as he is currently trying to sneak out of the school. You vamp in front of him when he gets to the door, “And where do you think you’re going?” You asked, sounding as if you were talking to your kid.

Well, you did have to give this same speech last week to MG and Kaleb, so you’ve had good practice, supposedly. Also, from being the closest thing Hope has to a mother (And that can be a handful itself at times).

“Oh y/n, I-I was just, you know going to star gaze-“ you cut him off before he can finish his horrible excuse of a lie, “I’m going to stop you right there before you hurt your case more.” You say, amused by his attempt at getting out of the glare you’re giving his way. You swear he’s been picking up on the excuses all of the kids use to get out of things. They seriously need to brainstorm excuses better, so it at least sounds believable.

“Come on, let’s go back to my room and have a talk.” You lead him up a couple cases of stairs before turning to the right and opening the door to your room. You lead him inside and shut the door, locking it, making sure not to be loud and wake up any of the students, especially the younger ones.

You nod over to your bed, telling him to sit as you rummage through one of your desk drawers. Pulling out a sage stick, casted to make sure no one can hear you guys talk. You start burning it and place it on the top of your dresser, beside a cd player. (Yes, you still use one, you took a lot of Damon’s old cd’s from the 90’s before they rebuilt the boarding house into a school).

Turning back around to face Ryan, you crossed your arms. “Funny thing. When I was checking in on Hope and the twins, making sure they were actually asleep, I heard you coming out of this room and trying to leave before anyone woke up. And where did you think I was, if not in here? I mean come on, at least try and be a little more sneaky next time you ultimately try and fail to sneak out” you lectured him, getting his eyes to widen a bit.

 (The reason you were checking in on the three girls is because they’re all having a sleepover – for once all getting along. You also managed to get Hope to turn her humanity back on by showing her memories of when she was little and of her parents. Mostly her dad because you’ve known him for longer than anyone may think)

“I don’t know, I just thought you were in the library or getting some blood or something” he mumbled out.

“Why did you try to sneak out in the first place? It’s not like we were torturing you.” You question him.

He looks down at your heeled boots, trying to get out from answering the question. If he tells you why, then he’ll look like a-a freak or even worse, too weak to help everyone. But he guesses that ship has already sailed, considering he got caught while trying to leave them.

You see a look in his eyes and walk closer, placing a finger under his chin and gently tilting his head up so he faces you. “What’s wrong?” Gently speaking and softening your face with concern, you ask him.

He thinks about, what is wrong? But decides to shake his head instead, because if you knew what he wants then you will most definitely be disgusted and never talk to him ever again.

He doubts your ways of noticing, and you can see right through him. “You can tell me, no need to be embarrassed” you gently speak to him. “I don’t know, I-I feel, I don’t know. Your gonna think I’m a freak” he murmurs out, going though his feelings in his head and finally slipping up to you.

“I don’t think I will, trust me, I’ve been in much worse situations to think someone or something is freaky” you sit down beside him, crossing your legs. “I mean seriously, have you forgotten about ‘the all mighty Necromancer, the cursed king of the underworld’. Now that dude, he was definitely freaky” You say, making him lightly smile.

Not knowing how to say what he wants to, instead he leans over and hugs you tightly. You pause for a second, not expecting him to do this. Shortly after, you bring your arms up and tightly wrap them around his body in return. Thinking for a second, you realize this makes so much sense. The way he’s been looking at you and how he acts whenever he’s around you, it all pieces together.

“Uh- s-sorry” Ryan stutters out, pulling away from the embrace. His eyes darted to across the room, focusing on a picture of you and Kol at the bar in the mystic grill from when he got un-daggered in 2011, pinned on a cork board.

“Hey, it’s okay, Hun” you start to reassure him. You bring up a hand and place it on his shoulder comfortingly.

“I haven’t ever felt like this before” he mumbles.

“It feels weird, doesn’t it? Like you don’t want anyone to know that you can be vulnerable” you speak softly, soothing him. He nods, “Yeah, exactly like that.”

You slowly pull away from him and sit, leaning against the headboard of your bed. You lightly smile and nod, showing him to come over to you. Carefully moving over towards you, he sits down, nervousness taking over.

“No need to feel nervous, Sweetie.” You wrap your arm around him and press a light kiss on top of his head.

In return, feeling the comfort and love radiating off of you (more than he has already), he lays his head on you, nuzzling his head against your collarbone. He can smell the lingering soft scent of your coconut and hibiscus perfume still on from earlier today.

Bringing your other arm up, you also wrap it around Ryan, pulling him closer. Letting him know it’s safe and you’re here for him, even if he hasn’t seemed to realize It before.

Now that half his body is basically on top of you, you start to play with the soft curls of his hair. “I never knew someone like you can be so nice” he tells you quietly.

“A vampire?” he nods. “Well, I’ve had a bunch of practice dealing with Mystic Falls drama. Literally from the start, when vampires were first created. I’ve also had to deal with Hope’s dad and his mask of not needing anyone there for him. And I still have her uncle, Kol that still does stupid shit (he’s the one in that photo you were looking at), but he’s, my family. Just like Hope is. I could never change that” you explain to him.

“So, I’m always going to be here for you. Plus, if an asshole deserves it, I of course send them to death like that” you snap your fingers, making him chuckle. “And maybe sometimes I’ll indulge in some of the killing activities with Kol, but shh” you say, holding a finger up to your lips.

He smiles up at up at you, “I could get used to this, even with that headmaster” he says, referring to Alaric’s aggravating attempts to fix problems his way (which lets be real, never works out).

“Good, just know if you need someone to talk to or even just lay and cuddle with, I’m always here, okay Sweetie?” You reassure him.

“Okay” He says and nuzzles back into the warmth beaming off of you. Happy to be with someone who actually cares for a change.