#his chestplate on. so that gets deleted too

[cherubytes]

i like how it's likely there's so much fanart of gabriel shirtless because his pauldrons just make no fucking sense and are a nightmare to draw

[sineala]

hope im not too late!! director's commentary for slipping off the page, please? was there any worldbuilding you thought of for the cuffs/cuff culture that didn't make it into the fic?

I am happy to get asks whenever! About whatever! I am not having much luck with my current WIP, anyway, so I need a distraction.

But that fic, hmm. See, it was one of the first Steve/Tony stories I actually wrote, and it was so long ago that I don't actually remember how the worldbuilding went or have any notes about it.

I can offer you a few random cut lines that I have found in my Scrivener project and have zero memory of writing?

This:

Iron Man groaned, low and broken. "Fuck. You've got a vivid imagination."

Steve shrugged. He couldn't stop smiling. "I work with what I have." He could keep talking, he could think of so many more things to do, he could make Iron Man sound like that for the rest of his life.

There was another echoing metallic clunk. "Thought you'd be innocent."

"Inexperienced," Steve said, stubbornly. "Not the same."

And this:

He tried to damp down on the reflexive jolt of panic as the chestplate came off -- even now that he knew he didn't need it, his body seemed to have a hard time getting the message.

"Tony?" Steve said, pausing, the curved metal resting in his hands. "Are you okay? Are you with me?"

"Fine." Tony ran his hand through his hair. "It's just that-- I used to have to keep the chestplate on permanently, before I got the new heart, and sometimes when I take it off I forget I can..."

Steve blinked, and Tony could see him trying to put together the pieces: Iron Man's life-supporting armor. Tony Stark's heart condition.

"So when you said you didn't touch people," Steve began, and Tony knew he had it figured out.

And this:

"Oh, come on," Tony said. "I'm not that much shorter than you. You know that."

"No," Steve said, thoughtfully, "but I remember you told me, the first time, that you knew you were shorter. You slipped up and told me that, and I never wondered how you knew."

So there you go. Some deleted scenes. None of it relates to the cuffs, alas. But it is stuff that didn't make it into the fic! I think. Probably.

[borkthemork]

Here are some deleted scenes from Falling Down Dry, enjoy!

----- [CHAPTER FIVE]

If the king really did have that much faith in her, then why would Marcy say no? The whole term didn't sound bad. If guard training had anything to go by, it sounded like a school — a school full of not only organized turntables and schedules but the potential to learn how a sword works in actual combat — and when it came to school Marcy knew how to balance her time well.

Whatever happened, she needed to think smarter, not harder.

"The training toward the role of guard is a perilous and back-breaking commitment, Miss Wu," Lady Olivia explained. As they past an intersection, it became clear to Marcy that the guards that accompanied them were getting tensed with each second. "Best for you to be careful, and make friends to guarantee your safety."

Marcy cocked her head. "Have you been here before, Lady Olivia?"

Lady Olivia stared at her, perturbed.

"It's just that you seem to know about this place in a lot more detail than I expected," Marcy said. Was it alright to ask that question? Lady Olivia did seem the kind to remain secretive, or at least unappreciative of people meddling in her business. Marcy relented nonetheless. "Not like you have to tell me, just curious."

Lady Olivia watched her from the corner of her eye. "I have visited the barracks numerous times in my youth."

"Out of curiosity for the soldiers?" 

Their feet traveled the paths until eventually, they stopped at the administration's door.

"One can say that," Lady Olivia finally said, before she beckoned Marcy to the opened door.

At the administration office, Marcy listened and watched Lady Olivia as she talked to the head newt behind the desk. There were exchanged politics, talk of Marcy's species, at how her head tuckered low due to the barracks ceiling, and then a familiar set of questions about training, intermediate work.

-----[CHAPTER SIX]

"Understandable. It's not usual to be dropped into an alien world. From what you've told me, Earth sounds more foreign to any frog. newt, and toad in a hundred-mile radius; it makes sense for the reverse to be similar."

"Well, yeah. Back on Earth we had machines that can do math, and can basically teleport us to anywhere on the globe if we got the money for it. Although, I can say one thing. Your economy is a lot more forgiving."

Andrias arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You know how Newtopia is into the exchange of coppers?"

"Yes. Go on?"

"Well back home, they're basically useless. Three hundred coppers here can mean a whole life supply of beetle burgers, but for us that's enough to get us a pack of bubblegum."

"I don't see the problem here. Bubblegum is a serious industry in the city." When Marcy stared, he could only snort. "Just kidding. Very much kidding."

-----[CHAPTER THREE]

She had been lead down numerous roads. So many roads that Marcy had no clue where she first started walking off to and where she was currently in the city. Didn't help that the city was a massive place, and that the denizens around her stared as if she was a fish out of water — but that could be with the fact she was a legit fish out of water but they didn't have to worry about.

The newt general who escorted her — Yunan, if she could recall — had taken the time to lecture along the way of her military exploits. 

That wasn't bad. Actually the idea of a newt general telling battles from the sand wars out in some desert area to the fact she was the youngest newt out there to conquer the ranks of the military was the most exciting parts to learn about this world.

She didn't need to worry about handcuffs too. From what Yunan told her, with the pound of her chestplate and the huffed from her chest, was that she didn't need to worry of Marcy running. And even if she did, she wouldn't get far. Which was the coolest and most terrifying thing to ever be told to her if she wanted to be honest.

Eventually the surroundings turned to higher elevation. The more she peaked at the horizon, she spotted the cool glimmer of the moon amid the tides that Marcy always suspected. The iridescent waters, the crisp brine air, the glimmering lights of the sleepy town city — an absolute delight to look at, made her lose her breath by just the sight of it.

"No stalling, creature." Yunan shoved her forward. "Sightseeing isn't going to save you under King Andrias's scrutiny."

"Well, that's a bit of a bummer," she mused. 

After all, the sight of Newtopia looked absolutely lovely to look at, even more so than the lookout points Marcy liked to go to in the outer areas of Los Angeles. Something about this place reeked of nostalgic. Perhaps it was because the whole place screamed of fantasy aesthetic or that there were too many questions to shove into her darn brain. Those were all possibilities.

For now, however, Marcy just a little happy walk, climbing up the spiraling roads while the newt groaned behind her.

"Stop that! This is no happy matter!"

Marcy smiled and ceased her fidgeting. "Sorry, sorry, I'm just so excited. You have no idea."

"Yes, I do not have a single clue as to why you're like this," Yunan huffed. She kept puffing out her chest, seeming to try to catch the glimpse of the armour's metal in the moonlight. Not a bad look too. "You're supposed to be shriveling up in fear, especially under my presence."

"I don't know, dude. I mean you're a really high-class authority when it comes to this society, and I think that's really neat that you're so loyal to the king like this." Marcy meant it all too. There was always something rad about a person who knew what they want and what they wanted, grabbing the opportunity rather than having it slip to the wayside. "Especially with your claws out. What type of metal is that?"

Yunan blinked at her. She chuckled momentarily, and sheathed the blades back into her gauntlets. "Well, well. You see here, my blades were gifted to me through trial by combat in the sand wars."

Marcy gasped. "No way!"

"It is all the way!" Yunan exclaimed. "Rivorn the Scornful wanted my head way back before I garnered my many medals. He harbored jealousy, malice, and wanted to trick me by having me battle unarmed."

"And you knocked him out of the park, didn't you?"

"I crushed him to death!"

"Yeah! Wait, metaphorically or—?"

Yunan continued however undeterred, brave tears shimmering in her eyes as she once again showed off her blades in a few open slashes. "In the end he gave me his gauntlets, and I'd entrusted my safety to them ever since."

"And," Yunan continued, "We have arrived."

[elindae-writes]

Unburied Chapter 21, "The Doctor of Doom" Deleted Scene—Ratchet Infects the Energon Supply with Synth-En

I wrote this scene for Chapter 21 but scrapped it. This scene was meant to help set up the conflict for a totally different storyline that I changed my mind about and got rid of. We got the moon battle arc instead. I also felt that this scene made Ratchet a skoosh too villainy and made it too hard for him to come back and redeem himself later on. This scene is also the reason I needed to have Starscream end up with his own stash of hidden energon that only he refueled from.

I'm putting the scene here because I worked hard on it, was sad that it had to go, and just re-read it and thought, "well this isn't that bad and they might enjoy this scene" so here it is!!

Ratchet’s optics rapidly flickered back and forth between green and blue. He’d always thought of green as a strange color, the color of foreign worlds and foreign dangers.

But he could see truly now. No, the true danger came in the form of the one-winged menace that lurked their halls.

A traitorous little voice that sounded a bit too similar to Prime's whispered in the back of his helm. Haven't you ever noticed the scratches on his wing? The damage left by servos far crueller than his talons—

Ratchet subspaced a cube of synth-en and held it preciously and tightly within his servos. The answer to all of his problems was right here in this cube. All he had to do was unleash its power. He walked down the hall and saw it: the door to the energon supply. It was so ordinary and yet about to contain such extraordinary things.

His spark began to thrum faster in its chestplates. He’d been put on the sidelines for so long now, brushed aside and only paid attention to when useful only to just be sidelined again. He was always the bot who stayed behind while others went on adventures, he was always the bot left out of the rigorous battles and fun conversations, he was always left out of the personal jokes, and he was the bot whose opinion was disregarded.

He winced. That last one stung the most.

But he was also the bot who would change all of that.

The cube of synth-en bubbled and vibrated within his servos and he had to clutch it even more tightly to keep it close to him. As the synth-en within the cube began to shake his own frame began to shake as well.

“This is the right thing to do,” he harshly whispered to himself. But who was he trying to convince? Himself? Optimus? Primus?

Cliffjumper?

“P-perhaps tomorrow would be best,” Ratchet nodded to himself as he walked closer and closer to his destination. “Perhaps I should just turn around and leave this all be.” He’d seen mechs make rash decisions before and tear themselves apart. He was not going to allow himself to become one of those mechs.

His pedes continued to drive him forward. All he had to do was turn around and walk back to his lab, that was it—

The door drew closer and his plating began to shake—

Light pedesteps echoed through the hall.

Ratchet scowled and threw open the door. He shoved himself into the supply room and shut the door so that it was only a crack open. He stared out into the hall and scanned it. No, he was too far into this now and couldn’t allow his plan to be ruined.

Starscream stepped into view. He walked right past the room Ratchet was hidden within and lightly bounced down the hall.

Ratchet scowled at the Seeker as he strode past.

No. That bot right there was the reason he was going to do this. Ratchet shut the door with a final clang that echoed through the room.

He turned around and gazed down upon their energon supply and smiled.

The bright blue cubes were only enough to fuel them for a few days—but when Ratchet was done with them, the cubes would be powerful enough to fuel them all for weeks.

Ratchet walked up to a pile of normal cubes and gently opened up his cube of the synth-en. He gently tilted the synth-en over and watched as a single bright green droplet dripped down and into the bright blue energon below.

Drip.

Drip.

This was the right decision.

Drip.

Drip.

This was the righteous decision.

Drip.

Drip.

He shoved down the self-doubt—

Drip.

And looked upon his handiwork.

The blue cube shook with energy and began to bubble and vibrate as it began to shine green.

Maybe he couldn’t get away with this. There was no way the rest of the Autobots would drink this energon if they knew what he had done to it. The cube shone blue and green and then rapidly flashed black and forth between both colors, just as indecisive as him.

It shined green. No, no, that was too obvious, the Autobots would know something was wrong right away—

The cube then flashed blue. Had the synth-en absorbed properly? Had the power spread properly?

It flashed green again.

Then blue, then green, then blue—

“Decide already!” Ratchet shouted at the cube.

He cringed at the volume of his voice and looked back down at it.

It was blue.

He leaned down and squinted. When he looked very closely he saw a very faint green tint in the bubbles. Ratchet laughed. It was the only kind of thing you’d notice if you were looking and only if you actually knew what you were looking for.

The transfer was a success. He’d spread the power and truth of the synth-en to the rest of this cube and now that same power and truth could spread to the rest of the team. They would be grateful when they drank it and realized what he’d done to it. They would see, they would soon all see.

Ratchet leaned back and scowled. Starscream would possibly drink this energon too. No, that couldn’t be allowed to happen. There was no way Ratchet could let this kind of raw power fall into the talons of a mech who was infamous for abusing it. He’d have to prevent Starscream from refueling from the main supply... somehow. The Decepticon would need another source of energon to refuel from. Let the Seeker consume the weaker and inferior blue energon. He wouldn’t starve the Seeker, he wasn’t that cruel, Primus, no! But he would have to get creative if he wanted to ensure that Starscream wouldn’t be able to fight back against the justice that would come his way.

He looked back down at the infected cube. He’d still only fixed one of them. Now he just had to spread the power of the synth-en to all the others.

He grabbed the synth-en again and got to work.

.

.

.

Ratchet stumbled out of the energon supply room and squinted at the empty hall. His optics widened when he looked at the chronometer at the edge of his HUD. It was the dawn of a new day and a new beginning for the Autobots.

He looked down at the cube of synth-en still in his servos, the first one he'd infected. It looked like normal blue energon but Ratchet knew of the hidden power hidden deep within it.

Perhaps he should just chug down the cube within his grasp and ride the high of power all throughout the day.

Heavy pedestepes echoed through the hall and Optimus came into view. “There you are,” he said. “We could not find you in your lab.”

“Ah, yes, I was just… cataloguing the energon!”

Optimus frowned. “I thought you considered such 'menial' tasks to now be beneath you.”

“Oh, no! I was worried that Starscream had been stealing or hoarding some. But all is well! Helping us wield the might we should have been wielding from the moment the war began is never beneath me.”

Optimus frowned and nodded slowly. “I see.”

Ratchet hurriedly glanced down at the blue cube in his servos. He could chug down the cube himself, yes…

But there was now another bot here who needed its power and clarity more than he did.

“Drink! You’ll need the energy to finish the war.”

“Do not get your hopes up. The war will not end as soon as you now think it will,” Optimus sighed.

“Yes,” Ratchet said as his optics flashed a brighter hue of green than ever before. “It will.”

Optimus took a long look at Ratchet. He took the infected cube from Ratchet’s servos, Ratchet’s spark flared—

—and Optimus drank it all.

Ratchet watched with wide optics as the infected energon entered Optimus’s systems. This was right, this was perfect, this was everything he'd wanted and more. So then why did his spark seize up within his chestplates?

Optimus frowned. “Are you all right, old friend?” He leaned down towards Ratchet and reached a servo out to him—

His servo spasmed. Optimus moved his servo away from Ratchet and stared at it for several moments.

That was how it always began. First the tremors came, then the doubt, but then the came the clarity.

Ratchet smoothened his plating and forced down the doubt that threatened to rise up his throat and consume him again. No, he had spent this entire war doubting everything. Doubting whether Megatron would see the light, doubting whether they’d win, doubting whether they’d even have enough food to survive.

The time for doubt was over and the time for certainty had come.

And now Ratchet was certain that justice was near.

“Well, of course you’re shaking. You haven’t recharged in who knows how long. Don’t make me chain you to your berth!”

Optimus nodded slowly as he continued to stare at his slightly shaky servo. “I see. Perhaps you are right. You have been acting erratically as of late, but I am glad to see that you have returned to some of your old mannerisms. I trust you, old friend. ”

Ratchet flinched. I trust you, old friend.

I trust you.

If only Ratchet could bring himself to trust in his own plan. He waved to Optimus as the Prime walked off into the shadows of the base. Ratchet stood alone in the hall and clenched his servos into fists before he then spun around and walked through the halls. He had a goal and this time he wouldn’t allow Starscream to get in the way of things. A scowl crossed his faceplate as he walked right past the Seeker’s door.

He ascended a series of steps and pushed open the hatch that led to the roof. Ratchet poked his helm out and climbed out onto the rocky roof of the base as a cold wind blasted out of the sky. He looked up at the thousands of stars above and for some reason the sight of all those stars made his spark clench. The stars shined bright and it felt as if the wind screamed at him. Even when he tried to avoid the wretched Seeker he still infused his thoughts.

Ratchet sat down heavily on the ground beside Cliffjumper’s grave.

“I couldn’t save you. But I can still avenge you.”

The pile of rocks remained motionless and didn’t respond. He was used to having his patients be torn from him. Now the time had finally come to take revenge upon the one who had so cruelly torn so many of them from him in the first place. Soon everybody would understand his rage. Everybody.

Ratchet sat down and squinted up at the stars.

“Which one is Cybertron, Cliffjumper? I seem to have lost sight of our home.”

[actress4him]

Whumptober 2020 - Day 27

I actually wrote an entire fic for this that was a part 2 for Abandoned on day 8, with a part 3 to come later, but I wasn't overly happy with it and decided ultimately that it would flow better if there was no middle part. There will still be a part 2 (only, no part 3), but not for another couple of days. So, I deleted that entire fic and started over and wrote this. Which meant that I had less time to work on this one, as I'm already catching up with myself and hoping that I don't have to put off any updates! I'm not necessarily entirely happy with how this one turned out overall, but I do like the middle at least and I hope you guys enjoy it regardless of my feelings.

Read on AO3

Read on FFN

Day 27 - Extreme Weather

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Warnings: hypothermia

“Pidge, radar check. It looks like the temperature is dropping rapidly.”

“Okay, just a sec...holy crow, you’re right. Storm coming your way, fast. You guys need to find shelter now.”

That was all the warning they got before the wind hit. It howled across the plain with all the fury of a hurricane, so loud in his ears even through his helmet that he could barely hear Shiro’s voice shouting over the comms. 

“If we can get to the other side of this hill we should be out of the wind.”

“Roger!” Keith yelled back. It wasn’t like they had much choice in moving that direction, anyway. The wind was shoving them along, causing them both to have to lean backwards into it even while running to keep from tumbling over.

They were almost to the small mountain when the storm fully arrived. Suddenly the air was filled with so much white that Keith couldn’t see his hand in front of his face, and he had lost sight of Shiro completely. 

Apparently he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t see, either. “Just keep moving forward! Once we get there we should be able to work our way around to the other side by feel.” 

Keith furrowed his eyebrows. As long as neither of them somehow missed it and wandered off into the open plain on the other side...but they were close enough that it should be fine. He hoped. And they both had on their armor, which was made for much colder temperatures than this in deep space, so even if they did get lost they probably wouldn’t die. Probably. As long as a hundred other variables didn’t happen.

“I can hear you worrying from here. Just keep walking, Keith.”

“You just keep walking,” he lamely replied.

The good news was, he found the mountain. “You here yet?”

“Yep. Turn east, that’s the closest end.”

“Got it.” 

The bad news was, after several long, stumbling minutes of walking blind with one hand trailing the face of the hill...something happened. He wasn’t ever really sure what. All he knew was that suddenly his feet were flying out from under him, and he was smacking face first into some unseen object hard enough to make his forehead impact with the inside of his helmet. Before he could reorient himself, Shiro was nearly tripping over his feet.

“You okay? What happened?”

“Think I hit a slick spot, or a root or something. I’m okay. Just watch your step for the next couple of feet.” Pushing himself back up, he shook his head slightly to rid himself of the slight dizzy feeling, then kept moving forward.

It seemed to take ages, but they eventually turned a corner and had the wind at their backs again. It was only a few paces more from there until they turned again and the world fell relatively calm. There was snow shooting around the sides of the hill just behind them, and it was still swirling in the air all around them. But he could see again. 

And one of the things he could see was a little starburst cut into the center of his faceplate.

At first he thought it might be a snowflake, and tried to brush it off, but no, there was definitely an indentation there, and maybe even a longer crack coming off from the center. Whatever he had hit must have been sharp to do that kind of damage to a space helmet. It wasn’t a big deal, though. Yeah, the display inside his helmet was fritzing a little, but he could just rely on Shiro’s information until they got back to the Castle and could get his helmet fixed. 

There was no reason to tell Shiro. Then he would just be the one excessively worrying.

“Did you guys make it?” Pidge asked.

Shiro nodded. “Yep. Looks like we’ll just have to hunker down here until the storm passes.”

“Could be a while by the looks of the radar. I’d offer to come pick you guys up, but…”

“No. There’s zero visibility out here. Stay put, and we’ll do the same.”

He looked over at Keith and gave a smirk. “It’s not like we’ve never had to kill time together before.”

Huffing a small laugh, Keith settled back against the rocks, folding his arms over his chest. “View here’s not quite as nice as the Garrison roof.”

Now Shiro smiled for real. “Nope. That view was definitely the best.”

They sat mostly in silence for the next several minutes, just staring out into the strange patterns of whirling snow. It seemed so natural to feel cold while watching a snowstorm that Keith didn’t even think anything of it until a shiver shook his body. That’s when he finally realized that something wasn’t quite right.

He was cold. Not only cold, but goosebumps were forming on his skin underneath his flightsuit. That shouldn’t happen. The whole thing was designed to regulate his temperature. He had floated out in open space before and felt perfectly comfortable, so there was absolutely no reason that a snowstorm should have made him cold.

Unless the armor or the flightsuit was compromised, of course. Like, say, a crack in the helmet.

He didn’t want to tell Shiro. He knew he really should.

“Um.” He cleared his throat, nonchalantly tried to rub a little warmth back into the part of his arms that wasn’t covered by armor. “Don’t like, freak out or anything -”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I said don’t freak out! It’s not a big deal, okay? I just wanted to let you know that, uh...I think I may have cracked my faceplate when I fell earlier? And it’s possible there’s some air leaking in.”

“What?” Shiro was in front of him immediately, clapping his hands onto either side of Keith’s helmet so he could tilt it up toward him. That close, he could actually just make out his voice over the wind without using the comms. “Keith, why didn’t you tell me as soon as you noticed?”

“Who says I didn’t?”

“Me, because I know you. Do you see what the temperature is out here? ‘Some air leaking in’ is not good!”

“Um, no, I don’t see. My, uh...display has kinda been on the fritz ever since it happened.”

“Keith!”

Jerking his head out of Shiro’s hands, he glared up at him. “I’ll be fine! I’m just a little cold, that’s what made me realize. It’s nothing to worry about, though. It’s not like the air is toxic.”

Shiro gave him one of his patented stern dad looks, which then fell into the even more common - at least around Keith - exasperated dad look. “You let me know as soon as you start feeling any colder.”

“Yeah, sure.” He was already feeling colder than he had at the beginning of the conversation. But it wasn’t like there was really anything Shiro could do about it. They couldn’t walk through the storm, and no one could come get them. He’d just have to deal with it.

Unfortunately, his thoughts of not actually telling Shiro anything didn’t work out, because he sat so close that their arms were touching and could feel when he started full-on shivering. To his credit, though, he didn’t say anything. He merely nudged Keith forward a little and swung one leg around behind him, pulling him up close to his chest and wrapping his arms around. It was awkward with the bulky armor and the jetpack, but Keith imagined he could feel the tiniest bit of warmth on his arms where Shiro’s rested on them.

It didn’t really help anything. The temperature inside the helmet was still dropping quickly, the cold creeping down his body and seizing every inch of skin and muscle. He couldn’t stop shivering. 

After a few minutes, Shiro muttered something under his breath and pushed Keith gently forward, beginning to unbuckle his armor at his shoulders and sides. He pulled off just the back portion, and did the same with his own chestplate, before hugging him close again. 

He could feel the pressure, which was nice against the tremors wracking his body. He could maybe feel a little bit of the body heat. The problem was, the suits weren’t just meant to keep out cold temperatures. It was going to take a whole lot more than body heat to get through two of them.

“Pidge, tell Lance to be on standby in his Lion. As soon as there is any kind of break in the storm, I want him to get to our location as quick as he can.”

“Roger that.”

“Keith, bud? Do you think you can cover up the crack with your hand any?”

“I c-can t-t-try.”

His arm didn’t want to cooperate. When he finally did get it to raise, it was shaking too badly to keep it in one place. Shiro must have seen his struggle, because he reached up and grabbed onto the hand, pressing it in close to the helmet. 

“Is here good?”

“Y-ye-ah, I...I… ’s good.”

It was a bit hard to keep track of time. The snow kept flying by in mesmerizing loops and waves, and the two of them sat silently with both of their hands pressed over half his faceplate. Gradually, numbness began to steal over him, replacing the cold with blissful nothing. Even his shivers calmed, leaving him exhausted but relieved to be done with them.

“Keith. Keith, you still with me?”

“Hm? Yeah. ‘m good. Feel...better. Stopped shivering.”

“Yeah, I know, that’s not good. Don’t you remember the Garrison training?” Shiro’s free hand began pumping up and down his arm vigorously. “You’re okay, though. You’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna get you warmed up.”

Keith wasn’t really sure which of them he was trying to reassure. Personally, he was feeling too sleepy to care much about any of it anymore.

“But whatever you do, don’t fall asleep on me, okay? You can’t fall asleep. Talk to me, Keith.”

“You’re not my dad.”

Shiro chuckled. “Oh, yeah? Well, tell Lance that. He’s the one that’s dubbed me ‘Space Dad’.”

“Whaaat? That was totally not me, that was...that was Hunk!”

Oh, apparently Lance was on comms now. Probably waiting in his Lion like Space Dad had said.

“Are you kidding me? That was most definitely you, and we all know it,” Pidge butted in. “But seriously, Keith, listen to Space Dad. Don’t fall asleep.”

“‘m sleepy, though.”

“Well, wake up! Hey Shiro, got any embarrassing stories you can tell us about Keith?”

“Oh boy, do I ever. How about the time when he was sparring with this kid named Brandon, and -”

“Daaaad,” Keith whined. “Be nice to me while I’m dying.”

Shiro’s tone suddenly sobered. “You’re not dying, Keith. You’re gonna be just fine.”

“Yeah, Mullet. Even if I have to figure out how to activate a snowplow feature on Blue, we’ll come get you before anything happens to you. No dying today.”

Everyone fell quiet, and through the slight haze in his brain Keith wondered if he had done something to upset them. It wouldn’t be the first time, and probably not the last. Just as he was thinking of apologizing, Pidge spoke back up, as perky as before.

“So. I’m pretty sure Keith hasn’t heard yet about what you did in the kitchen the other day, Lance.”

“And he doesn’t need to! Ever! Too many people know about that already! I mean...nothing happened in the kitchen the other day, what are you talking about?”

Pidge launched into her tale, Lance protesting all the while and Shiro laughing along. It actually did keep his mind feeling more alert, as did Lance’s answering story of something Pidge had done back in their Garrison days...to start with. By the end of it, though, heaviness had started to overcome him, inviting him to sink down into deep, comfortable darkness.

On the edge of his consciousness, he thought he could feel someone shaking him, and Shiro’s voice calling his name. He tried to answer, he really did. But his tongue had already succumbed to the heavy sensation, and all he could do was give a little hum. 

Then Pidge’s voice came, curiously close to his ear. “Uh, guys? Red just left her hangar.”

“She what?”

Lance’s voice, also really close. What were all these people doing in his ear? “Yeah, I see her! She’s like...wow. She’s just burning a path through the storm. I’ve never seen anything like it. And she’s moving fast.”

The body he seemed to be leaning against heaved a giant sigh and relaxed. “Thank you, Red,” someone whispered.

That was the last thing he was aware of for a while.

[danurso]

Mister Knight

Part 2 / Part 1

(This was supposed to be a short story that i would post on discord, but since discord is a bitch and deleted it, i decided to rewrite and post here out of spite)

Jacques: The only reason i married your mother was to get access to the name and the schnee company, i never wanted to have you in the first place.

Weiss: *7 y/o, starts crying*

Jacques: if you want to stain the floor with your tears, then do it in your roo- *gets punched in the face and flies through a wall*

Weiss: *staring wide eyed at the blonde man who just came through a portal and punched her dad.*

Adult jaune: *kneels in front of her before opening a warm smile and wiping away her tears* don't listen to what that guy says okay snow angel? He's an idiot.

Weiss: mister. . .who are you?

A!Jaune: me? I'm your knight in shining armor snow angel. I was passing by and decided to make a stop to help you out.

Weiss: are you really a knight?

A!Jaune: *chuckles* yup, can't you see the armor? *points at his chestplate*

Weiss: wow.

A!Jaune: i just came by to tell you a few things okay?

Weiss: okay.

A!Jaune: first, don't ever, EVER listen to what your dad says, he's a massive idiot who doesn't know the wonderful daughter he has and how much of an amazing and beautiful woman she is going to be in the future.

Weiss: i'm really going to be amazing?

A!Jaune: *pats her head with a bright smile* the most amazing of all snow angel, i'm a hundred percent sure about it.

Weiss: *looks down with a small blush and a warm smile*

A!Jaune: now the second thing, when you meet a certain blonde dork at beacon, please don't think bad of him *sheepishly* he's honest but has no clue of how to really express his feelings.

Weiss: *with a confused expression*

A!Jaune: *chuckles* you'll get it someday. *gets up* and remember snow angel, you're amazing, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. *open a portal.* see'ya later. *gets on the portal before it vanishes completely.

Weiss: bye. . .

*later*

Klein: *putting weiss on the bed*

Weiss: *hugging a plushie knight with a small smile*

Klein: my little snowflake seems really happy today, what happened?

Weiss: dad told me he didn't wanted to have me and only married mom because of the company.

Klein: *flinches* h-he did what? *sneezes, eyes now red* that little piece of shi- *sneezes, eyes back to brown* i-im sorry snowflake, but how did that made you happy?

Weiss: it didn't *hugs knight closer as her expression drops* it made me really sad. . . *expression brightens* but then a white knight showed up and punched him in the face.

Klein: *with a small smile* he did? *inner red klein* wish i could've seen that.

Weiss: *nods* he then told me to ignore my dad because he is an idiot, and that one day i'm going to be an amazing woman.

Klein: and i'm sure this knight is right. So, how did he looked like?

Weiss: he was wearing a armor like the ones from the books you read for me, his hair was yellow just like gold, his eyes were blue like the sea and. . . *blushes, hiding her face in the plushie* he had a really pretty face too.

Klein: oh my, it really looks like a wonderful knight.

Weiss: and he was. . .i just wished i could see him again.

Klein: and i'm sure you'll see him again snowflake.

Weiss: you think so?

Klein: i know so. *kisses her forehead* good night snowflake.

Weiss: good night klein.

Klein: *leaves*

Weiss: and good night mister knight *hugs knight plushie to her chest before slowly falling asleep*

*ten years later*

Weiss: *walking on beacon's courtyard* did you got everything for me klein?

Klein: *pushing a hotel cart full of bags* of course snowflake.

Weiss: *looking back at him* can you please stop calling me like that in public? it's embarrassi- *bumps and falls on top of someone* oww, aren't you paying attention you idi- *freezes

Jaune: *below her, with a small blush* err. . .hey, j-jaune arc, nice to meet you.

Weiss: . . .

Jaune: are you okay?

Weiss: *deep red* m-mister knight?

Jaune: *confused* . . .what?

Klein: *watching everything*

[overclocksaa]

rt node (heroic age - post-civil war ii)

i had a post about this once upon a time but i’m lazy, for one, and two, i want to rewrite it, so here we are.  but first, a word from our sponsor, steve rogers:

thanks, cap.  now back to the show.

so first things first, we’re going to take everything you know about any other similar tech in marvel - especially the arc reactor - and throw that in the trash.  the rt (repulsor technology) node that tony had in his chest for so long was not an arc reactor.  it was never used to aid tony’s injured heart*.

* full disclosure:  while i love, love, love fraction’s run with tony (ask anyone they’ll tell you), that one throwaway line about tony using an rt post-afghanistan is something i ignore and continue on with the otherwise more prevalent and supported by canon idea that tony wore the chestplate of the armor under his clothes instead - considering all of tony’s canon is still considered valid via sliding timescale.  in case you were knowledgeable and wondering, “BUT AMANDA-”  that’s the only thing you’ll see me ignore out of fraction’s run just because it otherwise contradicts everything else.  thank you.

the rt node has literally nothing to do directly with tony’s heart at all, by the time it was shoved in his chest tony’s heart was fine.  this was post transplant surgery, post mechanical heart, and post extremis growing him a new one.  his heart was still basically brand new, along with his other organs, due to the fact that extremis works (as everyone knows by now) via the repair center of the body and uses its own blueprints to rebuild things at the cellular level, so in essence the tony that emerged from the extremis...scab...thing...was all-new, all-different.  anyway, point being, forget what you know about it powering tony’s heart or keeping shrapnel out of it - by the time tony actually gets the rt node, that hasn’t been a concern for him for years.

instead, after what was a long, convoluted story involving civil war, the skrull invasion, and dark reign, tony was basically the only existing copy of the superhuman registration database still in existence.  he was a danger because of that, and he was in danger because of that, because the common clay of the new west (you know...morons) thought it was a great idea to put norman osborn (yes, the green goblin norman osborn) in charge of shield after he killed the skrull queen and also simultaneously decided to blame tony for everything that had happened ever in the history of everything, pretty much.  so tony did what any supergenius with a computer for a brain and with norman osborn after him would do:  he put stark industries down and he started a slow delete process of his brain via use of the iron man suits and hauled ass.

“but amanda,” you might be saying, “wouldn’t that kill tony?”  yes!  yes, that was the point.  that was...the...point.  see...it started off slow at first, and then just whole chunks of memories started to go with it, every time he used one of the suits.  you can witness his decline, from the tony we all know and love, to someone who is not a supergenius, to someone that is struggling to put words together.  norman osborn finally catches up to him in afghanistan, after tony climbs in the model 1 he has stashed there, and they get into what is...mostly a one-sided scuffle which is broadcast live on tv, where osborn’s basically beating tony to death in front of millions and it’s clearly visible tony’s not fighting back.

...unfortunately, this leaves tony in a persistent vegetative state.  tony is, for all practical purposes, gone.

now, to understand, we have to backtrack a minute, to when a stark building got blown up by the even worse son of a really bad iron man villain.   mcu folks will recognize the name obidiah stane, but forget that context, too.  stane was...not a father figure to tony, he stole his fucking company and then basically...well, let’s just say once tony sobered up and got back in the ring as iron man we understand he won’t be a problem anymore (he’s dead, jim).  his son, zeke, is like five times as bad and pepper got caught in that blast.  ended up with an injury very similar to the one tony had post-afghanistan.  so she got an rt node in her chest to help keep it out of her heart until she healed enough for surgery to get it removed.  she also became rescue during tony’s brain delete world tour.  keep pepper’s rt in mind, it’s important.

so tony’s basically dead.  he’s being kept alive on machines and no one knows what to do and his friends are gathering (including at the time both caps - steve and bucky, don blake for thor, and so on), and the file on pepper’s rescue suit has a video recording of tony before he did all of this crazy shit he just did.  and it’s basically a “i did what i did because it was the right thing to do and if you want to pull the plug on me, i get it, i had a good run and we’re not guaranteed retirement or long lives in this business and you have every right to do so” thing.  the general reaction and mood in the room after viewing that video is “tony fucking stark.”  well, obviously that’s not gonna happen when you’re friends with a bunch of superheroes, so next come the instructions for how to bring tony back if they want.  it involves taking pepper’s rt and putting it in tony, stripping her suit down for its wiring, cap’s shield, and thor’s hammer, and...it doesn’t work.  they turn the rt on and tony is still basically brain dead.  steve goes to fetch a “specialist”, brings back stephen strange, and then there’s this long weird trip inside tony’s head where stephen coaxes him to wake up.  fresh out of a coma / surgery, tony kicks the ghost’s ass, and that’s that.

until you realize tony’s missing the last year of memories from his head, but that’s a story for another time that involves a lot of speculation and supposition and we’ll do that at some other point.

so okay.  we know how it happened, great!  what’s...what’s it do, why’s it not an arc reactor.  it powers his suits, right?  yes!  it does!  and no...it doesn’t.  it’s...it’s comic book science just go with me here but.  between the brain delete and osborn using tony’s head as a punching bag in afghanistan...tony...had a lot of brain damage.   like...a lot.  so that’s where the rt comes into play for him; it functions as a huge part of his brain.

like...you know how you know how to breathe and swallow and stuff without thinking about it?  you just do it?  yeah.  so.  tony couldn’t do that anymore.   his body couldn’t remember how, because those parts of his brain were damaged big time.  not the thinky supergenius parts, just the parts that kept his body upright and moving.  the rt takes the place of that, it functions as those parts of his brain.  whereas with an arc reactor even with cardiac arrest a person could survive without it to some degree of time, if the rt was taken out or turned off tony would literally drown in his own spit or suffocate because his body wouldn’t be able to do those things anymore.  there’s a bit later on where an emt crew use defib paddles on him and make the rt blink and he forgets how to breathe and freaks out.  it’s necessary in ways the arc reactor will never be, because it is literally, literally part of tony’s brain.  and up until his body reboot post-coma, there was no way to fix what had been done, so that’s why he has it so long.  that’s why it’s such an obvious characteristic.  he had it for what amounted to years, and he didn’t...ever really try to hide it, it was a proof of concept for him that very cheap, renewable energy (including for electric cars with an insane starting speed) is possible and he’s going to make it happen, because he’s powered by it personally.  and yeah, it runs the suits.   most notably the bleeding edge.  without the rt, the bleeding edge would probably never have been developed, he’d probably just have built another suit that could be taken away like all his others were (looks disapprovingly at steve rogers, no i will literally never forgive him for leaving tony practically vulnerable without his suits, he can grovel at his leisure but grovel he will before i completely forgive him).

it also offers a slight boost in healing and cognitive function, but nothing like extremis did, for the record.  pepper missed hers so much she made tony put another one in her so she could be rescue again.

so that’s where we’re at.  that’s what the rt does and how it came to be. it’s tony’s brain, it’s like a miniature captured sun that acts for his body’s autonomic functions.  it can’t be taken out (not until he reboots) for even a very short time or tony will literally die a terrible, horrible death, unable to breathe and do anything about it.   and the best part is, bucky and steve both received the keys to turn it off.  if, you know.  tony ever “became a problem again”.  (i’m telling you, steve rogers, there will be groveling, i get so mad when i think about how it was phrased in the comic)  and there you have it, folks.  the purpose and placement of the rt, what it does, how it does it, why it does it, and why you can’t use it and arc reactor as terms interchangeably.  chicken nuggets and coffee in the back, thanks for coming.

[collapsed-systems]

Megatron?” He deployed one of his cables, allowing it to slither up along Megatron’s frame, until it too wrapped itself around his trapped hand. “Request.”

“Another?” he said, his eyes fixed on the tendrils which wiggled invitingly from the tip of the cable. Soundwave couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen Megatron look so unsure. He gave the cable a deliberate wave, willing Megatron to get the message.

“How exactly does this work?” he asked, still transfixed by the appendage he’d seen so many timesbefore – usually jacked into a computer terminal, or otherwise used to inflict damage, but never used to transfer data to another bot.

Soundwave didn’t feel up to explaining, but he relinquished Megatron’s hand, moving his cable downwards, until it found the bottom edge of Megatron’s chestplate. A few tendrils tried to make their way through the gaps.

“Very well, Soundwave,” he said, after a moment’s hesitation proved he would get no satisfactory answer. "Show me what it is you want me to see.”

And so he did. His tendrils found their way through to Megatron's protoform, and burrowed themselves into his circuitry. It wasn’t the most elegant way to transfer data, but with their hardline connection, Soundwave could share more than mere visuals, more than words and numbers. A hardline connection was a more sophisticated process, which allowed him to put himself into Megatron’s head, or Megatron into his own.

......

Remember.” He was surprised that he’d been able to produce anything at all. And he was glad. Maybe now this affair wouldn't be in vain.

“Remember? Soundwave? What are you –?”

One more time, Soundwave had stopped listening. Instead, he was pulling up that cursed memory file, the one that had overtaken his life, that was destroying him one moment at a time. He didn’t want to forget – then Buzzsaw truly would have died alone. But so long as at least one person remembered, he could convince himself that he was allowed freedom and peace of mind. It was enough to know that Buzzsaw was dead; he didn’t need to know the horrid details.

And so, he began to delete, wiping each and every second of that memory file from his mind.

“Soundwave? What are you doing?!”

He felt Megatron’s hands tighten around him, felt himself pulled closer, felt Megatron seat him up, shake him – but he did not stop. He had to free himself.

It took a mere ten seconds.

. . .

I'll Follow you forever, Chapter 25 Haze Darksidekelz

Memories: Unwelcome by YarAnrethe

I thought I would wait until the blog published it in this platform, but I cannot refrain myself longer. This is the absolutely ravishing art I was gifted with, by YarAnrethe in ao3. Who happened to be the same being I made my gift for.

I asked for a scene from "I'll Follow you forever " by Darksidekelz. And it is even more gorgeous than I could ever expect. My utter respect and admiration to traditional art.

She or he also loves and heads-canon that fiction, thus captured the atmosphere in a most admirable way.

Pure aesthetic perfection.

[imrvbtrashdealwithit]

Survival and Perseverance: The Great War Part Two

I sort of lost my confidence last month, I was about to delete but figured what’s the worst that could happen? I’ve got a tag going on my blog Survival and Perseverance if you want to read the first part.

Elizabeth has been on the Valarius base for a few months now, David has some unfortunate news to share.

“Oh my God it is so good to see you, Patches!” David’s voice soothed her. He had started calling her that when they were young, she remembered his mother scolding him about it, but Elizabeth had never been self conscious about her spots. She smiled broadly, feeling tears come to her eyes at seeing her husband on the screen.

“It’s good to see you, David. God I miss you.” Elizabeth told him. He was lying sleepily in a bunk, his face lit up by a computer  screen in an otherwise dark room. She was sure he was bothering somebody. She didn’t really care much. Elizabeth grabbed her brush and started brushing her wet hair.

“I lost a few men a couple of days ago… it wasn’t pleasant.” Elizabeth said, David slung an arm over his forehead, looking at her with one cracked open eye.

“Yeah, we lost some guys too.” David said quietly. She gave a sigh, looking at him longingly. She missed him, wanted to touch him. Wanted to count those stupid freckles of his in the hushed light of night.

“I got news about Ethan.” David told her, looking remorseful and sad, heartbreak in his eyes. Her eyes widened, she knew what that meant.

“He got taken out… reports said covenants sliced him open…tortured him to death.” His voice cracked and Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, reaching towards the camera screen. Ethan and David had been close, a relationship had sprung between the two of them and Elizabeth couldn’t have been happier for David. She and Ethan had been good friends, once he actually let her get close. She had to drag him off the battlefield once, nearly breaking her damn spine in the process; but he let her in after that. They remained silent, heartbreak choking out any words that either one of them tried to say.

“I was just… I was holding out that I would get to see him one more time… Elizabeth, I knew the chances were slim, but… somehow I just… I thought I knew I would see him again…” David told her, tears falling down his cheeks, she blinked rapidly, gasping. Oh God, all she wanted to do was curl into her husband’s side and comfort him.

“I’m so sorry David. I would give anything to be there with you.” She told him, leaning towards the computer screen. She ached, not being able to be there for him was killing her. She just wanted to wrap him in her arms and protect him. But she couldn’t.

When she got out of the military, she would go back to Earth and David would stay in. This was his career. It would be like this, computer screens and empty arms for most of their youth, until the war ended, or until David got to old to be a proper soldier in the field.

She had intended on telling him about Sam, but that was completely out of the picture now, at least until their next call. She tried her best to comfort him until both were just too exhausted to  stay online any longer and then guiltily logged off. Then Elizabeth groggily climbing into her bunk and conked out.

She sat down in the mess hall over a bowl of gruel and a steaming cup of weak coffee. She missed David already, with every fiber of her being. She drank from the cup and ignored the pain as the hot coffee flavored water burned her throat. It wasn’t even satisfying.

“When we get home, I’m eating like ten cookie cakes and you cannot stop me.” David’s voice from a previous video chat.

“Yeah, and I’m going to buy the fanciest fucking coffee I can get my grubby hands on.” His laugh rang in her ears. She didn’t react much when someone dropped their meal next to her and plopped down on the bench.

“Heya, Lieutenant.” It was Felix. This was strange. She didn’t trust this. He wasn’t a threat, obviously, but… she wouldn’t consider him her friend.

“What do you want, Felix?” She asked, digging a spoon into her breakfast.

“Who said I want anything?” Felix replied, she gazed at him through a bleary corner of her eye. She really wasn’t in the mood to deal with him. She stuffed the spoon indignantly in her mouth. She wanted strawberry applesauce.

She didn’t have to talk to him. She could ignore him.

“You’re getting awfully close with Locus, huh?” Felix said, his sneaky little weasel face twisting into a sneaky little grin. Elizabeth grimaced.

“Okay, Felix, I talked to my husband last night, someone we care about deeply is dead. If you’ve got an ulterior motives under this sunny little facade of yours I’m going to break your arm.” She told him, not even bothering to look at him to gauge his reaction.

“Alright then, I will be going.” Felix said definitely grabbing his bowl and moving away from her down the table. She was glad that was over. But he did have ulterior motives apparently. She was not happy about that. Ulterior motives in a platoon in the middle of nowhere was not a good thing. However she corrected herself, she did just threaten to break his arm. For being friendly. Gates didn’t have to deal with a bitchy CO over breakfast if he didn’t want to. She huffed, quickly eating her breakfast and downing that disgusting drivel she took her bowl and mug to the kitchens and went to her bunk and slipped into fresh kevlar suit and started to put on her armor.

“Lieutenant Summers?” Locus’s voice sounded from the hall. She looked over her shoulder and grabbed her helmet and opened the door. Apparently today was a day off for him, he was wearing civvies. She tried to give him a smile.

“Felix told me about what happened… what you said.” He told her, Elizabeth adjusted her gauntlets, balling and unclenching her fists repeatedly.

“David told me Ethan died.” She said. Sam gave her a sympathetic look, brows setting heavily over his eyes.

“You’re not taking a day?” He asked, she shook her head, pulling on her helmet, the familiar hiss of it pressurizing did something to sooth her.

“People die every day, Sam. It’s true here, it’s true on the enemy lines. Death is inescapable, even if you’re a SPARTAN, you don’t live forever.” She said, feeling lead in her gut. Was he afraid in the end? Did he think about them? She grabbed her piece and placed it on her hip, then her assault rifle and placed it on her back.

“How many other people did Felix run his mouth to?” She asked, adjusting her chestplate. Sam sighed through his nose, running his hand through his hair.

“Just me.” He answered. She nodded.

“Make sure it stays that way for me.” Elizabeth told him. Sam gave her a nod. “Thank you.”

She ran drills, worked hard, sparred with the soldiers, and practiced shooting until the sun went down. Then she walked the base, quiet as could be. Ethan crept around in the back of her mind, not leaving her, God, was David okay? Why did they put them in different platoons?

She was in the back of the base when she felt the tell tale bubbling of a sob tickle her throat. Elizabeth tried to swallow it. She found herself leaning against the concrete wall behind her, clutching her rifle as tightly as she could. The sob ripped itself from her clamped down vocal cords and broke out into the quiet night. Tears slipped from her eyes, down her cheek and she dropped her rifle, clutching the visor of her helmet.

“Oh God.” She whimpered, curling into a ball on the ground. The thought that she had to pull herself together drifted aimlessly through her mind.

“Lieutenant Summers.” The voice was quiet and unassuming. She looked up seeing Locus in a pair of sweats and a zip up hoodie.

“Go back to your bunk, Ortez. If you’re not armed or armored, you don’t need to be out here.” She ordered, he patted his piece, his subtle brand of defiance gleaming in his eyes. She frowned.

“Go back before I make it an order, Sergeant Ortez.” She hissed, she was still his superior. He had to do what she said if it was an order. Sam tilted his head down, giving her a knowing look.

I’m out here, for you. She was used to being able to decipher a man’s thoughts by his silence and facial expressions, both Sam and Ethan had expressive faces.

“Please, Sam, I don’t want you to get hurt.” She begged.

God she was so young. Too young to be out here, too young to be a leader. She had the makings of it, but she was just too green. He knelt down and sat at her side, looking at her silently. Elizabeth curled in on herself, clutching the back of her head. He awkwardly put an arm around her shoulders, trying to ignore the flush of heat in his face.

“I don’t know the extent of your relationship with the SPARTAN, other than what you told me, but I think you should maybe take at least a day.” Sam suggested quietly.  She shook her head stubbornly.  

“I'm fine if I'm working. Just sitting in my bunk with my thoughts isn't going to help me. I was fine until I was alone. I'm a leader, Ortez, I can't just ‘take a day’ this isn't elementary school! I have to keep going.” She said. She had to keep going because Ethan couldn't. She had to keep going because she knew David was. David who had loved the man was still going.

“Things are just too quiet. That's all. If I retreat into my thoughts, I just-” She paused. “I hear them. Every scream, every soldier cut off in the middle of a sentence because of a plasma shot, and he was so quiet but I just can't stop thinking about what his screams must have sounded like, if he screamed at all.” She said voice still oh so shaky but she shrugged his arm off her shoulder and grabbed her SAW then stood up.

“Go back to your bunk, Ortez, that's an order.” She said, looking down at him from over her shoulder. He gave a huff but obeyed. She watched him go, burning a hole into the back of his neck. Elizabeth's heart hurt, an actual dull ache in her chest. She stalked around the base, an unseen scowl on her face as she forced her heart to harden. Ethan was gone. He was secretly sweet and loving and he loved David with all his heart, but he was gone. There was no use in crying. There was no use in stopping to mourn in the middle of a war. There would be time to mourn when the fighting was done. She may be young, but she knew how war worked.

“Heard about your little rendezvous with Summers.” Felix said as he sat down next to Locus in the mess hall. Locus didn't sleep after the encounter with Summers last night.

“Rendezvous would mean that we planned it.” Locus said simply, taking a drink from the god awful coffee that the kitchen made.

“I don't see what she's so upset about. Not like she was ever going to see him again anyways.” Felix said.

“I don't think she's hurting just because he's gone. Her husband was closer to him than she was. Lieutenant Summers is just incredibly empathetic. It's a dangerous quality to have in the midst of a war.” Locus explained as he rolled the container of strawberry applesauce in his hands. She was fond of it, he remembered the excited ‘fuck yeah!’ that leapt from Summers’s mouth when they first started serving it in the mess hall.

“She’ll get with the program or she won’t, either way it's not our problem.” Felix said just before taking a drink from his cup.

“How is an emotionally compromised commanding officer not our problem, Felix?” Locus replied. Felix gave him a slick glance from the corner of his eye.

“We’ve survived worse.” He replied. This was a good point, so Locus gave a shrug, grabbed his helmet and returned his bowl to the kitchen. He still had the applesauce in hand and went on his way to the lieutenant’s quarters. He quickly input the code, having watched her put it in himself and slipped quietly into her room. She was asleep at her desk, surrounded by drawings. They were of the same few people. People she knew. Locus simply placed the applesauce on the desk next to her and retreated, seeing Felix in the shadow of the corridor.

“Okay now that's just fucking cliche.” Felix told him, crossing his arms over his chest.

“They make her happy. You want an upset CO, fine. Go take it for yourself. Sometimes I think you forget what it's like to be human.” Locus told him spitefully. Felix cocked a crooked grin.

“Calm down, I didn't mean anything by it.” Felix said a dismissive grin on his face, Locus only shoved his way past Felix and down the hall, putting his helmet on and going outside.

Felix sent the sleeping CO a glance, the cogs turning in his head, then left.

She woke up to the alarm going off. Elizabeth stood up, knocking something to the ground from her desk.  She opened her eyes and looked down, her heart jumping at the sight of a familiar pinkish red container on the floor. Strawberry applesauce. She cracked a grin.

“Fuck yeah.” She said aloud. She rose and stretched, groaning as the vertebrae in her back popped then went over to her armor and under suit and started to pull them on. She grabbed the applesauce cup and headed towards the mess hall. She wasn't outright smiling but the sadness plaguing her had been placed on the back burner.  

She fell into line in the mess hall, turning down the Private who stood in front of her when she offered to let Elizabeth cut and silently waited her turn. A couple of soldiers fell in line behind her and she sent them a glance.  Locus and Felix, she gave them both a respectful nod. She had in her hand the cup of applesauce. She wondered who gave it to her. Maybe the other lieutenant, he knew the code to her room. But why would he bother?

She silently listened to Felix rattle off to Locus about this, that, and the other thing as the line moved forward. Locus seemed disinterested or perhaps distracted. Then it dawned on her. Sam gave the applesauce to her. She sent him a glance and a what was hopefully subtle smile. He gave her a nod in return.

Despite the encounters they had, Locus and Elizabeth didn't really spend a lot of time together during the day, other than drills. Not much one on one time was spent together. Sometimes she felt like there was a lingering gaze on her coming from his direction, but she never thought much of it.

She got her food and went on to her normal spot in the cafeteria, she liked being alone at the start of her day. She would use her time to clear her head, play through her head the plans of the day.

“Hey.” Sam’s voice caused her to look up, Felix stood behind him, looking slightly miffed.

“This isn’t high school, sit down and eat or move on to the next table, Ortez.” Felix gave a smirk and a side glance at her from his place barely behind Sam.

The soldiers took a seat across from her, she was a little happy that they weren’t including her in their conversation, however Sam was leaving it open to her. She gave a quiet sigh, actually enjoying the company. They were talking about plans for upcoming shore leave, she wasn’t quite sure which one of them was leaving because she wasn’t actually paying all that much attention.

He remembered what she said last night, about being alone, and how it brought the thoughts back. She usually ate on her own, he watched her silently eat as he and Felix conversed, well as he listened to Felix jabber on.

He knew she very obviously wasn’t paying him and Felix any mind, he hadn’t intended on her actively speaking with them. It made sense though, she hardly got close to any of the other soldiers, she was a fair leader, but that was it, she didn’t do much else other than lead orders and actively save lives. It was fair, really, for her to not want to get close to anyone.

“Hey, what do you plan on doing once you get out?” Felix spoke directly to Lieutenant Summers, she looked up from the tin foil cap of the applesauce in her hands.

“Oh well… my plan was go back to school. I guess it still is.” She told him simply, then ripping the cup open and grabbed her spoon.

“School huh, gonna get in some more book learning?” Locus wasn’t sure what Felix was trying to do. This wasn’t like him. Apparently Summers picked up on this as well, looking back up with a cocked eyebrow and a sort of daring look in her eyes.

“Psychiatry. But yes, I suppose you could peg that under ‘book learning.’”

“Oh a shrink? Think you’ll be able to handle it?” Felix asked. She nodded.

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to.” Lieutenant said simply and as-a-matter-of-factly. Locus looked at her with an interested glance. She had been questioning herself before. Maybe she was dealing with it. That seemed to signal the end of her conversation with Felix as she finished her treat and then left the mess hall with her helmet tucked under her arm.

“What was that about?” Locus asked. Felix leaned forward.

“You really want to fool with a college student?” Locus looked away, what was with Felix, was he jealous? It was ludicrous.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Felix.” He said, standing up and leaving the mess hall himself.

They were perched on a cliff, Elizabeth was lying on her belly staring down the scope of the sniper rifle at the road below, Locus and Felix were sent along with her. Felix wouldn’t shut his mouth. She kept giving him annoyed looks over her shoulder, but he wasn’t overly interested in her nor was it obvious through her visor.

“Would you please, shut the hell up?” Elizabeth whispered angrily. “We are on recon, Gates, shut up and keep an eye out for approaching hostiles.” She spat at him. His poor attempt at a brain pick earlier in the month still had her feathers a little ruffled. He going on shore leave in a few weeks, she’d be able to breathe a little easier on missions. He was cocky and stupid so she had to put extra effort into keeping him alive versus the other soldiers. If she had known the problem he was going to be when she saved him promptly on her arrival she would have reconsidered for a moment.

“Sir, yes, sir. Keeping an eye out for hostiles, sir!” Felix said with faux bravado and she wanted to gut punch him as he walked down the trail with his rifle at eye level. Locus was standing quietly behind her in the shadow of the cliff at their backs.

She readjusted the sniper rifle and rolled her shoulders, her elbows felt tight. Everything felt tight. She was tense. Elizabeth had a few phone calls with David and she was considering telling him about her feelings for Sam, it had been a few months since David had told her Ethan was dead. It still bothered her, the unpleasant thought popping into her head when she lie awake at night trying to sleep.

Tonight she was talking to David. She and Sam had been getting closer, he was important to her now, against her better judgement. He was a few years older than her, and judging by the death rate of the people she got close to she felt like he was in some sort of danger all the time. Yet another thing keeping her awake at night.

“You know how Felix asked me about what I want to do when I get out?” She whispered to Sam and he looked at her, head lowering from gazing across the plains. He gave a sigh.

“Yes, I remember. He seemed to have struck some nerve, Lieutenant.” Sam replied, she grinned, looking back through the scope of the rifle.

“He did but that’s not what this is about. What do you want to do once you get out?” She asked.

“I know you’re a career military man, but even career military man get out.” She continued upon his initial silence.

Not unless they get killed, which is something that happens to people you care about. That annoying ass little voice that reminded Elizabeth of Felix a little spoke.

“I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it. The military’s my life. What I do know is that I don’t intend to quit until the war is over.” He told her. Was there a bit of ice to his comment? Did he think she was a coward for wanting to get out and go to school? She looked back at him over her shoulder.

“You think it’s going to end anytime soon?” Elizabeth asked. He gave a hum, one of those rumbly hums that somehow she felt the vibrations of it. She liked those hums.

“I don’t think so. Not unless someone takes drastic measures.” Sam answered. Someone would eventually, she just feared which side it would be.

Movement through the scope caught her attention before she could reply to him.

“They’re mobilizing.” She said, jumping up and tossing the rifle to Sam. He caught it with ease, almost like he had been expecting it, then placed it on his back and they moved. Elizabeth took her SAW off her back and started to trek down the path. They found Felix sitting against a rock. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and barked an order at him to move. At the bottom of the cliff her squad was waiting for her orders.

They approached the bridge, Elizabeth grabbed the climbing gear from a soldier and a couple of charges to blow the bridge with.  She stepped out onto the steel beams keeping the bridge in place. Sam followed suit on the other side of the bridge. She hooked herself to the beams and carefully crept across to the center of the bridge. Elizabeth and Sam kept an eye on each other, her heart skipped a beat when he slipped. He was silent despite dangling thousands of feet above the ground by a mere titanium alloy rope.

Elizabeth wanted to help, but he was already working his way back up to the beams.

“Haha, nice fuck up, Locus.” Felix said over the coms.

“Shut up.” She grinned at Sam’s curt and annoyed reply. She stopped as they came to the arch,

she placed her charges and then looked to Sam, who was just getting to his position.

“I don’t know why you assigned the squad heavy to do this, I would have been a much better choice, Lieutenant.” Felix said over the coms again.

“Locus is even headed and not competitive. You would have seen this as a contest. As you see everything, Gates. Locus is clearly the better choice.” She replied.

“Contests make things more fun.” Felix told her.

“Contests cause unnecessary actions to be taken and puts the team at risk. I’m not risking my men because you want to show off.” She spoke definitively. She got to work syncing the detonator and the charges and then started to make her way back to the road.

“Wait, Locus, you’re the team heavy?” She asked, looking at him. She could hear Felix’s howling laughter from where she stood on the bridge supports.

“I am classified as a ‘heavy’ yes.” Sam replied. “I assumed you missed the fact because you worked with a SPARTAN.” He continued. The mention of Ethan sent a pang through her and she looked down, she wasn’t really ever afraid of heights.

“Did you know I specialize in taking out heavies?” She asked innocently enough.

“Oh my God, are you flirting with him?” Felix interrupted, Elizabeth actually laughed, a pure laugh that she hadn’t used in a while.

“If physical pain causes him pleasure then maybe.” Elizabeth said teasingly. Sam coughed uncomfortably.

“Oh don’t be a baby, Ortez.” She told him, shaking her head in his direction.

“I would prefer we not discuss my sexual preferences while scaling an alien bridge.” Felix gave a snort over comms.

“Or at all in that matter.” Sam added quickly.

“Ha! Too late, you fucked it up.” Elizabeth poked at him. Ortez gave a slightly amused hum, as though trying to hide it from the others.

She and Sam made it safely back to the ground and then the squad took refuge in a ditch while they waited for the alien convoy to get to the bridge. Elizabeth had to blow it right as the entire convoy made it onto the bridge. The squad was trying to take out a supply delivery. The entire brigade was meant for taking out supply drops and putting down the enemy’s comms on this planet.

The roar of alien engines disrupted the squad’s conversation, they had steered away from Sam’s ‘sexual preferences’ and Elizabeth had managed to make Felix the butt of the joke for once, who was currently pouting as the two privates talked to Sam and Elizabeth. She looked up, then ducked down, taking the privates to the ground with her. Sam had to tug Felix down and Elizabeth hit the detonator. Dust and powdered cemented jumped into the air, blocking out the sun as the ground quaked with the blast. The rumble of crumbling bridge pieces continued into the air after the initial explosion.

After the smoke settled, she looked up cautiously, the bridge was out and the convoy was nowhere to be seen.

“There, now all we have to do is find a way to keep them out of the sky.” She commented as the other soldiers got to their feet.

“Small supply ships can’t fly because of the winds, all we have to do is worry about is the larger ones closer to the hubs.” Sam commented as he stood up. She nodded.

“Alright, let’s get back to base everyone.” Elizabeth ordered and started to lead the way back. The sun was setting, casting long shadows over the dusty ground. These were dead plains, nothing grew here and no one bothered to inhabit it. The alien’s carved their cities into the mountainsides, the humans built their bases in the grassy plains, this was a no man’s land. But it was all that was keeping the aliens and the humans apart.

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #301

“Cat Armor, Fake Eyes, All That Remains, NOTCH the Monster”

[Lie] Urges her offensive pod to retreat back up towards the ceiling before heading out of the cage-

-As the group is walking up they see Buff jogging quickly towards Notch's house, and there's a pronounced thumping as he knocks on Markus's door-

[Notch] Opens it - Buff?

[Buff] Need- To - Talk- To Dofta!

[Notch] Okay? - he pulls out his phone and calls her-

[CP] Tries to fireball Buff from where they are-

[Buff] Gets hit and looks around in confusion- Cp?

[TLOT] Ignore him, he's being a dick.

[Lie] - Sorry Buff!  He's in a really bad mood!

[Buff] I can see that! - He's dancing around a bit like he needs to pee.

[Dofta] Hello?

[Buff] Snatches the phone and runs into Lie's house for some privacy.

[Lie] - Er...

[Traveler] Two more NOTCHES?

[Notch] Ummm.

[TLOT] I found my NOTCH Markus. - indicates her- This is Traveler. Traveler, this is Markus. The original Notch.

[Traveler] Inward hiss- The supreme NOTCH... Sir...

[Notch] That's not nessesary....

[Lie] - There are three other NOTCH ai's here Traveler...  Including mine

[Traveler] Why so many?

[Notch] These guys collect Herobrines, they tend to each come with at least a Steve, and Alex or a NOTCH.

[Traveler] Uh... okay?

[Lie] - Luckily not all the NOTCH's follow...- She rubs CP's ear a little

[TLOT] How much do you know about my previous NOTCH?

[Traveler] Scowls- Enough to realize he was unbalanced.

[CP] Considers fire balling Notch-

[Notch] Can I have Cp Lie?

[Lie] - He may bite...

[Notch] I'm used to it.

[Traveler] Who is this cat-brine to you Supreme NOTCH?

[Notch] My son.

[Lie] Hesitantly hands CP over-

[Notch] Gives him a hug- I know you're upset. Lie told me why. But I'm here for you when you go to fight, you'll have my enhancements on your power and my shield if you need it.

[Traveler] Who are you intending to fight?

[Lie] - The one who destroyed his original NOTCH and turned him into what he is

[Traveler] Are the odds against him great?

[CP] Is trying to bite Notch's face-

[TLOT] Yes.

[Notch] Ow. - He tries rubbing Cp's ears-

[Lie] - Harvestman has a sword that with a single small scratch can completely delete you

[CP] Yowls angrily-

[Traveler] Has a rather thoughtful and far away look-

[TLOT] So what kind of powers do you have anyway?

[Traveler] I know I'm your opposite in many ways, that's all I'm divulging for now.

[Lie] - So why did Buff need your phone?

[Notch] He wanted to talk to Dofta-

[Lie] - I wonder why...

[Buff] Comes back out looking more relaxed, and gives Markus his phone- Thank you.

[Lie] - So what did you need to talk to Dofta about Buff?

[CP] Very angry tail flicking-

[Buff] Oh.. just NOTCH stuff...

[Traveler] What kind of NOTCH stuff?

[Buff] Erm... OH! I don't think we've met! I'm Buff!

[Traveler] I can see that....

[Lie] Groans a little-

[Lie] Spawns a bit of catnip and slips it into CP's collar-

[CP] Hisses-

[Doc] Over chat - DID SOMEONE JUST LET ANOTHER NOTCH ON THE SERVER?!

[TLOT] Winces-

[Lie] Glances at TLOT- Errrr...  You should probably tell them...

[TLOT] Mentally- I found my new NOTCH and they kinda followed me in.

[Traveler] You're doing it again...

[Doc] Are you in danger?!

[TLOT] I'm going to say no for the moment

[Lie] - He's doing what?

[Traveler] He's talking to someone else, I can tell by his face.

[Buff] He's psychic! He does that a lot.

[Lie] - Yeah, several of us are psychic...  The rest have pretty much learned to just think really loudly if they want us to hear them

[Traveler] Is my being here that much of a problem that everyone needs to whisper?

[Steve] You are a NOTCH...

[Buff] Slightly hurt look-

[Steve] That we don't know!

[Lie] - Part of it is just explaining to the other native brine what's going on, since last I saw they were still at the bar.  It's really useful for long distance communication

[Traveler] Again, am I causing a problem?

[Lie] - Uh...  Well, technically this place is supposed to be for brines, so any NOTCH that does end up here does cause some tension at first, mostly due th=o the fact that many of the brines here have been traumatized by their NOTCH's

[Traveler] Gives TLOT a calculating look- including him.

[Lie] - Yeah, he and CP may have had it the worst

[TLOT] I still have nightmares if I sleep alone...

[Lie] Looks at CP, knowing the same holds true for him-

[CP] The catnip is finally starting to take effect-

[Steve] Stays near his mate protectively- we've destroyed NOTCHs before! You better not cause any trouble.

[Traveler] And the priest is just as brave as his reputation suggested.

[Buff] They're good people, just trying to get by...

[Lie] - And this place is a rare place where we are welcome

[Notch] I presume you respect my opinion?

[Traveler] Oh, yes sir.

[Notch] this is a sanctuary for the hurt and lost, be at peace and you'll be accepted.

[TLOT] Also it's generally accepted that the brines are semi- responsible for any AIs from their home seeds...

[CP] Just flops in Notch's arms, a bit overwhelmed by the catnip-

[Notch] Strokes Cp a little bit- That's better.

[CP] Small grumble-

[TLOT] Puts his hand on his chest and starts, forgetting he took off his chestplate. - I need to go into town...

[Traveler] Steps up like she's going with him.

[TLOT] Um....

[Steve] Just so you know, this village of Testificates worships him, he's their king. Don't embarass us.

[TLOT] Blushes a little - They needed a protector.

[Traveler] What exactly are you afraid I'll do?

[Steve] a bit exasperated-  We don't know! That's the point!

[Lie] - Would you like me to come along?

[TLOT] Is trying to say please without cluing the NOTCH in.

[Lie] Looks at Notch- Here, I won't impose you with my husband

[Notch] Gives Cp a hug, - it's okay either way. - He's holding Cp in a way she can either take him or pass easily

[Lie] Takes her husband and cradles him-

[TLOT] Takes a deep breath, eyeballing Traveler nervously-

[Traveler] Puts up what's left of her hood, her poncho is shredded.

[CP] Little yowl-

[TLOT] Heads off and they're soon at the gates.

[Lie] Waves at some of the villagers as they walk by, exchanging some greetings-

[Traveler] Shadows TLOT, keeping her head down a little.

[Steve] Runs a bit ahead and knocks on the door

[Drilby] Father Steve? To what do we owe the honor this time?

[TLOT] Comes up as well- The usual... sadly

[Drilby] Oh dear, I'll get him.

[Aurum] - Oh dear, usual's are lucrative, but tiresome at times

[Tungsten] cheerfully- Our king has a bad habit of shapeshifting in a way that balloons out his chestplate.

[Arurm] - Hmmm, If the chest plate were made of smaller pieces you could use the stretchy string I should you how to make and use it to hold the armor together.  It would then expand when he does

[Tungsten] Perhaps, but then he wouldn't have an excuse to visit us.

[TLOT] Huffs-

[Firebird] - meandering castle, a bit  near the lab-

[Doc] Is pacing around a bit, annoyed with TLOT

[CN] Following, just looking at everything-

[Aurum] - It's just a suggestion

[Lie] - I'm sorry...  Who is this?

[TLOT] Takes out the enlarged plate and sets it down. It's big enough for him and Steve to wear it together right now.

[Tungsten] Whistles-

[Steve] Oh, Lie, This is Aurum. He's the genius that made Cp's obsidian stuff.

This message has been removed.

[Lie] - Oh!  Well thank you for that, his armor has helped me a few times

[Aurum] - And you are?

[Lie] - His wife

[Firebird] - spots Doc a pacing away - Doctor?

[Doc] Notices Firebird and Cn, - Oh good, I was hoping you had Cn.

[Steve] Aurum, This is Lie.

[Firebird] Yeah, held him hostage til he finished molting. I uh... Heard you make fake eyes?

[Doc] Perks up a bit- Oh yes! Haven't had any use for them in forever, but they're fun to make.

[Aurum] Looks her up and down- Hmmm, a few minor adjustments would have to be made to the original plan, but I could finish it now...  Or rather Tungsten could

[Tungsten] Adjustments?

[Drilby] Who's this?

[Firebird] Could i.. Have one?

[Aurum] - To her armor

[Lie] - My armor?

[Aurum] - Well yes, I had started a set of obsidian armor for whoever his mate would end up being

[Traveler] Looks up just a little and Drilby hisses in fear-

[Drilby] A NOTCH!

[Doc] Absolutely! What colors? - Xe reaches up on a shelf with a lot of organs and various unidentifibles and takes down a large jar of eyes - Just take some, I can make more.

[TLOT] She's my new NOTCH Drilby. Don't yell.

[Aurum] - New NOTCH?

[TLOT] The new parameters generate one when one is killled. That's how Doc got Buff after Dn was slain.

[Firebird] That's a lot to choose from... How do I put it in? - picking put a few-

[Doc] I'm just glad to have them appreciated by someone.

[Aurum] - Interesting.  So where's old sourpuss?  I'm surprised he's not with his lovely wife

[CN] Comes over to look- Ewwwww....

[Doc] They're just glass Cn.

[TLOT] Thumbs at the cat- He's had a bad day

[Aurum] - Oh dear...  Do I need to make cat armor?

[Steve] That would be awesome!!!!

[Aurum] - Tungsten we need obsidian!

[Firebird] -has settled on a purple one for now - How do i put it in? Just.. Push it?

[Drilby] It needs little spikes!

[Aurum] - But of course!  And we'll need measurments!

[Doc] You just have a hole where the other one is missing right? Move your hair a bit so I can see.

[Drilby] Scampers off to get some string to measure with.

[Firebird] - great hesitance-....

[CP] Annoyed noise but with the cat nip still in his collar he can't really focus-

[Doc] I could just fix your eye if you want. I know how to do it. Otherwise I'd be blind on one side too- Indicates hir own eye scar.

[Traveler] Is it always like this here?

[TLOT] Let them have their fun.

[Aurum] - Don't forget a quill and paper too Drillby!

[Tungsten] Is arranging chunks of stone and putting on the gauntlets-

[Firebird] -pushes hair aside and shows the heavily scarred empty hole- I don't want it repaired, that way I don't forget what got me into my mess to begin with.

[Doc] Suit yourself, but I'll need to shrink or swell the eye a little so it doesn't fall out. - Xe measures the hole with hir fingers and squishes the eyeball a little. Xe looks down- Um.. Cn? Are you glitching? You have a tail.

[CN] Turns red and talks quietly- Can't get rid of it

[Doc] Well you can always ask TLOT. If I remove it it may be missing if you shapeshift again.

[Firebird] Alright. And I still think it looks nice CN.

[CN] - Just no more seeds

[Doc] Gets the eyeball the right size and cleans it throughly in some hot water. - Just tip your head back and put it in. Just remember to blink if you lean over.

[Firebird] Alright. - does so, pausing at last moment - will this shift with me? Or should I take it out when I want to go bird?

[Doc] Is your eyesocket about the same size as a bird?

[Firebird] A bit smaller.

[CN] - I wanna poke it

[Doc] Then just just take two. I'll make the other one smaller and you can switch them as needed.

[Firebird] Alright - pops it in and blinks a bit, surprised at the feeling of his eye socket not being empty anymore - Thats gonna take some getting used to.

[CN] - Firebird!  Let me poke it!

[Firebird] - exasperated noise-

[Doc] It makes you unique Cn. NOTCHs don't have to all be the same. And if you ever want some hair, you only have to ask.

[CN] - Why would I want hair?

[Doc] Doesn't your head get cold? And Firebird, if you decide it's not comfortable I can always make it into a pendant for you or something. It's yours.

[CN] - Well yeah, but I'm a NOTCH, we're supposed to be bald

[Doc] Silently points at Firebird, who has a copious head of hair-

[CN] - Yeah but he's a bird

-Some og it is also definitely feathers-

[Firebird] And so are you now, bud

[Doc] No pressure though.

[Firebird] Thank you Doctor.

[Doc] Thank you for putting me in a better mood. TLOT found his new NOTCH and let them in without warning me.

[CN] - Another one?

[Doc] Yeah, and hopefully it is someone who won't make him crazy. He's still a bit scared of you guys. Well, except for Markus and Buff.

[CN] - Why would he be scared of us?

[Doc] Because his NOTCH was a monster.

[CN] - But I didn't do anything!

[Doc] You hurt your pet. That scared him.

[Firebird] When all you know for a NOTCH is an absolute monster, you're scared they'll all be like that, CN.

[Firebird] That too.

[CN] - Oh...

[Doc] That's why he punished you so harshly and suddenly. He was just as helpless to fight back against the pain and terror his NOTCH put him though as your pet.

[CN] Stays quiet and scuffs his foot on the ground-

[Doc] Kneels down close to Cn- You have to understand that players often feel the same way about Herobrines. Some of them are mean like Mb and they learn that the eyes mean trouble, and go after them. Even the ones who haven't done anything to deserve it.

[CN] - So it's the players fault?

[Doc] No, they're just scared too.

[CN] - Oh...

[Firebird] Its the few bad ones in the bunch that ruin it for others.

[CN] - I wanna go home...

[Firebird] Mine, or Lie's?

[Doc] Lie is probably wondering where you are.

[CN] - Lie's...

[Firebird] I'll walk you there.

[CN] - Thank you

[Doc] Anytime. - Smiles

[Firebird] Have a nice night, Doctor. Let's go CN.

[Tungsten] is happily shaping a chunk of obsidian into a tiny chestplate with flame designs

[CN] Takes Firebirds hand as they go-

[Traveler] Is watching curiously.

[Lie] Is keeping CP calm-

[Aurum] Is instructing Tungsten on a few of the more fine details and how to make them-

[TLOT] Has put down a wool block to sit on and is making a few flitters to calm his nerves. They're mostly purple or red and the finished ones are flitting around the forge-

[Steve] Make it spikier!

[Lie] - Oh that's right, Doc wanted to talk to you about small birds TLOT

[CP] Irritated noises-

[TLOT] What about them?

[Lie] - To make them, they seemed a bit inspired after our trip to the zoo

[TLOT] I'm not sure how confident I'm feeling making birds with that psycho peacock running around.

[Lie] Gives him mental images of normal bird behavior-

[TLOT] It seems innocent enough. It's the programming I'm worried about. - He looks at Steve for the barest moment

[Traveler] Ah... the undeads...

[Peacock] Is stalking Firebird and Cn-

[Lie] - You've gotten really good at that, plus I'm sure Doc wouldn't mind helping.  Hell Dofta might even be willing to help you

[Firebird] - walky walky with CN, pointedly ignoring stalker bird-

[TLOT] Looks unsure and unhappy that Traveler mentioned his biggest failing so casually.

[Peacock] Moving a bit closer---

[Tungsten] Is now working on some teeny leg armor-

[Aurum] - Careful, take this slow, you don't want it to crack because of how thin it is

[Tungsten] Looks a bit silly working the tiny piece in his huge hands- I'm going slow...

[Peacock] Suddenly charges Firebird and jumps against his back, swatting him with their wings-

[CN] Startled, he runs for the town-

[Peacock] Is all over Firebird -

[Firebird] - very panicked bird squawking before taking off full speed, hopping and swatting trying to get peacock off him - NOOOO! GET OFFFFF!

[CN] Runs right for the forge-

[Peacock] Is either trying to hump Firebird or kick his butt. It's entirely unclear.

-bird screeching noises-

[Traveler] Jumps as Cn barrels into her legs- What the?!

[Lie] - CN!

[CN] - Lie!  The peacock's on Firebird!

[Lie] Sets CP on her lap and opens her arms to hug CN-

-Firebird vanishes into distance, still screeching and hopping like a madman-

[TLOT] Face in hands- I think I'll stick with my bugs

[CN] Moves into Lies embrace, snuggling in closer-

[Lie] Feels the tickling of feathers on her legs- Um... CN?

[Traveler] Looks down at Cn and mumbles a string of numbers- are you following your protocols little NOTCH? Is this your brine?

[CN] Makes an unsure noise and presses closer to LIe-

[Lie] - Yes this is my NOTCH, and he does very well at his job, plus he gets lessons from a much older NOTC/h

[Traveler] May I ask why he has a tail?

[TLOT] aggravated groan and he vanishes in a puff of bedrock fog.

[Steve] Suprised jump as a glowing eyed endermite crawls onto his shoulder and nuzzles into his hair.

[Traveler] Interesting trick...

[Lie] - I'm wondering that myself...

[CN] Blushes- I couldn't change all the way back...  But Firebird says he thinks it looks nice!

[Traveler] It does look pretty, I was just curious

[Tungsten] All done! - He fits the armor onto the lethargic cat and steps back to admire. It's black with decorative tongues of flame incised into it. There's a row of wicked spikes on the back and a sort of frill behind the tiny helm to protect his neck. There are also two little horns over his eyes.

[Drilby] Yeeaaah! Awesome!

[Steve] I like it!

[CP] Tiny hiss, there's catnip sticking out of the opening around the neck since it hadn't been removed-

[Lie] Can't help but laugh a little-

[Traveler] I take it he doesn't have a sense of humor and would be murdering the lot of you if he wasn't on whatever herb you've given him?

[Steve] Probably, but it still looks really cool!

[Tungsten] basks in the praise and starts working on TLOTs chestplate.

[Lie] - We'll probably pay for this later

[CN] - I'll protect you!

[Drilby] it's still awesome. He looks great. Fiercest cat ever!

[Lie] Smiles a bit- Yeah, he is

[CN] - Lie, Firebird didn't tell me I could change back until today!

[Steve] That's not very nice...

[CN] Huffs and crosses his arms- He said it was because I was molting...

[Traveler] so are there any actual players here I need yo be concerned about?

[Steve] oh! Is that why you're colorful now?

[CN] - Yes...  But he wouldn't let me have my other feathers...

[Lie] - No, there are no players here

[Traveler] That's going to make my job rather easy. I suspect that my brine isn't a danger to anyone here, and is unlikely to need protecting either?

[Steve] He's not dangerous!

[Drilby] He runs the village with a light hand, mostly just lending us his guards for defense against the mobs.

[Traveler] Guards?

[Steve] My brothers, skeletons whom I've earned the respect of from our native seed.

[Traveler] I see...

[Drilby] They're a nice bunch once you learn the lingo.

[TLOT] Mentally and loud enough for anyone to hear - Whos shirt is Cn wearing and why?

[Lie] - Steve's brothers will swing by my place when they know CP isn't around just to make sure I'm alright, and because they know I can understand them

[Firebird] -In chat- gffffffffffffffffffffh MINE

[Firebird] -A bit later- HE NAKEY WHENHKFFF TURN BACK

[TLOT] Understood - Settles back down into Steve's hair-

[Lie] Sneaks a pic of CN's tail to send to Dofta-

[CP] Flops over with a clank-

[Aurum] Just starts laughing-

[Drilby] Gently right Cp with a little squeak of armor - It's not that heavy!

[CP] Just flops the other direction-

[Drilby] Is laughing now despite himself and arranges Cp into a loaf-

[Steve] Quietly took a picture. -

[CP] Small quiet purr-

[CN] Is looking at stuff around the forge-

[Tungsten] Is taking his time with the gold chestplate, he's enjoying listening to them laugh and chat- Hey there kiddo. What's new?

[CN] Shrugs- Nothing

[Firebird] -In bird form- -Shoots into the forge and proceeds to scale the wall and then cling to the ceiling. He snaps up his tail and cranes his neck to stare at the door he'd left open.-

[Peacock] Goes squwaking by outside

[Traveler] Hello?

[CN] - Firebird!

[Steve] Firebird!

[Drilby] Is there an echo in here?

[Firebird] -stares at door and stays clung until peacock has passed-

[Firebird] -Leans head toward door to listen a bit before looking down at them-

[Lie] - I think you're safe now Firebird

[Tungsten] Watch your feathers birdie, you're a tad close to the lava trough. -tap tap tink-

[Traveler] More birds?

[Firebird] -Starts to scale back down before looking over at lava. Scoot a bit toward and chirp-

[Tungsten] Um? Yeah, it's hot.

[Steve] Hey Firebird, look at the awesome armor Tungsten made for Cp!

[Firebird] I hate that thing. -Loses interest in lava and scales the rest of the way down, laying in a feathery heap- Hmm?

[Firebird] -Scoot scoot and look-

[Aurum] - Huh, feather's that match the lava

[CP] Is still very dazed-

[TLOT] Tiny unhappy noise in relation to the peacock-

[Firebird] Nice. Reminds me of my old stuff...

[Drilby] Is admiring Firebird in general and pulls out a piece of paper and a quill-

[Firebird] -Finally rights himself and lightly preens his feathers to calm down from being chased and jumped-

[CN] - Firebird, where did your eye go?

[Steve] He's always been missing an eye, hasn't he?

[Firebird] Scrkk. -beakful of feathers- I took it out when I changed. I got a false one from the Doctor.

[CN] - But I didn't get to poke it!

[Steve] Why would you want to poke it? They're just little glass balls.

[CN] Shrugs-

[Tungsten] Has finished with the chestplate and holds it out to Steve.

[Steve] Perfect, thank you Tungsten - He holds it up and lets it suck into TLOT's inventory.

[Tungsten] So what's this about eyeballs?

[Firebird] I got a fake one to replace my lost one...

[Drilby] Still drawing- I could make you a leather eyepatch. That would be dashing.

[Aurum] - My, aren't we being creative today

[Drilby] Beams with pride-  We still have some glass from the glassblowers place too.

[Firebird] -Notices Aurum- Oh, a spirit. That's cool. -Tilts head a bit- Haven't seen many in.. Ages.

[Tungsten] I'd go white, maybe with a little swirl?

[Traveler] In honor of your Herobrine?

[Tungsten] Nah, it's just good contrast to all his red feathers.

[Lie] Carefully picks CP up and puts him in her lap to pet him-

[Firebird] -Stretches before slowly scooting back toward the lava trough- Hmm?

[Tungsten] Unless you're fireproof as well, be careful.

[Firebird] I'm sun proof, even better.

[CN] - Am I sun proof?

[Firebird] ....... -Slowly- Nooooo.

[Traveler] I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I am a very stable NOTCH.

[Steve] What do you mean, stable?

[Firebird] I'm not. -Snorts and leans head real close to the lava, basking in the warmth-

[Traveler] Points at TLOT - He's fluid. I'm... not.

[Drilby] Why are you unstable Firebird? Do you have a glitch?

[Firebird] Probably. I meant more mentally though. Ahh, this is warm. I love it.

[Drilby] As long as you don't get in the way, feel free to come around anytime. - He holds up the piece of paper. He's drawn a pretty good likeness of firebird with his wings spread and mouth open like the birds on knights shields.

[Tungsten] Leans over- Nice.

[Lie] - I love how warm it is in here

[Tungsten] Is shirtless under his leather apron and gloves and sweating a bit. - I'm used to it, but it's pretty hot all the same.

[Firebird] That looks nice!  I'd ask for a copy but I don't want to switch back for hands. If that bird comes back I want to be able to escape fast..

[Drilby] Is too skinny to be overheated-

[Steve] Is by the open doors where there's a breeze.

[CP] Little yowl-

[Drilby] Don't you have an inventory?

[Steve] Poor Cp. He's really upset....

[Firebird] Well yes, but I have a harder time with it like this...

[Lie] - I know, and it worries me...  I spoke to Endrea briefly, but she'd have to go over there to contact Winston...

[Drilby] Well... I'll just hang it up over here. Then you can see it when you visit. - Puts the page on an item frame and sticks it to the wall by the door where it won't catch fire-

[Steve] Has she gone already?

[Lie] - No, I told her not to yet until we had some sort of plan in place.  I don't want to run the risk of her becoming very injured or dying

[Traveler] Do you need any assistance?

[Lie] - It would be appreciated, but I'm not sure how my husbands mobs would react to you.  They are aggressive towards NOTCH's, especially after what Harvestman did to CP and I

[Traveler] Ask Cp how fast I am.

[Steve] She is pretty tough....

[Firebird] If I'm available I'd love to help, Lie.

[Lie] - We could try...  TLOT?  Do you mind watching CP?

[TLOT] Mentally- I don't mind. But please be careful Lie.

[Lie] - I will be.  Are you two ready to go now?

[CN] - I wanna go!

[Lie] - No CN, you stay here with TLOT and Steve

[Traveler] I am ready.

[Drilby] Come on Cn, we could draw?

[CN] - Crayons?

[Aurum] Chuckles a little at the child's enthusiasm-

[Firebird] I'm good to go. -Moves away from lava trough-

[Lie] Takes a nervous breath before creating the opening to CP's office and goes through-

[Traveler] Follows her curiously- Portals on portals, where are we?

[Lie] - My husbands seed, the place where I was first brought in

[Firebird] -Scampers through after them and takes to the air to try and land on Lie's shoulder like a parrot-

[Lie] Yelps and falls forwards, using CP's desk to support herself-

[Traveler] In the Nether though...

[Firebird] Heavy am I.

[Lie] - Come on, we need to find any of the generals...

[Traveler] Pulls out her daggers and follows with them concealed against her hands.

[Lie] Opens the doors leading to the hallway and stifles a scream as she quickly steps back.  The hallway is filled with the corpses of mobs-

[Firebird] -Stoops a bit on Lie's shoulder, craning his neck out to look around- ..Oh.

[Traveler] What in the nether? Why... and they have not despawned?

[Firebird] That's a thing that happens on some seeds.

[Lie] - That's how it is on this seed...

[Lie] - We need to keep moving- She begins using her vines to create a path and begins going down the hall leading towards the main entrance of the fortress.  As she rounds a corner she stops at the sight of a great hulking corpse- Grayson...

[Traveler] This one you knew? I am sorry. Only a player drunk with power or a madman would kill so many...

[Firebird] That's.. Huge.... And the rest.... -Slowly raising in temperature on Lie's shoulder-

[Lie] - He was one of my husbands generals...  He wasn't the brightest, but he was very strong...

[Traveler] I think this is quickly becoming a rescue mission.

[Lie] - Indeed, let's hope the overworld is in better condition

[Firebird] Indeed.....

[Lie] Heads for the main doors and pushes them open, leading out into the expanse of the nether- If I recall correctly, the closest nether portal is that way- Points off to the left- That would be my best guess as to where they went...

[Traveler] Let's hurry. This is rather disconcerting-

[Firebird] -Looking around from his perch on Lie's shoulder, alert.-

[Lie] Leads them along past the corpses of ghasts, pigmen, and blazes.  Soon the nether portal comes into sight and Lie slips through it, into the cold taiga beyond-

[Traveler] Puts her hood up again, she's all but lost against the white snow-

-Warm bird is a blessing-

[Lie] - Winston?- She's hoping the general is near

-There's a bit of movement from the shadows-

[Firebird] -Head snap around to look at movement-

[Traveler] Is scanning around for any sign of ambush-

[Firebird] -Toasty Toasting Lie with Proximity-

-Four Wither skeletons silently slip out of the shadows-

[Lie] Breathes a sigh of relief- Oh thank goodness, at least you four are alright.  Do you know where Winston is?

[Skeleton] Nods and motions for Lie to follow before heading off deeper into the trees-

[Lie] Follows deeper into the trees until they reach a rather well hidden cave, the skeletons push aside the brush in front of it and motions Lie and the others through.  Deep inside there is signs of fire and Lie heads straight for it-

[Traveler] Is making sure they aren't followed and sweeping away their tracks in the snow-

-Winston is sitting gathered with a few nether mobs as well as Blake, Magnolia, and Eliza.  They are all that remain-

[Lie] - Winston...

[Winston] - Mistress!  What are you doing here!  It's too dangerous!

[Firebird] -Eyes them from Lie's shoulder-

[Traveler] Looks up at them and her beady black eyes glint in the torchlight-  We came to rescue you.

[Winston] Leaps up and draws his sword- NOTCH!  How dare you come here!

[Lie] Notices that one of Winston's arms is missing- Winston, your arm...  And it's alright, she's not here to hurt you, she's here to help

[Eliza] - Mistress, are you sure about this?

[Firebird] -Slight tensing on Lie's shoulder, talons digging in. He's homed in on Winston a bit-

[Traveler] Her blades shine in her hands- I dare to go anywhere I please. I am NOTCH the Traveler.

[Lie] - Everyone please calm down...  Winston...  Is this all that's left?

[Winston] - I'm afraid so Mistress, other than Endrea and her children that is...

[Lie] Bows her head in sorrow-

[Traveler] They will be avenged. My coding includes exceptions for eliminating mad NOTCHs. We are not meant to hunt and torture mobs.

[Firebird] -Relaxes on Lie's shoulder-

[Lie] - We need to hurry before-

[Harvestman] - Well isn't this a surprise- His voice seems to emanate from everywhere

[Traveler] Seems to twitch, it's almost like a nervous tic-

[Firebird] -Tense, Lie is very, very toasty.-

[Lie] Searches frantically for the source of the voice-

[Harvestman] - And here I thought I had completely eliminated you...  So does this mean that blasted brine is still alive as well?

[Traveler] If you wish to fight, you should show yourself. - She puts her blades away and takes out a grass block.

[Firebird] -Looking around too-

[Lie] looks in confusion at the grass block-

[Harvestman] Throws down the four wither skeleton skulls of the ones that led Lie to Winston before stepping into sight.  One half of his face is scared and looks almost as if it were liquefied and then frozen solid again, there's a small trickle of blood coming form his mouth as well- I suppose I'll just have to eliminate you again, and this time for good- He begins drawing his sword

[Traveler] Shakes her head and her hood falls away, she spits a string of numbers like a curse. - Abberation. You are an embarassment to your kind-

[Harvestman] - No, I should be the only one of our kind kit

[Firebird] -Shifts on Lie's shoulder, parting his beak a bit- -Toasty fire forming at the back of his throat-

[Lie] - I will not allow you to harm the rest of my husbands mobs

[Harvestman] - Husband?  Well now, perhaps I should keep you around as bait then

-a lone enderpearl is flipped like a coin in the air and Traveler is suddenly right in Harvestmans face-

[Traveler] Shoves the grass block at him and for a second it ceases to be there, dirty pixels flying off her hands in a cloud as it's center is revealed. She's clutching the hilt of a broken black and red sword with only a few inches of blade remaining. She jabs it at his chest and viciously draws a ragged slice across his torso, throwing blood across her already soiled poncho.

[Harvestman] Is a bit surprised but is quick to swing his sword at her- Impudent little bitch!

[Traveler] Is dodging out of the way but can't avoid the sword as it hits her. Suprisingly it bounces off her naked arm and she reels sideways from the force alone-

[Firebird] -Clicks his beak before surging upwards and slightly towards Harvestman, unleashing a torrent of superheated flames and staying just out of reach of sword- -Vague screeeee noise-

[Harvestman] Tries shielding himself with his arm-

[Lie] - Quickly opens a portal- Everybody through!  Now!

[Winston] Urges the others ahead of him-

[Firebird] -Hovers in the air, spewing fire and waiting for the others to get through-

[Traveler] Lurches to her feet and helps hurry the mobs through the hole, making sure no one is left behind-

[Lie] - Firebird!  Come on!

[Firebird] -Snaps beak shut and spins in the air, diving for the portal-

[Lie] Once firebird is through she slips through and quickly shuts the portal-

-They emerge into a rather tense scene with a backdrop of very loud growling. In the center of the village is an enderdragon nearly as massive as Endrea but with TLOT's glimmering eyes, they're so bright they're hard to look at directly. On his head is Steve clutching a still lethargic Cp in one arm and hanging onto Cn with the other. Under the dragons sheltering wings and inside the curl of his tail are nearly all of the Testificate villagers and the human children, the rest have run inside and are hiding-

[TLOT] Is vibrating slightly as he growls and holding his paws up to swat any mob that comes close-

[Traveler] Is again holding a grass block and just puts it away. - Now that's something I never thought I'd see.

-Tungsten and Zile are at the head of the small, sheltered mob, both ready to fight anyone who comes close-

-There's a bit of commotion as Steve's brothers jump the village gates on their skeletal horses and take aim on the crowd of nether mobs as well-

[notbecauseofvictories]

but could you tell us exactly how crazy it was that k2 fell in love with cassian andor

}public String getNaiveBayesPrediction(){    Collections.sort(predictions, new Comparator>() {        public int compare(Pair o1, Pair o2) {            return o2.getValue().compareTo(o1.getValue());        }    });    return this.predictions.get(0).getKey()—

“Kay?” Cassian mumbles, and K-2SO pauses in mid-classifier. If he were at all inclined to poetry, he would think of it like a unraveled skein of silver thread in his hands, strung between his digits like a cat’s cradle. But he is not inclined to poetry, so it does not matter.

“Yes, Cassian?” K-2SO says, turning his volume down very low, just above the threshold of human hearing. (He is not sure the root motivator of that, his voice so quiet. The likelihood of being overheard, even at an ordinary decibel of speech, is negligible, and—)

“What’s the probability of something killing me in my sleep?” 

It takes K-2SO a moment to abbreviate to significant figures. “Five point three two percent, Cassian.”

“Hm. That seems low.”

K-2SO does not blink, because he has no cornea or conjunctiva, or really eyes, only visual receptors built in a facsimile of eyes, because he was constructed by humanoids and they found it unsettling when animate things didn’t have eyes. “Well,” he finally says, after sorting through a number of potential responses. “I am here. That reduces the likelihood of a surprise attack by eighteen-point two percent, which in turn—”

Cassian is making a low, rumbling noise that K-2SO finally translates as laughter. “That’s right,” Cassian says, patting the articulation K-2SO’s leg, where K-2SO would have a knee, if K-2SO had things like knees, or eyes, or poetry. “You’re going to keep me safe.”

Cassian falls asleep with his hand there, just above the hinge joint of K-2SO’s leg. It is very small, comparatively—smaller than planets and starships, and smaller even than K-2SO’s prehensile attachments. More fragile. (There are still healing bruises there, on Cassian’s knuckles, and where his thumb had been dislocated, an angry burst of mottled yellow-purple. It is curious to K-2SO, how very wet and soft Cassian is inside, and yet how much more it takes to kill him than it would to switch off K-2SO.)

K-2SO takes up thread of the classifier again, and goes on spinning it between his digits, like a cat’s cradle, like a web. He does not think of how small Cassian Andor’s hand is, or what it would look like, caught in so much silver thread.

.

“So how did you get here?” Private Andor asked, tossing little bits of jurga fruit rind over the edge of the walkway. (He is very young, in this memory-mapped file, just over the rawboned edge of youth into manhood, a beard not-quite coming in, more brashness than republican feeling. But then K-2SO is young too, operating within his original parameters with no auditory tics or jury-rigged .exe files.) 

A piece of jurga fruit must fall on General Draven below, because they watched him startle, ruffling his hair with a yelp; Private Andor grinned. When his eyes returned to K-2SO, they were bright-dark and dancing. “Good Imperial droid like you, in a dirty rebel base like this—must be all hells of a story.”

“My temporary memory banks were wiped, as per protocol,” K-2SO informed Private Andor. (Crisply—but there was no emotional content to it, not yet.) “I have no readable files predating my arrival at the Yavin IV base.”

Private Andor blinked, and K-2SO interpreted this correctly as ‘confusion’.

“I do not know how I got here,” K-2SO said, careful to enunciate each syllable.

Cassian sobered at that. His fingers dug into the softness of the jurga fruit, and the juice ran down his hand. “Me too,” he said after a long moment, and there was something cold, heavy and hopeless in his voice. “Not sure how I got here either.”

.

The most played file on K-2SO’s hard drives is a holo—Cassian leaning over some table, a bar at a cantina, it’s not terribly clear, but the audio is perfect quality, Cassian’s hazy blue mouth moving, saying, my friend, kay-two—

The file has been opened so many times it is starting to decay. It stutters sometimes, my friend, my friend, my friend, on a loop, and Cassian’s smile.

.

K-2SO’s indices have grown thorny, knotted—less a linear access and more a meandering path, a hedge maze, as indirect and unreliable as a biological neural network. (K-2SO knows, he’s seen the inside of a human skull. That’s your central processing unit? he demanded of Cassian, who had grimaced, and not looked at the body at all. But K-2SO had bent down, and touched the pinkish blob. His digits sank into it like crash foam. It’s so soft, K-2SO said wonderingly. Is yours that soft?

Stop it, Cassian had snapped, and something in the the tone of his voice bypassed layers of rebel reprogramming and kickstarted K-2SO’s obedience module; his appendage jerked away, and he straightened up. 

For a moment, there was only silence. Sorry, Cassian had finally said. Sorry, just—don’t touch the dead. They’ve earned their rest.

K-2SO thought to inform Cassian that a man with his skull blasted open was beyond waking, but something indefinable had stopped him. He has not tried to disturb the dead again.)

But that isn’t the point—maybe an illustration. His search function wanders more and more, alighting on the furthest reaches of Boolean logic, or sometimes pure randomness. Discussion of weapons shipments yields the sense-memory of Cassian dissembling a blaster, quick and certain, the way the light had fallen on his shoulders. ‘Death’ is a deadlock, because humans don’t come with backup drives; K-2SO has stood beside Cassian at the memorials for dead soldiers, dead pilots, dead planets, he has wondered at the biologics’ messy grief—but threads and deadlock are asynchronous things, and he cannot run that process while Cassian is there, fragile, always bruised or healing from bruises.

“I am distracted,” K-2SO says, when the other droids ask him to uplink with them. He leaves the swarm of astromechs in his wake, confused, returning ERROR when they search ‘distracted.’

public class Cassian {

  public static void main(String args[]) {      String Str = new String(“Love”);      System.out.print(“Found Index :” );      System.out.println(Str.indexOf( ‘o’ ));   }}

Found Index : startled laugh, with the light in his eyes; squinting up at, his mouth shaping kay kay kay like a benediction as if machines could be blessed, but maybe they can, because there is cassian andor, smiling and squinting, and—

Found Index: -1

.

(A memory file, long deleted:

Cassian, his breathing panicked-quick and half sobbing, muttering, “Get it off get it off  get it off” as he scours at his hands, his arms, with a bloody rag. His face, a death’s mask of horror, and faint blood, streaked across his skin. “I—” he chokes. “I…”

K-2SO prying the rag from his hands, and wringing it out over the sink. “Hold still,” K-2SO instructs in a neutral, mechanistic voice, and Cassian does; like a droid given a command he goes still, his eyes screwed shut and his mouth thinned, pinched and white. His nostrils flare when he breathes.

He is very ugly. He is very beautiful. (He is neither, he is just Cassian.)

At the first touch of the rag, his mouth opens a little, like a sob, but there is no noise. K-2SO lifts his other arm, and it comes up to cradle Cassian’s shoulders. to keep him upright.

K-2SO is very gentle, wiping the blood from Cassian’s cheek, his arms, the ugly streak across his jaw. “There,” K-2SO finally says when it’s done, rinsing out the rag with warm, clean water. “It’s off. It’s gone.”

Cassian splays his hand against K-2SO’s back plate, breathes out in a shaky rush. It is enough.)

.

The first thing K-2SO’s sensory receptors process is Cassian, slouched over where he leans against the wall, chewing on the corner of his thumb. 

“There is a thirty-eight point two percent likelihood that will get infected,” K-2SO states, and Cassian’s face lights up. (That is a metaphorical phrase, but it does look like that, like a light has switched on, and shines only for Cassian’s face, unforgiving and luminous as a naked bulb.) Cassian ducks his head and laughs, softly, laying his hand on K-2SO’s chestplate. The bitten thumb bleeds a little, by accident.

“Glad to have you return to us, friend,” Cassian says quietly.

“My backups will outlive your grandchildren,” K-2SO grumbles, just to make Cassian laugh again. Just to watch that ugly-bright thing, burning.

.

int dialogButton = JOptionPane.YES_NO_OPTION;int dialogResult = JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(this, “Restarting this system will dump all acquired classifier and controller heuristics. Would you like to restart the system?”, “WARNING”, dialogButton);if(dialogResult == 0) {        System.out.println(“Yes option”);} else {        System.out.println(“No Option”);}

Cassian refers to it as ‘reprogramming’ because he doesn’t like the word ‘broken.’ When K-2SO says it anyway, Cassian flinches like it pains him, even though K-2SO’s speech is well below 85 decibels and in no danger of damaging the human tympanic membrane.

“Don’t say that,” Cassian says, and his knuckles are white. He is staring fixedly out the viewport, at the endless whirl of hyperspace. “Don’t—you were reprogrammed. You’re not broken, you’re fine.”

But K-2SO was programmed and reprogrammed before, by the Imperial technicians he supposes were his origin. (‘Born’ isn’t the right word, any more than ‘reprogrammed’ is. But he acknowledges that he must come from somewhere, and the badge on his shoulder proves him correct.) Every software update and integration of new protocols was a reprogramming, if K-2SO was being technical, and he saw no reason not to be.

What Cassian did was break him. 

Cassian had moved through K-2SO’s perfectly-ordered programming and wrapped it around himself, breaking code and reforming it again, building layers of disjointed angles, curves, where there were once precise fractals. K-2SO knows—empirically—that the luster of a well-ordered crystal lattice is greater than any organic matter. It does not change the fact that Cassian has taken his functioning and warped it until it shone.

He is broken, he is all brokenness, wholly changed and remade from scattered parts, in a way that goes beyond reprogramming. It is new software installed in him, all his routines and subroutines re-routed. He is new. He is so new.

Sometimes, when they are away on missions, Cassian sleeps with his ear pressed to K-2SO’s chest plate. He says he likes the faint whir of K-2SO’s fans, the hum of the processor, reassurance he is not alone.

“I like your breathing,” K-2SO says softly, once it has evened out, dragging Cassian into sleep. (He looks different this way, something like the boy who once asked him how did we get here, but K-2SO knows him too.) “I like your breathing because it means I am not alone.”

Cassian sleeps. K-2SO listens to his breathing and calculates naive Bayes classifiers, threading all that silver string through his digits, Cassian’s hands, winding them both together in so much bright code.

.

public class GoodbyeCassian{ public static void main(String args[]){     System.out.println(“goodbye. I am sorry I could not keep you safe.”);

[sineala]

Chronology of Tony’s heart

I'm pretty sure I've typed up a chronology of Tony's heart trauma before, but in case anyone reading this needs the issue references for the very basics of Things That Have Happened To Tony Stark's Chest, here we go.

As we all know, Tony was introduced to the comics in Tales of Suspense vol 1 #39. While in Vietnam, he triggers a booby trap and the resulting explosion leaves him with shrapnel embedded in his chest, nearing his heart. Together, he and Ho Yinsen engineer the first version of the Iron Man suit, which basically functions as a pacemaker, to keep his heart beating. He has to wear the chestplate continuously, even under his normal clothes (no, don't ask me how no one notices this), and it requires regular charging from a wall socket, which Tony usually leaves until the last possible moment so he can dramatically fling himself across the room and plug himself in.

There are a couple of assumptions you might make at this point that aren't canonically true. If you're coming from MCU fandom you might think that some part of this is subcutaneous or otherwise implanted, like the arc reactor -- but it isn't. It literally just sits on top of his chest. The other thing you might assume is that charging the chestplate is painful, but this doesn't appear to be the case; in Tales of Suspense #45, Tony likens the sensation to an adrenaline rush.

What is canonical is that Tony is at this point touch-averse, because he doesn't want people knowing he has the chestplate. Check out his behavior toward his (retconned) fiancee in Iron Man v1 #244; he pushes her away when she tries to hug him, lest she feel the chestplate.

But the world finds out that Tony has the chestplate in Tales of Suspense #84, when Tony has a heart attack while testifying before Congress and collapses on the Senate floor -- they open his shirt and find the chestplate. Note that no one knows he's Iron Man; he denies it when people ask, and Happy decides to suit up and pretend to be Iron Man for a bit so that way people will have seen the two of them separately and Tony can still keep his secret identity. But the chestplate itself is now public knowledge at this point. So presumably the Avengers know now, which I think is actually a pretty underexplored topic in fanfiction.

Tony ends up losing the chestplate in Iron Man v1 #17-19, a very dramatic early arc that pits him against a LMD he has made of himself. The LMD is wearing Tony's newest armor and Tony is forced to wear the original model, which doesn't have enough power for battle and his heart at the same time, and he passes out after defeating the LMD. At this point, he is implanted with a brand new "synthetic heart." This heart is, of course, very vulnerable to stress, so, don't worry, Tony can still have a heart attack whenever the plot calls for it.

There's an arc shortly after this where he has to wear the chestplate to live. I'm having trouble tracking down where it starts, but I know that he's wearing the chestplate in IM #45 because he's thankful that he can take it off long enough to shower. (In case, you know, you were wondering about how Tony showered with this.) In IM #97 and 98 his heart is failing him again but I don't know how long that goes on for.

The remainder of volume 1, as far as I am aware, doesn't feature any specific trauma to Tony's heart that you'd need to be aware of. Granted, a lot of terrible other things happen to his body -- chronic alcoholism, paralysis, et cetera -- but if you just need to know about his heart I'm pretty sure he just still has the synthetic heart.

When Franklin Richards brings everyone back at the beginning of volume 3, I am pretty sure that the standard fandom assumption is that he gives Tony back a normal heart, because he tries to "fix" everyone -- for one thing, he brings Clint back with his hearing restored. (Curiously, it's established as canonical later in IM v3, in the Manhunt arc -- IM v3 #65-69 -- that Tony's liver is in fact still trashed from the alcoholism, so I guess Franklin never fixed that.)

And then the Sentient Armor arc happens, in IM v3 #26-30. The arc ends with the armor trying to murder Tony and then having a change of heart. When Tony suffers a heart attack, the armor rips the cybernetic, artificial heart out of its own chest and puts it into Tony's. (Yeah, I know, comics. Don't think too hard.)

This artificial heart is the heart that Tony has for the remainder of volume 3. There's a charging port in the middle of his sternum. This doesn't run the armor -- it just is his heart. Charging this one does appear to be canonically painful, as far as I can tell from IM v3 #56; Tony's given himself a bar to bite down on while he charges it.

And then Extremis happens, in Iron Man v4 #1-6. Tony gives himself Actual Superpowers (because I guess he really likes talking to machines in his head), and since his Actual Superpowers include a healing factor, generally we all figure that this is what got rid of his artificial heart and made his body basically perfect. I mean, he was a grief-stricken mess and hallucinating dead people but he was pretty while he did it, right? Right?

But Extremis doesn't last forever. Tony loses it (or most of it -- exactly what he loses is kind of unclear) during Secret Invasion, and then what happens is that he has to go on the run from Norman Osborn, who wants the SHRA database, and then in the arc World's Most Wanted (Invincible Iron Man #8-19) he ends up deleting his mind in order to delete the database. 

So what he gets is the RT node (RT stands for "repulsor tech") implanted in his chest to control his brainstem, in the arc Stark Disassembled (Invincible Iron Man v1 #20-24). Pepper previously had it in her chest in the arc The Five Nightmares (Invincible Iron Man v1 #1-8), due to shrapnel problems, but she ends up okay, and anyway Tony needs it.

Now, the RT node looks (and functions) a lot more like what you might expect from the MCU arc reactor. (Yes, the MCU had started by this point.) It acts as a power source for Tony's armors -- Bleeding Edge, the first armor he builds, is stored entirely in his body. (The Extremis armor stored only the undersuit internally; all the plating was external.) But, again, it has nothing to do with his heart. His heart's fine now. This is what is keeping his brain running.

Tony has the RT up until very recently. He ends up comatose at the end of the event Civil War II, and when he is eventually revived (in approximately Iron Man #600 although if you want to be picky it's a little sooner but #600 is the Big Deal Milestone Issue) he does so in a brand-new body, without the RT. Currently he's having some kind of existential crisis about whether he's even himself now that he has a new body. But, anyway, he's fine now, though I'm sure he's due for another heart problem soon.

There we go. The saga of Tony Stark's Broken Heart.

[sineala]

I have a continuity question if you don't mind! I just read Avengers Prime and Vol 4 but haven't read the Iron Man comics from around that time yet and I was wondering about Extremis and Tony's armor. It seems like he doesn't have Extremis in Avengers Prime, and I remember reading something about it getting disabled in the war with the Skrulls. But in Vol 4 he summons his armor and it looks like Extremis. Does he get it back, and if so how? OR, what is it in Vol 4 that lets him do that?

The armor Tony has in Avengers vol 4 is called Bleeding Edge. As armors go, it’s pretty visually similar to Extremis and it has a couple of neat tricks similar to Extremis, but it’s not the Extremis armor.

This is Extremis (Model 29):

Visually, one of the big telltales of Extremis is the unibeam housing in the center, which has either a triangle or a distorted pentagon shape depending on the artist. The Extremis armor has big, big shoulder pieces, and it was, I think, the first armor to have what fandom affectionately calls “thigh-highs” – it’s not boots, per se, but you can see that the red metal on Tony’s legs goes almost all the way up his thighs.

Note that the technological development that made the armor possible was the Extremis virus itself – Tony operates this armor with his mind. The golden undersuit portions of the armor are actually stored inside his body (don’t ask me, it’s comics) and the red plating, the actual armor, is all external; he can summon the plating to himself and suit up basically telekinetically. Also note that the unibeam housing is part of the armor itself – at this time, there’s no battery, there’s no chestplate, there’s nothing wrong whatsoever with Tony’s heart.

Tony loses Extremis during the Skrull invasion and can no longer operate this armor.

This is Bleeding Edge (Model 37):

Visually, Bleeding Edge also has the thigh-highs, but not as pronounced. It’s a similar armor, but slimmer and sleeker, with more gold accents; the telltale for Bleeding Edge is the circular unibeam housing (this is the main RT node) as well as the little network of smaller repulsor nodes dotting the armor on Tony’s upper body.

Because Tony makes terrible choices and ended up deleting his own brain, the RT node, which is now implanted in Tony’s chest, powers the armor as well as controlling Tony’s brainstem. The entire armor is actually stored inside Tony’s body and he can summon it through his skin and suit up – it’s like Extremis in that way but is actually more advanced (since in Extremis he only stored the undersuit inside himself, not the whole armor), and that was probably what you saw that made you wonder about the absence of Extremis.

(These days Tony no longer has the RT either.)

To the best of my knowledge, canon never explicitly explained how it was that Tony was able to operate Bleeding Edge in the absence of Extremis. Fandom generally assumes that when the Skrulls took Extremis away from him, what they took was a lot of the technopathy/networking aspects that Extremis gave Tony and that the RT was somehow enough of a computer to be able to interface with the armor and with whatever of Extremis remained in Tony, but that the full Extremis armor itself relied on abilities that Tony no longer had access to, since he no longer exhibits abilities like technopathy after Extremis. If anyone actually has a full explanation, I would be interested in knowing this too.

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #244

“Tennis Match, Cp Restored”

[CP] Banging on CN's door first thing in the morning- GIVE IT BACK!

[CN] - NO!  IT'S MINE!

[Lie] Groans and rolls over in her bed, typing into the chat- Notch...  Your kids an early riser...

[Notch] Sheepishly in chat- I am too, usually....

[Lie] - Yes well he's making a commotion outside of my room

[Notch] Kids do that....

[Lie] Groans-

-knock knock its the tooth fairy-

[Lie] Huffs and gets out of her bed, heading for the door and opens it- Hello?

-just kidding it's Mix-

[Mix] Hey! Uh... -sheepishly- Got any sugar, Lie?

[Lie] - Maybe?  I'm really not sure.  CP's been eating a lot...

[Mix] Cp, eating sugar? I don't think he's any sweeter.

[Lie] Can't help the small laugh which leaves her- No, no, he's regaining his form and so he's eating everything he can so he'll have enough material to build back up

[CP] Goes running by with a wooden sword-

[CN] - GIVE IT BACK!

[Lie] Sighs-

[Mix] -Actually startled at the teeny cp- ... Smol. Why is he small?

[Lie] - He was...  Deleted by his NOTCH.  I had a single pixel of his and he's been regrowing from that

[Mix] Oh my stars.. I.. Wow... Poor guy.. -Saddened face- Atleast you had that pixel...

[Lie] - Yeah...  Unfortunately he and CN can't seem to stop fighting.  Anyways, let's go see if I have any sugar for you

[Lie] Heads down to the work room and starts digging through some trunks-

[Mix] -follow the lie-

[Lie] Frowns after a moment- Looks like we may have to go out to the green house...  I don't seem to have any in here...

[Mix] Did he eat it all?

[Lie] - Looks like it...

[CP] He and CN are scuffling outside-

[Lie] - Notch?  They're fighting again!- She begins heading outside to go to the green house

[Mix] Why don't you just separate them? -follow the lie some more-

[Lie] - We try, but they keep finding a way around...- They enter the green house and the smell of vanilla is strong in the air

[Mix] Just? Lock them in a room with an iron door? *shrug and smell some good stuff. It's called vanilla.

[Mix] That smells good.

[Lie] - It's vanilla, it's used in air fresheners and stuff

[Mix] Smells good.

[Lie] - Do you want some?

[Mix] Uh... Sure.

[Lie] Reaches up and picks a couple blossoms and pods- Here, the pods can be used for cooking

[Notch] Comes in with a black eye and a sour expression. - Can I have a healing bloom please?

[Mix] Yikes.

[Lie] - Right next to the door

[Notch] Plucks one and holds it against his closed eye - Rotten little....

[Lie] - I'm so tempted to just use my vines to separate them...

[Mix] Time out room is more effective.

[Lie] - We do have the cage...

[Notch] Just be careful, their little fists move like lighting.

[Lie] - I don't think either one would hurt me

[Lie] - Mix, I'm going to go see what I can do about the kids, feel free to pilfer what you want from the green house

[Doc] Is in one of the lower rooms that has a carpeted floor trying to teach Yaunfen to walk- I've got you, just take small steps

[Deer] Is watching with a small smile-

[Yaunfen] Wobbles a lot-

[Doc] I know its hard. I'll catch you if you fall

[Yaunfen] - Mada carry me?

[Doc] I can, but not all the time. You should still learn to walk.

[Yaunfen] - No, just carry

[Deer] - Yaunfen, if you can't learn how to walk, then how can you expect to get cookies all by yourself?

[Doc] Yeah, it's much easier to raid the fridge with thumbs. I'll even teach you to cook if you want.

[Yaunfen] - Mmmm...

[Doc] We can make popsicles...

[Yaunfen] - Popsicles!  Popsicles!

[Doc] Perfect. - xe takes a few steps back.  -Walk to me and we'll go have treats!

[Yaunfen] Shakily stands and promptly falls on butt-

[Doc] Awwww... - Sweetheart! - Helps hir up- Are you okay?

[Yaunfen] - Uh huh...  We go get treats now?

[Doc] Soon, come on, just try, I'll hold your hands. Little steps-

[Yaunfen] Stands again and shakily takes tiny little steps-

[Deer] - Maybe we should see if we can borrow Endrea's old knee pads and helmet...

[Doc] I could always just make some new ones. Is it really nessesary though? Yaunfen is older then Endrea was. I think they'll get it soon.

[Deer] - Just thinking aloud love, that's all

[Yaunfen] Stumbles and trips a little-

[Doc] Catches them- Careful. Use your claws if you have too. Toes help you balance.

[Yaunfen] - Okay Mada

[Doc] Has a light in hir eyes watching Yaunfen, a sort of sparkle, it's almost as if playing with hir child helps blot out some of the horror and stress Dn is causing hir.

[Yaunfen] Stumbles a little, but is starting to get the hang of it with Doc's help-

[Doc] Hears footsteps upstairs and the look on hir face is pained-

[Deer] Glances at the stairs-

[Doc] Maybe we should go play in a lower room...

[Deer] - Go, I'll delay him

[TLOT] Feels Dn headed for Doc and swallows his fear. Doc's tension has been building for days, and while it's not as bad as the mental collapse that made them into a brine, it's still wearing them down. He steps directly into Dn's path- Go somewhere else. You're not welcome down there.  [Dn] I don't care. I go where my brine is. I never know what kind of chaos they might cause if I'm not always watching them.

[TLOT] Scans Dn-

[Dn] Pushes back mentally and shoves his icy hands against the Herobrine-

[TLOT] Stumbles a little under the force of the cold, his chestplate having soaked it up and transfered it to the hot flesh underneath. But he's already seen what was in the NOTCH's mind and growls- Don't ever touch me again.

[Dn] Are you going to fight me Herobrine? You know it will do no good. The power that protects your friends from death also defends me from obliteration.

[TLOT] It dosen't mean you can't suffer, you odious creature.

[Dn] Filthy little glitch. You wouldn't dare.

[TLOT] Feels the creeping horror of what he's challenging and fights the urge to back down or run away. It's only the memory of fear in his friend's eyes that keeps him firm. With a snarl he charges forward and uses the horns on his helm to toss Dn like a bull.

[Dn] Lands with a bit of a crunch and struggles to get up, ice spreading all around where he fell.

[TLOT] Doc always tries to see the good in people. And more often then not, it just leads to them getting burned. I don't know why they keep trying. And this time I'm going to intervene. All you want is control and it makes me sick. Doc isn't some toy for you to play with.  

[Dn] Shall I play with you instead? - He makes a gesture and throws a spine of ice as casually as one would a dart. It's so fast TLOT has no time to dodge and it lodges in his gut. -

[TLOT] You bastard.... - He staggers as his heat turns the water to steam and it billows all around him. A cough shudders through him and he spits a wad of staticky slime out of his throat. - I hope this hurts you as much as it hurt my NOTCH... - He throws the wad and it lands squarely on the NOTCH's chest.

[Dn] Stares at it for a moment. - Is that the best you can... - his face twists with horror as the interference reaches his skin and starts to burn. - Frantically he swats at it, staggering as it sears down through his player skin. With a look of horror he topples and hits the floor-

- /Player Dn was killed by HerobrineTheLordOfTears/ -

[TLOT] Fuck you.

[Steve] Felt his mate in pain and runs all the way to the castle from the village, before charging down into the bowels of the castle to find him-

[TLOT] Sits down on the floor with a bucket of lava and holds a bit of it against the hole in his gut.

[Steve] Is frantically checking him over-

[TLOT] I'm all right my lamb. Just... upset.

[Steve] Immediately understands-  what did you see?

[TLOT] He's a stalker, a psychopath. Just as Doc seems to be bolstered by being kind, Dn delights in cruelty and control. He'll hound Doc until they have a nervous breakdown from being shadowed and he'll love every moment.

[Steve] What can we do?

[TLOT] Go around him, and Doc as well, unfortunately. I know they'll want to give him a million second chances and I think that's not the right way this time. I need to talk to Flux and probably Deerheart. They may know some other way then fighting him directly.

[Deer] Smiles as she sees the death message and send a quick thank you to TLOT before closing her eyes and concentrating. She sends a quick warning to the others before putting one of her more recent lessons with Flux to the test. She visualizes all the ways DN could get to Doc and creates a barrier there. She can only make it a couple blocks wide and it won't physically stop someone, but it will disorient them, hopefully enough to keep DN out

[Dn] Storms past Deerheart and shoves her in his haste-

[Deer] Scowls at the NOTCH- I wouldn't advise that DN

[Dn] Makes a dismissive noise and waves a hand at her airily.

[Deer] - Do not ignore me

[Dn] Gives her the barest glance as he feels around for Doc's energy

[Deer] - You can't get to them

[Dn] Oh really?

[Deer] - Yes, I will protect my mate from you

[Dn] That's a rather bold statement from someone who is not even a Herobrine. Tend to your mobs and stay out of NOTCH business.

[Deer] - You're right, I am no brine, I am something much stronger

[Dn] So you keep boasting. Are you sure you shouldn't go fetch your purple friend first?

[Deer] - So I keep warning, there is a difference

[Dn] Why do you oppose me? Surely the impulse to keep the code clean and orderly is in you too?

[Deer] - It is clean.  If you were ever to actually look at the work Doc does you'd find it clean and very orderly, it's only their means which are a little messy, but accepted by the seed because they are the native

[Dn] They shed and attract pixels like a magnet in iron sand. It's disgusting, you're merely blinded by love.

[Deer] - No, my love is in response to their love of the seed.  I would not exist if not for them.  and it is not as if the pixels they don't use remain, they despawn like anything else

[Dn] Love is just an illusion of programming, you bore me. -goes to walk away

[Deer] - I wouldn't go that way~

[Dn] Sneers and walks away from her he doesn't get more then a few steps before his face goes a sickly green and he wobbles, trying to keep his footing. - what the nether kind of stupidity is this?!

[Deer] - Just a little trick Flux taught me

[Dn] You.... Witch... - he falls to his knees and dry heaves

[Deer] - No, I'm a server.  Admittedly Flux's version of this is much stronger since it's more magic based, but it's doing what it needs to do for now

[Dn] Growls- you're no better then your disaster of a mate...

[Deer] - And you are a pathetic excuse for a NOTCH

[Dn] He puts his hands flat on the floor and turns it to ice-

[Deer] - That won't help you

[Dn] It's not meant to help me.... - her hooves are frozen to the floor

[Deer] Looks down- Oh, how cute.  Take a nap for once- She pulls a block of bedrock out of her inventory and chucks it at DN's head

[Dn] is too disoriented to dodge and slumps to the floor. He has some hearts left, but he's out cold.

[Deer] Sighs a little- TLOT?  I could use some help...

[TLOT] Tps to her directly but slips on the icy floor and ends up on his rear - YOW THATS COLD.

[Deer] - Sorry, he still managed to do that even though he was pretty disoriented

[TLOT] Tries to get up again and holds onto the wall to keep his balance- dumb bastard...

[Deer] - He's out of it for now though, but he froze my hooves to the ground and it's starting to get cold...

[TLOT] Ah, I guess I'm a good person to heat things up. -He takes tiny steps in her direction-

[Deer] Waits patiently-

[TLOT] Skids a little and falls against her - sorry, I've got no traction on ice.

[Deer] - That's okay, it is pretty slippery

[TLOT] Hugs her to stay upright and turns up his glitch. The room warms quickly, leaving the floor soaked as well as the unconscious NOTCH.

[Deer] - I would say to throw him somewhere but I think it might be better just to leave him there...

[TLOT] We'll compromise. Just because I'm a better person then he is. - He tosses down a sponge to clean up the water - That's all you get from me.

[Deer] - Thanks for freeing me, I wasn't really sure what to do

[TLOT] Anytime. - Pats her shoulder- Let's go talk somewhere else.

[Deer] - Sure, what are we talking about?

[TLOT] Leads her down a hallway- Dn. We have to do something about him. We can't go on like this. He's making Doc crazy, and... I saw into his nasty little mind.

[Deer] - I know, but I don't want to hurt Doc by doing something they wouldn't want us to do

[TLOT] Doc isn't sure what to do. That much I know. They're just insane with worry and don't want to push it off on anyone else.

[Deer] - As usual, but I know just how mad their being driven.  With Yaunfen having their own room I've tried coaxing Doc into love making but they're too paranoid to do so.  But, what did you see in DN's head?

[TLOT] He's... I'm usure of the word... delusional? He's a psychopathic control freak. His only drive seems to be to put Doc in a little box where they can't do anything without him watching them. He thinks he should be the one in control, as if they were in some kind of fucked-up relationship.

[Deer] - Perhaps that would be what had happened if we hadn't been here when Doc turned into a brine, if DN had formed properly and been there when Doc was out of control...

[TLOT] But they wouldn't be happy. Doc hates it when people tell hir what to do.

[Deer] - But perhaps that Doc would be grateful for someone to help control their powers...- Deer shakes her head- Never mind, we need to focus on getting rid of DN.  That barrier I created to disorient him?  Flux taught me that, perhaps she has some more insight?

[TLOT] Perhaps. Maybe Dn is just bitter and angry because he lost his chance and Doc doesn't need him. Ah, I'll call her. - Sends a whisper over the chat.

[Flux] Forms next to them- Yes?

[TLOT] We have a dilemma - He shows them both mentally what he saw in Dn's mind-

[Deer] Shudders-

[Flux] - An interesting problem...

[Deer] - We were hoping you might have an idea on how to deal with him...

[TLOT] I know what Doc is going through and I want to help, and I know that throwing him out won't be a solution.

[Flux] - If we were on my server I would be able to take his powers from him, but this isn't my seed, and Deer does not have the magic capabilities to do so...  Perhaps extermination is in order?

[Deer] - But how could we exterminate him here?  If we turn off respawn then whoever is fighting him also runs the risk of not coming back, but if respawn is on, he'll just come back

[TLOT] Swallows- Can we trick him onto another seed and lock him in?

[Flux] - We can try, but with his patience and persistence he may just find his way back

[TLOT] I don't want to run the risk of him finding allies either... how do you think Cn will react? Dn doesn't seem to care about him at all, but the kid considers him a friend.

[Deer] - What about the sword that removed CP?  If we can get that...  And you're right, we'll have to take CN into consideration as well.  We don't want a child throwing himself into danger over this

[TLOT] Getting that would solve two problems, but I have no idea how to go about it. Doc and Cp seem to be the only ones who could battle him safely. And the fact that Cp was stabbed despite his fighting prowess is worrisome. Doc's fighting style is a bit... inelegant in comparison.

[Flux] - You've seen CP take blows to get in close to deal more damage.  Him taking a scratch is not unusual, it's the result of that scratch which was

[TLOT] I'm still concerned. And Cp's regeneration has been... suprising. I know Doc took a lot of odd forms before they built a human one, who knows what that would be like.

[Deer] - Once he's back to normal we are most certainly getting another couple of pixels from CP

[TLOT] I'd take an entire heart, but I know it hurts like nether to rip it out... And not just from personal experience.

[Flux] - He'd do it for his mate if she asked, he'll do anything for her.  Which makes him all the more dangerous if she is hurt

[TLOT] Trust me, I know that one intimately. We've scuffled a few times. His loyalty to her is one of the reasons I do have some respect for him. And I've patched up Doc plenty of times as well.

[Deer] - So what should we do?

[TLOT] I feel terrible saying this... but... for Doc's sake... we should delete him.

[Deer] - Agreed

[Flux] - I will support you in this, but you will need a plan on how to do this

[TLOT] Holds his hands out helplessly - I have no idea how to do it... Flux, Deerheart, this is your domain.

[Flux] - We...  Are not used to deleting NOTCH's, they are technically considered a part of the seed, a part of us, just as much as the brines are

[TLOT] Is it even possible? I mean, I know it was a problem for Jeb...

[Deer] - We know brines can kill NOTCH's...

[Flux] - So perhaps we just have to wait for CP to return to normal to bolster our forces...

[TLOT] I hate to wait, but that is probably the best idea.

[Deer] - And perhaps he'll have some clues on how his NOTCH did it too...

[Flux] - Speaking of CP, I need to get back before he and CN drive Lie mad, they've been fighting near constantly

[Doc] is playing with a slime ball. Cooking it slowly as Xe turns it around in hir hands - It's always easier to solve other people's problems, isn't it Yaunfen?

[Yaunfen] - What problems?

[Doc] How people relate to one another. Why they fight.

[Yaunfen] - What's so confusing? Isn't everyone happy?

[Doc] I wish they were kiddo. But I might have an idea how to help two of them, or at least... distract them a bit... - Xe throws the ball of hardened slime against the floor and it suprisingly bounces back up.

[Yaunfen] - Bouncy bouncy!

[Doc] Yeah... it might be what I need. - Xe makes a copy and gets up off the floor. - Lets go for a walk. Take the back way out.

[Yaunfen] Holds up arms- Carry me?

[Doc] I can't, you're too big. But you can shift back to your dragon shape for now. I don't want to go too slow.

[Yaunfen] - How?

[Doc] Did you look at your inventory yet? It's much bigger now.

[Yaunfen] - Uh huh!

[Doc] You should see a little person at the top that looks like you, and there's a toggle next to it, just flip it.

[Yaunfen] Sticks tongue out as they try, eventually getting it-

[Doc] It'll get easier. I made the passageway so Exeggutor can get in and out. You'll fit just fine.

[Yaunfen] - Okay!

[Crim] - hears voices and slowly wakes up -

-Walks past Crim's room-

[Yaunfen] - We go play?

[Doc] Yes actually- on impulse xe taps on Crim's door. - You want to come play with us Crim?

[Crim] - yawns and nudges door open - Play? - he yawns some more -

[Doc] Did I wake you? I'm sorry.

[Yaunfen] - Play!  Play!

[Doc] Not so loud! We don't want... him... to hear us...

[Yaunfen] - Sorry Mada...

[Doc] Pats hir- It's okay.

[Crim] - stretching - Is good, hungers so wake anyways.

[Doc] What do you need to eat? Is your diet mostly coal? - Starts to walk and motions them to follow down the long stone passageway-

[Yaunfen] - Yuck

[Doc] I'd eat the coal from your home seed Yaunfen, but you and I seem to be the only ones who like it.

[Crim] - follows - Black soft rock, red rocks when find. Green straight things and baba's fur.

[Doc] So coal, redstone, sugar canes? And... fur? I'm not sure what you mean. You eat wool?

[Yaunfen] - Yucky yucky yucky

[Doc] Do you have any preference? I can get all that stuff from the creative. You probably only have one slot, but I can give you some. It's best to always carry some food in case you get hurt anyway.

[Yaunfen] - Mada have cookies?

[Crim] Black soft rock. Is looking for other, but no know what looks.

[Doc] Of course. - Xe pulls some from the open menu and holds them out in a little fan-

[Yaunfen] Slurps  them all up-

[Doc] Coal is easy- Xe gets some of that with hir free hand and holds it out as well. - Just take the stack.

[Crim] - rumble purs and takes from Doc - Much nice, many tasties.

[Doc] Starts to mount the stairs- No reason for anyone to go hungry around here. Especially in my house. - Smiles warmly

[Yaunfen] Trots after Doc-

[Crim] - quickly eats a piece - Baba's fur... Is... - he gives up and bleats like a sheep.

[Doc] So wool... weird... it seems like you're eating very specific things, almost like you're brewing... - They pace around the twisty stair and open one of the doors to the outside a crack. They peek out and then open both for the dragons. - There's some sugar cane right here if either of you want any.

[Crim] - looks around and points to a tree - Green tall things.

[Yaunfen] Immediately grabs the sugar cane-

[Doc] Oh, THOSE tall green things. I thought you wanted these- points to the canes. - Do you want leaves or wood?

[Crim] - sniffs and sneezes. - Both I can eats.

[Doc] Ah, well. I'd rather you not cut down the forest, so just take the small ones and replant the the saplings. Okay?

[Crim] Must be hungries, no rocks. Better than fur. - he makes a yuck face -

-There's a hiss from up in the tree-

[Doc] Gotcha. We do what we have too. - Looks up-

[Pinwheel] Is up amongst the tree's, upon closer look there are claw marks in the bark leading up to the branch Pinwheel is on-

[Crim] - stares up at Pinwheel -

[Doc] Good morning Pinwheel! Learned any new words yet?

[Pinwheel] - No

[Splender] Is calling for Pinwheel-

[Doc] Over here Splender. She's enjoying this tree. Crim? This is Pinwheel. She's got a lethal bite so mind her head.

[Splender] Strides over- There you are you silly little feather ball

[Doc] We were heading out to play for a bit, would you like to join us?

[Splender] - Sure!  Let me grab Pinwheel- His tendrils snake into the tree and grab the small dragon

[Doc] Wait!

[Crim] She bites? No bites me. - takes a few steps back. - She do, I bites back. - hisses at Pinwheel to show off his fangs.

[Pinwheel] Hisses back, extending her own fangs-

[Doc] Addresses Pinwheel directly- we're going to go run around and play. Would you like to join us? If so you can just follow. - At Splender- Let her choose, she probably climbed up there because she wants to run around.

[Pinwheel] - No

[Doc] Well we're going this way- at Crim- She's not fully vocal yet. She's smart but that's the only word she knows so far-

[Splender] Makes a worried noise, not sure what to do-

[Crim] - nods and looks at Splender . - Who you?

[Doc] Quietly - It's okay Splender. Lie taught me a trick to use on little kids-  a bit louder- We're going to go have fun over this way-

[Splender] - Okay...- Looks down at Crim- Oh!  Hello, my name is Splender!

[Doc] He's a very powerful, paranormal entity who likes to hang out with us digital types.

[Crim] - points to self - Crim.

[Splender] - It's nice to meet you Crim

[Doc] We picked him up on the seed with all the other dragons. He's a modded type.

[Pinwheel] After watching them walk away for a bit, she slinks down the tree and stalks them, staying low in the grass-

[Doc] whispers over chat to Splender- She's following, but don't look.

[Splender] Twiddles his fingers-

[Doc] Jogs across the spawn and heads for Lie's house-

[Splender] - Where are we going?

[Doc] I think I have something that might curtail Cp fighting with Cn for a bit-

[Splender] - Why are they fighting?

[Doc] Laughs - because they're both wildly immature and hate one another.

[Splender] - Well that's not nice

[Doc] Sorry... but it's true. And Cn is literally a child.

[Splender] - Hmph, I'll need to have a word with CP...

[Doc] Merrily- Telling a Herobrine not to fight with a NOTCH is kind of like telling Pinwheel not to bite people. No need to get your shorts in a twist my friend. - They're coming up on Lie's house.

[Lie] Is at her wits end and has the two children separated with her vines at the back of the house-

[Doc] Umm, Lie?

[Lie] - What!?

[Doc] Oh dear... Would you like some help?

[Lie] - Please

[Splender] Gasps- OMG HE'S A CHILD!

[Doc] Yeah.. I thought you knew? It was all over the chat. He got deleted fighting with his NOTCH. Thankfully we had a little piece of him. He's been regrowing from it. He was a kitten for about a day.

[Splender] - A KITTEN!?

-CP and CN are yelling at each other-

[Doc] I took pictures. Good grief. What started it this time Lie?

[Lie] - CP stole CN's sword this morning...

[Doc] I need to make some small preps but I brought a distraction. - Opens the creative and takes out some sticks and spider string and starts twisting the thread into a net.

[Lie] - Please, anything

[Doc] I read about this game a awhile back and thought it might appeal to them. - Xe makes some copies of the resulting instrument and the bouncy ball and walks over to Cp and Cn - I brought you something to do where you can compete against eachother. Will that stop your fighting for a bit?

[CP] - No!

[CN] - He started it!

[CP] - DId not!

[Doc] It's really fun...

[CP] Huffs-

[CN] - Only if he gives my sword back!

[Doc] Reaches into Cp's inventory and takes out the sword since he can't move-

[CP] - Hey!  Give that back!

[Doc] No, it's not yours. You have your own tools.

[CP] - No I don't!

[Doc] Yes you do. Lie is holding them because you two won't stop fighting.

[Lie] - That and they're super dangerous...

[Doc] Oh Lie, Crim, Splender. Yaunfen has something to show you. Flip that switch I showed you again sweetie. I know you're not steady on your feet, but you can play with us too. Crim, I think you're good since you have those extra limbs.

[Yaunfen] Concentrates, sticking their tongue out again before popping into their human form and falling forwards-

[Lie] - Awww, Yaunfen that's adorable!

[Doc] Is too far away to catch them- Yaunfen? Are you okay?

[Crim] - yipes and jumps back, startled - What happens?

[Splender] Catches Yaunfen in his tendrils- Careful there

[Yaunfen] - I get small form!

[Doc] I made Yaunfen a second body so they can get around the castle easier. I went the other way myself. I made a dragon body so I could be bigger.

[Crim] -creeps toward them, sniffing - You lost legs!

[Yaunfen] - Nuh uh!

[Doc] They just got hands instead. All the bits are there, just in a slightly altered form. Even their whiskers, it's part of the hair.

[Crim] - holds up upper most set of arms, wiggling claws - But.... odd? You smell like you.

[Doc] Yeah, it's not always convenient to have all your limbs on the ground. They are the same. It's just a... like an armor suit? Something you can take off and on. You just got lucky to have an extra pair Crim.

[Crim] -wraps arms around himself while he looks over Yaunfen- Like leggies. You like this you?

[Pinwheel] Is watching from around the corner of the house-

[Yaunfen] - Uh huh, let's me stay with Mada

[Crim] - looks worried but nods - Smaller yes. Inside stay.

[Yaunfen] - But can be big outside!

[CP] - Can I keep punching him now?

[Lie] - No!

[Doc] It's okay Crim. I have tons of experience with this. It's totally safe. Splender? I think you might be the perfect person to help me demonstrate this. - Holds up what it obviously a tennis racket-

[Splender] Takes the racket- Ooh!  Are we playing tennis?

[Doc] We'll try. Guys, pay attention. You swing it like a sword to bat the ball back when it comes at you- Xe takes one of the rubbery slimeballs and bounces it towards Splender-

[Splender] Easily but gently hits it back towards Doc-

[Crim] - scuttles aside but watches intently, eyes wide.

[Yaunfen] Sits down-

[Doc] Swats it back with a bit of effort- And you can go fast, or hit it so the other person has to run to reach it-

[Splender] Tendrils extend to reach it-

[CP] Already has thoughts churning-

[Lie] - CP I see that look, stop it

[Doc] Huffs as xe runs back and forth to keep up with Splender- It's okay for them to hit the ball at eachother, as long as they play outside. I know both of them are good with a sword.

[Lie] - I suppose...  She slowly lets the boys down

[CP] - I'm hungry

[Doc] But you can't play if you're eating.

[CP] - But hungry...

[Lie] - You can eat a little, but then you should try playing

[Doc] Hang on a sec  Splender, so I can give them copies-

[Splender] Easily grabs the ball-

[Doc] Makes more rackets and passes them around, backing away quickly as xe tosses the ball to Cn-

[CN] Bounces the ball a little-

[Doc] Hands one to Crim and Yaunfen - Yaunfen, you stand with Splender, he's got a huge advantage and you need practice moving around. Crim, you're with me-

[Yaunfen] - Okay!- Crawls over to Splender

[Crim] - scuttles over toward Doc

[Doc] Splender can you help Yaunfen stay upright? They're not used to walking on two feet yet. And Lie? You relax. Sit on the swing for a bit. You look exhausted.

[Splender] Absolutely!- He uses a couple of tendrils to support Yaunfen

[Doc] Hands the ball to Crim - Just bounce it on the ground and give it a little swat with the racket. No need to get violent,

[Crim] - takes ball, bounces and tries to swat it. He hits, but the racket falls out of his paw.

[Doc] Picks it up and helps him - Just like swatting fireballs back at ghasts-

[Banette] wanders outside near where Pinwheel is hiding.

[Crim] - struggles, finally standing on his back legs to use 2 paws to hold racket.

[Pinwheel] Little hiss-

[Banette] Curious look -

[CP] Tackles CN-

[Lie] - HEY!

[Doc] Oh come on! At least try!

[CN] Whacks at CP with his racket-

[Lie] Groans-

[Doc] Splender, you said something about having a talk with him?

[Splender] - That was before I knew he was a kid!

[Doc] Well... you're used to dealing with kids, right? - Xe watches as the ball goes over by Crim-

[Splender] - Well yes, but sometimes you just have to let them fight a little

[Crim] - picks up ball and tossed it up, taking a bit of wild swing at it.

-The ball goes wide and bounces over by Pinwheel and Banette-

[Banette] Looks at the dragon to see if they'll go after it-

[Pinwheel] Lashes out at it, sinking her fangs in and getting stuck, her mouth open wide around it-

[Doc] Facepalms- It's a good thing I've taken to carrying the fruit with me. - Xe tosses a copy of the ball to Splender- Pinwheel? Haven't I warned you about biting random things?

[Crim] - frown - Sorry, not mean.

[Pinwheel] Tail is lashing about-

[Doc] It's okay. I was hoping Pinwheel might like to play with the balls too. It's why I made more.

[Doc] waves a hand over the ball and melts it back into slime pixels - Just spit it out-

[Pinwheel] Shakes her head, trying to get all the slime out, she's still holding her mouth open with her fangs extended-

[Doc] I've got pills if your mouth hurts too.

[Pinwheel] - NOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo

[Doc] No it hurts or no you don't want a pill? Point at your mouth if it hurts-

[Pinwheel] Tries to hide her mouth-

[Doc] Pinwheel.... Come on, still don't trust me?

[Pinwheel] - No!

[Doc] Haven't I been nice to you?

[Pinwheel] - No!

[Doc] Gingerly reaches around to scratch Pinwheels feathery ruff-

[Pinwheel] Her fluff raises up-

[Doc] There you go. Just relax. Everything is okay.

[Lie] Is sitting on the swing with her feet up- Ummm...  How long has she been there?

[Yaunfen] Bounces a ball towards Crim-

[Doc] Softly- She followed us over. She'd probably like to play, but I know she's stubborn and likely shy.

[Crim] - switches racket to mouth just in time to knock ball back to Yaunfen.

[Lie] - You know for something bright pink and rainbow colors...  She can hide pretty well...

[Yaunfen] Falls as they reach to hit it back-

[Doc] She's quiet and sneaky, aren't you? - Pets and scratches all around, trying to make the little dragon flop-

[Pinwheel] Her head starts coming out-

[Crim] - wilts and mumbles around racket - Sorries.

[Splender] - It's okay Crim, they are still getting used to being on two legs

[Doc] Rubs her chin gently as well- Come on. Tell me if it hurts. You look okay at least.

[Pinwheel] Her mouth opens a little, showing some sores inside-

[Doc] Keeps petting with one hand and palms a pill with the other- Aww, you do have some little sores. But I have what you need. I didn't want to crack your fangs off again trying to pull them out of that ball.

[Pinwheel] - NOOOoooOOOoo!

[Yaunfen] Crawls towards the ball to roll it to Crim-

-CN and CP are still fighting-

[Crim] - baps ball back with tail, gently.

[Yaunfen] Happily rolls the ball back- Fun!

[Doc] Flicks the pill into her mouth as she whines and redoubles hir petting to distract the dragon-

[Pinwheel] Trills at the pets-

[Crim] - spits out racket and sits down, baps ball back. - Better play.

[Yaunfen] - Much better!

[Doc] See? All better. Too bad I can't say the same for Cn and Cp....

-CN takes a racket to the face-

[Lie] Sighs and hangs her head-

[Notch] Comes around the corner - what's all the ruckus?

[Lie] - Same as when you left

[Notch] Makes a pained face. He's just as annoyed with the kids and it spills over into something odd. - STOP THAT STUPID FIGHTING!- His voice ripples out and the volume is near deafening-

-The two kids jump in surprise-

[Doc] Markus...

[Lie] - Nice dad voice

[Splender] Jumps and shrinks a little, being reminded of the few rare times his brother has been truly angry-

[Notch] Also looks suprised- I didn't mean to be that loud!

[Crim] - squeaks and hunkers down.

[Doc] That actually hurt a little bit-

[Yaunfen] Tries to get smaller-

[Notch] Looks incensed- I'm sorry!

[Doc] Do you think...? It's some kind of budding power?

[CP] Takes the distraction to punch CN-

[CN] - OW!

[Doc] Lobs a ball at Cp and hits him square on the head- Stop it! You heard your dad.

[CP] - Hey!- He then grumbles

[Notch] Notices Crim and Yaunfen hunkered - I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to scare you guys.

[Yaunfen] - Loud...

[Notch] It was an accident...

[Crim] nods

[Doc] You guys play. You're not in trouble. He didn't mean to scare anyone.

[Yaunfen] - Okay- Rolls the ball back at Crim

[Lie] At Notch- It's your turn to deal with those two

[Notch] At Lie- Of course. I'm sorry I left them with you for so long.

[Doc] Yeah, Lie was... a tad stressed.

[Notch] Sheepish- Sorry...

[Lie] - I was about ready to strangle those two

[Notch] Yeesh....

[Crim] - lies down but baps ball back.

[Yaunfen] Keeps rolling it back-

[Lie] - I'm going to go inside and read, if you need me to separate them let me know and I'll use my vines

[Doc] Between me and Splender I think we're good. You go relax.

[Lie] Goes inside-

[Splender] Keeps an eye on the dragons-

[CP] Looks ready to hit CN again and the small NOTCH is growling at CP-

[Crim] - baps ball and looks at two kids. - Play good, shush.

[Notch] Do I need to seperate you two?

[CP] - But he's being annoying!

[Notch] How?!

[CP] - He just is!

[Stevie] Having heard the commotion from his house and come over- Still think brother is cute?

[Doc] I do. He's a little hellion though.

[Notch] Yes. And you were too. He's just a kid. Kid's aren't reasonable.

[Stevie] Shakes his head a little- Honestly brother

[CP] - I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING WRONG!

[Doc] Not at the moment, no.

[CN] Tries kicking CP-

[Notch] Stop that!

[CP] Goes to attack CN again-

[Stevie] - So who's going to step in here?

[Doc] Pinwheel? You be nice. I'm goign to have to stop petting you to keep these idiots from fighting.

[Pinwheel] - No

[Doc] Well I don't think you want to do it...

[Pinwheel] Seriously considers biting them-

[Notch] Makes a run at the two kids and his shield flares as he gets close, knocking them both in the dirt-

[CP] Grunts as he hits the ground- But father!

[Notch] But what? Seriously. I don't even know why you're fighting with him.

[CP] - Because!

[CN] - He keeps taking my sword!

[Notch] Cp. Leave Cn's sword alone. You'd be trusted with one as well if I didn't know you'd use it to cut him up.

[CP] - But he keeps trying to hog pretty lady!

[Notch] You've very special to her Cp. You shouldn't stress her out by being so jelous.

[CP] - I'm not jealous!

[CN] - It's my job to protect Lie!

[Notch] I know you both want to protect her for your own reasons. Can't you try and work togeather?

[CN and CP] - NO!

[Doc] At least they agree on something...

[Notch] Not helping!

[CP] Is glaring at CN-

[Stevie] - Maybe we should separate one of them from Lie?

[Notch] Good luck with that.

[Stevie] - So what are we going to do?

[Doc] Stevie? Maybe you and your brother could do something together.

[Stevie] - Like what?  He obviously currently doesn't have any interest in mining

[Splender] - Even I'm not sure what to do here...  They are both so focused on fighting each other...

[Doc] I was hoping they'd like the idea of competing with eachother but they just used the rackets to hit one another.

[Stevie] - Rackets?

[Doc] Points to the two rackets near Yaunfen and Crim, who are just playing with the ball on the ground.

[Stevie] - Real world thing?

[Doc] Yeah, I used sticks and spider thread. You use them to hit a small bouncy ball back and forth.

[Stevie] - Sounds like it could be fun if the racket isn't coming towards your face...

[CP] - I'm still hungry!

[Doc] It is fun. Do you want to try with him?

[Notch] Pulls up the creative and gives Cp a stack of cooked steaks-

[CP] Immediately starts eating

[Stevie] - He seems a bit occupied right now

[Notch] he'll be bored again soon enough...

[Doc] Plus he's burning energy really quickly like this.

[Stevie] - So basically in order to get this to stop, we need to feed him more and not let him fight?

[Notch] I guess?

[Doc] Eyeballs Stevie - you should really spend time with him while you have the chance. He could change back any time now.

[Stevie] Sighs- Alright then...  I know we have a bunch of excess meat at my place, that should get him out of your hair for at least a little while

[Notch] We have plenty of food Stevie. I'm in creative right now.

[Stevie] - Yeah, but it will separate these two for a little while- Motions at CN

[Notch]Turns his back on Cp and passes some stacks to Stevie covertly - Just so you aren't left wanting.

[Stevie] - Thanks

[CP] Darts around Notch to attack CN-

[Notch] Sticks out a hand to get in Cp's way.

[CP] Runs right into it-

[Notch] Just... stop.

[CP] - But why not!?

[CN] Sticks tongue out at CP-

[Notch] Because it makes Lie upset. Go play with your brother.

[Stevie] - Come on brother...

[CP] - But...

[Stevie] - I have more food

[CP] Grumbles but does walk over to his brother-

[Doc] Well that worked out okay. - Xe's still petting Pinwheel

[Stevie] Leaves with CP-

[CN] - Can he stay away forever?

[Notch] No. And you're acting terrible as well. You know full well that he's still Lie's husband and will be an adult again in time. Stop trying to stress out your brine. It's discraceful to try and seperate her from her mate.

[CN] - But he's a big meanie!

[Notch] ...

[Doc] He used to be a lot worse. And he'd die for her. Isn't that worth something to you?

[CN] - It's my job to protect her...  Not his...

[Notch] Well he's not going anywhere. I think you're going to have to realize that eventually.

[CN] Huffs and crosses his arms-

[Pinwheel] Rolls around a little in the grass-

[Splender] - Doc, how are things with your NOTCH anyways?

[Doc] Winces- He's horrible... I hate him.

[Splender] - I'm sorry to hear that...

[Doc] Looks down - It's no one's burden to bear except my own...

[Notch] And mine by extension. I'm sorry Doc.

[Splender] - Nooo!  I'm sorry!  I didn't mean to make you sad!  Be happy!  It tastes better!

[Doc] Smiles for him- You guys make me happy. But he's like... having a wither on the server. No matter where I go, I can't escape the knowledge that he's still there, someplace, waiting to get me.

[Splender] But there is a wither on the server...

[Doc] Like a big wither. A normal one- flails a little- You can see their health bar even if you run away.

[Splender] - I'm sorry...

[Doc] It's okay. I'll live.

[Yaunfen] Looks at Doc as the ball taps into them from Crim rolling it back- What wrong?

[Doc] Cold meanie... - Xe says simply-

[Yaunfen] - Big fire keep them away?

[Notch] Big fire?

[Doc] Cp.

[Notch] Snorts - That's accurate -

[Doc] Big fire is just little fire right now Yaunfen. He can't help me.

[Yaunfen] - That's not good...

[Doc] Yeah, I hope he's back to normal soon...

[Lie] From inside- Fuck!

[CN] Is immediately alert-

[Doc] Perks up and shouts - Are you okay Lie?

[Lie] - Yeah, just dropped some stuff where I shouldn't have...

[Notch] Come on Cn. Let's go check on her- Goes inside

[Lie] Is in her room, reaching for something under the bed-

[Notch] Can I help? - Makes a bit to swift of a gesture and swats the bed, destroying it. - Oops!

[Lie] - Wai-!- As the bed disappears it reveals a dildo underneath and Lie turns bright red

[Notch] Can't help but laugh a little. - Sorry Lie.

[Lie] Embarressed noises-

[CN] - What's that?

[Lie] - NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL!

[CN] - Can I play with it?

[Lie] - NO!

[Notch] That's not for you Cn, in fact why don't you wait out in the hallway.

[CN] - Okay- He heads out into the hallway

[Notch] Puts a gentle hand on Lie's shoulder. - I know you're lonely, and I don't mean to make fun. That just caught me off guard.

[Lie] - It's not even that really, I just need to distress- She picks the toy up and spawns a water bucket to wash it in

[Notch] You could always ask Doc to shock you. I'm sure they'd be glad to do it.

[Lie] - I know... And it would be faster...

[Notch] I'll get them.

[Lie] Digs around for a spare bed while Notch retrieves Doc-

[Notch] Comes down and whispers to Doc.

[Doc] Ah... okay. Yaunfen? stay here with Notch and Splender while I tend to a patient. I'll be right back.

[Yaunfen] - Okay Mada!

[Doc] Pets Pinwheel really vigoriously and then stops to stand up quickly-

[Pinwheel] Spazzes a little at the sudden stop-

[Doc] Heads up to Lies room- I understand you need a bit of doctoral assistance?

[Lie] - Yeah, I'm just really stressed and could probably use an orgasm- Her voice gets quieter as she speaks

[Doc] Is very professional about it - do you wish to be restrained or is that just a thing you like sometimes?

[Lie] Turns bright red-

[Doc] It's an easy enough question. If you'll slap me as a reflex or something I'd like to be warned.

[Lie] - Part of the reason CP does it is because I do squirm a lot...

[Doc] Ah.... well I have plenty of spider strings left...

[Lie] Little noises-

[Doc] Takes a few and ties a bow around her feet. - Lay down. Then you can be comfy and not fall over.

[Lie] Does as Doc instructs, still flushed-

[Doc] Ties her wrists as well, and knots them to the bedframe.

[Lie] Squirms a little-

[Doc] Wry smile- He better appreciate you. I know how good it feels for one's mate to trust them intimately.

[Lie] - He has his ways of showing it

[Doc] Xe holds up a hand and focuses for a moment, the sparks dancing over hir rubbery glove. -So nice to make people happy-

[Lie] Is already squirming a little and pulling away-

[Doc] Spreads hir fingers and draws it down Lie's belly towards hir crotch, setting off several small orgasmic shocks before shoving down on her clothed muff for a larger finale.

[Lie] Yelps and squirms away out of instinct a small moan also slipping from her lips-

[Doc] Gives her another electrical shove for good measure. Noting the obvious wetness darkening her shorts.

[Lie] Gasps and rolls over, trying to hide her more sensitive parts away-

[Doc] Backs off and snaps the bit of thread tying her hands to the frame, [but not the part binding them together.] - Better?

[Lie] Panting a little- No, that should be good...

[Doc] Good. You just chill out then. Stevie took Cp to go play.

[Lie] - Ah, good...  And CN?

[Doc] Thumbs at the closed door- Standing guard.

[Lie] - Joy

[Stevie] After a few hours is typing into the chat- Farther? Brother finally feel asleep

[Notch] -chats back- Okay, I'll come get him. - He peeks out the door with a bit of trepidation and then remembers that he's still in creative.  He ventures outside still carrying a sword and makes his way towards  Stevie and Alexis's house.

[Ruby] Stops in her patrol to watch him -

[Notch] Pauses and then gives her a friendly wave. As he turns around he nearly has a hearts attack as a wandering spider passes close by with a rattly hiss. He quickens his pace and nearly runs into an Endermen lingering under a lamp post. - Excuse me! Sorry! - He bolts across the grass and knocks on his son's door-

[Stevie] Quickly opens it for him and lets him inside, closing the door behind him- He's conked out on our bed.  You okay?

[Notch] I kinda know how Cp must feel, I'm not used to being in creative and having the mobs just kind of, ignore me. It's weird after avoiding the majority of them for so long.

[Stevie] - Wouldn't know, even in creative brother's mobs tend to attack me

[Alexis] Waves at Notch from the table as she sips a mug of tea-

[Notch] Hello Alexis. Ah. Well... that's a bridge I'm sure we'll have to cross at some point. Though... apparently he's lost a great deal of his mobs to his NOTCH. He was both angry and sad that they'd been deleted. If this keeps up we may have to bring the survivors over and hide them.

[Stevie] - Can we not?- He opens the doors to his bedroom and looks at his brother.  CP is tucked in under the blankets fast asleep

[Notch] Stevie... they may not be as close as family but he does care about them. He swore to protect them. Lie is having to fill his shoes as best she can while he's like this-

[Stevie] - And I pity her for that, she's already spent so much time leading the other humans that my brother brought in against the mobs, it must be stressful and odd for her

[Notch] I think pity is the wrong word. She's more then capable of leading. Cp just has a rather... bombastic and paper-work intensive managment style. Lie is more... organic.

[Stevie] - Yeah...  She did meet a lot of oppositions from some of the other humans.  Did you know that at one point early on she had to banish half the group?

[Notch] Why?

[Stevie] - One of them was a conceited prick and was offered a chance at freedom by my brother if he could get Lie away from the group and into my brothers grasp.  The one got his group to follow him in his plan but they failed and so my brother revealed the plan in front of Lie once they failed.  Knowing that they could potentially kill her, thinking it would grant them their freedom, she had no choice

[Notch] Sounds like it was justified then. Leading humans is like herding cats. The mobs seem to just fall in line if you show them you're stronger. They respect the eyes.

[Stevie] - Yeah, anyways, brother ate everything you gave me and a lot of our extra meat, he should be out of it for awhile

[Notch] Well I've got access to everything right now, just point me to an empty trunk and tell me what you need.

[Stevie] Motions to a trunk on Alexis' side- Just fill it with whatever, I'm not picky

[Notch] Walks over by Alexis and starts pulling out food and putting it away. - What about you Alexis? Do you need anything? You're awfully quiet.

[Alexis] - Not really, just ended up having to hide every weapon in the house once CP got here.  Although, if you could convince your son to clean his side of the house...

[Notch] That's for the best. I don't want him to hurt himself. Or Cn. As for the other, Stevie.... -dad face- There's no reason for Alexis to be doing all the housecleaning. Help out. It's the small price of living with someone.

[Stevie] - It's fine!  There's nothing wrong with my side of the house

[Alexis] - There are mushrooms growing on the floor!

[Notch] Then pick them, it's not like they're not edible. Or at least put them in pots. It is kinda gross. There's no need to live like a bear with furniture.

[Stevie] Crosses his arms and grumbles-

[Alexis] Smirks in victory-

[Notch] Stevie...

[Stevie] - Yes?

[Notch] Just take care of it, okay?

[Stevie] - Okay okay

[Notch] Well I guess I'll take Cp home. Thanks for watching him.

[Stevie] - No problem- Under his breath- This time

[Notch] Scoops Cp up in his arms and cradles him gently. He surrenders to a sudden impulse and gives Cp a small kiss on the forehead before heading for the door.

[Stevie] - Here, I'll get the door- He quickly moves to get ahead of them and opens the door

[Notch] Heads out and stops while he's still in the torchlight. He closes his eyes for a moment and there's abit of a shimmer around him, it's faint but it's like a bubble two blocks away from his body. - That should keep us both safe long enough to get home.

[CP] Snuggles into Notch-

[Stevie] - What is that?

[Notch] A gift I think, from all the brines that gave me blood so I wouldn't suffer. A shield, to keep my dear ones safe.

[Stevie] - Ah, well that's a relief

[Notch] Gives Cp a loving look and then the same to Stevie. - Good night Stevie. - He starts to walk away.

[Stevie] Waves and shuts the door before any mobs take interest-

[CP] Mumbles against Notch-

[Notch] Is just walking along at an easy gait to not wake Cp. - I wish you slept so peacefully as an adult kiddo. I think you'd be in a better mood overall.

[CP] His little hand curls into a fist and his sleep becomes uneasy-

[Notch] Shhh... You're safe. The mobs won't bother you. I've got you inside my shield.

[CP] A soft glow begins to surround him-

[Notch] Regards it with some unease and stops walking. - Cp?

[CP] His eyes open a little- Father?

[Notch] I'm here kiddo. You got tuckered out playing with your little brother and I came by to take you home.

[CP] - I feel weird...

[Notch] Weird how? Do you feel sick? Should I go to Doc's instead?

[CP] - I want down

[Notch] Okay, you can walk with me if you want. Just stay close by so I can protect you from the mobs. - puts him down-

[CP] Starts glowing a bit brighter and his eyes flicker to their usual white-

[Notch] Cp... - He calls out in the chat for Doc- Sorry to wake you, but something is happening with Cp. I'm near the dirt spiral.

[Doc] -chat- Hold on, I'm coming! -

[CP] Yelps as he suddenly jolts upwards in size, return to his proper form.  His eyes burn bright as his mind recalls the last thing he can remember which was him fighting with the cruel NOTCH.  His pick is quickly summoned to his hand and he takes a swing at Notch-

[Notch] Leaps out of the way but the pick snags his shirt and twists him  - Cp! No! Please!

[Stevie] Hears Notch and opens his door.  Upon seeing his brother attacking their father he rushes out, summoning his own sword to stop his brother-

[Notch] Stevie don't! He's just confused!

[CP] Takes another swing, a growl in his throat-

[Notch] Summons his shield to encompass him and Stevie and Cp's pick bounces off of it.

[Lie] Immediately felt CP's return and reconnect with her mind and comes running up herself-

[Notch] Cp! Calm down! You're safe!

[Doc] Lands with a dumble thump of paws - Cp! You're back! What are you doing?!

[Lie] - CP!

[CP] Hears his wife's voice and turns towards her, he lowers his pick and stumbles back a bit as he begins registering where he is

[Lie] Steps closer, gently cupping his face- Shhh, it's okay, I'm here...  You're safe

[Notch] Is holding Stevie's shoulder- Lower your sword... It's okay.

[Doc] Grins- welcome back!

[Stevie] Does as Notch suggests-

[CP] - What the Nether...  What the fuck happened?

[Doc] You kinda died.

[CP] - The NOTCH...

[Notch] Your NOTCH deleted you.

[CP] - I...  I think I remember...  There was a sword...

[Notch] We found out from your mobs, whatever was on that sword, it destroyed your code...

[CP] - THen how...

[Doc] Holds up a claw- One pixel. You regrew your entire body from the crumb you left here with Lie. You're welcome.

[CP] Dismisses his pick and just simply pulls his wife close-

[Lie] Grabs onto CP, over joyed that he was finally back-

[Doc] I took lots of pictures too. You've been out for days. The system didn't register you as respawned until just now, but the server mechanics saved all your stuff too. As evidenced by you still having your pick.

[CP] - I'm not sure I understand...  Is it like how my respawn used to be?

[Doc] No, you went through growth stages. When I was building myself I had a lot of small intermediary forms before I had enough material to build a human-type body. You didn't have many prior stages so....

[Notch] You were a spawn egg for a bit, and then a teeny kitten....

[CP] - A what?

[Doc] A kitten! - Xe rummages around hir inventory and holds up a picture of Cp in his kitten stage being held by Lie.

[CP] Sets it on fire-

[Lie] - CP..

[Doc] It's okay, I have copies.

[Notch] Then you were an adult cat for a bit...

[CP] - For fucks sake...

[Doc] And you ate everything. I tried to tell you that it wasn't straight food that you needed, but getting you to consume something that wasn't food was impossible.

[CP] - Good!

[Doc] Yeah, but you probably would have been back to normal sooner if you had. You didn't need food, just things that were the right color of pixels to rebuild your skin.

[CP] Flips Doc off--

[Lie] - CP please

[Doc] What? It's the truth! I did the same myself.

[Lie] - Doc?  Weren't you going to check over his code?

[Doc] Oh, yes. I wanted to see if there were any traces of what was done to you. - Xe pulls out a command block and looks him over- hmmm...

[CP] Growls a little-

[Doc] There's nothing...

[Lie] - What?

[Stevie] - Nothing?

[Doc] No traces. He's perfectly fine. But damn... I was hoping to find some clue as to what your NOTCH used to delete you. According to the witness, it was slow, so it must have had a little bit of difficulty coping with my evolving passwords.

[CP] - He used a fucking sword, that's all I know

[Doc] Damn... Well, then the best thing is to put aside another piece for a rainy day.

[CP] - Another piece?

[Lie] - CP, I refuse to let you leave this server without giving me another pixel

[Doc] At least. I can take a heart if you can stand the pain. It might make your regeneration faster if you get deleted again.

[CP] Growls at hir-

[Stevie] - A heart?  Isn't that a little to literal.  I mean, I know Lie already holds his hearts

[Doc] If you think I don't have a few bits of myself hidden away, you're out of your mind Cp.

[Notch] That's weirdly romantic...

[Lie] - Could we discuss this later?  Right now I'd prefer to get my husband into bed...

[Doc] Okay, I'll help. - Xe picks up Cp and puts him across hir shoulders- You relax. I'll walk you home. Coming Markus?

[Notch] Oh, right. - He releases his shield -

[CP] - FUCKER PUT ME DOWN!

[Stevie] - I think I'll head home too

[Doc] Nope. I prescribe one night of bedrest with your wife.

[Notch] Goodnight Stevie-

[Stevie] - Good night father

[Doc] Trots along-

[Lie] Follows and gets ahead to open doors and such-

[Doc] Mounts up the airblocks and stops level with Lie's walkway so Cp can just get off and in through the window.

[CP] Quickly gets off Doc-

[Doc] Even Yaunfen missed you. Did you know they have a cute nickname for you? You're 'Big Fire'.

[CP] - I don't fucking care

[Lie] Takes his hand gently and tugs him towards the bedroom-  Calm down, you only just got back

[Doc] Yeah yeah. Go to bed you big lunk.

[Lie] Takes him inside and shuts the door.  CP is grateful to see their bed and pulls his wife down onto it-

[CP] Pulls Lie close to himself, not wanting to let her go for some time-

[Lie] Runs a hand through his hair- You scared me so badly, please, be more careful

[CP] - I will, now I know his latest trick

[Lie] - I don't care about that CP, just try not to die again

[CP] - No guarantees, but I'll try not to die that way again

[Lie] - I suppose that's the best I'll get for now

[Doc] Heads back for home. Nearly skipping in the dark. The mobs generally don't bother hir when xe's in hir dragon shape. Hir mood immediately sours when xe sees Dn waiting by the back door.

[Dn] Where were you?

[Doc] Wilts- Doing good. Unlike you.

[Dn] I seriously doubt that. And why do you have to wear that form, it looks ridiculious.

[Doc] Shrinks a bit- It does not! I love it and I'm comfortable like this!

[Dn] I bet the others laugh at you behind your back.

[Doc] They do not! - But xe remembers for a spilt second the Testificates turning on hir when Cp wrote his own book, and Dn, catches the flicker of uncertainty.

[Dn] Lies. They make fun of you. You can't hide anything from me. Not now or ever. I am inevitable. Now go to bed.

[Doc] Opens hir mouth to protest, and accidently yawns. - Fuck-

[Dn] Smirks smugly- I'm right again.

[Doc] Feels hir lip tremble and darts underground to get away from him. Xe emerges quietly into Deerheart's study and changes back.  The pokemon are fast asleep and xe stands in the shower for a long time before joining Deerheart in bed. They manage to smother their tears in the pillow but Deerheart probably felt the little shudder in hir form as xe curled desperately against hir mate and fell into an uneasy sleep.