#i didn’t start watching gravity falls until I was 9

[weirdowhodraws1214]

HAPPY 12 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO GRAVITY FALLS!! ITS AS OLD AS DIPPER AND MABEL (and happy birthday to Stanley and Stanford Pines!)

Take this crappy doodle I did as a anniversary gift

[tinfoil-jones]

Gravity Falls: For Your Own Good, Ch. 9

Summary: A few years after moving to Gravity Falls and having his lab built, Stanford Pines happens upon his estranged twin brother, Stanley. He mentally prepared himself to be suffocated by his brothers neediness all over again - what he wasn't prepared for was Stanley walking right past him like he didn't even notice him.

Rating: M for language, violence, and adult implications

Preface: Dialogue only, but some actions will be annotated for clarity. Cross-Posted on AO3 Here

First - Prev - Next

CH.9

“Why don’t criminals trust stairs?”

“Stanley, I am trying to work.”

“Because they’re always up to something.”

*Ford covering his mouth with his hand because he’s trying really hard not to laugh*

“Why don’t criminals like elevators? Because they hate getting taken down.”

*Ford faceplanting on his desk and slamming his fist on it because he’s trying not to laugh*

“What do you call a criminal snob going downstairs? A condescending con descending.”

“E-enough! I’m going to put you on mute if you don’t stop.”

“Ah, come on man. It’s not like I got much else to do here. I can’t even write in that notebook you guys gave me anymore cause I got nothing to write with.”

“Maybe you would still have writing utensils if we didn't run out because you chewed up all of the other ones we gave you.”

“I can’t help it, PhD. I’m on day seven of nicotine withdrawal and it’s still kicking my ass. I get that this whole lab is a ‘no smoking�� zone, but I saw stretch using dip, and you didn’t say anything; just looked at him in a passive aggressive, judgemental way.”

“Tobacco is a nasty habit, and you are better off losing that vice while you’re still in a controlled environment. Our father never kicked it on his own, so this is really for your own-.”

“Yeah, yeah Doc. For my own good. I’ve heard it a million times. Do you like, keep score of how many times you say that, is someone keeping track of it? Or is that your only excuse for the insane crap you’re always pulling.”

“If it will placate you and keep you quiet, I’ll wheel over a television.”

“You have one of those down here?”

“I primarily use it as a device that decrypts thoughts, but its original function is still intact. Let me bring it over.”

“How uncharacteristically considerate of you.”

“You’re watching The Black and White Period Piece Old Lady Boring Movie Channel.”

“Wait a second, where's the remote?”

“There isn’t one.”

“Stay tuned for the six episode marathon of The Six Wives of Henry VIII, starring Keith Michell as Henry VIII, Annette Crosbie as Catherine of Aragon, Dorothy Tutin as Anne Boleyn-”

“Change the channel. PhD, I swear to God.”

“Anne Stallybrass as Jane Seymour, Elvi Hale as Anne of Cleves, Angela Pleasance as Catherine Howard, and Rosalie Crutchley as Catherine Parr.”

“No- NO!”

*Ford presses the mute button on the cell*

(...)

160 minutes later…

“Stanford, I brought those scrap m- what in Sam Hell?”

“I appreciate it, Fiddleford.”

“Is there a particular reason Stan is staring unblinking at that TV screen?”

“I put on a soap opera because I thought he would hate it. But he… really got into it.”

“Is that the same reason why his desk chair is smashed in the corner?”

“Yes, there was a plot twist he did not find agreeable. I tried to change the channel after one episode, but he gave me such a look that I truly believe if I did, he would find a way to break the forcefield just to strangle me.”

“That’s… Not what I expected from someone like him.”

“I’ve never seen him get this way. Not even during a baseball game or boxing match where he made the wrong bet.”

“It can’t rightly be that interesting.” 

*Fiddleford pulls up a chair near the cell to watch the TV*

“You both do that. I still have important research to document.”

(...)

240 minutes later…

*all three of them are staring at the TV and don’t start blinking until the credits roll*

“I’ll tell you what, fellers, I can’t believe Gardiner got away with everything.”

“I know, right? Whatever Jesus approves of, I’m sure it’s not that.”

"We're Jewish, Stanley."

"Really? Well that explains why I distinctly remember the Aryan Brotherhood nearly beating me to death in prison."

"They what?!"

"Calm down PhD, I said nearly."

(...)

"Stanley, it has almost been ten days, it’s time to remove your stitches."

"Give me some nail clippers, I'll do it myself."

"Properly. Come on, don't be such a wuss about it."

“Can’t F do it instead?”

“No, he is in town on a supply run. Also, the only difference between you and I and under that shirt is the amount of rolls.”

“Ouch, low blow PhD. It’s not like you’re a runway model either. Fine, but any more cracks on my weight, and I’m going to remind you I’m a threat inside and outside of bars.”

"What are these, circles-? Wait, burns? ...Who did this to you?"

"... Don't worry about it."

"I am going to worry about it! Stanley, who did this?"

"It doesn't matter..."

"It does! Please, I'm your brother just-"

"Don't make me think about it, I don’t remember a lot but- I don't like remembering that."

"Oh Stanley." *hugs him even though it isn't returned* "I'm so sorry. Whatever happened, you didn't deserve that."

"You'd be surprised."

To be continued...

[spaceumbredoggos]

However fucked up Alex reveals Bill and Ford’s relationship is revealed to be in The Book Of Bill, Kenz and Bill’s is a hundred times worse.

Disclaimer: I am not glorifying abuse in any way shape or form. I myself have had nightmares similar to this despite never being sexually abused, both Bill related and otherwise. Some of these are based on personal experience (such as the nightmares), whilst others are a device used to show how fucked up shipping Bill with pretty much anyone is. Not even the Axolotl is safe in my opinion. If Bill was real, I’d guarantee he’d probably be a massive creep and with how thirsty his fankids are (and I’m calling myself out here) he’d probably use his magic to g*oom those kids like a church pastor. The thing that scares me the most about Bill being canonically real is not that he could catastrophically end the world, it’s his oversexualization in the fandom that got so bad, Alex himself had to make him unattractive. This will be along the lines of a Yandere Bill Cipher x Reader headcanons. With that being said, here’s a few content warnings:

G*ooming, Pedoph*lia, s*xual abuse and assault, physical and psychological abuse, mind control, cult-like things, psychosis, and general paranoia. I’m not saying these things actually happened, but knowing Bill’s character and his powers and history, if he was real, I’d generally be afraid for anyone in the Gravity Falls fandom. Especially minors.

This could be my most controversial post yet, and it could jeopardize any potential of getting into some colleges. This may sound like paranoid rambling, but I know that Bill is just a cartoon character. That being said, Alex like the blur the line between our world and the world of gravity falls with Bill’s character, dicing around the fact that he’s influenced history and wrote all religion on the basis of a lie. I’m not scapegoating him as “controlling global politics on a massive scale” because that would be stupid and I’ll sound like those tin foil hat rednecks that snort moonshine and burn pride flags. My heart goes out to all those who have been impacted by all forms of abuse as an abuse survivor myself. Alex, if you see this post (or any other of my posts/ read my fanfics), just know that it’s a critique on the fandom and the canon lore, and a cautionary warning to avoid lawsuits in case The Book of Bill Cipher causes mass psychosis.

As a kid (ages 7-9) I would watch Gravity Falls casually. At that age, the only thing I consumed online content wise was Skylanders and Minecraft content (Skylanders until age nine, then it was pretty much a lot of Team Crafted, Popularmmos, DanTDM, and other Minecraft YouTubers.) I didn’t invest in the Gravity Falls fandom until I was eleven (that’s when I first started writing my fanfics. The drafts are long gone because they were on school computers that were crammed with viruses due to kids installing Minecraft mods (this was just before chromebooks became mainstream. I went to a special ed middle school specifically for autistic individuals (it was pretty ableist, gonna make a post on that.) so the rules on what was allowed in school were pretty loose content wise. It didn’t have to be educational, as long as it didn’t have blood or guns. There were no safe search filters or Go Guardian (I remember one of my friends accidentally finding Iris from Pokemon black and white vore. I also found Pacifica vore.)) Before that, the February before my tenth birthday, my dad took my TV out of my room due to behavioral issues (undiagnosed autism go brrr). Around that time, there was talk in my town that the Disney channel was “rotting kids minds” with bad attitudes and crude humor (this could be said about any child’s television network (I mean, look at Nickelodeon.) but I lived in a pretty conservative area of Southern California and had a pretty conservative dad. So naturally, Disney was the scapegoat (this was way before the “woke” era of Disney.)) All of this talk of Brainrot made me stop watching the Disney channel during the peak era of gravity falls (2015 as a whole) and I didn’t watch gravity falls again until summer of 2016 when my tv was put back in my room (with intense parental controls so that I couldn’t watch my vet shows.) That’s when I had my first gravity falls dream about Bill cipher. It had to do with getting unicorn hair to protect my house from Bill Cipher. I had an interest in dreams previously due to warrior cats. It was at that moment when Gravity Falls was added to the obsession list.

As a neurodivergent eleven year old surrounded by other neurodivergent preteens and teens, we found common ground talking about Gravity Falls at school. I also would, whenever I didn’t feel the prying eyes of the grown ups or my peers would go off outside and act out my gravity falls x pokemon x warrior cats fanfiction (I’m not sure if those are signs of maladaptive daydreaming disorder or I simply had an intense imagination that would consume my body and make me want to just act out my fanfictions outside. I don’t do this anymore, mostly because of my own embarrassment and I can just write it out.) Yes, there were times where the discussion or action played out Bill Cipher being real. A lot of my “play” as I called it back then was me being kidnapped or possessed by Bill. I even wrote some really cringey fanfics involving my friends and Bill Cipher. To this day, I still involve my family in my fanfiction, but more final drafts will have their names changed. Weirdmaggeddon was a common topic, as well as Bill Cipher possession.

As time went on, I had more dreams about Bill Cipher, fueling the obsession and the fact that Bill could be real. During my middle school years, I never had a crush on Bill Cipher, despite what my friends seem to think. My parents just took it as whatever and as long as I was happy and just working towards going to a neurotypical non-sped school. My crush on Bill Cipher didn’t start until I was in high school. I remember it specifically being Valentine’s Day 2020 when I learned that I have a crush on the triangle. My dreams of Bill would only get more frequent and worse from here (involving the typical horny teenage dream that I don’t want to elaborate because I feel weird doing so (you’ll see why later on.))

Now there’s typically nothing wrong with having a cartoon crush. Given any other cartoon character that doesn’t have a canon history of influencing this world (Bill’s history of influence is vague but it still counts) I would excuse this as another silly cartoon crush like PurpleCliffe simping for Cynthia and the like. However, given that it’s in the show’s canon that Bill could be real and he crossed over to our world, do you understand what implications this could have? Bill is trillions of years old, he’s likely seen every timeline to ever exist. Meanwhile, there are whole armies of fankids who are down bad for him (including me.)

Notice how when I first started getting into Gravity Falls that I didn’t have a crush on him. How many other fankids felt the same way? It wasn’t until years of obsessing over Gravity Falls did I develop feelings for him. And of Alex says in the Book of Bill Cipher what I think he’s going to say (that Bill probably ab*sed Ford sexually with possible g*ooming involved), notice the pattern that is being presented here? Alex, if you blur the lines between fiction and reality with a villain who may or may not have canonically g*oomed and abused someone, possibly using mind control given his powers and his role as a dream demon, could it really be so far fetched that… (I’m not going to say it because it’s leaving a sour taste in my mouth, but use your imagination.)

If we take Alex’s word that Bill has crossed over to our world, then we can only assume that there are vulnerable kids and adults being… You get the picture. I’m not explicitly saying that it is happening right now, but this is problematic because revealing that Bill ab*sed Ford in that way means that Alex would probably imply that Bill is doing the same to MINORS. I may sound paranoid and this may just be a ramble, but considering the show’s canon and how mythology is filled with cases of degenerative acts from deities, this is a really fucked up situation.

It may be funny to say “haha, evil triangle man is sexy” but at the end of the day, Alex stated that Bill has crossed over into our world. For all we know, he could be taking advantage of the fact that people thirst for him, probably not in pleasant ways.

[the-write-thing3]

"No, we're not doing that!"

It was their first summer back and Gravity Falls was almost the same, but entirely different. Is that possible? Dipper avoided that question to answer the more important one - would he discover something worth filling his own journal? Well, the journal he shared with Mable. After a few talks, the two realized they were the dream team. Their adventures succeeded due to their shared strengths. So the new journal sat in his satchel (not a purse!) It was his favorite shade of blue, with a familiar pine tree on the cover, and Mabel’s best stickers adorning each side. Mabel was in charge of the camera, a new smartphone with a gummy bear strap for the wrist. 

They agreed three days a week would be dedicated to monster hunting and mystery solving. Wendy, Candy, Grenda, or even Pacifica could come. But the twins knew what worked. Somehow, their troubles started on the third day of their adventuring. Deep in the woods, past the Enchanted Glade, they began to look for the terrifying Cow-dra. After hours of online searching and looking through the Gravity Falls Public Library. Evidence of the Cow-dra could be traced from the 1800’s. A cow with nine snake heads terrorizing the far edges of the forest. As the twins walk past the gates of the unicorn’s grove, Dipper smiles at the camera as Mable takes another selfie. Grunkle Stan had just taught her a new hand gesture to use for Celestabellebethabelle and Dipper knows that they can’t print that picture out. 

“Why not? It happened on our adventures!” Mable says before bursting into laughter. 

"No, we're not doing that!" Dipper adds, between laughs. "Mom and Dad would kill us - and Grunkle Stan."

The laughter quickly came to a halt after a symphony of moos broke out, not far from the clearing they were heading to. The two rush into the bushes, using the forest as a cover. 

Dipper hears “Overall power, activated.” In a robot voice to the left of him. Mable ditched the skirts a few months ago and opted for overalls that she covered in patches. He could see nothing wrong with his shorts, even during the winter. They worked fine and let his legs breathe. But the branches scratched at his legs and he groaned in pain. All noise stopped as they watched four hooves make their way only feet away from them. 

Dipper makes a camera motion. 

It makes the bush shake. 

Nine heads began ripping the bush apart as the twins screamed in fear. 

"Run!"

Did it come from him? Did it come from Mabel? Another unimportant question that didn’t need to be answered. As the twins ran for their lives, back the way they came from. Dipper caught Mable turning around for more selfies?!

"No, we're not doing that!" He shouts at his sister and grabs her arm before picking up speed. The grove! "Quick! Let’s hide there!"

Mirroring her brother’s speech, "No, we're also not doing that!" 

Dipper’s voice cracked as he asked, "Why?!" 

"Personal differences?" Mable shouts and leads the way, remembering a good spot to hide from the creature. 

Hours pass and more responsible Grunkles would go looking for them much sooner. But eventually, they do make it home. They always did when they worked together. Both teens, exhausted from the day ask themselves how they did this all summer long. Maybe they should revisit their work schedule. After two pats on the back and a hug, it was time to journal everything that happened. 

-------

Wow, I did this super last minute due to a busy day! I had the idea rattling around for a day but didn't get to writing it up until 8p in my time zone. (It's 9:40 now.) So if the end seems a little rough, it's because it is. I have to go do my duolingo now. Always taking recs!

Enjoy!!!

[lungcrusher]

Vietnam Informed Me Of When 9/11 Would Occur

…If Pearl Harbor arrived from the right, they said America would never guess it was from the left…

Today is the 12th of August in the Year of 2024 And we mark twenty-three years exactly Since I was first contacted

“They do not need reminding Of our name, we would imagine…

“This is a message from The Weather Underground We are operating out of a hotel in downtown Saigon To say that we are interested in your reporting On the connection between Bush and the Taliban Would imply that there were other matters That are now capable of holding our interest…

“You do not need to agree with our tactics But we have become enamored with your accuracy It didn’t take much digging as we used to say To realize that lateral movement into Afghanistan Has already started in earnest…

“What and/or rather who are you? We’ve heard stories of your agency Being involved with many activities Before the fall of entire cities transpires…

“Do not answer us now Wait until many years have passed Which will allow us to watch your development…

“You will be given the evacuation orders yourself And if they trust you enough to program you Than they will agree to the terms of your decision Whether to have aided us in dispersing the crowds Or facilitated their destruction In the name of Capitalism That they pray to Amen…

“And know that we’re not usually the praying types…”

“It was smart to have been aligned with Bob Dylan Because that is how you’ve discovered Our decaying, rotting flesh And the various cancers that we still receive From napalm, from atomic energy, from death itself… The people who yet live in fear of reprisal For simply fighting back for what they believe…”

“I am sure that you understand the gravity Of the sin that we have committed For even discussing this…

“I see that they have returned… We have only one last thing to tell them… And I am sure their warmongers will love this…

“We have prepared for more violence…”

[stewardofningishzida]

Two for One Real-Life Scary Stories (9 and 10):  Road Rash

TRIGGER WARNING: Concussion, blood, snakes

I prefer being outside whenever I can get away with it. Though my parents always worried since I had trouble making friends in-person (too shy) and didn’t really have anyone to go with. Hiking or otherwise wandering around the wilderness alone is dangerous and you should always at least tell someone where you’re going. Though it’s best if you actually have someone with you to watch your back. It’s not just nature you have to worry about. It’s people too, and they’re often much more dangerous than the other animals.

So, when I wanted to ride my bike around a lake in a local state park, my parents decided to tag along. I was 9 or 10 at the time. Though I don’t completely remember. Part of the story is from my parents since they saw what happened and remember it more properly.

We were enjoying ourselves while biking around the lake. It was around 10 miles (16 km) all the way around. While on the path, we watched for wildlife and looked at the lovely scenery. At first, there were plenty of people around, but that was at the beginning where things were more accessible. As we progressed further around the lake, there were fewer and fewer people. Plus, the trail got rougher. About halfway around the lake, on the south shore, there was a large hill. We powered up it and started to coast down. This is where the first near-death experience happened.

While coasting down, I got excited because it was getting so fast. So, I let gravity do its thing and it went faster and faster and faster! I was way ahead of my parents and having fun…Until I noticed the path ending in a very sharp turn with a fence placed to block riders from falling into the lake. I hit the brakes, but the bike was going too fast for them to work properly and the wheels slid on the loose gravel. This is where I blank out and don’t remember. So, this is what my parents saw:

My bike skidded and I went flying headfirst over the handlebars. Thank goodness I was wearing a helmet. That was probably the one thing that spared me from a skull fracture out in the middle of nowhere. My head hit one of the fence posts at full speed with a *crack* from the helmet and I bounced right off of the post, sliding in the dirt for a few feet or so. Then, I was very still and didn’t get back up for a while. Probably only a few seconds, but it was long enough for my parents to consider calling an ambulance. This is when my memory comes back and I can recall the rest:

I got up feeling dizzy and with a splitting headache. I looked at my arm and it was raw and bloody. My leg hurt a lot too, but I couldn’t seem to roll my pants up properly. So, I looked around and saw a water fountain. I stumbled over and started washing the dirt off of my injuries while my parents ran over to get a better look at me. It hurt and I didn’t appreciate being poked and prodded. Stubborn even back then. Still stubborn now. Though I let medical staff look me over when I need them to without much fuss. Regardless, I didn’t want to get back on the bike because I didn’t feel very steady anymore. That and I was scared of getting hurt even worse. So, we rested for a few minutes while Dad checked the trail ahead to see how much rougher it was.

He came back about 20 minutes later and warned us that the pavement ended ahead and there were a ton of rocks. We were already halfway around. So, we figured we should just finish the trail to get to the car and see if I needed urgent care or not. (As an aside: My parents don’t like doctors much. They sent me when they thought I needed it, but would otherwise insist on treating things themselves. Hence, why I’ve ended up forcing them to get medical attention before.) We went up the next hill and only moments later, there was a rattling noise. Second near-death experience coming.

A startled western diamondback rattlesnake coiled itself up and stared at us from underneath a bush right next to the trail. We were well within striking distance and still miles from the car. So, we carefully put our bikes between us and the snake before passing by. We had to hurry up because it was getting later in the afternoon. Miles later, we reached the dam on the lake’s western shore. I reluctantly got back on my bike so we could ride over it to get back to the car sooner. Another mile or so later, we finally got to the car. I hurt all over, but wasn’t dizzy anymore. So, they deemed a trip to urgent care unnecessary. We went home and I got patched up. Another eventful day over.

[serendipityjxmn]

Chapter 13

TW: None

Words Count: 1.7k

Link to Masterlist

Link to Chapter 14

“Jimin?” You softly call. He looks up from his toast in front of him. “Um.. I saw someone unfamiliar with your security.. apart from Jinhyeok and Daniel.. is he new?”

“Ah. I forgot to tell you. His name is Taeseok. He’ll be your bodyguard from now on.” He casually says and went back to eating his toast.

“What?” You say a tad too loudly, startling him. “Why?”

He looks at you again. “What do you mean why- to protect you of course, you idiot.”

He calls you an idiot. Yet you have no idea why your heart flutters at that. Maybe you really are an idiot.

“I can’t be around you all the time and now that the public knows you, you’d need security.”

You swallow. It’s the cons of being a public figure, you guess. Or being married to one.

It’s a busy day at the office that day. You don’t see Jimin a lot. He even tells you to go home first since he had few things to be done. You figured to wait for him but then decided against it since you have something else to do.

Back at home, you’ve been rummaging and scrounging through the kitchen just so you can do what you can with the plan in your mind ever since you find out about Jimin’s birthday. It’s basically still two weeks away but early planning never hurts, you guess.

And that’s how you find yourself teteering dangerously on the edge of a stool because god forbids that the cabinets in the house is freaking high for you. And you curse whoever stacks the antique porcelain cup set so high but thinking it might be Mrs. Lee, you grit your teeth trying to reach it.

“Goddamn it, I just can’t reach it-“ you grumble.

As if on cue, Jimin’s voice broke through the kitchen, startling you and making your hand hit cabinet door before you feet starts to lose balance.

“Fuck Y/N-“ is the last thing you hear before you find yourself succumbing to the gravity and falling in less than elegant way to the ground.

Except the ground doesn’t feel so rough.

A grunt from beneath you makes your eyes shoot open and you’re met with the sight of your husband, his face merely inches from you. His brows creased and his expression pained. It takes you a few moments to realize you fell on top of him.

“Oh my god- are you okay?” You move your body but Jimin ends up grunting again and you panic even more.

“Y/N,” he calls you. You freeze but continue to stare at him in alarm. That’s when you realize that your hips literally met against him, making your private area right against his crotch. You gasp and wastes no time getting up, muttering tonnes of apologies at once.

He gets up as well. “I.. didn’t mean to startle you.”

You shake your head. “No.. I’m- I’m sorry I didn’t hear you come. Do you need anything?”

You look up and sees Jimin has his right hand on the back of his head, like he’s shy. He clears his throat.

“I.. got something for you.” As soon as the words come out of his mouth, you could’ve sworn his cheeks are flushing.

You look down at the gift perfectly wrapped in front of you. Slowly, like in a trance you take it from him.

“It’s uh.. I got it from a friend. Long time ago. And I don’t use it.. so.. if you wanna use it.. if you don’t it’s fine-“ Jimin is rambling at this point while you unwrap the gift.

It’s an art set. A freaking expensive one at that. Complete with the canvas, brushes and all kinds of coloring.

You look up and realize Jimin has left you so you start towards him, half running until you see his familiar back in the hallway.

“Jimin-“ you call him and he turns. Not thinking for a second, you hug him tightly. “Thank you.” You say as soon as you let go of him, holding his hand tight. “I love it.” You say in all honesty because you really do mean it.

You wish you could treasure your husband’s look of surprise mixed with some embarassment forever. He looks too adorable for your heart.

“Yeah, um-“ is all he says before he turns his back again and walks away.

You feel your heart pounds so fast as you watch his retreating figure.

No, don’t fall for him. He’s dangerous.

You hug the gift set tight on your chest.

But who are you kidding.

You. Like. Him.

Fuck.

And that’s the main reason that you wake the next morning feeling different. You’ve woken up beside a sleeping Jimin, your own freaking husband for weeks now and yet there he is, still sleeping soundly but your heart is behaving erratically.

Even when you’re having breakfast with him, you feel nervous that you can’t quite look at him in the eye. Like you’re staring at your crush. God, damn it you feel like a highschooler again. A hormonal highschooler.

You’re not yourself at work either. You know your husband has always been good looking but he looks extra handsome today, you think. Or is it just your biased mind talking?

If good looks are illegal, you’d probably be the first to sue him.

“Y/N?” Jimin calls you, pulling you out from your trance of thoughts. Your cheeks flush, feels like you’ve been caught in your embarassing thoughts.

“Y-yes?” You ask as you stand beside his desk in his office.

“You’re so out of it today. What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” You quickly say and excuse yourself before you can further embarass yourself.

At home that night, taking a huge deep breath and trying hard to calm your trembling hands holding a a cup of coffee and a package, you knock on Jimin’s study room door. You enter after his answer.

He seems busy on his computer, barely looking up to register who’s coming in. You approach silently, almost tiptoeing though you have no idea why.

You put the cup of coffee on the edge of his table together with a wrapped package beside it.

“Jimin..” you call him cautiously. When he doesn’t look up, you continue. “I.. have something for you.”

That seems to pique his interest as he looks up from his work. He looks at you then at the gift you place on his desk.

“I.. made it myself but- um I don’t know if you’ll like it..”

He reaches the package and his fingers move to unwrap it so you quickly turn on your heels, exiting the study room with a pounding heart. His reaction to opening your gift isn’t something that you think your heart can handle.

You had made him a custom name plaque for him to put it in his office. If he ever finds it to his liking. Which you secretly hope he does. You’d made it before with little source you have but you’ve been contemplating too much whether to give it to him because things hadn’t been smooth with him all the time.

But recently you feel like you’ve gotten much progress in your relationship with your husband. So you figured you would just man up and give it to him. Though you promise yourself to make something else for him using the art set he gave you.

“Y/N!” You hear it before you turn to see Mina running breathlessly towards you.

“Mina what’s wrong-“

“This- take this-“ she says still out of breath. “For meeting with the Japanese after this, you’re sitting in the meeting right?”

“No I’m not-“ you begin but gets cut off instantly.

“What? Really? Oh God- please if you don’t know what the meeting’s about Mr. Park wouldn’t allow you in though. Y/N please can you help me out this once? My stomach is really really killing me now.” She continues to beg, clutching her stomach harshly.

You just couldn’t say no.

Even though you know you know how your husband could be in the meeting room. Especially when someone doesn’t know what they’re doing.

And that’s exactly what you’re doing right now.

And it doesn’t take long for Jimin to excuse you and himself outside the conference room and you know you’re absolutely doomed.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He hisses outside the door, where everyone in the office could hear him shouting at you, his wife and you flinch. “The Japanese are waiting in the fucking conference room!” He barks.

You don’t know how to answer him. Do you tell him that Mina’s supposed to be sitting in? But that would put her on the spot so you decided to shut your mouth. Though you wish he would tell you off somewhere private instead.

“I didn’t pay your salary for you to fuck around-“ he snarls and the atmosphere gets even more tense.

It isn’t your fault.. You’re not the one who does it, not even the one’s supposed to sit in the meeting..

Feeling thoroughly unfairly accused, you feel your eyes start to water.

Your husband, ever the cold person doesn’t seem to take pity with your cry.

“If this is what you wanna do here, then you should’ve just sit the fuck home.” He hisses and you’ve never feel so hurt by his words. He just made this a whole lot personal by mentioning home. Jimin doesn’t waste another second and immediately turns on his heel.

Turn around and say you’re sorry.

But of course, Jimin doesn’t do that.

Someone approaches you as soon as Jimin’s gone, you’re not sure who with your unclear vision to ask if you’re okay. You hastily nod then gives a small smile before retreating to your desk.

This is a very cowardly act, you think.

But you just can’t hold it in anymore. Perhaps you’re better off not knowing what your husband does at work. Clara Kim, his cold attitude towards you.. it’s too much..

With a heavy sigh, you pull out a drawer on your right. Your hand reach for the letter you wrote few nights ago.

You resigned as your husband’s secretary.

A/N: surprise chapter drop! Hehe. I hope you guys are ready, the rollercoaster ride of emotions is just about to start 😎 brace yourself!

Link to Chapter 14

Posted on 210427 9:00PM

[cuppajj]

I wrote a drabble a long time ago!

This was ripped from a discord chat I was in with a friend a while back, so I wrote a little background at the beginning to clarify the context. But YEAH you all asked for my boy to suffer once more, and as someone who is equally evil, I happily oblige!

Because it was written a while back I'm questioning if it's canon, BUT as of now it is! And even if it isn't then it's still fun and definitely within the realm of reason. Also, I might turn this into a comic? Probably not in the near future, but it keeps popping up in my head and I wanna do something about it eventually...

BUT ANYWAY! Wanna see a bomb in pain?

TW! Violence, death, this is G9 after all! Anyway enjoy the juice <3 hot mama that's a lot of angst asjkdfhejfehksvfsdfasj

Cont/BG - You know how Overlord likes to sit on his throne being all posh as everyone else kills each other?

Frankly, that’s the first time he and Drill met optics.

Of course, back then, with the first few fights, he didn’t see him with the interest he would later. When Drill was dragged out to those first few fights, he hadn’t learned to accept his status yet. Whenever his cell was opened the first few times, he’d look on at the guards in mounting horror as they grabbed him and dragged him out, all the way to the pit where he’d look up at Overlord and he’d look down at him. Then, they’d send out his opponent, and then they’d begin fighting to the death.The first few fights were tame in comparison to the later; at least back then, he still had much of his mind intact and in his palm, and it was easier for him to keep it that way. But as time went on, he also got used to the gravity of the situation. The gore brought on by those very same palms and servos as bots screamed for their lives. He’d nearly come to accept his fate as someone used for nothing else but disposable entertainment - disposable, like he’d always been in the past. But the clapping was always louder with every body, but the two red optics that bore into him with growing interest were ever like searing metal on the nape of his neck. After every fight, Drillburst would sing in his cell, cracked and shaky like a broken record. He used to have a song for every fall, but it became harder to think of one as the body count grew. The scratches along his cell walls fell from their rhythm and sank into little more but the claw marks of a desperate creature.

He’d started distinguishing himself from all the other trembling pit fighters. Unlike them, he’d been built to tear through even the most solid of rock and toughest of metals. His kill streak had topped the average and gone beyond. He’d never plead for his life to be spared. He hadn’t disintegrated into little more than a wild animal hellbent on killing everything Overlord pointed to.

Oh, but he’d gotten close.

Whether he knew Overlord had begun to favor him or not wasn’t clear. Nothing was usually clear. Nothing was clear. There was no usually. Not anymore.

He forgot if it was his tenth or eleventh fight—or twelfth fight—but he remembered the face of his opponent so clearly, scrambling away from him on the pit floor as he bled out and crackled like a machine bashed inward. So horribly broken and stabbed and it was all his doing.

The two met optics, fearful red to fearful yellow, as the nameless fighter struggled for words. He was bigger than him, almost as, or if not more, intimidating than him. He’d been snarling and eager to rend him apart when they’d first begun the match. He’d fallen so far from that.

“You—you monster! L-look at what you’re doing! You’re mindless!” Spoken with such fear. More fear than anger. It was ironic, what he said. When Drill’s pinkened drill halves glinted as he stepped forward, the other jolted with a whimper as his insults fell apart.

“Y-you—p—please—stop. Stop! You don’t—d-don’t have to d-do this! You don’t l-like this, and neither do I! You—you have a choice here, don’t you!? You weren’t meant to do this!” The corners of his mouth curved upward pathetically. He scrambled closer to the edge of the ring, the shadow of the other looming over him. He’d been so violent, so rabid in the fight; yet here he was, begging for humanity as his life slipped away.

Was this how it was supposed to go? Could even the worst of animals become whole again, only at the cusp of death? Would he glimpse into himself if he was in his spot, regaining his thoughts for even a few more moments?

It hit Drillburst somehow, though. Thoughts so murky and meaningless yet so dear to him at the same time. He wanted to stop and get his humanity back. He wanted to flinch and shiver and beg and feel.

But this was Garrus-9, no longer under Fortress Maximus’s watch. It was null of any sense of humanity and order. Nothing mattered anymore: insignia, alliance, status, and wealth. All void of meaning. Everyone became mindless drones doomed to slaughter each other in hopes that freedom would come.

And freedom was so desirable.

It shocked. He felt the tingle of electricity. Like a prick and a pat at the same time. He felt the same burning gaze.

Overlord whispered like a gentle coax, audible to no one but him.

“Kill him.”

On command, Drillburst surged forward like a specter. His face was unyielding as he moved like a predator rounding on a helpless animal. It wasn’t far from the truth. The other struggled to stagger away, pedes kicking against the cold metal as hard and as fast as they could.

Nowhere to run to. He knew that.

“Mercy! Mercy, m-mercy, please! I forfeit! P—Please!!” The animal begged. Drillburst’s optics were cold, pupils dilated.

With the first figment of expressed emotion, he parted his chapped lips.

There is no mercy here.

When he plunged his drills directly through the spark chamber, he heard the scream. He couldn’t drown it out. He’d never learned how to.

In and out, in and out, again, and again, and again. Until the agonizing wails drowned into the dark, and the paling body stopped twitching.

Nor could he drown out the clapping.

His head immediately began to throb and sear in pain, frame screaming and processor crying. It hurt. It hurt so much. He hated it. And he hated the pink. Unbeknown to him—or beknown—were the softening optics on him, the claps louder than the rest.

He sang so long and loud in his cell that his voicebox nearly gave out, and his digits threatened to bleed from how hard he scratched the walls. He had no song, but he sang anyway. Anything to remove the image from his head.

If his humanity would be truly restored on the cusp of his death, then how willing was he to reach for it?

[babypandawrites]

Allies, Pt. 9

The Northern Air Temple 

Pairing: Sokka x F Reader Warnings: None Word Count: 3,813 Summary: You thought that the chance of there being Airbenders other than Aang was too good to be true, sadly you were right. 

Note: How I completely forgot about this until now I'm not sure but! Another piece of this series I’ve done for the fun of it is outfit designs- If that kind of things in fics isn’t your cup of tea then feel free to act like these don't exist! But for those who are interested or who might just wanna see; here you go.  This is just what I personally envisioned while writing, again feel free to ignore it if you want, but I figured I might as well share :)  I was also going to wait until tomorrow to post this bc Wednesdays is my upload day for it on Ao3 but I’m also a chapter ahead there and wanted to get my tumblr uploads caught up- so back to back post today and tomorrow :) Yay 

-Navigation- | -Atla Masterlist-  -Last Part- | -Allies Masterlist- | -Next Part- 

Taglist: @boomeraangin​ | @brokennerdalert​​​

“So, travelers, the next time you think you hear a strange large bird talking, take a closer look, it might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man! A member of a secret group of air walkers who laugh at gravity and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!”  Aang smiled. “Aren’t airbender stories the best?” “Was it realistic? Was that how it was back then?” Katara questioned.  “I laugh at gravity all the time. Haha! Gravity.”  A pair of hands holding a hat suddenly appeared in the space inbetween Sokka and Y/n. The storyteller shook the hat, the jingling of coins being heard.  “Jingle, jingle.”  The two searched their pockets for any money. Y/n didn’t have anything, and the only thing Sokka pulled from his coat pocket was a small ball of lint and a bug.  Y/n offered the storyteller a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”  “Aww. Cheapskates!” The man left them, going to ask other audience members for donations.  She turned to look at Sokka, a disgusted expression apparent on her face at the bug that wiggled around in his hand. “Why… was there a bug in your coat?”  “Hey! Don’t question a man and his bug.” The bug rolled over, and started to crawl up his hand. Sokka yelped and shook it off.  Her expression twisted into amusement. “A man and his bug, huh?”  “It’s not my fault we can’t afford to keep him fed.” 

The next morning, the group found themselves on the way to the Northern Air Temple. Apparently, the airbenders in the story they heard were seen the previous week. It seemed a little too good to be true, that there might be airbenders other than Aang still out there, but Y/n wasn’t going to be the one to crush the kids' hope.  That was Sokka’s job, not hers.  “Hey, we’re almost at the Northern Air Temple! This is where they had the championships for sky bison polo.”  Y/n looked at Aang with a smile. “Sky bison polo? That sounds fun.”  “It is fun! So much fun!”  Katara moved to sit next to her brother. “Do you think we’ll really find airbenders?”  “You want me to be like you, or totally honest?” Sokka asked, focusing on whittling a piece of wood.  “Are you saying I’m a liar?” Katara crossed her arms over her chest.  “I’m saying you’re an optimist. Same thing basically.”  “They’re not the same thing at all.” Y/n commented. The boy just shrugged his shoulders.  “Hey guys, look at this!”  Appa was starting to approach the Northern Air Temple. It sat up on a sheer peak, several people flew around it, and smoke rose from a few pillars.   “Huh! They really are airbenders!” Aang leaned, crossing his arms unhappily. “No, they’re not.”  Sokka pointed up at the people flying around. “What do you mean they’re not? Those guys are flying!”  “Gliding maybe, but not flying. You can tell by the way they move. They’re not airbending. Those people have no spirit.”  Y/n tipped her head to the side, watching the gliders. “I mean, they look like they're flying to me, but you would know best.”  As she finished speaking, a glider passed over the group's heads, nearly taking them off. The glider’s pilot laughed, turning to pass by Appa again. Getting a closer look at the kid, it could be noted that his glider was built out of the wheelchair he sat in.  Katara pointed in the glider’s direction. “I don’t know, Aang. That kid seems pretty spirited!”  The glider made another pass, and soon Aang was standing up glider in hand, before taking off. Another glider flew in front of Appa, startling him and causing Katara and Y/n to fall backwards into Sokka. The three grunted at the impact.  “We better find some solid ground before it finds us!”  Appa made a landing on one of the temple’s outer terraces, the trio getting off him and watching as Aang and the boy in the wheelchair glided through the sky. Aang eventually came down and landed next to them, the other boy also coming to a landing. A few kids came other and detached the glider from his wheelchair, before he wheeled over to the group.  “Hey! You’re a real airbender! You must be the Avatar! That’s amazing! I- I- I’ve heard stories about you.”  Aang rubbed at the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Thanks.”  “Wow! This glider chair is incredible!” Sokka rushed over to the kids who had the glider setup, inspecting it.  “If you think this is good, wait until you see the other stuff my Dad designed.”  He began to wheel away, the group following. They were led through the huge main gate of the temple, into the main chamber. The room was dominated by steam-powered machinery with many wheels, gears and pipes.  “Wow!” Sokka ran forward, looking around the room excitedly.  “Yeah, my dad is the mastermind behind this whole place! Everything’s powered by hot air. It even pumps hot air currents outside to give us a lift when we’re gliding.”  Aang took a look around. “This place is unbelievable.”  The boy in the wheelchair smiled. “Yeah, it’s great isn’t it?”  “No, just unbelievable.”  Y/n tried to hold back a laugh, clearing her throat to force down her laughter.  “Aang used to come here a long time ago. I think he’s a little shocked it’s so… different.” Katara said, before following after Aang when he walked off.  “So better!”  Rolling her eyes, Y/n elbowed Sokka in the shoulder. He gave her a look.  “Come on, you don’t think this is cool at all?”  “Not really.” 

Soon they followed the boy, Teo, to another part of the temple. This time it was a courtyard of sorts, it was untouched, and there were statues of airbenders.  Aang was much happier about this, than he had been about the other room. “It’s nice to see even one part of the temple that isn’t ruined.” He spoke, as him, Y/n and Katara looked at a huge statue of an airbender monk.  “Look out!” A voice shouted out, shortly before a wrecking ball crashed through the statue. The three flew backwards with the debris, and everyone started to cough from the dust. As the dust settled, several people could be seen through the hole that’d been created. One of the people walked forward, a middle aged man with a mostly bald head who wore a monocle, a green tunic and an apron.  “What the doodle! Don’t you know enough to stay away from construction sites? We have to make room for the bathhouse!”  “Do you know what you just did? You just destroyed something sacred! For a stupid bathhouse!” Aang, clearly upset with the man, took on an airbending stance.  The man waved a hand in front of his nose. “Well, people around here are starting to stink.”  Aang pointed at him. “This whole place stinks!” He slammed his staff against the ground, sending a strong gust of wind through the hole in the wall, knocking the wrecking ball and it’s rig off the building's foundation. “This is a sacred temple! You can’t treat it this way. I’ve seen it when the monks were here. I know what it’s supposed to be like.”  “The monks? But you’re twelve!”  Teo wheeled over. “Dad, he’s the Avatar. He used to come here a hundred years ago.”  Aang walked closer to the man. “What are you doing? Who said you could be here?”  “Hmmm… doing here… A long time ago, but not a hundred years, my people became refugees after a terrible flood.” He gestured his arms for effect, before moving to stand behind his son. “My infant son, Teo, was badly hurt and lost his mother.” Sniffling, he held back tears. “I needed somewhere to rebuild and I stumbled across this place. Couldn’t believe it! Everywhere pictures of flying people. But empty! Nobody home! Then I came across these fan like contraptions!”  He held his arms out as if they were wings, making flying motions with them as he walked about the courtyard for a short moment. He stopped in front of Aang, who was clearly still upset.  “Our gliders.”  “Yes, little light flying machines. They gave me an idea. Build a new life for my son, in the air! Then everyone would be on equal ground, so to speak! We’re just in the process of improving upon what’s already here and after all, isn’t that what nature does?” Aang was still upset, while Sokka and Katara stood behind him, teary eyed from the story. Y/n rolled her eyes at the siblings, before moving to stand next to Aang, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Sure, the story was sad, but to her the boy’s feelings were more important.  The Mechanist turned to look through the hole in the wall he’d created. “I suppose that’s true. Unfortunately, progress has a way of getting away from us.” He looked down in a bout of sadness, before his head snapped up to look at an odd candle device..? A bit aways from them. “Look at the time!” Three candles burned brightly on a stone pedestal, each separated into their own sections. Next to the pedestal, a large mallet rests, sitting head down. The Mechanist turned to one of the scribes behind him. “Come the pulley system must be oiled before dark.”  Sokka approached the candles, observing them. “Wait, how can you tell the time from that thing? The notches all look the same.”  “The candle will tell us. Watch.”  The candle’s flame snapped four times in a row.  “You put spark powder in the candle!” “Four flashes, so it’s exactly four hours past midday, or, as I call it, four o’candle!”  Sokka let out a laugh, as The Mechanist looked at him, seemingly pleased he was interested. “If you like that, wait till you see my finger safe knife sharpener!” Y/n’s attention moved to the man at the mention of that, watching as he held up his left hand, where three of his fingers were made of wood. He detached them from his hand, before tossing them to Sokka. “Only took me three tries to get it right!” Sokka let out a scream, as he caught the wooden fingers. “Follow me!”  The Mechanist turned to leave, the men who were with him and Sokka quickly followed. As the boy passed by Y/n, he grabbed onto her wrist and dragged her along with him. She offered a quick goodbye wave to Aang, Katara and Teo as she was dragged away. 

Quiet steps echoed through the narrow hallway, as Y/n, Sokka and The Mechanist descending a narrow staircase. Each of them held a lantern, glowing with sparse blue light.  “These lanterns are terrible! I can’t see.”  Y/n ran into Sokka’s back, as he abruptly stopped to open the jar to his lantern. She flicked the back of his head, as he continued to speak. “Why would you want to use fireflies for light- Hey!”  She snickered, watching the firefly that escaped from his lantern.  The Mechanist turned to look at them. “Hey, close that up! They’ll get loose. Fireflies are a non-flammable light source.”  “Are you meaning to say that something down here is flammable?” Y/n asked, as they all continued walking.  “Well, why else would I need a non-flammable light source?” The Mechanist offered a chuckle, as they approached a door. The edges of it were blocked by some sort of sealant, which he felt around, probably to check for leaks.  After checking he turned back to them. “Cover your nose and hold your breath.”  Once they’d done so, The Mechanist slid open a panel in the door, which they all looked through. It just showed a dark and empty room. “Okay, so you brought us all the way down here to see an empty room.” Sokka spoke with a somewhat confused tone.  “Wrong.”  Eyebrows furrowing together, Y/n watched as the panel was slid shut again. “You brought us all the way down here to see a room full of flammable explosive gas?”  “Correct! It’s filled to the brim with natural gas. Came across it my first time here. Unfortunately, I was carrying a torch at the time. Nearly blew myself and the whole place even more sky high. Thought my eyebrows would never grow back! Anyway, there’s a vital problem that needs solving. From time to time we have gas leaks and they’re nearly impossible to find.”  Y/n took a few steps back, as Sokka helped check the door for leaks. “So this place is an explosion waiting to happen?”  “Yes, until I figure out how to locate something I can’t see, hear, smell or touch.”  “Right, is it safe for us to be around this gas? Should we be wearing masks or something, in case we come across a leak so we don’t, you know, inhale it?”  “Oh don’t worry, we should be fine.” The Mechanist paused for a moment, straightening up after finishing checking for leaks. “Well, as long as you aren’t a firebender or something- hah!” He let out a laugh, which Sokka quickly shared.  Sokka nudged her in the arm, as they started walking back. “Oh come on, that was funny. You know that was funny.”  “Yeah, hilarious.”  He threw an arm over her shoulders. “Come on, loosen up. We’re gonna be fine, even if we do come across a leak.”  She put her hands up in defense. “Okay, okay.” 

The Mechanist led the pair to his workshop, and very clearly told them not to touch anything, before going to look over some papers on his desk. Sokka, of course, did not listen to that and started poking through things the moment the man's attention wasn’t on them.  “Sokka, he said not to touch anything.” Y/n whispered, smacking his hand away from something he was about to mess with.  He gently pushed her away a bit, before going right back to poking around. “Calm down, it’s fine. It’s not like I’m going to break an-” Sokka cut himself off, as he knocked some stuff over. Grimacing, he tried to keep it from falling to the ground.  “I said don’t touch anything!”  When The Mechanist spoke up, Sokka dropped the things to the ground. Y/n crossed her arms over her chest. “Not gonna break anything, huh?”  The Mechanist came over, to help Sokka pick the things up. “Oh, don’t worry, that experiment is old and that egg was just part of last week’s lunch.”  Y/n kneeled down to help them too, as Sokka sniffed the air. “Ugh! Week old egg smell!”   “Quick! Find that egg!”  The three started to crawl around, looking for the egg, but none of them were having much luck.  “How could something that’s so small you can’t even see it make such a big stink!?” Sokka complained as they looked. The Mechanist perked up at the comment. “That’s the solution to our problem!”  “Yeah!” Y/n looked at the two, confused, as they faced each other with excitement. “What?”  “If we put a whole mess of rotten eggs in the cellar where the gas seeps up..” Sokka started the thought, which The Mechanist continued.  “The gas will mix with the smell of rotten eggs…”  “Then, if there’s a leak…”  “You smell rotten eggs! Then you just follow your nose to the place where the smell is coming from..”  “And plug up the hole where the gas is escaping!”  “You’re a genius!” The two spoke in unison.  Still, Y/n looked between the two with a confused expression. “ What? ”  Suddenly, a large bell started to ring, and The Mechanist was quick to get up and rush from the room. “Something’s wrong I’ve got to go.”  “Wonder what that’s about.” Sokka said, getting up himself. He helped Y/n up, grinning. “We should follow him.”  “Always a snoop, huh?” Laughing softly, she shook her head. “Alright.”  Grasping onto her wrist, he dragged her out of the room to follow after The Mechanist. They’d followed him to another room, one that was filled to the brim with different war machines branded with the Fire Nation’s insignia. 

“You make weapons for the Fire Nation!?” Sokka was clearly angry with his words, rightfully so. Y/n was pretty mad about this development as well. She pointed a finger at The Mechanist.  “You! You're terrible. Horrible terrible!”  The Mechanist looked at the ground in humiliation and shame.  Teo looked at his father angrily. “Explain all this! Now!”  “It was about a year after we moved here. Fire Nation soldiers found our settlement. You were too young to remember this tale. They were going to destroy everything, burn it to the ground. I pleaded with them, begged them to spare us. They asked what I had to offer. I offered… my services. You must understand, I did this for you!” Teo turned his wheelchair away, clearly upset. The Mechanist turned on his heel, and walked back down the hall, leaving the five kids in the room.   Teo shook his head. “I can’t believe this…. This is terrible.”  “I know..” Aang looked at the weapons with disdain. “There’s so much here.”  Y/n crossed her arms over her chest. “The Fire Nation could be coming for this soon…”  Aang breathed out a sigh. “Your right… I’m going to go figure it out.”  “I’ll come with.” Teo said, as Aang started to leave the room, before following the boy.  With Aang and Teo’s return, they found out that the Fire Nation was coming soon. And they were intending to burn this place to the ground. They were all outside on one of the walkways, trying to figure out a plan.  “This is bad! Very bad!”  Katara looked over to Aang. “Aang, what are we gonna do? How can we possibly keep them all away?”  “I’ll tell you how.” He pointed to the sky. “We have something they don’t. Air power! We control the sky. That’s something the Fire Nation can’t do. We can win!”  “I want to help.” The Mechanist approached the group, as he spoke up.  Aang offered the man a smile. “Good, we’ll need it.” 

“We finally got the war balloon working, thanks to Sokka. This boy’s a genius!”  “Thank you. You’re a genius!” “Thank you!” Y/n rolled her eyes at the exchange. “Can we get on with this?”  Sokka cleared his throat. “Right. See, the problem with the old war balloon was you could get it airborne, but once you did, it just kept going.” He demonstrated with a model that flew up and hit the ceiling. “You could put a hole in the top, but then all the hot air would escape. So the question became, how do you keep a lid on hot air?”  “Ugh, if only we knew.” Katara commented. Y/n, Aang, Teo and Katara herself all laughed at the remark.  Ignoring them, Sokka pulled the model down from the ceiling, now showing off the mechanism to open and close a lid on the top. “A lid is actually the answer. If you control the hot air, you control the war balloon.” He demonstrated again, but this time the model didn’t fly up to the ceiling, thanks to the lid that could be pulled open with a string.  Katara crossed her arms. “Hmm. That’s actually pretty smart.”  “Okay, we’ve got four kinds of bombs. Smoke, smile, fire and-”  The Mechanist cut Sokka off. “Stink. Never underestimate the power of stink!” 

“We’re going to have to modify this to the new design, and fast.” The Mechanist said, as him, Sokka and Y/n worked on bringing the War Balloon he’d already constructed outside. “With both of you helping we should be able to get it up and running pretty quickly though!”  “Yeah! And I’m pretty sure Aang and Katara will be able to hold off the Fire Nation with everyone’s help.”  Y/n furrowed her eyebrows. “They’ll be able to hold them off, but we can’t count on them too for too long, even if we have the skies. The Fire Nation’s army is huge, who knows how many soldiers will show up.”  They got the balloon set up to do the necessary modifications. “Oh she’s right, time is not something we have on our side right now.”  Sokka nodded in understanding. “Right. It’s only one modification though, so it can’t take terribly long, right?”  “Let’s hope not.”  Getting to work on the War Balloon, they probably could have gotten things done a little faster. But nonetheless, they got it done, and just in time too apparently. While Sokka and The Mechanist got ready to take off in the war balloon, Y/n went to find the others to see how they were holding up.  “How are things going out here?” She asked, once she found Katara, Aang and Teo. The three looked at her with slight concern.  “Not well.” Katara started. “Please tell us Sokka is coming with that war balloon soon.”  Before she could give an answer, the war balloon rose up from behind them all, and started moving towards the battle field. From where they all stood, they could see Sokka and The Mechanist dropping giant slime bombs onto the Fire Nation soldiers. The bombs that they had didn’t stop the soldiers, however, and they were starting to advance closer to the Temple.  Katara put a hand on Y/n’s shoulder, to get her attention. “What are they doing..?”  She squinted in the direction of the war balloon, trying to see what was going on. “I’m not sur-” She cut herself off, watching as something fell from the basket of the war balloon. Was that the balloons fuel source? “Did they just push out their fuel source..?!” “What?!”  A sudden explosion set off, a really really big one. The entire Temple got clouded in a ginormous wall of grey smoke. When the smoke dissipated, it was revealed that the Fire Nation was retreating.  Aang pointed to where the army was leaving. “Look! They’re retreating!” Everyone started to cheer at the success, but the joy was cut short, as the war balloon started heading downwards quickly. Thankfully though, Aang was able to get Sokka and The Mechanist before the balloon crashed below.  Currently, they all stood outside on the main terrace of the Air Temple.  “You know what? I’m really glad you guys all live here now. It’s like the hermit crab.” Aang spoke, as he carefully picked up one of the hermit crabs near them all. “Maybe you weren’t born here, but you found this empty shell and made it your home. And now you protect each other.”  Teo offered a smile to the boy. “That means a lot coming from you.”  “Aang you were right about air power.” Sokka pointed to the sky. “As long as we’ve got the skies we’ll have the Fire Nation on the run!”

[chimmyrockbison]

MASTERLIST Updated 03/20/2021

COMPLETED AO3 FICS [Kim Taehyung/Park Jimin]

1. The Sound of Your Heart

Summary: There was something so easy about it, it was almost scary. Taehyung didn’t want to feel this way, didn’t want to feel this overwhelming fondness; but not unlike his head, his heart was hard to persuade once it had decided a path. And Taehyung was scared that it had decided on the mute new boy with pretty features and a warm smile.

Words: 144,014

2. All the King's Men

Summary: Castle servants Jimin and Taehyung find themselves involved in a game with the Crown Prince.

Words: 52,531

3. golden haze

Summary: Taehyung watches Jimin’s mouth twist into a pout, forming the word ‘fucking’ with his thick lips before he’s whipping out his translation device again. Taehyung doesn’t have time to stop him when various pornographic images pop up on his holographic screen, Jimin’s eyes widening with intrigue, his mouth falling open at the suggestive images in front of him.

(or: lonely college student taehyung harbors an alien fugitive in his apartment. nothing goes as planned.)

Words: 34,850

4. Drag'on Together (Love Is Its Own Magic)

Summary: “I swear to God, Taehyung if you stop to pick up one more rock because you think it might be some sort of rare stone, I’m leaving you here,” Jimin huffs as he tries to sound intimidating.

“Jiminnie, we both know you wouldn’t survive a minute without me, so stop with the empty threats, okay?” Taehyung replies, happily ignoring his dark-haired friend.

Jimin would argue, he would, if it wasn’t for the fact that Taehyung was right.

or

The time Taehyung and Jimin finds a blue rock and it turns out to be so much more.

Words: 30,554

5. even the weariest river

Summary: It's moments like this that make Taehyung panic. The open derision on each courtier's face, the scorn of his brother as he turns from his prey. The slit of Park Jimin's eyes, just barely open and dark and hateful, as Taehyung swallows and squares his shoulders and says—

"I want to claim him."

The tides of war change, and sweep Taehyung and Jimin along with them.

Words: 152,979

6. i fell in love with the pizza delivery guy (and then i blew him in the bathroom)

Summary: Send your best delivery guy. Preferably cute, preferably packing.

“You're the one who ordered me,” Taehyung says. Not exactly a question; more of a statement.

“Well, I ordered pizza; you just happen to be a delightful bonus,” Jimin clarifies, lips drawn up in a smirk that sets Taehuyung’s blood on fire in a most delectable way. “Although, had I known a pretty face like yours was working there...maybe I would have been more specific with my instructions. At least I know for next time.”

(or, Jimin orders pizza and a little something extra, and Taehyung delivers without really knowing what he's signing up for)

Words: 18,438

7. Grand Jeté

Summary: Refusing to spend another night alone, Taehyung surprises his perfectionist of a boyfriend Jimin at his dance studio with the intent of dragging him home. But their pent-up emotions from spending time apart has the visit ending with a lot of kissing and a little experimenting.

Words: 8,200

8. Already Midnight

Summary: On New Year's Eve, Taehyung is drunk. So drunk that he doesn't recognize Jimin as his boyfriend. When Jimin kisses him at midnight, Taehyung threatens to call his man- aka Jimin.

Words: 3,951

9. Worth The Risk

Summary: The rules are simple: no kissing on the lips, no petnames, no cuddling after sex, no sleepovers, no labels, and no catching feelings.

It should be simple. In fact, it would be simple, if it weren’t for one tiny thing...Taehyung is pretty sure he’s in love with Jimin. And that’s absolutely against the rules.

Words: 23,645

10. Common Ground

Summary: Taehyung is rich, a little bit bratty, a lot a bit spoiled, and failing calculus. Jimin works full time, tutors, and is a straight-A student. There's a rulebook somewhere that states very clearly that people like Jimin should never associate with people like Taehyung. But rules are meant to be broken. And opposites always, always attract.

Words: 44,136

11. This is not a dream

Summary: He would think they were ships in the night if not for the fact that every night, Jimin lays his head in Taehyung’s lap and Taehyung runs fingers without nerve endings through his hair. If they didn't have this false, teasing closeness long enough to learn every detail of each other's lives, long enough that Jimin is the person Taehyung spends the most time with by a mile.

(Jimin leaves. Two months later, he falls in love with Taehyung.)

Words: 12,370

12. Shooting Stars and Silver Moons

Summary: Yoongi and Jimin make a bet, Taehyung makes bad decisions.

(Or: "I'm kind of pissed you didn't choose me to fake date, I'm your best friend")

Words: 20,206

13. the whole world is blue

Summary: Taehyung is not going to confess. That kind of thing never ends well. The movies are wrong. It doesn't always turn out to be mutual. Real life isn't so romantic like that.

Words: 10,829

14. Swipe Right

Summary: As a best friend, Jimin will do anything for Taehyung. This includes being his fake boyfriend to ward off the unwanted attention Taehyung is receiving after using a dating app and agreeing to meet someone.

Words: 26,085

15. Define Me in Terms of You

Summary: This is either Taehyung's greatest idea, or his worst.

“So, let me get this straight. You want me to teach you how to play guitar, join a fake band and enter a competition just so that you can impress a guy you like?"

Words: 9,808

16. i just adore you asking for more

Summary: Taehyung is a successful model looking for a discreet release. Jimin is a professional dom who won’t judge his browsing history.

Words: 90,201

17. Sirius

Summary: "Dude, our entire relationship could be an Ed Sheeran album."

Words: 16,955

18. it's your heart i wanna live (& sleep) in

Summary: The first time Jimin sleeps over at Taehyung's, it's an emergency. The other times after? That's a different story.

Words: 22,658

19. kissing up on fences (and up on walls, i don't want to fall)

Summary: They’ve always been close, Taehyung and Jimin. Where one went, it would be rare to see them without the other. This is a fact Namjoon knows better than most, having coexisted with them in close quarters for such a long time.

Namjoon had not, however, for all his proclaimed wisdom and prudence, had the foresight to see that they’d become this close.

(or: the five times the other members thought they were dating, and the one time jimin starts to wonder if they really are)

Words: 8,738

20. The Usual

Summary: Alternatively titled: The Regular

Jimin will date anyone, except for boys who serve coffee.

Words: 27,935

21. i'm so sorry but it's fake love (tbh, not really)

Summary: when chaebol/commitment anti-fan park jimin learns he's being married off, he does the smartest thing in the world: hire a fake boyfriend he found on the internet (aka Craigslist's personal ads)

all he needs is just three months with said fake boyfriend to convince his parents to leave him alone. after that, he'll get back to his regular programming.

except, not really.

Words: 209,565

22. Gravity//Oxygen

Summary: He already lost his parents.

He'll be damned if he loses Jimin's smile too.

We stay together.

Always.

Taehyung is out for revenge. And he'll do anything to get it.

Words: 180,321

23. A Screenshot of Youth

Summary: There’s a sharp intake of breath, Taehyung’s grip tightening over Jimin’s with a gentle squeeze. “Jimin,” his voice is serious, and Jimin watches him, strangely endeared. “Let’s be friends.”

And it’s like this, that they begin as friends in the heat of a sweltering summer, twelve years old and too young to think much of it, hands twined together under the blanket of a setting sun.

(In which Jimin and Taehyung grow up together.)

Words: 18,496

24. i'll take the desert, you take the coast

Summary: “Everyone I know is a candlestick nearing its demise. They’re afraid of bringing meaning into their lives, of cultivating that glow. But you, prince Park Jimin, you are different. You glow with the passion of more than a thousand suns.”

Words: 30,973

25. just to get a taste

Summary: The one where Jeongguk dares Jimin and Taehyung to kiss and it unravels a lot of feelings. But mostly more kisses.

Or the one where Jimin's heart is stupid and Jimin's best friend is actually irresistible. Who'd've thunk, huh?

Words: 24,375

26. tell them it's the end

Summary: Five months after Taehyung suddenly walked out on him, Jimin finds out that Taehyung has yet to inform his family, who absolutely loved Jimin, about their split.

Jimin tries to swallow his feelings as he once again “dates” Taehyung.

Words: 13,802

27. stay with you

Summary: Taehyung wondered why he always see this blonde man, getting wasted every night. Its such a shame seeing his pretty face wasting every single night of his life in this bar.

Until he saw his eyes, and he understood why.

(Or Jimin is broken and he wanted his happiness back.)

Words: 12,875

28. ring the changes

Summary: That's the nature of one-sided confessions. Things change.

Words: 45,248

29. summer, winter, spring (i'm falling for you)

Summary: The school starts to take notice of Jimin.

Taehyung has always noticed.

Words: 41,786

30. Make Me-al

Summary: In which Jimin starts to work at Jin's restaurant and there he meets Taehyung, the new rookie waiter that kinda gets him off his nerves (the feeling is mutual). Yet, the tension between them is hotter than the ovens from the kitchen...

Words: 26,886

31. such stuff as dreams are made on

Summary: "sir no one, may i have this dance?"

or: kim taehyung, a kitchen boy, sneaks into a royal masquerade. park jimin is the prince he never expected.

Words: 38,753

[fangirl-creates]

Summer Forever - Chapter 1: Aftermath

It was mid-afternoon, the leaves rustling in tune with the breeze. As the Pines family made their way deep into the Gravity Falls wilderness, they could feel the summer heat quickly blocked out by the shade of the forest. Mabel skipped happily through the mossy path, Dipper adjusted his hat occasionally to block out the spotlights of sun hitting his face, Stan shuffled with his hand in his pockets, and Ford wrote in his journal as he walked.

Stan noticed his brother almost slam into a tree while he looked down and quickly grabbed his shoulder to pull him back. “Careful, Poindexter. Don’t want anyone else to wind up with memory loss.” He pointed to his head, an eyebrow raise.

Ford looked at him with a blank expression. “That’s not funny, Stanley.”

“Hey, come on. I can joke about this now, can’t I? I got most of it back! Well, the important stuff anyway…”

Ford kept walking. “We still have a bit more to recover—including the memories the kids and I weren’t present for.”

Stan hummed. “Try not to stress yourself so much about recovering those ones. Besides, shouldn’t we focus on this ‘clean-up’ thing?”

“Right right.” He glanced over at Dipper and Mabel. “Find anything yet, children?”

“I found this leaf!” Mabel replied happily, holding it up so he could see. It was changing color and shape in a smooth motion, morphing before their eyes.

“Fascinating.” Ford opened a bag he had been carrying, pulling out a containment jar as he put the leaf inside, then placing that in the bag. “We must be getting close.”

“Close to what?” Stan gave him a look.

“The aftermath left behind from Weirdmageddon is more frequent in some areas of Gravity Falls—I figured the forest was a good place to start since most of the town’s weirdness already resigns here.” He walked ahead of everyone. “Let’s keep moving!”

Mabel walked next to her brother, looking up at the sky. “Man, I’m really gonna miss everyone once we leave.”

“Yeah,” Dipper put his hands in his best pockets. “But hey! If it’s any consolation, we made some pretty great memories.”

“Like totally beating the crap out of a dream demon?” She smirked, doing some kind of fighting stance.

Dipper chuckled. “Yep. Like that.” He felt the bark of a tree as he walked by, a sigh. Even though they’d be back next summer, 9 months was still a long time. And what about their parents? Oh god, their parents. He started to wonder what kind of letters Mabel had been sending them over the course of the summer. He prayed that their adventures were hopefully being brushed off as ‘childhood imagination’ and nothing more. But what if they weren’t? What if they were never allowed to come back? His paranoia quickly settled in and he stopped walking for a minute to calm himself.

“Dipper?” Mabel turned to see him resting on a stump, breathing a bit faster than normal. “You okay, bro bro?”

It was then Dipper felt grounded at the sound of sister’s voice, but his anxiety didn’t disappear. “Mabel..?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t think Mom and Dad will get upset, right?”

Mabel gave him a look. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” He stood up. “We’ve gotten into a lot of danger this summer.” He rubbed his arm. “I don’t want them to think Grunkle Stan is a bad caretaker...I don’t-” He didn’t want their first visit to Gravity Falls to be their last.

“Dipper, it’s okay!” She put an arm around him, walking with him. “We’re still alive, aren’t we?”

“Yeah…”

“And we don’t have any missing limbs, right?”

“Yeah…” He smiled half-heartedly.

“Then you have nothing to worry about! I’m sure Mom and Dad will understand what we’ve been through! Well...most of it…” She wasn’t sure how they’d explain Bill or anything else that extreme. They probably shouldn’t.

Dipper shifted uncomfortably and Mabel frowned, glancing at her Grunkles ahead.

“Um, Grunkle Ford?” She called, making the two older twins both turn.

“Yes, Mabel?”

“Can we take a break? We’ve been walking for a while now..”

Ford pondered that question for a minute, then nodded. “I suppose we can, yes.”

“Great!” She grabbed Dipper’s hand and pulled him along as she went to find a spot to rest. The sound of a stream running quickly filled her ears and she stopped, letting go of her slightly dizzy brother. “The water’s kinda pretty…” She sat down, watching it.

“Yeah I guess,” Dipper shrugged, laying down on the grass. It wasn’t until his legs stopped moving when he realized how much they hurt. How long had they been walking for?

Stan and Ford eventually caught up, sitting down a few feet away from the younger twins. Ford’s attention was quickly drawn to the stream, his mouth feeling rather dry. He shook his head in protest, grabbing his canteen from his coat—only to find it was empty. He tapped his foot.

“Man, is anyone else parched?” Stan asked the group, gaining a few groans in response. “Those bottled waters we had went pretty fast…”

“Well, they were rather small.” Ford commented.

“Still.” His eyes were on the stream. “I’m gonna go grab a drink.” He stood up, but stopped once Ford put a hand on his shoulder.

“Stan, wait. That water might not be clean...or safe.” Something about it gave him a weird feeling.

“Sixer, it’s clearer than those thick glasses of your’s. Don’t tell me you’re not thirsty, to?”

The more it was mentioned, the more Ford couldn’t deny it. “Yes, but I can wait until we—Stan?!”

By the time he got over, his brother had already swallowed a couple handfuls of the stream’s crystal clear water. Once he finished, he stood up, gesturing towards himself. “See? It’s just water. Perfectly safe!”

Ford groaned in frustration. “I’ll have to check on you later to make sure you didn’t catch anything.”

“Oh relax. Look, I can tell by your face that you’re probably gonna pass if you don’t hydrate. So—hydrate!”

“Stan, I don’t—” He was cut off by Stan giving him a light shove towards the steam.

“Sixer, I don’t wanna keep reminding you to take care of yourself. Just drink.”

Ford rolled his eyes, giving in as he bent down to take a sip. The water was sweet, almost heavenly in taste. He didn’t realize how much he consumed by the time he wiped his lips of water drops.

“See? What’d I tell ya? Kids, you too!” Stan called to Dipper and Mabel who quickly ran to hydrate next.

Ford took a step back as he watched some nearby animals drink from the river, a hand on his chin. The gut feeling he had earlier wasn’t gone. And yet, he felt completely fine. But even then, the idea of this steam having any supernatural elements still made him nervous. This was Gravity Falls, after all.

The kids stopped drinking, walking away as they felt a lot better than they did earlier.

“You wanna keep resting or should we get a move on?” Stan asked them. Of course, it wasn’t until he said that when he felt a sudden wave of exhaustion. He wobbled.

“Stanley??” Ford put his hands on his brother’s shoulders, keeping him steady. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah yeah…” Stan protested, his eyelids getting heavy. “I just...need a minute…” A snore followed after and Stan was out like a light.

“Stanley, wake up.” Ford shook him a little, hesitant to slap him awake. Stan’s head drooped, still asleep.

“Grunkle Stan?” Mabel tapped his arm, but nothing. “GRUNKLE STAAAAAAN!” She yelled, making Ford and Dipper flinch.

Stan only snored again in response. The weight of his body seemed to increase the more he was asleep, causing Ford to put him down gently on the grass.

“Is he okay?” Dipper asked with concern, Ford’s puzzled expression not making it better.

“I don’t know...but I think-” He yawned, then froze once he did. Oh no…

“Grunkle Ford? Are you sleepy, to??” Mabel looked up at him, almost mirroring Dipper’s expression.

“No no, I’m fine…” He could feel himself slowly sit down, then shift into laying on his side. He heard the twins calling his name, but his vision blurred, slowly drifting into a sleep.

“Now what do we do??” Dipper asked his sister, his foot tapping anxiously.

There was no response, just a light thud.

“Mabel?” He turned, only to find his sister asleep on the ground. “Mabel!!” His body started to sway, his legs wobbling. “No no! I can’t fall asleep—! I gotta get help! I gotta…” Before he knew it, he was already laying down as he struggled to keep his eyes open...but it was too late.

The wind rustled the leaves, clouds covering the sun rather quickly. The heat of the summer afternoon was quickly overrun by a rather chilly breeze that swept past the four sleeping figures. But once it settled, everything in the forest went quiet—all except for the faint sound of a monster’s snoring...

(First chapter for Summer Forever! More coming soon!)

[jenniferstolzer]

Babylon 5 rewatch Episode 2.22: The Fall of Night

Babylon 5 is at the center of not one but three conflicts as John Sheridan agrees to shelter a wounded Narn cruiser. The Centauri don’t like this. Earth doesn’t like this. The Shadows don’t like this. But Sheridan has a strong moral compass and what he doesn’t like is how much the institutions around him are willing to sacrifice in the name of forging some kind of cursory peace.

Things I liked about The Fall of Nighit

1, Lennier and Vir’s friendship. If you ask me Vir, could be friends with literally anyone. He’s such an understanding soul. Lennier is by nature a little judgey. More closed off. So when they sit down next to each other and discover how much they have in common both of them look at each other like “hello what” and automatically agree to meet again. But even this exchange is done almost like spies meeting and I don’t think we stop to think about that very often. These are the attaches of two ambassadors for two of the most powerful races in the galaxy… they could very well be exchanging state secrets instead of expressing solidarity for their equally frustrating jobs.

2,  The Centauri are apparently willing to put their ships on autopilot and black out from g forces if it means when they come to they’ll be in a better firing position. This seems extremely reckless and VERY Centauri. It is the spacebattle equivalent of the hair. Big. Flashy. Not well thought through.

3, In the wake of the mass driver bombing, Sheridan gives Londo an opportunity to speak and Londo is like “NOPE” and jets before he says something that’s going to get him and his whole race in more trouble than they already are. Garibaldi then reads Londo like a literal book, delivering one of my favorite analyses of the character. Everyone thought Londo was a clown, indulging in opulence, going into debt at the casino, drinking himself to a stupor in public, but Garibaldi was his friend and knows that Londo’s not dumb, he’s actually very smart and his mind moves really fast. His error is in his judgment and priorities and he’s currently in waters he did not expect to tread. He’s scared, and he’s going to keep darting in and out of cover until he feels like he has a handle on things or he gets picked off by a hunter, whichever comes first. Also a very classic JMS line “He’s a pain in the butt, but he’s our pain in the butt.” Hunt for that or similar lines in other JMS stuff, he loves that line.

4, The ache of watching McCarthysim at work is very effective. Zach knows the guys he’s ratting on don’t deserve to be ratted on and even says so. “They’re just fooling around” but we can tell by the level of interest and tone of the Nightwatch captian’s voice that they’re gonna get blackballed. Zach can’t deny that they said what they said, but can tell that ratting them out is the wrong thing to do. In the end he relents with a bunch of qualifications but the Nightwatch doesn’t want qualifications. They want names. Thank you for your service.

5, I love that the guy there to ally with the Centauri is from the Ministry of Peace. So poignant. They’ll get peace all right, by paying off the aggressors.  

6, When the Narn ship was coming under threat by the Centauri warship, Sheridan opened a line to Londo just to spit in his face and hang up. It was amazing. Also during this crisis, Sheridan whips out a law book to smack the Nightwatch guy back in his hole. Sinclair would be proud.

7, Watching B5 come under attack is so emotionally stirring. Even on a rewatch, I don’t want to see it hurt.

8, We have arrived! The scene where Kosh reveals himself. I love that G’Kar is hiding in the plants – like he’s not a huge gecko man who people are going to notice. I also love how plaintiff his voice is, thinking if he speaks on Sheridan’s behalf it’ll help him in the political shitshow he’s currently in. I mean he’s issuing this apology for helping a Narn ship and G’Kar is very very very grateful for that. Also B5 blew up a Centauri warship so he’s pretty grateful for that too, I mean come on… I like that B5 has like a standard subway system in the middle of it and that they let the Puppet Friends ride. I miss the puppet friends. I love that the rotational gravity system means there’s a weightless portion in the center of hydroponics and that we used that to our advantage in this story. Also the vorlons in their native form play on the perception of the lesser races. They are light beings, and humans see them as angels. The rest of the races see them as prophets or gods, but none of these perceptions are perfect. We see wings and white robes and think Angel, but Kosh didn’t appear like a rennaissance painting. He’s got a butterfly look to him, too. The face he wears is a facsimile of a human not an exact human. He’s not perfect, we’re just in awe. Love that.

9 And finally a lot has been said about why Londo doesn’t see anything when Kosh appears. He’s been touched by the Shadows, so he can’t be converted by the Vorlons b/c we’re playing a game of Othello today I guess. Maybe because he doesn’t actually believe in his pantheon of gods so he doesn’t have any deities to witness. Maybe he’s lying because what he saw was his own greed and vanity. The general consensus is the first – that he’s incapable of seeing the light because he’s in the dark. For a fresh take on it, let’s look at the Vorlons through this lens. Kosh said before that if he revealed himself everyone would know him… I take this as being a side effect of being Vorlon. Vorlons are a feeling not an image. Like Magenta. Magenta’s not a real color, it exists on the color wheel because something has to connect red and purple on the color spectrum… but the spectrum of visible light is actually a straight line. The wavelengths for red and purple are far from touching, but our brains can perceive when they’re both present, so Magenta occurs. It’s imaginary, but we see it for real with our eyes. That’s Vorlons. Perhaps Londo saw a shapeless light thing in the sky, perhaps that’s what Vorlons really are… or perhaps they have no visible representation at all until they hit our brains. Our eyeballs behold something, but our brains have to construct it out of pieces. When the rest of the galaxy looked at Kosh they used the color wheel to construct him, but Londo was only given the wavelengths. He saw nothing, because nothing was there to see. I really wish there was another Centauri there to be like “I saw the goddess Li welcoming me to her arms!” and Londo’s over there like “I’m the problem” instead of not really answering that question. Maybe it’s answered in season 3, I don’t know. Did Vir see anyone up there? He must have been on break.

What I like Less about 22

1, So here’s where I’m going to talk about Keffer. I know the origin story…. that he was an unwelcome addition to the cast added per network request, but who the hell is he other than that? I think its remarkable how he slips right out of my head the minute he is off camera. We know he’s a pilot, that he was close to Carlos (whose story/death you may recall I was laughing at in a previous episode because its significance ALSO came out of nowhere), and that he made friends with the GROPOS grunts (who we incidentally learned to care about enough in that one episode that we were sad when they died…. Awkward considering Keffer’s contribution to this episode…) Honestly the most interesting thing about him is that he’s got an old-timey fighter pilot scarf he wears and he believes in ghosts and I bet you all forgot about the ghosts. Honestly, the most interesting thing about Keffer is how he’s a lesson in how not to write an interesting character – and no shade on JMS for that, I know he did it on purpose. Significant things happening to a character does not automatically make them a strong character. Keffer experienced loss, came face to face with the shadows, got in fights… a lot of stuff happened to him, but he was almost always the only named character in those scenes. We cared about the GROPOS because they cared about each other and we responded to that. Keffer was there to play cabbage head and ask questions. He’s not tight with any of our main cast who we’ve had tons more time to grow attached to, and dies for plot reasons without leaving an impact with his loss. Heck, you can see the value of interpersonal relationships on character development in action when the show used a shoehorn to try and force some in in context to Carlos a second and a half before he died. We had him drinking at the bar with command staff suddenly, we had him die as a result of a flight mission Sheridan was part of to make Sheridan feel guilty about it. Everyone was standing around going like “No, Not Ramirez” and if you recall on my previous episode writeup I was LAUGHING at how tortured this sudden human connection was. Keffer could have been made interesting. Follow me on this.

My treatment on how to make Keffer interesting:

Let’s say Keffer was introduced as an old friend of one of our characters – Fraknlin let’s say. He was a friend from the Minbari War days that helped him sneak behind enemy lines. Perhaps he was complicit in the covering up and destruction of Franklin’s notes on Minbari anatomy. As a result, the two hang out in medbay sometimes, talking about old times and comparing the current war to the one they fought together. We learn that Keffer has a fire for justice. Hates bullies. Sees the strong as absolute defenders of the weak and that any stronger race picking on a weaker one is a bigger coward than the unvierse can hold. Then when Carlos gets killed by the ghost he starts researching what it could be. Kosh and Delenn tell him to stay out of it. The audience assumes he’s going to uncover something and bring Franklin and other characters into Delenn and Sheridan’s confidence about the shadows through curiosity and honor, but we’re learning through the episodes that the Shadows are IMMENSELY powerful and have no patience for flies. When he breaks off from his squad to go have a looksee at what he suspects led to his personal friend Carlos’s death, we know this is going to kill him. He ignores the warnings of those who have more awareness and dies to bring back evidence of the Shadows to the station. Sheridan recognizes how Keffer’s curiosity and sense of judgment led to recklessness, something Sheridan himself is prone to. He vows not to let Keffer die in vain, but also states that the proof he got has changed everything… and that Sheridan would have done the same. Killing your men in the name of a mission is never the goal but there’s a line everyone crosses when the safety of the universe is at stake and sometimes things are worth dying for. Franklin walks into medbay, casts a look to the counter where Keffer used to sit all those nights, and turns away.

But that’s not what happen. Keffer’s dead now and I don’t miss him. Glad he emailed the Shadows to ISN five nanoseconds before he died.

Babylon 5 is now the last best hope for victory because sometimes peace is another word for surrender and because secrets have a way of getting out. On to season 3!

[codylabs]

December’s Wrath

Chapter 1

It hadn't been a simple decision to leave California and his family and his sister to go spend the holidays in Gravity Falls with Wendy. But that was the decision he had made, and by the time he was really starting to question whether or not it was the right one, he had already crossed the state line into Oregon, and the rumble of the bus's engine had lulled him halfway to sleep. Thoughts like his parents' and his grandparents' disappointment at his absence, thoughts like Mabel wishing he could be there to see her new Hanukkah sweater, thoughts like the price of the bus fare, thoughts like the incomprehensible breadth of miles increasing between him and home, thoughts like the knowledge that the Corduroys had 'apocalypse training' instead of any kind of holiday celebration, thoughts like he wasn't prepared, thoughts like high clouds and dark trees and rare sun, these were the thoughts drifting through his head. Thoughts like he was right. Thoughts like he was wrong.

It was a starless night outside the bus, so all he could see beyond the window was a foot and a half of whirling snowflakes, and his own reflection, both layers tinted a grim color by the bus's pinkish interior lights. Crystals of frost were growing on the outside of the window, his breath was condensing on the inside of the window, and he was fast asleep a minute later, and his dreams were sad and lonely and brave and cold, cold, a terrible and cutting cold that pierced to the bone, clawed like an eagle's talons. His dream was a walking dream, while Wendy called him forward and Mabel called him back. The wind was calling too, but not in any specific direction. It just called.

The dawn came around 8:00, he woke up around 8:30, the bus left him at the stop around 9:00, and Wendy met him around 9:01. He almost didn't recognize her at first, beneath the layers of unfamiliar winter clothes, the gloves twice the size of her hands, the grey jacket and the baggy pants. It was only her face by which he identified her, peaking out from the middle of the hood. There was a light in her eyes and a smile on her lips, and he only barely had time to recognize her before she grabbed him in a hug and lifted him off the ground. "EEEEEYY It's good to see you man!" She hollered as she twirled him around. Her words were drowned out for a split second by the hissing of the bus's brakes as it moved off down the road. "How's it been going?"

"It's been going good!" She hugged her back until she set him back down. His backpack threatened to tip him over as he landed but he managed to catch himself. The ground was icy. He took a deep breath of the chill air as he shrugged the pack higher onto his shoulders and tightened the straps. "Good to see you too! I've really been missing this place! And, uh, and you, and everyone. How about you? How have you been?"

"Oh, same, you know how it is!" She punched him in the shoulder. Her breath crystallized in the air in front of her smile, and for just a moment, she looked to him like the most beautiful thing in the world. "Same as last time you were here, same as last time you called, same... I mean, what changes, man? School still sucks, weather still sucks, life's going great."

"Mood." He agreed, even though school had never really sucked that much for him, and the weather wasn't too bad, was it? It had stopped snowing, at least. "Anyway, I packed as best I could, I got my whole winter... Outfit. On." He gestured inclusively to his heavy jacket, heavy boots, three pants, and gloves, and took some reassurance that she was dressed similarly. "And uhhh toothbrush and sleeping bag and stuff. Is there anything else I need? I've never gone hiking in the winter."

"Nah, you're good. And if you're not, don't worry, we don't set out until after breakfast, and dad'll get you squared away once we get to the house." She led the way toward the Corduroy truck, parked on the roadside. "You got a change of clothes at least?"

"Yeah."

"Eh." She gave a dismissive shrug as they climbed into the truck. "You'll be fine." She was right, she was wrong.

As Dipper tossed his backpack into the back seat and made to close the door, his vision was almost completely obscured for a moment as a gust of wind pushed the vapor of his exhale back into his face. He blinked for just a moment, almost startled, and then as his breath dissipated, his eyes landed on the forest.

The forest.

It was the same forest he'd known before. The same valley, the same cliffs, the same mountains, same dome, same trees, same grass and ferns, he recognized that bend in the road, and that sign, and that water tower. But at the same time, this couldn't be the same place. Could it? The old woods were green, green and brown, and crowned with gold beneath a blue sky. These woods were grey. Grey within grey, grey as pale as snow on the fingertips of the trees and grass, grey as dark as night in the spaces beneath. The sky was grey too, no blue, no shapes of clouds, no penetrating ray of sunshine, all the world stood as if encased in prison.

It was beautiful, to be sure. Beautiful as art. But Dipper couldn't shake the nonsensical feeling that the bus had taken him to some alternative reality, some timeline where the bombs had dropped or the sun had gone out or time had frozen, that his eyes were seeing some grim warning vision and not reality. As he gazed out at that sight that used to look like a playground or a second home or some magnificent untold adventure waiting to happen, he thought, at this moment, that it looked something more like an enemy; a world-sized monster, some overbearing rival of mankind itself. He found himself sizing it up.

As Wendy watched him doing so, watched his eyes travel the landscape with a look so needlessly grim and fearless, for just a moment, he looked to her like the most handsome thing in the world. "Eh, I guess the weather's not so bad." She shrugged.

"...Yeah." He finally climbed fully inside and closed the door. "Not so bad at all." He was right, he was wrong. They rolled off down the road, toward the tall old woods where the Corduroy cabin lay hidden.

Dipper had been expecting some sort of grim, apprehensive, even frightened mood when they entered the house, (the whole 'apocalypse' motif having prepared him for the worst) but was pleasantly surprised to find the place full of laughter. Dan was bent over the stove cooking pancakes and shoveling nuts into bags, while the boys zipped around the house with their backpacks, thinking and rethinking and packing and repacking. Conversation loud and boisterous filled the air, about past trips and future trips and present trips, about weather and trees and old campfire stories and whatever else lumberjacks and mountain men talk about. Wendy joined right back in with it too, reminding her dad to bring the jerky, telling her brother to find the radio, getting told by another brother to bring an extra jacket, and all five of them were arguing about whether one person should carry all the toilet paper, or whether they should all bring their own, or whether they should just rough it off the land and wipe with leaves.

Somehow, though was no tree in the house, and no presents or decorations or cookies or little colored lights either, something about the joy and the togetherness of it all struck Dipper as belonging to a Christmas mood.

"YOU." Dan boomed down in Dipper's direction. He spun with a start to look up into the enormous man's face. "You got a knife on ya, boy?"

"Uh y-yeah. Got one right here." He nodded.

"Got matches?"

"Nope."

"You'll need matches." Dan tapped one enormous finger on a paper on the fridge; a packing list. "Need all this on here. Ask Wendy if you don't know where anything is."

"Awesome. Okay." As Dipper joined the rush, a smile touched his face, and he began to suspect that this would be a good Christmas after all. Different, for sure, different of course, but it may not be so hard, it might not be so worse. This was family, after all, a very close and loving family, and when a family is close and loving, nothing that ever happens to it seems quite so bad.

And besides, Christmas was more than just presents and decorations, wasn't it? More than just a few colorful nonsense traditions. A lot more.

But without all that, what was it exactly?

They were all packed by the time pancakes were done (As they had to be. Part of the Corduroy tradition was to leave immediately after breakfast no matter what; in a real apocalypse they wouldn't have much more warning than that, after all.) With Wendy's help Dipper had managed to get packed with everything on Dan's list, all except for a compass; the family had only six, and the sixth wasn't for using. He'd just finished zipping up his pack by the time breakfast was ready. The warm smell drew them together into the kitchen, and they set in.

"What was your name again?" Dipper looked up from his pancakes to see Wendy's youngest brother frowning across the table at him, mumbling words through a full mouth.

"Dipper." He nodded, and realized he'd never actually talked with any of Wendy's brothers, and didn't actually know anything about any of them. "...I never got you guy's names?"

"I'm Gus." The 11-year-old pointed a pair of thumbs in his own direction. "I'm the cool one."

"And I'm Marcus." Said the 15-year-old, and extended a hand to shake Dipper's. "I'm the actual cool one."

"I'm Wendy." Said Wendy, not even looking up from her phone. "I'm your girlfriend."

"I'm Kevin." Said the 13-year-old. He glanced Dipper up and down. "I bet I could take you."

That took Dipper off-guard.

Wendy snorted.

"Hey, be nice." Marcus snapped. "He's a guest!"

"You be nice." Kevin retorted.

"Everyone fight!" Gus cheered.

"EVERYONE BE NICE!" Dan thundered.

Silence descended rather immediately. u could take him. Wendy texted Dipper under the table.

Not gonna try???? He texted back.

By 10:00 their packs and supplies were all stacked in the back of the truck, and they were underway.

By 10:30 the truck was parked and locked at the end of a narrow logging road, with six sets of footprints leading away from it, deeper into the woods.

That was Friday, the 20th of December. Next week on Wednesday would be Christmas. The very next day, Saturday, was the solstice, when the days would be the shortest of the year and the sun would be dimmest, and the things the light drives out would feel most free to rise.

By 11:00 they were out of range of the cell towers, and there was nobody who could help them.

The sun flared yellow through the briefest gap in the overcast sky.

The wind howled.

A tree broke and fell with nobody to hear it.

The spirit heard it.

[killercarmen]

Chapter two is up!

Steven went back into the gift shop and sought out Mister Myster.

He found him in the back of the gift shop, talking to a boy, and handing him a bunch of signs. He pointed at the door and the boy walked out.

“Excuse me,” Steven said, getting the man’s attention.

He turned around and smiled at him.

“Welcome back, my good sir! What can I help you with?” He asked.

“Well, I saw your sign,” Steven pointed at the help wanted sign in the window, ���and was wondering if the position was still open.”

Mister Mystery nodded his head, “Yep! That spot is most definitely still opened. And if you want the job, you’re hired! You’re the first person to ask,” he turned and motioned for Steven to follow him. Steven followed him to what looked like his office, and sat in the chair in front of his desk.

“So what’s your previous job experience like?” Mister Mystery asked, rifling through some files in a cabinet by his desk.

“Well, uh,” Steven looked around nervously. How do you explain to a human that you were a galactic ambassador for two years of your life?

“Um, I was a sales clerk at a donut shop,” was all Steven was able to say. All of his other ‘professions’ were wrapped in gem stuff, and this road trip was about being human.

“Got experience in customer service I see, perfect,” Mister Mystery closed the cabinet he was looking in and opened the one below it, “now where is that stupid paperwork,” he muttered.

Just then, Steven remembered.

“Uh, so, the thing is, I don’t have a social security number. Is that okay?” He asked.

Mister Mystery looked up at him before closing the drawer he was looking in and smiled, “Kid, that’s perfect, less paperwork for me,” he held out his hand, “You’re hired!”

Steven smiled wide. He just got his first paying job! And it was a lot easier than he’d thought. He shook Mister Mystery’s hand.

“Thank you, Mister Mystery!”

Stan smiled, “Please, calls me Mr. Pines.”

Steven nodded, “Okay, thank you Mr. Pines!”

And with that, Steven became an official staff member of the Mystery Shack

—————

Steven got back into his car, buzzing with excitement. This was going to be his first job that didn’t include gems, and he was ready for it. Mr. Pines said he would mainly just be working the gift shop, trying to get customers to ‘empty their pockets,’ as he put it. Which seemed simple enough to Steven. He turned on the ignition and realized he had no place to stay for the summer. Maybe he can find a room to rent somewhere in town tomorrow, but tonight he had to find a motel. He pulled up maps on his phone, and searched up motels in the area. As Steven drove off towards his destination, the Mystery Shack faded into the distance, and disappeared as he rounded a corner. He made it to the motel, got a room, and sat on the bed. Tomorrow would be his first real day of work; work at a museum for the weird. Steven laughed at that. He knew first hand what was ‘weird’ to humans, and the idea that he, probably the weirdest thing on earth, would be working there gave him a chuckle. He turned off the lights and crawled into bed. This would certainly be an interesting summer.

The next morning, Steven woke up early. His excitement for what the first day of work would bring woke him up around 7 am. He spent a couple of hours searching online for rooms for rent, and had no luck. It seemed like there was no place to rent in all of Gravity Falls. He frowned, unsure of how to proceed. He’ll just have to stay at the motel until he can figure out what to do. At 9 am, his alarm went off, signaling to him that his shift would start in 30 minutes. He took a quick shower, ate breakfast, and headed out to the Mystery Shack.

Steven was buzzing with excitement as he walked through the door into the Mystery Shack gift shop. It was empty aside from Stan and a red headed girl, who sat behind the register.

“Welcome back, kid,” Stan said, giving him a little wave, “This is Wendy, she’s gonna train you.”

Stan pointed at the girl behind the register, and she gave Steven a little wave. Steven waved back. She stood up and walked over to him and Stan.

“Sup, I’m Wendy,” she said, giving Steven a welcoming smile.

“I’m Steven, Steven Universe,” he held out a hand to Wendy. She shook it.

“That’s an epic last name, did you have it changed or was that your parents’ name?” Wendy put her hands back into her jean pockets.

Steven scratched the back of his neck.

“Well, it’s my dad’s last name, but he had it changed. He was a musician and he thought Greg Universe sounded better than Greg DeMayo.”

Wendy frowned, “Greg Universe? Why does that sound familiar?”

“Well, he was a musician, maybe you heard one of his songs?” Steven suggested.

“Hm, maybe? But I feel like it’s something else…” she shrugged, “I’ll think of it later. But now I gotta tell you how to do stuff.”

Wendy proceeded to spend the next 2 hours teaching Steven how to run the gift shop. He got a little stuck on the register, but by the end of the 2 hours, he put in charge. Well, technically Wendy was still in charge, but she was sitting on the ground reading a magazine while Steven manned the register.

“If you have any questions, I’m right here,” she said before settling down to read her magazine.

Business was pretty slow, but that was a given considering it was a Monday. A few people had come through, but they mainly bought mugs and bumper stickers. Steven managed to sell a shirt, but that was the biggest purchase all day and it was already 3 pm. Steven drummed his fingers against the countertop of the cash wrap, trying to tap a tune to keep himself entertained. He found himself drumming the tune to Working Dead by Sadie Killer and the Suspects. It’s been a while since he has talked to them. He should call them after work. He started humming the lyrics, forming the song with the tapping of his fingers.

“Dude, are you humming Working Dead?”

Steven looked towards the floor to see Wendy looking at him.

“Yeah, I am. It’s a fun song.”

A huge smile formed on her face, “I love Sadie Killer and the suspects! Their music is so good, and I love their whole vibe!”

“I know right! Fun fact, that song was created while we were watching horror movies in Sadie's basement!” Steven smiled at the fond memory.

“Wait,” Wendy stood up, “We, what do you mean by we? You were there?”

Steven nodded, “Yeah! We were watching The Lurch and Sour Cream liked the background music, so he started mixing, adding drum beats and stuff, then Jenny started playing her bass, and I joined on the electric guitar. Buck joined on his acoustic guitar and then we just needed lyrics. Sadie had just gotten off of work, so she started singing about it. And boom! Working Dead was born, and Sadie Miller became Sadie Killer. And that’s how the band formed.”

Wendy’s mouth was agape and she looked stunned.

“You… were there… oh my god,” her eyes widened as she realized something, “your dad is Greg Universe! Their manager! I knew that name sounded familiar.”

Steven gave a little laugh, “That he is. He has some experience in ‘show biz.’”

Wendy pulled out her phone, “I’m soooo telling my friends about this,” she sat back down on the floor and started texting.

The next few minutes passed in silence, with only the faint clicks of a keyboard to break it. But that silence is broken by a shriek. Steven stood up quickly, worried that someone might be in trouble. Suddenly, a girl runs into the gift shop, followed by a boy. They both looked pretty young; probably only around 12. The girl was laughing, holding something in her hand as the boy chased her.

“Mabel! Give it back!” The boy yelled

“Come and get it then!”

The boy tackled the girl and they wrestled on the ground as the boy tried to grab the item. The girl locked eyes with Steven and shouted, “Catch!” before throwing the object at him. Steven caught it effortlessly and saw that it was an almost solved Rubik’s cube. Steven looked up from it to see the boy on the other side of the counter.

“Can I Please have that back? I’m so close to solving it,” the boy said.

Steven smiled at him before handing it back.

The girl, who he presumed was Mabel, pouted, “You’re not supposed to give it back to him!”

Steven shrugged, “Sorry.”

The boy scowled at his sister before looking back at Steven, “Thanks! I’m Dipper by the way, and this is Mabel,” he pointed at the girl.

“Whomp whoooomp,” she said.

Steven smiled and gave them both a little wave, “Hi! I’m Steven, nice to meet you.”

Wendy popped up from behind the counter.

“Hey Mabel, hey Dipper,” she turned to face Steven, “these are Mr. Pines’s twin great niece and nephew. They’re staying here for the summer.”

Steven looked back to see Dipper working on the Rubik’s cube while Mabel stared at him.

“That sounds like fun. I’m going to be staying in Gravity Falls for the summer too! Although, I have yet to find a place to stay.”

He looked at Wendy to see he had started texting again, “Um, Wendy?”

She doesn’t look up from her phone, “Yeah?”

“Know any places in town that are renting? Right now I’m staying in the Moonlight All-Night Motel,” Steven asked.

Wendy shook her head, “Not that I’m aware of.”

Mabel’s face lit up, “You can rent a room here!”

Steven twiddles his thumbs, “Uh, I don’t want to impose…”

“Pfft,” Mabel waved her hand dismissively at him, “It’s no big deal! I’ll ask Grunkle Stan right now!”

Before Steven could protest, she ran behind a door that said ‘Employees Only.’

Dipper sighed, “I’ll go talk to her.”

And with that, the twins had both left the gift shop. Steven mulled over the idea of staying at the Mystery Shack over the summer. He would certainly be closer to work, and it was better than the motel for sure.

‘If Mr. Pines says yes to Mabel, then maybe, but for now, I should get back to work,’ Steven thought just as a group of tourists came into the gift shop.

———

As Steven cleaned up the shop, preparing to close, Mr. Pines walked in.

Stan gives Steven a pat on the back, “Wendy tells me you did a good job! Congrats on your first day of work. Now, just because you did good today, doesn’t mean you get to slack off. I already got one lazy teenager, I don’t need another one. Wait, how old did you say you were again?”

“Eighteen,”

“Okay, so still a teenager, I was right,” Stan muttered.

He frowned, appearing to be deep in thought.

Steven waited for him to say something. When he didn’t, Steven went back to sweeping.

“Mabel tells me you don’t have a place to stay,”

Steven turned around to see Stan looking at him,

He laughed nervously, “Yeah, I rolled into town only yesterday. And I tried looking online this morning to see if there were any places nearby that were renting, but I couldn’t find anything.”

Stan smiled, “Well, there's a room open in this very house! Rent is only... $300 a month.”

Steven mulled it over. He’d only be staying here for around three months, and so $300 times 3 would be.. $900. He’d have to ask his dad to give him some more cash, but he has enough for at least one month.

Steven nodded, “Sound good, I can do that.”

Stan smiled. This kid was loaded!

“Great! Come back here with your stuff while I have the room prepped. Soos!” Stan yelled.

The ‘Employees Only’ door opened and in walked in who Steven suspected was the handyman, judging by the tool belt he wore.

“Sup Mr. Pines? Whatcha need?”

Stan gestured towards Steven.

“Get the spare room prepped for someone to live in, I’m letting this kid rent it.”

“Will do Mr. Pines!” With that, Soos turned and walked back through the door he came from.

Stan turned back towards Steven.

“The room will probably be ready in 30 minutes, be back by then. You can leave now.”

Steven nodded, “Will do!”

Steven put the broom away before waving a goodbye to Stan and fussing out the door. He hurried back to his motel room, and packed him. This summer was already off to a great start, and he was ready for everything else it would bring.

[wizardofrozz]

The Perfect Pair

Warnings: swearing, violence, death of background characters, angst

Pairing: Loki x OFC

A/N: I hope everyone is enjoying this so far! ❤

____________________________________________________________

Chapter 9: Sakaar Welcomes You

My eyes snapped open at the sudden impact of my body slamming into a solid surface, knocking the wind out of me; I gasped, violently clawing at my chest, trying to relieve the pressure. Being able to breathe again chased off some of the stress, momentarily at least; I pushed myself into a sitting position, squinting at the sun, surveying my surroundings. Pulling air into my lungs at a steady pace soothed the burning feeling in my chest, but the ache I was all too familiar with roared to life again. Free falling through space for what felt like days left my legs about as useful as wet noodles; it took me a few minutes to adjust to gravity again, bracing myself against piles of garbage. Where the hell am I? I shuffled between mounds of trash, hoping to run into someone; after 15 minutes or so, my legs had adjusted, making trudging through the scrap yard easier. I caught a flash of movement off to my left, but I turned to get a better look, only to come up empty; another flicker of movement caused me to whip my head in the other direction. I froze when I heard something crunch behind me; I spun around, coming face to face with a group of eight creatures that I didn’t recognize.             “Back off,” I snarled, lunging forward. The creatures jumped, stepping back slightly but proceeded to stare at me; a few narrowed their eyes, trying to understand what they were seeing.             “Food!” one of the creatures yelled. The rest of the group responded with an array of screams and shouts as they charged me; I simply lifted my hand, palm out, sending tendrils of magic to wrap around each of their throats, lifting all eight creatures off the ground. A wicked smile crept across my face as I watched the creatures struggling against the magic cutting off their airflow; I slowly turned my hand, the pressure against their throats increasing. I gently started to close my hand, watching their eyes bug out until I noticed a ship clumsily lowering towards the ground behind where the creatures came from. The ship roughly dropped, a walkway extending as a woman stumbling out of the ship; I rolled my eyes as she drunkenly made her way to solid ground.             “Hm, impressive,” she laughed when she noticed the creatures hanging in the air a few feet from her. I raised an eyebrow, simultaneously flicking my wrist, snapping all eight necks, smiling at the distinct thuds as bodies hit the ground.             “Who are you?” I pushed my hood off, watching the woman nudge one of the bodies with her foot, nodding as she moved around the bodies.            “Scrapper 142,” she shouted over her shoulder. “You’re powerful,” she raised an eyebrow, meeting my eyes.            “Really, I had no idea,” I snorted, glaring at her.            “Hm, Grand Master might like you,” she mumbled, surging to her feet, tossing a small disk at me. I lifted a hand again, freezing the object a few inches from my hand; the disk turned to dust with a simple thought.            “Yeah, I don’t think so,” I snickered.            “Actually, I kind of like you too,” she laughed, taking a step closer. I ran my eyes over her now that she was facing me; I caught the tail of a very familiar tattoo on her right wrist.            “Oh, for shit's sake, you’re a Valkyrie,” I sighed, scrubbing my face.            “Was,” she corrected.            “Whatever,” I waved her off. I watched as she studied my armor, slowly getting closer; I tensed, magic crackling across my fingers.            “Relax, killer; I thought I recognized your armor.”            “I’d hope so; it’s Asgardian,” I sighed again.            “What’s your name?” she barked, narrowing her eyes at me.             “Violet,” I disclosed, narrowing my eyes at her. Something about her seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place it; I continued to stare at her, willing my brain to come up with something.            “No fucking way!” she shouted, a smile spreading across her face for the first time. The goofy grin on her face finally made it all click.            “Brunnhilde?” I gasped, my eyes widening.            “Holy shit, I thought you were dead!” she laughed, pulling me into a rough hug. I tensed for a moment but quickly relaxed into the hug, wrapping my arms around her. “How long has it been since I’ve seen you?”            “I have no idea,” I laughed sharply, pulling back to look at her. “The last time I saw you was before Odin sent you off on some secret mission.” She visibly cringed at the memory; pain was written all over her face before it was replaced by disgust.            “Odin sent us to our death. Hela broke free, and he sent us to push her back. She massacred the Valkyrie. I managed to escape, barely,” she mumbled, wringing her hands.            “Shit, Bea, I had no idea,” I whispered, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Well, good news, Hela’s back,” I grunted.            “No shit? Glad I’m here then,” she laughed dryly.           “Where is here, by the way?”            “Welcome to Sakaar.” Bea spread her arms wide, a smirk pulling at her lips.            “Looks like a shithole.” Bea laughed, clapping a hand on my shoulder, steering me towards her ship.           “You got that right, but unless you’re in a rush to get somewhere, stay a while. Could always use more scrappers,” Bea smiled, slinging her arm over my shoulders.           “I should try to get my ass back to Asgard,” I grumbled, irritated that part of me even cared about Asgard.            “Let me rephrase that; Grandmaster isn’t going to let you leave easily. You’re stuck without a good ship, so stay a while,” Bea sighed, gesturing to the seat next to the pilot chair.            “Son of a bitch,” I rubbed between my eyes, trying to chase off the migration building. “Great, my...partner is going to be pissed when I eventually show up again.”            “Sounds like an asshole,” Bea snorted, raising an eyebrow.            “That’s an understatement, but I love him for some stupid ass reason,” I sighed, trying to ignore the persistent ache that gripped my soul.            “Well, kick back and relax for a while,” Bea smirked, steering the ship off the ground. I took a deep breath, leaning back into the seat; I have to figure out how to get a ship of my own if I plan to get back to Loki. Unfortunately, it looks like being a scrapper is my best bet.                                                                                                                                 /// 3 weeks later I threw back the rest of my drink, slamming the bottle onto the counter, cheers erupting around me; the harsh burn of the alcohol dulled the suffocating agony enough to function.             “Damnit,” a dirty, ragged creature mumbled from next to me.             “Pay up motherfucker,” I laughed, holding my arm out. I watched the credits deposit into my account, a devilish grin spreading across my face; I winked at the angry creature, jumping off my stool.             “Alright, enough hustling asshole,” Bea laughed, grabbing my arm to pull me away from the bar.             “You’re no fun,” I bump shoulders with her when I stumbled, earning a loud laugh from her.             “Oh, did you hear, Grandmaster has a new apple of his eye,” she chuckled, taking a swig from the bottle dangling from her fingers.             “Oh boy,” I rolled my eyes. “Who’s he pining after now?”             “No idea, a few of the servants were gossiping about it. Apparently, Grandmaster has the hots for this guy, but he’s not interested in screwing the old guy,” she burps as she finished her sentence.             “Poor guy has no idea what’s in store for him,” I giggled, drunkenly stumbling a little.             “Don’t blame Grandmaster, though; I’ve heard he’s pretty good-looking. Hair almost as black as yours,” Bea winked, licking her lips.             “Stop imagining about me naked,” I laughed, burping in between giggles.             “I’m not sorry,” she giggled, stumbling into me.             “Scrapper 142, Scrapper 210,” someone called from the end of the hall.             “What?” I yelled, hiccupping again.             “Grandmaster is looking for the two of you,” a small servant girl called, rolling her eyes at us.             “Where is he?” I asked, stopping a few feet from her.             “Follow me,” she sighed, turning away from us.             “I’m too drunk for this,” Bea giggled, bumping into me again.             “Ah, there’s my favorite scrappers,” Grandmaster bellowed, a wide smile on his face.             “Grandmaster,” Bea and I hummed together, trying to collect ourselves.             “I wanted to pay you for your last haul. We have a new wonderful group of unpaid workers,” he smiled, bouncing on the balls of his feet.             “Thank you, Grandmaster,” I stated, bowing my head slightly; Bea followed my lead.             “OH! Have you met my new friend?” -he leaned in to whisper to us- “He showed up a few days ago,” he wiggled his eyebrows, making my stomach wretch. “Here he comes, say hello,” he pushed, gesturing towards the door to my right.             “Of course,” Bea answered. I took a deep breath turning to face the poor sap Grandmaster was pinning for now; my brows pulled together when I had the unshakeable urge to move towards the door. I didn’t move, but my stomach dropped to my feet, suddenly sober, my heartbeat like a jackhammer in my chest as he rounded the corner, his eyes focused on the floor. I almost fainted, frantically grabbing Bea’s arm to steady myself as tears pricked at my eyes. “What the hell’s wrong with you!” she whispered harshly.             “Loki,” I borderline sobbed. Loki’s stopped dead in his tracks, his head snapping up, his gaze landing on me a few seconds later. Loki stumbled slightly, like the sight of me almost knocked him to his knees as his eyes watered.             “Vi? You’re alive,” he choked. The relief that flooding over me made me gasp for air, my head spinning momentarily. The second a relieved smile spread across Loki’s face, I ran for him, sending him stumbling back a few steps when I slammed into him, instinctively, wrapping my legs around his waist; Loki gripped my thigh with one hand, wrapping his other arm around my ribs to hold me close.             “Holy shit,” I choked, squeezing him tighter.             “I was sure you were dead,” Loki whispered into my skin, his shoulders shaking slightly.             “Please” -I pulled back so I could see his face- “only you’re allowed to kill me for good. A handful of scrappers tried, but nothing I couldn’t handle.” I stared into his sparkling shamrock green eyes, just taking a minute to comprehend that he’s alive. Loki’s thumb traced circles along my thigh, bringing me back to reality from the sea of emotions coursing through me.             “Haven’t lost your edge, darling,” Loki chuckled, his face getting closer as he spoke. My stomach fluttered, having him so close, and decided I wasn’t waiting anymore; I surged forward, slamming my lips to his. Loki let out a surprised yelp that quickly morphed into a throaty moan as my tongue coaxed his lips apart. “Darling,” Loki hummed, reluctantly breaking the kiss.             “Fuck,” I groaned, my head dropping onto his shoulder.             “Believe me, I’m going to ravage you” -I shivered against him- “but we have to wait.” I sighed, bracing myself on his shoulders so I could unwrap my legs from around his waist; once my feet were safely on the floor again, Loki gripped the back of my neck, looking into my eyes. “I love you, little one,” he said with a sweet smile, his fingers massaging my neck.             “I love you too, shithead,” I chuckled, resting my hand on his forearm.             “Well, I can assume you two know each other,” Grandmaster pipped up.             “Uh, yes. It appears my queen made it here before me,” Loki mumbled, continuing to rub the back of my neck.             “Queen?” Grandmaster and Bea said together.             “It’s a long, kind of awful story,” I laughed awkwardly. “But yes, I technically was Queen.”             “That means you’re married….” Bea trailed off, her eyes flicking between Loki and me.             “Yes, we kept it simple and a secret,” Loki sighed, squeezing my neck a little too tight.             “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, Bea” -I stepped away from Loki- “but I honestly thought he was dead. I wasn’t ready to bring it up.” I grabbed one of her hands, trying to ignore the death glare she gave me; I locked eyes with her, her expression softening slightly. “Come on, I never shared my feelings,” I giggled, squeezing her hand.             “No kidding,” she snorted, rolling her eyes. “I guess I can’t be too pissed. I knew you weren’t getting blackout drunk just for fun.”             “Well, this is interesting, to say the least,” Grandmaster huffed, turning to leave the room. Once Loki, Bea, and I were alone, Loki let out the breath he was holding, bracing his hands on his knees.             “Thank god,” Loki panted; my heart swelled when the light caught the metal chain that shifted around his neck when he bent forward.             “Don’t worry; you don’t have to sleep with him,” I jabbed. Loki’s head shot up, his eyes wide with fear as he stood straight again.             “Oh god, I hope you’re joking,” he croaked.             “Nope, that was his plan,” Bea tried to say around laughter.             “When it comes down to it, I don’t particularly care about gender, but he makes me extremely uncomfortable. I could feel him watching me.” Loki shivered at the thought; Bea and I lost it, laughing until our stomachs hurt, earning a dirty look from Loki.             “Come on. I’m starving,” Bea grunted when we finally calmed down. I reached for Loki’s hand, and he made sure to give me another dirty look before threading his fingers with mine.                                                               

                                                         ///

Bea and I left Loki with Grandmaster when he requested we make a few extra rounds when unknown life was sensed in the scrap yard.             “So, are you going to tell me about your wedding?” Bea probed, her elbow catching my ribs.             “As Loki said, it was nothing big or elegant. Mainly, it was so I could take on the responsibility of Queen behind the scenes,” I shrugged.             “Bullshit. You two didn’t get married for strictly business reasons. I mean, come on, I was just in the room when you two saw each other again. So spill it,” Bea insisted.            “...okay, no, it wasn’t strictly business. Loki and I have been doing this intricate dance for years now. Rage-fueled fights, empty threats, mind-blowing hate fucking, but I’ve never felt a deeper, more complex connection with another being in my 1000-something years of life. It’s like something deeper connects us,” I rambled, my eyes trained on the floor.             “Gods, you make me feel old,” Bea grumbled. “Anyway. So what, you two married in secret, and the Asgardians didn’t make a fuss?”             “Well, that’s the thing. Loki was impersonating Odin, so the Asgardians didn’t know Loki was actually ruling, meaning I wasn’t publicly named Queen.”            “I was wondering how Loki managed to get the thrown before Thor,” Bea mumbled, shaking her head.            “Yeah, it wasn’t our best moment, but Asgard is thriving. The Nine Realms are at peace. I think we did a pretty good job,” I boasted.             “I think I’d take Loki over Thor anyway. Loki never struck me as part of the typical royal family with all the lies and secrets. So I’m not surprised he managed the throne well,” Bee said with a shrug.             “You don’t even know the half of it,” I mumbled. Loki’s Jotunn heritage was still a reasonably well-kept secret, and I planned to keep it that way, along with my halfling bloodline. I glanced at Bea, feeling guilty for keeping it from her; for a second, I thought of telling her, but the fear of judgment and hostility kept my lips sealed.

____________________________________________________________

Series Masterlist | Chapter 10

Taglist: 

@criminalyetminimal​ @marvelfansworld​ 

[shining-red-diamond]

Ch. 24: Hieroglyphs

Cast of Characters//Ch. 1//Ch. 2//Ch. 3//Ch. 4//Ch. 5//Ch. 6//Ch. 7//Ch. 8//Ch. 9//Ch. 10//Ch. 11//Ch. 12//Ch. 13//Ch. 14//Ch. 15//Ch. 16//Ch. 17//Ch. 18//Ch. 19//Ch. 20//Ch. 21//Ch. 22//Ch. 23//Ch. 24//Ch. 25//Ch. 26//Ch. 27//Ch. 28 (coming soon)

Words: 1.6k

Genre: Fluff, some angst

Pairing: ATEEZ OT8 x OCs

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: mentions of illness, scarab beetle attack, mentions of fear

“Easy, San,” Seonghwa instructed as his crewmate carefully hopped down into the carved hole in the Sphinx’s foot.

The crew followed the map to where the Great Sphinx was located, and they found two large stones that covered an entryway to a hidden cavern. Jongho and Yunho removed the fases yellow stones and set them to the side, and Seonghwa was the first one to hop into the hole with a torch in hand as the flashlights had run out of batteries in India. One by one, the crew joined him in the dusty space, Mingi being the last one to join them.

“Okay,” Seonghwa said, “the maps tell us we don’t have far to walk this time, but like the last two there are still death traps. Be cautious.”

“Here,” Jongho piped up as he pulled out his lighter, “these torches will last about an hour, so we’ll have to go quickly if we want enough light to get us through.”

The tiny flame touched each torch, fire blooming and providing an orange glow in the pitch darkness. Seonghwa, Yunho, Jongho, and San all held a torch and positioned themselves to illuminate the front back and sides of the group. The walls themselves were much wider than the catacombs in Rome, allowing the crew much more room to journey through; ancient hieroglyphs decorated the walls as they depicted the most powerful pharaohs and told stories of the gods of Egypt. Dirt covered the path they walked on, but it wasn’t as rough as Italy’s.

“We need to look for the wall with the inscription on it,” Dahae piped up as they began their walk beneath the Sphinx. “The diamond is in a room with treasure hidden away by the great pharaohs.”

“What’s written in the inscription?” Seonghwa asked as they turned a corner.

“It’s all in hieroglyphs, but Celestia translated it.”

San couldn’t help but smile. Even when she couldn’t do much, she was still helping with the journey in her own way.

Dahae cleared her throat and read, “‘The treasure of Nephertiti. May the Eye of Horus watch over it. Thieves be warned as punishment will be upon you if you choose that path.”

“That last part makes absolutely no sense,” Dinah shook her head.

“I mean, Celestia did write ‘Weird, but okay’ at the bottom,” Dahae laughed.

The rest of the crew chuckled at Celestia’s humor, but Seonghwa composed himself as to continue with their quest. It wasn’t long before they reached a blank wall guarded by jackal headed statues made of gold. Putting his flaming torch to use, the first mate leaned it towards a sort of indention on the wall. He brushed the dirt away and discovered the warning that was translated on the map.

“Are we supposed to look for a switch or something?” Grace-Anne broke the silence as she tried to look around.

Seonghwa took note of a small vertical crack in the wall. It was so microscopic one would need to scan the wall a few times to see it. He followed it with his eye and found that it was a door that had been sealed.

“Yunho, Jongho, help me push this,” he commanded the two strongest members. The three of them handed their torches over to the women before placing their hands on the wall.

On the count of three, the men used their combined strengths to get the passageway open. It took a few grunts and strained muscles, but the door finally moved with Jongho falling forward a little. Inside of the cavern was dark with the exception of the torches illuminating the area. However, some sunlight was peaking through, but it provided enough light to display the treasure that was spread out in piles.

“Look,” Mingi pointed to something on the ceiling. The Eye of Horus was painted just above a large bust of what Seonghwa guessed was Nephertiti. More hieroglyphs decorated the surrounding walls, and four stone pillars held gold statues of Egyptian gods. Gold coins, jewels, and other precious treasures littered the floor, tempting to the soul who happened to stumble upon it.

“According to the map,” Dahae said as she checked around, “the diamond piece should be somewhere...San you’re standing on it.”

The navigator glanced down at his boot and saw something twinkling in the minimal sunlight. “Hey, you’re right,” he smiled.

Just before he could reach for it, Taeran stopped him.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she shook her head and released him after a pause.

With his gloved index finger and thumb, San carefully picked up the piece and placed it into a small pouch for Grace-Anne to examine later.

Suddenly the ground shook violently, causing the crew to tumble to the ground. Thankfully, the quake only lasted a few seconds, and some of the crew were dusting off the dirt and coins that fell on them.

Seonghwa stood back to his feet and helped Grace-Anne to her feet. “Whoever took some treasure,” he warned, “put it back. We’re not thieves.”

“No one took anything except the diamond,” Dinah defended. “Something else must have triggered the shaking.”

“Was it a curse?” Mingi whimpered in fright.

“I doubt it. Besides, the riddle didn’t say anything about a curse, but they did talk about some sort of punishment ‘for thieves.’ WOOYOUNG, STEP AWAY FROM THAT STONE!!!”

The crew turned their heads to where the young man was kneeled tying the laces on his boots. His head popped up in surprise at his girlfriend’s voice screaming at him. When he saw what his foot was on, his face turned a ghostly white in horror. At jack rabbit speed he jumped to his feet, and back as far away from the stone as possible.

The dark, yellow stone was sunken in between two brown ones and engraved with a large beetle on top of it, and Dahae knew it was another trap.

Crackling and chirping noises sounded from the walls and underneath them. It started soft but quickly grew louder and louder with each second.

“What’s that?” Dinah panicked as she pointed out something metallic blue that was oozing out from the cracks between the ceiling and the walls. It wasn’t oozing, but rather...crawling?

Dahae let out a horrified gasp as she pulled Wooyoung from the statue. “Scarabs!” she squealed. “Run!”

The crew made a dash for the door, however, the beatles were multiplying in numbers and charging towards them at lightning speed.

“Keep waving your torches at them,” Dahae instructed. “They won’t touch us if there’s light.”

Those who didn’t have a torch huddled together as the four men surrounded them. The group scuttled back towards the entrance, one beetle nearing Taeran’s foot and Mingi being quick to kick it away.

“Don’t stop running until we get to the entrance!” Seonghwa ordered.

-

“Byeol,” Celestia’s voice called. “Come here, kitty!”

Hongjoong’s eyes slowly opened. He wasn’t sure what was going on or who Byeol was, but it sounded as if the Choi’s somehow got a pet. A cat, as Celestia mentioned. He heard his bedchamber door creak open, but nobody came in. That was until a sopping wet Siamese cat jumped up on the bed and began to dry itself on the duvet. The captain jumped as he wasn’t expecting an animal to pay a visit.

“Hey! Get out of here!” Hongjoong shouted weakly.

Phoebe and Celestia dashed in and scooped the cat up off of the bed.

“Sorry, captain,” apologized Phoebe. “We were just about to dry her off, but she got away from us.”

Hongjoong sighed. “It’s fine. I just want to know when the cat became a new member of the ship.”

“Well, she snuck on here when we were in India,” Celestia explained. “I found her snuggling San, and she quite likes the company.”

Hongjoong couldn’t ever get mad around Celestia. Really, no one could. She was just that type of person that no one could ever hate or be angry with. She was such an angelic soul and did her best to be kind. Her pregnancy hormones did attempt to hinder that at times when she had her mood swings, but it was understandable as she was growing another human.

“We need to teach you how to knock, silly,” she cooed at the cat.

Phoebe wrapped Byeol in the towel and carried her out to go finish drying her off.

“Would you like for me to take the duvet to the laundry room?” Celestia offered.

Hongjoong shook his head. “Dahae will take care of it,” he mumbled. “You take care of the cat.”

“Alright.”

Not even two minutes after she left, Hongjoong heard what he guessed was a stampede of horses on the ship. He opened his eyes to see what was wrong, but his fiancée burst into the room, dirty and out of breath. The illness seemed to disappear from the captain upon seeing the love of his life in such a state. He jumped out of bed and was by Dahae’s said in a matter of milliseconds.

“What happened?” he asked her. “Is everyone okay?”

She nodded, and the center of gravity shifted. The ship was taking off.

“We got the diamond,” she whimpered through a forced smile.

Hongjoong believed her, but he didn’t believe the smile she was trying to give him. He could tell that the tears forming around her red eyes weren’t of loss, but rather of fear.

“Did a mummy scare you?” he teased a little in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Dahae shook her head. She didn’t say anything else at all, but rather just embrace Hongjoong as she couldn’t hold back her sobs anymore.

“It’s okay, my love,” he shushed as he stroked her hair. “I’ll run a bath, and we’ll talk about it.”

-

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