#i've been working a lot this week. i've managed to save an entire team from driving out to two hundred customers. i met my deadline.

[electrosquash]

Yeah i think that's it. Can't stop crying since i wrote it down

Yeah i think i know why. It's because my boss is a fucking asshole

[bside-cassette]

This is both a love letter and a retelling of @fakecrfan 's Constructor/Architect story, but set in my own superhero universe. She has a specific identity in this, as unfortunately, you can't really have the reader *be* the main character in a visual format, but I hope that's okay with you :)

-----------------------------------

My name is Na Su-Yung. Two years ago, I thought I was a normal person. Another mortal. Another drop in the ocean, looking up to the clouds. To the gods living amongst us. Until I found out that I'm nothing like the ocean around me. I was different. I was an Anomaly.

I was just a college kid in Cosmopolis, another normal human who was awestruck every time I saw The Guardsman zoom across the city, or see a news report of Nitrous' crime-fighting shenanigans in Sunset City, all the way on the other side of the U.S. Another fragile human being, merely made of flesh and bone and nothing else, that cheered each time The Vanguard came together to save the world.

When an attack on Cosmopolis by the villain Sergeant Steel destroyed the foundations of my apartment and others in my neighborhood, I thought I was gonna lose everything. That I was gonna die. I just accepted my fate as the floor began crumbling beneath me. To my surprise, however, it seemed that the entire building was frozen in time. I stopped it from falling. I gave other residents enough time to escape to a safer area. I was a hero, even if no one, not even I, knew what I had done.

I spent time exploring my abilities in my free time between lectures. I don't know why, but it took me months, nearly a year, to be able to control the same amount as I did when I first gained my powers. So I started small. I floated pebbles between my hands, then on a single hand, then I was able to attract them to my hands from a few meters away. For the first time in my 21 years of life, I didn't feel weak, or pathetic, or forgotten. For the first time, I felt like I could be more than myself. And so I did.

I'd go to places in Cosmopolis where Guardsman had recently done battle against one of his rogues. I'd studied architectural engineering thoroughly before going on my first outing, so I was able to reconstruct a lot of the buildings in a few weeks. Just the broad strokes, though. I couldn't get the electrical or water systems down, so I just left a lot of the buildings with hollow walls to let the actual electricians and plumbers do their work.

Still, no one gave a shit about me. I was just some rando in a washed-out CSU hoodie and sweatpants.

I eventually realized that I would probably be able to work better if I had the blueprints for the buildings. Just walking up to wherever they keep them and asking for them probably wouldn't work well, so I planned. Well, "planned" is glorifying it. I did the first thing that popped in my head: make a costume to get attention. And so I did.

I was never the artsy type, so I just bought a wetsuit and mask online. But it worked. After the metas had their fill of fighting, I'd arrive on the scene and start working. The bigger news reporters would keep their focus on Guardsman or Harddrive or whoever did the day-saving, but the smaller news organizations turned their focus to me. Knowledge of my presence was slowly increased, especially online. People on Reddit and Tumblr took to calling me either The Constructor or The Architect. I took up the latter.

One day, when even the larger news networks in Cosmopolis had turned their attention onto me, someone came up to me. She told me her name was Sandy and that she had a proposition. She'd be my manager, managing any relations or exchanges I don't have the time to deal with, and helping me with marketability. I took her up on her offer. She made me a new suit, talked to the city to get blueprints, and whatever else. It's been a while, I've forgotten a lot of what we did.

Hero teams contracted me to restore their headquarters, standalone heroes and vigilantes needed help with rebuilding their bases, cities wanted cheap labor. I did it all. I finally felt like I was contributing to society. That I mattered. I was finally told that I mattered. Until the day I chose to do what I knew was right.

Cosmopolis, despite what outsiders think it is, is just like any other city. One side of the city is covered in skyscrapers, the other in slums. Struggling people who can't escape their situations, whether that be out of discrimination, mental disabilities, mental illnesses, addiction, criminal affiliation, they all live with constant strife.

The worst part of it all, however, is that I'm just like everyone else. Every time I passed one on the street or from inside a cab, I looked away. Seeing them suffer under the city's hand tore out my soul. It didn't matter that my reasoning was different from those who averted their eyes out of spite or disgust, I still looked the other direction. I refused to be like them. To kick them while they're already down. So I started building them up, literally.

I'd scour throughout the city, look through sites listing run-down neighborhoods or buildings, and I'd go there. I'd tear them down and build them back up. I gave people places to stay, where they wouldn't go cold or without a bed for the night. I gave them the kindness that might help them stop simply surviving, and finally begin living.

Then the comments came. Middle and upper class began shouting their complaints online and in my face, whether personally or through a reporter. They hated seeing people, who they deemed "undesirable," getting any help. Giving some cash was already too much for them to handle, so I can see why they saw this in such a bad light. Why their hateful eyes had seen this as a sin.

I went to interviews and I kept trying to get my viewpoint out there. No one listened. No one cared. All they saw was filth getting help by more filth.

So I made shelters around the city in places no one would notice. Rooves out of land in the parks, more empathetic architecture. I removed the spikes underneath bridges that prevent people from getting shelter from the rain and made the benches softer for those who had no beds. But still, no one gave a shit. The city made laws against how much anyone could alter it. I gave up on that.

I was sent death threats. I was told that I was helping the scum grow. That I was making Cosmopolis shine less. It didn't help that Guardsman was comatose from a battle for nearly 6 months at that point. It meant I had no one, not even the hero of heroes, the embodiment of infinite kindness to everyone, to back me up. I was alone. I stopped everything. I pushed away everyone. I fired Sandy, apologizing every second of it. I basically disappeared from the face of the Earth.

Then I heard that they were building a stadium on the Southeast Side. Displacing hundreds of people. Their hope being snuffed out by the fat cats on the top of the totem pole. I wouldn't stand by it. I came as fast as I could and I tore it all down. Every beam and panel and every square inch was just rubble when I was finished.

M.I.R.A. was contacted after the cops weren't able to get me to stand down. They trapped me in an Akonite cell in Pandora's Box. The media labeled me as "a false hero," "a fallen angel," "a wolf in sheep's clothing," "a villain." I just wanted to make things better. With The Vanguard keeping their eyes on the larger threats, and each individual member focusing on the broad strokes that are their respective cities, there were barely any who were looking out for the little guy. That's all I wanted to be. The one to look out for the everyman, the people on the streets. My people. I wanted to take care of my neighbors, friends, and loved ones. But I guess all people care about are themselves.

I eventually found that Akonite didn't work on my powers. How or why, I don't know. Maybe it was because it was just another mineral. Maybe it just didn't have an effect on me. Either way, I knew that this wouldn't stop me. I'm The Architect. I'm a hero. I won't let corruption, greed, and cruelty hinder that. I'll dissent from the indifference. From the apathy. From the fear of helping my city.

[fixfoxnox]

I'm absolutely feral for ultranationalist Roach. Can we get head canons for this AU?

I will be writing more ultranationalist Roach because you guys seemed to like him and I have #ideas so here are some headcanons to sate you guys until the next drabble is done

Warnings: Horny unhinged Roach ahead and some dub-con:

Was military early into his life, similar to how Makarov was in his life

He got put on a mission working with Shepherd and, despite following all of his orders and doing some shitty things, he gets betrayed

He was shot and left for dead as a response but he's tough af and showed back up on base a week later

Tried to talk about what happened and only got dishonorably discharged for it

He's followed from the military by a few people who believed his story and got bad vibes (Jackson and a few others) together, he and this group form the beginnings of the American Ultranationalist party

The goal of the party is to fix the stain that they see as the current US government/military complex

Essentially they want to overthrow the government and put in a much more liberal and chill government

They gain a lot of popularity in the US and grow fairly quickly. This earns the ire of outside nations + the US government and they send someone to try to take out Roach

Roach doesn't die, but many of the men who first helped him join the party do and Jackson nearly dies.

It fucks him up bad and essentially rewires the way that he thinks about the other nations and what he's trying to do.

So now the Ultranationalists go from a mostly peaceful group to a full on militant party that is more than willing to send people in to other countries to fuck shit up if they get in their way

Their group are branded terrorists and, despite all of their kinda evil pretty much actually terrorist actions, they do still have a lot of support among the American people (similar to the Ultranationalists in MW2)

This is around the time at the 141 start coming for them with the explicit goal of taking out Roach

Brief aside to mention

Makarov starts off as Spetznaz again in this life, but rather than getting into shady shit and being discharged he actually stays on a good path and ends up taking what would have been Roach's place on the 141

Roach at this point has just fully lost the ability to give a fuck, so while he appears as this kinda out of it and wacky guy, he's actually super calculating and is always one step ahead of the 141

He first gets a sight of the 141 and he's super interested in this group because "God damn they just foiled my plans to blow up the Washington monument thats sick af"

So he starts watching them on missions and he, absolutely wild man that he is, is like "hey 👀👀👀👀 they're all hot af actually"

Yes this is a Roach x everyone concept now ajjdjfjfjfj

So he's like "hey Jackson, my dude, light of my life, guy who I've been sleeping with for years now, what would you say to me slowly kidnapping an entire military team"

"Why would you do that?"

"So you know how old kings used to have harems?"

JDNFJJFJFJFJJF

AND HE STICKS BY IT

He takes Makarov first as he thinks that he'll be the easiest to make fall for him (he's right, bro is whipped after like a week of being kidnapped)

Then he goes for Gaz next because he thinks he can bond with the man and also he's seen the way Jackson has been eyeing up Gaz's picture and he's like "ooo both at once 👀👀"

He takes Soap and Ghost next. He knows he has to take them together because he knows they're in a relationship. All he has to do is get Soap to fall for him and he knows Ghost will follow soon after

He saves price for last for several reasons

He knows the man will be the hardest to capture

He knows if Price went missing first his entire team would tear the world apart looking for him

And he knows it will break Price's spirit just enough to make him pliant if all of the team goes first

Yeah and from there he just kinda rubs it in the governments faces that he managed to not only take down one of their best teams, but also turn them to his side (sorta)

And then he takes over the world because he gets to win in this au sjfjnfjdjfjf

Honestly though even if this au didn't turn into Roach x everyone, he's just unhinged enough to flirt with all of them anyways

Roach starts the ultranationalist movement with a group of about seven other people (one being Jackson) and despite it operating as a council until most of the members were killed, Roach was elected their leader

When the assassins were sent after the untranationalist leaders, Roach actually did nearly die

He was shot twice, once in the chest and once in his hip. He managed to kill his attacker while running off of adrenaline before collapsing and being found by an ultranationalist sympathizer who helped him out.

Despite his full recover, he does get occasional issues with his hip from where the bullet shattered the bone there

Jackson also survived the assassination attempts, but lost his leg to one of the several bullets that tore through his skin

He does not have a prosthetic yet, but Roach is working on getting him one since the man only recently requested one

Soap and Ghost are Roach's favorites out of the 141, but he absolutely won't say that to any of them

Its because on multiple of the missions he was able to tap into their comms and listen to them talk to each other and he fell hard

Makarov fell the hardest for him out of the 141 members. Generally like a puppy in love

Roach probably interacts the least with Gaz romantically, just because he is letting Gaz and Jackson vibe, however he probably talks the most to Gaz in a friendship sense

He's rich rich from all the evil doing so he buys them a house where everyone has their own rooms and everything

Baby boy is bossy as well in this au as well as very pushy and touchy lol

Some other little notes:

I'll probably use Ultranationalist Roach as a character in multiple different ways. So what I mean by that is that in one drabble he might be trying to get the whole 141 in a harem, while in another he might be going for Soap, Ghost, Makarov, Price, or Gaz and only them.

It will really be up to whatever I'm feeling (if its something I'm writing for me) or whatever the asker wants (so if you guys send a request for like a Roach interested in Makarov only then I'll do that, but if you just send a general "ultranationalist Roach + Makarov" request then I may mention the Roach x everyone stuff in the background but still have the focus be solely on that character)

Really tbh, we could definitely add some drama to this au and I do have some ideas, but at the end of the day it really is more of an excuse to write horny feral villain Roach content skfjbdjsjdjfj

Also everyone say thank you to the Anon who initially proposed the idea, they're iconic

[ice-and-starlight]

It's been a few days, but if you were still interested in that ask meme....

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

=D Yeay! An ask!

Hooooo, okay, so, I have a LOT of fanfic that I'm theoretically working on/daydreaming about that doesn't get shared, but, uh, lets see what's not too horrifying to share...

I spent a couple of weeks a few months ago binge-watching Criminal Minds, and got infected by a plotbunny of Dean Winchester/Aaron Hotchner(/Haley Brooks) as a sort of... fix it crossover where, because they're both protagonists from rather different genres, their different approach manages to fix things in the other 'verse.

As in, Dean kills Foyet in proper I'm-fresh-out-of-hell-and-you-did-WHAT-to-my-boyfriend?! style. With added bonus 'you think you're good with a knife? Boy, have I got some things to show you. Say hello to Alastair for me when you get down there'.

And Hotch (and the team) profile the fucking devil so well they manage to talk him down from trying to wipe out humanity. (He goes off to fuck up heaven instead.)

I've gotten bits and pieces of, well, backstory written up, plus some 'Dean meets the BAU' and 'Hotch meets hunters' scenes that I love, but I've gotten stuck on something really stupid and just haven't managed to get my brain to move past it, so I haven't actually written the parts I started writing the story for yet ^^" (this happens to me a lot).

What else?

I have been working, on and off, on a Critical Role Time Travel AU that's actually kind of a spin-off of my very first Critical Role fic which is 'Molly lives rent-free in Caleb's head for the entire rest of the campaign' because as I was watching it I was constantly thinking 'but how would Molly react to this?!' so I wrote it (some of it).

And then I thought 'okay, but what if, okay, I know time-travel is supposed to be semi-impossible, but what if it is technically POSSIBLE, it's just that going backwards through time essentially destroys the soul/spirit/whatever, EXCEPT, of course, that when Caleb does it, he has a BONUS SOUL coming along for the ride, and it's basically enough for Molly to get through more or less intact?'

And then the Moonweaver is like 'fuck, you are my Most Troublesome Worshipper, what am I going to do with you?' and Molly is, you know, themself, so the Moonweaver, also being a goddess of lovers trysts, nudges things until Lucien ends up with twin baby brothers (Molly and Kingsley are both Aspects of the same being, and thus inextricably linked, so bits and pieces of Kingsley got dragged along for the ride, only not enough for him to have more than Weird Instincts) and a bonus Moonweaver Cleric mum.

Was this an excuse to write canon!verse Tealeaf triplets? Yes. Yes it was.

Did it turn into a Ridiculous Epic Saga of the Tea Leaves (Molly, Kingsley, Caduceus, Keg, and Ophelia Mardun) treking across all of Wildmount trying to save people from the future and stumbling into messes along the way? Yes. Yes it did.

Did I actually manage to write any of the actual story? No. I wrote backstory instead, and ended up mostly writing about the adventures of two separate Parent Squads that are probably... 40-60% OCs? doing a tiny little Molly's bidding. It very much became a And You Get A Parent And You Get A Parent And You Get Three Parents story.

I have Such Plans for this AU (including, importantly, a Shadowidomauk endgame), but, alas, actually writing it is proving... difficult.

One more for luck?

Hmm... I have Ideas for a Peaky Blinders AU based on my Little Sallyanne fic? It's not very well fleshed out yet, but it definitely results in Sally murdering the shit out of her brother's terrible wife, adopting her nibling, and going on to severely fuck up nazis when WWII rolls around.

This one is Percolating, and I'm really not sure what I want to do with it, exactly. Just general Vibes of Tommy being the feral gremlin mentor to my beloved feral gremlin child. (Also, Sally getting semi-adopted by Alfie Solomons, maybe, because here's this child going around claiming to be Jewish when she's not, and Alfie's like 'no, either you fucking Stop That, or you commit to the fucking bit' and Sally's like '-starry eyes- Okay Dad'. I would have to do a lot of research to do this justice because I'm aware that I don't know enough to know how to write this properly ^^" Basically, I just want everyone adopting her like a starving feral cat who will absolutely bite the hand that feeds her)

Technically, I think you can say that things like Never Simple, Not All Who Wander, and the various other unfinished things on my writing blog are all on a backburner right now? As well as the next instalments in my Somewhere Just Beyond My Reach and Gramarye and Trapped In The Amber series also count. I am Thinking About Them a lot, but there's either not enough for me to get my teeth stuck into, or my teeth are stuck and I can't chew on them properly =P

[rebecca-rocket]

Self-Harm in Unexpected Places

I recently had "No Spend November." I committed not to buy anything I didn't truly need -- whether it be contingency shampoo (in case pandemic-level supply chain issues arose), an intriguing Costco product (that might turn out to be a dud), or more adult clothes (a several-years-long journey I've been on to make my wardrobe more "capsule"). I wanted to see the rewards of my own self-discipline.

This idea started because I had read a magazine article about the importance of having money goals. I've only ever had nebulous money goals and I liked the idea of feeling like I was saving money toward a defined purpose. I picked a very large purpose: remodeling my "nice but not functional for someone who cooks a lot" kitchen. If I saved $100 per month, then by the end of the year, I'd be $1200 closer to my goal. But if I saved $1200 in one month, I'd be closer to my goal even faster! So, I set about saving.

I told my husband my plan and how it came about, and he was supportive, but thought it was strange that I picked November. He said it was arguably the best sale month -- and thus the best time to stock up on "non-essentials" that would otherwise cost more money. While I agreed that was true, I proclaimed that I picked November on purpose! If I had the self-discipline to avoid all those flashy Black Friday sales, then I had the discipline to cut more non-essentials from our budget in future months! Think how much money I would save month-over-month! I just needed to start.

So, I put things I knew I would need -- but didn't need yet -- in my Amazon Subscribe and Save. Or I listed them in an Excel tracker sheet so I could buy them the following month. I went shopping in-person, instead of through Instacart or Amazon (where I would need to pay fees and tips). I ignored flashy sale emails from vendors. I was disciplined!

I am, by nature, a disciplined person. I've never in my life used the snooze button on an alarm. I used to take a bus 1 hour early to make sure I'd arrive at my first job on time every day... for the entire year I worked there. I have always separated my recyclables from my trash -- even when it is messy and inconvenient. I once ate nothing but burritos for a week because my husband dared me to. If I set about doing something: I do it. There's a flip side to this -- where I don't make plans I know I can't keep, but that's a topic for another time. My problem with No Spend November ended up being that I was too disciplined.

My family doesn't eat out. We also don't get delivery (I cancelled my DoorDash account earlier this year to meet a different goal). We eat organic, sustainable, sugar-free, sometimes-hard-to-find (and thus requiring pre-order and delivery in a frozen state) food. Almost all of said food requires preparation -- part of why I want a nicer kitchen! And... I was having a hard time managing that for the month of November.

See the problem with picking November wasn't just missing Black Friday sales. The problem was picking a month where I knew my job was typically busy. A job where I lead a team, set the work pace, and am ultimately responsible for things being done on time and up to my (high) standards. Trying to stay on track for groceries, defrosting schedules, and meals without my normal Instacart/Amazon tools to pick up the slack on a 10-hr work day proved difficult. And it made me grumpy. Real grumpy. My husband does not do well when I am really grumpy.

A few weeks in, my husband finally said that No Spend November was a bad idea. He made -- very fair -- points that I didn't need to prove my self-discipline, that I was already doing a great job saving -- slowly, and that I was actually self-harming myself by trying to be even more disciplined than I already was just to try and meet a goal faster than I needed to.

I kind of stopped in my tracks there. How could being self-disciplined be a form of self-harm? But I thought about it and it was true. Setting more restrictions on myself -- a person who already manages a lot of restrictions (and just manages a lot in general) -- was creating an unnecessary burden. A burden that no one but myself had put on... myself.

I've never thought of myself as a self-harming individual, so this was a really strange realization. It's one I am sure I will be grappling with for a while.

I ultimately relented and bought three (40% off!) cashmere sweaters. I felt better after that. And I was really happy when they arrived. I avoided other sales, tossed catalogues without browsing them, and even let the kids have a dinner of nothing but (sugar-free) desserts on a night I was particularly tired. I feel like I met my November goal, even though I bent the rules I had set for myself.

I will get my dream kitchen eventually, it just might take a few more -- hopefully happier! -- years than I would like.

[bystreetlight]

Apparently it's the 21st of December so I better do this!!

1. What did you do in 2023 that you hadn’t done before? Went to a therapist, went to a Grand Final at the MCG, participated in the inaguration of a Governor and the swearing-in of a Premier…

2. Did anyone close to you give birth? Not this year!

3. Did anyone close to you die? Thankfully, no.

4. Did you travel? Where did you go? Best holiday memory? Went to Mildura twice (in March and December) and had THREE actual HOLIDAYS (to Brisbane in May, King Valley in September and Adelaide in October). Best holiday memory was the amazing vibes in Brisbane, a city I've always treated with disdain but turns out it's actually quite cool and I enjoyed it thoroughly?!?!? And seeing Chromeo in Adelaide.

5. Best thing you bought? Even though we "bought" it in 2022 we only got our new car in May and that was definitely the highlight of the year 🚗

6. Where did most of your money go? Savings? Mortgage repayments? When our hot water service died and we had to replace it? Far out when did I get so fucking old 😭

7. What do you wish you had done more of? I feel like I got the balance right in a lot of areas this year so I can't really think of anything!

8. What do you wish you had done less of? Stressing about rain and bad weather THANKS PTSD!!!!

9. What kept you sane? Having a job that I enjoy and an awesome team! I had to spend a lot of time back in the office this year and that made it a lot easier!!

10. What drove you mad? When Finland got robbed at Eurovision. When the Premier resigned during Grand Final week and I had to work my tits off instead of enjoying the week. When our car kept taking longer and longer to get delivered.

11. What made you celebrate? Seeing Collingwood win a Grand Final IN PERSON! The Matildas amazing run at the Women's World Cup!

12. What made you sad? Andre Braugher dying, the genocide in Gaza, the Yes referendum failing so fucking miserably, Rafa missing the entire year through injury.

13. How was your birthday this year and how old did you turn? It was a Wednesday so I worked from home and no one in my new team knew it was my birthday and I didn't say anything so it was very uneventful! Went and saw &Juliet that weekend which was fabulous! I turned 39.

14. What political issue stirred you the most this year? Probably the referendum. Best not to think about it.

15. What was the best meal you ate in 2023? The sandwiches from Sardinas are genuinely the best sandwiches I've ever eaten in my life.

16. What would you like to have in 2024 that you didn’t have this year? I would love to leave the country but if that's the only thing I can think of it seems very self-indulgent, especially in this economy!!!

17. What date(s) from 2023 will be etched in your memory and why? 5-8 May - went to Brisbane for MAGIC ROUND and it was truly a life-changing experience.

18. What song will remind you of 2023? Dance the Night - Dua Lipa.

19. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I think so! My resolution was to look after myself after forming some bad habits during the Lockdown Years™. I got back into pilates and have been pretty good with exercising and eating well and keeping on top of all my boring health responsibilities! I also wanted to do an insta post each month and to read more books and I achieved both of those! Next year I think I'm going to make a fun resolution. I want to take more photos or do something creative on the regular.

20. Did you suffer illness or injury? I developed eustachian tube dysfunction after an ear infection, which has not gone away and FUCKING SUCKS. Otherwise I think I've kept pretty well this year. And I've managed to avoid getting c*vid again which is a miracle.

21. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? A bit happier, mainly because this time last year we had no car and we'd just been robbed hahahaha. ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner, although as every year that I fill this thing in goes by I feel like it's less about being thin and more about just being fit and healthy! iii. richer or poorer? Richer? Marginally?

22. How will you be spending Christmas? I have 10 days off over Christmas/New Year, which I was "strongly recommended" to take as I have "excess leave" lol. Christmas Day at the in-laws as per usual, then maybe a day at the cricket, maybe a beach trip or two, and hopefully some sleeping past 7am?!?!

23. What was your favourite movie? PAST LIVES. My god. As someone who often drifts off into nostalgia and 'what-ifs' and thinking about people I cared about in my younger years this movie floored me.

24. What was your favourite TV program? The final season of Succession DESTROYED me. I still think about it on an almost daily basis which is probably unhealthy 😂. Also loved The Last of Us, S2 of The Bear, the final season of Reservation Dogs, The Newsreader, Alone Australia, Beef until everyone in it got cancelled…and I just started Yellowjackets (late to the party) and I'm obsessed with it!!

25. What was the best book you read? Crossing the Line by Nick McKenzie. And I'm about halfway through Still Life by Sarah Winman which I am LOVING.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? I feel like I flogged some old favourites this year (hello Chromeo as my top artist on Spotify Wrapped hahaha), rather than getting into anyone new...

27. What did you want and get? A holiday! THANK CHRIST! And for my period to stop after having a Mirena put in late last year 🥳🥳🥳

28. What did you want and not get? To recover properly from a traumatic experience that has left me sometimes crippled with anxiety. I suppose there's always next year hahahahah.

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2023? I genuinely tried not to spend too much on clothes this year but I had to step up my work outfit game for my new job which was sort of annoying? I don't really know what my 'concept' was though…trying not to get sucked in to 90s trends that I lived through the first time that didn't warrant a second go?

30. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Pedro Pascal and Bad Bunny together on SNL, Arian Moayed until he came out as an Isr*el apologist, several NRL footballers that I'm not inclined to admit to publicly…

31. Biggest achievement this year? Not killing myself when we had to wait 7 months for our car and had to walk and get the bus everywhere and it truly sucked my will to live.

32. Biggest disappointment this year? When our amazing lawnmowing man closed his business and we had to try and find a new person and it's been a fucking nightmare!!!!

33. What is the one thing that would have made you more satisfied? If Tim and Dale had got together on The Newsreader. I'm going to say that every year until I'm dead.

34. Best new person you met this year? The kookaburras that live in the park next to work don't really count but I'm putting them anyway. And Boyd Cordner.

35. A valuable life lesson you learnt this year? They say a change is as good as a holiday but actually a holiday is the only thing as good as a holiday.

[clone-whore-99]

Troublemaker

Chapter 4: You shouldn't have done that

The Bad Batch x f!Reader

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Mentions of sex(though no description), descriptions of a fight, sexual tension, Crosshair being mean, Crosshair being a tease, Crosshair being lowkey soft, Reader still having a lot of issue, displays of unhealthy coping mechanisms

LMK if I forgot anything

Authors note: excuse me for having a 2 week long mental breakdown, giving me major writers block. Does this mean the breakdown is over and I can write all I want again? (✿◡‿◡) No, but I did manage to be pretty proud of this chapter anyways. I feel like I got to capture Crosshair's personality pretty well. Thank you all for all the love that I've recieved from the past chapters, it means a lot to me ❤

If you like it, please do let me know by liking and commenting and maybe even reblogging, it would mean a lot to me 🥺👉👈

Chapter 1: Arriving at Kamino

Chapter 2: Work, armor and... Clones?

Chapter 3: Let it out

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Chapter 5: Talk about it

Chapter 6: The 20 Questions Game

Chapter 7: Crosshair

Chapter 8: Echoes of the Past

Chapter 9: The Fight

Chapter 10: A Nice Change of Air

Chapter 11: Sore Muscles

Chapter 12: Heavy Rain Weights the Mind

Chapter 13: Waste of Time

Having met The Bad Batch on your first day on Kamino, was a bit like having had dessert for breakfast and then nothing but vegetables for the rest of the day. It wasn't that having vegetables was downright unpleasant, but it was a huge let down from having started the day off with dessert.

The first couple of days since they left had been fine - just fine. It was a huge adjustment getting used to being there, but your dad and most of the clones were patient and conciderate. You had even gotten to meet a Jedi, which had been such a mind boggling experience. The Jedi really were something else.

And you had gotten a chance to see why your dad never had any time. Even without Clone Force 99 around to keep him creative, he still had plenty of work to occupy himself with.

Special clone forces all needed changes to their standard armor, and although there was an entire team dedicated for this job, your dad was the one who designed and supervised all of it. This had also been the cause of many of your fights and arguements with him, as you were worried that your father was working himself too hard. But he always brushed you aside, telling you how you were over reacting and that there was no such thing as breaks during war time. Oh how mad he made you sometimes.

Another part of the big adjustments you had to make, was obviously the soldiers. These men didn't have a lot of interactions with the opposite sex - especially not the cadets. This would often lead to very bad attempts at flirting and displays of strength. Your favorite attempt was probably when a cadet had said: "Are you a clanker? 'Cause I wanna fill you with a load of my shot" right in front of your dad. He seemed to try and avoid coming by the workshop as much after that.

Though the attention had been fun and maybe even endearing at first, it quickly became a lot. Well, it wasn't like all the clones acted like that. Some were just friendly, others acted as if you were just another person working on the facility and a few acted like you were an entitled brat.

"Always needing Daddy to save your ass, huh?" one had smugly said, after your dad stopped you from getting into yet another fight. A couple others had laughed and damned if they were trained soldiers, they needed to get their ass beat.

You quickly felt the frustrations grow again. The same frustrations you had had, when you first arrived at Kamino. The same frustrations that had been lifted, when The Bad Batch had not only believed your reasoning for beating that senators son, but cheered you on for it. But now they were gone and you were angrier than ever.

It wasn't fair of you, to put the responsibility of your emotions onto a group of men you had just met. But they had made you feel more accepted than you had been in a long time. And it was gone again too soon.

You had tried to find other ways to rid yourself of these feelings. Exercising, hard training, meditation and yoga, getting into fights or hopping into bed with the first available man you could find. It had worked, but only temporarely, and then the feelings came back stronger than ever.

Today had been one of those days. The feeling of anger in you had been so strong, you felt like a bomb ready to explode. And someone had made a snarky comment in the passing. You honestly couldn't remember what they had said, but it had been enough. You had thrown a spanner wrench at him, hitting him in the back of the head.

"Say that to my face, you coward!" you spat at him, as he quickly made his way towards you. Everything in your body screamed to run as he was closing the gap between you, but you were stubborn and mad and ready to fight.

He grabbed you by the collar and held you up against a wall, so your feet barely touched the ground. "You know, little girls should really be careful who they pick a fight with. Especially when Daddy's not around to save you." He taunted, clearly just trying to scare you.

Quickly, you placed a foot flat against his stomach, ready to push him off you.

"What's going on here!?" your dads voice cut in, as he rushed over to seperate the two of you. The clone let you go immediately, causing you to fall flat onto the ground.

"You should really get your kid under control, Laquan," was said sternly, as the clone pushed your dad to the side and went away with his buddies.

"Lab trash!" you yelled bitterly after him, while you were trying to get back onto your feet.

A firm hand grabbed onto your shoulder, pushing back against the wall. "What do you think you're doing? You do realise that the more trouble you get in, the more trouble I get in, right? Or do you just not care that I could lose my job because of you?" your dad whisper-yelled at you, not wanting to cause any further a scene.

"Well, then maybe you might actually be able to catch a break!" you fired back, not caring about your yelling. "Or do you just not care that you're forcing your own kid to watch you work yourself to death?!"

"Go to your room, we're taking this discussion lat-"

"NO, we're taking this discussion NOW!" you stamped the ground. "Because later with you means never since you never have time for anything else!"

"I don't know if you've realised this young lady, but there is a war going on and those men out there are depending on the my work for survival!"

"Right, yea, because everybody else is way more important than me, right?" you could feel the tears dwell up in your eyes once again, but you didn't care. This was probably the longest conversation you had had with your dad in years.

At first, your dad looked hurt over that comment, but quickly bit down and spat out through gritted teeth: "Go. To. Your. Room."

The modified omicron-class attack shuttle, also known as the Havoc Marauder touched down on one of the landing platforms not far from your fathers workshop. Out stepped the four strange but familiar faces, with Tech busy explaining something to the newest member.

"Though, I agree that getting back into the field as soon as possible would be good for not only your mental health, but your muscle memory and physical health as well, you do need a proper armor, Echo." Tech stated matter-of-factly, while adjusting his goggles.

Echo shrugged. "What's wrong with the one they gave me on Anaxes?"

"It's ugly." Crosshair was quick to reply.

"It's not effective with the types of missions that we do," Tech cut in, shooting his brother a dirty look.

"And it doesn't really fit in with the rest of the group," Hunter added, placing a supportive hand on Echo's shoulder. "Once you look more like you fit in with squad, you'll feel like it too."

Wrecker, who were walking several steps in front of his brothers, suddenly called out across the hangar: "Hey Laquan! We got some work for you!" and with his thumb, he pointed back at Echo.

"Well, now, I've never..." Your dad walked towards the newest member, while cleaning his hands on a dirty rag. "You picked up a stray or something? That isn't usually your style." He looked at Hunter.

"Not really," Hunter's hand was still resting on Echo's shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "This is CT-1409, also known as -"

"Echo?" Your dad interrupted, looking at the man in front of him in disbelief. "What happened to you? I was told you were dead..."

"It's kinda a long story.." Echo replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his flesh hand.

"Well, then it's a good thing we've got a lot of work ahead of us," Laquan replied, overtaking Hunter's position with the arm around Echo's shoulder, so he could be led back to the workshop.

"You two know each other?" Hunter's gaze switched from between the two men.

"Yup. When Echo got promoted to ARC trooper, I was the one who made the updates for his armor. Glad to be working with you again old friend." Your dad was so happy to see Echo again, it had almost made him forget about your fight earlier, when suddenly...

"Hey, where's your kid?" Wrecker asked innocently, while looking under a table as if you would be hiding there. "I wanna thank her for her suggestion about my vibroblade's position. Never worked better!"

Your father suddenly looked like he had tasted something sour. "She's on time-out. She got in a fight again."

Tech and Crosshair were heading to their barracks. Tech, so he could make room for Echo and Crosshair, because he wanted a nap. But the mention of you getting in a fight caught his attention and he quickly turned back. "Got in a fight with whom?"

"I don't know. One of the regular clones..." he let out a deep sigh, letting himself slump down on a bench. Usually, your dad wouldn't let his personal problems out at work, but the boys were like a second family to him and he really needed to vent, even if just for a minute.

"She's out of control. If she's not flirting or... worse with the men, then she's picking fights with them. I-I don't know what to do with her. Maybe it would be best if she just... No, no. I just don't know what do with her." He looked pitiful up at the men. Then, with another heavy sigh and a clap of his hands, your dad stood back up again. "But, that's really none of your business. I'm sorry to bother you with family issues."

"What did you mean, with 'or worse'?" Crosshair probed, not willing to let it go so quickly.

Your dad was already pulling Echo towards a scanner, so he could get started with the blueprints of the new armor. "She thinks I don't know. That I haven't noticed how she at times takes a break after having flirted around a bit, only for her to return looking all disheveled." He shook his head at the thought. "Honestly, she really disappoints me sometimes..."

"Hey, where are you going!?" Wrecker yelled out to Crosshair, who was already making his way across the hangar again.

"She's on a time-out Cross. That means no visits!" Your dad called out.

With a smug smirk and a shrug, Crosshair just shouted back: "I'm just gonna have an honest heart to heart talk with her."

"Uargh!" you threw the cup across the room, getting further annoyed that it didn't break on impact with the wall, but rather just made a mess. You just screamed at stupid cup that wouldn't break, because how dared it stay intact when you throw it against a wall.

You paced around in the room, trying to catch your breathe and stop the tears that kept rolling down your cheeks. Why were you so angry all the time? Why couldn't you just be happy? Or at least, neutral? It couldn't be puberty, you were way past that. Why were you such a screw up?

You stopped your pacing just long enough for you to kick over a crate, that was still full of stuff you had yet to unpack.

"Poor crate, what has it ever done to you?" you turned around at the snarky comment, facing the last person you wanted to see from the bad batch. And the bastard even had the audacity to smile his usual devious smile at you.

You huffed out in disbelieve. "All those years in training, and yet they couldn't teach any of you how to knock on a door!?" Determinantly you made your way towards the silver haired fox, wiping your cheeks on the way. Quickly, you grabbed onto his overarm and pulled with all your might. "Get. Out!"

He didn't budge. Instead, he started laughing at your useless attempt of moving him. And once you finally accepted that you couldn't move him, you let go defeatedly. That's when he grabbed your chin with his index finger and thumb, forcing you to look him in the eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere, dollface. Your dad told us everything. About how much of a headache you've been. About all the trouble you've been causing, and all the men you've been with..."

Agressively, you pushed his hand away and took a couple steps away from him. You decided to put your attention back onto the crate that was knocked over and knelt down to put your things back into it. This way, you could still keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't sneak up behind you, while not having to confront him directly either.

"Oh? Did I hurt your feelings?" Crosshair teased.

"Why do you care how I spend my time? Or who I spend it with? If you came here in the hopes of getting a turn, fat chance, dollface." You mocked the stupid nickname he had given you, with as much poison in your voice as you could muster.

Removing the toothpick between his lips so he could study it, Crosshair laughed with no tracks of humor. "As if I wanted some regs sloppy seconds..." What the hell was a reg?

"Don't call me that!" You stood up, turning to face him once again. Your hands were shaking with anger.

"Why not? It's true, isn't it?" he flicked the toothpick at you, while leaning down so he could be at eye height with you.

That was it. Who the hell did he think he was, to just wander into your room like he owned the place and start throwing insults - and toothpicks - at you! It was time for you to finally give that smug face of his what it deserved - and put that mark around his eye to good use.

Suddenly, your burning hot blood ran cold. Your fist never made it's impact with his face. He had caught it mere inches from the goal and looked at you unamused.

"You gotta be faster than that, if you want to hit me," he pulled you closer like you weighted nothing. Yea, you had really messed up. You placed your free hand on his arm, trying to pull yourself free from his grasp. In the mean time, Crosshair leaned down again towards your ear and whispered real low: "And unlike Tech, I'm not just gonna take it. I'll hit back."

Another shiver ran down your spine, contrasting the hot breath that had hit your ear. Your breath got caught in your throat. He wasn't actually going to hurt you, was he? You barely even dared to glance up at his face, that was beaming with amusement over your reaction to him.

Crosshair appeared to finally decide to leave. The only problem was, that he was still holding onto your arm and therefore pulling you with him, no matter how much you tried to resist.

"W-wait! Where are we going?" you didn't mean to sound to panicked, but at that moment, you really couldn't help it.

"You'll see when we get there, dollface." He answered nonchalently.

"I'm not supposed to leave my room! Dad's gonna have a fit if he comes back and I'm not here." you frantically looked around for Lazie, the service droid, hoping that it could help in any ways.

"Your dad's busy and Lazie is helping him. We'll be back before he even notices you're gone." It was almost as if he had read your mind.

"WHERE ARE WE?" you loudly demanded, once Crosshair had stopped walking and pulled you in front of him before letting go of your hand. He didn't even bother to look at you. Instead, he was busy looking over a big display of... Guns.

"Ever shot one of these before?" He threw what you could only assume to be a sniper rifle at you. You caught it very clumsy, causing him to once again chuckle at you. You just looked dumbstrucked at the gun. "I'll take that as a no." He said a little less than a minute later, before grabbing your arm once again to pull you with him.

"You know, I can walk by myself!" you tried to free yourself from his grasp again, which was a lot harder while also trying not to drop the rifle he made you carry. Why you didn't just use the rifle to help free yourself? Good question.

"I know." You were pulled into an empty shooting range. It was big and rather cold in there. Crosshair pulled you up to a thick fence, before pressing a bunch of buttons on the wall next to it. The dark space in front of you lit up and target practices came flying into place.

Seemingly satisfied with this, the silver haired man put a new toothpick between his lips and leaned back against the wall. You could only stare confused at him.

It took you a minute, before you realised that he believed his work was done. He was just looking at you expectantly, waiting for your next move. You kept switching between looking at him and at the rifle, shrugging in pure confusion. "I... I don't know what you want me to do... I don't even know what this is..." You gestured at the gun.

"A DC-15x sniper rifle. Shoot it. I've already loaded it for you." He commanded, nodding towards the targets.

Now it was your turn to make a humorless laugh. "Thanks. You're great at instructions." You said sarcastically, before leaning against the fence with the rifle.

Without saying a word, Crosshair grabbed your shoulder with one hand, and the rifle with the other. He adjusted it, so the base of the gun rested against your shoulder in a very specific way.

"There," he said. "Now you won't dislocate your shoulder while firing, and I won't have to bother popping it back into place."

"How thoughtful of you." You leaned down, so your dominant eye could look through the scope. With a deep breathe, you pressed the trigger and completely missed the target.

"You're holding it wrong." Crosshair commented, moving from his spot.

"Well, you didn't really give any instructions..."

You could feel the hard metal of Crosshairs armor against your butt. He placed his feet by yours, lightly tapping them to adjust your position. And instead of his usual towering over you, he leaned down over your body, completely covering your frame with his.

You wanted to say something. You really did. But your mouth was dry and every word you were trying to speak, would disappear faster than you could conjure them. Your heart was beating so fast you were certain he could feel it through his chestplate. Not to mention, how your whole body was shaking.

"Stand still." He commanded, his head right next to yours. He had placed his hands over yours, both to guide them in how to hold the gun properly, but also to keep them still. "Try now."

You once again looked through the scope, instantly noticing how this new position you were forced into made it a whole lot easier and more comfortable to look through it. And with a shaky breathe this time, you pulled the trigger and hit the very edge of the target.

"Better. But you need to calm down if you want to actually hit the target." The stubbles from his five o'clock shadow tickled the shell of your ear everytime he spoke, and you had to bite your lower lip to stop yourself from gasping - or making other sounds, for that matter.

"It's kinda hard to stay calm, when you're standing over me like this." You shouldn't have said that. You really, really shouldn't have said that.

"Why?" Oh, how you could hear the amusement in his voice. He moved his head to the side, so his lips was directly on top of your ear, making you shake even more than before. "Am I making you nervous? Or is it something else, that's bothering you?" with that said, he shifted his hips so he was pushed impossibly closer to you, making you make - well, you weren't exactly sure what kinda sound you made, but it definitely wasn't one you wanted him to hear.

Seemingly satisfied with your reaction, Crosshair shifted back into the position he held before. "A good shot shouldn't be distracted by anything. You're lucky I'm going easy on you today. Now, shoot again."

You felt kinda lightheaded after that little number he made, but still did as commanded. Weird, normally you never would've done what someone else told you to. You lined up your shot, took a couple of deep breathes to calm yourself, before you pulled the trigger again. You were getting closer to the center of the target, but still not quite there yet.

You weren't sure how much time had passed by the time you were done. But your eyes were burning from over exhaustion and your body was hurting from having been in such an unnatural position for so long.

Crosshair was cleaning up the station, by putting everything back to where it belonged. Meanwhile, you were busy rubbing your eyes and stretching your back. You glanced down at the target cards. Your shots from when Crosshair had been helping you was better by the mile, than the ones from when he left you on your own. But still, by the end you had actually managed to hit the target more than once. And that was a huge achievement in your book.

You were pulled back to reality, when Crosshair for the third time that day grabbed you by your arm, so that he could drag you along with him. "You know, I can walk by myself." You reminded him.

"I know." He handed you the targets.

"Wait, am I allowed to keep these?"

"Don't know. Don't care."

It was impossible to figure out this man. At one point he was being really creepy, the next he acted like you didn't exist. Then, he would be super mean and then super caring. He would constantly tease you and make you so angry you could barely think, and yet, he somehow managed to calm you down just by being himself. He was one big mystery, really.

Dividers by: @djarrex and @firefly-graphics

Gif by: @ffdemon

Taglist: @zoeykallus @rain-on-kamino @thebadbatchscyare @thebahdbitch @salaminus

Please tell me if you want to be added to the taglist (✿◡‿◡)

[rainbowbarnacle]

Mmh, so, it's been a little while, I thought I'd do a little catchup post for the past couple years.

Good Things:

Still in a LDR with @mercurialmalcontent. Hi, darling, I love your whole face.

Bea is 10 as of this year and continues to be terrifying and adorable and terrifyingly adorable.

She did have some vet incidents this year--along with her check-up, she had to get her teeth cleaned. If you've never had a cat's teeth cleaned before, this means she had to get konked out, and oh boy she wasn't happy with me when she woke back up again, but all is well. It turns out she really likes the dental chicken treats!

Also at some point my poor baby got an ingrown toenail. It was easily fixable, at least, and they gave her a cute sheep bandage that matched her eyes:

But all that aside, my murderpuff has a clean bill of health, and thanks to some savings, it didn't entirely gouge my bank.

I have been gleefully absorbing myself in various shows here and there. The Owl House and Our Flag Means Death and What We Do in the Shadows are the most recent fandomy things. I had a lot of fun with The Witcher! (although I still need to catch up on season 2) Luka played Witcher 3 at some point and wow that game is amazing--the stories, the graphics, the music, the monsters, the voice acting, all of it A+++. Still glomming my eyeballs all over One Piece and Mob Psycho and Heaven's Design Team.

I've also been catching up on horror movies! These are often things I avoided like the plague because when I was little I used to think that if I watched things like The Exorcist or Scream or Hellraiser or Evil Dead, MY SENSITIVE SUGARSPUN SOUL WOULD BE TRAUMATIZED FOREVER, but I am continually surprised at how good these stories end up being. I even managed to get through Poltergeist, which I hadn't seen since my mother made me watch it when I was nine. Lots of women helping each other, and familial love, and all kinds of really interesting themes mixed in with it that I was too traumatized to really notice when I was a wee kidlet trying not to bodily expire at the sight of that FREAKIN CLOWN DOLL

As for videogames, I primarily live in FFXIV these days. (I still dip a toe in Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, The Secret World, and Minecraft sometimes though.) The Shadowbringer and Endwalker expansions absolutely blew me away, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

I have been devouring lots of comics. Current favorites include: Kill Six Billion Demons, Everything is Fine, Unsounded, The Sea in You, Sink Your Hookteeth, Castle Swimmer, Shot & Chaser, Path to Timbala, Solivaga, Mias and Elle, and Feral Gentry. Got any recommendations? GIMMIE. :D

Things are mostly uneventful on the writing front. Still writing, still editing people's projects, but mostly I'm just sort of over here in my little corner chipping away at a few original stories as well as a pile of fics for ao3. It's slow going, but it's going.

Crappy Things:

I got a type 2 diabetes diagnosis sometime in May of 2019. I've been handling it pretty okay--my a1c is down to 5.8 as of my last doctor appointment! It's also been a weirdly fun opportunity to learn some new recipes and figure out how low glycemic foods work, so there's that.

I'm still struggling with CFS. Bleeeeh. No huge changes there--big wonky weather changes still make me feel like god is personally wadding me up into a ball, post-exertional malaise continues to be pretty miserable. I do my best to move around when I can--I even got a tiny exercise bike for when it's too icy/humid/miserable for walking, and this also means that if I feel like I'm overdoing it I can just stop instead of having to stagger all the way back home.

Still estranged from 99% of my relatives. No big changes there--I talk to my grandma about once a week, but that's about it.

Still struggling with mental health stuff--deperession, anxiety, PTSD, bad dreams, all that stuff. The one good thing about crappy brainweather is that I can kind of wait it out and something will change, though, so I've just kind of been taking it a day at a time.

I've been pretty freakin' lucky with COVID-19. I've had all my shots, and I'm continuing to mask up and handwash and all that stuff.

Sooo, that's what I've been up to mostly! :D Is that everything? I think that's everything.

Oh, we've also been having some rad thunderstorms:

[brawltogethernow]

So, I don't think I've ever asked you this... what IS the whole point of the Spider-Sense? It really seems like something that only exists for writers to ignore or work around when they want to inject Legit Tension into a story.

I’ve thought about this power so much, but never with an eye to defend its right to exist, so I needed to think about this. The results could be more concise.

Ironically, given the question, I have to say its main purpose is to ramp up tension. But it’s also a highly variable multitool that a skilled creative team can use for...pretty much anything. It does everything the writer wants it to, while for its wielder always falls just short of doing enough.

I went looking through my photos for a really generic, classic-looking example to use as an image to head this topic, but then I ran into the time Peter absolutely did not reimburse this man for his stolen McDonald’s, so have that instead.

A Scare Chord, But You Can Draw It

That one post that says the spider-sense is just super-anxiety isn’t, like, wrong. It’s a very anxious, dramatic storytelling tool originally designed for a very anxious, dramatic protagonist. I find it speaks to the overall tone of the franchise that some characters are functionally psychics, but with a psychic ability that only points out problems.

Spidey sense pinging? There’s danger, be stressed! Broken? Now the lead won’t even KNOW when there’s a problem, scary! Single character is immune to it? That’s an invisible knife in the dark oh my god what the fuck what the fU--

Like its counterpart in garden variety anxiety, the only time the spider-sense reduces tension is in the middle of a crisis. But in the wish fulfillmenty way that you want in an adventure story to justify exaggerated action sequences, the same way enhanced strength or durability does. Also like those, it would theoretically make someone much safer to have it, but it exists in the story to let your character navigate into and weather more dangerous situations.

For its basic role in a story, a danger sense is a snappy way to rile up both the reader and the protagonist that doesn’t offer much information beyond that it’s time to sit smart because shit is about to go down.

Spidey comic canon is all over the board in quality and genre, and it started needing to subvert its formulas before the creators got a handle on what those formulas even were, and basically no one has read anything approaching most of it at this point, so for consistent examples of a really bare bones use of this power in storytelling, I’d point to the property that’s done the best job yet of boiling down the mechanics of Spider-Man to their absolute most basic essentials for adaptation to a compelling monster of the week TV series.

Or as you probably know it, Danny Phantom. DON’T BOO, I’M RIGHT.

DP is Spider-Man with about 2/3 of the serial numbers filed off and no death (ironically), and Danny’s ghost sense is the most proof in the formula example of what the spidey sense is for: It’s a big sign held up for the viewer that says, “Something is wrong! Pay attention!” Effectively a visual scare chord. It’s about That Drama. And it works, which won it a consistent place in the show’s formula. We’re talking several times an episode here.

So why does it work?

It’s a little counterintuitive, but it’s strong storytelling to tell your audience that something bad is going to happen before it does. A vague, punchy spoiler transforms the ignorant calm before a conflict into a tense moment of anticipation. ...And it makes sure people don’t fail to absorb the beginning of said conflict because they weren’t prepared to shift gears when the scene did. Shock is a valuable tool, too, but treating it like a staple is how you burn out your audience instead of keeping them engaged. Not to go after an easy target, but you need to know how to manage your audience’s alarm if you don’t want to end up like Game of Thrones.

The limits of the spider-sense also keep you on your toes when handled by a smart writer. It tells Peter (everyone’s is a little different, so I’m going to cite the og) about threats to his person, but it doesn’t elaborate with any details when it’s not already obvious why, what kind, and from what. And it doesn’t warn him about anything else-- Which is a pretty critical gap when you zoom out and look at his hero career’s successes and failures and conclude that it’s definitely why he’s lived as long as he has acting the way he does, but was useless as he failed to save a string of people he’d have much rather had live on than him.

(Any long-running superhero mythos has these incidents, but with Peter they’re important to the core themes.)

And since this power is by plot for plot (or because it’s roughly agreed it only really blares about threats that check at least two boxes of being major, immediate, or physical), it always kicks in enough to register when the danger is bearing down...when it’s too late to actually do anything about it if “anything” is a more complex action than “dodge”.

Really? Not until the elevator doors started to open?

That Distinctive, Crunchy Spider Flavor

The spider-sense and its little pen squiggles go hand in hand with wallcrawling (and its unique and instantly identifiable associated body language) to make the Spider-Person powerset enduringly iconic and elevate characters with it from being generic mid-level super-bricks. Visually, but also in how it shapes the story.

I said it can share a narrative role with super strength. But when you end a fight and go home, super strength continues to make your character feel powerful, probably safer than they’d be otherwise, maybe dangerous.

The spider-sense just keeps blaring, “Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong! God, why aren’t you doing something about this!?”

Pretty morose thing to live with, for a safety net! Kind of a double edged sword you have there! Could be constantly being hyperattuned to problems would prime you for a negative outlook on life. Kind of seems like a power that would make it impossible for a moral person to take a day off, leading them into a beleaguered and resentful yet dutiful attitude about the whole superhero gig! Might build up to some of the core traits of this mythos, maybe! Might lead to a lot of fifteen minute retirement stories, or something. Might even be a built in ‘great responsibility’ alarm that gets you a main character who as a rule is not going to stop fighting until he physically cannot fight anymore.

Certainly not apropos of anything, just throwing this short lived barely-a-joke tagline up for fun.

One of my personal favorite things about stories with superpowers is keeping in mind how they cause the people who have them to act in unusual ways outside of fights, so when you tell me that these people have an entire extra sense that tells them when the gas in their house is leaking through a barely useful hot/cold warning system that never turns off, I’m like, eyes emojis, popcorn out, notebook open, listening intently, spectacles on, the whole deal.

It also contributes to Peter Parker’s personality in a way I really enjoy: It allows him to act like an irrational maniac. When you know exactly when a situation becomes dangerous and how much, normal levels of caution go out the window and absolutely nothing you do makes sense from an exterior standpoint anymore. That’s the good shit. I would like to see more exploration of how the non-Parker characters experiencing the world in this incredibly altered way bounce in response.

It’s also one of many tools in this franchise hauling the reader into relating more closely with the main character. The backbone of classic Spidey is probably being in on secrets only Peter and the reader know which completely reframe how one views the situation on the page. It’s just a big irony mine for the whole first decade. A convenient way to inform the reader and the lead that something is bad news that’s not perceivable to any other characters is youth-with-a-big-exciting-secret catnip.

Another point for tension, there, in that being aware of danger is not synonymous with being able to act on it. If there’s no visible reason for you to be acting strange, well...you’re just going to have to sit tight and sweat, aren’t you? Some gratuitous head wiggles never hurt when setting up that type of conflict.

Have I mentioned that they look cool? Simultaneously punchy and distinctive, with a respectable amount of leeway for artists to get creative with and still coming up with something easily recognizable? And pretty easy to intuit the meaning of even without the long-winded explanations common in the days when people wrote comics with the intent that someone could come in cold on any random issue and follow along okay, I think, although the mechanic has been deeply ingrained in popular culture for so long that I can’t really say for sure.

It was also useful back in the day when no artists drew the eyes on the Spider-Man mask as emoting and were conveying the lead’s expressions entirely through body language and panel composition. If you wiggle enough squiggles, you don’t need eyebrows.

Take This Handwave and Never Ask Me a Logistical Question Again

This ability patches plot holes faster than people can pick them open AND it can act as an excuse to get any plot rolling you can think of if paired with one meddling protagonist who doesn’t know how to mind their own business. Buy it now for only $19.99 (in four installments; that’s four installments of $19.99).

Why can a teenager win a six on one fight against other superhumans? Well, the spider-sense is the ultimate edge in combat, duh.

Why can Peter websling? Why doesn’t everyone websling? Well, the spider-sense is keeping him from eating flagpole when he violently flings himself across New York in a way neither man nor spider was ever meant to move.

How are we supposed to get him involved with the plot this week???? Well, that crate FELT dangerous, so he’s going to investigate it. Oh, dip, it was full of guns and radioactive snakes! Probably shouldn’t have opened that!

Yeah, okay, but why isn’t it fixing everything, then? Isn’t it supposed to be why Peter has never accidentally unmasked in front of somebody? ('Nother entry for this section, take a shot.) That’s crazy sensitive! How does he still have any problems!? Is everything bad that’s ever happened to characters with this powerset bad writing!? --Listen, I think as people with uncanny senses that can tell us whether we are in danger with accuracy that varies from incredible to approximate (I am talking about the five senses that most people have), we should all know better than to underestimate our ability to tune them out or interpret them wrong and fuck ourselves up anyway. I honestly find this part completely realistic.

*SLAPS ROOF OF SPIDER-SENSE* YOU CAN FIT SO MANY STORIES IN THIS THING

The spider-sense is a clean branch into...whatever. There is the exact right balance of structure and wishy-washiness to build off of. A sample selection of whatevers that have been built:

It’s sci-fi and spy gadgets when Peter builds technology that can interface with it.

It’s quasi-mystical when Kaine and Annie-May get stronger versions of it that give them literal psychic visions, or when you want to get mythological and start talking about all the spider-characters being part of a grand web of fate.

Kaine loses his and it becomes symbolic of a future newly unbound by constraints, entangled thematically with the improved physical health he picked up at the same time -- a loss presented as a gain.

Peter loses his and almost dies 782 times in one afternoon because that didn’t make the people he provoked when he had it stop trying to kill him, and also because he isn’t about to start “””taking the subway’’””’ “‘’“”to work”””’’” like some kind of loser who doesn’t get a heads up when he’s about to hit a pigeon at 50mph.

Peter’s starts tuning into his wife’s anxiety and it’s a tool in a relationship study.

It starts pinging whenever Peter’s near his boss who’s secretly been replaced by a shapeshifter and he IGNORES IT because his boss is enough of an asshole that that doesn’t strike him as weird; now it’s a comedy/irony tool.

Into the Spider-Verse made it this beautiful poetic thing connecting all the spider-heroes in the multiverse and stacked up a story on it about instant connection, loss, and incredibly unlikely strangers becoming a found family. It was also aesthetic as FUCK. Remember the scene where Miles just hears barely intelligible whispering that’s all lines people say later in the film and then his own voice very clearly says “look out” and then the room explodes?? Fuck!!!!

Venom becomes immune to it after hitchhiking to Earth in Peter’s bone juice and it makes him a unique threat while telling a more-homoerotic-than-I-assume-was-originally-intended story about violation and how close relationships can be dangerous when they go sour.

It doesn’t work on people you trust for maximum soap opera energy. Love the innate tragedy of this feature coming up.

IN CONCLUSION I don’t have much patience for writers who don’t take advantage of it, never mind feel they need to write around it.

[halfway-happyyy]

I've been losing my mind working at a mall on a stand type of thing all by myself and was wondering if you could write a nice piece of Alex coming over to help me spend the time after I text him something like "Please come save me, this is so boring." which leads to him flirting with me and maybe taking me to his place for some good time. 😏 All help to spend my shift entertained is so very welcomed. 😂 Also, love your writing to bits and you're my favourite writer in a long time. ❤

hello friend! thanks for requesting! changed this up a little bit, hope ya don’t mind. it is under a cut because it’s a little long and spicy. tw: oral sex

“I have something to tell you,”

Disappointment dripped from his tone even over the crackle of the telephone wire and she knew immediately what he was about to tell her.

“I won’t be home for Christmas this year, kid.”

She let the silence take shape around them, took a hearty sip of her wine while she counted the seconds in between and then simply said, “Okay, Alex.”

“I tried to figure out a way to get away from set for a few days and it’s just… it’s not in the cards this year. I’m sorry, my love.”

She had never once faulted him for this. How could she? Acting- working, was something that came as naturally to him as breathing and so it was something that she accepted when they decided to give this thing a proper go. She just wasn’t always happy about it. “Don’t apologize, Alex. I’ll see you in a few weeks. I’m sure there will be mountains of leftovers for you, so we can have our own dinner when you get here.”

An audible sigh of relief on the other end. “Have I told you yet today?”

Her face broke into a wide grin and she shook her head. “Nope.”

“I love you endlessly, kid.”

God, just hearing those five words never got old.

“I love you too, Alex.”

~

Old man Winter had taken her city by storm, and a healthy heaping of fresh snow covered nearly every surface in sight. As the coffee machine in the corner of the café spluttered to life- the familiar first sounds of a day on the verge of starting, she watched the world outside her small window rouse from its stillness. It never really went to sleep, but there were moments that the noise dwindled to a low hum and she found something satisfying in watching it resume its natural cacophony. Her eyes fell shut as she inhaled the tantalizing aroma of freshly ground coffee beans and the croissants baking in the oven and she turned the corner to the back room to marvel at her baker Cait, as she rolled out the second batch of bread dough for the day. An apprentice baker at the tender age of twenty-two, and already inexplicably talented, she had been a total godsend to her team, and she smiled at the thought of it.

“Good morning, Cait. Coffee’s ready when you are.”

Her baker glanced up from her ministrations, traces of flour dusted her forehead and the side of her cheek and she beamed happily. “Sounds good boss. I’m just about finished with this run.”

Nodding her head, she ducked out of the back room, returning to the front so that she could finish putting the last tray of fresh butter tarts into the front showcase. Dusting her hands on her apron, she surveyed the café one last time before heading to the front window to flip around the closed sign. She stood for a moment to watch fat snowflakes fall in droves from the steel-grey sky and wondered how busy the shop could possibly be with weather like that. The timer on the oven sounded the end of the croissants baking time, and she walked the short distance to the rational where she pulled on a pair of mitts and took them out, placing them on the silver rack next to her. Tossing the mitts on top of the rack, she took the liberty of making Cait’s coffee the way that she knew she liked it and brought it into the back room for her.

“Think it’s going to be busy today?” Cait asked, with a sigh.

She glanced up at the calendar above their heads and frowned. Sunday before Christmas. “Hard to tell. But I hope so,” She had been about to say something else, but the familiar tinkle of bells above the front door rang out signaling the arrival of a customer. Taking a healthy sip of the delicious amber liquid, she excused herself to attend to their first patron of the day. Rounding the corner into the café, her breath hitched in her throat when she caught sight of Alexander’s figure in the doorway; head down and brushing flakes of snow from the sleeves of his navy pea coat. When he was finished, he lifted his gaze to hers and smiled. “Hi, kid.”

She untied the apron around her stomach and threw it onto the hook next to her, closing the gap between them in seconds. Reaching up on tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around his neck, inhaling his familiar scent. “You’re here,” She murmured, breathlessly.

He rubbed reassuring circles into her back and nodded his head. “Surprise.”

They stayed embraced for a long while, each reveling in the feeling of being home in one another’s arms.

“Can I get you anything?” She asked, eventually.

“Yes, coffee please. It was an early morning.”

She reached up to press a kiss to his stubbled cheek and excused herself to make his coffee. “Anything else?” She called out.

He cocked his head to the side; a simpering look tugged the edges of his lips upward and she could not ignore the mischievous glint in his blue eyes, or the way that it caused goosebumps to bloom over her arms. “Yes, actually. I was wondering if you’d like to come home with me.”

Her eyes widened and she elicited a breathless laugh. “Come home with you? Right now?”

Alexander nodded his head finitely. “Yes, right this very minute.”

She had been about to protest, but Cait cleared her throat from behind her and stepped forward, her voice low. “Henry just pulled in out back. Go enjoy yourself.”

“What about the shop? What if it gets busy?”

Cait resisted the urge to roll her hazel eyes, and instead shrugged her shoulders. “We can handle it. Go on.”

Alexander lifted his coffee in cheers and tossed a wink her way. “Thanks, Cait.”

~

Their walk home had been silent save for the muted crunch of snow beneath their boots. There had been a lot of things that she wanted to ask him, a lot that she wanted to say to him, but she found she was content just to have him beside her, to have the warmth of his hand envelop her own. They had managed to make it home before the snow started getting really bad, and she was beyond grateful to have the rest of the day with him. Discarding their winter attire in the front hall closet, he led her by hand to their bedroom at the end of the hall where he entered and took a seat at the edge of the bed. “I’ve missed you kid,” He mused. She closed the gap between them to stand between his parted thighs and cradled his head in her hands. His arms encircled her waist, and he pressed a series of gentle kisses to her clothed chest.

“I’ve missed you too, Alex.”

He pulled away to gaze up at her, his glassy blue orbs alight with a fire she had come to recognize well. She could lose herself for hours in those eyes if she wanted to; flecks of gold in whirlpools of azure, they were her favourite physical feature of his.

Alexander pushed a stray whisp of hair behind her ear, sighing contedly. “What is that breathtaking mind of yours thinking of, hm?” He murmured.

She traced a featherlight fingertip from his temple down to the chiseled line of his jaw. “Nothing you haven’t heard before.”

Alexander brought her hand to his lips and kissed the palm of it, tenderly. “Undress for me?”

She stepped back against the wall to do as she was asked, toying with the hem of her t shirt as she did so. She lifted it up past her abdomen, over her neck, and dropped it to the hardwood floor beneath her. Unzipping her jeans, she shimmied out of the constricting denim and watched it pool around her feet. She noticed the erection growing steadily in the crotch of her lover’s own jeans and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth at the mere thought of it. Reaching around her back for the clasp on her bra, she undid that too and let the flimsy fabric fall to the ground, gathering with the rest of the discarded clothing. Taking a steadying breath, she pulled the panties from her legs and kicked them to the side, now entirely naked before him. Alexander cleared his throat and rose from the bed, only to drop to his knees, fully clothed, before her. His arms circled her hips as he placed hot, open-mouthed kisses to her lower belly. Sucking two fingers into his mouth, he got them slick with his spit, and teased them at her wet entrance. Quivering with unbridled anticipation above him, the weight of what was about to happen, was not at all lost on her as he pressed fiery kisses to the tops of her thighs and hipbones. Wordlessly, he had her lift her leg over his shoulder as he bent forward to lick a long, wet stripe up her slit. Stopping at the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top, he pressed warm, wet circles into it and was rewarded with a long, low groan from the base of her throat.

“Just like that, Alex…” She gasped.

He nodded against her. “I’ve got you, kid.”

Pressing a kiss to her clit, he repeated the kitten-lick up her core, earning him another loud, breathy moan. Pulling away from her, he blew a steady stream of cool air over her heated center, grinning at how her body sang for him. “You’re not going to last long, baby girl.”

She tilted her back against the wall, fingers finding purchase in the locks of hair that had grown tenfold since she had last laid eyes on him. She began to massage his head methodically, which caused him to groan longingly against her, the vibrations sending shockwaves of white-hot pleasure straight to the center of her clit. Licking long, firm stripes up her core with the flat of his tongue he eventually began to fuck her with it, causing her to tremble violently above him.

“Don’t stop…” Her voice wavered warningly, as she ground herself against his face. Alexander listened to her words and to the exact way in which her body responded to his care and kept up the rhythm in which he was eating her out. Her orgasm began to build like a fire in the pit of her belly, the familiar coil of nerves wound unbearably tight and ready to unravel at a moment’s notice. “Oh, god…” Alexander gripped her hips in his hands, his fingernails leaving miniscule crescent-shaped indentations in the soft skin there. He alternated between fucking her with his tongue, and suckling at her clit, grazing his teeth along the sensitive bundle of nerves as he did so. She arched her back against his mouth, reveling in the extra sensation of his stubbled jaw against the velvety skin of her inner thighs. “Oh god, Alex- He groaned and nodded against her tight, wet core, coaxing the looming release from her. She stilled against his face, arching her back high against the wall as her orgasm ripped through her like a blaze out of control. She shivered against him as he continued to lap up every ounce of honey she had to offer him and when she had recovered for the most part, he placed open-mouthed kisses to her clit and rose off his knees, to tower above her. His eyes- though still the same hue of blue they were before he had gifted her with her orgasm, were now nearly black, his pupils dilated and blown over with lust. “I want you to come for me now,” She murmured, voice entirely wrecked for the time being. She peeled Alexander’s shirt from his body, throwing it next to the pile of her own discarded clothing. Unzipping his jeans, she pulled the useless material from his toned legs and tossed them off to the side. Glancing up, she noticed the head of his erect cock straining hard against the fabric of his sky-blue boxer briefs, had begun to leak pre-come, leaving a small, wet circle in the thin fabric. Her mouth watered hungrily at the memory of how it tasted, as she hooked two fingertips into the waistband of his underwear and smirked up at him. She teased the boxers down his thighs, his hard cock springing free from the all-consuming material. She watched a bead of pre-come glisten at the head- the urge to lap it up was almost unbearable.

“Go on, baby…” Alexander murmured. She took him into her hands, grasping him firmly, and licked a long stripe up from the base of his cock to the head, reveling in salty brininess of the fluid gathered at the head of his cock. She couldn’t resist taking more of him into her mouth, and she did until she felt him at the base of her throat. He groaned loudly and pushed a little farther in, causing tears to spring up in the depths of her eyes. “Fuck,” He groaned loudly. “Always taking this cock so fucking well, baby girl… every inch I have to give you,” He pulled out of the hot wetness of her mouth and jutted his chin out toward the bed. “On the bed, babe…” She passed the back of her hand over her mouth and rose from her feet to do as she was told. Falling back against the down pillows breathlessly, she watched with a hooded gaze as Alexander clambered onto the bed before her. He crawled up over her body so that he was straddling her chest and took his cock into his hand. “I know how much you love watching me touch myself.” He began to move a tight fist up and down the length of himself, tossing his head back each time he passed over a particularly sensitive spot. “Fuck,” He breathed out.

She watched a bead of pre-come roll down the underside of his shaft, and swallowed hard. “I want another taste,”

Alexander swiped a fingertip beneath his head to collect some of the moisture there and held it out for her to lick off, which she did happily. Sucking his fingertip into her mouth, he let her keep it there while he worked his fist harder down the length of his cock. “Jesus,” He gasped under his breath. “I’m close, baby…”

“Come for me, Alex… make a mess.”

Her pleas seemed to spur his orgasm on, and he dropped his head back as a low, desperate groan ripped from the base of his throat. His fist stilled against his sensitive head as he tumbled over the edge in violent waves, coating her breasts in his warm, opaque fluid. “Fuck,” He sighed after a few moments of trying to regulate his breathing. He lifted himself from her and off the bed, disappearing into their on-suite bathroom in search of a towel to clean her off. Approaching her, he wiped the towel gently over her chest and cleaned her off as best as he could. Sidling down into bed beside her, he gathered her hand in his and brought it to his lips.

“Thanks for surprising me and rescuing me from work today, Alex.” She yawned, softly.

He kissed her tenderly. “Any damn day, kid. Merry Christmas.”

🤶🎄🎅🎁

[guigz1-coldwar]

'The Final Countdown' : new chapter of "Fighting Spirit of a Once Innocent Girl" is out !

"The Final Countdown"

Chapter Summary : Samantha is ready for the final battle against the man who destroyed her life apart....and her friend she thought to have lost.....

To read it on AO3, click here !

Words : +4200

-------------------------------

It is it.....the Endgame ! After all we have done for the past few week, we finally found out exactly where Monty was hiding : away from the public, on the Solovetsky Islands in the north of the Soviet Union, his Omega ultimate and final base in the entire world. We all got the impression ad we all hoped too that it will be soon the end of everything for Monty, we are not going just to stop a simple terrorist who want to blow the Purplelight Arsenal and destroy Europe but we are trying to stop a elder god to take over the Universe....and the Multiverse !

We were the only persons who are able to stop him from achieving his goals and we couldn't do it alone with just me, Helen, Nikolai, Greta & Yirina. We needed help from Requiem and we all preferred to put our differences aside for just this final mission. We still have our grudge on them for everything they have done against us but their help could be crucial if we want to win that battle we are going to make against the Dark Aether.

Nikolai, I brought him in because I knew that he would be able to convince everyone about everything : he told them basically everything about Monty....about the Dark Aether....and about me. He told them the truth but there's parts he never mentioned to others like exactly who he was, claiming he was my 'protector' and nothing else and he didn't talk about the Multiverse because I could see in him that he was suspicious of Requiem in case they would like to know more about that if he told them about the Multiverse.

When he was finished about this, everyone had their minds blowed away from all of these and after that, a lot of calls were made from Hudson and Weaver respectively. They decided to bring the best firepower and the best mens for this crucial mission because now, everyone know that we can't afford at one little second to fail, it's the entire Multiverse that it's at stakes right now. After our little reunion with Greta & Yirina....and the death of Lazar, we didn't lose time at all and we were on our way to Solovetsky.

We took more than 2 days to approach Solovetsky by using an american aircraft carrier as Nikolai told us that it was impossible for him to transport everyone on the islant because Monty would have spotted us directly and we wouldn't have a simple chance to act. Our powers could still be used on the island but not before we're on it. More we were getting close to the island, more everyone were starting to get nervous about this but everyone kept their cool, trying to all think about a victory and never to a defeat.

During the travel in the helicopter that were bringing us to the rendez-vous point on the island, I was rethinking about everything that happened to me in just weeks : I was given back the powers I thought I have lost for a long time, I rekindled my relationship with Helen even if it was complicated at firs and I found back the only friends that are now standing with me at my side but everything wasn't really good at all : I realized that Requiem used me for an long time and lied to everyone, even Weaver were included in it.

But the worst......was to discover that Eddie.....was Perseus. The person I've been fighting for months is the friend I lost where I arrived in this new universe. He was controlled by Monty himself and I'm going to make sure that this will end soon. I'm going to save Eddie after all these years....and I'm going to kill Monty. I have made myself that promise and I will be sure to do it today.

"Approaching the LZ." The helicopter said loudly, breaking me from my thoughts and I looked outside, we were already arrived at destination. On the helicopter, there were me, Helen, Greta & Yirina awaiting that the helicopter landed until we were on the ground. We were the first to arrive at the scene, waiting now for the other team to go out.

"Finally." Greta exclaimed, getting out first from the helicopter "My legs weren't able to hold any longer." She stretched her legs outside as we are also getting out

"It was always a problem with you." Yirina got next to her, getting her hands on her shoulders as me & Helen stayed away, looking at them. "Now, how do you feel ?" Greta looked at Yirina with lovely eyes

"More happy.....with your hands on me." Greta in an surprise, got her arms around Yirina wraist, putting the two more closer than before.

"Always been flirting, Greta !" Yirina whispered before the two pull out to kiss each other....until they stopped to look at us, we weren't very discreet.

"What ?" Greta fainted an incomprehesion towards us

"Uhm...nothing." Helen replied, blushing from their sight as we decided to look away, focusing back to ourselves. "They're looking cute together." She added....well, not looking anymore but still focused on them apparently.

"Well, I never thought that of them first but yeah...." I started, giving a little look to them before getting my eyes back on Helen "You're right, they're cute."

"I think they're taking their time before the others arrive." Helen said, looking worried "So, this is it, right ?" She asked

"Yes, the endgame." I replied, surely

"We all sure that we can't afford to lose today." Helen told me, looking in the direction of the monastery

"Everything will end tonight for Monty and I really hope that we can save Eddie." I exclaimed, crossing my arms, leaning against the helicopter

"I was thinking : what will happen next ?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"When everything will be done ?" She nodded "I don't know : sure to install ourselves in Nikolai's House with Greta & Yirina but after ? I don't know."

"Maybe we can finally have our night." She said in a lovely voice, causing me to smile.

"I'm sure we will." I laughed with her before we all start to hear some helicopters arriving on the scene, meaning that we had to put our thoughts on the side to focus back on the mission we are going to do.

Those who arrived were Adler, accompanied by his team and Requiem and by the looks on their faces, they weren't any moments and occasions to have a simple laugh at all and I could understand that. Everyone was so nervous and stressed but in them, I could see their determination and their bravery to come in here and to face a threat no one ever thought to face.

Once everyone were gathered up, Adler decided to repear everything from the plan....their plan : everyone will be tasked to deal with the AA Guns covering the monastery site to allow the bombers to release hell on the radars sector and to help them, they will use a EMP bomb to give everyone time to get the thing done as for us, we decided to take things in our own hands and it will be hard.

While everyone else will be fighting inside the monastery, me & the girls will strike the radar sector to deal with Monty himself as he was reported to be staying at this particular sector before the bombers took this place apart. It was just going to be the four of us against maybe an entire platoon of Omega soldiers that will stand between us and him but with our powers, we can make it worth it.

After that, we all got to our respectives trucks that was given to us thanks to Belikov and we were the first group to leave the scene as we needed to take another road from the others. Yirina was driving the truck as we were looking around us, all in our thoughts. Nikolai was communicating with us throught our minds as we didn't have any radios to talk with the others. It was just going to be us and Nikolai will help us throught the following battle.

"Everyone." We could start to hear Nikolai in our heads "Monty is staying at the radar site, he's awaiting for you to come."

"Anything to be worried about ?" I asked

"He has the Agarthan Device with him." He replied and I could hear him biting his lips "You will have to watch out when you will fight him."

"Do you know exactly what are we going to face in the base ?" Helen said, looking forwards to the road.

"Mainly the last Omega elite soldiers at first but since Monty is alone near the radar, be prepared for anything." We all looked in front of us as we were arriving near the radar sector of the monastery and Yirina stopped the truck on top of a hill, overlooking the monastery.

"Thanks....dad." Yirina whispered in a very low voice before she sniffed away. I was surprised to hear that because I didn't witness Nikolai telling her who he was. I crouched to get next to Yirina.

"You're okay, Yirina ?" I asked, seeing her getting kind of sad

"He told me everything." She said, in the same previous voice "He was the father I were never able to had and like that, he's back."

"I know, I couldn't believe it either too." I exclaimed to her with an smile, trying to give some recomfort before I could feel an hand on my shoulder, I looked up to see Helen, looking away.

"They are starting their attack !" She said and when I got up to verify her claims, I could see a lot of military trucks getting down an hill at full speed from afar, meaning the beginning of our last mission.

I let Yirina drive off at full speed too, letting us hold ourselves on the truck as she wasn't going easy with the speed. Then, a big white light exploded above the monastery....the Requiem EMP bomb. Everything electronics on the base were not going to work for an while and we will have approximatively more than 15 minutes to get the job done but me....I know that we will need more time to fight Monty. Anyway, fighting him could make him busy to not launch the Purplelight detonation order.

When the EMP bomb exploded, a loud noise could be heard, making some sort of ringing bells in our ears and then, the blast of the EMP was getting felt as it hit our truck. Yirina almost lost control of the truck because of that but she managed to kept her hands on the wheel and to stabilize the truck as we were going down the hill at full speed. At a least 300 meters from the radar sector entrance, I prepared my Ray Gin and at 100 meters, the first bullet arrived on our truck as we started to blast with our guns too.

With my Ray Gun, I was able to destroy one of the BTR keeping the entrance with 3 hits....that gun is very powerful.....before Yirina used the truck to literally force the big door open, allowing us to enter a yard composed of a lot of Omega materials.....and a lot of Omega soldiers, awaiting for us. Yirina got the truck stop in the middle of the fight, giving us some time to get into cover before she got out too and let a surprise on the truck. Once she did it while we cover her, we were surprised to see the truck drive by itself, directly towards an guard tower and then blow up, getting the tower down.

After the explosion that confused the enemy soldiers, we decided to split up : me & Helen were going directly to the radar control room inside the main building of the radar sector as Yirina & Greta will take care of the numerous enemy soldier, covering us each time we moved cover to cover. Our powers combined allowed them to neutralize easily a large part of the Omega soldiers, we even succeeded to lift a heavy tank off the ground to launch into another heavy tank and to the soldiers guarding it.

When the sounds of the fight were getting lowered, we parted away, focused on getting to the radar control room while they were keeping our backs in case. When we entered the building, we were surprised to see the electricity coming back.....Monty has really planned everything....a back-up generator hidden somewhere but we took the decision to continue instead of trying to find that generator.

After a minute and when we were starting to get close from the radar control room, clearing our way to it, we started to hear some gunshots inside of it and it was strange for us. We forced open the door to realize what was going on.....Ravenov ?......Ravenov was here !.......When we entered the room, he was fighting with two Omega soldiers and he took care of one of them with his gun before the other were smashed brutally on a table by him.

"Requiem !" He exclaimed, having seeing us for a second before looking at us for good. "Maxis ?"

"Ravenov !" I said, surprised "What are you doing here ?"

"Just doing my job : avoiding Omega to use Purplelight." He looked at the soldier he smashed on the table before throwing it on the ground "I thought that Requiem had locked you up."

"Exactly but I got freed." I rolled my eyes "It was better for them." I added as he was getting next to a control panel.

"Ravenov, where's Monty ?" Helen asked, staying next to the door in case

"That svoloch'.....been waiting at the radar's foots." He replied, getting focused on looking on the multiple screens in front of him "He's been watching the fight going inside the monastery before he will launch the detonation order but not with me, messing with the radars." He looked at us "Go face him, I will make sure the radar are not used."

"I think it's better that you got out of here safe, Requiem bombers will soon put this place down." I exclaimed as I tried to get next to him but he put his arm towards me, meaning to stay away from him

"I can't !" He almost yelled at me. "I'm sorry, Maxis but....I don't think I can make it."

"Why are you saying this ?" Helen said, worried

"He....he infected today with some Aetherium, like he did to everyone." He replied, his voice cracking "I've been trying to find a way to control it but nothing. I will soon become one of these monsters but I will not let this happen."

"You can't be serious ?" I told him before he remove one of his coat sleeve, making me see a part of his veins going black and sort of purple "No...." I whispered "We can save you."

"It's impossible, can't be undone." He put his coat sleeve back on as he was getting focused on making the radars go crazy. "Go, kill him. I'm doing this for you....for the Motherland.....it's is...the only way." I realized that nothing can save him, not even our powers and I had no choice but to leave him like that here.

"Good luck, Ravenov." I said, my voice cracking before I left the room with Helen

Damn it....not him. Ravenov was a good guy....a good russian and I wasn't able to save him from Monty....like I wasn't able to save Lazar. The worst of it is when I closed the door of the room and walked a few steps that me & Helen heard a shot inside the room. I closed my eyes, not to think about it but I was getting more angrier about everything right now. I'm losing friends, one by one and now, I'm fearing for Helen....for Greta....for Yirina.

Keep control, Samantha....keep control....I started to think as we were finding a way to get out of the building and to join the radar's foots, clearing our way from every of our enemies that was on it. And to say, I wasn't getting easy on them and Helen started to share the same anger as me like me, using our upgraded guns and our powers combined. That was at this moment we realized that the little device Nikolai gave to us worked indeed.

When we found our way out, I took a deep breath, knowing that we were going to face Monty himself after all these times in person. I opened the door, followed by Helen, walking slowly towards the radar's foots until we got him in sight....sitting and watching the carnage happening inside the monastery. When we were getting closer, he turned his head slowly towards us,

"Samantha." He said, sounding sort of happy "I knew you will come." He then got up before he removed his mask, allowing us to see his face

"Eddie." I whispered and he laughed

"His body, not his soul !" He exclaimed, spreading his arms to look around

"Give him back to me." I ordered him, he shook his idea.

"Aw, Samantha, you should stop been persistent." He rolled his eyes in the dark skies "You will not have him and if I had to give him back to you, he will be dead."

"Give him back..." I repeated, getting my anger growing inside of me

"Don't you understand ?" He started "I'm a freakin' god ! I'm the master of this world, to this whole fucking multiverse."

"You're just an idiot." I added in anger "You're just trying to do something that you can't longer control." I smiled nervously to his face "They stopped you for a while....I will finish the job !"

"Them ? You ? You will do nothing, Samantha." He replied "You can't do a thing : you can't protect your friends, you have lost everything to stand for." I then see Helen clenching her fists in anger, she had heard enough.

"You took.....everything from her !" She exclaimed, her eyes going fully purple

"I don't even know who you are !" He said, looking at her before I got my eyes purple too, angry and then, I started to levitate off the ground,

"You will !" I said and then, the final showdown was about to begin.

When I levitate off the ground with Helen at my side, we were able to grab heavy objects around us, levitating too before we throw them to Monty who started to run at us but these objects were doing nothing to him at all, not even stopping him to run towards us. At this moment, I got back on the ground to face him, taking the Path of Sorrows in my hands as Helen tried to do the same by firying bullets at him with no effects before Monty was able to put his hands on her and threw her away against a radar foot and hopefully, her powers were stronger, allowing her to have nothing from it.

I started to give him some cuts with the katana but I then realized that these cuts were like healing instantly. I tried to give him multiple cuts at the same time while avoiding his powerfuls punchs but each time, his wounds were like healing in a second. I tried to grab the Agarthan Device that was hooked to his belt but unfortunately, I took my guard down for a second, allowing him to throw me as well far away on the ground, losing the Path of Sorrows in the process.

With my powers, I started to make the katan fly to get back in my hands but when I was about to catch it....Monty got it first, grabbing it in his own hands before trying to attack me with it. I put my hands on the blade to stop him but he was gaining the advantage and I could only scream in pain as the blade were hurting my hands even if I had gloves until the end of the blade start to hit my shoulder but before he was able to do that, the Katana somehow started to tremble in his hands before it hit him in the face and fly away.....to land perfectly in Helen's hands standing up.

When I saw that, I was amazed because I thought that I was the only one to use the Path of Sorrows and when I see running against Monty with it in hands, I realized that she was able to use it too and her strikes and swings were damn perfect. However, no time to think about that as I got up rapidly to help her to fight out him but even with us two, Monty were able to stay strong until I succeeded to get my hands on the Agarthan Device and once I've got it in hands, Helen give Monty a big cut on the legs and surprisely, it wasn't healing anymore.

Then, I realized that this Device....was the source of his powers. If we destroyed it, we can kill him.....but we are going to kill Eddie too. Before I could do a thing, Monty gained the advantage and threw me and Helen, having his hand back on the Device before he start to levitate by himself and....the radars were getting moved by themselves.....he was the one doing it, nullifying Ravenov's work to stop the radars, he was creating an big purple orb above him with the Device....ready to launch Purplelight.

It was going to be the end of it and our fight was getting useless.....until the orb was destroyed by something from afar behind us and him, we looked out to realized that Greta and Yirina was there and was the one to have destroyed it. However, it did something to Monty as he got back on the ground, holding his head with his hands, in pain.

"Let me free !" That.....Eddie ? It was Eddie's voice talking, not Monty's one

"No !" It was Monty's voice. Shit, the two were fighting for Eddie's body keys, both were trying to take control. "You're my key to my future !" He added, shouting.

"You controlled me for years !" Eddie exclaimed "You corrupted me, you did make me fight Samantha."

"She's weak and you're strong !" Monty yelled "Let me fight, let me win."

"Not anymore." Eddie fell on his knees on the ground holding the Agarthan Device in hands, putting it on the ground before looking at me. "I'm sorry, Samantha, this....is the only way !"

"NOOOOO !" I screamed, trying to move to get to him at the same time as Monty before with his hands, Eddie crushed down the Device, causing an white light to blind everyone around it.

When I opened my eyes after been blinded by that light, I was laying down on the ground and the silence was taking over the place, no more sounds of fightings, no more gunshots.....a death silence....getting heard everywhere. When I looked up, Helen, Yirina and Greta were also grounded and slowly recovering and then, we saw.....Monty.....Monty standing up.....the Monty who killed my father.....the Monty in his true form, looking lost as he was having his eyes on the monastery before sitting on the ground.

"You won." He said in fear as I was slowly getting up "You did it, for the sake of this stupid world." He looked at me, not trying a thing anymore "However, the Dark Aether....is still living....and it will always be there."

"We will make sure that this threat will be no more." I exclaimed to him, mixed between calm and anger "How does it feels to....lost something ?"

"I don't know." He replied "How about you ?" He tried to smile with his hideous mouth before parts of his body started to disappear in dust. "Goodbye."

"Go to hell !" I said before he was finally gone out of my sight and then, I started to hear some groans behind me...Eddie....in pain, part of his face burned along with a part of his body, leaned against a broken radar's foot on the ground "Eddie !"

"Sama-Samanth-Samantha." He tried to speak with difficulty "You....you didn't changed a lot."

"It's gonna be okay, Eddie." I smiled, trying to recomfort him

"No, I don't think I can." He replied with a low voice

"Eddie, please, not after what I have done to found you." I pleaded, getting my hands on the part of his face that wasn't burned "I can heal you."

"No." He then looked behind me "Isn't that right, Nik....Nikolai ?" I then looked behind me and was surprised to see Nikolai standing up, with Helen, Yirina and Greta at his side, looking sad

"I'm sorry, Samantha." Nikolai breathed "We can't help him and what he did is irreversible."

"What I did....was only to secure a better tomorrow." Eddie said in a low voice, his hands getting on my shoulders "I'm proud of you."

"Eddie...." I whispered

"Only....for a better tomorrow." He smiled before looking away from me and then.....he was no more.

His lact act was to smile, feeling free as me, I could only cry in pain.....I couldn't save him. I was crying and I don't know if I can move on with it. I dedicated my life to found him again and that's what I did but I would never be able to catch the lost time with him. I could feel Helen's hands on me and she was crying too, like if she has lost someone too. We all lost someone...and losing Eddie was....so hard for me. Then, we could start to hear upcoming noises in the skies : Requiem bombers coming to bomb the radars. Nikolai moved to open a portal and once he was done, he looked at us as I grabbed Eddie's body in my arms,

"Let's go home !"

[kali-tmblr]

Problematic Atlas Quotes: Volumes 1-3

All of the places on Remnant put together have not produced as many jarring incongruities and mixed messages as Atlas. These are all quotes relating to Atlas that really stood out to me at the time and have stayed with me since.

Volume 1

Penny: I am combat ready! (Yeah, but are you ready for anything else? And who would send out a cute girl robot who was ONLY ready for combat?)

Weiss: The innocent never run, Yang! (Karmic law says that one will come back to bite your ass, Weiss.)

Penny: I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things. (We haven't seen this one come back around to Penny yet. Blake, yes. Penny, no.)

Volume 2

Ironwood: But ask yourself this: Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?

Ozpin: I hope they never have to. (Note that Ozpin believes they can. It's having to fight he considers a failure. Later revelations would make his view even more tragic.)

Ruby: But why not let us know you were okay?

Penny: I... was asked not to talk to you. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Yang. Anybody, really.

Ruby: Was your dad that upset?

Penny: No, it wasn't my father... (Ironwood speaks next. An early sign of Ironwood's controlling nature.)

Penny: I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura. (Tell me more.)

Penny: One day, it will be my job to save the world (The whole world? Seriously, tell me more.)

Penny: It's okay, Ruby. They're not bad people; I just don't want to get you in trouble. (And why would talking to you get Ruby in trouble? And why send her to a festival that encourages students to talk to each other if you won't let her talk?)

Penny: Just promise me you won't tell anyone else my secret. Okay?

Ruby: I promise.(If she HAD told Pyrrha, the whole debacle might not have happened. Will this come up again?)

Roman: As some of you may have heard, this right here... (Taps the giant mech) ...is Atlas's newest defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my "employer", we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, "hit the shelves".  (Damn, Atlas, y'all got a lot worse security problems than Ruby.)

(The image of Penny dancing by herself at the ball surrounded by uniformed guards. Say what?)

Ironwood: Ruby, I feel it's appropriate to let you know that I think what you did last night is exactly what being a Huntress is all about. You recognized a threat. You took action. And you did the very best you could. (Ah well, that's nice. Doesn't entirely fit in with the rest of your character James, but it's nice.)

Ruby: Wait. You think this girl is connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?

Ozpin: It's possible. But we still lack the required evidence to link the two together.

Ruby: Actually, I... I think I remember her saying something about a hideout, or something, in the southeast. Just outside the Kingdom.

Ozpin: Interesting.

Glynda: I thought you said the intruder never—

Ozpin: Thank you for your cooperation, Ruby. Why don't you go and spend some time with your team? You have a big day ahead of you.

Ruby: Any time.

Ozpin: And Miss Rose, please try and be ... discreet about this matter.

Ruby: Yes sir. (This tells Ironwood several things. It tells him that Ruby will lie for Ozpin, that Ozpin will cover up Ruby's lie to protect her, and most importantly that Ruby and Ozpin TRUST EACH OTHER.)

Glynda: Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado!? You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring di—!

Ozpin: Glynda!

Glynda: Well, he does. (Tell me more, Glynda.)

Ozpin: You're a general, James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag bearers, or the scouts? (Why is a civilian Headmaster schooling a general with a lesson taught to greenhorn Lieutenants? And why does he have to?)

Ozpin:  We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. (SOME kingdom has control issues.)

Glynda: You're a good person, James. You've always done what you think is best for the people, even against strong protest. It's admirable. But it's high time you stopped talking about trust and started showing it. (So Ironwood's trust issues are not new. Tell me more.)

Councilman 1: You've left us no choice! The Vytal Festival tournament cannot be broadcast, let alone held, if we are unable to ensure the safety of the citizens.

Councilman 1: Ahem... Therefore, we have reached out to the Atlas Council and together have decided that the best action is to appoint General Ironwood as head of security for the event.

Ironwood: Thank you, Councilman. Our Kingdom is happy to lend as many troops as it takes to ensure that the event runs smoothly and safely as possible.

Councilman 1: And we thank you, General.

Ozpin: Will that be all?

Councilman 1: For now. But after this festival comes to a close, we are going to have a serious discussion about your position at Beacon Academy. General Ironwood's reports over the last few weeks have left us somewhat... concerned. I am sure you understand.

Ironwood: This is the right move, Ozpin. I promise, I will keep our people safe, you have to trust me.(Damn dude, what did Glynda just say about trusting people? And why do you expect Ozpin to trust you when you clearly have tattled behind his back?)

Ironwood: You brought this on yourself. (Yeah, he did. By trusting you.)

Volume 3

I have already written a detailed post on the vast discrepancies between how Winter Schnee behaves and what she is trying to convey in her first scenes, titled "Snowbirds of a Feather". Suffice to say Ironwood isn't the only Atlesian sending mixed messages.

Ironwood: If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!

Qrow: If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself.(So y'all have an acrimonious history as well. Okay.)

Goodwitch: While I wouldn't condone his behavior, retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation. ("Call yourself a grown-up? I've seen better behavior from first-year students! Why do I even have to say anything to you? Don't answer that.")

Qrow: You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you, our enemy is here.

Ironwood: We know.

Qrow: Oh! Oh, you know! Well, thank goodness I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!

Ironwood:Qrow-

Qrow: Communication's a two-way street, pal. You see this? That's the SEND button.

Winter: They had reason to assume you'd been compromised. (So, Ironwood, explain to me WHY, if you seriously think Qrow has been compromised, you haven't brought it up with HIS BOSS before now? Isn't that information kind of important?)

Qrow: Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, or generals, or headmasters. The people in this room, the leaders of the other two academies, we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about! It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows. So you tell me, James, when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet, or did you just not give a damn!?

Ironwood: Discreet wasn't working. (Explain.)

 I'm here because this is what was necessary. (Explain.)

Qrow: You're here because Ozpin wanted you here! (Is it just me, or does anyone else think this sounds like it was an unpopular decision?)

Ciel: Ruby Rose. 15. Hails from Patch. Leader of Team RWBY. Status: Questionable. (Daaaammmn son. We need to talk. You ordered a full background check on a teenage girl just because she talked to your android? And then you gave it to your android's handler? And on top of all that, a gifted honor student from a multigenerational Huntsmen family who leads Beacon's first-year star team, who Ozpin clearly trusts, only rates as "Questionable"? Who doesn't rate as "Questionable"? Oh that's right. Qrow is also "Questionable", and so is Ozpin. Tell me, do you rate yourself as "Questionable"?)

Ciel: Penny? I believe it is best if we move on to our next location.

Penny: Could we have just a minute to talk? (No seriously, is Penny now not allowed any free time?)

Ciel: It's been precisely one minute, ma'am.(Apparently not.)

Penny: Ruby, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about. I want to stay at Beacon.

Ruby: Penny, they'll never let you do that.

Penny: I know, but I have a plan.(Tell me more.)

Yang: You're from Atlas. What could we expect?

Weiss: Well, seeing as their Kingdom, academy and armed forces are all merged as one, I think we can expect strict, militant fighters with advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strategies.  ... Or whatever they are.(So even other Atlesians think Atlesians send mixed messages.)

Ironwood: For the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a more scientific standpoint; how it works, what's it made of, how it can be used. We've made... significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it.

Qrow: Capture it and cram it into something else. (Dude, exactly WHERE did Penny's Aura come from?)

Ironwood: What I believe and hope this to be is nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline. When you're out on the battlefield, your judgment can become clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there. Even after the fight is past... (That answers that question. You don't trust yourself either. What happened to you?)

Ironwood: Ozpin, the girl... I-I can explain! (You've got a full scale Grimm invasion going on and you're more terrified of OZPIN? What did you do to create Penny, James? How ELSE have you betrayed Oz?)

Ironwood: Qrow! This isn't my doing! (Why did you automatically assume Qrow is attacking you instead of looking behind you? Guilt?)

This post is long enough already, so I'll finish later. While I may be overreacting to some of these statements, that doesn't explain all of them. It's looked from the beginning like there was something fishy going on in Atlas, especially having to do with Ironwood.

[sally-mun]

Ever met a celebrity or anybody famous? The most famous person I've met was a former pro boxer, by the name of Ray 'Boom-Boom' Mancini at a charity dinner at the banquet center I worked at 4 years ago. Nicest man you'd ever meet and he even sent me a signed autograph picture in the mail. I'm a Star Trek fan and I'd love to meet the cast of TNG, but autographs and conventions are so expensive. Of course there's the chance you could catch one of them on a bad day and get the brunt of it

If we’re including conventions, then yeah I’ve met several famous people before. I’ve met and gotten autographs and/or selfies from voice actors and screen actors, and I’ve occasionally met some artists too! Outside of that, though, I can’t really say I have. Even my best and most extensive meeting was still at a convention. You could even argue that Mario Marathon was kind of a convention in a sense, albeit a super limited one!

I wasn’t sure if I should include a list or not, so as a compromise I’m going to do so below a cut!

Voice Actors:

Sonny Strait (voice of Krillin) -- Got to spend basically an entire day with him! Unexpectedly encountered him at a convention waaaay way back in the day and he just kind of adopted me and the other handful of fans that were hanging around. He gave us all free DBZ CCG t-shirts, let us sit in the DBZ hummer, and signed anything we put in front of him!

Christopher Sabat (voice of Vegeta) -- I brought him a set of cookies made to look like dragon balls, and brought my favorite Vegeta card that I’d been saving for something like 17 years or so on the off-chance I could ever get it signed. He was so moved and impressed that he gave me two other autographs for free~

Todd Haberkorn (voice of Jaco) -- This was the same convention where I got to meet Chris Sabat, and I also brought him a box of cookies. He was so excited that he dug into them right then and there, and then when signing my card he even wrote “Thanks for the galactic cookies!”

Chuck Huber (voice of Android 17/Hiei) -- I’ve gotten autographs from him a couple of times for different characters. One of the items I got signed was one of the original Hiei action figures back when Yu Yu Hakusho first debuted in the US. He was impressed that I had it at all, let alone that it was in the box. (Amusingly, the only reason I did was because I had one previous to it that was out of the box on display and whose sword had broken. I got a new one intending to replace it, but just never opened it.)

Chris Rager (voice of Mr. Satan) -- SUCH a nice guy! We had a nice little chat and I offered him some dragon ball cookies I’d been handing out that day. He signed my trading card and took a selfie with me! I caught him at a panel where he told some absolutely amazing behind-the-scenes stories that I still tell to other people to this day.

Chris Cason (voice of Tien) -- Not much to say about this encounter, I didn’t get to say much more than a hello and thank you before he had to go. I’d missed the official signing session and just happened to catch him after a panel.

Team Four Star -- I catch these guys every opportunity I can manage, and every time I bring them some DBZ-themed treat. I refer to myself as “Snack Girl” when I come to get autographs, and at my last encounter Lanipator mentioned that I looked familiar when I came to the table, so I guess I’m making an impact! I have several stories concerning these guys, way too many to list here.

Little Kuriboh (YGOA voice of Merik, DBZA voice of Freeza) -- Amusingly I met him the time I was at a convention in my Piccolo costume, and that ended up being a whole conversation by itself. It then immediately turned into a conversation about Fallout because someone had brought him some New Vegas playing cards, lol. He was enamored with the trading card I had brought him to sign, and we had a discussion about a fund raiser he’d hosted to raise money for disaster relief where I’d won one of the auctions he’d held.

Kevin Conroy (voice of Batman) -- I found out very late that he was going to be in town, like maybe a week or two before, and dropped EVERYTHING to be able to meet him. When I was in line for an autograph I was so worked up that I kept getting light headed and having heart palpitations. By the time I actually made it to the table I was so starstruck that I could barely say anything. I’m pretty sure I said “I can’t believe you’re here” (??? wtf past-me) and something about him being so talented. He thanked me and didn’t really say much. I had also paid for a photo with him, and in the photo you can see my hand gripping the side of my leg REALLY tightly because I had a very strong instinct to hug him and I WAS NOT ABOUT TO BE THAT FANGIRL.

Charles Martinet (voice of most of the Mario cast) -- Holy shit, this man is playful! He was an absolute delight to talk to, and even just to watch with other people while I was in line. He was very open to whatever sorts of fan requests each person had and was just so warm and gracious with each person that came up. I mostly just wanted to shake his hand and tell him that Mario games basically set me up for the person I grew up to be today. The thing that amused me the most is that if you had him autograph one of the prints at the table, which had all the Mario characters on it, he’d do the voices of each character while doodling little word balloons for them~

Screen Actors:

John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who/Torchwood) -- This was one of the first times I’d gone to a convention specifically to meet an actor. He was a lot of fun and did his best to be chatty, but his handlers were kind of hurrying people along. He was especially tickled by my name (I guess he doesn’t sign too many autographs made out to “Leda”), and he even signed a second item that we happened to have for free!

Cary Elwes (Wesley in The Princess Bride, among other things) -- This was another one of those moments where the weight of just WHO I was meeting got to me and I completely lost my voice. I think I said something about having grown up watching Princess Bride ever since I was a little kid?? I honestly don’t remember what I said, it’s kind of a blur. All I know is that I was so struck by the moment that I didn’t even remember to say that I also love him in the Saw movies.

Billy Boyd (Pippin in Lord of the Rings) -- Not a lot I can say about this one because it was a very fast-paced, conveyor belt sort of affair. We exchanged greetings and he thanked us very much for coming out to see him, and we all agreed that Pippin is totes the best hobbit.

Robin Lord Taylor (Penguin in Gotham) -- One of my favorite interactions meeting a celebrity, for sure! He was actually really interested in knowing about -me-, which completely threw me off-guard. He wanted to know where I was from and what I did for a living, and when I said I was a manager at Spencer’s he got really excited and squeaked “I LOVE Spencer’s!” While he was signing my doll I explained that Penguin is by far my family’s favorite character in Gotham and that we had a joke where, anytime the show switches back to him, we say “Meanwhile, with the REAL main character...” He got a big kick out of that~

Khary Payton (King Ezekiel in The Walking Dead) -- So I don’t watch a huge amount of Walking Dead, but I watch enough that I wanted to come along when my mom went to go get an autograph from him for my brother. He’s definitely the friendliest celebrity I’ve encountered -- so much so that he wouldn’t stay behind the table! He spent the entire time in FRONT of the table so he could hug every single person that came to see him! It was a nice strong hug, too, and he was just so welcoming and pleasant. I told him that, if I had to choose one of the communities in The Walking Dead, I’d absolutely choose The Kingdom. He threw his hands up to his sides and said dramatically, “You will always have a place in my kingdom!”

Penn & Teller -- This year my mom took me on a surprise trip to Las Vegas, and while we were there we got to see Penn & Teller perform, which has always been a dream of mine! After the show they came out into the lobby and they did autographs and selfies with anyone that wanted one, and I got to meet them each. It was a little disarming hearing Teller talk, and Penn was as funny as ever because he’d loudly comment whenever someone’s phone wasn’t working. During this trip I also had my Boris plushie as my “traveling doll” and asked if they’d take pictures with him as well, which they both obliged. Teller seemed particularly amused by Boris.

James Rolfe (the Angry Video Game Nerd) -- So I actually have kind of a long history with him, which originated with me contacting the show to donate a fairly odd peripheral accessory. I given a green light and provided an address, and since I was going to be mailing him anyway, I basically just got a big box and threw in any video game related stuff that I didn’t want anymore and didn’t feel like putting the effort into selling. It ended up being a HUGE box, so much so that I included an inventory list to make sure he didn’t accidentally throw something away. To my surprise he actually mailed me back an autographed AVGN print thanking me for the donations! I thought that’d be the end of it, but he’s actually since featured that peripheral several times on the show, and even included an Easter egg that I asked for twice! This year I got to meet him at Too Many Games and introduced myself as the one that sent the item in. He mentioned that they had a lot of fun messing with it.

Mario Marathon team -- I’m known as one of the regulars since I’ve been around since the first year, and a couple of years ago I was actually invited to the marathon itself as a player! It’s definitely one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I only wish I could do it all over again! Everyone was just... wonderful~ I was there for several days so there’s obviously way too many stories to tell, but at least in this case you can always go watch the videos on Twitch.

Artists:

Steven Butler -- This was particularly amusing because I was the one that caught him by surprise. I happened to be making my way through the Artist Alley when I realized he was there, and since no one was at the table at the time I went over to talk to him. We had an awesomely long chat about his work (I was going through a sample book on the table) and his time drawing for the Sonic comics. He tried to bring it up as a talking point, and I told him “I know, I own some of your pages!” which REALLY threw him for a loop! He showed me some art for a new Sonic-style story he’s been working on, and I completely fell in love with a character that was clearly inspired by Sally (and I’m not just assuming, he confirmed as much). I then started talking about @fini-mun and how it’s only a shame he couldn’t meet Deebs too, and was talking about Deebs’ history with art and almost getting recruited to be in the Archie art stable as well and how they now do art streams. He was particularly interested in the streams, and I was like “Oh yeah, that’s actually why they aren’t here now, they have a stream today!” so he gave me a free print to pass along to Deebs as a show of interest and support!

Veronica Vera (from the Not Enough Rings comic) -- This was another chance encounter in Artist Alley. I was just kind of poking around to see everyone’s work, and I realized I recognized the comic she was selling. I commented that I loved that comic, and she said she was selling hardcover copies of the entire series. I love the comic and I wanted to show my support, so I bought a book and she signed the inside cover! Unfortunately Oliver Bareham wasn’t there at the time, so no autograph from him. Maybe one day if I’m incredibly lucky, I suppose.

Rich Koslowski -- This was at one of my very first conventions ever. He was an inker of the Sonic comics at the time, and I was only.... 12, I think? I mostly was just excited to be meeting someone that works on Sonic stuff, and I can’t remember much about the encounter aside from just babbling about liking Sonic. I remember him being very kind.

And unfortunately... Ken Penders --  This was at the same convention I just mentioned with Koslowski. As stated above I was only 12, and I was just excited to meet someone who works on Sonic stuff. I believe I was there because of a post on Archie’s Sonic website. Anyway what strikes me as the most surprising about this encounter is how -normal- it all was, at least as far as I remember it. I’ve heard some horror stories of Penders being horrible to fans at conventions, but at least way back at this time (like 1997 or so), he was passing for a normal human. He didn’t say anything mean to me (that I noticed), and he actually gave me some free Sonic loot, which I can’t imagine him ever doing nowadays. I still have the comic book he signed, and I legit consider burning it on a regular basis.

OKAY this ended up way longer that I thought it would. I think even -I- forgot how many people I’ve met before. If I think of anyone else I’ll add it to the list later!

[shineyma]

I watched an interview segment where Daniela describes the day her water broke (during her first pregnancy I think) and Eric was out with his brother, so Daniella went over to Eric's house, and Eric's wife had to call Eric and ask him to buy Daniela some pads to avoid a big mess for the ride to the hospital maybe, and Eric asked, "Tampon pads?" Daniella's recount was hilarious.

I've written a whole lot beyond this point, do maybe a second ask is in order. That way you could ignore it (you really could), post only your reply or put it under a read more. It's more work for you but I still feel bad about the space that ask about Sam's family takes up on your blog. I did not think it through. (1/2)

lol, I appreciate the consideration, nonnie! Part two of your ask is under the cut. And lol to that interview quote!!

Kensi is back before the end of S05 turns out. I thought she gave birth in the spring, so I figured we had sevedal episodes to go with her on the special assignment. Then I read she gave birth in December, when things seemed to come to a head during the episode the team rescues her and it seemed just too soon. It's amazing that both she and the show's team managed to give Kensi as much screentime as they did. This Afghanistan storyline had me hooked actually. I was a bit sad that it was over as quickly. Despite the limitations and the fact that I love the team together, seeing Kensi star in a side story running parallel to the main plot, without the others stealing into it, was great. The story was fascinating, Kensi's dynamic with Granger and Sabatino was interesting to watch, the connection to her past a nice touch. Bonus points to the writers for not attempting a love triangle and for writing Jack becoming a Muslim and saying he found peace in it. I do also appreciate the few times immigrants they've interrogated have told them off about the U.S. 'intervention' in the Middle East and Callen, Sam or whoever it was just kept their mouth shut and you could see they did so because they couldn't deny those accusations. It's quite surprising and nice. Back to Kensi, I wish they'd taken a couple more episodes to give her Afghanistan storyline a slower closure. It seemed too rushed. I would have liked to see her more in action, trying to save Jack and herself, parallel to the team's rescue attempt. It could have at least been a two-parter. Still glad we got it at all.

One complaint I have is about Deeks. I don't know if I'm being dramatic here but I feel they've been mistreating him far too much. It's not so much about Kensi because they've developed their own kind of banter and Kensi shows him how much she cares. Although, remember right before Kensi left for Afghanistan, the day after the night we're supposed to assume they slept together, she was hostage to someone they were chasing and he was using her as a human shield, and Deeks didn't take the shot. Remember how she punched him? I'm still angry and bitter she did that, let alone that she didn't apologize, let even more alone that she acted as though what she did was right. I fully understand what the reasoning behind it all is or is supposed to be, but it was so wrong. And then, to circle back, I hate the way Callen and Sam have been treating Deeks since the moment he joined the team. It took Deeks withstanding torture and not giving up Michelle, torture that left him traumatized, for Sam to let up on the 'teasing'. I'm not even touching Callen, who actually tried to get Sam to stop being soft on Deeks 'just because of what Deeks did for Michelle and because he misses his partner who's gone on a dangerous special assignment'. Maybe I'm being dramatic but I really think the line on the teasing they give Deeks has been crossed a long time ago and I don't think they're ever going to show any remorse for it.

There was this show I got into when it was already on S14. One of the main characters that was there since S02 left and it wasn't the actor's choice. It was my favorite character out of the entire show. Anyway, I was binging S11 when the news broke. I finished it and that was it for me. They were my comfort character and I tried to watch the next two seasons they were still in but two episodes in, I stopped. I don't know why? Keeping new content of them for the future? Not wanting to watch about 40 hours more of them knowing they are the last ever and it sucks? It's been a few years since then and I haven't regretted it so far. It somehow feels right that I didn't reach the end of that character. And I've done it with other shows too. Once I got past my obsessive need to see shows and franchises through, quiting things became easy and a good tactic when something you loved decides to change the things you love most about it.

I'm sorry about Nell. It sucks. And hopefully the drama in your life is not too bad. I had some of it too, so my binging turned slow as molasses (is it even binging any more?) when it started off so well. And then the drama was capped with that very final, very irreversible bad thing that happens and the world just turns a little dimmer, the colors and just all of it a bit duller. Hence, also, my rudely late replies. Hopefully, your drama is at least a few or several steps away from that.

Oh, chef's kiss for Nell and Nallen in 5x05 ('cute girls with guns') and 5x14 or 5x15 (you know, with Nell fighting that guy in the boatshed's interrogation room and then Callen lowering her gently to the ground and brushing her hair back and all that Nallen goodness). I'd actually seen gifs of the second thing before but none had the fight and I hadn't paid attention to the episode number or even season, so I was very pleasantly surprised and miiiiight have replayed it a half dozen times. (2/2)

I also enjoyed what they did with Jack, although I feel like they never really resolve Hetty's part in things. Like....dick move, Hetty. Very dick move. And minor spoiler, but Sabatino returns, and while the entire team seems to hate him 5ever, I actually really like him lol. He's funny! And cute.

You are not alone in feeling that Deeks is mistreated by the guys, nonnie! There are whole communities of Deeks fans that hate it a LOT. I definitely feel like they cross the line sometimes....but conversely, I feel like Deeks crosses the line pretty often himself. I think in general the writers aren't great at judging when too much is enough, you know? But yeah, that doesn't stop anytime soon, I'm afraid.

Awwwww, I'm sorry you had that experience before with a show, nonnie! But yeah, sometimes quitting is the best thing you can do. It's better, I think, than continuing to drag it out and watching when you're not enjoying it anymore....then it's too easy to become bitter and then you can't even enjoy the earlier parts you used to love.

I'm also sorry you had drama followed by something worse! I hope things are getting better for you <3 For myself, things got very busy at work and then I was impacted by Hurricane Ida, which chased me out of state for two weeks while I waited for power and water to be restored to my apartment. I spent those two weeks living minutes from my mom and brother, which was nice but has had the impact that now I miss them a lot more than I did before.....like somehow I got used to living away from them and being close erased that adjustment? And now I'm not as good at it as I used to be. In fact, I'm actively hoping for my employer to have an opening there so I can transfer back. So I've been very emotional lately, on top of which the ongoing recovery from Ida meant more work for me at my job.

Whew, didn't mean to rant about that! Sorry.

And yessssssss, those are some of the BEST Nallen moments!!! I loooove him tenderly brushing her hair out of her face. That's probably my second favorite--or third favorite, there are two things coming that are tied for first favorite. So you've got that to look forward to!!

Sorry this took so long, nonnie! I hope life is going well this week! <3

[tepidtengu]

this isn't really meant to be responded to, I've just had a very long and shitty week and it's culminated into this long and shitty post.

I'm so fucking tired. It feels like I'm worthless or invisible. I can't help but feel like I'd be better off dead. I don't mean that I'll hurt or kill myself. But I certainly want to die. I keep hoping that I'll be in a car accident or I'll develop some sickness, I just want something that will kill me and get it over with. Cause it's getting harder and harder to see the point in living.

Every day that I have to drive my car I worry that it's literally going to fall apart or stop working as I'm driving it and I can't afford to fix all of the things wrong with it and it's such an old and crappy car that the repairs outweigh what it's worth and I've been trying and trying to save to get a new one but every single time I think I get close to being able to be financially okay, something in my life just fucking goes wrong.

When I worked at Michaels 3 years ago, I got injured and they sent me to the hospital where I had to get a CT scan. And luckily I didn't have a concussion or anything so I was just able to go home. But Michaels didn't pay that hospital bill and now there's a company threatening litigation if I don't pay $6,000 for a workman's comp accident. My parents want me to fight it in court but I'm literally so terrified that the michaels legal team is gonna pull some weird bullshit loop-hole and then I'll be stuck with a bill and legal fees that I don't have the money for. It's literally been keeping me up because I'm so anxious that something like that will happen.

My job has been consistently fucking me over at every turn and I'm so exhausted from it all. My manager will only schedule me for 5 hour shifts to clean the entirety of the bakery and that's already hard enough to keep up with since all of the bakers back there trash the place and then leave claiming they "have no time" to clean up after themselves. and the people who wrap and package all of the breads and stuff keep fucking calling out sick so it's pushed onto me as if it's my responsibility and if i DONT do it then I get yelled at for it the next day. and then if i DO it all, and can't finish cleaning everything I get scolded for not managing my time properly. I didn't even want to be the closer in the first fucking place but they just made me lead closer without asking and stopped giving a shit about what i feel or what I have to say.

and those long hours of just being in the back of the store all by myself and left alone with my thoughts have just been fucking killing me and making my anxiety so much worse and then it just piles on top of itself and then i start panicking and spiralling further and I've legit cried once a day every single day for the past 2-3 weeks and I feel my mental health withering away and I have to keep putting on a brave face for my friends and family and I'm so tired and so worn down and I'm really not sure how much longer I can keep it up.

And my anxiety lets all this shit just build and build and then I feel like I'm fucking stupid and invalid for even feeling this way cause I can see other people having real struggles and pain right now and it makes me feel worse for even fucking feeling like shit in the first place. and I just get stuck in a neverending loop of feeling like shit, realising that people have actual bigger problems and then feeling like shit for even wanting to complain and then spiralling.

I don't even have really anyone to rely on cause the group that I once relied on is falling apart and I know two of them are busy and have a lot going on in their lives and don't need me in their notifications just bitching cause life got a little hard. and the one other person in our group hasn't really spoken to me in months and I doubt she even considers us friends anymore. And I just can't help but feel entirely isolated. I'm already asking too much of my parents as they help me with this legal trouble, two of my friends have enough on their plate and they don't need my added bullshit and the third wishes she could ditch me anyways. It's gotten to the point where I'll just cry the entire drive home from my work just hoping I would just die already. I don't want to kill myself but I'm constantly wishing I would die.

I just wish I was dead. I don't and won't kill myself but I really wish I would just die.

[bountyofbeads]

Shout out to the firefighters in New Mexico taking care of the migrant families. #NewMexico #immigration

Don’t ever tell me it’s about the heart beats. The irony of the Right is so pathetic. @GOP @realDonaldTrump

Clearly our president is looking to have mass deportations next week, while the rest of America deals with the aftermath! #WakeUp #TRUMP 😰🤢🤢😡😡🤬🤬🤬🤬

@NBC went to Deming, New Mexico, a tiny community that has been inundated with migrants seeking asylum.

"We don't see an end in sight," one official told @CynthiaMcFadden.

The city of Deming, New Mexico has marshaled all of its resources to cope with a steady influx of migrants bused in by the federal government:

"Dealing with a crush of new arrivals without federal assistance, this city of 14,000 is marshaling all of its resources to cope with the crushing weight placed on its shoulders, local officials say." (For the 1st time ever "Save The Children" has been deployed inside the United States because of the the inhumane policies of the Trump/Miller administration. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TO HELP THE TOWN OF DEMING.)

Watch @CynthiaMcFadden's exclusive report from Deming coming up on @NBCNightlyNews. (Thank God for journalism!! Without this excellent reporting we may not have known about the inhumane practices of the Trump administration. When Trump calls out journalistic work as "Fake News" remember it is simply news he doesn't agree with. TRUTH IS TRUTH!!

When migrants arrived in droves, this poor New Mexico city opened its arms

The city of Deming has marshaled all of its resources to cope with a steady influx of migrants bused in by the federal government.

By Cynthia McFadden, Christine Romo, Julia Ainsley and Kenzi Abou-Sabe | Published June 18, 2019, 5:24 PM EDT | NBC News | Posted June 19, 2019 |

DEMING, N.M. — Along a barren county fairground in this sleepy desert city sits a nondescript building that illustrates the depths of the nation's migrant crisis— and the heights to which small town America can rise.

Over the last several weeks, U.S. authorities, unable to house a surge of asylum-seekers at the border, have dropped off thousands of immigrants in this city, one of the poorest municipalities in one of the nation's poorest states.

The migrants, mostly Central American families, have arrived by the busloads to find a shelter that has become the focal point of tiny Deming.

The fire department has set up shop at the shelter's intake facility to help deal with crises. Volunteers show up in droves to lend a hand. And some churchgoers have even gone so far as to open up their homes to the migrants.

Dealing with a crush of new arrivals without federal assistance, this city of 14,000 is marshaling all of its resources to cope with the crushing weight placed on its shoulders, local officials say.

"It's been one of the best things I've done as a firefighter in all my career," said Deming Fire Department Chief Raul Mercado.

Deming is not the only city in America grappling with a weekly deluge of undocumented immigrants left at bus station depots and elsewhere by the federal government.

Since the number of immigrant families seeking asylum reached record highs earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security has begun busing or flying immigrants from areas on the border where they enter to other towns deemed able to accommodate the overflowing populations. For example, Del Rio, Texas, and San Diego have also begun taking in immigrants who arrive in the Rio Grande Valley.

Migrant families are housed at the Deming shelter until they can be bused or flown to an American sponsoring them while they await an asylum hearing, usually after no more than two days at the facility.

"The phrase we like to use is, it's an unfunded federal mandate that's been placed upon our state," said Cullen Combs, the emergency manager in nearby Dona Ana County, New Mexico.

"I have a lot of personal thoughts about it, but when I see a mother with a child who's having a seizure because they have a 103 temperature, that's going to hit you," Combs said. "And that's something that, we as Americans, we're just, we're going to have an outpouring of being able to help these folks."

Last week, a month after Deming first began receiving the migrants, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, sued the directors of DHS, ICE and Border Patrol for what she called the federal government's "indiscriminate practice of releasing migrants in communities in the state's borderland area."

Grisham is seeking reimbursement for the emergency funding New Mexico has given governments in Deming and Las Cruces, as well as an injunction forcing the Trump administration to abide by the Safe Release policy.

Under the Safe Release policy, which had been used since the Obama administration during surges in border crossings, asylum-seekers were processed by immigration officials and — if they passed an initial screening where they demonstrated "credible fear" of returning home — released to family, friends or nonprofits in the U.S. to await their asylum hearings. The Trump administration ended Safe Release last October, and earlier this year, amid record numbers of migrants seeking asylum, began simply releasing migrants in various cities like Deming.

A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the DHS division that manages the Border Patrol, said the releases are a "last resort" and only done when the number of immigrants apprehended in an area in a day exceeds the bed space in border stations and immigrant detention centers.

Roughly 24 hours after the first busload of immigrants was dropped off at a Deming McDonald's on Mother's Day, the town had turned an empty building on the county fairgrounds into a migrant shelter, filled wall to wall with green cots, and growing piles of donated diapers, toiletries, and clothing for the migrants who often arrive hungry and weeks from their last shower.

"We're really good at this," said Chris Brice, who runs the shelter and also serves as Deming's jail warden and assistant county manager.

The city is spending about $15,000 a day to accommodate the migrants, Brice said.

"We don't even discuss the politics of it here," Brice added. "It's what we do or they would be out there on the street trying to find their own way. And that's unacceptable to everybody."

The support has come from a wide variety of sources in Deming, from local churches and NGOs, to individual volunteers.

"I was asleep already on Mother's Day. And then a family came to the house, knocked on the door," recalled the Rev. Manuel Ibarra, the priest at St. Ann's Church in Deming. "It was a family from Guatemala, and they were asking for shelter."

Ibarra's church has housed 300 migrants since that first day in May. On average, the church takes in 85 people each week.

Since the influx began in mid-May, the shelter on the county fairgrounds has become the unofficial home of Deming's EMTs, firefighters, and police department.

Mercado and his team turned the dilapidated World War II airplane hangar that serves as the migrant processing facility into their new office. "The first day chief and I got called out to come out, we just came by ourselves thinking, 'Well, we can knock this out,'" Mercado said. "And we saw the amount of people and we were like, 'Holy s---' Then we called back and had everybody come out and help us."

"Make no mistake, it's labor intensive," said Fire Battalion Chief Edgar Davalos, "but the whole thing is we've still got to treat them like human beings, because that's what they are. They're here legally and they're human beings, and we're going to make them as comfortable until they finish their journey as we can."

The deluge of migrants prompted the international humanitarian group Save the Children to come to Deming and set up a "child-friendly space" at the city's migrant shelter. It's the only emergency humanitarian operation Save the Children has ever set up in the U.S. that wasn't in response to a natural disaster.

The group is also working with local law enforcement to spot and support children who've been trafficked or are facing trauma, leveraging their years of experience providing assistance in disaster situations.

"They've been away from their home. They've been in detention. They don't know where they're going," said Jennifer Garner, the actress and Save the Children board member who was touring the shelter on the day NBC News visited.

"They don't speak English. They've been ill. They've gone without baths, without food, without medical care, but they're here, happy to hear me butcher 'Goodnight Moon' because they're children."

The support Save the Children provides is multipronged, but entirely funded by private donation.

Project manager Barbara Ammirati said the organization provides a wide range of resources — including medical supplies, hygiene kits and plush toys — as well as information to help them cope with their changing environments.

"Information so that children aren't frightened," Ammirati said. "They've never been in a bus station before, they've never been in an airport before."

For Betsy, a mother of two from Honduras, the child-friendly space set up by Ammirati's team was a respite for her children, ages 2 and 7.

Betsy said she was fleeing an impossible situation at home. "Lately the narcotraffickers have taken over the country, and they want us to distribute drugs for them. We refused, so they killed my brother," she said. "I'm just asking for an opportunity for my children. I don't want them to be killed."

Betsy and 16 of her immediate family members began the journey from Honduras over two months ago, often struggling to find food and shelter along the way. Only Betsy, her husband and their children made it to the shelter in Deming. Betsy's 12-year-old sister and Betsy's mother, a diabetic, were separated and detained in El Paso after the family crossed the border into the U.S..

On the day NBC News spoke to Betsy, she was booked on an afternoon bus to Miami where her brother, her sponsor in the U.S., would give her a place to stay.

Just hours before her bus was scheduled to leave Deming, Betsy still hadn't been able to contact her mother in the El Paso detention center. Neither of the women had working phones or any way to get in touch.

In March, the number of border crossings by undocumented immigrants, the vast majority of them Central Americans seeking asylum, topped 100,000. Last month, more than 140,000 crossed, overwhelming CBP officers and agents whose job it is to process immigrants and either send them to immigrant detention or release them with a court date, according to government data.

Officials in Deming and neighboring towns have been told to expect a continued flow of immigrants for months to come.

"I've heard 18 to 24 months. But that's a joke, too, because everybody points to the election cycle as when this big fix is going to happen," Brice said.

In a statement, CBP spokesman Roger Maier said, "CBP has no timeline for the continued need to release family units because apprehension levels cannot be predicted."

"Releases in excess of NGO capacity will be conducted at local transportation hubs during operating hours and NGOs are advised to help facilitate travel to the families' intended destinations," Maier added, using an abbreviation for nongovernmental organization.

CBP has been cracking down on immigrants who falsely claim the child they bring across the border is theirs. Because a federal court settlement prohibits children from being detained for longer than 20 days, DHS says adults are motivated to travel with children because they, too, will be released.

According to a spokesman for the agency, 4,800 people, or 1.4 percent of those claiming to be part of a family, have been deemed fraudulent since October 2018. That figure includes children traveling with their parents who are later determined to be over 18, and those whose grandparents claim to be their parents.

Brice, the jail warden-turned-shelter operator, said the migrants arriving in Deming have included mothers who pulled off astounding feats in aid of their children.

"We had a mom who had a paraplegic daughter — 12-year-old daughter — who carried her literally with her arms," Brice said.

Brice said there have been few complaints from the community since the first week. "We can do this indefinitely, provided we have funding to do it indefinitely," he said.

But for Brice, who spent two decades in the Navy, Deming's lack of funds isn't the town's only problem. "Usually we have a mission," Brice said, referring to military-style operations.

"We go out there, you set things up, you get rid of the water. You do whatever, but there's an endgame in mind. This is the problem: We don't have an endgame in mind. This is indefinite."