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chainofclovers · 3 years ago

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Ted Lasso 2x8 thoughts

I am so lucky that the creators of Ted Lasso decided to make this entire show specifically for me. #blessed

If last week felt like a bit of breathing room (albeit tense, poignant, character-progressing breathing room) with distinct narrative lines, this week’s episode was a chaotic yet tightly-written swirl of pain and hope and sadness! No neat subject headers for this one, y’all. Just my brain and heart in the inadequate form of a bulleted list. It is the medium available to me at this time.

I am going to remember the moment when Ted calls Sharon and tells her his father killed himself for the rest of my life.

(I could say a bunch of stuff about his face and what he says and how he tries to hide his tears from Beard right after and how insanely much I adore this character and ahhhhhhhh but I’m just going to leave that scene there in our collective memories.)

Jamie. JAMIE. Higgins has given some great advice about love on this show, but his musings about his up-and-down relationship with his own father were not helpful in the context of Jamie’s dad, who is an abusive piece of shit. I really adore that all of the main AFC Richmond staff members are realistically a bit hit-or-miss with their advice and life philosophies (some are mostly miss this season, of course).

And I am completely in awe of the moment when Jamie punches his father. The way he just stands there after Beard kicks his dad out of the locker room. The way you can hear a pin drop. And Roy—Roy who is learning in so many areas of his life about his influence on people, learning that the things he needs aren’t necessarily the same as the things other people need—is the one to cross the room and hug him. Hold him, really, with the tenderness Ted used when he hugged Rebecca outside the gala in 1x4. God.

I’ve thought a lot about how s1 was about giving people a soft place to land. There’s always an angel there when you need one. There’s always an opportunity to be kind. If you look for someone, you find them. If you look for the good in someone, you find the good. And as everyone works through their individual journeys in s2, that can’t always be the case anymore. But there are still so many moments of angels on this show, and it’s not about chance and serendipity and fate [not that it was about that in s1] but about the effort it takes to become someone who can be there for someone else. Or who can be there for yourself. I’m so proud of Jamie for physically fighting back against his father. I’m so proud of Roy for being the one who recognized what Jamie needed.

I have every feeling in the world about how Ted is almost totally frozen both times (s1 and s2) he witnesses Jamie’s father abusing him. In s1, he was still there for Jamie after, and I have every reason to believe he’ll be there for Jamie after this incident as well, but that frozen stance HURTS. He’s in so deep with his pain about his own father that it’s like he physically cannot snap out of it to act in the moment. It seems entirely outside of his control, and it breaks my heart, because Ted wants so badly to be a good father, a good coach, a good friend, a good partner, a good patient. He’s there for people in all kinds of ways, even in his current less-than-capable state. He takes care of Sharon post-concussion and even gets her a new bike! During the disastrous match at Wembley his coaching is ineffectual and everything is chaos but he’s the last one standing on the pitch! But this really awful thing keeps happening to Jamie and Ted is just…frozen in the face of it. Like one of those nightmares where you’re running in place.

The frozen-in-place nightmare also kind of applies to the way the total separation between Ted and Rebecca feels, too. I have never for a moment doubted the writers’ intentions in setting these characters up as soulmates on parallel journeys, and I’m actually really digging (on a story level) how disconnected they are right now. It is IMPRESSIVE that their absence in each other’s lives feels like such a glaring loss, one we cannot forget even as there are so many other things happening onscreen. It is 100% not just shipper goggles making me process information about Ted while thinking about Rebecca and information about Rebecca while thinking about Ted. I know there are a lot of really angry and frustrated people in the fandom right now (both T/R shippers and T/R antis and non-shipping fans who don’t get why s2 is different from s1) and while I understand being frustrated by choices characters make, and frustrated by the feelings the show makes us feel that we just want to feel more of or less of, I continue to agree with pretty much every narrative choice happening right now.

Agreeing with the narrative like this?! This is such a unique experience for me as a viewer—to feel like I’m on a ride that is at once absolutely wild and incredibly sensible and well-crafted, and to feel simultaneously completely invested and anticipatory and speculative but also totally willing to trust where it goes. I long for Ted and Beard to really talk. I long for Ted and Rebecca to stop missing each other. I long for Roy to have a serious conversation with Ted about what’s happening with him. I long for Keeley to find a vocation, something that drives her beyond her projects. I long for so many things! But I wouldn’t long for them if this show was less good. If the show was less good, I wouldn’t have a wish list a mile long because I wouldn’t be so attuned to the details and potential lurking in every scene. THIS IS SUCH A GOOD SHOW, I CANNOT HANDLE IT, I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

(To that end, a great deal of the Ted Lasso tag and so many Twitter reactions reactions to the show feel super stressful right now and I am kind of just trying not to look?! I love this fandom so much because of the amazing conversations that happen and because of brilliant fic and because there are some awesome people I never would have encountered were it not for this show. That little bubble is wonderful and I’d stay in this fandom no matter what in order to keep experiencing those things. But fans’ catastrophic reactions to every little thing that happens, every little choice a character makes that isn’t the “perfect” choice? The takeaway that the writers—on this show of all shows—wake up in the morning ready for another day of torturing shippers rather than another day of writing a beautiful story they genuinely want to write? I do not enjoy those parts at all. I would like to opt out of those parts. I’m having such a magical experience watching this show and talking about this show and listening about this show and writing about this show with a variety of people who feel all kinds of ways. I truly wish I could somehow transfer the energy of this experience onto all the people who are hating it right now. I don’t mind at all that people are having vastly different reactions to this show and are sharing their honest feelings, including the really angry ones (I can appreciate something and disagree with it!), and I get that sometimes the language of fannish reactions is intentionally, ironically hyperbolic. But there feels like this very serious trend of people legitimately thinking writers on this show are targeting shippers and have lost respect for their characters, and I just feel like an alien from another planet when I see that stuff. I guess I just feel like people make art because they want their art to be visible to other people and to themselves, but that doesn’t typically involve specifically catering to or torturing a subset of that audience?)

I am more fascinated by Sharon Fieldstone than ever before. I have been running through every single action with her and Ted so many times. The confirmation that she’s living in club-provided housing (that could not look more different from Ted’s club-provided flat). Ted clearly noticing the many bottles. Sharon’s face while she tries to casually recycle them. (Sharon could legitimately have a more problematic relationship with alcohol than Ted does, and I find that extremely interesting and am very curious to find out what happens there.) Sharon leaving him voice notes while she’s concussed, probably because she’d been thinking about him shortly before the accident. The way Ted calls her and does all the funny voices and it’s not frustrating like all the times he uses his silliness and allusions to deflect during their prior conversations because this time, those behaviors are just a part of him showing care for another person. The way they stretch each other, and Ted is still wrong about the things he’s been wrong about, but they both grow all the same.

While it is pretty much impossible for me to imagine that this show would include an actual romantic relationship between Ted and Sharon (it would be beyond unethical even if they could write it well, and Sharon in particular is so professional and committed to her work, and it would erase so much of the powerful message about the importance of seeking therapy from a professional who is not your friend or partner, and I would totally hate it), watching this episode was the first moment I had this queasy little feeling that it’s possible that Ted could end up developing really complicated feelings about Sharon since, at this point, he’s been honest with her about things he’s hardly spoken about before and you can really form an attachment to people you feel safe with in a new way. (I mean, I’m sure Michelle knows what happened with Ted’s father, but I’m not even certain if Beard does.) He’s so broken right now, and Sharon is such a great person and so different from anyone else in his life (even though Rebecca is also different, and Beard is also different, and Roy is also different, and so on), that I could see things getting really fuzzy for him. I continue to have faith in the way the storylines on this show are handled. I’m just. Putting this here.

(In saying that, though, I also wanna make it really clear that I don’t just automatically assume anytime a new female character is introduced that they’re going to end up becoming a romantic complication. Like, Phoebe is allowed to have a teacher who is an attractive woman and AFC Richmond is allowed to have a sports psychologist who is an attractive woman and Keeley is allowed to talk to Jamie Tartt without it threatening what she has with Roy and all these people can exist as human beings without the introduction of romantic drama.)

Isaac gives every player one haircut per season, OH MY GOD. The JOY during the haircut scene. YES.

KEELEY AND REBECCA. Their text thread. The affirming video call right before Rebecca goes into the restaurant. The way Keeley sits all snuggled up against Rebecca in her office.

I was pretty thoroughly spoiled for the Sam and Rebecca plot through 2x8, and I was bracing for something far more problematic and tortured than what happens in this episode. The words I would use to describe their scenes: awkward, cute, cringy, and understandable. There are a million reasons why this relationship isn’t sustainable, but I felt completely understanding of both their choices here. This show has a lot of thesis statements, but I keep going back to the idea from 2x1 that there are people who enter your life to help you get to the next point, and I think it’s entirely possible that Sam and Rebecca will mutually be that for each other.

I find comparisons between Rupert and Rebecca super upsetting. There are absolutely meaningful things to say about the irony of ending up in a situation with an uncomfortable resemblance to certain taboo elements of an ex’s situation. But that ex is abusive and manipulative and cruel and Rebecca has exhibited NONE of those behaviors, and it makes me really sad to think that people feel that the writers on this show have betrayed Rebecca in giving her this storyline.

As always, I reserve the right to keep blathering about this show. I’ve had a headache for a couple of days, but my head is also so full of 2x8 thoughts that I couldn’t keep them in even if the circumstances for writing this were not ideal. I kind of hate that I’ve included frustrated fandom thoughts within the analysis of what I felt was an absolutely gorgeous, complicated, heartbreaking, near-perfect episode of television, but if ya can’t be a little dramatic on your own tumblr while you’re feeling raw and under the weather, where can ya?

#ted lasso #ted lasso s2 spoilers #meta by me #ted lasso 2x8 #a lesbian watches ted lasso #cw: suicide mention #cw: alcohol abuse mention

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ae0nx · 5 years ago

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FRUITS BASKET ‘19 EPISODE 23 VS FRUITS BASKET ‘01 EPISODE 19

Ok! We’re finally here! We’re at the beginning of the storm! I’m so nervous... I didn’t know how to do these comparisons especially the storyline in the 2001 version not syncing up completely with the 2019 version. But I’m just gonna try and puzzle piece my way through it, ‘kay? :)

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Also, just some notes that I wanna state about the 2001 version so I don’t keep repeating myself for the next 2-3 weeks:

- I love love love the opening. It breaks my heart and heals it every time I hear it and the images of the characters by doorways/windows/alleyways looking outward and always to the side of the frame is a great artistic choice and metaphor. Also, the lyrics are just simply... everything. ‘Let’s stay together always...’

- Some of the colour choices in clothing (or even the hair) that the characters have are... interesting. I definitely find myself appreciating the newer version as you can tell they put more thought into it, even if I do think the power ranger assigned colours are kinda silly. But really? Kyo wearing pastels?! No way. ...But I kinda love it anyway. Outfit Appreciation: 2.5 stars.

- I adore the music box sounding background music. It really adds a lot of whimsy to the show and kinda reminds me that Fruits Basket in a lot of its elements takes inspiration from fairy tales.

- The English dub voices obviously sound different and in comparison to the 2019 version, you can really tell how much they’ve all matured as VAs. ESPECIALLY Laura Bailey and Jerry Jewell.

- I also adore how ridiculous and mostly comedic the 2001 version is. Which makes the later turn in the anime so much more heartbreaking and tough to watch as it comes as such a shock compared to the tone of the rest of the anime. Unbalanced? Maybe so. But on a shallow kind of level without thinking too hard, I can enjoy it.

- I love 2001!Shigure. Again, it’s a shallow choice and I don’t deny he’s a lot more interesting and fleshed out in the manga/2019!anime. I just like 20-something year old, new-father-to-two-teens-but-he’s-not-like-a-FATHER-he’s-a-’cool-older-brother’ who likes to laze around the house in his kimono and ISN’T MENTALLY TRAUMATISING THEM. Well, without meaning to anyway... AND LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS.

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Right! Let’s get into it!

This is me knowing the future trauma I’m going to have to go through with this anime.

But in all seriousness, the 2019 version really captured Tohru’s depression a lot better. Especially with the later scene where she breaks down in front of Kyo in the bedroom. A+ crying from Laura Bailey, I really felt it this time. As I said, the 2001 version seemed like it didn’t wanna deep dive too much so I’m glad we get a deeper in look to the complexities of Tohru this time.

It might be a translation ‘nothing’, but I find it interesting that Kyo felt like he jinxed her. Especially linked with his comments to Kagura later about how he feels ‘no one should want to hang around him’. I mean we’ll get into the reasoning for this most likely in the next two episodes but you can probably guess why... Poor kitty.

(Also side note: Do you think that’s why - out of everyone that has been bullied in this anime - Kyo seemed the least affected by school bullies? Is it cos of his experience within the Sohma family and his curse, that he almost expects that everyone he meets would treat him like that? It’s interesting because Hana had the same thought process towards her own bullying but she never fought back... But Kyo did. I might just conclude this thought as it just being in his nature to fight back, but we’ll see...)

Also, 2001 giving us Kyo freaking out in cat form about Tohru’s fever was pretty funny. Man, they really did do an overkill with the transformations back then...

2001 really was not good at showing the gradual progress of Kyo controlling his anger around Tohru as much as the 2019 version. Yes, in the 2019 ep, Kyo was still annoyed that Tohru wouldn’t just relax and concentrate on getting better but my God, Kyo is sooooo shout-y and yell-y in this version! And I don’t wike it lol.

However I shouldn’t shit on the moment too much. I do think 2001 wanted to show us that Kyo saw how receptive Tohru was to Shigure being calmer and nicer and it kind of influenced him to take more of a gentle approach to Tohru later. Kyo being influenced by Shigure is... questionable... but whatever, it’s got good intentions! (I still like the 2019 version better)

Momiji with the oversized work outfit! He’s so adorable I could cry.

- I’m kinda bummed that the 2019 version didn’t include the ‘Kyo stealing leeks from Yuki’s garden’ moment. It’s a hilarious moment (especially with Yuki’s reaction) and it is just PEAK ‘it’s not stealing if you’re taking it from family’ energy that I adoreeee and stand by lol

Really, 2001!Kyo... are you five years old?

‘ 🎵And at most... I’m sleeping all these demons away...’

‘ 🎵But your ghost... the ghost of you it keeps me awake’

Kyo seeing ghosts of Tohru is both unintentionally funny and dramatic in both versions to me, I’m sorry. I’m really just a child.

Where do I start? Kyo being ever so dramatic with the goggles and the face mask... Shigure with the all-knowing troll look. 2001 really gave us some gems and I think we all tend to forget that.

Plus...

I. LOVE. THIS. BROTHER. DYNAMIC. (I know it isn’t accurate don’t ruin the fanfic going on in my head)

- Tohru being depressed that she wasted Yuki’s time and didn’t fulfill her mother’s wishes makes me wish she was more so just concerned about herself and how she’s gonna pass for herself? But it is very much in her character to do so, so I guess I’ll let it slide. And I guess Kyo said what I said in well... his own unique way of giving advice.

- But when it came to the actual soup porridge scene, I lean more towards the 2019 version. There’s so much said in Kyo’s body language and Tohru’s own inner thoughts. She’s really falling in love with him and she doesn’t even know it!!!

THAT PEEK FROM HIS ELBOW?! COME ON!!! STOP IT. MY HEART. these dumb fuckin kids...

I loveee the 2019 porridge moment so much more, but this moment right here just ELEVATED the whole moment. It says so muchhhh without saying much at alllll and ohhhh this poor boyyyy...!!!!! It really took a fluffy moment and just stabbed me in the heart and I guess I respect you for that? Thanks...?

I’m so glad the 2019 version is feeding us in stupid made up songs. *chef’s kiss* haha

- I’m really glad that Kisa calls Hatori ‘uncle’ in 2019 and not ‘grandpa’ like she did in 2001. Cos as someone in their mid-twenties that shit was straight up offensive lol

The Momiji and Kyo moments are always so heartwarming in this version. My faves. <3

- Also I dunno why but I really liked Hatori, The Doctor Who Smokes in the 2001 anime. It didn’t make sense but quite honestly if anyone in this anime chose to smoke to let off some steam, it should be him. (Not an advocate for smoking)

---- Right! No more 2001 comparisons cos the episode that is equivalent to this part of the episode is also riddled spoilers for the next 2019 episode so... just normal review from here. ---

Why is it that Yuki’s insults against Kyo always hurt so much more?! They are both terrible to each other but for some reason, I always feel it more when Yuki verbally backhands Kyo. Maybe it’s the way Eric Vale practically venomously spits out these words or maybe it’s cos Yuki kinda has more privilege than Kyo so it feels like he’s kicking a literal homeless cat.

- Also, my poor boy! Definitely felt myself sympathising a lot more this time around to how weak he was feeling.

Lol I felt that exasperated breath. At least this time, Kyo doesn’t call Tohru’s umbrella ‘a sissy girly pink umbrella’. A minor improvement? (So, I might of watched a bit of the 2001 version of episode 24...)

...Need I say anything? <3

- HEADLINE: Shigure ships Yuki/Tohru and Kyo/Kagura? What is he up to...

- Kyo shouting at Kagura in the middle of the supermarket was a shitty move but Kagura mooshing his head in response was great... what a terrible but very entertaining couple lol

- Kagura’s ‘If I told you, you’d cry...’ is giving me all the heart pain. How many times can I say that I’m not ready...

I’ve seen people in the tag compare this moment to his porridge moment with Tohru and while I agree, it does seem like Kyo just naturally wanted to help Tohru compared to Kyo feeling obligated to hold hands with Kagura. But errrrm.... I just think Kyo is a good kid haha. And while I do think he CLEARLY holds Tohru in a very treasured and locked away place in his heart, he just doesn’t like it when girls cry around him and will do anything to stop it. I also think he does care about Kagura, and that he’s more so annoyed that Kagura doesn’t seem to get that he won’t love her in the way she loves him (and well... her being a tsundere lol). But I could be wrong! I’m a walking manga amnesiac as always...

*HIGH PITCHED SCREAMING*

Talk about FINALLY. They really named the episode that and made us wait until the LAST SECOND OF THE EPISODE TO GIVE US THE WORDS: ‘You look well...’

What a tease.

And we’re not even gonna get into the preview for the next episode and how three words made me tear up minutes before I had to go to a party on Friday night.

Wow. This might be the longest review so far. I don’t doubt that next week’s will be longer lol. The reason why I wanted to do the 2001 comparisons will probably make more sense next week and I will also say my thoughts on the 2001 version of the events with the umbrella and Kagura and Kyo’s date next week before I go into the review.

Jeez, this took two hours to write. WHY DO I DO THIS?!

#fruits basket #furuba #fruits basket 2019 #fruits basket 2001

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hcartcycs · 5 years ago

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- happy together ;

ship : you’re the one i wanna go through time with - peter maximoff x self insert ( em / emily ) word count : 2 331 ( if u actually read this i’ll die for u ) note : i love him so much i went unhinged i spent the entire day on this so if any of u read this i’d be the happiest dumbass in the world

( under the cut for length ! )

“Wanna sleep over?”

The question had slipped out seemingly by itself as Peter stared down at Emily from his doorframe. He was always fast-paced, if it was anyone else standing in Emily’s spot right now, he’d have already slammed the door shut and focused on fidgeting with whatever he had in his room. But she was here now and he was willing to slow down as long as he could match her. And now, having spent the day together, walking around town (albeit a bit too slow for him, he was still having fun, to his surprise), it was theoretically time for them to go back to their rooms. There was a small problem though, Peter didn’t really want to go his own way, even if it was just for a night. He didn’t want to annoy Emily either, but the need to be close to her overpowered him this time, prompting the sudden question.

“O- Oh.” Emily looked down, averting her gaze from Peter’s and rubbing her arm awkwardly. “Me?”

“There’s no one else in this hall, sweets.” In a sudden, he zipped behind her, arms wrapping around her waist and chin placed delicately on her shoulder. “I wanna…be with you, you know?”

Emily’s face went scarlet red, still not used to Peter’s affectionate behavior. She loved it, of course, but it was more than she was used to, which made her nervous, which made her throat close up every time he did something like this. As much as she would’ve loved to sing him a serenade, she found such out there acts more difficult to do than she had previously imagined.

“I mean, if you’d rather not-”

“No, no!” She turned around to face him in his hold, hands moving from her sides to grab him by his squishy cheeks. He could tell from the rainbow-tinted sparkles her fingers emitted that she wasn’t angry at him, rather excited and he couldn’t help but grin at her, his dimples showing.

Her eyes twinkled. “I wanna be with you too!”

Emily felt one of Peter’s hands snaking up to the back of her neck and it made her recall the first time he had done that. To avoid whiplash, he had told her back then. She hated it, she still did now, but as her eyebrows furrowed and she opened her mouth to protest, before she could even get a single word out, she already found herself in the middle of Peter’s room. He was sporting a mischievous grin, knowing that Emily absolutely hated when he dragged her around with his super speed.

“You’re a scoundrel, I hope you know that.” She said, though the dizziness made her lean her head on his chest, hoping she wouldn’t barf.

“Yeah, but you love me.” He grinned, backing away and letting her sway in her own little daze. “Plus, shouldn’t you be used to this by now?”

“I’m never going to get used to that, I can barely sit on a damn swing without feeling like my heart’s gonna leap out of my chest.” Emily shook her head, leaning on one of the cabinets in Peter’s room, which made her notice the boombox sat atop it. “Have anything to put on this?”

“Oh, definitely.” Peter grinned and sped towards his bed, eventually pulling out a box of tapes from under it. “Any requests?”

She snorted. “Well, since I’m here, how about some really corny shit?”

In only a split second, he was already standing next to Emily, putting the cassette tape in the boombox and starting it up. “So, like, this is a mixtape I made, right? And I swear to god, you’re gonna die from how corny this is. I made this specifically for moments like this!”

“Moments like this? What, like, when there’s a girl in your room?” She raised an eyebrow with a taunting smile.

“Uh, well, I guess?” He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck. “The definition is very, very loose since I never really thought there’d be a girl in my room anyways.”

He pushed his goggles off the top of his head, placing them on the cabinet next to the boombox and proceeding to grab Emily by the hand, pulling her away to the middle of the room again. Spinning her around, he declared that she should just focus on the music instead, but before she could properly focus on what had started playing, Peter opted on belting out the words instead.

“-I think about you day and night, it’s only right-!”

“Oh my god, Peter, please.” Emily laughed. “I swear, Charles could probably hear you yelling from his office!”

“If I should call you up, invest a dime-” He continued to sing, or rather, yell obnoxiously. Shrugging his iconic silver jacket, he flicked it in some random corner of his room, earning a playfully scolding glance from Emily. Though in a moment, she shook her head, doing the same with her leather jacket; it was pretty humid back in the school.

And, oh god, then the chorus started.

“I can’t see me lovin’ nobody but you!” Peter dramatically formed his hands into finger guns, pointing at Emily. “For all my life!”

Before she could jokingly complain again, he grabbed her by the hands and started spinning with her like a lovestruck twelve-year-old who had just gotten married to the prettiest girl in class near a jungle gym. Laughing, he continued to belt out the lyrics of Happy Together, garnering a laugh from her too, which eventually turned into more of a nervous giggle.

“I’m honestly scared you’re going to use your mutation now, because if you will, I’ll actually puke on you!” She exclaimed, still giggling, and Peter’s smile shifted into a more mischievous one, causing the poor girl to actually worry. “H- Hey now, don’t get any ideas!”

But Peter wasn’t that evil; instead he tugged her close, so he could wrap his arms around her waist, garnering a yelp from the girl. She instinctively threw her arms around his neck, making a flurry of the rainbow-tinted sparkles appear around the two in a burst of happiness and excitement. He was used to her mutation, in fact, he loved it when she would literally sparkle in joy and though it was only an addition to her full powers, he appreciated it nonetheless.

“These for dramatic effect?” He asked, looking to his sides and gesturing to the sparkles with the tilt of his head.

“No,” Emily rolled her eyes with a smile. She leaned closer, making their noses almost touch. “I’m just really happy, is all.”

Peter let out a toothy grin, closing the space and practically eskimo kissing her, both their noses scrunching up at the contact and garnering a small giggle from Emily. She felt his grip around her tighten and he let out a quick ‘alley-oop!’ before lifting her up and spinning her around, then using his super speed to zip towards the bed and sit her down.

“Peter…” She whined, plopping her head on his chest once more, before looking back up at him with wide eyes. “I swear, can you not-”

The speed in which his lips made contact with hers garnered a small muffled gasp from her. She could feel her heart jumping wildly in her chest and her face flush, and it took her a second, but her eyes eventually fluttered shut, arms wrapping around his neck in an attempt to feel closer to him. In turn, he placed one of his hands on her cheek gently, the other still on her waist, and propped one of his knees on the bed.

Eventually, he pulled away, his lips still lingering close to hers. He backed away slightly, removing his hand from her cheek and lifting his index finger as if to tell her to wait a moment. She squinted her eyes, and then-

“How deep is your love!” He exclaimed and only then did Emily realized he was singing along to the Bee Gees song that was playing, proceeding to echo the same sentence similarly to the song. “I really mean to know!”

“I literally can’t with you.” Emily smacked his chest lightly, shaking her head with a small smile.

Peter hummed. “Like kissing me that much, baaabe?” His voice trailed, tone shifting to a teasing one at the word ‘babe’.

“W- What of it?”

Her red cheeks made the grin on his face widen more, if that was even possible in the first place, and it sure did make him forget that he was probably just as red. The way she pouted and looked away, each blink emitting a little batch of sparkles, but this time probably because she was flustered; it all made Peter feel like he was in a dream.

Who knew that the second he got out of his mother’s basement he’d get so lucky?

“You’re the cutest.” Peter muttered.

Emily huffed, a smile inching on her face. “That’s not true, you’ve met Kurt, haven’t you?”

“Oh yeah, because I’m so head over heels for him.”

“No way, you aren’t?”

He sighed, shaking his head with a smile. Cracking his knuckles, he scooped her up in his arms and it took less than a second for the two to be completely on his messy bed. Peter was basically straddling Emily, which, truth be told, made her scream internally. She was already dizzy from him using his damn mutation too much, but this whole thing was…a lot for her poor heart. Her wide eyes were looking up at him and she only hoped that he didn’t hear her wild heartbeat.

She exhaled, trying to dismiss her nerves. “Saucy. Though it’d be more comfortable if you actually made your bed.”

Peter groaned. “Oh my god, don’t ruin the cute moment.”

“I’m just saying!” She clapped her hands together in front of her chest, fingertips sparkling. “If I’m sleeping over, I don’t wanna sleep on a mess!”

“Oh.” He had to stifle a large grin. “I, uh…you’re actually gonna?”

“I’m already here, aren’t I?” She smiled gently, raising her sparkling hand to caress his cheek. “I’m not planning on running off anytime soon.”

He leaned into her touch, relishing in the warmth of her hand on his face for a few moments, before inhaling and moving to kiss her again. She picked up on it this time, moving her hand from his cheek to the back of his head, fingers beginning to play with his silver hair and subconsciously pulling him closer until his lips finally met hers in a gentle kiss. It didn’t take long for him to smile in the kiss, making her smile in turn too, nearly ruining the whole thing. Though when he giggled, they both knew the kiss was over. So they opted to laugh at how mushy they were being instead, Peter’s forehead leaning against Emily’s. He looked so happy; laughing and grinning ear to ear, even when his laugh subsided, the dimples on his face still confirmed he was giddy as ever and she could’ve sworn if he kept looking at her with those happy eyes of his she would’ve started crying. Luckily, he moved to kiss the corner of her lips, so he didn’t notice her trying to suck in the happy tears.

He, on the other hand, was focusing on moving his lips to her jawline, pressing them and smiling against her skin as he trailed down to kiss the side of her neck. He could feel her hand still playing with his hair and he couldn’t help but wonder if his hair was going to sparkle later, causing him to smile even wider.

“Peter…” Emily began. “I love you. A lot. And I hope you know.”

He breathed against her skin and stayed still for a second, before moving to look at her, a baffled look on his face as he stared for what felt like eternity.

“You mean it?” He asked, his eyes suddenly becoming serious. “Really truly?”

She looked away, gazing to the side momentarily and then turning back, moving her hand from his hair and lifting up her index finger, telling him to wait a moment. He continued to stare and as she finally let her hand plop down to her side, she looked back at him with a wide grin.

“I wanna know what love is!” She loudly sang along to what was currently playing on the boombox, making sure to emulate the sound of the instruments during the small break before sentences. “I want you to show me!”

Peter’s serious expression shifted to the cute happy one as he snorted. “You are a terrible singer.”

“Hey, I was trying to confess my love for you! You could at least pretend it wasn’t awful!”

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it instantly, a better idea popping into his head. Leaning backwards, he stretched and began poking Emily’s sides, which already garnered a surprised yelp from her and as she started to tell him to stop, was when he decided to use his super speed to tickle her properly. She was both yelling at him to stop and laughing, and he could only tauntingly declare that if this was an actual fight, she’d lose. He was glad she couldn’t see the fond smile on his face as she doubled over in laughter, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, he was also glad she was here with him. And maybe for once, he thought, the entire world slowing down for him wasn’t that bad, because that only meant he could enjoy his time with her for a lot longer than he would’ve if he wasn’t like this.

It was the first time he was truly happy to be a mutant, too, a freak with silver hair who couldn’t catch a break for all his life, because if he wasn’t, perhaps he wouldn’t have met someone who loves him just as much.

#self shipping #self ship #self ship community #f/o #my f/os #self insert #character x oc #peter maximoff #xmen #x-men #ship : you're the one i wanna go through time with #s/i : rainbow sparkles

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snappedsky · 5 years ago

Text

Fanatics Adventures in Space Part 14

Pepito and Squee get up to some mischief. Previous! Next!

War Part Seven

The area surrounding the Main Command Centre is quiet, filled with only the buzz of the guard drones. All the nearby buildings had been destroyed by a powerful cannon fired by an invading ship and all that remains now is piles of rubble.

One such pile is suddenly blown apart by Kio’s portable force field generator. She sighs as she stands up and deactivates the device, putting it back on her utility belt.

“Is everyone okay?” she asks into her communicator but is met with only silence. “Hello? Zim? Guys? Anyone? Nar, can you hear me?”

No response. She sighs again as she puts the communicator onto her belt and looks at the sky. “The planet-wide force field is down. It must be affecting the atmosphere, disrupting all radio signals. I will have to adjust everyone’s communicator. That is…if they’re all okay.”

She pulls her goggles down over her eyes and activates the X-ray vision. Many Irkens were crushed by the destroyed buildings, but she sees no humans, dead or otherwise.

“Just have to hope one of those Irkens isn’t Zim,” Kio says, “in the meantime, I’d better meet everyone back at Mar’s.”

She sets off in a light jog towards the intact part of the city.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Main Command Centre, Pepito bursts out of the rubble by firing a blast from his guitar. He exhales heavily as he dusts himself off. He’s got a couple scratches on his face, but thanks to his space suit his body is mostly unharmed.

“This thing is durable,” he comments, tugging at the material of his suit.

After trying his communicator and receiving no response, his wings pop out of his shoulder blades through the hole in his suit and he takes off into the air. He doesn’t have to fly for long before he spots Squee on one of the nearby surviving buildings. He beams ecstatically and flies over.

“Squee!” he exclaims as he lands on the roof, immediately grabbing his boyfriend in a tight hug.

“Pepito,” Squee smiles, hugging him back. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah, me too,” he remarks as they split apart. “How’d you get up here?”

“When the building started crumbling, I used my rocket wheelies to get to safer ground,” he replies, “couldn’t get the rest of you though. I hope Nny’s okay.”

“Eh, if I made it then he definitely did,” Pepito grunts, “anyway, the communicators don’t seem to be working so we should meet everyone back at Mar’s.”

“Wait a sec,” Squee says and points up at the invading ship in the sky. “They’re the ones who blasted us. It must belong to Carcas.”

“Probably. Why?”

“Let’s blow it up.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Awesome,” Pepito grins then stops. “Ah, but how’re we gonna get up there? It’s too high for my wings and we can’t fly a ship.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was just trying to figure out,” Squee replies as he rubs his chin contemplatively.

Before either of them can come up with something, they hear a couple of voices nearby. They look over the edge of the building back at the rubble as two SIR units fly by.

“Master? Master Rory?” they call out as they fly over the rubble.

“Hey, don’t they belong to that Irken prince or whatever he was?” Pepito questions.

“That’s it,” Squee declares and waves at them. “Hey, you two!”

The two robots look at him with surprise before approaching. They hover in front of the boys, staring at them judgementally.

“You are those hue-mans,” one of them says.

“I am surprised you survived the blast,” the other comments.

“Yeah. I am Squee and this is Pepito,” Squee states.

The robots blink with surprise.

“You are surprisingly polite for an uncultured alien,” the second one remarks. “Well, I am Viv. This is my counterpart, Civ.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Squee smiles, “uh, you’re trying to find your master, right?”

“Yes,” Civ replies, “we lost him in the destruction of the blast and our scanners aren’t picking him up.” “So could he be crushed?” Pepito asks.

“No,” Viv answers, “even if he were deceased, we would still be able to track him. More likely he is just out of range.”

“Then he’s okay. Good,” Squee says, “so uh you see that ship?”

“Of course,” Civ grunts, “it appears to be a modified Tryyvalian ship.”

“Uh okay well it belongs to the ones responsible for destroying the Irken controlled planets,” Squee explains, “and now they’re attacking Irk.”

“A futile attempt. They will be crushed in due time,” Viv states.

“You really think that after what they just did?” Pepito questions, motioning to the destruction behind them. The robots share a look of uncertainty.

“Look, we’re working on fighting these guys,” Squee says, “and right now we wanna destroy their ship. So maybe you can help us get up there?”

“Assuming you have weaponry strong enough to destroy Tryyvalian machinery,” Viv scorns, “why would we help you?”

“Because we both wanna save Irk?” Squee suggests.

“We care only about the well-being of Master Rory,” Civ states.

“Well, they probably wanna destroy Rory too,” Pepito adds.

“We will not allow that to happen,” Viv declares.

“You don’t even know where he is,” Squee points out, “so if you help us get to that ship, we’ll help you find your master.” Viv and Civ eye them critically for a second before looking at each other. They reach a silent agreement before looking back at the boys.

“Very well,” they say simultaneously.

“Wh-really?” Squee questions with disbelief.

“Yes,” Civ nods, “Master Rory is interested in you and this is our chance to gather data.” “Yeah, alright, I’ll take what I can get,” Squee shrugs.

“So you gonna fly us up there or…?” Pepito asks.

“Irk, no,” Viv replies with disgust, “I refuse to touch your disgusting alien bodies.”

“Rude,” he comments.

“We will simply use a Voot Cruiser,” Civ says, “standby.”

The top of her head pops open and she reaches in and pulls out a small remote, kind of like a car’s remote key. She presses a button.

Nothing happens and Squee and Pepito look around with uncertainty.

And then a black ship with red racing stripes, shaped almost like a Ferrari, flies in, screeching to a stop at their feet.

“Whoa!” they exclaim with surprise.

The tinted glass roof slides open, revealing a pink, fluffy interior, black leather bench seat, and sleek control panel and yoke.

“Get in,” Viv orders.

“Do not touch anything,” Civ adds.

“You guys got style,” Pepito comments as they settle on the seat. The hatch closes after them and Viv activates the ship. The control panel lights up a series of bright colours before they take off into the sky.

“So how are we gonna destroy the ship?” Pepito asks.

“With this,” Squee replies as he removes something from his bag. It looks like a land mine with a smiley face with X-ed out eyes painted on it. “Kio made them for me. I call them Sticky Bombs. If I plant a couple on the engine, the subsequent blasts should be enough to destroy the whole ship.” “That is not a bad idea, actually,” Civ comments, sounding almost impressed.

“But we will only have a couple minutes to leave so we’ll have to be fast,” Squee warns.

The cruiser pulls up alongside the ship and the hatch opens. Viv and Civ fly out and approach the hull. A shorter looker version of an Irken PAK’s spider leg extends from their heads and cut out a section of the wall with lasers, creating a doorway. The cut-out piece falls to the surface.

Pepito and Squee hop across from the hovering cruiser into the alien ship.

“Alright, Pepito and I will find the engine, you two stay here,” Squee orders.

“Do you even know where the engine room is?” Viv asks scornfully.

“Er…do you?” he asks.

“Well, given our knowledge of Tryyvalian machinery, we’ll have an easier time finding it than you,” Viv retorts.

“Okay, but somebody should stay with the ship,” Squee adds.

“I’ll stay,” Pepito states, “you guys go, blow this place up.”

“Okay, just be careful,” he says, “and if trouble shows up, do not hesitate to leave me behind.”

“Of course I’ll hesitate.”

Squee smiles and starts to run off but stops when he sees someone standing down the hall.

They’re a little alien, barely up to the boys’ knees, with a round, grey head, big, black eyes, and little nostril holes. They’re wearing a full-length, button-up lab coat with no sleeves. Their expression is impossible to read as they stare at the kids and the robots.

“Uh oh,” Squee squeaks, stepping back.

“That’s a Tryyvalian,” Viv states, “they are not known to be psychically capable but keep your guard up.”

“Always do,” he mutters.

“Do you wish to join the revolution?” the alien asks in a high-pitched, nasally voice.

“Uh what?” Pepito questions.

“You are visitors on the ship,” he continues, “I assume it’s because you are interested in joining our revolution. Either that or you’re saboteurs. For your sakes, I hope it’s the latter.”

Despite the threat, the little alien doesn’t seem all that threatening, with his dead-eyed, unblinking stare. Pepito sighs with irritation as he draws his guitar.

“Stick to the plan,” he says, “I’ll handle this.”

“Saboteurs, then. Very well.” The alien nods politely. “I am Ethrax of Tryyval.”

“Uh why are you introducing yourself?” Pepito asks.

“Ssslisss says it is good manners,” he replies.

“Alright. Well, I’m Pepito Diablo of Earth.” He widens his stance as he runs his hand over his guitar, changing it to his spear. “Nice to meet ya.”

“Likewise,” Ethrax adds. His lab coat drops to the floor, revealing his body to be a robotic exoskeleton with long arms that end in blades and a hovering device instead of legs.

“Urp,” Pepito croaks.

“Tryyvalians don’t usually look like that,” Viv comments.

“Pepito?” Squee questions.

“Stick to the plan,” he growls.

Ethrax thrusts his arms forward, blades glinting from the outside light.

“Go!” Pepito barks as he charges, catching the blades in a parry with his spear.

“Come on,” Squee orders and runs in the opposite direction, the robots by his side.

“I have never seen a species like yours before,” Ethrax remarks, “tell me, why do you aliens want to protect Irk?”

“Oh, I don’t care about Irk,” Pepito replies, “but my friend does and that’s enough for me.”

Pepito thrusts his spear up, knocking Ethrax’s arms out of the way, and charges his body. Ethrax flies higher up, out of range.

“I see. You and I are quite alike then,” he says as he swings his right blade. Pepito smacks it away with his spear handle. “I also do not care about Irk or their crimes. I only joined the revolution to help my friend.” Pepito grins. “Huh. Well, I’ll be sure to make this quick then.”

His spear starts glowing black and he blasts a beam out of the blade. Ethrax barely dodges and the beam chips his hip and blasts a hole through the ceiling.

“My, you are an interesting specimen,” he comments and smirks darkly, showing emotion for the first time. “I would love to dissect you.”

“Mm, I’ll pass,” Pepito replies, readying his spear.

Meanwhile, Squee races through the winding corridors of the ship, following Viv and Civ closely.

“This place is huge but there doesn’t seem to be anyone else here,” he states.

“Yes, I am sensing no other lifeforms on board,” Viv adds.

“Kio did say the crew probably isn’t very big,” Squee muses, “if that alien is the only guard, that’ll make this much easier.”

“Assuming he doesn’t destroy your partner,” Civ points out.

“Pepito can handle it,” he insists, “but still we should hurry.”

They keep moving until finally skidding to a stop in front of a large automatic door.

“If our calculations are correct, this should be the engine room,” Civ states. The door slides open and Squee breathes in awe as they step inside. The engine takes up the whole room and is nearly ten feet tall, with countless moving coils and dials.

“Tryyvalian machinery is so archaic,” Viv comments drily.

Squee reaches into his bag and pulls out two Sticky Bombs. He quickly plants one on either side of the engine, pushing down on the middle to activate them. They start beeping, the X-ed out eyes lighting up in tandem.

“Okay, we got like five minutes, let’s move,” Squee demands and races out of the room, the robots close behind.

Back at the fight, Pepito and Ethrax are an equal match. They’ve both dealt light blows to the other; Ethrax is barely able to dodge Pepito’s blasts so they’re non-lethal and Pepito’s suit protects him from being sliced by Ethrax’s blades, though he’s gonna have some nasty abrasions.

A beeping suddenly sounds from Ethrax’s lab coat. He stops and lifts his blades apologetically. “Hold please.”

Pepito freezes and slumps his shoulder, pouting as Ethrax removes a small tablet monitor from his jacket.

“Ah, intruders in the engine room,” he states.

“Yeah, Squee’s gonna blow up your whole ship,” Pepito brags.

“I see. And you think I’ll let you get away with that?” he asks.

“Nothing you can do now. He’s already planted his bombs.”

“Perhaps I can’t save the ship, but I can stop you from escaping.”

Before Pepito can question him, Ethrax suddenly flies over him to the opening they made in the wall.

“Hey!” Pepito cries but he’s too late. Ethrax lunges his blades and slices their cruiser into three equal pieces, like butter. They plummet through the sky.

Pepito swings his spear, releasing a blast. Ethrax isn’t ready for it and it slices right through his midriff. His two halves both collapse onto the floor.

Pepito pants and looks outside, frantically scratching his head. “Oh, hell.”

“Pepito!” Squee calls as they come racing down the hall.

“Squee!” he calls back, “bad news, he destroyed our ship! How are we-?”

“No time!” Squee exclaims as he pushes into him and dives for the hole. “Jump!”

“What!” Pepito shouts as they hurtle out of the ship.

Ethrax lifts his head off the floor, his bladed arms trembling as he struggles to hold himself up. He watches the robots follow the boys out of the ship and smiles weakly.

“You win this round, Pepito Diablo of Earth.”

The explosions shake the whole ship, quickly followed by multiple others. They take up the whole ship before fire even has a chance to spread. The blast can be seen for miles.

Debris and shrapnel rain down onto the countryside, surrounding Civ and Viv as they lower to the ground. Pepito follows close behind, his wings flapping as he holds Squee in his arms. They drop onto the dirt and look up at where the smoke is still dissipating.

“I am so turned on right now,” Pepito says.

“Well, turn it off,” Squee grunts, “we have to get back to the others. Let’s see.” He turns away and examines their surroundings. “Mar’s place should be this way. Uh hopefully.”

“It will take so long to walk there,” Pepito groans, “and I’m too tired to fly.”

Squee glances at Civ and Viv hopefully.

“Forget it,” Viv scoffs, “we already told you, we refuse to touch your disgusting bodies.”

Squee groans with annoyance and tries to think of something else when a particularly large piece of debris smashes into the ground a foot away, making them jump.

It’s a large shard of metal, probably from the hull. Squee perks up and digs around in his bag, pulling out a length of rope.

“I have an idea,” he states.

“I’m having second thoughts about this idea,” he says, a few minutes later.

He and Pepito are seated on the slab of metal, holding onto the ends of the rope like reins as it’s tied around the waists of the SIR units.

“Yes, as am I,” Civ adds, “we may not have to touch you this way but it feels a lot more…degrading.”

“Who cares. Mush!” Pepito exclaims, snapping the rope.

Viv and Civ flinch before blasting off. Pepito and Squee shout with surprise as they’re pulled after them on their makeshift sleigh. They dash through the dried out field, screaming all the way.

#invader zim #invader zim fanfiction #johnny the homicidal maniac #johnny the homicidal maniac fanfiction #iz jthm crossover #my ocs #my art

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themurphyzone · 6 years ago

Text

Absolutely Disastrous Ch 16

Ch 16: Rematch on the Beach! Kirlia Makes His Decision!

“Daylight! I missed you so much! And you too, beach! And I missed you, promotional poster of Stumbleberry Swoobat!” Zack hollered the moment he was free of the oppressive darkness that permeated Granite Cave.

Orton had declined their offer to use Aron’s tunnel to escape Granite Cave. He wanted to study the painting further, and he had to rely on hand-written notes because flash photography would’ve ruined the quality.

Aron and Kirlia had taken to ignoring each other. Kirlia still wasn’t happy about being captured, but Aron had taken to Melissa like a Magikarp to water.

Diogee did his best to prove that Milo was trustworthy, mostly by acting cute enough to get a snack, but Kirlia wasn’t having any of it.

“Kirlia, would it be alright if I used you in a practice match against Zack?” Milo asked. “He needs to train his Pokémon for his next Contest.”

Kirlia glanced over to Zack, who was now instructing Whismur to create several orange rings of increasing size with Echoed Voice. Since the move increased in power with repeated use, Zack was hoping to use that to his advantage in an appeal.

“To be honest, I’d like to use you in my gym battle,” Milo admitted. “If that’s alright with you. I think it’s really sweet that you want to make sure Aron’s fine, even if you don’t like being captured yourself.”

Kirlia kicked the sand, his legs trembling rapidly until he used Confusion to force them to go still.

Aron glanced at Kirlia in worry before remembering that she was supposed to be ignoring him, returning to her half-eaten Chesto Berry.

“Hey, Milo! You ready?” Zack called. Whismur’s ears flapped in excitement.

Kirlia folded his arms and gracefully hopped in front of Milo, coolly observing Zack and Whismur.

“You don’t have to battle. I can use someone else,” Milo said. Kirlia folded his arms and stubbornly fixed Milo with a stern glare. Milo held up his hands placatingly. “Alright then. Let’s get started, Zack!”

“I’m gonna be over here,” Melissa said, heading over to a secluded spot by Granite Cave. “Worldbuilding with ancient legends is definitely a surefire hook for readers.”

She opened a notebook and started writing.

Milo and Zack gave her enough space to focus on her own activities but still allow her to watch their practice match.

“Let’s start with Astonish!” Zack exclaimed.

“Counter with Magical Leaf!” Milo yelled.

Whismur’s ears waggled cutely as he charged at Kirlia, not even remotely threatening. Kirlia raised his arm and stopped Whismur in his tracks with Confusion, encasing the Whisper Pokémon in blue light before tossing him aside with a disinterested flick.

“Er, looks like we both have things to work on,” Zack admitted. “You alright, Whismur?”

Whismur’s mouth quivered, but he unleashed an Echoed Voice anyway. Kirlia teleported away from the attack, reappearing behind Whismur and striking him with Magical Leaf.

Milo quickly found that Kirlia didn’t follow instructions. If he called for Magical Leaf, Kirlia would use Confusion. If he asked Kirlia to dodge with Teleport, Kirlia would stand his ground instead.

“Shock Wave!” Milo called, realizing Kirlia hadn’t used this move yet. Kirlia had no issue hurling Magical Leaf or Confusion, nor evading with Teleport. It seemed odd that Kirlia held back on using the last move in his arsenal.

Instead of attacking with Shock Wave, Kirlia paused to glare at Milo, his red eyes blazing furiously. While his guard was down, Whismur managed to land a Stomp and Astonish combo.

“Sorry, Kirlia,” Milo said. “You don’t have to do Shock Wave if you don’t want to.”

Kirlia stared down at the sand, then released a weak jolt of electricity that fizzled out ten feet away.

Shock Wave was a mid-level Electric attack, stronger than Thundershock but not nearly as powerful as Wild Charge. Heck, some people would barely consider that weak jolt a Thundershock.

“Don’t worry, we’ll work on it some other time,” Milo said.

Kirlia huffed as if he didn’t believe there would be ‘some other time.’ But the tension visibly melted out of his shoulders.

Aron called out to Kirlia from the sideline but hastily looked away when Kirlia glanced at her.

“Echoed Stomp!” Zack shouted.

“That’s not a real-” Milo started to say, but his mouth dropped open in surprise when Whismur skillfully stomped on Kirlia’s head while wailing loudly enough to create several orange sound waves of increasing size.

“Use Confusion and stop those sound waves!” Milo yelled hastily.

To his amazement, Kirlia recovered quickly and thrust his arm out just as the sound waves were about to pummel him, freezing the orange rings in place.

“Alright, we found our mojo!” Milo cheered. “Now throw them back!”

Whismur weaved to the side to avoid the oncoming Echoed Voice, but Kirlia trapped him between two of the rings and flicked the smallest one into his body, which dissipated with a loud shriek.

Unfortunately, Zack was caught in the blast zone.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” Zack shouted to Whismur, who just looked confused.

“Soundproof ability!” Melissa yelled. “The Whismur family is immune to all sound-based attacks!”

“WHAT?” Zack shouted back, his volume control sorely lacking.

“Okay, I think we’re good,” Milo said. “I’m calling it off until Zack gets his hearing back. Again.”

Kirlia released another weak Shock Wave, sighing when the ocean barely conducted it.

“You’re really strong, Kirlia,” Milo said. “I’m sure you’ll get Shock Wave with enough practice.”

Kirlia turned away.

“Hey, Diogee’s still banned from battling for another nineteen hours-oh, don’t give me the Lillipup eyes, Diogee, you know it’s true-but anyway, I think you’d be great to have on my side when I rematch Veronica. Again, I’m not gonna force you to battle if you don’t want to. And I promise I’ll release you if you prefer living in Granite Cave. Melissa won’t hang onto Aron either, I trust her. Just think about it, okay?”

Kirlia teleported onto a flat rock and stared off into the horizon. Assuming Kirlia just wanted to think for a little while, Milo left him alone for now.

“Sir, we’ve delivered the letter,” Melissa reported, putting her PokéNav on speakerphone so Milo and Zack could listen in too. “Though I do have some concerns about you apparently believing we’re a free delivery service. And some warning about the visibility in Granite Cave would have been nice to know.”

Orville chuckled. “Of course. I apologize for that. I haven’t received word from Amanda and Lydia yet, but I assume that’s because Slateport has plenty of tourist attractions and has probably distracted them with other pursuits.”

“Your son is even cooler in person!” Milo exclaimed. “He sure knows a lot about ancient legends!”

“Speaking as a father, you don’t know how much it prides me to hear that, Milo,” Orville replied. Someone else spoke in the background. “Yes, of course, Clara. I’ll be right down. Ah, if you’ll excuse me, I have another matter to attend to. There was another incident with the MULCHGT machine, and I have no choice but to fire the scientist responsible. Plus we may need to bring in some Pokémon to trim Dylan’s new Tangrowth vines to a manageable length. And by manageable length, I mean make some other parts of his body visible besides his eyes.”

The PokéNav clicked, signaling the end of the call.

“We should really get Bradley’s phone number,” Zack said. “He’ll be happy to hear that, I think. Or Bradley happy, which is probably just a notch higher than grumpy.”

“Next time we get used as a delivery service, I’m charging for labor costs,” Melissa muttered.

“I can’t wait to see how Orton’s gonna use that painting in Dr. Magnezone,” Milo said.

“Hey, Zack. Something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Melissa said as she flicked through her phone. “Orton mentioned a legend from Ilex Forest. Since you’re from Johto, I was just wondering if you’d heard anything like that.”

Zack shook his head. “Must be a local legend. Johto has tons of folktales that are specific to the area. I’m from Olivine City, on the opposite side of the region from Ilex Forest. I grew up with tales of the Beast of the Sea, not the Voice of the Forest. First time I’ve heard that one, actually.”

“Spill, I wanna hear all about this Beast of the Sea,” Melissa said.

“Well, there’s an archipelago called the Whirl Islands just outside Olivine,” Zack said. “It’s really dangerous for ships because of the constant whirlpools that surround the caves there. Sailors say the whirlpools were created from the Beast of the Sea’s power to protect itself from humans. Supposedly it sleeps in the deepest ocean trench.”

“So did your Beast of the Sea create Johto’s oceans?” Milo asked.

“No, it just guards them. Ocean creation seems to be a Hoenn specialty,” Zack replied.

“I don’t want to be reminded of Team Aqua right now,” Melissa sighed. “Two encounters with that John guy is enough.”

Melissa was spared the pain of reflecting on their chance meetings with Team Aqua due to a sandy cloud billowing in their direction. Milo tossed Melissa and Zack goggles and an oxygen mask just in case, but the sandy cloud subsided to reveal Veronica in her pizza delivery outfit, which heavily resembled medieval armor. Her Dodrio’s three heads pecked at a pouch on her hip, but Veronica simply moved the flap out of their way and let them eat.

Her steel gauntlet blocked the heads from accidentally pecking her arm as they squabbled among themselves for food.

“Yo! I’m all done with my shift!” Veronica exclaimed. “Ready for the rematch?”

Somehow Milo had lost track of time. The sunset bathed the ocean in a brilliant shade of orange, the low tide pulling water further away from the beach.

“Maybe tomorrow?” Milo asked. “My Pokémon aren’t ready tonight.”

Veronica nodded. “Sure, no prob! Meditite likes to spend evenings training alone anyway. See ya tomorrow!”

She hopped on Dodrio and sped back to town.

“We should get back to the Pokémon Center and rest up,” Melissa yawned.

While Zack helped Melissa pick up her things, Milo checked up on Kirlia. The Emotion Pokémon stood up, brushing sand off his skirt-like ruffles. Then he nodded to Milo.

“So you want to battle tomorrow then?” Milo asked.

Kirlia crossed his arms.

“Just making sure,” Milo said. “Let’s do our best, okay?”

The corner of Kirlia’s mouth quirked, though it disappeared faster than Milo could blink.

They met Veronica on the beach after breakfast. The Pokémon Center had great beds, and Milo was well-rested for his rematch.

Diogee still had a few hours left before his battling ban was lifted, so he had to stay sidelined. He wasn’t happy, but Milo promised to use him in his next gym battle.

Only the first bed had collapsed while he was on it, so he considered it a good night.

“This is a rematch between the Dewford Gym Leader Veronica and the challenger Milo Murphy!” Melissa declared. “Single battle rules, two Pokémon allowed per side! When you’re ready, release your Pokémon!”

“Sorry, Milo! Still don’t plan on losing! Fighting spirit, Riolu!” Veronica yelled, tossing her Poké Ball high into the air.

Riolu adopted a battle pose that might’ve been intimidating if he was larger, but came off as rather adorable instead.

“Let’s go, Marshtomp!” Milo shouted.

Marshtomp’s Poké Ball hit a beach umbrella, snapping it shut just as Marshtomp popped out. Only his legs and tail were visible, and the battle was put on hold so Milo could extract Marshtomp.

Milo used a pair of scissors to cut through the giant Psyducky Momo emblazoned across the umbrella. Thankfully, Marshtomp forgave him once he was freed and they turned back to Veronica and Riolu.

“Quick Attack!” Veronica shouted.

“Block with Mud Bomb!”

Marshtomp created a giant ball of mud and held it above his head, eyes scanning the beach wildly for Riolu. But the Fighting-type didn’t stay still, disappearing just as Marshtomp seemed to figure out where to aim.

Just as Marshtomp closed his eyes and cried out in frustration, Riolu kicked him in the chest, jumping away when Marshtomp lost his grip on the Mud Bomb and splattered himself.

The damage was minimal, and mud didn’t bother Marshtomp. Though the grains of sand clinging to his body probably chafed.

“Force Palm!”

“Use Dig to avoid it!”

Marshtomp burrowed under the sand, barely evading Force Palm. The sand shifted around Riolu’s feet, knocking him off-balance. Marshtomp’s hand shot out from the sand, clamping down on Riolu’s tail and holding him in place as he was doused with a point-blank Water Pulse.

Coughing, Riolu pulled away and jumped back several feet to recover.

“Mud Bomb again!” Milo shouted.

As another ball of mud formed in Marshtomp’s arms, Veronica thrust out her hand. “Use Copycat and keep throwing!”

Riolu dodged Mud Bomb, brown waves of light rippling off his body. Then the light solidified into a muddy ball, and Riolu threw it at Marshtomp, then prepared to hurl a second one.

Marshtomp evaded the first Mud Bomb, which sailed over his head and hit a sand dune. Riolu’s Mud Bombs weren’t as large as Marshtomp’s, but Riolu flung them so frequently that the globs blocked any of Marshtomp’s Water Pulses and Mud Bombs.

Using a close-range attack was impossible. Riolu was much faster than Marshtomp and would see him coming from a mile away.

“Use Water Pulse and make it extra-large this time!” Milo shouted.

“Deflect it with Force Palm!” Veronica yelled.

Marshtomp hurled an enormous ball of water at Riolu, who thrust out his arm in one quick jab before the Water Pulse hit him. The shock wave repelled the Water Pulse and sent it flying back at Marshtomp, though it only soaked the sand under his feet.

Now that Copycat had worn off, Milo figured it was safe to use a close-range move.

“Rock Tomb!” Milo ordered.

Marshtomp cried out, a giant rock materializing in his arms, only to fall flat on his face when his legs sunk into the sand as he lunged at Riolu. Rock Tomb broke apart, the shards landing on Marshtomp’s head. The more he struggled, the deeper he sunk.

Quicksand trap.

Milo had been caught in quicksand before, and he knew the important thing was that struggling only pulled the unlucky person under the surface.

“Relax and don’t panic!” Milo called as Riolu bombarded Marshtomp with back-to-back Force Palms. Riolu teetered on the edge of the quicksand and safe area, taking time to charge up pressure behind his Force Palms before unleashing them on a weary Marshtomp.

Marshtomp’s arms jerked slightly as the paralysis from a Force Palm kicked in. The quicksand was at his waist level now.

“Alright, we’ve got him trapped and immobilized, Riolu!” Veronica shouted. “Let’s do one huge Force Palm for the final blow!”

Riolu put his paws together, pressure building for one last strike.

Marshtomp screeched harshly, a light blue aura surrounding his body. With a single sweep of his arms, several large Mud Bombs shot out and blasted the quicksand away.

Startled, Riolu lost his concentration and the mud absorbed the pressure behind his Force Palm, the attack dissipating into thin air.

“Awesome job, Marshtomp!” Milo grinned. He’d seen this power before when Sara challenged one of her Dr. Magnezone friends to a battle. Her opponent’s Dewott had defeated Nyx with two Razor Shells powered up by the Torrent ability.

“Use Water Pulse and don’t hold back!” Milo shouted.

Marshtomp gave Riolu no time to avoid Water Pulse, and the attack sent the Fighting-type skidding several feet until he came to a stop at the base of a large rock. The sandy field was doused completely, and Milo paused to empty out his shoe, which was almost filled to the brim with wet sand.

A soaked Riolu used the rock for support as he faced down Marshtomp, then he lost his grip completely and fainted.

Torrent’s blue aura faded, and Marshtomp collapsed too.

Melissa waited for either Pokémon to stand up, but a full minute passed and neither one stirred. “Double knockout! Marshtomp and Riolu are unable to battle!” she announced. “You each have one Pokémon left!”

Milo and Veronica recalled their Pokémon. “I didn’t know you had a Riolu,” Milo called to his former babysitter. “He’s really cute!”

“Thanks, but flattery gets you nowhere,” Veronica teased. “I took a trip to Iron Island three months ago. Great training grounds for Fighting-types. Anyway, there’s a guy who’ll give trainers a Riolu egg if you can make it to a hard-to-reach location. And I managed it with flying colors! So yeah, Riolu’s my most recent addition.”

Milo grinned. “Well, since you’re kind enough to show me your new Pokémon, I think it’s only fair that I return the favor. Meet Kirlia!”

He released Kirlia from his Poké Ball, deciding against a dramatic throw this time.

“Very graceful,” Veronica smiled as Kirlia quivered in place. “You didn’t have Kirlia when we battled last time, right?”

“We befriended him in Granite Cave,” Melissa said. “My Aron is Kirlia’s best friend.”

At the mention of Aron, Kirlia crossed his arms.

“We should really have them make up,” Zack said. “They had a disagreement over staying in the cave and coming with us and now they won’t talk to each other.”

“You know Kirlia don’t naturally live in Granite Cave, right?” Veronica asked. “They prefer grassy areas. And Kirlia and its evolved forms don’t typically live in the wild. They thrive on human companionship.”

Kirlia scoffed and turned his back to her.

“Sorry,” Veronica said sheepishly. “We should really continue this battle. Fighting spirit, Meditite!”

Meditite hovered in a meditation pose for just a moment before touching down on the beach.

“Alright, last Pokémon inspirational words! Power comes from the heart and strong will stems from the spirit! With heart and spirit combined, we won’t ever admit defeat!” Veronica exclaimed.

“Are you finished?” Melissa asked.

“Yeah, I was thinking of making it shorter. It’s a work in progress,” Veronica shrugged.

“I liked it,” Milo said, inspiration striking him. “Yeah, but Kirlia and I have stuff that you’ll never have! Like sweater vests, and backpacks, and...um, Zack!”

“Please don’t drag me into another one-liner,” Zack sighed.

Melissa rolled her eyes. “Guys, just start the battle. I’ve seen Dragonite Ball Z fight scenes move faster than you two.”

“Magical Leaf!” Milo yelled.

“Send those leaves back with Confusion!” Veronica shouted.

Magical Leaf flew back and forth between Kirlia and Meditite as if they were flinging many photosynthesizing ping pong balls at each other. Kirlia held his arm at the ready, while Meditite jabbed the air as she sent Magical Leaf in the opposite direction.

Finally, Meditite divided the leaves into two groups and hurled the first one at Kirlia, who teleported out of the path of the first group and directly in front of the second.

“Detect, then Meditate!” Veronica ordered.

Meditite avoided another Magical Leaf with Detect, which put her behind a sand dune.

“Teleport over there and use Magical Leaf again!” Milo shouted.

Kirlia vanished and reappeared on top of Meditite’s sand dune, striking her with another Magical Leaf as she meditated. Meditite barely reacted, her eyes closed in concentration.

“Force Palm!” Veronica shouted.

Meditite flung out her palm, blasting Kirlia away with a Force Palm. Kirlia tumbled against the sand for a moment before lightly springing to his feet.

“Use Confusion on the water and fling it at Meditite!” Milo yelled.

Kirlia pointed to the ocean, raising an entire ball of seawater into the air. With his other arm, he separated a confused Magikarp from the ball and flicked it away. Zack screamed as the Magikarp landed next to him, and Diogee bit the Magikarp on its tail and dragged it back to the ocean.

“Sorry!” Milo called to Zack.

“Nothing should have that many fins...” Zack shivered, huddling behind Diogee.

Meditite grabbed hold of the water ball with her own Confusion, and Kirlia gritted his teeth as he grappled for control over it. The water ball hovered precariously between them, sometimes jerking to one side or the other but never making significant progress to either party. After several tense seconds, the ball finally inched closer to Kirlia’s side.

“Break Confusion and switch to Magical Leaf!” Milo shouted.

Kirlia’s eyes returned to normal, and the shock of her opponent cutting off an attack caused Meditite to pull her arms in to prepare another Force Palm. The water ball instantly hurtled in her direction, smashing into Meditite and her own Confusion attack stopped as she sputtered and coughed.

Kirlia scored two Magical Leaf attacks on Meditite before she recovered from the seawater’s saltiness.

“Detect!” Veronica shouted as Kirlia hurled a third Magical Leaf attack at Meditite, who vanished instantly.

Milo pointed to a cluster of sand dunes. “Confusion on those dunes! Don’t let her Meditate again!”

Kirlia leveled the sand dunes, but Meditite wasn’t behind them. Then Meditite appeared behind Kirlia, jabbing her palm into Kirlia’s side. Kirlia cried out, dropping to his knees as a shock wave passed through his body. A second Force Palm sent Kirlia flying into the water. The waves knocked him down as he struggled to stand.

“Teleport back to the land!” Milo shouted. But Kirlia’s limbs didn’t obey, jerking uncontrollably as he tried to bring his hands together.

“Alright, let’s end this! Use-Meditite, what’s wrong?” Veronica gasped, her command cut short as Meditite dropped to her knees too.

Yellow sparks flew off both Pokémon’s bodies.

“Milo, I read about this once!” Zack shouted. “Kirlia must have the Synchronize ability! If the opponent burns, poisons, or paralyzes him, they’ll get the same status condition!”

“Never took you for a bookworm type,” Melissa said.

Zack shrugged. “I had this whole phase where I wanted to be an Umbreon and I learned as much as I could about them. Don’t ask why. I was a weird kid.”

Meditite stumbled towards Kirlia, each step slow and deliberate. She drew her arm back as she stood over Kirlia, who kneeled in the surf and glared at Meditite obstinately. Then Kirlia’s arms shot forward, grasping Meditite’s feet, which were half-hidden under the flowing waves.

Meditite jerked back, pressure building against her palm. Then sparks flowed up her legs, suddenly turning into full-blown electricity that coursed into the rest of her body.

Neither Veronica or Milo expected that.

Milo had avoided Shock Wave throughout the entire battle, figuring that Kirlia wanted to practice it more before feeling comfortable enough to use it on an opponent.

Water conducted electricity, and Kirlia had used that principle without hesitation. Even a weak Electric move could be amplified with a proper conduction source.

Meditite fainted, her body half-lying on the beach, limbs still twitching.

Melissa’s eyes were wide as she stared at the still-paralyzed Kirlia. “Meditite is unable to battle. Kirlia is the winner. The challenger wins the match,” she recited.

Milo pulled Kirlia onto the sand, then quickly popped a Cheri Berry into the Emotion Pokémon’s mouth, tossing one to Veronica so she could help Meditite as well.

Now that his paralysis was gone, Kirlia sat up with no trouble. His eyes glowed blue for a moment, and Milo was shoved away from Kirlia.

“Sorry,” Milo said. “I’ll give you some space.”

“Well, that was something,” Veronica said once Meditite recovered from paralysis. “Surprising people as always. It’s a good family trait. You’ve really grown since I last saw you, and I don’t just mean that literally.”

“I didn’t tell Kirlia to use Shock Wave like that,” Milo admitted. “I mean, it’s kinda underhanded.”

Kirlia crossed his arms.

Veronica grinned. “You call it underhanded, I call it a brilliant use of the environment. Pokémon can think for themselves too, you know. I mean, what’s the fun in battling if we just call out what we’re doing all the time? I always welcome surprises in my fights.”

Meditite bowed to Kirlia.

“See, Meditite thinks you won fairly too,” Veronica said. “And that means I can present you with the Knuckle Badge.”

Milo took the boxing glove-shaped badge from Veronica and held it up to the sun to admire its sheen. Diogee placed his paws on Milo’s shoulders, rising to his hind legs to get a good look at the badge too.

“Looks like you’re a fourth of the way there,” Melissa said. “That’s progress.”

Aron popped out of her Poké Ball and rammed into Kirlia, burying into his side for a hug. Kirlia froze for a moment before wrapping his arms around Aron’s steel hide as well.

“Thanks, Veronica,” Milo said. “I’ll keep doing my best!”

“Wouldn’t expect anything less from a Murphy,” Veronica smiled.

Milo and Veronica waited in the Pokémon Center lobby, allowing Nurse Joy to take charge of their exhausted Pokémon. Aron’s steel-coated head rested in Melissa’s lap, occasionally glancing to the door in case Kirlia came out.

“Alright, here’s my contact number,” Veronica said, handing over Melissa’s PokéNav. “Just give me a call if you wanna chat or need some good old gym leader advice!”

“I’m just glad you fought a gym leader who doesn’t live underground and smells like sewers,” Zack whispered to Milo.

“So where are you guys heading next?” Veronica asked.

“Slateport City,” Melissa replied. “They have all sorts of cool stuff in their seaside market.”

“And a Contest Hall for Zack,” Milo added.

“I think I’m a lot more prepared this time,” Zack said.

“Well, I assume you’ll be stopping in Mauville City for your next gym battle,” Veronica said as she leaned against the wall. “Just so you know, I heard Clyde is retiring. So you might be facing someone totally new.”

“Clyde retiring? Are you sure?” Milo gasped, sharing an alarmed glance with Melissa.

Veronica nodded. “Yeah, he’s an odd guy. He always struck me as the type of old guy who likes to keep working.”

“So you know this Clyde?” Zack asked.

“Every kid in the region knows Clyde!” Melissa exclaimed. “If you ever have a broken toy, he’s the guy to fix it. Doesn’t matter if it’s electronic or a doll either. Milo and I brought so much stuff over for him to fix when we were kids. Though between you and me, he’s terrible with money.”

“He specializes in Electric-types,” Milo added. “And his inventions really spruced up Mauville City.”

“Last I heard, he was entering a partnership with some tech corporation,” Veronica said. “Maybe the plans fell through or something. I should really keep in contact more.”

Milo and Veronica’s Pokémon swarmed them as soon as they were released, and the conversation was dropped. Diogee and Marshtomp climbed all over Milo, the former happy that his battling ban was finally lifted. Riolu hugged Veronica while Meditite bowed in greeting.

Aron nudged Kirlia’s leg, gently herding him to Milo. Diogee and Marshtomp let Milo stand up.

“We’re gonna be leaving Dewford soon,” Milo said. “You wanna join us?”

He placed Kirlia’s Poké Ball on the bench and waited.

Aron stomped her stubby leg, and Kirlia rolled his eyes. Then he pushed the button on his Poké Ball, disappearing in a flash of red light. Diogee, Marshtomp, and Aron cheered as Milo pocketed Kirlia’s Poké Ball.

“Guess you’re stuck with us,” Melissa said to Aron. “Welcome to the club.”

“Bye, Veronica!” Milo waved as the S.S Plunge pulled away from the docks of Dewford Town. “Keep in touch, okay?”

“You bet!” Veronica shouted back. “See ya later!”

Within minutes, Dewford Town was just a speck on the horizon.

Melissa’s PokéNav buzzed, but she was too slow to pick up and the call went to voicemail.

“Melissa, are you guys coming?” Lydia’s voice sounded strained. “We have a situation and I need you guys pronto!”

And that concludes Dewford Town! I have been looking forward to writing Slateport City for so long! I have some fun stuff planned for that city!

#absolutely disastrous #milo murphy's law #melissa chase #veronica mml #diogee #zack underwood #pokemon #oras au

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head-and-heart · 7 years ago

Text

The 100 Ask Game

Thanks for the tag @istilldothiseveryday ! This looks fun :)

1. What would you get arrested for on the Ark?

Protests? Can you get arrested for that on the Ark?

I dunno. I have a very strong personality I’d probably get into to some kind of trouble politically on the Ark 2. Would you take off your wristband when you landed on the ground?

Nah. I’m very much alike with Clarke in the way I think and as much as I may like to stick my middle finger up at the council if I was sent down on the dropship, I think I would see the value in having the Ark (aka. a functioning society) follow us down to the ground. I would be scared out of my mind of the Grounders - back up would be nice. 3. What would the necklace Finn would make for you look like? (Clarke: deer/Raven: a raven duh..)

Probably a mangled mess of metal cause I’d shut down that shit SO hard

4. If you could resurrect any MINOR character who would it be?

Maya. I understand that her surviving doesn’t really make any sense and they needed her to die for jasper’s arc or whatever BUT TBH SHE HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL??? Like, I stanned her team-up with Bellamy so hard; I’d literally sell my soul to satan for her to be incorporated into the delinquent’s group. Can you imagine her suiting up and going on hunting missions with Harper? Attending Lincoln and Bell’s sparring lessons? Sharing her music with Gina at the bar????? Helping out Abby and Jackson in medical???? Having heart to hearts with Clarke about her mom (and Clarke’s dad), who both died rebelling against the system??? Cracking jokes with Monty?? imagine if she went up to space with the squad, and what their relationship could have been like then! She could be their medic on board.

People always simplify Maya to her relationship with Jasper (and yes they were cute) but SHE COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH MORE. She was smart and courageous and selfless - she had fire and wit and strength and i m i s s her.

She’ll never see Earth, never breathe real air, never float on the water, never meet Riley

We’ll never get to see her grow up and it makes me sad

5. Create a squad of 5 characters to go on missions with. Who are they?

Raven and Monty because they’re GENIUSES obviously.

Lincoln and Bellamy so I don’t fucking DIE lmao - I know they got my back (my poor boys - both too selfless for their own good)

Clarke cause the Angry Cat game is strong and she’s got a real knack for not dying even when she should, probably, be 110% dead 6. Minty or Briller?

Briller. Tragically, Bryan only started to interest me in 4x02 when they gave him more dimension by visiting farm station.

Also ... how can you say no to chickens? 7. What would your name be in Trigedasleng? (example: Octavia=Okteivia…just make it up!)

Uhhh. Keit? Kayt?

What a lame name 8. Thoughts on Finn? Some people hate him, and others love him, so I’m curious

i don’t know him

9. Be honest. How willing would you have been to take the chip without knowing all the horrible things it does?

I doubt I would take it. Unknown drug with unknown effects? Sounds pretty sketch. I don’t see myself going for that - I’m a generally skeptical person. 10. What character do you relate to most & What character do you like the least not including the obvious ones like Pike, etc…

Definitely relate the most to my INTJ queen Clarke Griffin!

And Octavia is probably my least favourite character. I can see why some people like her and the merit in her character arc I guess but tbh she just IRRITATES me to no end - she has certain characteristics that really grate at me. Obviously, some characters are horrible people (like Dr. Tsing ew) but Octavia just infuriates me because of some of her characteristics.

She’s not for me. 11. Describe your delinquent outfit. (Would you wear something like Murphy’s jacket with the spikey red shoulder patch or have a trademark like Jasper’s goggles? Be creative, yet practical)

Something practical cause I’m boring.

Cargo pants. Ark-issued t-shirt. And a nice warm jacket. The jackets the characters wear on this show are pathetic - they barely look like they keep the wind out. And only Bellamy zips his up. smh vancouver is colder than it looks - all that humidity

As for a trademark thing?

I’d be the only arker with an “I <3 BELLAMY BLAKE” t shirt probably

12. Favorite type of mutant animal?

Bellamy’s three-headed doggo he hasn’t found yet

anyway i still have hope

13. What would your job be on the Ark?

I think I’d follow in Raven/Monty’s paths a bit and go into something mathematical like engineering but knowing myself I’d probably end up moving into politics later on. I have too many strong opinions to put up with the Ark system lol 14. Would you have willingly pumped Ontari’s heart if Abby asked?

Oh HELL no. I’d probably throw up all over it. I’m sorry Clarke. It’s not like that’s ACTUALLY how blood transfusions work anyway *intense side-eye at The 100 “science”* 15. If Lxa wasn’t Heda, but she’s still alive right? then who would make the best commander?

None of them. Bellamy x Clarke leadership duo. I don’t care about the Grounder commander system - it’s all kinda bs anyway.

None of the individual leaders on this show have done a good job. They’ve always functioned best as a team (which is why I want the Bellarke leader couple back) 16. If you were a grounder, then where would you live and who would be your mentor?

I mean I know she went all cray cray and they all died but probably Luna’s rig. I don’t want shit to do with the other clans, who are always warring with each other. And I think Nyko would be a pretty good mentor. I’d like to learn medicine. 17. How would you act if you ate the hallucinogenic nuts like Jasper and Monty?

Let’s be real, I’d probably start crying about how Bellamy and Clarke are in love and wHy cAn’T tHeY jUSt bAnG aLrEAdY ... and Finn would be real mad about it if he was in charge of picking my ass off the floor like in “Day Trip”

ha! I think it would be worth it 18. How would you have dealt with Charlotte’s crime? A more John Murphy approach or Bellamy Blake?

I mean ... I definitely wouldn’t lead a manhunt to kill a thirteen year old girl so I can say with a lot of confidence that I would NOT follow the Murphy route. Not so sure I’d just pardon her though. I think the delinquents needed some kind of prison system. Charlotte did murder a kid. Even though she was a child, there probably should have been some kind of consequence for that (though not killing her would be ideal) 19. Who should be the Chancellor, if anyone?

Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin co-leading motherfucking power couple

I will accept no less in canon. just let me fucking have this

20. Mount Weather had a lot of modern commodities. (example: Maya’s Ipod)What is the one thing you would snatch while there?

Oh, the iPod for sure. I literally don’t know if I could live without music. I’m listening to it ALL the time - I’m listening to it right now. RAIGN is playing *cries in Bellarke* 21. Do you think you’d have caught the virus spread through camp or would you have been immune like O.ctavia?

I’m a weak ass bitch so probably

and on the basis that I don’t like any of the people who ARE immune then maybe I don’t wanna be - what’s the point of surviving in a world where you’ve only got Finn Collins and O.ctavia Blake for company? 22. What would your grounder tattoos look like? Hairstyle? War paint?

I want whatever makeup L.exa’s got from Polisephora. You think she’d share some of that eyeliner? 23. Favorite quote?

“Shouldn’t there be more to life than just surviving?” - Clarke Griffin (2x14)

24. Can you forgive Murphy for his actions? How about Bellamy?

Yeah. I feel like we’re kind of past this point in the plot. They’ve both showed development and change and I think we’re definitely at a place in the story where both of them are intended as sympathetic characters to the audience. 25. If one of the characters was in the Hunger Games, who would have the best shot at winning? NOOOOO ALREADY SO MUCH DEATH NOOOO

I’m going to answer this as if all of our characters were thrown into the ring and I have to predict which one would win.

I wanna say Octavia because I think she’s independent and - er - determined enough to take out someone she knows if it came down to being the two of them to grant her own freedom and survival. Whereas, someone like Clarke or Bellamy or Kane would probably just nightlock it cause they’re self-sacrificial af.

But then I also think maybe Murphy ‘cause cockroaches never die (thank you Raven). 26. Least favorite ship? Favorite ship? NOT INCLUDING CL OR BC

Least favourite ship that people actually like? (aka. not something like Clarke and Jaha)

Probably B.echo (as a romantic relationship, not necessarily sexual). Hate to be basic and predictable but I think I would actually die if it were endgame.

FAVOURITE SHIP THAT ISN’T BELLARKE

how dare

If you asked me this a few months ago I would have told ya Niytavia but now that we’ve gotten more teasers about Octavia’s character in Season 5 I’m not sure if I want her anywhere near her (I like Niylah when she’s hot, but not cooked, ya feel?)

So maybe Jasper and Raven. Idk. I liked their friendship. Still bitter about Season 4.

I don’t really ship anything besides Bellarke that much. They’re an anomaly for me. 27. A song that should be included in the next season, like when Radioactive was? If there had to be another guest star like Shawn Mendes on the show, who would you want to make a cameo?

Tbh RAIGN goes hard af so anything by her would be pretty lit.

I mostly only associate songs I listen to with Bellarke when I’m applying them to the show so I’ve got like 100+ songs that I would love to use for them but its hard to think of a context where they would fit in with the tone of the show

And I want Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to cameo. They don’t need to say anything - they just need to stare soulfully into each other’s eyes in the background.

... or makeout

Whatever. 28. What would you do if you were stuck in the bunker with Murphy for all that time?

Steal the wine. Have karaoke battles. Drunkenly cry because RaVEn iS sO sTrONg and sO gOoD (and he would cry with me - he WOULD).

Gossip about Bellamy’s butt.

The possibilities are endless, really.

29. Opinion on Emori? Roan?

I don’t really have a strong opinion on Emori. I feel like our knowledge of her is still so limited. She’s still barely interacted with anyone besides Murphy. But I’m guessing that may change in Season 5. I’d like to see her interact more with Bellamy, since they both have siblings (and Emori was the disgraced child too, just like O). Not many people can relate in that sense.

I really liked Roan but TO BE HONEST I found him more intriguing in Season 3 than in Season 4. He was literally up there in like my top four or five characters in Season 3 - I was so excited to learn more about him! In Season 4 he didn’t have much of a character arc, he was just kind of there to look moody and badass.

But honestly Roan is one of those characters that I don’t think was necessarily intended to be funny (as opposed to characters like Jasper and Wick) but his interactions with Clarke, Bellamy, and Echo offered up the occasional piece of comedy gold. He went too soon. Forever mourning the bromance that he and Bellamy could have had.

30. Would you want to be an extra that is killed off in a brutal way?

I wanna be Satisfied Girl.

Or Riley. Everyone loves that guy

so ... no? maybe? does it come with the job? 31. A character you’d like to learn more about and get flashbacks of?

CADOGAN. @metastation has ruined me; now I just want more!

Also any of the Eligius crew tbh 32. A character you’d bang?

Omg like all of them.

Bellamy and Raven are up there tho.

And highkey Bree could get it. She looks like she knows what she’s doing.

Echo’s hot but i dunno chains and choking aren’t really my thing

Anywayyyyy I’m way too late to the party so I won’t tag anyone but like if you feel like doing this GO AHEAD ! And you can tag me in your post if you want too

#the 100 #posts by moi

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rwbyremnants · 7 years ago

Link

THIS CHAPTER: July: lewd conversation. Enabler: nudity, tickling, toe-kissing, dressing the other person.

Sorry this chapter is so short but it was just the best place to cut it off lol. To those of you who want more of Summer/Yang, there will be a little more later on (though Enabler is still the OTP of this fic, don’t worry). To those of you who DON’T, there will be warnings in those chapters.

=Chapter 8

True to her word, Yang didn’t even so much as look through the door to the back patio a single time as she finished her lunch, then went up to take a shower when her laundry turned out to still be drying. By then, the intensity of the moment had faded, and she didn’t even wind up needing to “take care of it” while in there.

Not that her cruel brain didn’t keep drifting back to the moment. Unlike with Ruby, reminding herself that Summer was her dad’s wife helped a lot in dispelling those lingering bits of attraction. The memory would probably wander in at weird times for the next few years but it was easy to say “She banged your dad” and make it go back from whence it came.

But again, that didn’t work with Ruby. For some reason, the half-sibling factor didn’t phase her; it should have, and it did make her gut twist when she thought about it, but it didn’t lessen her attraction at all. She wanted to be with her so much it burned.

Once her laundry was all put away and she went back downstairs, Summer was coming back in, still in the robe - or more likely, in the robe again - and carrying a magazine and an empty glass. Her cheeks were a little pink and she was swaying slightly, which told Yang she’d poured a little extra something into that glass to help her cope with what had happened before.

“Oh, hey,” she offered casually, getting a water from the fridge. “Looks like you got all cleaned up. You look nice, dear.”

“Thanks,” Yang snorted as she turned on the TV.

“Isn’t this the part where you say I look nice, too? Oh, wait… you already did that today.” A little chuckle. “Sorry, I shouldn’t joke like that. It was… well, I just shouldn’t.”

“Y-yeah. I mean, no offense, but I’d rather not think about it anymore. Like… you’re my stepmom.”

Nodding, she came over and sat down next to Yang. She was relieved to see she was moving carefully enough so that no flaps fell open or anything like that, and she left a good foot or so of space between them on the couch. Their closeness didn’t exactly put Yang at ease, but she didn’t think she needed to freak out yet.

“I understand. Did a lot of thinking about this while I was outside, and… I’m trying not to blame myself, but the important thing is, I can’t blame you for… well, for being human. I might be your stepmom, but you said you think of me as an attractive woman, so… naturally, if you see an attractive woman in her birthday suit-”

“Thanks for the instant replay!” Yang burst out in embarrassment, trying to somehow hide behind the remote. It didn’t work.

“Sorry,” Summer told her as she patted up and down her bicep. “Ooh… do you work out?”

“Mrs. Xiao Long…”

“All I’m trying to say is, I might tease you once or twice, but I don’t really blame you for… well, saluting me with your flagpole.” At this, she snickered a little. “Right? Get it?”

Laughing weakly, she reached over and patted Summer’s shoulder. Like she would do for Blake, or anyone really. “Right. Uh, maybe you should drink a little more of that water.”

“I know, I know. Had too much wine; I was… having an anxiety attack.” When Yang blinked at her rapidly, she shrugged and added, “About my stepdaughter having a hard-on for me? Kind of anxiety-inducing!”

“It wasn’t ‘for you’, exactly! Just… about your body. Like, you as a person, I still want to be like… my second mom, but more like an aunt? Kinda?”

That made Summer stop and smile at her, a genuinely touched smile. “Awww… oh, that’s so sweet of you!” Then she uncapped the water and took a long swig, apparently thinking better of Yang’s advice. “Ahhh. So yes, this is good; your body wants to bang mine, but intellectually, we still remember we’re family. That’s what’s important.”

Again, Yang felt the knife twisting as she thought about what she and Ruby were to each other. A sudden urge to tell Summer all about that filled her, but she ignored it; she wouldn’t understand. Nobody would. Telling her would only mean she got shipped back to New England much earlier than she expected.

“Anyway, I’ll start cleaning up before they get home,” she remarked as she pushed to stand up. “But… I’m really glad we could figure out our way around this very unfortunate situation. That we didn’t end up shouting, or hating each other.”

“Or worse.” Yang didn’t even finish her thought; they both knew the only thing that would be worse.

“Right,” Summer breathed, nodding with wide eyes. Then she smiled down at her. “It really has been nice getting to know you, Yang. Seeing you and Ruby getting along. I’m glad we have you here.”

“Me, too.” Then she waved as Summer went off to her room to change, trying her damndest not to watch her move as she went.

Taiyang and Ruby returned not long after that, stinking to high heaven and carrying a bucket full of fish to be cleaned and sorted. Looked like they were going to eat well that night. Yang tried to talk to them, but they smelled so powerfully that she had her hand over her face the entire time, so eventually they both excused themselves to go shower up.

Yang followed Ruby into her room once she got out of the shower. There was no point in keeping this a secret from her; she knew Summer asked, but she never promised her that she wouldn’t tell.

“You what?!”

“Y-yeah,” she muttered, cheeks red again as she scratched the back of her head. “It was super awkward and uncomfortable, and I wanted to melt through the floor and disappear.”

The shorter half-sister was standing there with her eyebrows disappearing into her hair, hands on her hips partly out of outrage, and partly to hold her towel around her body. “And what, you wanted to bang her?”

“I told you, having one doesn’t always mean I want-”

“Yeah, yeah,” she sighed, puffing out her cheeks as she scowled. “Well, it’s still weird! I mean, it’s my MOM! Isn’t it weird to you?!”

“You know, when you think about it… you look a lot like your mom, don’t you? So doesn’t it make sense that I’d think she was cute, too, since… since I think you’re cute?”

It was a pretty desperate shot, but Yang felt like she had to take it. Luckily, Ruby seemed to agree. She didn’t let go immediately, but she at least rolled her eyes and stopped yelling at her.

“True… I mean, I guess that does make sense, and I can’t act like my mom��s not attractive. Not to ME, but objectively, sure.” A little shrug. “It’s still gross to me that the dick I like poked my mom one time, though.”

“Through clothes. That’s a super important detail; I wasn’t naked, and technically she wasn’t, either… at that point.”

Pushing a hand into her face, she grumbled, “I can’t believe she did that while we had company! I mean, she sunbathes nude all the time, it’s nothing new. Heck, we did it together and it’s not weird; I’m her kid, she changed my diapers, right? But like, with strange people in the house…”

“I’m ‘strange’, huh?” Yang half-heartedly chuckled as she finally leaned against the dresser, letting some of her adrenaline subside. “Can’t argue with you there.”

“So… if you weren’t already doing stuff with me, would you have wanted to with her?”

“What?! NO! She’s banging my dad, that’s a whole other kind of line I don’t wanna cross!”

“Not at the same time as him! GOD!”

Squinting at Ruby, she demanded, “Please don’t tell me you’re actually jealous of your own mom. You really don’t have to be.”

“Well…” Pouting a little, she said, “She’s older, and she knows more about this stuff than I do. Like, I know you didn’t do anything, and you don’t want to, but… you could be having normal sex by now with her instead of me jerking you off through your shorts.”

“So what?” Yang said immediately. “I don’t care about that.”

“What about her body? Is it… hotter than mine? Like, I wouldn’t even know one way or the other.”

“Ruby… come on, don’t do this. I’m sorry, okay? Like I said, none of this was on purpose, so I hope you don’t keep giving me shit about this.” Leaning forward, she kissed Ruby’s cheek. “Seriously, I don’t care about your mom as anything besides being your mom. I swear.”

After a few breaths, Ruby muttered, “You’re right. I know, I just… feel dumb, and weird. Sorry.” Clearing her throat, then she added with a little smirk, “I’m glad you didn’t take care of your dick while you were showering, though…”

Yang goggled at her for a few seconds. Then she shook her head and muttered, “Shameless. You’re totally shameless, you know that?”

“Maaayyybe.” Sparing a tiny smile, she bit her lip and leaned up to whisper, “Maybe I can distract your brain from thinking about my mom, too.”

“Oh yeah? How?” But when Ruby reached up and nipped her towel off, letting it fall to the floor, she said, “Oh… that’s how.”

Of course Ruby’s body was every bit as gorgeous as her mother’s. Flawless in every way, and very slightly perkier. She had seen more of her from the back before, but the front presented a few more interesting things for her gaze to linger over. Yang tried not to look at the soft, pink nipples or the little untrimmed thatch of brown hairs overlong; they were intriguing, but they really weren’t alone-alone.

“Is it working?”

“Ohhhhhh yeah.” Then she seemed to realise what she had said and how she said it, and chuckled self-consciously. “W-what I mean is, uh, yes. Yes, it’s working. Good job.”

“Good,” she giggled. “Um… are we really that alike? Body-wise.”

Snorting, she poked Ruby in the stomach as she said, “Pretty much. Like, a couple small things, but you got a lot more of your mom’s genes than our dad’s. I think mine were pretty evenly split.”

“Like what’s different?” she asked, turning from side to side and looking down at her body, as if a flashing sign would point out the changes.

“You sure you want me to tell you about this?” A nod. With a shrug, she tapped her chin. “Well… she trims it up down there. Tattoo, and of course you don’t have any tats. Uh, her hips are a tiny bit wider? Probably from squeezing you out.” Ruby made a disgusted noise. “And she has stretch marks from that, too.”

Nodding, Ruby piped up, “So basically, if I ever have a kid I’ll turn into a clone of my mom?”

“Yep.” Grinning to herself, she started poking more as she said, “And you’ll have marks here, and here, and over here-”

“HEY!” Ruby laughed, convulsing a little. “Not again!” After a few more ticklings, she backed onto the bed, flailing and cackling aloud as Yang attacked her until she was red-faced, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes.

Then Yang was pinning her by the wrists to keep her from retaliating, chuckling as she grinned down at the sniffling and giggling girl below her. After a few more seconds, they both stopped laughing… but the smiles remained in place.

“Love you,” Ruby whispered up at her, so earnestly that Yang could feel her heart squeeze.

“Me, too.” Leaning down, she kissed her very gently, and Ruby responded without any hesitation. “Totally in love.”

Nodding, she bit her lip before reaching up to squeeze her shoulder through her shirt. “And I’m super cool with that now. Still weird, but like… I know that it doesn’t matter how weird it is. How I feel about you is more important than how other people feel about how I feel about you.”

Yang was still lying there, partly next to and partly on top of her half-sister and trying to think of any words that could match those, when a knock came at the door. Then their father shouted, “Hey, girls!”

“DON’T COME IN!” Ruby shouted right away. “I’m not dressed yet!”

The door had started to open a half-inch, but then shut tight again. “Sorry! Hurry up, come watch me clean the fish for dinner!”

“Why?” Yang groaned, trying to calm down after having been scared out of her mind a moment before. “I don’t wanna watch fish guts spilling all over the place…”

“You should learn this! Come on, don’t take too long!”

“Okay, Dad!” Ruby called back. After his steps receded, she turned to Yang with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “That was close!”

“Yep.” Leaning in, she pressed her lips just behind Ruby’s ear, earning her closed eyes and a sigh. “Mm… I keep thinking that this is such a bad idea… but like… you’re right, we might as well be honest about this. I like you, and you like me.”

Nodding, she raised a hand so her fingers could trail over Yang’s cheek. “So much.” Then she sat up on her elbows. “Do you wanna dress me?”

“Huh?”

“Dress me up, like a doll. Put my clothes on me. I want you to…”

The light blush in Ruby’s cheeks and the way she was gazing at Yang made her heart beat so fast she thought it might gallop out of her chest. So she made a joke, to distract both of them. “Ain’t I supposed to wanna do the opposite?”

“Yang,” she hissed, and they both laughed. “Maybe later.”

Then Yang got up and went to the dresser. She pulled out a few things, ones that more or less matched, and went back to Ruby, holding up the underwear and adjusting them so that the leg holes were lined up correctly.

“Come on, let’s do this.” Ruby slid her legs through, but then she pushed a foot into Yang’s face. The blonde grunted, “Cut that out!”

“Why? They’re clean.” When Yang merely glared down at her in annoyance, she giggled and booped her nose with the big toe. Not that Yang truly minded; as she had said, they were recently-scrubbed, and soft. “You don’t like my little piggies?”

Rolling her eyes, Yang grabbed her ankle and kissed the toes. “Don’t be dumb, of course I do. Every part of you’s on the list.”

Then she forced the leg down and away so she could pick up the pair of shorts. While Ruby was pulling her panties better into place, she wrestled her legs into the shorts, as well. Then she stood up, looking upward into her big sister’s eyes as she held her arms up for the shirt.

“Why… do I get the feeling you really like me doing this?” Yang asked.

“Told you already, it’s nice. Letting my sis take care of me.”

Blushing a lot more than those words should have made her blush, Yang forced the shirt down over Ruby’s head to cut off their view of each other for a few seconds. Give her time to recover. When the head popped through, it was grinning, and Yang shook her head before pulling her into a hug.

“Stop being so cute. It’s annoying.”

“Annoying?!”

Watching their dad clean the fish was both irritating and disgusting, but also fascinating for Yang. Ruby had been through it a time or two, but this was the first time Yang had ever seen anything like that. She looked and listened, and tried to make up for not having gone with her dad in the first place.

Maybe it was partly guilt over what she and Ruby were doing when out of sight of the adults, or maybe the secret the three of them were keeping about the incident with his wife. She felt completely awful keeping so many secrets from him… but she knew that telling him would be the only thing worse than keeping secrets. It sucked, but this was just the truth of the situation, and they would all have to get used to it.

Which was why she finally did bring up bowling. He jumped on the chance, which did make Yang feel even worse, but simultaneously assuaged some of her previous guilt; at least she was doing something about it now. When she and Ruby went back inside to tell Summer, she smiled and said that she would be happy to go, even though the glance she gave Yang was a little more awkward than it had been before.

“God, you weren’t kidding,” Ruby whispered on their way back out to the garage. “You two really did have an almost-thing!”

“You think I’d make up something like that?!” Groaning in annoyance, she rubbed at her face while Ruby giggled. “I’m glad you think this is hilarious.”

“Sorry. It’s just super weird.”

“Actually, I mean it; I really am glad that you do, instead of being weirded out. At least that makes one of us. It’ll be hard to put the whole thing behind me. But I’m gonna try.”

Threading her fingers through Yang’s, Ruby leaned up to kiss her cheek for the brief second no one was around to see it. “I believe in you, Yang.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

#every little part of you #enabler #rwby smut #rwbyremnants #incest fanfiction

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rpchive · 6 years ago

Text

121st Encounter-- Home Safe

Barbel’s back!

Collin quietly opens the door to his room and steps inside. Looking over to the bed, he jumps against the doorframe in surprise as he notices that Jay has woken up. He drops his attempt to be quiet and quickly shuts the door before stepping over toward the bed. "Oh my God, Jay! I'm sorry, I stepped out for a minute since you were still out, I was trying to be here when you woke up but... S-Sorry." alienrabitt: Why are you being so jumpy? I'm not gonna hurt you...or anyone else. Collin: No, no, you just surprised me. I'm not scared of you or anything. Uh, how're you feeling? alienrabitt: I'm...better. I don't wanna say I feel good; not after what happened... Collin: Y-Yeah... Listen, about what you said back on top of that tower... Is that really how you- Er, I mean is that what- ugh, I don't know how to ask this. alienrabitt: ...Look, I was not in the right state of mind. I'm pretty sure I was actually dying, honestly. When I saw you, it felt like the right thing to say, but even with the starlit song, I just...I wasn't alright. There was some mixed truth about some of it; I mean, I did want to help the humans that took me in, or Gossip; I did want the power to fix all the wrongs in my life, but something about the process made me take it out on you. There's no way I could blame every single wrong in my life on you... Collin: I... guess I should've known, honestly. It's just that, well, ever since that wish bound us together, I was always quietly afraid that maybe your wish was making you care about me; that this entire time you wanting to be with me wasn't even really your choice. So hearing you say all of those things back there was like... It was like a nightmare happening right in front of me. Honestly, I almost crumpled right then and there from the guilt. The only thing that kept me together was knowing that if I failed there, you would've been gone forever. alienrabitt: And I get that, but...I've always cared about you on my own; I just...I don't know; a wish somewhere made me take that to some kind of extreme, and I quit caring about myself. I did literally everything I could for you, to the point where I tore myself apart and...got you messed up. Collin: I'll live, don't worry about me. I just... I want to make sure that you're okay, that we're okay. I had half-convinced myself that we were going to have to take a break from each other or something once we got you back to normal. alienrabitt: Absolutely not. I don't want to turn you away. Even on my own, I still see you as the most important person to me. The tension in Collin's body visibly fades, as though a massive weight had suddenly fallen off of his shoulders. "I'm... really glad to hear that, Jay." alienrabitt: ...Are we alright? I mean, things between us, are they still good...? Collin chuckles for a moment. "That's what I was trying to figure out. I think the fact that we're both asking is probably a good sign, right?" alienrabitt: ...Y-yeah! You're right, haha...! Collin sits down next to Jay and pulls him into a tight hug, pressing his cheek against his. "I'm so glad you're okay, Jay. I was really worried, y'know?" alienrabitt: ...Jeez...I guess I can't blame you...at least I'm better now...? Collin: I sure hope so. I don't think my heart can take much more of this. alienrabitt: Let's just take it easy for a while... Collin: You don't have to tell me twice. Despite having a ship that can go pretty much anywhere, we never seem to use it for like... vacations or anything. alienrabitt: Well, now's a good a time as any, right? Where would you like to go? Collin: I'm not sure. Maybe we should...

His voice trails off for a moment as he seems to realize something. "... Oh good lord." alienrabitt: What? Is something wrong? Collin: We haven't said anything to Barbell since all that stuff with Desdemona and the cult.

he’s gonna explode once he hears all the shit you just went through

alienrabitt: They have missed so much...uhh, this is probably something better suited for being there in person... Collin: No joke. God, so much has happened, and that's not even including all the new people. alienrabitt: At least send him a letter saying we're on the way... Collin: Y-Yeah, I can do that. God, he's gonna think we died or something. How long has it even been? alienrabitt: ...A few months? Maybe a year...that's, uhh...pretty bad. Collin: If it's been a year I'm going to eat my cloak.

He lets go of Jay and pushes himself up off the bed, only to drop back down into the chair at his desk as he hurriedly pulls out the hand mirror and begins writing a message. alienrabitt: If it's been a year, the golems might do it for you... Collin: ... Eat my cloak, or make me do it? alienrabitt: Maybe a bit of both...? Collin: That's... a weird mental image.

He finishes his letter and quickly rolls it up, then shoves it through the mirror's surface. "I said we'd be in tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I could use a nap after everything today..." alienrabitt: Sounds good to me. Just don't forget to tell Nydins where we're going... Collin: I'll go tell her now before I forget for another four months or something. God, I need to get a calendar... alienrabitt: I could probably get the IT to make one. Collin: Oh I'm sure it can. Anyway, I'll be right back.

He pushes himself away from the desk and steps out of the room. The IT finally touches down late in the morning the next day. A group begins to form in the console room as Jay, Collin, Demo, Clair, Daedalus, Firefly, Fawkes, Maya, and Precantaro all start to file in. Collin glances around once to get a quick headcount.

Collin: Is this everyone that's coming?

Fawkes: I guess so. Seems like a large enough crowd.

Daedalus: I'm surprised that- Actually, I'm gonna hold off on that comment for now. Are we going, then? alienrabitt: Don't see why not. The group heads outside and find themselves parked next to Barbell's home, still sitting in its meditative pose. More interestingly, several tents and other camp-like facilities have been set up in the sandy section of ground where Israphel's portal formed some time ago. Various individuals of different ages, sex, and species appear to be studying the remains of his portal and the transmuted ground around it. Barbell himself appears to be engaged in a conversation with a female researcher who seems to be in her early 30s, unaware of the group's arrival behind him. alienrabitt: Looks like he got a little famous... Precantaro: I suppose that shouldn't be too surprising, should it?

Collin: Yeah, I guess an evil god spilling out of the void would put you on the map pretty easily. Uh, I guess I should...

He takes a few steps ahead of the group and yells Barbell's name across the gap between them. Barbell perks up in surprise and turns around toward the voice, then gets a wide grin stuck on his face as he recognizes the group. He quickly turns and claps the woman on the shoulder, saying a few last words to her before they part ways, then hurries over to the gang outside the IT.

Barbell: As I live and breathe! If it isn't my favorite rag-tag group of- Jay! What happened to your arm, lad?! Jay looks a little nervous as he glances away from Barbell.

"Well, that's, uhh...! Kind of a long story..."

Demo: To cut it short; some kleivenn bastard put something in it that was messing with him, and since we couldn't get it out, well...

Jay shifts an icy look towards Demo. "Did you have to say it like that..."

I mean I did cut it short....

Barbell looks toward Demo, finally noticing the fine details of the rest of the group. As he looks to Daedalus and Clair and Precantaro, his expression slowly turns increasingly incredulous. A moment later, he shakes his head and then adjusts his goggles. "Well, it seems like we all have a lot more catching up to do than I expected. But first, let's get you all inside. Come along, then!"

He leads the group to the earth stairway leading up to the entrance and climbs up on the first step. His index finger casually flips over to extend the wand inside of it and taps against the handrail twice. The steps begin to move of their own accord like a natural escalator, gradually bringing everyone up to his front door. Maya: So, who's grandpa is this...magical Willy Wonka man?

Demo: Hhh--!! He's...not related to anyone, but please don't call him that... Barbell: I'm not familiar with that name, is he some sort of famous mage or something?

He taps on the doorknob once and then casually flips his finger back around to its normal configuration. Demo: He's...more known for his, uhh...unique atmosphere and...novelty. Barbell: I'll take it as a compliment then. Call me a grandpa again though, and I might just have to turn your hair gray!

He laughs at his own joke as he opens the door, allowing the others to step inside ahead of him. The interior of his home appears to have remained mostly the same, although some decorations are missing or have been moved around slightly. Of more significant note is the fact that the golems that move to and fro about the place are now drastically varied in design. While some golems appear to be the same as before, many of them have swapped out legs for a singular wheel that scoots them along at much faster speeds. On top of that, several golems now float through the air, drifting along on a device that has swapped their legs for something similar to a small lightning rod pointing downward that carries them about. Stepping inside and closing the door behind them, Barbell can't help but let a cheeky grin spread across his face.

Barbell: So, can you figure out what's different since you were last here? alienrabitt: About as much as what's different with us, apparently! You've been pretty busy! Barbell: Oh I can't take all the credit. Relana actually came up with the concept for the levitation modules. I just had to help with the actual implementation. She's a real prodigy in the making, but don't tell her I said that or it'll go straight to her sassy little head. Speaking of, I should let her know we have company! Let's see now, uh... Rumble, can you come here?

A few seconds later, a familiar armored thaumium golem rushes into the room, carried along by his newly installed wheel.

what is it with you and taking legs off things

"Need something, Master- Well hey, look who it is! Looks like we're being haunted by a pack of ghosts!"

only two

Barbell: Indeed! Can you go let Relana know we have company? We'll be in the lounge when she's ready.

Rumble: You got it!

He quickly wheels away toward the staircase, pushing himself up each step with his hands as his wheel spins to move him forward. A faint "oof" can be heard with each step until he reaches the top and then speeds away.

Barbell: ... In hindsight, I should've gotten one of the golems that has an easier time with stairs. I forget about that sometimes. Demo: We're not ghosts...well, if you wanna get technical some of us are former ghosts, but... Barbell: Oh I know, I'd know if you were actually ghosts or not. He's just teasing you all, we've been worried about you since you left. The last time we saw you, Jay was having some difficulty with corrupted magic, but we haven't heard a thing since!

He continues to lead the group into the house, eventually coming into a sort of living room area with a few couches and chairs arranged in a circular fashion around a coffee table with various baubles and a chess set on it. He approaches a nearby armchair and plops down into it, letting out a soft groan on impact. "Go on, make yourselves comfy! I don't quite know everyone yet, but any member of your little group is at home here!" Demo is the first to take a seat. "Yeah, well, up until maybe yesterday, his magic was still pretty corrupted, but it looks like he's all better now, even if he almost died."

Taking a seat across the way, Maya rolls her eyes.

"...It was more complicated than that. He wasn't corrupted, he was...well, lost would probably be more accurate than anything." Barbell: I see... Was that related to the thing that was in Jay's arm, or was it something else entirely? Demo: Oh, no, it was all him. He did it to himself, slowly, over time, pretty much just because he felt like it.

Clair: That's not what happened, and you know it!

Demo: Well, he sure as hell didn't do it because he was thinking; 'cause anybody with half a functioning brain in their skull would know better than to just...slowly kill themselves without even bothering to tell anybody they were hurting or anything! Barbell: ... I can't help but pick up a trace of hostility here. You haven't had time to talk this out, have you? Demo: As if he even talks to anyone besides his stupid boyfriend...

Clair: He's right there! Both of them are!

alienrabitt: I'm...used to it. Barbell: Listen, I understand that you all must have been through a lot recently, not to mention whatever else has happened since you were last here. But for Relana's sake, can I ask that you work this out between yourselves later? Relana will be here soon, and I'd rather the atmosphere not be so... tense. Demo: ...Yeah, sure. Barbell: Why don't the rest of you find a seat first? I'll start us off once everyone's nice and cozy. I get the impression that my story will be much shorter than the rest of yours. Clair takes a seat with Demo, while Firefly takes one of the chairs instead. Jay sits on one of the other couches. Daedalus takes a seat between Clair and Demo, putting one hand on Demo's knee in an attempt to comfort her even slightly. Collin sits next to Jay, and Precantaro takes a seat next to him. Fawkes, not wanting to risk damaging furniture, takes a seat on the floor near Firefly's chair. Barbell clears his throat once before he starts speaking.

Barbell: Well, as I'm sure you can imagine, things were rather, uh, interesting in the immediate aftermath of the incident with Israphel. Rumors spread quickly, and many came to investigate the cause of the disturbances they'd heard. Once news started to spread, the area around the portal became a hotspot for investigation and study into the nature of planar travel, transmutation, and ritualistic summoning. What you saw outside is actually just the aftermath of those investigations. Most either left with whatever answers they wanted or gave up due to a lack thereof.

Of course, with so many people in my front yard, I decided to make the most of a bizarre situation. I had the golems start setting up guest rooms and then began renting them out to any interested researchers outside. With the secondary cash flow, I was able to start buying more materials to help with Relana's studies. Of course, I don't make nearly as much now that the crowd's died down, but the free rooms should be handy for all of you should you decide to stop and stay for a while, eh? alienrabitt: That's pretty ridiculous...the crowd thing, not us sticking around. I'd offer to help people figure out dimensional travel, but honestly, it's...not something for the public. Barbell: Ah, well, if there's a will, there's a way. I can't judge for wanting to make the next big discovery. Let's just hope no one ever tries opening up a portal to the void again, eh? But in truth, I'm grateful for the opportunity. Relana's a little machine when it comes to tinkering, always moving on to bigger and better things. That drive's gonna be her greatest asset one day, I'm telling you now. alienrabitt: Honestly; every time I see her, her work looks more impressive. She's gonna go places, for sure. Barbell: Oh I'm sure. She's-

At that moment, Relana hurries into the lounge with a large device in her arms. She quickly shuffles over to the table and pushes the device onto it, nudging other things out of the way. It appears to be some sort of glass dome with a metal base, which has a dial affixed on one end. Inside the dome is a small model house made out of cheap craft supplies, along with a pair of tiny model people and some trees as well. As Relana stands back upright and pushes her goggles back up on top of her head, the others notice that she's grown at least an inch or two since the last time they've seen her.

Relana: Sorry for the wait! I was just finishing up the newest setting on the Everyglobe!

Barbell: Oh? Well show me what you've got, kid!

With a familiar cheeky grin, Relana twists the dial around to a certain setting and the air inside the dome seems to change. Within moments, the trees change to the color of autumn, and a strong wind blows some fallen leaves around the house. Maya: You're...working on changing seasons? Relana: Well, not exactly? It's a little bit of... well, everything I guess. At first I wanted a real snowstorm inside of a snowglobe, but then I started trying out other weather patterns like rain and stuff.

She turns the dial accordingly, and a small rainstorm begins to pour down on the tiny house. "But a few days ago I thought, 'hmm, maybe I could make it look like it's fall inside, sorta like a... harvest themed snowglobe?' It's not really changing the season, I just tried to make it look as convincing as possible. Glad it tricked ya though!"

Maya: Oh, so it's just a fancy weather themed globe, then. It's still cool... Relana: Well, the weather systems are real! I'm not changing seasons inside it though. Barb told me not to mess with time stuff until I'm older, and using time stuff to make myself older doesn't count.

Barbell: I was one step ahead of her on that one.

Relana: But yeah! The weather's all the real deal! Especially the uh... tornado one. I... haven't figured out how to get that one under control yet. Demo: Didn't they throw some metal thing full of weird balls or somethin' into the tornado in Twister so they could stop it? Fawkes: Actually that was just so that they could get better readings about how tornados work.

Relana: I mean, I could throw some marbles in there, but that seems like it'd just make things even worse...

Daedalus: Nothing says fun like a bunch of glass balls shooting around at 120 miles per hour.

Barbell: No uncontrolled marble tornados in the house! You remember what happened the last time that thing broke loose.

Relana: Yeah, because I had to clean it... Maya: Maybe you could find a way to mute the wind currents a little? Relana: See, that's what I thought too! But it just keeps wanting to to expand outward once it gets going. Maybe I've just got a faulty motor in there somewhere?

Barbell: You can troubleshoot it later, Relana. I still haven't given our friends here a chance to share some of their stories yet.

Collin: Well, uh... I'm gonna be honest, it's been a lot of not-so-nice things recently, and given our current audience...

His voice trials off as he glances over at Relana for a second. Barbell pauses for a moment before answering.

Barbell: On a scale of one to ten? Demo: Eleven, if you're nice. Barbell: ... Mm. Relana, can you go let Bug know we've got company? I'm sure he'll be excited to see some new faces.

Relana: Oh come on, I'm not that young! I can handle scary stories.

Barbell: Relana...

A short moment of tension follows as they stare each other down for a second, but Relana finally huffs and scoops her invention up off the table.

Relana: Fine. I'll be back...

She stomps out of the lounge area, making a show of her irritation. Barbell shakes his head and then looks back to the others.

Barbell: Alright, lay it on me. What exactly have you kids been up to? Demo: Plenty. Clair's mom basically murdered Clair's brother; we wound up getting, what, like, 6 more people? 7? Jay almost killed himself; once because he wanted to, once because he corrupted to the point where he went crazy; made a dimension; and almost killed other people. Don't even get me started on Collin. Daedalus got brainwashed; he's...mostly better. Who knows what Fawkes has been doing; he turned into a shut in. Oh, we sealed a monster in a meteor; resurrected a kleivenn goddess--; speaking of gods, there's one right in this room! Several, actually! Hell if I know what they've done lately besides cripple Collin and fix it. Oh, and then there was the devil; and the demon thing, oh yeah, we're just having a real damn party... Fawkes and Collin both start trying to protest simultaneously, but Barbell holds up one hand to quiet them down.

Barbell: Alright, I'm starting to get a picture... of sorts. More importantly, it seems like the lot of you really haven't had much time to work out all of these incidents amongst each other. Perhaps it'd be worth doing so? Demo: What's there to work out? The people with problems are everyone else.

Clair: A devil bit into your oracle and ate it like an apple; you are not exempt from this!

Demo: At least that's all that can be said for my case. Collin: What, are we turning this into some kind of competition now? Firefly: Can we...not fight each other? Barbell: It seems to be a tradition of yours when you first get here, unfortunately. How about this, then? I don't think I've properly introduced myself to the new people here. My name is Barbell, thaumaturge and golemancer. You already met my apprentice, Relana, as well as one of my four thaumium golems, Rumble. The older members of the group have helped me quite a bit in their time here, and I try to help where I can as well.

He casually gestures toward Collin's leg for a moment.

"Now, you tell me who you are!"

Daedalus: Uh... I'm Daedalus. I'm uh... Collin's twin, technically? More like former evil twin, but I'm a lot better now, pinkie promise. Clair: I'm Clair; I uhh...well, I used to just be human, but my mom kinda...made me sorta a kleivenn too?

Maya: My name's Maya; I came from a facility called Lobotomy Corporation that harvests energy from monsters. They tried to kill me, so we disestablished them.

Demo: I'm Jay's...sibling. You could say I'm older. I was a ghost; than goggles; now I'm here. Precantaro: I'm Precantaro. I'm, well, how to put this delicately-

Barbell: One of the gods Collin was bound to when he last left here, right?

Precantaro: I-Well yes, but how- Oh of course...

Barbell taps the side of a lens on his goggles before responding. "It's a good thing I upgraded my new pair after my last set broke. I'm not sure my last pair would've been able to handle looking at someone like you. Or more accurately, all of you. I have so many questions, I don't even know where to start..."

Precantaro: Well, I'm sure we'll have time to sit down properly and talk to you. It's quite a lovely place you've made for yourself here. I'm proud to have you as a practitioner of my art.

Barbell: W-Well, I... try my best, ahaha...

He seems caught off guard by the compliment, but quickly tries to regain his composure. "At any rate, it's nice to meet all of you. Is this all of the new people? Are the older members doing alright?" alienrabitt: There's other new people. We have Paprika; she's a...Sephirah from Lobotomy who wanted to help us instead; there's Azreldeh, she's a demon, she's...incredibly flirty, she's got good intentions, though. Most of the time...

Maya: Paprika's been helping Nydins and Rio get the IT where it needs to go. XL and Rio were working on communicators for everybody; they're pretty much done at this point, but we're constantly needing one or two more at random. Firefly's been working on a project with Azreldeh; I don't know how close they're getting to figuring anything out, though... Collin: I hope it's not related to that pixie swarm she accidentally created a few days ago... Maya: No, that was just Azreldeh not knowing anything about Firefly. Collin: Fair enough. First I've heard of them working together though. I wonder what that's about. Firefly: I don't want to say anything specific just yet... Collin: Alright, I won't pry then.

Barbell: Speaking of prying, if I may. A few things caught my attention from that rather impressive list of events Demo mentioned. I can't help but notice that Collin's connection with the gods next to him isn't really present anymore. What caused that, dare I ask?

Collin: Well, it's... to make a long story short, that connection was having some pretty serious consequences for Jay's well-being, so we had to find a way to undo it. Wasn't exactly fun, but it had to be done. On the bright side no one was really hurt because of it, so at least there's that. Demo: I mean, a devil did wind up trying to take advantage of you while you didn't have magic, and maybe the gods could've helped; but that was a little later... Collin: That was mostly my fault, you know. Plus the pantheon was still low on magic after that ritual I asked them to do, so them taking on that devil would've been a big risk on top of what was already going on. Demo: Between Bandit and the whole doll thing, I think we can all agree that it's better that the mirror dimension's gone.

Clair mumbles softly: "You guys forgot Echo..." Daedalus: Oh hell, that's right. To our credit, it's been a hell of a week and she hasn't been with us that long. Echo was Demo's mirror world counterpart that we rescued from that hellhole. She doesn't look much like her anymore though, so don't let that confuse you.

Barbell: I'm more confused about this "mirror world" you keep mentioning, but given its name and how you talk about it, I think I can get a general idea for the place on my own. Demo: The only good thing that ever happened there was that a friend of Firefly's brought Nydins back from the dead. Barbell: Nydins died? Demo: ...Yeah, for a little while. I'm just glad we could do something... Barbell: Stars be kind... I'm really starting to worry about you kids, you know. Demo: Get in line. We've had at least three groups of people tell us we need to slow down. Barbell: Well now it's my turn. At the very least, you should take some downtime to relax. You're all too young to be running yourselves ragged like this. Well, maybe aside from the pantheon. Guess I can't always be the oldest person in the room, eh?

Precantaro: I'm not sure senior discounts extend over a thousand years old, but I guess we'll have to find out sometime. Maya: Can we really hold off? I mean, nobody else can do the things we can... Barbell: Maybe not, but killing yourselves trying to push yourselves further and further won't help anyone. You have to take a breaks. If you don't, you get tired, you make mistakes, and with lives like yours seem to be, mistakes can be quite costly. Maya: ...He's right. We never got the chance to take it easy in Lobotomy; there wasn't any sort of leave. If you reached your limit, you were discharged. Here, though, we have plenty of opportunities, and we can go anywhere we want, any time. We should...keep an eye out; our ears to the ground, but...we can still take it easy too. Barbell: Exactly! I'm glad you agree. You're all welcome to come visit here whenever you'd like, you know. I promise I don't usually have ancient monster gods trying to knock down my front door. Plus I have proper guest rooms now! alienrabitt: I...guess we could? We'd need to let everyone else know they should come out, though. Barbell: That's fine with me, if that's what you decide to do. I'm always glad to have you all around; you bring an energy to the place that I don't find very often nowadays. Now, I do have one last question for now. Don't want to spend too much time flapping my jaw, after all. alienrabitt: What's up? Barbell: Why in the depths of the Nether did you not come see me when you lost your arm? Did you forget about the old fart that specializes in prosthetics? alienrabitt: It still works, I just...can't put a lot of weight on it. Or grab heavy stuff. Barbell: With all due respect, Jay, that doesn't sound entirely usable. Are you sure you don't want my help? Demo: Hey, pal; he doesn't want your....handouts... Barbell: Well, I already had my foot in the door, I don't see the harm in offering. You did help me save my home and stop what was quite possibly the apocalypse, so it's not like you've never helped me before. If you really want to give me something in return, I'm sure I could come up with an errand or two for you to help me with. I'm not trying to force it on you, I just want to help you if I can. You're practically part of the family now, after all.

ugh, what awful puns

alienrabitt: I appreciate it, really, but I don't really know if I need something like that right now...

Demo: What, an arm? Jay, just let the guy help you. It's really not a problem...

alienrabitt: Ugh, don't say it like that...and why are you giving me advice; you cut it off!

Demo: Someone had to do something... Barbell: I won't force you to agree to anything. Just know that the offer is there if you ever decide. Keep in mind that it'll probably take more time than Collin's leg did. A full arm and hand is a little more complex than a calf and a foot, perhaps unsurprisingly. alienrabitt: I understand. Thank you for the offer, regardless.

Barbell: Any time, Jay. Now, call me slow, but Demo mentioned you almost died twice a few minutes ago? alienrabitt: I...well, if you wanna get really technical, I kinda did at least once. It didn't last too long, though. Barbell: ... And how did that happen, exactly? alienrabitt: Well, me coming back was because of one of the kleivenn gods; how I died was...something else; it's a little foggy for me now... Collin: I... God, even I can't remember what led up to that. Everything's starting to run together at this point.

Daedalus: That's not depressing at all... Demo: How could I forget? That was the day I came back out here. You had a bad reaction to all that weird stuff that was all over the place from the incident here because you were still doing that whole magic sponge thing. We went running off to Lou to try and get help, and you and I terrorized Collin and Nydins for a little bit before we died together. You came back as a hermes, and Xentrilis rode shotgun in my skull, and together we destroyed half of Kujaar, but at least we put him back where he came from. Collin: Oh hell, that's right. I had forgotten how quickly all of that ran together...

Barbell: You're throwing out a lot of names I don't recognize again. Any of those worth knowing? alienrabitt: Xentrilis is, well...he was the kleivenn god that turned against the Holy Mothers and Others, allying with the humans and starting the human-kleivenn war...but humanity turned against him for being one of the Others, so he was killed too in the end.

Demo: Lou's the human that rescued Karumet from being used as a magical grenade during the war. He's got some kind of amulet that his mom gave him that makes him some kind of ageless immortal; so there's no telling how old he really is; but he's some sort of mage too. Barbell: Fair enough. And Kujaar is a city, I assume? Yeah, Kujaar's the only kleivenn civilization left. Humans aren't allowed there most of the time, but syncs are exceptions, so Collin's allowed. Barbell: That's odd, Collin doesn't look much like a water fixture... Demo: No, no, no; sync, like to become synchronized. It's something a saa and their wishmaker can do. Barbell: I see... That sounds quite interesting, actually. You'll have to show me what that does soon- But I'm getting distracted. What about the second time? Clair: That one was...a lot more recent. He didn't actually die, but he came pretty close...

Demo: See, when he was first wished into this world, he was brought here by some wish of Collin's. Maybe Collin wanted company; or protection; or freedom; who knows! He hasn't told anyone. But whatever he wished for, it made Jay, specifically. And whatever that wish was, Jay decided he didn't want to do it anymore, because he figured that he was the biggest threat in Collin's life. Well, a saa is basically the embodiment of the wish that made them, so when he decided he didn't want that wish to exist, well...his magic decided he shouldn't either; so he started...well, I wouldn't say breaking down or anything, but he was in a bad way. Barbell: I... see. It's obvious you're doing better now, but... how did that happen? Did you just need someone to bring you back to your senses, or something else? Demo: Looked more like a choir concert to me.

Clair: I'm...sure there was more to it than that! Collin: We had to go see the kleivenn god of saas, Phoenix. She was able to change Jay's wish to be something that Jay wanted, and not just about me. After that, he was able to bounce back pretty quickly, luckily. It was just... a rough time finding him again first. Demo: Anything else you wanted to know? Barbell: I think that about covers everything for now. I'm sure we'll still have plenty to share over lunch in a little while-

Relana returns to the lounge, now accompanied by the full squad of thaumium golems. Sparks appears to have also swapped out his legs for a modification, although he seems to have picked the levitation module instead. Daps and Bug appear to be unmodified, although Bug's arms are covered by several circlets made of flowers and leaves. "Ah, welcome back! Everyone, these are the other three golems you haven't met yet. Daps, Sparks, and Bug." Maya: Surprisingly adorable... Bug: I brought hats!

Without really waiting for a response, Bug hurriedly waddles over to the visitors and begins distributing the circlets from his arms accordingly.

Daedalus: ... You... really want me to wear this? Clair happily puts hers on. "Thank you!" Bug stares at Daedalus expectantly, and after several tense seconds roll by, he finally lets out a resigned sigh and puts the gift on his head.

Daedalus: I can't believe this...

FHFFDKDSFDSFHBF I FORGOT ABOUT THIS

As the others figure out what to do with their new gifts, Barbell seems to remember something and looks back over at Collin and Jay.

Barbell: Oh, right! You were talking about that "sync" thing earlier, right? Why don't you show us how that works? alienrabitt: Jeez, I've never done this for an audience before... Collin: Well, at least not while we were the center of attention, I guess? Jay offers Collin his hand. "Shall we?" Collin accepts his offer. "I'm never opposed." Collin stands up from the couch, gently pulling Jay up along with him. They take a couple of steps away from the couch and then turn to face each other. Clasping each others' hands, they lean their heads forward until their foreheads make contact. A moment later, the pair are hidden from view as a flash of light overtakes them both. Another moment passes before the light finally fades as Seras takes another step forward. They take a second to glance over themselves and then put their hands to their sides, waving them slightly.

Seras: Tada?

Barbell is left speechless for a moment, stuck somewhere between surprise and awe. Relana, however, wastes no time in rushing over to the fusion in front of her, looking over them up and down as she makes a circle around them.

Relana: Woah, what? You can do that with people? That's so cool! Is it a spell or something? Can I learn how to do that? Seras: Well, if you had your own saa, you could! But you'd have to want one reeeeally badly. Relana: That's it? I can do that easy!

Daedalus: I don't think it's the same thing as like wanting a puppy, squirt.

Relana: You'll see! I'll get a saa, and you'll just have a dinky flower crown!

Daedalus' eye twitches for a second, but Clair and Demo practically feel him suppress a comeback.

I mean he basically has one himself anyway so

Demo: ...I mean, if you were really that passionate about something, you might not get a saa. There's a different kind of kleivenn that shows up for those kinds of wishes. Maryein, I think...those guys are really good at just one thing, though, and they can't sync.

Relana: Mm, but what's so different about wanting something and- Well, I guess if you...?

Her voice trails off for a moment until she comes back with a slightly irritated huff. "This might be trickier than I thought...." Seras: Maybe not! Maryein come from putting all your heart into something you're passionate about. They're born from the wish to advance that one thing, so they exist to progress that thing much further than it already is. A saa, on the other hand, is born from a very powerful wish; something that you need with sincerity. But you have to need it; saas aren't toys or tools. Relana: ... I guess that makes sense. If it were easy to get one, then everyone would have one already. Barbell: There there, it's nothing to worry too much about. You've got plenty of friends here already.

Relana: I know....

Barbell: Now then! If you'd like to stay for a little while, feel free to let your friends back on the IT know. I need to go stop by the kitchen; the chefs are going to have a lot more work cut out for them than usual!

Barbell pushes himself up from his chair with a grunt and heads out of the room, leaving the rest of the group to their own devices for a little while.

I hate leaving her dejected like that but tbh a kid probably wouldn’t get a saa unless they had some seriously extreme circumstances (like being a homeless orphan or some shit)

I mean look at what Collin had to go through for Jay; I doubt Relana would be saa-worthy

though this exclusivity is also kinda what kicked off the war...

anyway, idk what’s next so 🤔

#[S4]

0 notes

snappedsky · 5 years ago

Text

Fanatics Adventures in Space Part 11

The Battalion make a plan to catch Carcas. Previous! Next!

War Part Four

The Resisty ship floats motionless and dark, seemingly without life. Inside the bridge, Lard Nar pokes his head over his chair.

“Did we lose ‘em?” he asks.

Spleenk crawls out from under the console and checks the radar. “No enemies within range, sir.”

“Oh, good,” Nar sighs loudly as the ship’s power turns back on. All the Resisty officers crawl out of their hiding places and return to their posts.

“Damage report?” Nar asks.

“Minor damage to the back of the hull,” one of the officers replies.

“Nothing to worry about, good,” he nods, “we have to get back to Irk in case Kio calls again.”

As the ship takes off, Devi, Tenna, and Skoodge approach Lard Nar.

“Did Johnny make it?” Devi asks.

“We got him through the atmosphere at least,” Nar replies, “but we’ll have no way of knowing if any of them are okay until we get back into communicator range.”

“We just have to hope he managed to deal with those soldiers,” Skoodge mutters.

“He’s Johnny. Of course he did,” Tenna states.

“Right,” Devi nods, “probably.”

Meanwhile, on Irk, Johnny rips his knife out of the forehead of an Irken, the body falling limp to the ground. He looks around at the carnage around him, confirming that they’re all dead.

“That was it? Kinda disappointing,” he comments, “well, at least the blood looks pretty. Nicer than human blood.”

“Nny!” Squee cheers as he races past the bodies and hugs him tightly. Zim, Dib, Gaz, Pepito, and Kio sigh with relief as they check their injuries. Mar just stares, wide eyed and mouth agape.

“What is that?” she asks, pointing blatantly at Nny.

“Our wild card,” Kio replies.

“If you had a secret weapon like that, you should’ve just used it right away,” she points out.

“I didn’t know he had come too,” Zim grunts, “who else came?”

“Devi, Tenna, Skoodge, Gir, and Minimoose,” Dib replies, “though they should still be on the ship.”

“Just for the record, I’m only here for Squee,” Johnny states.

“I better call Nar and let him know we’re okay,” Kio says as she grabs her communicator but the call doesn’t go through. “Hm, they must be out of range. That’s odd.” “They probably had to make a quick getaway,” Johnny says, “they had to distract the planet guards or whatever so I could get through.”

“Really? It’s unlike Nar to take such risks,” she remarks.

Nny shrugs. “He was worried about you.”

Kio smiles warmly.

“We should get moving,” Zim says, “it won’t be long before more reinforcements come and with Mar’s home destroyed, we’ll need another hiding place.”

“I got it covered,” Mar declares as she grabs a small remote from her PAK. She presses the button and a hatch in the floor opens up, revealing a small elevator.

“Why didn’t you do that before?” Pepito asks.

“If I did then they would’ve found it,” she replies.

“It’s perfect,” Kio states, “let’s go, hurry.”

Everyone squeezes onto the elevator. It’s a tight fit, everyone literally elbow to elbow and stepping on each other’s toes.

The elevator goes deep underground. As it starts getting dark, the kids’ suits start glowing, lighting up the small space.

“Jeez, that’s bright,” Pepito comments, squeezing his eyes shut.

“We’re like walking night lights,” Squee adds.

The elevator finally stops and a door slides open before lights power on. Everyone tumbles out into a lab that’s not unlike Zim’s back on Earth, but with different tech and much smaller.

“This is my underground lab,” Mar announces.

“Wow, she really is your mom,” Pepito grins at Zim.

“Lots of Irkens have underground labs,” Zim snaps, “though not retired ones.”

“Yes, that’s why the Tallest won’t know about it,” Mar replies, “we’ll be safe here to plan.”

“We?” Kio questions.

“I’m in this deep now,” she says, “besides, none of you know more about this planet than I do.”

“That’s fair,” Pepito says as everyone sits in the middle of the floor, except for Johnny who wanders around. “So what is the plan?”

“Can’t we just tell the Tallest about Carcas?” Squee suggests, “I mean, won’t they wanna know?”

“They won’t listen,” Mar replies, “and even if they do, they won’t believe us, especially now.”

“My plan was just to watch the Main Command Center,” Zim explains, “wait for Carcas to make his move and then strike.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Kio comments, “the command center is the only way to get to the Control Brain.”

“But the command center is the most fortified base in the Irken Empire, second only to the Massive,” Mar points out, “would he really be able to storm it?”

“I think so,” she replies, “we are talking about that group that’s been destroying every Irken controlled planet in the galaxy.”

“Then we should just stick with Zim’s plan and watch and wait,” Dib says, “there’s more of us too, so we’ll be able to spread out, cover more ground.” “But how will we get back into the city?” Gaz asks, “I doubt we can just walk back now.”

“I can help with that too,” Mar replies as she walks over the wall to the right. She opens a door that leads to a long, dark, metal tunnel. “This will lead to the Irken Academy beneath the Main Command Center. From there, you can get to the surface without being spotted.”

“Why do you have that?” Zim asks.

“Tunnels like these are all over the planet,” she replies, “that’s how I was able to build this.”

“Huh, just like home,” Squee comments.

“Okay,” Zim booms and stands up. “Here’s the plan: we use the tunnel to get back into the city. Then we split into three groups: Dib, Gaz, and Kio; Pepito and Squee.”

Johnny loudly clears his throat.

“And…Johnny…” Zim adds, “I will go alone.”

“Why alone? Let me go with you,” Dib insists.

“No,” he states, “if we get found out, I’ll be able to escape faster by myself and you’ll all be safer in groups.”

Before Dib can argue anymore, Kio cuts him off. “Fine. But take this.” She hands Zim a small chip. “A communicator chip. Put it in your PAK so you can be in contact with the rest of us.”

“Fine,” Zim grunts and does so.

“And if anything happens and we get split up, we’ll all meet back here,” she adds, “agreed?”

“Agreed,” everyone nods.

“I will remain here,” Mar states, “but I will be keeping tabs on you.”

Zim awkwardly clears his throat. “I uh appreciate all the help.” “No problem,” she grunts, “I have to help keep Irk safe too.”

He nods before turning away. “Right, let’s go.”

They all head down the dark tunnel, leaving Mar in her lab.

The darkness doesn’t last long when the kids’ suits start glowing again. Zim looks at them with surprise.

“Where did you get those?” he asks.

“I made them,” Kio replies, “space suits made for zero gravity and atmosphere while also being durable enough for battle, complete with customized touches.”

“Why don’t you have one?” he asks Johnny.

“I’m fine like this,” he grunts, tugging the lapels of his black coat.

They follow the tunnel for a few minutes before reaching the end; a metal wall.

“Dead end?” Pepito asks as Kio pulls on her goggles.

“Nope,” she replies, “our destination is on the other side.”

“Move,” Zim orders as he extends his spider legs. Everyone steps aside and they fire lasers into the wall, cutting out a large circle and pulling it out.

On the other side is a ginormous space; a carved out, underground dome with metal walls. In the middle is a large Irken building with dozens of tubes coming out of the roof and disappearing into the ground overhead. Every so often figures can be seen shooting down the tubes into the building.

“Whoa,” everyone breathes in awe.

“The Irken Academy,” Zim states.

“That’s how we reach the surface,” Kio says, pointing at the tubes.

“How are we gonna ride those without being seen?” Dib asks.

“We’ll have to hijack one,” Zim replies as his spider legs stretch out. ��Grab on.” Everyone grabs hold of the legs and he gently lowers onto the roof of the academy. They let go and go along the domed roof up to the nearest tube.

“Okay, I’ll make an opening and you all follow me inside, one at a time,” he explains, “when we reach the surface, I’ll make an exit so we can all escape. It won’t be long before we’re noticed so we have to split up immediately. Understand?”

Everybody nods.

“Okay, get ready,” he orders. He cuts out a circle from the tube and the force of the suction can immediately be felt. He leaps in and everyone follows close behind, one at a time, Kio going last.

They zoom away from the academy and through the darkness of the ground, light from the surface visible overhead. As soon as he’s exited into the light, Zim stabs two of his spider legs into the tube, stopping his movement, while the other two cut a hole into the side. Then those same two make a force field beneath him.

“Whoa!” Dib exclaims before slamming into the force field and falling through the hole. Everyone else quickly follows suit and fall into a pile onto the ground just below the tube. Once everybody’s out, Zim exits after them.

“Wow, what a ride,” Johnny grunts as he rubs his head.

“Uh, guys?” Squee mutters as he looks around. Nearby Irkens are staring at them, shocked and a little frightened.

“Grab hold now,” Zim orders as he extends his spider legs. Everyone grabs on and holds tight as they climb up a nearby building, all the way to the roof. They all let go, sighing with relief.

“We have to split up now,” he demands, “before the drones get after us.”

“Remember to use your communicators!” Kio orders as she, Dib, and Gaz go off to the left, hopping across the closely knit buildings.

“Good luck, guys!” Pepito calls back as he, Squee, and Johnny go to the right.

Zim stays put, watching them until they’ve all left. Then his spider legs carry him forward, across the buildings, towards the Main Command Center in the middle.

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