#missing psi hours

[mostlymobilegames]

I miss you, CGs of Lou riding her bike

[wynnyfryd]

Trailer park Steve AU part 21

part 1 | part 20 | ao3

“Right?” Steve asks, scratching his head as he glances back at the door. 

“No, I meant you, dingus! What the fuck was that with you?” 

Steve feels his face go hot. “What? What do you mean?” 

She throws her hands in the air, stomping over so she can get in his face and say, “Don’t ‘what do you mean’ me. Your faces” —she lifts her hands like she’s about to applaud, palms hovering an inch apart— “were like thiiis close to just…”

She claps them together, and Steve feels the blood drain right back out of his face, dread pooling in his gut as she twists her palms this way and that, like two people tilting their heads to kiss deeper. Oh, god. Oh, god. Were they—? 

“Mwah,” Robin says helpfully, mashing her hands more tightly together. “Mwah mwah mwah mwah—”  

Steve grabs her by the wrist. “Dude. Stop.” 

She drops her hands and stares at him — one of those Detective Buckley looks, combing over every inch of his soul for missed clues — and then her mouth does some horribly self-satisfied thing that he hates. “If I didn’t know any better,” she draws, “I’d say someone has a crush.” 

I’d say someone has a crush someone has a crush someone has a crush someone has a

Steve’s gonna pass out. The words feel like bile in his brain, acidic and sharp; like puking right after chugging a glass of orange juice. It’s not like he’s— 

Look, he knows that he’s— but—

The bell dings. Thank fucking Christ. A big family group, three generations of people talking and laughing and fussing over a baby in a stroller and carrying leftovers from the Italian place down the strip. 

Steve sags in relief. 

Robin hisses in his ear, “We are so not done talking about this.”

—

He doesn’t want to talk about it.

About Eddie, about the word Robin lobbed at him like a lit bottle rocket, about any of it.

Just thinking about it is giving him a stomach ulcer and a migraine and maybe an aneurysm, too. 

He was hoping he made that obvious enough during the last hour of their shift that Robin would just drop it, but that girl has never dropped a single thing in her life. Worse than Nancy, the little bloodhound. Steve saw this documentary once about crocodiles; remembers how they can lock their jaws shut after clamping down on their prey with up to 4000 PSI of pressure. 

That’s enough pressure to cut a person’s arm off with a jet of water. 

Damn, nature’s cool.

“Steve!” 

You know who’s not cool? 

“Steve!” Robin hollers again over the song he’s currently blasting to drown her out on the drive home. “Steve, you can’t use ABBA against me like this!”

Steve ignores her protests, responds by shout-singing “DIGGING THE DANCING QUEEN, OOH OOOOOH” at her in his most nasal falsetto because he absolutely can and will use ABBA against her like this, and it works like a charm. He’s pretty sure this song has, like, hypnotic power over her or something, because every time without fail she gives the answering “ooh-oo-oo-ooh-ooh-oooooh” as if on auto-pilot.

“HEY!” she shouts when she realizes what she’s doing. “No sir!” She reaches over and mashes the volume button. 

Silence falls over the car. Sucks the air out of Steve’s lungs in the sudden void; his ears adjust slowly, picking up the quiet thrum of the engine, the whispered whoosh of the wind outside. Is he ever going to get used to being kind-of-sort-of-deaf? This shit sucks.

“...Okay, look,” Robin says tentatively. She’s staring at the side of his head, and he keeps his eyes on the road; tightens his grip on the wheel. “We don’t have to talk about you, okay?”

“There’s nothing to talk about with me.”

“Right!” she rushes to agree. Playing along like they don’t both know that’s bullshit. “Totally.”

Steve risks a glance at her. Her expression is earnest, some full-paragraph silent communication like: whatever bathroom-floor-confessional crisis you’re having, we can leave it alone for now. We can let it stay hidden in the dark corners for a little longer; I promise I’ll put my flashlight down. 

“Totally,” Steve echoes, nodding at her. 

“Okay. Cool. Cool…”

She lets out a long breath, cheeks puffing out as she sits on her hands. Oh, my god, just spit it out. “Can we please talk about him, though?”

—

part 22

tag list pt. 1 below the cut, comment if you want me to tag you tomorrow (heads up i'm not tagging any new under 21 or ageless blogs unless we’re mutuals or you dm me to verify your age. gonna purge this list when i get some free time)

@heartsong18 @hellion-child @hiimlevi @hotluncheddie @jackiemonroe5512 @jaytriesstuff @littlebluejane @lololol-1234 @marklee-blackmore @melonmochi @messrs-weasley @mrsjellymunson @mugloversonly @nburkhardt @nerdyglassescheeseychick @noodle-shenaniganery @notsopersonalcharlie @novelnovella @nuggies4life @pending-dope-username @perseus-notjackson @ppunkpuppyy @questionablequeeries @remosdeerica @runninriot @sadcanadianwinter @shamelesspatrolshepherdcowboy @silver-snaffles @singmeyoursimpsong @slowandsteddie @slutforcoffein @solalasoforth @spookednsaucy @steddieas-shegoes @steddie-island @stevesbipanic @steves-strapcollection @taleah-bonnick @teatimeeverybody @th30ra3k3n @thealwithnoname @thespaceantwhowrites @thestarslittleking @thesuninyaface @trensu @violetsteve @wormdebut @yourmom-isgay @zoeweee @zombiecreatures

[xzaddyzanakinx]

Missed me? Pt 3

Stepdad!Anakin Skywalker x Femme Reader

18+ MDNI

Warnings: stepcest/inappropriate relationships, cheating, kissing, flashback, past minor injury, angry/kinda violent thoughts

Info: honestly ur mom is rlly good at psychological warfare

You ran with Chewie in tow, your lungs on fire as you attempted to get home as quickly as possible. You skid to a stop on the pavement outside your house, the scene unfolding before you hitting you hard. Your mom, stomping out to her car and slamming the door shut. Throwing it in reverse and peeling out of the driveway without even glancing your way. You could physically feel the air blowing past you as she sped off out of the neighborhood.

You walked inside, terrified you’d find a mess. But to your surprise everything was in its place. You unclipped Chewie’s leash and let her roam about inside the house until she found a cool spot on the floor.

You could hear Anakin still working in the garage, he’d turned on some music to keep him company. Maybe you overreacted? She probably didn’t think anything of it right? It’s innocent enough. Anakin is notorious for leaving grease and oil stains in places they should never be. Like the time you painted your palm shoe-polish black just from opening the fridge.

It was nothing. Right? Anakin would be in here upset and waiting for you if something had happened, so everything must be fine. You thought back to your earlier conversation with your mom and recalled how annoyed she seemed about that coding mishap.

Relief spread through you, she was extremely anal about her work. A perfectionist through and through, maybe she’d received word the damage was worse than she originally thought. That would definitely warrant nascar level driving in her eyes.

Even so, you felt the need to placate her when she returned. After a shower and a clean set of comfy clothes you set about cleaning the main floor of the house thoroughly. Scrubbing each surface clean, vacuuming, mopping windex-ing the windows. You even cleared out the leftovers and expired items from the fridge. Going so far as to jot down the items that needed replacing.

Trotting over to the cork board mounted on the wall of the short hall leading to the laundry room and the garage door. This was where everything of importance lived, bills, grocery lists, to-do lists, even a family calendar. Something in red ink had been added to the calendar for tomorrow and you nearly stabbed yourself with a push pin when you read it.

‘Date Night 6:00 @Marzettis’

Written in the ridiculously neat and proper cursive that only could’ve belonged to your mother. If you measured the PSI of your bite force right now, you were one hundred percent sure it would be enough to bite off your mother’s writing hand. Your jaw was clenched so tightly that you heard your molars squeak in protest.

Jabbing the list into the cork with the pushpin you let out a breath that you’d been holding long enough to make you alittle lightheaded.

Calm down. They’re married. Married people go on dates. Anakin can’t really reject his own wife can he? No. No he can’t. It’s okay.

You shook out your anger, resolving yourself to ignore the fact that your stomach was churning with nerves and your tongue burned with unspoken venom. There was still things to do. And doing things is good. Scrubbing every centimeter of the bathroom shower with such aggression that you permanently bent the bristles of your favorite scrub brush was definitely a healthy alternative to committing a felony.

Hours passed and Anakin finally returned from the garage sending the current vehicle he was working on back to its owner a full day early. It’s amazing what alittle midmorning pussy pick-me-up can do for a man.

It also probably helped that your tiny arms shaved off at least an hours work of dismantling parts of the engine that were in his way of retrieving the piece he actually needed to extract. Though he’d milk his coincidental success as the result of your passionate rekindling for all that it’s worth. It couldn’t hurt to test out that theory a few times could it?

“Whoa.” He snorted, seeing you to his left scrubbing the inside of the washing machine. “What the hell are you doing?”

You lifted your head a bit too fast and wacked it on the lip of the washer, immediately wincing and bringing a hand to rub the top of your head.

“Apparently I’m doing my damndest to give myself a concussion.” You joked, glancing over at him in his sweaty, greasy clothes.

“There’s this guy who has disgusting laundry, that occasionally leaves residue in the washer.” You dramatically explained.

“So I’m doing him a favor and saving him from an accidental repeat of the fancy hand-towel stain incident of 2020.” You grinned and watched as Anakin mirrored your expression.

“Lucky man.” He chuckled, coming over to give you a quick peck on the lips before rushing off to shower.

Dinner rolled around and you decided to order in, the local Chinese restaurant had the best egg rolls around, and that was just what you needed. You texted your mother to ask for her order and jotted yours and Anakin’s down on a scrap of paper.

~be home alittle late. Just get some Udon for me.~ She responded quickly.

Easy enough. You called in the order and it was delivered and delicious in around 30 minutes. You spread out the feast on the kitchen counter and laughed at Anakin practically drooling over the crab rangoons he was shoveling into his mouth.

“So whens she gonna be home?” He asked, not even bothering to cover his mouth despite chewing like his life depended on it.

“She just said late.” You shrugged, late could mean anything. 10 minutes, an hour; it’s a ridiculous measure of time that you’d always had trouble accepting.

“Well.” He clicked his tongue as he popped open a cold beer from the fridge. “Wanna watch a movie or something?”

“Oh actually, you know what he haven’t done in a while?” You grinned.

“Housewives?” He smirked.

“Yes sir. Take your pick.” You scooped up your take-out box and made a beeline for your favorite seat, the comfy and worn out recliner.

“I’m thinkin’ New Jersey.” He mused, kicking his feet up on the coffee table and searching for your guilty pleasure show.

There’s something comforting about watching someone else’s life like this. Honestly you found it… strangely calming to know that other people have more stressful lives than you. And of course it didn’t hurt that you really loved a bratty cat-fight. Scripted or not, it was undeniably as entertaining as a train wreck.

It would seem that your mother’s definition of ‘late’ was around 45 minutes, she walked in the door as chipper as ever. Doing wonders for your earlier worries; nothing seemed amiss to her.

She took in your comfortable nest of blankets in your recliner, Anakin’s lanky legs draped over the armrest of the couch with his head propped on a pillow. She was… assessing the scene and found no evidence of any foul deeds.

“It was a good idea for take out.” She said, tossing her items on the table. “I’ve missed these noodles.”

“Oh I know.” You agreed. “I saved an egg roll for you.”

“Thanks sweetie.” She said, flashing a blank stare and an empty smile over her shoulder that went unnoticed by the both of you.

“So Marzettis, is that alright for tomorrow?” She asked Anakin sitting on the couch near him with her food.

“That new Italian place?” He asked, his eyebrows pinched together. “That’s the one Obi took Satine to isn’t it?”

“Yeah it is,” she nodded, seemingly pleased he remembered. “They gushed about it so much I figured it was time we try it.”

“Alright, as long as there’s breadsticks I’m happy.” Anakin smiled.

Meanwhile you were boiling in your seat as you listened to their conversation. Just like in an old cartoon you swore the top of your head would screw itself off and rattle with white hot steam. Honestly, you wished it would. That might just be the only way to get rid of this pressure in your skull without *actually* combusting.

You suffered through their small talk and meaningless conversation about blah, blah and blah. Finally, the episode of Housewives ended and you made your quick egress to your room with a wave goodnight.

You lay awake in bed, planning your to-do list for the next day. You needed to keep yourself busy and entertained to avoid falling victim to the wallowing hole of self pity that is your mind’s way of ‘coping’ with your jealousy.

To-Do:

Wake up

Scream

Nap

Repeat

Perfect.

You woke up, unsure as to when you actually fell asleep; though arguably in a 73% better mood just from the simple fact that you could hear power tools being used in the garage. It was comforting. The noise used to bother you, irk you to the edge of insanity, because who in their right mind would wake up and use the loudest power tools known to man at 6:00am?

Anakin would.

Every time you woke up to the noise, it reminded you of your first kiss, what could be a better way to wake up? Except for maybe an actual kiss from him.

You had stomped from your room to the garage, having been woken up at 6:00am *on summer break* for the previous 4 days. You threw the door open and yelled for him, but he didn’t hear you. Between the loud grinding sound of metal on metal and the earbuds he had in, you had little choice but to pull something dramatic.

Spotting the extension cord you had unplugged it and relished in the momentary silence before hearing Anakin cursing and repeatedly flipping the switch. You stood and observed with a self-satisfied grin, crossing your arms and jutting out your hip as you waited for his small man brain to figure out what happened.

Karma wasn’t something you believed in until right then, because without even looking up he yanked on the extension cord and the hard plastic socket whipped your thigh leaving an almost immediate bruise.

“Fuck!” You yelled, clenching your fists and biting back a string of words so hellish you might’ve burst into flames if you screamed like you wanted to.

Anakin’s head shot up and he ripped out his earbuds, momentarily confused when he didn’t see the source of the very angry curse word. That was until you hissed as you poked at the tender bruise.

“Oh shit.” He mumbled, rounding the front end of the car to get to you. “Hey- hey sweetheart, what the hell are you doing down here? It’s awful early for you to be up.”

Oh that was it. That was not the thing to say to you right then. He could’ve called you a crybaby and you would’ve took it better than that innocent comment.

“Yeah? It’s awful early to be using whatever the fuck that thing is!” You grumbled, shaking his hand off your arm. “Do you seriously have to do that this early in the morning? Can’t you do something less… grating?!”

“Do you see any other vehicle here for me to work on?” He deadpanned.

“God you’re insufferable sometimes you know that?” You huffed, looking back down at your leg.

“Did you unplug that grinder I was using?” He asked accusingly.

“Yes I did.” You shot back. “It was getting on my fucking nerves Anakin.”

“Well shit- just let me-“ He sighed trying to pry your hands away from your thigh but you batted him away, swiping a droplet of blood across his wrist.

One of the sharp plastic corners had bit into your skin on impact and caused a teeny tiny nick. Though from the amount of blood trickling down your leg, one would automatically assume you had a proper slice of an injury.

“Baby c’mon just let me see? I’m sorry.” He said in a pained tone, you could tell he genuinely felt bad, even though this was mostly your fault.

“Don’t ‘baby’ me.” You had scoffed.

“Fine. My liege.” He grumbled sarcastically.

He approached with paper towels and crouched down to swat your hands away and dab gently at the wound, or rather, lack thereof. He attempted to hand you a paper towel to clean off your hand but you declined, anti-politely wiping off the blood onto his dirty work shirt.

“Are you serious right now?” He scowled.

“Are you almost done?” You countered, crossing your arms again.

“Yeah. It’s just a scratch. Turns out every inch of you is just as dramatic as your shit attitude.” He said, standing up, his height making you feel dwarfed.

“Yeah that’s what happens when-“ you started in an angry, belittling tone.

Though you were cut off and the world paused around you. You went stiff as he grabbed you by the shoulders and leaned down to kiss you. Before you even registered what was happening top-side, your body had already begun to relax in his arms. His big strong, work-worn hands pulling you into him while he slipped his tongue between your lips. Gliding lightly just behind your top row of teeth before you finally gave in and kissed him back.

Your eyes fluttered closed and you hummed know content when he released your waist to cradle your head with both hands, your own fisting his shirt as you kissed like your lives depended on it.

“Hey! You up?” Your mom knocked loudly on your door and broke the trance of the sweet memory. That 73%? Reduced to 32%.

“Yes.” You huffed and rolled out of bed, unlocking your door and letting her in.

“Great, I want to borrow a dress of yours is that okay?” She asked, heading to your closet before you could even respond.

No way. Absolutely no way. She was not wearing that.

“No. Pick something else.” You said sternly, taking the red summer dress and hanging it back up.

“What why?” She questioned.

“Because it has a hole in it.” You lied, “can’t have you going on your big date like that.”

“I didn’t see a hole.” She countered, going to grab it again.

“Trust me. There’s a hole.” And they’ll be another one: in the ground for her if she didn’t accept defeat on this.

“Fine.” She scoffed and drug out a few more options under your watchful eye.

“This one?” She asked.

“Yeah that one’s fine. It’ll look great.” You forced a smile and tracked her during her retreat down the hall.

As soon as she entered her room you slammed your own door shut and locked it again. You went straight to your closet and got the red dress, folding it and tucking it into the bottom of your sock drawer.

Was she intentionally trying to piss you off? No. She couldn’t have known. No one could’ve known other than you and Anakin. You had been so careful, going out of town for a date at the drive-in while your mom was away on a business trip. You’d worn that dress for Anakin and only Anakin, and you’d never worn it since that night, that first night.

In your state of confusion you didn’t notice the sound of Anakin’s garage noise die down.

Anakin had stopped for a coffee break and came inside, finding his wife at the kitchen counter. He gave her a quick smile and and poured some black coffee into a big thermos.

“Sugar? ‘Sugar’?” She asked sweetly, sliding the large sugar canister across the countertop to him.

“Uh, yeah.” He blinked slowly as if trying to rewind her words. “Yeah okay thanks.”

He shook his head and shrugged, raising his eyebrows in concentrated thought as he stirred the sugar into his coffee. The only person who has *ever* said that to him is you. That’s such a weird coincidence… what are the chances? It’s not like you call him ‘sugar’ any other time either. Only ever for the sake of making him smile when he fixes his coffee.

“Well. I’ll be out here then.” He said awkwardly, still very much miffed by the odd comment.

She ‘mhm’d’ in response, enjoying watching him slink back into the garage with his cheeks tinted in shame.

By the time 5:30 rolled around Anakin was in a nice button-up and dress pants, looking absolutely exquisite. That man really knew how to wear… anything, and nothing too. You had to ogle him from afar, watching his cute butt in those well-fit pants as he walked out the door following closely behind your mother. Who was wearing your dress.

You made a mental note to find an industrial shredder to take care of that ruined fabric when she returned it.

At Marzetti’s dinner was going well, much better than Anakin had expected to be honest. It was almost nice, in a weird way. The food was good, the atmosphere was pretty… he couldn’t help but be startled every now and again when he glanced over and didn’t see you across the table from him. You’d love this place, and damn he’d love to see you in it. He just knew the lighting would show off those sexy bedroom eyes you *swore* you never knew when you were making.

The biggest downside was that this place was alittle too expensive to be wasted on your mother. This kind of luxury should be reserved for his princess.

After an hour’s worth of awkward small talk and stupid conversational questions, Anakin got up to use the restroom.

When he returned he was shocked to say the least. The table had been cleared and all that remained was the check, and a thick manila envelope, he hesitantly picked it up and tucked it under his arm.

Fast walking to the front of the restaurant he quickly paid, despite the hostess’s request for him to return to his table because ‘payment is collected at your seat’. He fumbled with his car keys and clicked the lock button to quickly locate his black vintage Camaro… no dice.

He stood frozen in the middle of the parking lot, spinning slowly and spotting his parking spot… where the car *should* have been.

“That bitch took my fucking Camaro.” He whispered to himself, internally screaming at himself for being a responsible adult and having a spare set of keys safely stashed away.

He already had an idea of what was in that envelope, but now he didn’t even need to look at the title page. He just needed a goddamn pen.

Final Part

Tag-List:

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[theflowerofhumanity]

Rewrite the Stars

Spock was the son of a renowned Vulcan diplomat. He had graduated Starfleet Academy with honors and was now a decorated officer serving aboard one of the fleet’s flagships as both the head of its Science division and its second-in-command. Despite the lingering mistrust sometimes expressed by his fellow crew members, he was well-respected on the Enterprise…even liked.

Spock was also beginning to panic. His well-ordered mind was in turmoil.

He’d gone to Sickbay in search of Dr. McCoy but had found only the head nurse, Miss Chapel. Though she was a smart and lovely young woman to be sure, Spock hadn’t had time for small talk even if he’d had an aptitude for such things. Not when an unstable crewman, infected by whatever had killed six members of the science team they’d planned to pick up on Psi 2000, had cut off all their power. Now the ship was hurtling into the rapidly-disintegrating planet’s atmosphere. In half an hour, all four hundred of them would be dead unless the senior officers could regain control.

Nurse Chapel had by that time been exposed to the contagion as well. Scientist that he was, Spock should have considered the possibility before he ever left the Bridge. Instead, he was alone in Sickbay with a very different woman from the one he thought he knew. I’m in love with you, Mr. Spock, she’d said as  she cradled his hands between her soft ones. He couldn’t question the sincerity of her words. Not only had he actually felt the affection radiating off of her, he’d seen it in her earnest blue eyes, too. A man could drown in those eyes, he thought. I love you just as you are. She lacked both any of the misgivings or residual prejudice towards Vulcans he frequently encountered among humans…and also all of her usual inhibitions. He knew that she would never have spoken these feelings aloud of her own accord. As someone who’d spent his entire life learning to control the powerful emotions some people thought Vulcans simply didn’t have, Spock ached for her.

But what had he said? I’m sorry. That was all. I’m sorry. Then he had run away from the lovelorn nurse as whatever biochemical agent that had compelled her to profess her love for him began to tear down his own mental walls. He’d run because he was afraid—of himself.

Now here he was, trembling and fighting back tears in a rec room. Part of his mind remained keenly aware of their dire reality. All he could think of, though, was of Nurse Chapel and of his mother. His soft-spoken, pretty human mother with her sweet smile and easy laugh… I’ll always love you, no matter where you go or what you do, Spock—I’ll always be proud of you. Hot tears welled up in Spock’s eyes. Had he ever told her that he loved her, too? That without her, he would not have survived his often-difficult childhood or had the courage to stand up to his father…?

And all he’d been able to choke out in reply to Nurse Chapel was I’m sorry!

He covered his face with his hands and sucked in a long, shuddering breath.

@multirptrash ♥

[mrsmarlasinger]

Oh? My fucking god??

THIS WAS THE CONTROLLER FOR THE SUBMARINE THAT WENT MISSING???

The Logitech F710??

Like, okay, apparently the U.S. military* uses Xbox 360 controllers. I get that. It's cheap. It's technology already familiar to many young adults. I get it, I do.

*(fuck 'em)

But still. STILL.

I don't know anything about gamepads, but I do know the Logitech F710 came out thirteen years ago. I just found it on Ebay for $16 including shipping.

But surely that means that through the test of time, the Logitech F710 has proven itself to be the best around, right? A work of video game engineering so flawless, even a relatively sane individual might agree to trust it with their life....right?

Oh. Oh. Jesus Horatio Christ.

Imagine your joystick drifts and your buttons get stuck and your controller lags...while you're steering a submarine...13,000 FEET UNDERWATER.

(That's about 4,000 meters, or just under 2.5 miles. And yes, I know it's actually a submersible, not a submarine.)

Oh my god. Oh my god.

For context, according to Naval Post:

A submarine specifically built to rescue people from subs sunk deep in the sea has a maximum depth of 7,500 to 10,000 feet (2,250 to 3,000 meters). But no, with the Titan, we're talking 13,000 FEET.

So if the pressure at approximately that depth is 5,775 psi, which means 5,775 lbs (2,619 kg)—or ALMOST THREE TONS—per square inch...

...and the atmospheric pressure where I live is sitting at 14.5 psi today...

That means the sheer pressure of the ocean at that depth is, like, 400 times that of the air we breathe. So if your fucking 13-year-old video game controller drifts you into the wreckage of the goddamn Titanic, the moment your hull sustains a little damage, even the tiniest leak, you're gonezo. The sub implodes and you're pulverized. Instantly.

(Plus I hear the compression rate is so extreme, the molecules so fast-moving, that everything heats to combustion in the split second before the water puts it out. So really, you'd be incinerated before you'd be crushed. Ain't that a treat?)

But hey, maybe the pressure hull remains intact and you just lose power. Or get entangled in the wreckage of, again, THE GODDAMN TITANIC.

Then it's just you and your four rich buddies crammed into a metal tube, waiting for your 96 hours of oxygen to run out.

Navigational computers on the fucking floor. No backrests. No seats. No padding. Nothing. Just one small toilet sat in front of one tiny window.

So when the power dies and the lights go out, it's just a claustrophic sardine tin of the wealthy, alone in the suffocating pitch-dark at the bottom of the ocean, choking on the smell of their own shit.

All this, for a quarter of a million dollars per head.

Which they paid even though Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate himself, said that SAFETY IS A WASTE. OH MY FUCKING—

A sadly unshocking thing to hear from the CEO of a company that's engendered safety concerns! For! YEARS!

Also unshocking: the waiver apparently mentions death three times on the first page.

You know.

In case it didn't get through to you after the first two times. Or after reading that the sub is experimental and hasn't been approved or regulated in any remotely meaningful way.

But it's okay if the MacGyvered fucking submarine crumbles like a Saltine cracker, because IT DOESN'T MATTER IF EVERYTHING FAILS! AS LONG AS THE PRESSURE HULL'S INTACT, IT'S OKAY IF YOU'RE STUCK 13,000 FEET UNDER THE SEA WITH A RAPIDLY DWINDLING SUPPLY OF OXYGEN! THE CEO OF OCEANGATE SAID SO!!!

HAHA! HA! YES, THE TOTALLY SUCCESSFUL MACGYVERED SUB WITH A COMPLETELY INTACT PRESSURE HULL!!!!

Oh my god. Oh my GOOOOOOOOD.

But hey! Remember! :) If the Juulpod-sized, Atari-run hunk of hubris doesn't literally fucking implode with you inside it, it's okay that there are 18 bolts locking you in that can't be undone without external assistance! Because Stockton Rush said you're safe as long as the (definitely pristine) hull is still intact!

So if you're bobbing on the surface of the ocean, watching seagulls cross blue sky through your single tiny porthole, listening to the pulse of white-crested waves ruffled by the cool sea breeze, drowning above water because you can't escape the slow ceaseless hourglass that is your stagnant air supply without a rescue crew—a rescue crew that can't even find you because you're mired in a vast expanse of savage ocean and oh, by the way, your communications going down is what started all this in the FIRST PLACE...

...well, don't worry! Titan's many, many, MANY successful past voyages should give you comfort! :)

But, on the very off chance this could be a dangerous and likely deadly situation, tell me: which would be the worst way to go?

Incinerating in the abrupt birth of a terrible, crushing singularity?

Asphyxiating in the lightless abyss that lurks like some arcane hell at the bottom of the ocean?

Or suffocating just as slowly above the water, with air so close you can see the misty breeze yet still...just...out...of reach?

God, I hope we save these dumbass idiots. Especially since one of them's just a 19-year-old kid. I don't even care how rich and stupid they are. I just can't imagine dying like that.

[wofbutgood]

Seawings! I actually shocked myself a bit with how fast I finished this model, the skywing took almost a week just to model, then several more to rig, then almost a MONTH to finish texturing. I started this guys model like, 3 days ago. It certainly puts any doubts that I'm not improving to rest.

Image description and transcript of text below the cut:

[Figure 1 description: A side view of a Seawing diving down, its legs and tail are cut off by the top of the page. Its wings and arms are tucked close to its body, and its head is tilted inquisitively.

Figure 2 description: A Seawing stood next to a white silhouette of a man, labeled as 6ft. The Seawings shoulders sit roughly level with the mans hips. Both of the Seawings wings are stretched upwards, they are short and broad. Its body is a de-saturated grey-brown, with splotches of pale brown of its shoulder, thigh, belly, and tail. It has white ribbon-like patterns around its body, wings, and tail.

Figure 3 description: A large bust of a Seawing with its mouth open. Its teeth are robust and packed closely together, similar to dinosaur teeth. The lateral incisors are missing, and the central incisors form a large, beak-like shape. Its neck and most of its head are a de-saturated grey-brown colour. It has a white ring around the top of its neck, and its chin, nose, and around its eyes are a pale grey. Its eyes are dark brown.]

Test reads:

Seawings.

Anatomy and ecology.

Despite their smaller size, Seawings have one of the strongest bites among dragonkind; able to bite down with a force of up to 1500 psi.

With a meager wingspan of 15ft, Seawings cannot fly under their own power; instead, using their powerful tail and strong winds to glide over the ocean.

Seawings can dive to depths of nearly 7,000ft, and can hold their breath for up to 4 hours.

Seawings are typically piscivores, but some inland groups have adapted a more varied diet.

Seawings are deep-diving oceanic dragons. They live their life almost entirely underwater, and as such are very streamlined. Their legs are short, joined to the body just above the elbow/knee to reduce drag. Seawings tails large and muscular, allowing for a natural high-speed cruise. Their wings are small, acting similarly to the pectoral fins of fish; acting as brakes, and aiding in abrupt side-to-side movements.

Seawings are some of the most colourful among dragonkind, their feathers coming in shades of brown, black, blue, yellow, red, and purple. Seawings typically have dark irises, though they may sometimes be yellow or orange. Their entire bodies are covered in a layer of blubber and dense feathers, save their palms and soles, which are covered in thick scales; usually dark grey or brown.

[companion-showdown]

Almost/Could have been Companion: Nominations

It's nomination time: Who is the Best Almost Companion

Who would you like to have seen become a companion?

Rules:

Must have met the Doctor

I know Jago and Litefoot are popular but I am not including anyone from Talons as a matter of principle

Not someone you could already call a companion (some exceptions may be made on a case by case basis) (if they are TV characters who are companions only in the EU that will be allowed)

Not necessary, but ideally someone who would have said yes in the right circumstances

There's no other restrictions on the kinds of characters to include, just anyone you wanted to come on further adventures in the TARDIS

Nominations will close in 24 hours (17:15 BST (UTC+1), 13/10)

Current list under the cut because it is already very long and only going to get longer

60s

Cameca (The Aztecs)

Jenny (The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

Bret Vyon (The Daleks Master Plan)

Anne (The Massacre)

Sam Briggs (The Faceless Ones)

Isobel (The Invasion)

Fariah (Enemy of the World)

Astrid Ferrier (Enemy of the World)

Ping-Cho (Marco Polo)

70s

Miss Hawthorne (The Daemons)

Bellal (Death to the Daleks)

Lish Toos (The Robots of Death)

D84 (Robots of Death)

Rodan (The Invasion of Time)

Duggan (City of Death)

80s

Todd (Kinda)

Richard Mace (The Visitation)

Will Chandler (The Awakening)

Chela (Snakedance)

Norna (Frontis)

Janet (Terror of the Vervoids)

The DJ (Revelation of the Daleks)

Ray (Delta and the Bannermen)

Mags (The Greatest Show in the Galaxy)

Shou Yuing (Battlefield)

Sabalom Glitz (Various)

Rachel (Remembrance of the Daleks)

Allison (Remembrance of the Daleks)

Gustave Lytton (Resurrection of the Daleks, Attack of the Cybermen)

EU

Ruby Duvall

Cousin Justine (Met the Doctor in Alien Bodies)

The Duke of Wellington (multiple encounters)

Irving Braxiatel (the Doctor’s Brother, and a Jerk)

Koschie (Academy era Master)

Millennia and Rallon

Narvin

Alan Turing

Hal Bishop

Abslom Dakk

Carolyn McConnell (Vampire Science)

Alex Campbell (the dead one not the alternate version who travels with the doctor)

Bounce (Year of Intelligent Tigers)

Karl Sadeghi (Year if Intelligent Tigers)

Scarlette (Adventures of Henrietta Street)

Leonardo da Vinci (Various)

Jason Kane

Jack Springheel

Peter Summerfield

RTD

Jabe (The End of the World)

Harriet Jones (Aliens of London / World War Three

Lynda (Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways)

Mrs Moore (Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel)

Jake (Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel & Army of Ghosts / Doomsday)

Sally Sparrow (Blink)

Timothy (Human Nature / The Family of Blood (could have his name wrong))

Joan Redfern (Human Nature / The Family of Blood)

Professor Yana (Utopia)

Chan Tho (Utopia)

Tom (The Last of the Time Lords / The Sound of Drums)

Astrid Peth (Voyage of the Damned)

Alonzo (Voyage of the Damned)

Ross (The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky)

Jenny (The Doctor’s Daughter)

Hath Peck (The Doctor’s Daughter)

Rosita (The Next Doctor)

Lady Christina de Souza (Planet of the Dead)

Adelaide Brooke (The Waters of Mars)

Elton Pope (Love and Monsters)

Simm!Master

Agatha Christie (The Unicorn and the Wasp)

Jethro (Midnight)

Jacobi!Master

Dee Dee (Midnight)

Moffat

Nasreen Chaudry (The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood)

Craig Owens (The Lodger & Closing Time)

Kazran (A Christmas Carol)

Abigail (A Christmas Carol)

Canton Everette Deleware III (Day of the Moon)

Rita (The God Complex)

Lorna (A Good Man Goes to War)

Madge Arwell (The Doctor the Widow and the Wardrobe)

Brian Williams (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)

John Riddell (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)

Nefertiti

Petronella Osgood (Various)

Kate Stewart (Various)

Madame Vastra (Various – The Paternoster Gang)

Jenny (Various – The Paternoster Gang)

Strax (Various – The Paternoster Gang)

Journey Blue (Into the Dalek)

Psi (Time Heist)

Saibra (Time Heist)

Perkins (Mummy on the Orient Express)

Courtney Woods (Kill the Moon)

Rigsy (Flatline & Face the Raven)

Maebh (In the Forest of the Night)

Shona (Last Christmas)

Cass (Under the Lake / Before the Flood)

Me (The Girl Who Died / The Woman Who Lived & various)

Missy (Various)

Heather (Pilot & The Doctor Falls)

Erica (Pyramid at the End of the World)

Danny Pink

Ada Gillyflower (The Crimson Horror)

Shona (Last Christmas)

Chibnall

Bel (Flux)

Vinder (Flux)

Claire (Flux)

Jericho (Flux)

Ada Lovelace (Spyfall)

Ronan (The Tsuranga Conundrum)

Nikola Tesla (Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror)

Spinoffs

Luke Smith (The Sarah-Jane Adventures)

Clyde Langer (The Sarah-Jane Adventures)

Rani Chandra (The Sarah-Jane Adventures)

Gwen Cooper (Torchwood)

Ianto Jones (Torchwood)

Tosh Sato (Torchwood)

[roseposts-stuff]

hello hello!! its time for the doctor who rankings again, today it's time for series 8!! really like this series guys not gonna lie :D again, these are my opinions and also just. mostly for my benefit but i post them here in case someone else is interested in my thoughts???

1. Listen (8x4) - oh how i love this episode guys, i love the opening already, peter capaldi was MADE for stuff like this, i think. i like the idea of a creature that has perfected hiding, i think that's interesting, and i love the ending with clara talking to the doctor as a kid, i love how we kinda still left it ambiguous whether this creature exists or not (i think it does, the creature that was on danny's bed didn't look like a human, even though we didn't see it clearly, but it's not 100% sure this creature is actually real). always love it when doctor who goes horror

2. Mummy on the Orient Express (8x8) - SO good, love this episode, i love the mystery of the mummy and i think a morally grey doctor was written well in this, i liked perkins a lot and kinda wished he had become a companion, and i liked the story. also the "are you my mummy" heritage still going strong lmao

3. Flatline (8x9) - SO GOOD!! i love the idea of creatures that are in 2D that's interesting, i like clara and there are so many hilarious things in this, personally i died permanently when clara just pulled the hammer from the bag and went "apparently they're in the walls", it was so funny to me lol, yeah, brilliant i think

4. Deep Breath (8x1) - does the beginning with clara feel a bit weird considering she has literally seen every regeneration of the doctor's and knows how it works? yeah. but i get where they're going with it and why it is there, because the audience has just lost the previous doctor, who is this new guy here why is he so different, how can he suddenly be so old?? the kids who might have started watching with matt smith might say, and i get that clara is now acting as the audience, i don't mind it. and i like the scene with vastra and clara. and the second half of the episode is brilliant, i love clara with the robot. guys. i don't remember if they had a name sorry guys lol. but she was great. i really think she's so much better in this series than in series 7. and this episode also has some really funny moments, i had so much fun following the doctor's adventures, and i love jenny, vastra and strax as people might notice from the previous posts. i LOVE them. miss them every day i want them back i hate that this is their last appearance on tv :( but yeah, a great introduction to the new doctor, dare i even say better than the eleventh hour are we ready for that conversation??

5. Dark Water/Death in Heaven (8x11/8x12) - always love meeting kate even if she's in a small role, live laugh love kate lethbridge-stewart if she got no fans i'm dead. anyway, i like finally meeting missy properly, she's great and i enjoyed the doctor and her together. i think the cliffhanger is good and i personally am a danny pink defender, i was sad that he died, he wasn't my favourite character but i didn't hate him like most people seem to do lol. i also think the cybermen are alright and the nod to the brigadier and the doctor saluting him is really nice i think

6. Time Heist (8x5) - it's a nice story, i like the concept and the teller is an interesting creature in my opinion, i like the time travel heist stuff and i like psi and saibra, i think it's great and seems a bit underappreciated in the fandom? or have i just not seen people talk about it? i don't know

7. Robot of Sherwood (8x3) - this was actually pretty good fun, i laughed so many times watching this, and even though the story isn't the best in my opinion, i think this is still very fun and enjoyable and i had a great time watching it. robin hood and the doctor's dynamic was actually pretty hilarious

8. The Caretaker (8x6) - i must say, this made me laugh a few times, i think it's fun, and i like clara and danny's relationship stuff here, i think the dynamic between the doctor and danny is interesting, but the story itself isn't the best and i don't think it's anything special

9. Into the Dalek (8x2) - now i get what this story is going for and how we start exploring the question of whether the doctor is a good man or not is great, i like that theme, and i personally like that last excange with the doctor and the dalek, how the doctor says that hatred isn't victory and the double meaning of "a good dalek". but even though steven moffat is 100% one of my favourite doctor who writers, something i must say that he doesn't get right are the daleks, i don't think he gets them. i think he sees them just plainly as evil angry tanks, which they're not, yes they're obviously evil, but they do have sort of personality, they're occasionally sassy and think themselves to be cleverer than they are, and i don't think moffat gets their characterisation right

10. In the Forest of the Night (8x10) - i don't hate it but it's not good either. it's pretty boring because our characters are just randomly running around a forest, which i do think can be done well, but this wasn't. i found clara and danny's relationship stuff to be okay and i think it was so sweet the kids shipped them lol, and i do think that the fact that this had so much of them being kinda happy makes danny's death in the next episode more sad. and i did 100% pick up on the message about protecting trees, which is indeed important, and i liked that the trees were protecting the earth and that children made the message to everyone like young people do today with the climate change, i think that's something that's good about this story.

11. Kill the Moon (8x7) - i don't completely hate it, it's got a few kinda funny lines and i think it did the morally grey doctor thing well, and i love the ending with clara. but the anti-abortion message is not it, and you know i'm giving the writer the benefit of the doubt, because i can 100% see an another way to interpret the story, that humans want to destroy things that they don't know about and we should instead give them a chance because it could be a good thing, but the way some things are worded in the story are just giving anti-abortion message. and i personally wasn't a fan of the random astronaut and the story as a whole just wasn't for me. though i think the morally grey doctor is done well, it feels kinda weird that he just. disappears mid story, i don't know, but yeah, not a fan

there we are, i liked this series, lots of great episodes i think, and peter capaldi is fantastic of course :D

[arche0ps-moved]

can you please tell us more about your cool earthbound (or mother in general) headcanons. . . one's already mentioned are so cool I WANNA KNOW!!! ps YOU ARE COOL IN GENERAL TOO!!!!!!!

OHHH MIKE YOU SCAMP .. TWIRLS MY HAIR!! This could be long so. Under the cut !

okay first guy: ness I love ness.

Ness is a trans kid!! he doesn't know the right terminology for any of it but he knows he never felt like a girl. his family all support him ofc, but Tracy got a little sad thinking ness wouldn't play dollhouse with her anymore (he still totally does)

Ness looooves gross stuff. Bugs, mud, bones, etc. Call me autistic the way I study those bugs (<- ness)

oh also he's autistic 👍 very sensitive to loud noises and the cold, and wears almost the same outfit everyday because 1. different outfit everyday is HARD . 2. He likes his outfit!!

his special interest is baseball :)

him and pokey play on the same Onett baseball team and have an unofficial rivalry with the Fourside Fogies . one time they trapped pokey under the bleachers. it was a whole ordeal (hc from soypeople thank you bestie)

ness was their number one player!! until. yk. giygas. after all that he quit going to school and became a shut in for a good while (he'll be okay)

Paula helps teach him the PK moves!! Fire freeze thunder etc etc. In return him and pu teach her how to heal and such (none of them manage to learn starstorm, though ..)

Ness is overall an overly caring kid. he'll often put others before himself, especially in the line of danger. But he can also be very stubborn if he chooses to (if he's angry, he'll most likely give you silent treatment until he simmers down)

Ness and Paula date in the future :]

ok paula now.

Paula is a transgirl!! she knows the terms bc she's a fast learner (with gifted child syndrome)

When she grows up she most likely takes over the Polestar preschool

Funnily enough, her favorite color isn't pink. It's green!

Her parents are a bit overprotective of her .... Ness and her had to practically beg to go fight Giygas

Much like Ness, she cares a lot for her friends. Unable to heal them with her PSI, she resorts to carrying around lots of healing items for her pals! (And wet towels for Jeff, since he overheats easily)

She doesn't mind any temp, but sweat is an unpleasant sensation for her (it's gross, it smells, and ew, it's wet! Jeff shares the same sentiment)

She isn't a damsel in distress, obviously. She probably would've beaten up Montoli and Carpainter all on her own if she didn't have the brain to accompany her (though, an hour longer in the cage at Happy Happy and she probably would've started a fire ..)

OK JEFF TIME I LOVE JEFF :) copy pasting some jeff-tony hcs from my personal discord teehee

When Jeff couldn't stand in class Tony would take his assignments to the teacher when they both finished (albeit a bit later as Tony took more time on his)

Tony signs the end of the Y in name with a small heart when writing Jeff. Jeff was oblivious to it's meaning till he got older

Tony will sometimes break stuff on purpose when Jeff has nothing to tinker. Just little things that they won't miss if Jeff can't fix them (he always fixes them)

Jeff shares what he doesn't eat with Tony (tony has a bit appetite!)

Jeff carries Tony's bag in his lap when in his chair

Neither of them use air fresheners or perfumes. It irritates Jeff's nose and Tony has asthma. Win!

They don't have the same taste in music but like to listen to each other's music when working in their dorm. They take turns putting in tapes

Jeff prefers classical music .. Tony calls him old for it (it's endearing. He's memorized Jeff's favorite artists)

Jeff falls asleep in class a lot .. tony makes sure to write plenty of notes if he does

Non Tony related ones:

Jeff is autistic! And physically disabled. His legs were injured in the novels boat incident, so he uses a cane(or crutches) and a wheelchair depending on how well he feels

He doesn't like being babied or carried around much, but if it's necessary he'll allow someone to lift him (mostly ness or tony)

Distant relationship with his dad obviously. It gets a bit better but they never get as close as they could

Jeff modifies his chair to have rockets on them. Because it's fun!

Even after getting his prosthetics he'll still use the chair whenever he feels tired

As stated in my fic he hates the heat so so much. He'd rather run around in the snow butt naked than spend a minute at the beach

Okay that's enough Jeff sorry for the favoritism <3 pu time!!

I spell his name as Pu thanks to mysthlarey (thank u bestie)

Probably very stressed. It's hard being the newest king and also 14

His hair is shaved on the sides and tied into a long braid. No reason behind it he just likes it that way tbh

Despite his resting-mean-boy face, he's super sweet under that Princely attitude! (He's got a lot on his shoulders, it's hard to relax)

Much like in game he's very . Uh. Physcially weak. Most people don't expect that because of his "fighter" look, so they don't usually mess with him

He's a picky eater bc of sensory issues. What do you MEAN you guys can eat rice? Yuck! (It tastes fine, but the feeling is .. bad. very bad)

Water enthusiast :) often the one to remind Ness (water hater) to drink some water

Tallest of the group (sorry jeff)

Funnily enough he doesn't grow once he hits his current height. Sooner or later Paula matches him in height and he finds it p funny

Uses his future kingly status to mess around with his friends. (Ex: DEAR NESS. THIS IS THE KING OF DALAAM. COME OKAY WORLD OF WARCRAFT WITH ME OR ELSE I WILL START A WAR WITH EAGLELAND. signed ur bestie xoxoxox :) )

bonus time oh goodness oh me oh my! Random character's!

Tracy uses she/they

Picky uses he/they. they match!

Picky loooves spiders (<- he doesn't know about pokey)

Tony's family actually live in Scaraba- they sent him off to Winters since it has the best school in the 3 major continents (he was eligible, so why not take the chance!)

Pokey and Ness liked to draw comics together :) they're probably super cringey now

Picky, Tracy, Ness, and Pokey all used to walk to school together. Sometimes pokey had to carry picky since he was half asleep

Ness doesn't actually eat trash burgers okay it was ONE TIME you can STOP BRINGING IT UP POKEY

pokey needs glasses due to his bangs fucking up his vision. will he ever get them? probably not

aloysius minch is bisexual. win I guess

[cagemasterfantasy]

Abra the Psi pokemon a psychic type

2ft 11inc

43lbs

Ability: Synchronize or Inner Focus

Egg Group: Human-Like

Highest Base Stat: Special Attack:105

Lowest Base Stat: Defense:15

Base Stat Total: 310

Sleeps 18 hours a day. If it senses danger, it will teleport itself to safety even as it sleeps.

At level 16 it evolves into Kadabra the Psi pokemon a psychic type

4ft 3inc

124.6lbs

Ability: Synchronize or Inner Focus

Egg Group: Human-Like

Highest Base Stat: Special Attack:120

Lowest Base Stat: Defense:30

Base Stat Total: 400

Many odd things happen if this Pokemon is close by. For example, it makes clocks run backward.

Trade or use a Linking Cord to get Alakazam the Psi pokemon a psychic type

4ft 11inc

105.8lbs

Ability: Synchronize or Inner Focus

Egg Group: Human-Like

Highest Base Stat: Special Attack:135

Lowest Base Stat: Defense:45

Base Stat Total: 500

A Pokemon that can memorize anything. It never forgets what it learns—that's why this Pokemon is smart.

Mega Alakazam the Psi pokemon

3ft 11inc

Ability: Trace

Highest Base Stat: Special Attack:175

Lowest Base Stat: Attack:50

Base Stat Total: 600

It's adept at precognition. When attacks completely miss Alakazam, that's because it's seeing the future.

[beelzebuddy-catan]

The Not Entirely Human-Human Exchange Student pt. 15

Summary: Cass and the brothers learn how Lucifer and Styx know each other and why Diavolo was reluctant to call Cate from the beginning. Warnings: Swearing, mentions of death and violence Spoilers: Up through Lesson 17 Characters: Cass (OC), Mammon, Levi, Satan, Asmo, Beel, Belphie, and various OCs. Notes: I always thought Mammon would be more upset about Belphie attacking MC than in the game. Plus, Diavolo definitely has over-reactions as a spoiled prince. Previous Part • Next Part

Beel was giving Asmo a piggyback ride as he carried a still sleeping Belphie. Levi had his arms slung over Satan and Psi’s shoulders as they helped him walk back. Given his state, Cass wasn’t sure how much help Satan actually was. Cass was tasked with making sure Mammon didn’t run off.  

“Hades and I used to go out just to challenge demons to drinking contests,” Psi laughed watching Cass. She’d hooked a finger in Mammon’s beltloop to pull him back since he kept batting her hand away from his arms. “One of the few benefits of being a Neph.” Cass didn’t miss the tinge of melancholy in his voice at the second sentence.  

“Is it strange being back?” 

“A little,” Psi shrugged the best he could with Levi’s weight on him. “It’s more hard than strange. It brings back some less than pleasant memories. Especially since I didn’t spend much free time down here without Hades.” 

He paused while Cass struggled to stop Mammon from getting his arm stuck in the sewer gate. No matter how many times she’d been around the brothers drinking, you were always surprised how much control over their sins they lost. Only after promising to give Mammon the coins in her pocket did he abandon the one he’s supposedly seen in the drain. 

“I probably should have asked before now,” Psi said once they had begun walking again. “But does it bother you that we’ve been calling you Kore?” 

“I guess I haven’t really thought about it. I’m not particularly attached to either name. Diavolo just happened to call me Cass when I arrived and since I didn’t have any memories, I went with it. I don’t really mind if you all call me Kore.” 

There was no way they’d be making it to class today. Why Cass thought they’d gotten to the end of the secrets hidden between the brothers, she’d never know. After Styx, formerly known as Aeshma, and Cate, or Hecate, realized Cass was the Nephilim in the exchange program, chaos broke out in the chambers. Finally, after what felt like hours, they were able to get to some level of mutual understanding.  

During the Great War between the Devildom and Celestial Realm, there was an increase in Nephilim births. While most were killed, the surviving Nephilim concealed their identities. Epi and Asclepius had remained on Earth, living amongst humans. Others, like Charon, lived outside the three realms, existing in places like a reaper’s home or the docks. Some, such as Moirai, were known to be alive, but had not been seen since.  

The Titan Project turned out to be something created by demons in an attempt to control Nephilim. After the first war, most members had died, and it was thought to have ended. Before the brothers fell, there had been an increase in Nephilim births once again.  

It was discovered that two of the Demon King’s former council had been part of the resurgence of the Titan Project. The two had been sentenced to the underworld but kidnapped a Nephilim in the process. Aeshma had convinced the Demon King to retrieve the Nephilim.  

Upon leaving the underworld, Aeshma’s spirit had been torn apart so violently she almost died. Apparently, when a demon was forfeited, it meant their spirit had been destroyed to a point near death. A forfeited spirit shouldn’t be possible to bring back, nor should it be able to pass on, leaving the fragmented pieces in a sort of hellish limbo.  

The Demon King laid the pieces of her spirit to rest in the river Styx, knowing it was the only place to bring her any relief from suffering. It was at that time Barbatos and Solomon were tasked with helping hide the identity of the remaining Nephilim, both to protect them and prevent additional unrest from the scandal on the Demon King’s council.  

Upon falling, Lilith and Lucifer had both fallen into the river when they entered the Devildom.  When Lilith had fallen, Aeshma’s spirit had apparently been able to summon enough power to stop the angel from drowning. She’d been prepared enough to catch Lucifer as well. Because she’d been more prepared, and he hadn’t been in the river as long, Lucifer’s injuries were not as severe. 

Cass recalled the memory of Lucifer pleading for Lilith to be saved and how both of them had looked as though they’d just been pulled from water. It seems the river had saved the lives of many who passed through the waters.  

It wasn’t long after the two had been saved that Nadia had been summoned by Cate, who had apparently raised Cass, to revive Aeshma. According to the others, it should have been impossible. If anything, it lent support to Solomon’s claim of the necromancer’s abilities.  

Though she didn’t remember the event, Cass had gone to see Charon at some point in the past. Apart from Charon, the last time anyone had seen her was when she departed for that trip. Until Barbatos pulled her to the future, that is.  

The only Nephilim who knew the true reason was Hades. He hadn’t told anyone however, keeping his promise to Cass. It wasn’t long after Cass’s disappearance that Hades had vanished as well. Which left three questions nobody was able to answer: why had Cass gone to see Charon, what happened after she met him, and who had applied for her to be an exchange student.  

After covering that information, Cass told the Nephs about her time in the Devildom. A long silence followed before Diavolo decided to call the meeting to an end. He requested the Nephilim stay in the Devildom, or at the very least, return that weekend to further discuss how to proceed.  

“Kore,” Psi called as they were walking from the chambers. “Why don’t you join us for dinner? Styx’s favorite restaurant is still in business, so we figured we try it.”  

“Sure!” Cass agreed without much thought. She still had a few questions for the Nephilim that didn’t seem relevant enough to bring up during the meeting.  

“Do you think the Admiral could join us?” Psi whispered when she was close enough.  

Cass laughed at the request. “Levi,” she called out, gesturing for him to come over. He seemed hesitant to approach her with the others near, not that you blamed him after what Epi had done to Mammon and the way Styx and Cate had even made Diavolo falter. “Will you come to dinner with us?”  

“Me?” He stammered with wide eyes.  

Psi’s immediately corrected his posture in Levi’s presence, moving to salute him. There was a brief moment where Levi’s eyebrows furrowed before he returned the gesture. Much like Psi, Levi’s posture became perfect as he fell into the proper role.  

“It’s an honor to meet you Admiral,” Psi said, shaking Levi’s hand. Levi looked as though he was trying to remember where he would have met Psi before. “Back when Nephilim resided in the Devildom, I served under Admiral Yam.”  

Cass watched the two with fascination. She couldn’t believe how easily Levi put aside his anxiety and self-depreciation when it came to his position, especially how quickly that resolve crumbled when it was just him and his family or Cass.  

The calm confidence he exuded reminded Cass of the day they made a pact. How he’d gone spiraling in self-pity to picking her up without a second thought. Cass flushed at the memory, forcing herself to look away. 

“Have you seen him in uniform yet?” Cass jumped at Asmo’s question, not realizing he had approached her. She shook her head. “That’s a shame. I’m not even mad about him wanting to meet Levi now, because we got to see him like this.” Asmo sighed fondly looking at Levi. 

“It makes me uncomfortable when you act this way about your brothers.” 

“I like looking at attractive things, I can’t help that includes my dashing older brother in uniform.” 

Both Cass and Levi shot Asmo an incredulous look, hoping he’d stop. Despite earlier tension between the Nephilim and demons, it seemed that they may get along better than expected after all. Satan was speaking with Styx. From the little Cass could pick up, they were complaining about Lucifer. While Belphie looked like he was sleeping, his shoulders moved with laughter once and a while.  

Mammon was the only one who seemed too afraid to approach the Nephilim. Barbatos had joined Lucifer and Diavolo at the head table. Judging by their expression, it was a continuation of the serious conversations from earlier. While he wasn’t participating in the conversation, Mammon hung near them, glaring at Cass from across the room.  

“Did you say you were going to dinner?”  

Cass laughed at the pout Beel gave her. Clearly, he was asking to join and if they could head out already. “I did. Is it okay if we all go?”  

Psi shrugged, unbothered by the idea of having the others joined. Epi’s eyes landed on Mammon. “Are you sure everyone wants to join?” He asked, a smile tugging at his lips. 

“He just doesn’t like that she has other friends,” Belphie gestured to Cass, finally getting up.    

“And he’s probably still afraid.”  

“I ain’t afraid,” Mammon yelled from his spot next to Lucifer.  

“Then come on, we’re going to eat,” Cass answered. “Do you care if I invite someone else? I have a feeling they’ll want to see Styx.”  

Cass thought back to her conversation with Diavolo at the castle. If Styx had to go into hiding after being resurrected, she probably wouldn’t have had any contact with her family in the Devildom. If Diavolo was correct about Preta’s relationship with their aunt, they’d probably want to know about her existence sooner than later.  

Mammon and Cass were the last ones who were going to eat to leave the room. Before she stepped through the doorway, he pulled her backwards into a hug. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, taking a few deep breaths.  

Cass reached up to fluff his hair before speaking. “Are you still shaken up from earlier?”  

Mammon didn't let her go, only moving his head enough to answer her. “Just give me a minute, please?”  

There was something desperate in his voice that broke her heart. It was too similar to his voice when he thought she was dying, when he begged her to stay alive. She closed her eyes, letting him take the time he needed as she reminded herself that she was safe.  

--- 

The restaurant Styx had suggested was Inferno Impressions. Surprisingly none of the brothers had been to the restaurant either. In fact, Satan was the only one who had even heard of it. Apparently, it was owned by the same demons as Ristorante Six.  

There was a small art gallery that Cass had visited with Satan a few months ago on Abyssbred Court. In the very back, there were two statues. Cass remembered them from when she first visited. Satan had thought it was strange how she spent so much time looking at them. Even then, something felt off about the statues. Compared to the rest of the artwork they looked too plain.  

Without hesitating, Styx marched up to the statues. Her hand brushed over one of the heads, pushing it over as she did. Satan jolted, going to stop it from falling, only to realize it operated like a hinge. The wall behind the statues swung open, revealing a long stone hallway.  

Cass peered down the hall cautiously, the feeling of déjà vu setting in. She wasn’t sure if it was because she’d been here in the past or if it was because the stone walls looked a little too much like those in the underground labyrinth at the castle.  

Styx and Cate didn’t even pause their conversation as they entered the hall. The former demon waved her hand halfheartedly as they passed a torch, the fire lighting immediately. The other Nephs didn’t seem too phased either as they followed closely behind them. Cass gestured for the brothers to go, concerned they may try and bail.  

As she walked down the hall, a sense of magic filled the air. No matter how far they walked, the end of the hall was the same distance. The electric buzz she’d come to associate with magic grew stronger and stronger, when suddenly it vanished along with the hall.  

Cass turned around, surprised to find they were now in front of a host stand in a garden restaurant. Behind them was an ornamental gate serving as the only door. Much like her room in the House of Lamentation, the restaurant used lights to resemble daylight.  

“Wow, this is beautiful,” Cass said as they took their seats, “I can’t believe I didn’t know about this.”  

Before sitting, Asmo had dragged Mammon away from the group, forcing him to take pictures around the restaurant. Mammon only grumbled slightly, already used to Asmo’s impromptu photo shoots. She already knew he’d been taking a few pictures of his own for Devilgram.   

Cass looked at the others only to find herself seated across from Styx and Cate. As the two stared at her in silence, she understood on a small level what Diavolo had felt standing before them. She busied herself by reading over the menu, trying to ignore the feeling of their staring.  

“So,” Cass finally said, unable to take the silence, “Solomon, who I think you’ve met, said that Lord Diavolo hadn’t wanted to get you involved at first. If you’re kind of point of contacts for Nephilim, why was he so hesitant?” 

“I can only assume it’s because he knew how I would react,” Cate answered.  

“Oh, what were you going to do?” Cate didn’t answer, looking bewildered at Cass’s question. “Wait, you think he was worried about you,” Cass paused, trying to figure out the best word, “scolding him?”  

“His father and Barbatos were entirely too soft on him growing up, if you ask me,” Styx scoffed, “he never did like being told no and practically threw a tantrum if he so much thought he might get punished.” 

Cass couldn’t help but smile at the thought of a young Diavolo hiding behind the Demon King or Barbatos when he was in trouble. It wasn’t all too surprising given what she knew of him, from others’ reactions when Cass disagreeing with him, to the brothers not feeling completely comfortable around him. Considering the events with Belphie, it’d be stranger if he wasn’t like that.  

“Still to avoid contact you over it,” Cass laughed.  

“How have you been, Kore?” Styx asked.  

Ever since they left campus, she seemed completely different. Any anger she felt towards Diavolo was gone, or at least hidden, and without Lucifer around, she seemed content with everyone’s company. This was the being she imagined when Diavolo spoke of her at the castle.  

Before Cass could answer, Belphie’s head slammed against the table. Everyone turned to see Preta standing over him. Judging by his disorientation, Belphie had been holding his head up as he slept and woken up when Preta pushed his arm away.  

“I heard you tried to kill Cass. That’s bold.”  

“Are you fucking – how? How is it so many demons like you?” Belphie asked, staring at Cass in disbelief.  

“Preta?” Styx stood, moving towards the demon.  

“Ae-Aeshma?” Preta’s eyes widened. “How? You were forfeited.”  

“I’m so sorry,” Styx whispered, pulling Preta into a hug. “I couldn’t tell you.”  

After the initial shock of seeing each other passed, the two stepped to the bar to catch up in private. While the others went back to their previous conversations, Cate continued watching the other two for a minute longer.  

“You invited Preta,” Cate said, not looking away from the bar.  

“I did,” Cass answered, “sorry for not checking first. Diavolo mentioned that Preta had a really hard time after Aeshma was forfeited.”  

“No need to apologize. I’ve known Styx for a long time, and I think her only regret may be leaving Preta. Thank you.”  

Cass watched Cate, trying to understand her better. Unlike Styx, her demeanor hadn’t changed. Even though Cass knew she cared about Styx, her expression was still devoid of emotion. It seemed that the only thing that changed was her tone of voice.  

“How long have you known Styx? You must have known her when she was on the Demon King’s council if you went so far has to have her revived.”  

“I’ve known her since she was born, though I wasn’t that involved with affairs in the Devildom at the time. It wasn’t until Oriens recommended me as a council advisor did I get to know Styx.”  

“Oriens?” 

“The former Demon King. He’d wanted me to serve on his council at first.”  

Cass tilted her head, looking at Cate more intently. It seems odd that a demon who’d been around that long would not be involved with the Devildom. Though, she did end up disappearing again after the last council disbanded.  

“From what I remember,” Satan chimed in, “it was quite controversial when you were approved.”  

“Almost as controversial has having six former angels.”  

Satan chuckled at the response, shaking his head. Cass looked between the two before asking, “what was controversial about it?”  

“Hecate was the first, and only, council member that wasn’t a demon. The House of Lords didn’t approve her when Oriens first proposed his selection, which is why he recommend the current Demon King elect her.” 

“Working with a reaper proved to be much easier than I expected,” Styx said, taking her seat once again. 

Preta joined Cass on the bench, pushing her closer to Satan in the process. “Sorry, did you say reaper? As in the grim reaper?  

“One reaper named Grim causes problems in the Human Realm,” Cate muttered.  

“She’s a reaper that collects both souls and spirits,” Preta explained. “Some reapers only collect the souls of humans, spirits of demons, or grace of angels.”  

“What happens when an angel falls and loses their grace, do you do something?”  

The former angels seemed to fall quiet at her question. Cass hadn’t thought about what happened after the brothers fell or how grace and spirit really worked. Lilith had retained some of her grace after falling and even given it to Cass.  

“Technically, they still have their grace,” Satan answered. “It wasn’t lost so much as it was corrupted.” 

Cass looked between Satan and the other brothers. “Can a demon’s spirit be uncorrupted or purified or something?”  

“What does it matter?” Mammon asked. “None of us would go back anyways. Satan, switch spots with Cass so we can sit by each other.”  

“Absolutely not.”  

Part of Cass suspected that Mammon was being a little pushier than normal to distract from the previous conversation. She let the moment pass knowing she could always look into it later. During her time in the Devildom, Cass had learned that while the brothers were open about their time as angels, they shut down when the topic drifted to their rebellion or fall.  

She did wonder if it would become easier now that everything with Lilith had come to light. Cass sighed, knowing that even if they were more open to talking, she’d still be fighting tooth and nail to get them to open up. Deciding they’d burn that bridge when they got to it, she opted to spend her energy stopping Preta from stealing food off her plate.  

--- 

The group dispersed after leaving Inferno Impressions. Styx had gone with Preta to catch up while Cate had only given a vague response when asked where she and Nadia were going. Hera and Epi were going back to the human world, leaving Psi to find a place for the night.  

Cass ended up inviting Psi back to the House of Lamentation. Despite him waving her off, she was worried he wouldn’t find somewhere on such short notice. Fortunately, he relented because Cass wasn’t sure she’d have been able to get all the brothers back given how much they drank.  

Beel was giving Asmo a piggyback ride as he carried a still sleeping Belphie. Levi had his arms slung over Satan and Psi’s shoulders as they helped him walk back. Given his state, Cass wasn’t sure how much help Satan actually was. Cass was tasked with making sure Mammon didn’t run off.  

“Hades and I used to go out just to challenge demons to drinking contests,” Psi laughed watching Cass. She’d hooked a finger in Mammon’s beltloop to pull him back since he kept batting her hand away from his arms. “One of the few benefits of being a Neph.” Cass didn’t miss the tinge of melancholy in his voice at the second sentence.  

“Is it strange being back?” 

“A little,” Psi shrugged the best he could with Levi’s weight on him. “It’s more hard than strange. It brings back some less than pleasant memories. Especially since I didn’t spend much free time down here without Hades.” 

He paused while Cass struggled to stop Mammon from getting his arm stuck in the sewer gate. No matter how many times she’d been around the brothers drinking, you were always surprised how much control over their sins they lost. Only after promising to give Mammon the coins in her pocket did he abandon the one he’s supposedly seen in the drain. 

“I probably should have asked before now,” Psi said once they had begun walking again. “But does it bother you that we’ve been calling you Kore?” 

“I guess I haven’t really thought about it. I’m not particularly attached to either name. Diavolo just happened to call me Cass when I arrived and since I didn’t have any memories, I went with it. I don’t really mind if you all call me Kore.” 

They arrived at the House of Lamentation before Cass had time to ask any other questions. They managed to get each of the brothers into their respective rooms. Mammon took more convincing than the others, though Asmo probably would have been worse if Beel hadn’t been the one to take him.  

Cass and Psi ended up in the gardens sharing another drink, neither ready for bed. There was a slight breeze, reminding her that colder months were approaching. The moon seemed to shine especially brightly in the cloudless sky.  

“If I’m overstepping, let me know, but why is it that Hera reacted the way she did with Diavolo?”   

Psi sighed, a rueful smile gracing his features before he continued. “You know how we were talking about Underworlds, Terras, and Olympians? Hera used to actually be fairly in tune with her inner demon spirit. More so than a lot of Nephs. The more in tune you are with that, the more you give into different urges and the more you’re able to tap into different powers or abilities demons have.”   

“Did she have a special gift or power?” 

“I’m not sure I’d call it that, but she’s a gifted empath.” 

“I’m assuming something caused her to resist those desires?” 

“Yeah, it was after Nephs started being targeted. Because she was so connected with that spirit, her skills were kind of amazing. Don’t tell her I said that,” he laughed. “But I think it caused her to feel everything so much deeper than a lot of us. She hasn’t really been the same since Ariadne died. She fights that side of herself more than anyone now.”  

Cass recognized the name but couldn’t remember specific details about the myth. Even as she asked her next question, she had a feeling she already knew the answer. “What happened with Ariadne?”  

“She was tortured and left to die. By the time Dion and Hera found her, it was too late. Sometimes I wonder if it was what Dion went through more than anything that broke her. I doubt he’ll ever be the same either.”  

Psi stared out at the woods around the house, but Cass knew he wasn’t really looking at the trees. They sat in silence for a while, the stillness of the night providing a moment of reprieve from everything that had happened that day. There were a million questions that filtered through Cass’s head as she reflected on the events.  

She didn’t ask Psi though. As much as she wanted to know, it was probably painful for him to talk about that time. Even if they had known each other before, her missing memories created a barrier. She knew he felt it too, so they were both hesitant.  

Cass kept looking back at Psi, thinking about what Hera had said. Supposedly, this was the brother of her fiancé. Or, former fiancé, she wasn’t quite sure. For a moment, she wondered if things had been different, would she and Hades be sitting here? Would they have been married? Would she ever have met the brothers?  

“Something I was wondering,” Psi interrupted her thoughts, “the white haired one.”  

“Mammon.” 

“Right, Mammon. What did he mean by your first? He kept calling himself that.” 

Cass blushed, only then realizing how that must have sounded to the Nephs. A wave of guilt followed the embarrassment knowing how concerned they’d been about her and Hades as she was living a whole second life in the Devildom.  

“Sorry, he says that a lot. He’s my first pact,” Cass laughed, trying to dispel some of the tension, but it came out more awkward than she intended. “He’s always leaving off that part.”  

Psi’s eyebrows knitted together as he turned to look at her. “You mean first pact with a demon?”  

Cass froze. She’d forgotten about the mysterious pact Nadia had mentioned with everything else going on. Her hand went to her cheek, subconsciously touching the mark of an unknown being. She’d just assumed the pact had happened during the time she’d gone missing.  

“What do you mean, with a demon? Are you saying other beings can make pacts?”  

“Well, I don’t know if beings that aren’t demons can,” Psi contemplated the question. “But Nephilim can make them because we do have a demon spirit.”  

“What?” 

“I mean, we don’t make them the same way as demons, but there is a way to make them.”  

“WHAT?” Cass screamed.  

What if she had accidentally made a pact since being here? Would she know if they were different enough from the ones she made intentionally? What if there was someone out there who had taken advantage of her and could control her the way she was able to control the brothers that she was unaware of?  

“Calm down,” Psi laughed, as if her entire life hadn’t been flipped upside down once again. “Only Nephilim know how to make them, so it’s not like you would have made one since losing your memory.” 

Cass took a few deep breaths, trying to slow her heart rate. “But I have one that you know of then? With some random person out there?”  

Psi tilted his head in consideration. “I wouldn’t say Hades is some random person to you, even if you don’t remember him yet.”  

[deepspacedukat]

Who Reads The Mind-Reader? - Part One

I’m not tagging any of my usual suspects for this one, because this is a Babylon 5 fic. The people on my taglist are primarily here for Star Trek (or at least I think you are) so if anyone wants to be tagged for this (and possible future) B5 fic(s) or any of my ST fics, message me/send me an ask and let me know.

Originally posted to AO3 here.

~*~

G’Kar (B5) x Olivia Lane (OFC)

[A/N: There will be eventual smut, so 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI!!!]

Warnings: None that I can think of for this first chapter. Language, maybe?

~*~

“Ms. Lane?” A voice called over the station’s bustling crowd, and I turned to find an Eath Force officer giving me a warm smile. “I’m Commander Jeffrey Sinclair. Welcome to Babylon Five.”

“Thank you, Commander. I was just on my way to try and find you to report in,” I said giving him a polite nod.

“Well, I’m happy to have saved you some trouble,” he said taking a small step closer and offering me his hand. How odd. Most people weren’t comfortable touching telepaths, even when we were wearing gloves. I clasped his hand just as a man in a grayish-brown uniform hurried over. “Ah, just in time. This is my Chief of Security, Michael Garibaldi. Mr. Garibaldi, our second commercial telepath, Ms. Olivia Lane.”

“Nice to meet you.” The new arrival smiled and not-so-stealthily let his eyes wander down the length of my body. His thoughts were so loud that I couldn’t avoid hearing a few things he doubtless wanted to conceal. Who used the slang word ‘rack’ in this day and age?

“Mr. Garibaldi will show you to your quarters then escort you to see Ms. Win–”

“Commander!” A rough bellow drew our gazes to a Narn storming our way. “There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you. This is simply outrageous! Surely, you don’t mean to allow Mollari to get away with–”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, give me just a moment,” Sinclair said before turning to the raging Narn. “G’Kar, if you have a problem, we can discuss it in the council chamber. I will not have you accosting me while I’m welcoming a new resident to the station. Is that understood?”

The man blinked and glanced over at me, seemingly noticing my presence for the first time. His lips parted in surprise, and his shoulders relaxed by a small measure.

“My sincerest apologies. I hope that I have not given you a negative first impression of your new post.” His voice had lowered to a slightly more normal level from his previous irate shouting, and when his blazing red eyes skimmed over the Psi Corps badge on the lapel of my blouse, he looked at me curiously. “Perhaps I could buy you a drink to make up for my unseemly behavior, Miss...?”

“Olivia Lane,” I offered, and the corners of his mouth drew up into a small smile.

“Ambassador G’Kar of the Narn Regime,” he returned with a polite inclination of his head.

“As soon as I’ve got my bearings, I’d be happy to take you up on your offer, Ambassador.” Looking inordinately pleased and less tense than before at my acceptance, he turned to the Commander and gave him a sheepish sort of look.

“I trust that I shall see both you and Mollari in the council chambers?”

“I’ll go grab Londo and meet you there in an hour,” he confirmed, and the Narn walked off, seemingly satisfied by the answer.

“Never a dull moment,” the Security Chief muttered, and I couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “Ah, you’re laughing now, but just wait. He and Londo are constantly at each other’s throats. You’ll get sick of it eventually.”

“Ms. Lane, I should probably warn you about Ambassador G’Kar. He’s tried to proposition every telepath who’s boarded Babylon Five. If you do take him up on that offer of a drink, I’d recommend you keep your wits about you.” Commander Sinclair sounded a little worried for me, and while I was touched by his concern, I shook my head quietly.

“I’ll be perfectly fine, Commander, but thank you. Now, you were saying something about an escort?”

--

“Are you certain about this?” G’Kar’s aide was clearly skeptical about his latest idea given his prior two failures, but she dutifully watched him walk back and forth across the length of his quarters.

“Na’Toth, I know I haven’t had success yet, but that does not mean every attempt will be as fruitless as the first two. It only takes one ‘yes’ to give us the result we need,” he murmured as he paused in his pacing. “Besides, this new girl seems less prickly than Ms. Winters. She almost seemed amused by my anger. Courage is something we can’t hesitate to grasp at when we find it–”

“You just think she’s pretty, don’t you?” Na’Toth’s deadpan inquiry was met by a pair of widened red eyes.

“...She is quite attractive for a Human female–”

“You should know, you’ve mated with enough of them,” she muttered almost under her breath.

“–But that does not change the fact that this is our chance to reintegrate telepathy into the gene pool! My attraction to her, or lack thereof, is irrelevant,” he said straightening to his full height. His aide rolled her eyes.

“Yes, Ambassador.”

“Good. Then I shall propose the idea to her when I feel the time is right. I think my problem with Ms. Alexander and Ms. Winters was that I was too abrupt in broaching the topic. Perhaps a more subtle approach would yield better results...” He trailed off, thinking back to the amused expression peeking out from beneath her copper hair. It was slightly closer to brown than the station’s first telepath, but somehow that made her all the more alluring. If she agreed to mate with him, then he would have to allow himself the luxury of caressing it. As he mused, he glanced at the time. “Oh, I’m due in the council chambers. time to give Mollari the pasting he deserves!”

The Narn allowed his anger to filter slowly back into him as he turned toward the door of his quarters, but Na’Toth’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Sir, before you go, a word of advice,” she called. “I know you have an affinity for Human females, but...don’t allow this one to take up more space than she deserves.”

“Are you implying that I would let my emotions get in the way of my job?” His deadly quiet question cut through the room like a knife after a brief hesitation. Turning to face his aide, G’Kar gave her a stern look.

“No, sir, but Humans have an odd way of getting under peoples’ skin. It would be unwise for you to allow your guard down, especially given her abilities.” He hated that she was right, but he couldn’t admit that. He couldn’t allow himself to appear weak.

“I am Narn. It would take more than a few smiles from a pretty girl to win me over, Na’Toth. I would’ve thought that you’d have realized that by now,” he stated puffing his chest out slightly to project strength. She nodded her head in deferential acknowledgment, and the Ambassador swept out of his quarters. He scoffed as he strode down the hallways. A Human female worming her way into his heart? Ha! He’d never heard anything so ridiculous in his life.

--

“I think those are all the major areas, but if there’s something you need help finding, don’t hesitate to ask me, security, or one of the Earth Force officers. Some of the Ambassadors can be quite helpful, too,” Talia said as we drew to a stop outside a casino in Red Sector. “It’s good to see you again, old friend. I’m so glad the Corps decided to honor my request to have you here.”

“So am I. Ten years is way too long to go without one of our late night chats.”

“We’ll have to catch up once you’ve gotten some rest. Don’t think I didn’t see you yawning when we were walking through Blue Sector,” the blonde smirked as she spoke, but something caught her eye over my shoulder. “Uh oh. Here comes trouble.”

“Why, hello there, ladies,” a familiar voice greeted, and Talia rolled her eyes. Did she not like him? But he seemed so charming...in a dorky kind of way, of course.

“Mr. Garibaldi.” She ground the words out as if his mere existence bothered her. “Can you find your way back to your quarters on your own?”

“I’ll make sure she gets there safe and sound,” the Chief said, and Talia made her escape.

“Thanks, Mike,” I murmured, and he gave me a warm, lopsided smile. “I take it Ambassador G’Kar and whoever that Mollari person is didn’t come to blows?”

“Nah, with a little assistance from Jeff - Commander Sinclair - they were able to resolve their differences peacefully. More or less,” he said as we walked a little deeper into the casino. I assumed he was making his rounds, because he gave a few of the more raucous patrons a stern look. “Have you met the rest of the Ambassadors?”

“Well, I have yet to meet the Vorlon, but Ambassador Delenn was very cordial. So was her aide - Lennier, I think his name was. You know I’ve met G’Kar, but the Centauri Ambassador is also a no-show,” I rattled off, and the Chief nodded his head.

“I think I can help with that last one. Come with me,” he said ushering me through several groups of people until we caught sight of a man in dark purple finery. A green drink was perched half-empty between his fingers, and a scantily clad dancer was sprawled across his lap.

“What a fortunate man I am to have such beautiful company,” he growled as his lips split into a devious grin. Two sharp fangs served to make him look rather intimidating. My escort cleared his throat, and the man looked up. “Ah, Mr. Garibaldi! How are you this evening, my dear friend? And you’ve brought a charming young lady with you! Excellent! Join us, join us!”

“I can’t, actually, I’m on duty. I just thought I’d introduce you to our newest commercial telepath. If you’re busy, we can do this later...?”

“No, no, no, not at all! Run along, beautiful. I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes,” the Centuari murmured to his companion, and she slid off his lap and over to another table of patrons. The Ambassador stood and gave me a small bow. “Londo Mollari, of the Centauri Empire. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

I introduced myself, and to my surprise, the Ambassador lifted my gloved hand to his lips.

“The honor is mine, Ambassador Mollari,” I murmured, but he made a disapproving sound.

“I will not hear of such formality from you, Ms. Lane. Please, call me Londo. Forgive my curiosity, my dear, but has something happened to Ms. Winters?” He sounded genuinely concerned for her, so it was a happy task to set him straight.

“No, she’s perfectly fine. The Corps assigned me here at her urging. She was receiving so many service requests that she was having to turn down more jobs than she accepted. I’m just here to help lighten the load a bit.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I hope you will enjoy your stay on Babylon Five,” Londo said with a fanged grin. “If you will take some advice, I’d recommend you stay clear of the Narn Ambassador. He can be a bit...abrasive.”

Huh. First the Commander warned me about G’Kar, then Talia, and now Londo. Goodness, the Narn Ambassador had certainly managed to garner a reputation. I couldn’t help but wonder whether it was warranted. Sure, he’d been irritable when I first met him, but he was rather charming when he calmed down. The vibrancy of his spots didn’t help matters...

I mentally shook myself out of my thoughts just in time for Londo to bid us both good evening before walking off to go find where his lady friend had gone. Despite the cacophony of the crowd, I couldn’t help but acknowledge that this was going to be an interesting assignment, if nothing else.

~*~

@horta-in-charge

[thedrotter]

Giggles and kicks my legs. Soooo .. how about YOU make a headcanon post

OKAY!!!! i actually have. like a. insanely long list for my mother headcanons and have an uncomplete Google docs document on them because im insane but i will make it as short as i can by only taking about mother 2 LMAOOO so imma just add a silly read more thingy here because i am about to info dump so hard

Imma go character by character because ITS JUST CLEANER...

first off silly baseball child ness

Because I'm silly like that I woke up one day and decided he was trans masc. if ness or just any male protagonist in media (looking at you link) could make money out of the amount of people that made headcanons of him not being cis I imagine there'd be alot of cash coming in

I like to think of him as half-latino and knowing spanish because WHY NOT!!! and since every single latinoamerican breathes and cherishes goku HE NEEDS TO BE A DRAGON BALL FAN he would not be accurate latinoamerican representation IF HE WASNT A DRAGON BALL FAN!!!

Out of the whole group I imagine he tries to use PSI as little as possible in his daily life once the whole journey is over, for he is more comfortable living as a normal kid. WILL NOT HESITATE TO USE HEALING POWERS IF NECCESARY but otherwise avoids it (except telepathy on animals because i have this funny thought where he has unintentionally used telepathy his entire life and thats how he knows what animals are saying BUT THOUGHT THIS WAS NORMAL??? once he figures out its not a normal thing he avoids doing it as much with people but he cannot live without knowing what the dawg be saying...

the airhead in the group. he is mostly gut oriented instead of going by brains his brain mgiht as well be a burger

ALSO THE LOUD ONE a very empathetic and easy going boy that gets easily excited about everything and just likes having fun. which means every time he gets a semblance of a negative emotion he will proceed to numb it down and ignore it causing him to just accumulate it😰 LIKE HOW HE HAS TO BEAT DIFFERENT CREATURES AND ENEMIES in his magicant they appear and look down at him for hurting them WHICH MIGHT BE HIM FEELING GUILTY BY THE FACT HE HAS TO DO THAT AND I IMAGINE HE CAN ONLY PULL HIMSELF TO DO SO BY NUMBING THE GUILT DOWN... he's just like look lets lets just get this done😞 what goes on with Pokey ending up on Giygas's side also applies to this but i will not go on detail. because I am writing fanfiction about it and rather not spoiil it😊😊😊😊

the baseball fan ever that practices daily without missing a single day and basically drags Pokey alongside him

and since. i am NORMAL... he's an ENTJ 7w8. i have spent endless hours doing personality tests for these kids i am so normal about them

he has a crush on Paula (which she returns) but is too flustered to admit this so he pretends he is not catching on to her VERY VISIBLE HINTS (she enjoys getting him flustered shes silly like that) because he's nervous about it💀💀💀

anyway PAULA TIME!!!! i am insane so i have provided some backstory for her

I imagine that she awakened her PSI pretty early on and is very gifted around it, and since it is so rare she became very popular in the media at a young age and is essentially a celebrity child. She thought it was very fun initially but she feels pressured to keep a perfect image of herself for she is considered to be a role model which painted an image of someone that wasn't her. She feels very upset about this nowadays and has tightly held onto what is important to her and her true self as to not lose it in attempting to be someone else. She basically has some anger issues out of this because she has gotten used to people not really respecting her boundaries and not being very interested in who she actually is

SHE'S STILL REALLY CARING SHE GENUINELY ENJOYS HELPING OTHERS AND IS THE ONE KEEPING THE TEAM MORALE IN BETWEEN THE FOUR even when she tends to forget taking care of herself sometimes

so yeah she isnt really amused when she's kidnapped SHE JUST GENERALLY HAS LIGHT REACTIONS TO THINGS GOING SOUTH BECAUSE SHE BASICALLY KINDA EXPECTS THAT? despite how much optimism she spreads around she's quite the pessimist (though never voices those thoughts) so she feels very drawn in when Ness is actually genuinely optimistic about everything

loves cute things so much she needs every single big plushie she finds IMMEDIATELY. kirby merch hoarder

generally a sweetheart but very bold and feisty not as much as Kumatora is but she is

if she was in the modern era she'd be a gamer and live breathe minecraft she would be the type of person that gently explains things to her friends on one side but yells when a random stranger in her team is playing horribly

really excited over her frying pan she would have gotten a bat if she didn't think itd be cool if she could use her frying pan as both a weapon and something to warm food up in. like SHE WILL USE IT IN ANY CHANCE POSSIBLE TO FEEL COOL like "Yeah ... give me that cold slice of pizza imma put in the pan . ..." pk fire some random oil she keeps around for thiw specific purpose and there it is it makes her so happy

AS I PREVIOUSLY MENTIONRD SHES VERY STRAIGHTFOWARD ABOUT HER FEELINGS FOR NESS EVERYONE KNOWS IT SHE IS NOT TRYING TO HIDE IT AT ALL but does not directly confess because she likes teasing Ness. she finds it amusing when he gets flustered about it and pretends he isn't catching on

ESFP 2w3 hehehehehehehe

now Jeff he's my favorite out of the four so his is probably going to be stupidly way longer because he's silly like that

not the usual type of shy who hides from people and stutters a lot I IMAGINE HE JUST GETS REALLY AWKWARD AND SPEAKS AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE AND ENDS UP SOUNDING REALLY FORMAL BY ACCIDENT. He will respond to you just in very few words if some stranger suddenly starts talking to him he basically freezes up and fights internally to even say a word because he does not know how to do conversations

He's very knowledgeable in many different things and if you ask him about anything he'll answer VERY NONCHALANTLY AND SHORTLY AS IF HE DOES NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE SUBJECT WHEN HE IN FACT, DOES. HE SIMPLY IS NOT INTERESTED. but then you bring up inventions and guns and he will provide you a full rambling session with visual examples test runs different things to reference to for different concepts he's mentioning and every single minute detail. THERE HE ACTUALLY GETS EXCITED LIKE HE ISN'T SHY AT ALL THERE

cannot for his life comprehend social cues or idioms he takes things very literally and doesn't assume there's any hidden meaning HE'S BETTER AT THINGS THAT ARE LOGICALLY ANSWERED THAN ANYTHING SOCIAL. so yes Tony can accidentally drop a hint that he's crushing on him and DESPITE JEFF FEELING THE SAME WAY, he'll be like hm thanks tony cool I'm sure that is a very best friend thing to say i do not think there are any romantic implications here....

has an inferiority complex over the fact people credit his skills to be coming from his father (who he basically HARDLY KNOWS OR REMEMBERS SEEING PHYSICALLY BEFORE THE PROPHECY) and not to his own efforts!!! he's constantly compared to him and is expected to have the same amount of genius he does so Jeff tends to overwork himself at times to reach this standard.

has tested million types of coffee to see which one keeps him awake at night the best— but hates coffee! he prefers tea. friends assume he likes coffee because of how mcuh he drinks it he does not

oh yeah as i implied has a big fixation towards inventions and guns. he just thinks they're inteesting as hell he wasn't one to use them he just thought they were rad as hell and he WILL recognize specific ones if shown even a peak of one. he cannot live without being 100% up to date with every single type of gun in existence he needs to know all about them and understand how they work and does elaborate dissections into how they're built

even if shy once comfortable with the rest of the team he actually is one to occasionally tease them and joke around sometimes HE HAS THIS RELATIONSHIP WITH NESS WHERE THEY ARE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO ANNOY EACH OTHER without actually annoying in each other idk how you call it but they just playing around they silly like that

type of person who's face turns red at even the slightest embarassment it just happrns really easily

im not even gonna lie to you he's essentially me irl i needed a character to project myself into so i dont feel bad about not being good at social cues and at anything that is not my main interest

OH YEAH HE'S THE TALLEST HE'S VERY LANKY BUT HE'S THE TALLEST he's confused to be older than he actually is a lot of the time

i almost forgot— ISTP 5w4

NOW POO!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!

Initially took things very seriously and remained stone faced for a while but ironically became the one that made the most jokes out of everything and has a very contagious laugh— he still takes things more seriously than the rest and is the one that keeps everyone focused when it's important but is now able to relax a lot more

REALLY CHARISMATIC. LIKE HE'S AMAZING AT DEALING WITH PEOPLE EVEN IF HE PREFERS SOLITUDE.

loves animals and animals love him once found a dog and was very sad when he couldn't take him along in the journey... HE GENUINELY JUST SITS DOWN AND SPEAKS TO ANIMALS VERY CASUALLY LIKE hello sweet little dog. how are you doing on this fine saturday. awesome😊.. AND DOES MAGIC TRICKS FOR THEM😭😭😭 He's the disney princess of the group animals will just come to him and be nice to him birds sing along to this boy existing AND HE'LL BE LIKE OH, THIS IS NORMAL, while the rest of the group is just dumbfounded by rhat

i think he'd be quite tech illiterate as he spends most of his time concentrating on his training he really didn't pay much mind to technology (he preferred putting time into working on himself instead of wasting it trying to properly understand technology). BUT HE'S DOING HIS BEST HE IS INTRODUCED TO ARCADE GAMES AND THANKS TO FRIENDS BECOMES HOOKED he was a little lost but hes okay

becomes good friends with jeff because both felt like the odd one in the team at some point and come from very different backgrounds than ness and paula did THEYRE GOOD BUDDIES

He speaks multiple languages very well, but since english is not his first language he feels a bit lost sometimes when with friends. So doing his best effort he brings A WHOLE DICTIONARY WITH HIM AT ALL TIMES like these four will find a word not a single one of them knows and Poo will be there like. dont worry guys i got this AND PULLS OUT HIS DICTIONARY😭😭😭😭 DUDE'S READING THE ENTIRE THING TO PROPERLY UNDERSTAND HIS FRIENDS😭😭 picks magazines for english so he doesn't have to ask them every single time he's lost and to keep at the same pace they do

might be noticeable already but POO'S A TOTAL SWEETHEART HE DOES NOT MIND SAYING THE MOST SWEETEST AND CARING WORDS EVER KNOWN TO MAN and is very confused when one of the 4 cries in emotion because his words are very nice. THAT'S JUST NORMAL FOR HIM HE'S JUST LIKE THAT JUST NATURALLY VERY VERY NICE AND KIND no one can beat him on being very nice

Sometimes the only sane one in the group he is silly, but he balances the silly properly he knows when to save the silly for later

talking about him being good with people if you need to distract someone NO PROBLEM and he just does it really well DOES MAGIC TRICKS!!!! he likes doing his silly little tricks it's something he learned on the side from his training he loves seeing how people react to them

oh yeah the shortest and is confused to be younger than he is sometimes when he's the oldest in the group. basically Jeff backwards but Jeff isnt the youngest

...infj 8w9

NOW YOUD BE LIKE DAMN MICHAEL THATS A LOT OF TEXT ALREADY YOU SPENT AN HOUR WRITING THIS (yes its been an hour i think i i dont know ive been writing this since you asked when was it HELP) BUT I AM NOT DONE. I AM NOT DONE!!!

JUST JUST A FEW MORE FOR OTHER PEOPLE ASIDE FROM THE CHOSEN 4 BECAUSE i need an excuse to talk abojt tony he's my favorite favorite I could make an essay on his character

I like to think Tracy is super smart and is so smart that she's a few school grades (whatever you call um idk um school years?) ahead of what she would be for her age for it. EVEN THOUGH SHES LIKE 9 she's smarter than ness thats for sure and she mentions this but he's silly so he still needs to be the cool older brother regardless so he ignores that she's smarter GIRLIE GOT A JOB AND HE WAS LIKE TRACY WHAY ARE YOU DOING ON THE ESCARGO EXPRESS LIKE YOU ARE 9😭😭😭

i dont actually have any particular Pokey headcanon besides him being interested in tech because of mother 3 BECAUSE HE FEELS VERY FLESHED OUT ALREADY AT LEAST TO ME SO I DONT FEEL THE NEED TO DO AN ENTIRE BLOCK OF HEADCANONS FOR HIM I REALLY LIKE HIS CHARACTER THOUGH best i got possibly just enters theory territory instead

AND ABOUT TONY!!! like in the game he's a very earnest and good kid. I imagine he's seen as someone very sociable and easy to get along with to his peers LIKE HE WILL DO ANYTHING TO HELP EVERYONE FEEL INCLUDED and does an extra effort to get Jeff friends and for people to understand and like him like he be taking him to some of his other friends like. THIS IS MY BEST FRIEND!!!!!!! and theyre like Tony rhis is the sevenrh time you introduced him TONY IS THE MAIN REASON JEFF HAS ANY OTHER FRIENDS IN SNOW WOOD

tony sucks at science like really bad he's not good at anything scientific process like and would be bad at remembering them...IF HE DIDN'T TAKE THE EFFORT TO MANUALLY REMEMBER THEM BECAUSE JEFF IS THE ONE TELLING HIM. he be sitting there absorbing all that information and casually mentioning it here and there so Jeff gets really excited about it. ASIDE FROM THAT HE'S ACTUALLY GOOD AT MATH AND IT GAINED HIM A SCHOLARSHIP AT SNOW WOOD IN THE FIRST PLACE WHICH I IMAGINE IS VERY PRESTGIOUS

hes just a very hardworking kid in general THOUGH HE'S VERY CLUMSY AT TIMES. he's seen as the funny guy he cracks out jokes for everyone to laugh at people just generally like him a lot

sprta silly because lil dude is so honest and good natured he has to fight so hard to tell a lie. he's quite naive and easily forgives people WHICH OF COURSE HE'S LIKE 12 OF COURSE HE'S LIKE THAT BUT HE'S MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE

anyway im not makikg thisbany longer its already scary enough I AM SORRY. . .....I DID NOT WANT IT TO BE THIS LONG. . ..im very thankful you asked but ay the same time i feel obligated to ask for forgiveness at how long ive rambled for I just I just love this game I COULD DO MORE BUT NAW💔💔💔

[bluejaysandblackbats]

An Oyster's Pearl

Fandom: DC Comics

Summary: Shortly after moving in with Joseph Wilson, Grant Wilson makes friends with a fellow pledge for a fraternity. During this time, Grant grapples with realizations about his childhood trauma, his sexuality, and his relationships with his father and siblings.

Chapters: 7/?

Characters: Grant Wilson, Joseph Wilson, Rose Wilson, Dick Grayson, Slade Wilson, William Randolph Wintergreen, Original Character(s)

Relationships: Grant Wilson/Original Character, DickJoey

Additional Tags: University AU, No Capes AU, Angst, Deaf Joseph Wilson, Fluff and Angst, Romance, Grant Wilson has a Sexuality Crisis, Frat Boy Grant Wilson

Chapter Seven: Sleeping Dogs

The game was probably my best all season. Even my team noticed. I was on fire the whole night, and we won. Afterward, I took my contrast bath and nearly fell asleep in the tub. I shook my head to wake myself and got dressed before walking to the parking lot. Lixin offered to drive, and I nodded. He congratulated me on the game and didn't mind that I was too tired to speak. I took a cool shower as soon as I got home, and we had pizza for dinner. I introduced Rose to Lixin, and in my exhaustion, I forgot to explain that was my new nickname for him. "I'm Ken. Lixin is just what Grant calls me," Lixin explained. Joey and Rose nodded while I sat on the couch, eating dinner and doing my homework.

After an hour or so, I got ready for bed. Lixin showered and followed me. I fell into a sleep so deep I don't think I moved once. When I woke up, my body was pressed against Lixin's, so close I could smell his soap. Lixin woke up before I could move, and we met eyes. "Grant, are you cold?" Lixin whispered. I pulled away and lay on my back.

"Yeah... Sorry. I think I'm still cold from earlier," I lied. To be honest, his body felt so nice against my skin. He slept in a loose, thin fabric shirt and dolphin shorts. My bare chest against the fabric of his shirt made me wish I'd held on a few seconds longer. Lixin fell asleep, leaving me to think, and finally, I admitted defeat and got something to eat. Joey sat at the table, eating a bowl of fruit. "Is Ken sleeping in your room?" Joey asked. I nodded. "Where are you sleeping?"

"Next to him, why?" I questioned. Joey raised his eyebrows and offered me some of his fruit. "You're offering to share your food with me? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just that—. Well, you don't like to touch people. It doesn't seem like something you'd be comfortable with," Joey replied.

"I'm getting there... Lixin's a cool dude," I replied, "Joey, you've got tons of friends... Have you ever—? Nevermind."

"What?" Joey questioned. I shook my head and made myself a sandwich. "Grant, you had a great game today. There's no way they'll turn you down for Tau Psi after that."

"That's nice... Joey, you know how sometimes you'll ask me about my life when I left, and I get pissed off?" I asked. He nodded. "I'm starting to realize why I hate talking about it so much."

"Why?" Joey asked. I didn't answer.

The truth was, I was confused when I left home. I didn't know anything about myself, so I did everything the way Slade would've. I enrolled myself in a military school, and from there, I went straight into the Marine Corps. I did my four years active and four years inactive, but I always felt like something was missing inside of me. When I reconnected with Joey, I thought that emptiness would go away, but he came out to me and made everything so much worse. It wasn't his sexuality that I had a problem with. Hear me out. It was the fact that he seemed so sure of himself. I couldn't say anything about myself with certainty. I think Joey misinterpreted it as me being homophobic, but really I loved that he was happy. I was jealous because I didn't know how to get to that point.

Meeting Lixin made me realize that I never filled the empty space in my life with anything. When I met him, I felt like we clicked, like he was the missing piece. The only problem was I didn't know what that said about me. I never imagined a man would make me so happy. I always thought I'd find the perfect woman and settle down, and that would be the end of things. But Lixin awakened something in me that I didn't understand, and I couldn't shake the feeling that it would change how I defined myself forever.

Joey placed a gentle hand on my wrist, and I looked at him. He saw it. It was written all over my face, and part of me felt like Joey knew everything. He knew things I didn't know. "You see something, don't you?" I asked. Joey blinked hard, but I knew he was withholding something from me. "Joey, please."

"It's not for me to say... You're really messed up about this, aren't you?" Joey questioned. I nodded.

"I've been messed up about this my whole life," I answered. Joey wrinkled his nose and cocked his head. Real confusion. We weren't talking about the same thing. I finished my sandwich and washed my hands and dishes. Then, I returned to bed, and Lixin rolled over and draped his arm over my chest. Once the initial panic subsided, I held his arm in my hands and closed my eyes.

The weight of his arm eventually was enough to put me to sleep, and I had dreams of camping again. Except I was happy. Lixin was there, and we sat on a hill underneath the stars. He turned to me in the dark and ran a finger against my cheek. "Are you cold?" Lixin asked. I nodded, and he leaned over my face and kissed me. On the lips.

I sat up with a start, frightening him awake. I couldn't catch my breath as I tried to come to terms with what I'd dreamt. Lixin touching my arm to calm me down made it worse. I was more confused than I would've been had it been anyone else. I didn't know what to do, so I sat frozen and panting as he asked me if I was okay. I shook my head. He stopped touching me and leaned over the bed to get something from his bag. Finally, he came back up with a bracelet. "Smell this," Lixin whispered. I obeyed and sniffed it. All I could smell was lavender, and my breathing returned to normal. He touched my neck and nodded at me. "You good?"

"Yeah, sorry," I apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Keep the bracelet, by the way. I've got a bunch of them," Lixin yawned.

I turned to him and opened my mouth to tell him about my dream, but I couldn't speak. Lixin smiled at me. "How old are you, Grant?" Lixin questioned.

"Twenty-five," I replied, "Why?"

"I thought you were my age... I'm twenty-four," Lixin disclosed. He shut his eyes and started humming. I lay on my back, and it lulled me to sleep. I wondered if he did it on purpose. I was glad he did. I slept the rest of the night without a problem.

When I woke up for school on Wednesday, Lixin was asleep so close to me that I could smell my conditioner in his hair. I lay there in silence for a while, breathing him in until he took a sharp inhale. "Gotta get ready for class," Lixin muttered, "You wanna hit the bathroom first?"

"No, I'm good. You can go first," I replied. Lixin sat up and dragged himself out of bed, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Joey came in shortly after he left and waved. I waved back.

"You sleep with him dressed like that?" Joey questioned.

"If I drink before eight, will you drive me to school?" I asked. Joey raised his brow. "Hypothetically speaking..."

"You probably shouldn't have a drink before noon. It's not a good look," Joey replied, "Are you alright?"

"No, but I'll get there," I replied honestly.

[overx]

[To a certain father of twins]

Conflict laced the form of the figure standing before a shrine. It wasn't clear that the surface was a shrine -- looking more like a small, cozy, modest dining table -- or even what the deity it was connected to was supposed to represent, but they knew.

Blues always knew.

They bit their lip, hard enough to split the artificial skin.

...No. It was different. He was different. He wasn't cold laboratory lights and lies and terror and pain gripping their chest like a cage. To Rock, Xanti, and Psi, he was different. He was safe.

He was... a home.

Still, even laying their hand on the shrine left Blues' teeth clenching involuntarily. They didn't linger long.

But to the god with the sad, tired smile, to the god of a place to call home, Blues left one thing:

A worn book, its pages soft and well-loved with the passing of time, with the name "Thomas Light" written carefully on the inside of the cover.

If my Muse was a Deity, what Offerings Would you Leave at Their Shrine? My muse will react to whatever items you leave for them

This place is only a shrine to a select few. To those built by certain hands-- the same hands across so many worlds. Hands that build and shape again and again, as if compelled to create in every time, in every place.

In that way, it is the dwelling of a deity. A creator. A God.

A man.

A worn book sits on Tom's dining room table, amongst the clutter of various to-dos, and half projects. It hadn't been there last night, but it is no cause for alarm. It's not unusual for his children to leave him things in their comings and goings.

Aside from Xanti, most might stop by to check in without actually saying hello. Sometimes, there isn't time to socialize. Sometimes they leave him to sleep if the hour is already late.

Still they add things to the dining room table, to the kitchen counter tops, to the walls. Sometimes it's photos-- company for a man who can't travel, can't keep up as the years add on. Sometimes it's puzzles and trinkets, gifts to occupy his time when he's at a creative roadblock. Sometimes it's food, ingredients for a dinner they know he'd skip for work, ready made meals to really drive the point home, dad.

...and sometimes, it's a book. Always a personal choice, that one. An unspoken connection. A hope that he'll enjoy whatever is between the pages. That they thought of him, maybe even read the text themselves before passing it along. A secret bond between the two of them, a shared memory in inked paper.

It's to Tom's surprise that when he picks up the old tome, the handwriting inside doesn't belong to one of the boys. He'd grown so accustomed to their unique styles with so many missed visits like this. There is no note to accompany the well loved book, however, only a name. His name, etched carefully inside.

...he can't help but sit down at the table a bit dumbfounded, before turning turning the next page.

[x-mencomics]

The Uncanny X-Men #151 - X-Men Minus One!

Professor Xavier receives a letter from Kitty Pryde's parents. They are withdrawing Kitty from Xavier's school. They want to send her to another private school that happens to be run by Emma Frost, the White Queen of the Hellfire Club (see issues #129-131)! Logan says the Professor should telepathically force Kitty's parents not to do this, but he refuses, saying he will not do something that their enemies would do. Ororo thinks that the Professor should telepathically check that Kitty's parents are not being manipulated by the White Queen. The Professor does so, and it seems they are acting of their own free will.

Ororo drives Kitty to her new school. Kitty hates it. A staff person leads Kitty away and Ororo thinks that Logan may have been right - they Professor should have stopped this at all costs. Emma Frost appears and, reading Ororo's mind, agrees. Ororo is shocked to see Emma. But nothing else is shown, and we cut to Ororo telling Kitty goodbye.

Ororo drives away. But she suddenly swerves off the road and into the shoulder. She gets out of the car, quotes King Lear, Act 3, Scene 2, and creates a huge storm. It's almost as if she's just testing her powers and having some fun. She thinks that she has "never felt such glorious sensations."

Ororo gets back in the car and - you are not going to believe this! - she calls Sebastian Shaw from the car phone! She tells Shaw that Phase 1 is complete: Kitty is at the new school. She says she wishes she could be present when Miss Frost awakes to see the torment she'll be going through, whatever that means. Shaw says Ororo makes a delightful White Queen. Ororo says Phase 2 will begin at Xavier's school in a few more hours.

Back at Kitty's school, the REAL Ororo wakes up to find she's been locked in a cell and she's in Emma Frost's body! They've been swapped somehow!

Back at the mansion, somewhere out on the grounds, Kurt and Amanda Sefton share a kiss. Some backstory gets told: Amanda is a sorceress, like her mother. And her mother found Kurt as a baby, rescuing him from his dead mother's arms. Since then, he and Amanda have been best friends, and now, a little more than that, it seems!

EXPLOSION!

And, oh my god, it's a Sentinel!

Cyclops fires a full power optic blast from inside the mansion. Wolverine's outside shortly after that to help Kurt and Amanda back inside. And they better hurry up - more Sentinels are coming!

Sebastian Shaw is monitoring his Sentinels from the Hellfire Club. He says Harry Leland wants Wolverine alive.

Colossus comes outside and he's doing a great job against the Sentinels. A Sentinel blinds Wolverine with a super bright light, and the Professor is able to psychically be Wolverine's eyes. Cyclops is still shooting optic blasts from inside, and he asks how it's possible that Sentinels are back after the X-Men stopped Stephen Lang's project way back in issues #98-100. The Professor says he doesn't know, and then a Sentinel breaks a hole in the roof of the mansion and floods the room with nerve gas. Cyclops and the Professor are unconscious.

"Storm" (who is actually Emma Frost in Storm's body) arrives at the mansion. "Storm" pretends to help the X-Men but against the Sentinels but then she shocks everyone with lightning, planning to take them all to Sebastian Shaw.

Back at the Hellfire Club, the REAL Storm (in Emma Frost's body) breaks out of her cell. She struggles to control the White Queen's powers, and remembers back to Jean saying how difficult it was to concentrate in order to control her own psychic powers. Storm finds Kitty's room, but Kitty believes it is the White Queen and tries to get away. Storm stops Kitty with a psi-bolt and then fears she may have accidentally killed Kitty!