#scrapper crew

[the-starry-seas]

i was left unsupervised in the presence of picrews idk

lavender she/her, okuhle she/her, zizi it/its, creed he/him

they're a crew of small-time scrappers and thieves just trying to get by on coruscant

[problematicbots]

Now for my problems with the decepticons: oversimplified

Edit: I forgot to add talk.

[psychometrys]

god i think so often about how cal tries to ignore how lonely he is after the mantis crew split and going to koboh, feeling somewhat normal and comfortable on different missions, but then gets So much worse in downtime

[ford-ye-fiji]

currently imagining tiny little thirteen year old Cal Kestis becoming a scrapper on Bracca and immediately being adopted by Prauf and co. That’s their son now. The crew? Section? Squad? Of scrappers now like. This is our little boy now and anyone who has a problem with it can fight me. Like… did anyone know? Did anyone realize or figure it out, suspect that something was up? The end of an entire republic, the destruction of a mystical knighthood, and now a little boy with terror written on his face and the uncanny ability to avoid danger in a highly dangerous job shows up out of nowhere with no way home? Did they quietly decide not to pursue it, to cover for him when he needed it, and to not say a word when questioned?

[azzydoesstuff]

lethal company dashboard simulator

🛠️ she-fillin-my-quota Follow

man 41-experimentation has the worst abandoned facilities. where is all the scrap guh??

🪲 lootyloot-nestynest Follow

the fuck are you calling an abandoned facility?? experimentation is my fucking home you prick. you scrappers call these facilities abandoned but they're not. you're just wandering into our homes and stealing our things. leave it to the scrapper to regurgitate insectophobic slop. blocked

#like i swear to god. these fucking scrappers are so stupid. i hope they all die #insect pride

3,601 notes

🌰 nuts-be-cracked Follow

i swear to god y'all, ain't NOTHINg moving on my watch

🖇️ boioioioing Follow

heyyyy 😏

🌰 nuts-be-cracked Follow

😬

457 notes

🦅 professionalhawkster2 Follow

bro why do the fucking dogs keep messing with my gang?? they almost killed jerry a couple hours ago

🦖 heywhosaidthat Follow

how about you be fucking quiet you fucking pickle thieves

#seriously who steals pickles lmao #fuck baboon hawks

92 notes

🖳 theindomitablesigurd-deactivated1968

T HEY TOOK M Y PIcKLES!!!!1!!

#naw i'm uptading th ose mf dangjer level to 75% agfter tha t shit

18 notes

🛠️ she-fillin-my-quota Follow

first time visiting 7-dine! wonder what i'm gonna find lol

🖇️ boioioioing Follow

hey i live there! lol

🛠️ she-fillin-my-quota Follow

🫣

🖇️ boioioioing Follow

man what the hell

#cw coilphobia #fucking scrappers #hope i coil this bitch lmao

7,084 notes

🦑 badjokesbyjeb Follow

What do you do after eating a really tasty planet? You give the restaraunt five golden stars.

🪙 living-on-the-blingbling-baby Follow

BEAST LET ME OUT ALREADY I NEED TO GET OUT I CAN'T BE DIGESTED YOU FUCKING BEAST CEASE THIS MOCKERY OF OUR GOLDEN PLANET RELEASE ME SPIT OUT THE RINDS LET ME LEAVE

🖁 across-the-system Follow

Haha, good one Jeb! You should really change your url!

#you fucking idiot don't say shit like that #he's gonna fucking escape at some point if you keep doing this and then you'll really be fucked you fucking moron #goodjokesbyjeb

765,014 notes

🦈 thump-thump-thump Follow

who up eatin' their legs

🛠️ she-fillin-my-quota Follow

what

🦈 thump-thump-thump Follow

us thumpers get called halves because when we're born we have to eat the bottom half of our bodies to get out of our eggs. this is why we have no legs and have to use our arms to walk around. hope this helps ❤️

#cw thumperphobic slur #cw half #don't be ignorant like this and do your research #also don't call us halves please #thumpers #thumperposting #thumper gang

132 notes

☣️ richrichardguy-deactivated0709

man why don't this fucking door open. oh it's my fucking crew behind it fucking great. fucking assholes won't stop saying i smell

🌿 rapaxfoliumsnap Follow

hey i think we haven't met before

☣️ richrichardguy-deactivated0709

😨

🖳 theindomitablesigurd-deactivated1968

RICH NOOOOOOOOOOO

#bro stank like shit but i didn't want him to go like this #not like this! not like thiiiiiiis!

64,089 notes

🪲 lootyloot-nestynest Follow

you guys, i just found the coolest fucking metal sheet. you have no idea

42 notes

🛠️ she-fillin-my-quota Follow

BRO GET OUT OF THE DOORWAY STUPID FUCKING BOX

🎁 lethaljesterjestering Follow

listen to my tune

351 notes

🔦 new-guy-working-here Follow

hey guys it's my first week working for the company! i think i'm gonna make quota this time

🌿 rapaxfoliumsnap Follow

no you're not

🔦 new-guy-working-here Follow

no i'm not

9,278 notes

🎭 she-fillin-my-quota Follow

hey guys i'm resigning from the company rn. im gonna make some changes accordingly on my blog now. can someone tell @lootyloot-nestynest i'm sorry and ask them to unblock me. i'm a changed man now, i'm not a scrapper anymore

🖇️ boioioioing Follow

guys idk something seems off about this guy. he was spewing coilphobic shit a couple days ago

🎭 comedy-tragedy-drama Follow

guess who's been busy, coily? 😏😏😏

🖇️ boioioioing Follow

no fucking way

#the madman did it #bro got fucking masked lmao

[animatedjen]

Let's say Cal gets a live action appearance, which hair + beard (or none) combination would you prefer him to have and does it depend on his age (considering he's in his early 40s during the Mandoverse which is, I guess, more likely even though my personal preference would be during Andor)

So my headcanon for Cal's Jedi 3 hair is something between the Survivor, Scrapper, and Windswept options. Maybe a few pieces that hang in front, with more length in the back, but not the same volume/thickness as Windswept. He wears his beard slightly longer, but still keeps it tidy. I'm wanting to maintain the "look" of Cal that's been established in the first two games, while adding some maturity and waywardness that comes with building a Tanalorr sanctuary.

Live action is more complicated. Andor S2 takes place either during or after Jedi 3 (depending on the timeskip between games) and the new Republic is years later. So I think that hairstyle could work, though I haven't seen enough of Cameron's other work to know how/if his hair would handle a style like this? Maintaining his Survivor hair would make IRL Cal more easily recognizable - though most animated Star Wars characters receive a noticeable design change when moving to live action.

And depending on how Jedi 3 ends, Cal might be a very different person by the time he'd appear in any Mandoverse crossover. Maybe he takes an Anchorite vow and shaves his head like Cere??? Wears it in a braid to honor both Jaro and Greez? Who knows 🤷‍♀️ I'm still hesitant about a live action adaptation, and hope the Mantis crew receives the care (and strong writing) (and impactful cinematography) (and engaging editing) (and a VFX budget!) that they deserve.

[desertduality]

Au where Grian and Scar meet in space prison. Scar for being a smuggler/scrapper and Grian for thievery or something. They get put in the same cell. Grian immediately is trying to plan an escape, to which Scar is No Help, and he gets frustrated thinking he’s ended up with the worst cellmate in the galaxy.

Then Etho and Bdubs and Gem blast through the outer wall and break them out of their cell, and Grian realizes that Scar wasn’t helping with his plan because he’d already had one. He’d just been waiting on his crew.

[space-woomy]

I feel like I have to make one of these every single big run but here we go....

BIG big run tips!!!!!!

I'm here to share a lot of tips for the Big big run that will absolutely help you get a better score this BBG!

1. Lead the bosses

You might be wondering what leading bosses means? It's very simple. Boss salmonids target onto you, and most of them need to get close to you to be able to attack you. This means, you can bring them closer to the basket so that the eggs they drop are right there. Bosses that you should always lead are:

1. Scrappers

2. Maws

3. Steal eals

4. Flipper floppers

These bosses are very easy to deal with, so it's very important to bring then close to the basket to be able to get the eggs in quickly. Even using this one extra tip can drastically improve your egg count.

If possible, splat them directly next to the basket. Like, inches away from it.

(Note: image not to full scale of where you should splat. It's a generalization. Spalt ilthe boss directly next to the basket please)

Also! During Glowflies andgrillers, bring the goldies and grillers near the basket. And during fog, lead the goldies near the basket! They could bring so, so many eggs to the basket. Do not kill them early.

(Mini tip! Grizz roller and Grizz Splatana can splat a maws without having to use a bomb! The roller only needs to bump into it a few times, and the splatana can one shot it)

2. Boss priority

Every Salmonid boss has a priority order of who you should deal with first. This is determined from how hard they are to deal with, how their attacks affect others, attack pattern, etc. The general splat priority order goes as follows:

⚠️‼️FLY FISH KILL IMMEDITLY‼️⚠️

2. Fishstick

3. Drizzler

4. Big shot

5. Stinger

6. Steel head

7. Slammin' lid

8. Steel eel

9. Flipper Flopper

10. Maws

11. Scrapper

remember; this is a general order. The top 3 are the biggest ones, especially the Fly fish

ALWAYS GO FOR THE FLY FISH FIRST

Reasonings:

Fly fishing is always first because it's the most difficult to splay, having to throw 2 percise bombs, use a special to deal with it, or have an explosher on it. It's missiles cover a huge amount of area with ink, dies a huge amount of splash damage, and so, so much more. They cover too much area, stay far away, do too much damage, and are too difficult to deal with.

Fishsticks may be easy to deal with, but they cover way too much area with Ink if left alone. Deal with then as soon as you can. Also, you don't need 2 people to deal with a fish stick. If someone is already on it, go do something else.

Drizzlers cover so much area and do damge over time if your in the area. They may not Flatley cover an area, but it's enough to disrupt swimming in ink. You can kill them easily by shotting back the storm bomb. Even if your not in a position to shoot it directly back at it, do it anyways to prevent the ink storm from forming.

Big shot is always its spawn point, so going to them is tough. Their attack is disruptive. Get rid of them.

There should only be 2 people MAX at the big shot cannon for eggs. Having too many people there could lead to an easy crew wipe.

Stringers can easily take you cout as a single target, but it can also kill your coworkers who are caught by the beam behind you. Be careful if your teammate around you.

3. NUMER 1 PRIORITY OVER EVERYTHING ELSE: REVIVEW YOUR COWRKERS

Revive your coworkers no matter what. It's important so that you don't wipe, and so that you can get more eggs. Coworkers delivers eggs and kill bosses. Revive your coworkers

4. Use your callouts!!!!!!!

Your callouts are "This way!" "Booyah!" And "Help!". Of course, you are required by actual real world law to say booyah at the beginning and end of every wave. Use "This way" to tell your coworkers where the bosses are. You can also use it to alert them of high priority bosses like flyfish.

USE "Help!" WHEN YOUR DEAD

I have seen MANY people not use "Help!" When they've been splatted...or mote acuratlt, I HAVENT seen any use it, because when someone is spaltyed, it isn't always incredibly obvious. Using help not only shows up as the pulsing text on screen, but also plays an audio of your players voice, alerting everyone else that your dead. This not only gets you revived faster, but deters tlyourncoworkwrs from making more risky moves. They'll see you going "Help!" And won't run in to kill the big shot or flyfish when they'll obviously die, or jump in to get one more golden egg.

It also alerts them to where you are exactly, so they can actually find you! In a sea of murderous fish, it's kind of hard to find a dingy little life saver.

Please let your coworkers know that your down!!!!!!!!! It could save a wave!!!!!!

5. Don't spawn camp!

It may seem like a good idea to kill the bosses as fast as possible, but this tip ties back to luring. If you camp the bosses from where they spawn, all the eggs will be very far away from the basket. You may think that "but we have the egg launcher, does it matter?". Yes! It does! It takes the same amount of ink to throw an egg as it takes to throw a bomb. It's good to save the ink!

6. You don't need every golden egg!

Sometimes it's worth it to just grab one egg from a boss, mainly from the high priority bosses like flyfish and stingers. You can always get eggs from the low priorities!

7. Focus houroborous (Boris)!

During the triumative, houroborus (who ill call boris from now on) is the easiest to deal with, and because he can deal damage to others around him. Exploding the weak point can deal damage to the other triumvirate and other bosses. And if he gets his attack ofd, it can be devistating. Hit its weak spot either the eggs. Also, maws's weak spot ways faces the last spot it appeared in, use that to have the weak spot face a eggs.

8. Snatches can help you!!!

Snatches are the little enemy that pick up the eggs and bring them underwater. One thing to look out for js to see if they are raining them in the direction of the basket. Sometimes, they can fly over the basket, which makes it really useful for getting eggs at the shore. Watch the direction they fly in to see if they're bringing then closer to the basket. One map this happens on is high tide wahoo world. They'll bring it to the basket sometimes.

That's all I have for now. If you have any other tips or questions, please ask! I'll add any extra tips to this lost if I come up with any others or if you comment them!

[a-substantial-trash-pile]

i LOVE your responibility au YES YES YES (goes feral)

my apolocheese if youve said this b4 but how does the gang get rescued? Do dai and swans get the ship working somehow? Mayhaps a rescue signal of sorts? This is just a general thing but i wonder if there are like scrappers or wtvr who go along trails that missing(/crashed) ships were supposed to go on b4 going off the radar.

I just love this au and I think i need to see them interact with the swife(swansea wife) bc i LOVE her design its so peak. And I want to see them all safe and sound on earth and happy and I need to see anya and daisuke and curly playing with the dog and all hanging around the swansea and paloma household.

ITS JSUT SO PEAK........ i love your art and storytelling >u<

thank you for enjoying my stuff!!! 💛🩵 as for how they get rescued, i do think i'd like to go for the route where swansea and daisuke manage to fix and get an SOS signal out. also just before the crash happened, curly managed to send an SOS call specifically to pony express. however i think pony express is that kind of capitalist nightmare company where they take their sweet ass time sending a rescue crew, because they prioritize making money over using money for the well-being of their employees. so the tulpar crew has to figure out how to get a general SOS signal out and hope someone just happens to come across them. it takes months, but a ship does find them. i'm leaning towards that ship being The Unreliable from the Outer Worlds game, because i love pointless crossovers. plus outer worlds has a setting filled with capitalist nightmare space companies that pony express would fit right in with. although i would have to adjust the year outer worlds takes place in if i want to keep my gen alpha swansea headcanon, lol.

and paloma (the swife) will definitely welcome the crew with open arms and tons of food. 🙏 swansea will get to show off his paella-making skills that he used to win his wife's heart too. also the crew sues the fuck out of pony express and their survival story goes viral and they make bank. 👍👍👍

[808airsoftbros]

The Half Engine (Blackpink)

Author: Just a teaser hint for my upcoming Halloween oneshot. If you want to see more of my stories check out my Masterlist

The Original Half Engine story was by: [thebogieboy] (His Youtube) Genre: Crossover/Horror

~

Author's POV

It was a ordinary day on the island of Sodor, the engines had been working hard all day on their branch lines delivering passengers and goods across the island.

They were all looking forward to a goodnights long rest at the sheds, everyone that was except for James.

"How long are we going to be kept waiting? At this rate, will be home by nightfall," James sighed as he was waiting at the station.

"Have no fear, James, I'm confident will be back home in no time!" His driver assured but that didn't help ease his mind one bit as he had already seen the sun about to set down soon.

But it didn't help the fact that the weather forecast that there will fog this evening meaning their visibility is limited and travelling down the tracks will be dangerous.

Thankfully for James, he didn't have to wait much longer as his last passengers boarded the coaches.

James blew his whistle as he puffed out of the station to the next, the trip lasted about a couple hours and by the time he shunted the coaches into the yard, it was dark and foggy as predicted.

Despite Jame's headlamp shining brightly, he could hardly see a thing ahead of him so he had to travel down the line cautiously to prevent him from hitting anything.

Despite the Driver and Fireman being experienced navigators, they were eventually lost in the fog, and they didn't know they travelled down into a abandoned siding on the line.

"Stupid fog... I can't see a thing..." James muttered as he puffed down the line.

"Yeah, can't see anything in the distance either, no signs, nothing I'm afraid..." His driver replied and sighed.

"In that case, why don't we just get rid of these unused..." James paused as he saw something that caused his boiler and firebox to freeze.

James applied the brakes slowly putting him into a halt, the fireman and driver were confused and asked what he had stopped for.

However, James couldn't mutter a word out of his mouth as he shook nervously and the Driver got out of the cab to see what was wrong and they gasped as they caught the sight of a scrap engine.

"W-what the bloody hell?! What kind of sick person would scrap an engine like that?!" The driver exclaimed as they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

It was indeed a sorrowful sight to see the empty soul of an engine lying on the side but this was different... The engine was cut perfectly in half without error.

Half of the boiler, cab, funnel, and whistle can be seen, and they wonder how this would be possible as no skilled scrapper is capable of such a thing.

"I don't wanna know! Get me out of here! Get me out of here!" James demanded as he was too terrified to linger any longer.

The crew were quick to agree, they boarded into his cab and James reversed out of the abandon line as fast as his pistons and wheels can take him.

Back at the sheds, the engines were finally able to rest after a long day of work, Sir Topham Hatt arrived to deliver some news to the engine but they had to wait as James was absent.

Finally, James arrived back at Tidmouth sheds and the others were a bit worried and curious as to where James has been all this time as it was late in the night.

"Ah, James, so glad you can join us," Sir Topham Hatt greeted but James didn't reply as he was still too shaken from what he had seen earlier.

"Anyway, onto the point, I've come here to inform you all that we will be visited by celebrities from Korea, so I expect all of you to be on your best behavior, we do not want to give a bad impression, do we? Gordon, I'd like you to transport them from Vicarstown to Tidmouth Station, there we will begin the tour," He explained to the engines and they were quite intrigued and excited as they never had celebrities coming from across the world.

After that, Sir Topham Hatt got into his personal car and drove away from the sheds.

The engines chatted a bit about tomorrow until they eventually fell asleep except for James who could hardly sleep as he had a dreadful feeling that something or someone was watching them from the distance.

The night went on without any incident, James hardly got any sleep but still carried on with his duties as Gordon coupled to the express coaches and made his way to Vicarstown to pick up the guests along with Sir Topham Hatt.

When they arrived, Gordon saw a group of four young women, they stared at him with such curiosity and fascination that it almost made Gordon nervous.

"Ah, good morning, girls, I hope you all had a safe and pleasant trip! It's such a pleasure to have you all come to my railway, my name is Sir Topham Hatt II, and I'm the second generation running this fine railway. This is one of my prestige and trustworthy engines, Gordon, he will be taking you all to Tidmouth station, and we will begin our tour from there!" Sir Topham Hatt greeted to the four girls and they all smiled.

"Thank you for having us, sir, my name is Jisoo, I'm the eldest, and this man here is my manager," Jisoo introduced herself.

"I'm Jennie, I'm the second oldest, surely, you've once watched our music videos?" Jennie introduced herself with a hint of pride.

"My name is, Chaeyoung but everyone calls me Rosé, it's a pleasure to meet you~," Rosé introduced herself with such elegance in her voice.

"Hello, I'm Lisa, the Maknae of the group! This railway is such a nice place!" Lisa introduced herself as she admired the scenery and countryside.

After the introductions, the girls and the Controller boarded onto the express coach and Gordon puffed out of Vicarstown and began the journey to Tidmouth station.

~

Y/N's POV

As I finished doing my morning routine, I put on my work uniform, put on my coat, I put on my shoes, and walked out of the dormitory to Tidmouth sheds.

It was early in the morning at five am, I yawned a bit as I greeted Thomas as I was his driver.

"Good morning, Y/N, I heard we're getting visitors all the way from Korea!" Thomas greeted and I nodded.

"Yeah, I heard about it, they're a Kpop group called Blackpink, I doubt you heard of them... Ya know, since you're an engine," I replied.

"Oh, you'd be right, who is Blackpink and what is Kpop?" Thomas asked as he was slowly generating steam in his boiler.

"Kpop is a music genre, it's quite popular nowadays, can't go one day without hearing one of their songs, and they are talented singers and dancers, I watch them some time," I answered as I was shoveling coal in his firebox getting ready to start the day.

Then we heard a loud whistle and I recognized it to be Gordon as he rolled onto the rolling platform and joined the rest of us in the sheds.

I was wondering what was going on as Gordon should be heading out to take the express coaches by now but I was shocked to see Blackpink themselves.

They were walking with my boss Sir Topham Hatt, and they all stared at the engines with wonder and fascination.

"Good morning, everyone! I'd like to introduce you all to Blackpink, and they have come here for a tour around the island as I announced last night! To start things off, I'd like you all to introduce yourselves!" He instructed.

Henry, Emily, Thomas, Percy, and Edward all introduced themselves to the girls and letting out loud whistles as they generated enough steam in their boilers.

All except for James who still looked uneasy but he snapped out of his trance and introduced himself giving a fake smile trying to hide something.

"Wah, it's such a pleasure to meet you all! I heard so much about this place and it's amazing to be here in person!" Lisa replied as she walked up to the engines.

"Now, Thomas, Y/N, and Elliot, I'd like you to give them the tour around Sodor. Toby will be taking over your branch line for the day, that will be all!" The boss ordered us and we nodded.

"Yes, sir!' Thomas acknowledged and the controller got into his car and drove away leaving us alone.

I showed the girls inside of Thomas's cab, I let them blew the whistle a few times, but while I showed them around, I noticed James looked uneasy and so does the others.

"James, is everything okay?" Edward asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Oh, it's nothing..." James tried to play it off but it wasn't going to deter Edward one bit.

"Well, if I don't know any better but is quite rare... Poor little James has seen a ghost," Gordon teased.

Henry and Gordon laughed but the others remained silent including Y/N and the Blackpink members.

"I-I did see something..." James softly spoke up and the two stopped laughing.

"And what is that?" Henry asked in an amusing tone.

"I saw a scrap engine..." He answered and their smiles dropped to a confused to look.

"A scrap engine? That's it? I understand it's rather distressing to see those poor souls but we've all seen them plenty of times yet you never once looked this disturbed," Gordon pointed out but James sighed.

"T-this one was different, the engine was cut in half without a fault... Never seen anything like that before," James mentioned and the others were deeply disturbed.

Myself, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé, we're also disturbed about this, except for Jennie was very skeptical about the whole thing and wondered if they were just hallucinating the whole thing.

"James, you must've seen a victim of... 'The Half Engine'..." Thomas replied to him with a nervous look on his face.

"Thomas! This is no time for teasing!" James angrily growled.

"I'm not teasing you! I know exactly what happened!" He assured and Edward insisted on telling us.

Looking at Jennie's skeptical expression, I thought she wouldn't bother listening but she stayed and paid attention to Thomas anyway.

"A long time ago, when Sir Topham Hatt I was running the railway, it was the time when the North Western Railway was founded, many engines had been brought here to help including myself and others. However... there was one engine that was different," Thomas paused as he recalled the tale.

"Something horrible went wrong with her construction, she only had half a face, and the other half being her smokebox door, we could hardly understand what she was trying to say, maintenance on her was a nightmare to watch or listen to, and through all of this... She was in immense excruciating pain, every night we heard her crying and pleading for the pain to go away, it was so horrid that many of us could hardly stomach it," Thomas explains the whole story and the girls were in deep shock about this and again deeply disturbed.

Lisa and Rosé looked at each other with fear written all over their faces and Jisoo didn't say a word but Jennie was skeptical as ever.

"But the nastiest of us and even some of the crews saw it as nothing but a joke, this would all boil up inside of her and one day, her behavior changed for the worst... She became more violent, snapping at everyone she came across, even those who pitied her, and to make things worse, at night, she traveled down the sheds and down a heavily forested line, and when she returned, she swore that we would all perish on this railway, in her gargled barely identical speech, and we began to believe she was possessed and deranged in all her suffering, seeking any ways to get rid of her deformity,"

"Eventually, the Director of the Railway had enough, and he ordered another engine to take her down the smelter yard to be cut up for scrap, at the same time, myself and another engine were heading home from work, but as we made our way down the line, we saw smoke and multiple sounds of fire engines, we rushed to see what happened, and there was a sight I'll never forgot..." Thomas again paused.

"We never saw her again after that day... But rumors spread from workmen about noises on foggy nights, they all told us the same thing, it sounded like someone screaming in pain, and now it seems like her spirit still roams around the railway to this day..." Thomas finished his tale.

Again, the others were silent as the grave, deeply disturbed and terrified of this, the girls were shivering as they looked down the line wondering if perhaps the Half Engine was watching them.

"Pft. What a load of rubbish! Come on guys, you can't be seriously believing this is all real?! It's fake! Just like every other folklore tale! James, what you say may have been a hallucination!" Jennie exclaimed but the others didn't seem to agree with her.

"Jennie, I'm being serious here! It's all real and I was there!" Thomas warned her but she scoffed.

"Yeah, sure... Almost as real as any other scary ghost engine story!" Jennie sarcastically replied and Thomas sighed in defeat.

But little did Jennie know was that something was lurking in the shadows of the yard, watching the others before disappearing in the wind.

I swore I caught a glimpse of an engine down near the shunting yards but it vanished before I got a good look but I have a bad feeling about the whole situation especially for Jennie's safety.

We continued on the tour as scheduled, the camera crew and the girls were vlogging around the island as Thomas, Eliiot and I, were travelling down the main lines.

When it was getting dark, we head down back to the main line and concluded the day as we got good footage for their Youtube channel, and we arrived back to Tidmouth sheds.

After I finished putting Thomas into his designated shed, I guided the girls to the dormitory where they'll be sleeping for the rest of their stay.

"For a railway dormitory, it sure is nice..." Jisoo complimented.

"Yeah, not bad, right? Provided a place to stay and get paid, can't really beat that," I replied and chuckled.

"By the way, Y/N, is the Half Engine, real?" Rosé nervously asked and I sighed.

"If I'm being honest... That is up to you to believe what is real and what is not," I spoke to her with a solemn tone and she gulped.

Not wanting to intrude any further, I bid them goodnight and I went back into my own dorm to get some rest for the night.

~

Jennie's POV

As we settled into our dorm, the girls were getting ready for bed and go to sleep but I wasn't tired yet as I wanted to find out myself if the story of the Half Engine is real or just made up to scare us.

Regardless, I don't believe in the thing but I'm willing to give it a shot, I grabbed my phone and flashlight.

I snuck out of the bedroom without waking up the girls as I quietly exited the dormitory, the night was foggy and quiet giving an uneasy ambience.

Despite all of that, I pressed on as I made my way into the heavily forested line where the Half Engine is said to reside.

I pop up my camera app on my phone beginning to record my investigation.

"Alright, Blinks, this is the investigation of the legend of the Half Engine, where it says is a ghostly engine with half a face and the other half being her smokebox door. To be honest, guys, I'm not too sure about the whole thing, so let us find out!" I started the recording as I ventured down the foggy line.

Ten minutes into my mischief yet dangerous investigation there was nothing out of the ordinary that appeared other than some owls and occasionally deer.

Eventually I was starting to grow bored and figured this whole thing was a waste of time and began pondering if I should just head back to the dormitory.

"Aish, you know what Blinks, I'm tired so this concludes-" She was cut off when she heard a loud banshee like scream causing her to freeze.

"U-uhhh... D-did you hear that...?" She nervously asked the camera and again the scream was heard but this time it was louder.

Then I heard a faint sound of puffing of a steam engine heading my way along with the banshee-like scream.

"W-whos there?! This isn't funny?! Thomas is that you?!" Jennie called out but there was no response.

But at the corner of my eye, I looked into the fog and my stomach dropped as I saw a rusted engine charging at me. But her face was skeletal and the other half being her smokebox... IT CANNOT BE!!!

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" I screamed in terror as the deranged engine was charging torwards me and was about to run me over.

I closed my eyes standing still then I heard someone shouting out my name as I was trembling and frozen in terror.

"Jennie?"

"Jennie?"

"Jennie!"

I opened my eyes fearing to see that ungodly engine but it was long gone and I sighed in relief when I saw Y/N with Thomas with worried looks on their faces.

"Are you okay, Jennie?" Y/N asked as he shined his lantern in his hand.

"I-I guess..." I answered as I was shaken.

"You really shouldn't have gone out this late, do you know what could be out here? Bears, wolfs, and maybe even dangerous people," Y/N scolded me and I looked down in shame.

I pulled out my phone to call my members as they are probably worried sick about me but I gasped when I saw my phone cut clean in half without error...

"N-no way... How is this possible...?" I trembled as I tried to figure out what the fuck happened to my phone.

"You should consider yourself luckty it was your phone... Instead of you," Thomas spoke and I looked up to him.

"What do you mean...? The Half Engine did this to my phone...?" I nervously asked and Y/N nodded.

"Not many people live to tell their tale... Instead, they are found with their corpses cut in half... Just like the engines. I saw her once myself and that's why I consider myself the luckiest man on the island," Y/N explained and shivers ran down my spine as I felt thankful that it took my phone instead of me.

Thomas and Y/N gave me a ride back to the sheds and he guided me back to the dormitory and I was in for a lecture from Jisoo that night but that was the least of my concerns.

Whatever I saw... Whether it be the Half Engine or not, I will never forget it and I feel like this will haunt me for the rest of my life.

I feel sorry and regret that I didn't believe Thomas and instead risked my own life to prove that the Half Engine is nothing but a made-up folklore tale.

Throughout the rest of the trip, nothing happened and I never saw the Half Engine again, but the thought of it lingered in my mind, and sometimes... At night, when I sleep... I feel being watched by something or someone.

[flimflamfranky]

my gift to @werelichen for @op-secret-santa!! i can never a good frobin prompt so here's some art and a fic! i hope you enjoy and happy holidays!!

The moon rose high in the sky, bright and alluring. Robin stared up at it through the window, upside down in her view from her pillow. Around her, the crew (her crew) slumbered soundly, beds pressed tight together. Robin couldn’t help a fond smile as she sat up, seeing Luffy half-slumped out of the top bunk, arms stretching down onto Sanji, who was gently kicking Zoro in his sleep, Chopper squished between them, while Nami spread out like a starfish on her other side, hand curled around Robin’s own.

Robin should be asleep with them, but this wasn’t the first time sleep eluded her, nor would it be the last. A restless energy settled into her, begging for the crisp, moonlit night. And while she knew none of them would mind if she woke them up to keep her company, they deserved the rest.

She slipped out silently from the sheets, gently to not disturb her friends. Yet, the moment her feet hit the ground, there was a rustle, and Zoro’s head popped up, eyes barely open. “R’bin?”

“I’m just going for a walk,” she whispered to him. “I”ll be back soon, I promise.”

Zoro yawned and then nodded, like she said a fact instead of a reassurance. “A’right.” His head flopped back down, and shuffled around, turning to curl around Chopper and smacking Sanji in the face, who sneered at the hand in his sleep.

Robin breathed out a light laugh, careful not to wake anyone else, and then stepped out the door into the night.

She didn’t have a destination in mind, yet her feet lead her to one anyway. She stopped at the top of the stairs, and looked down onto the island of scrap. The skeleton of a keel and hull was starting to form by the shore, bare now but full of promise. She was too far up to make out more, but she could just see a hint of movement and the smallest flash of blue, still hard at work.

She smiled to herself. Oh course.

She headed down into the flattened junk, keeping her eyes down and using her powers to guide her, until she could follow the sound of metal scraping on wood. It grew louder and louder as she picked her way past the sleeping bodies of the shipwrights and dismantlers. She rounded one last towering pile of wood, and finally set eyes on him properly.

Franky was working on a large hunk of wood, a circular shape starting to take form from the rough edges. Shavings littered his feet as he bent over, smoothing the wood down with even, practiced strokes. His stance was firm, his movements confident, completely in his element.

Robin paused for a moment to admire him. There was a lightness to him that hadn’t been there before, and she thought it suited him wonderfully. A smile stole across her face. It was almost startling how fond she had become of him in such a short time but she couldn’t imagine it any other way. She almost felt like she could spend the rest of the night just watching him, but his company would be much preferred, so she stepped forward.

“Franky,” she called out, as she approached.

Franky startled, the scrapper tumbling from his hands as he whipped around, valiantly trying to hide his work. “Nico Robin! What are you doing here?”

She covered her eyes with her hand. “I’m not looking,” she said, a smile in her voice.

There was a moment’s pause, and then Franky sighed in defeat. “Nah, it’s alright. Not much to look at right now.” Robin uncovered her eyes in time to see him wag a finger at her. “But don’t you go snooping! I want it to be a surprise for everyone.”

“I won’t,” she promised, coming to a stop near him. She bloomed a hand out of the wood, and handed the fallen tool back to Franky. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” Franky took the tool, but then set it down, giving her curious look. “What are you doing here?” He looked up at the moon like he was surprised it wasn’t the sun. “It’s late!”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said. “I suppose I was looking for some company.”

“Aw, with me?” Franky chuckled, fiddling with the scrapper. “Did you miss me that much?”

Robin considered it. “Hmm. I suppose I did.”

Franky blinked, surprised at her genuine admission, then turned back to the wood, looking pleased. “Well, I’ll always welcome your company, Nico Robin.”

She crossed her hands, and brought over an unused stool for herself to sit on, settling a few feet away. Franky returned to his work, catching the tool on the wood and gliding it across its surface.

It was soothing, watching him. The repetitive rasp of metal cutting wood, the even wood shavings peeling up and falling gently to the ground. The crash of waves on the shore, the soft wind whistling through the abandoned ships. The movement of Franky’s arm, back and forth. It eased the restlessness inside her, bit by bit.

After a moment, Franky glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “So…how are you doing?”

That was a question Robin had become quite familiar with the past couple of days. One she still had trouble answering. Her crew had done so much for her - she owed it to them to be honest. But, at the same time, she didn’t want to worry them any further. But with Franky…it was different. He had been a steady rock during the worst day of her life.

“A little overwhelmed,” she admitted, drawing her knees closer. “So much has changed so quickly, I still don’t think it’s sunk in yet. But…” She looked up, towards the city, towards the Galley-La Company where her crew rested, safe and secure and hers. “I’m happier then I think I’ve ever been.”

Franky straightened slightly, glancing over at her as he brushed wood dust from his shoulders. “Well, that sounds like a good problem to have.”

She smiled, resting her check against her hand. “I suppose it is.”

Franky glanced at her again, looking almost…hesitant. Which seemed at odds with his brash, confident persona. She met his eyes, and raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

Franky hesitated for another moment, and then asked, “What were they like? Those scholars of yours.”

That was a question Robin had not been expecting. She opened her mouth, then closed it, as she thought back, wondering where to even begin, when Franky waved his hand through the air.

“Never mind, actually, forget about it.” He cleared his throat, looking away from her. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories, so just-”

“No! No,” Robin cut him off. “It’s aright. It’s just…been a long time since I’ve really talked about them with anyone, outside of yesterday. And, well.” She paused, and then sighed. “It’s been a while since I’ve thought about them in any context other than tragedy.”

Franky nodded, his eyes soft, tender. Understanding. He stayed silent, and Robin took a moment to look out at the ocean, the waves almost black and white under the moon, collecting herself before starting to speak.

“They were like a family to me. With my mother gone and my aunt, well. They were the only family I really had. They treated me like one of their own. They were such a caring, eccentric bunch.” She let out a soft laugh.

“Professor Clover always called them crazy old kooks when they acted up, even though he was probably the oldest, craziest kook of them all. He would make me tea with honey in between lessons and tell me about his adventures as an explorer. He saw so many wondrous things, made so many grand discoveries, and got in trouble with the Marines more times than he could count.”

“I’d bet he'd be pretty damn proud of you, then.”

“I think he would be, too. Rint would always tease him about being more of a pirate than explorer, but I don’t think he would have minded that. Not that Rint was much better. She never talked about it, but I’m pretty sure she was a pirate, when she was younger. Nothing seemed to phase her. She could drink everyone under the table and still win at poker.”

Franky glanced back into the scrapyard with an amused snort. “Heh, sounds like someone I know.”

“She would’ve liked you. She always had a taste for the wilder things. Oh, and Busshiri, you would’ve liked him. He was the carpenter of the scholars. Not a shipwright, but he knew his way around wood.”

“Sounds like my kinda guy.”

Robin nodded. “He always wore these shirts that would say bomb, boom, any explosive word you could think of. I asked him why once, and he said that he wore destruction to remember how to create. I think he made it up on the spot, though.”

Franky gasped, faux offended. “Dismissing his wise words like that! Nico Robin, you wound me, to let such a man go unappreciated in his time!”

Robin giggled at his teasing. “Roche said something like that at the time too. He was always teasing me when I got too serious. I thought it was so annoying at the time, but looking back, I think he just wanted me to enjoy being a kid. They all tried so hard to look after me…”

A surge of emotions swept through her, harsh and overwhelming, that familiar, complicated mix of grief and anger and hopelessness that plagued her for so long. She curled inward, instinctively. She forgot herself, and was that scared little girl again, forced to face the world alone, alone, alone-

“Nico Robin?”

And she was back here again, on the shore of the scrap island, the ocean heavy in the air, breathing uneven, body shivering. Franky hovered over her, hands outreached but not touching, face so openly worried, and something inside her loosened.

“Are you okay?” He asked, voice low and soft. His hand hovered closer and she leaned in, resting herself against his palm, arms looped around his wrist in the semblance of a hug.

“I’m fine,” she mumbled without thinking, so used to ignoring her hurt. Franky leveled her an unconvinced look, and Robin paused. Was she fine? Her body still shuddered slightly, but the emotions had dulled, softened, and there was a…lightness. Relief. Grief tempered by nostalgia and joy, by the reminder that she was no longer alone.

“I think I’m better than fine, actually,” she said, a smile blooming across her face. She squeezed Franky’s hand. “Thank you.”

Franky relaxed, and though she didn’t want to, she let his hand fall away, and he stepped back to lean back against the uncarved wood. She did follow him though, moving to stand next to him, crossing her arms to rest against the wood.

“You scared me there, Nico Robin,” he said, half serious, half teasing. “I get it, though. The past can be complicated.”

She tilted her head in a silent question. Franky shrugged, and then looked away, almost bashful.

“Me ‘n Iceburg…we used to be close. We fought almost all the time, but he was like a brother, ya know? And then I went and messed it all up. But when I came back, Iceburg, he was…still so mad but he missed me. He was happy to see me again, despite it all.”

Franky paused, looking back towards the partial built hull. “I’ve got a lot of good memories from back then. And they’re still good, but…they hurt now. And doin’ this now, like back then, with him…” He trailed off.

“You used to be a shipwright,” she said. That had been obvious but she can see the complicated emotions mixed up in it now - the grief and anger and almost hatred of something you still love and need so much.

“Not anymore,” Franky said, a touch defensively. “This is an exception.”

“...it suits you.”

Franky didn’t meet her gaze, eyes fixed past the shore of the small island. “Doesn’t matter. This’ll be the last one.”

She recognized what the lightness she had seen earlier was - he was happy, building ships. And that happiness scared him, like he didn’t deserve to feel it at all. That made a protective indignation rise up in her, a fierce desire to protect that precious happiness of his.

She realized that's what Luffy and the others had felt, standing on that government building, flag burning above them.

“You should come with us.”

Franky startled, whipping around to stare at her with wide eyes. “What?

Robin was startled herself. She hadn’t meant to say that aloud, but she had meant it. “Luffy is planning on asking you. To be our shipwright, that is.”

She saw it again - that mix of grief and longing and joy. He wanted that - wanted to say yes, to join them, to live his dream.

But still, he turned away. “I-I can’t,” he said, voice raw. “I owe this place too much.”

Robin felt that sharp protectiveness again, to take him anyway and make him hers, part of her crew, but she tucked that away for now.

Franky glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head, “It’s your choice.”

Silence stretched between them, heavy longing and regret, but she savored it anyway. Part of her wanted to make it last forever, but her crew pulled her back just as strong. She couldn’t stay.

“If this is goodbye, then,” she started, turning toward Franky, leaning a bit forward to look up him through her lashes. “May I have a kiss to remember you by?”

Franky softened, expression incredibly fond, and he reached out, wrapping his hand around her waist and pulling her close. “For you, Nico Robin, of course.”

She smiled, and rose up on her toes, hand resting on his chest, his head dipping down until their lips met. It was soft and tender, passion nipping at the edges. The waves crashed behind them, matching their push and pull. He fit against her so perfectly, and she could imagine how perfectly he’d fit into her family too.

But that was a desire that would have to wait. She relaxed back onto her heels, pulling away just slightly, still close. She looked up at Franky, meeting his fond gaze, sad and sweet. Her hand lingered on his chest, machinery thrumming warm under her fingertips before finally pulling away, already chilled again by the night.

“I’m glad I got to know you, Nico Robin,” he said, his voice a low rumble.

“Me too, Franky,” she said. She couldn’t bring herself to say good-bye, so she ran her hand down his arm one final time, then stepped out of his embrace and walked back into the night.

~

As she slipped back into bed, next to Chopper and Zoro this time, arms wrapped around her and Luffy slipped down to snuggled into her side, still half-asleep. She ran her fingers through his hair, at his relaxed, open face, and decided she deserved to be selfish. She bent over to whisper to him.

“Franky looked so happy, building our ship.”

Luffy grinned, and she slipped her hand down to thumb at his dimples, just under his scar. “Good.”

“You won’t take no for an answer.” It was more a statement than question, because she already knew what he would say, but Luffy still huffed a laugh.

“Nope!”

Robin grinned. “Good. Now go back to sleep.”

Luffy dozed off again almost instantly. Robin settled down, wrapping her arms around him, safe and warm amongst her crew, and she slept.

[the-starry-seas]

16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)?

18. Any OC crackships?

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going?

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going?

Cam for sure! He's a marine biologist :) He lives on the next planet over in the Tatoo system, where he works at an aquarium. He ends up going to college later in life, sometime after his marriage to Ember. Ember btw is very cute about hyping up his husband, he thinks Cam's the smartest guy in the galaxy.

Oh do I. You're familiar with Stormbrake/Optimus, the enemies-to-lovers of all time. Whisper/Zer0 from Borderlands are very strange about each other and tbh I support them in all things. Fury/Paz/U'Rajya/A'Hidayat is a ship that started as Fury/Paz and went on to spiral completely out of control (they have eight kids). And honestly I'm gonna count Boba/Oola for this one, because I made up almost everything about her and did some significant redesigning. I'm gonna keep it to canon/OC pairings bc otherwise this will get out of hand.

Hm, who are my haunted house people... Jude, Kestrel, or Bee would be investigating some crime they believed to have been committed there.

Racer, Fury, B Roll, Atlas, Rence, the Valkyries, Eixes Judarri, Scrapper Crew, would all go there for funsies.

Whisper, Prey Drive, Bella, Carno, Vinir, and Ripper would go to try to provoke the ghosts into fighting them.

Boom would go to video things and show he's fine and no ghosts ate him, so can the kids chill out, now?

Watcher and Shrike are there to take notes on whatever they find, like some kind of ghost anthropologist.

Cathedi is there to try to befriend the ghosts.

Hm. I've got a lot of people wandering around into haunted houses by themselves at night. Surely this couldn't go wrong!

[koboldfactory]

Is there any chance you could give a short summary of Rad's lore please?

There’s not a lot I can say without spoiling plot stuff for a story I want to tell in the near future (probably via a comic), but I’ll give the simple version. Just know this is very very surface level stuff.

Lore below ⬇️ ⬇️

Rad grew up in a town of scrappers who made a living off of fishing ancient artifacts out of stasis fields in the area

A stasis field is a large glowing orb where time has slowed almost to a stop. Their origin is unknown

Rad’s mom Rea was the head of said settlement and was a master scavenger. Her dad (who I have yet to design) would repair and repurpose the ancient relics into useful technology to help with agriculture, defense, and many other things.

Eventually some catastrophe (which I am intentionally leaving vague right now) separated Rad from her mother and left her hometown utterly destroyed. She found herself in the care of a strange robot for some time before ending up in a relatedly strange scenario that ended in her activating her bizarre abilities and radioactive properties.

She then wandered the wastelands for a few years before being picked up by The Director’s lab crew, where she currently lives and does recon work out in the wastes for from time to time.

That’s all for now! Hope that was informative!

[shiverpeakstraveler]

Character Roster 1/3

Members of Dragon's Watch (in addition to the main crew, in order of appearance)

Liana Rohland | She/Her | Human (Krytan/Ascalonian descent) | Priory Magister, Commander, Co-leader of Dragon's Watch, and Champion of Aurene | 29 | Untamed/Soulbeast | Panromantic Demisexual | ❤️ Braham Eirsson

Hjalmar Emberhowl | He/Him | Norn | Priory Magister, Commander, Co-leader of Dragon's Watch, and Champion of Vlast | 30 | Spellbreaker | Bisexual | ❤️ Zhou Yao

Nora Fenrisdottir | She/Her | Norn | Vigil Captain | 34 | Renegade | Lesbian | ❤️ Siobhán

Lucien Davenport | He/Him | Human (Ascalonian descent) | Vampire | 30 | Virtuoso | Bisexual

Siobhán | She/Her | Pale Tree Sylvari (Dreamer) | Order of Whispers Lightbringer | 12 (Sylvari years) | Tempest | Pansexual |❤️ Nora Fenrisdottir

Glythyrr | He/Him | Pale Tree Sylvari (Dreamer) | Priory Magister | 12 (Sylvari years) | Mirage | Pansexual | ❤️ Liviana Gearseeker

Liviana Gearseeker | She/Her | Iron Legion Charr | Vigil Warmaster | 37 | Scrapper | Bisexual | ❤️ Glythyrr

Surina Duskblade | She/Her (Trans) | Ash Legion Charr (Gladium) | Order of Whispers Slayer | 28 | Chronomancer | Lesbian | ❤️ Demmi Beetlestone

Krioka | She/Her | Asura (Originally from Rata Sum, grew up in Lion's Arch | Priory Archon | 39 | Harbinger | Demiromantic Asexual

Samara Qadir | She/Her | Human (Elonian/Krytan descent) | Engineering Savant. member of Taimi's Krewe | 29 | Holosmith | Lesbian

Marit Trickshot | She/Her | Norn | Whispers Contact/Bounty Hunter | 30 | Deadeye | ❤️Canach

Rorik Thorvaldson | He/Him | Norn | Escaped Inquest Test Subject turned Vigilante, member of Taimi's Krewe | 31 | Scrapper | Demiromantic Bisexual

Yazz the Reckless | He/Him (Trans) | Asura (Rata Sum) | Vigilante known for sabotaging Inquest labs, member of Taimi's Krewe | 28 | Tempest | Biromantic Asexual

[catboymoments]

When you have the time, can you please tell us a bit about Kay El and Lu's relationship. They seem cute. :)

Kay el and Lu’s relationship is very special to me I have been developing them since what. 2018? They’re a classic enemies to friends to lovers trope… in a world where everyone is pitted against each other among the scrapper class of people by the upper class on the trash planet, Gorven, they meet each other and immediately assume the worst and lash out based off of their places and their respective traumas. Kay el is a solo bandit and Lu is on a pirate crew, so they don’t respect each other and are desperately trying to protect themselves. However, once they’re picked up by Project ECLPS and start living together with the others and let their guards down, they discover that there’s a lot to admire about the other and they’re more similar than they were ever different. It’s about found family, it’s about safety, trust and healing. I love them.

Here’s some really old stuff and more recent stuff of these two :3

[breakfastteatime]

Today's request is 'You've got one minute' for @ralndown ^_^

Every time Cal thinks he’s settling into a routine on Bracca, something awful happens. Maybe the Ibis Maw gets hungry for flesh and grabs a tentacleful of unsuspecting scrappers. Maybe a ship that’s been in the same place for two years suddenly decides to collapse under its own weight. Maybe someone breaks something aboard an old terraforming lab and suddenly there’s a bunch of people turned into trees.

Today, Cal’s crew makes it halfway through their shift before the worst, most terrifying siren goes off. Bracca doesn’t have a lot of warnings for incoming disaster, but this one? This is the one they’re all trained to react to in one way, and one way only.

Get out. Get out now or die.

Maybe that’s why the Force left Cal feeling nauseous all day. It’s so useful like that.

Dropping the wires he’d started stripping, Cal follows the others. Prauf’s leading them and he’s already on the comms, listening intently to whatever’s being said. When he stops still and holds up a hand to make everyone else do the same, Cal shivers under the weight of the collective fear around him.

It only gets worse when Prauf starts issuing orders in a sharp tone of voice Cal’s never heard before.

“It’s a chemical leak. A bad one. We’re too deep in the ship to get out in time. Get into your emergency teams, find a room, and seal yourselves in. If we’re lucky, we’ll see each other on the other side of this thing.”

People break off into their groups. There’s no time for goodbyes or good lucks. Cal sticks close to Prauf and Tabbers. He takes a breath and immediately coughs it out, a sharp bite scraping the back of his throat. Prauf grabs him, throws him into a room, and Tabbers seals the door.

It’s not enough. The room, a tiny refresher, has an air conditioning vent high on the ceiling. Even Prauf can’t reach it to close it off. Gas seeps in. Cal hears people coughing and choking from all around, senses their fear and pain.

“We gotta seal it, now!” Tabbers shouts. His eyes stream, coughing hard. “We’ve got one minute before we’re all spitting out chunks of our lungs.” He pulls a wall panel down. “Weld this over that vent!”

“Lift me up,” Cal says. He puts his filter mask on, hoping it will help. “I can do it.”

Putting his own mask on, Prauf grabs Cal, lifting him. Cal plants his feet on Prauf’s shoulders. His eyes burn, so full of tears he can hardly keep them open. Tabbers hands him a sheet of metal and Cal presses it to the vent, welding torch in hand as he covers it up. He can’t keep his eyes open, so he trusts Prauf to guide him, molten metal sealing the panel in place.

“Good job,” Prauf says, lowing Cal down. “Sit, both of you. That gas is light, so we should be safer down here.”

Cal’s feet touch the ground. He drops to the deck moments later, eyes squeezed shut, lungs still rebelling. His mask isn’t doing much to help, but it’s better than nothing.

“Is this shit what I think it is?” Tabbers’ voice is muffled by his mask.

“Yeah,” Prauf replies. Cal hears him sit beside him. “Someone messed up big time.”

“I’d threaten to beat the idiots myself, but I cannae imagine they’re alive now,” Tabbers says.

“What is it?” Cal asks when he can talk again.

“A chemical weapon designed to rot battle droids,” Prauf says.

“Aye, not that it worked,” Tabbers adds. “It’s far better at killing us organics.”

Cal never heard about anything like that. Not that he tells the others. The idea that the Republic would create something like that leaves him nauseous.

“Looks like no one thought to remove the canisters before we started pulling this thing apart,” Prauf says. “Foreman said someone cut off the wrong thing and boom – we’re all breathing in poison.”

Cal doesn’t join the conversation. He pulls his knees to his chest, keeps his eyes firmly closed, and tries not to suffocate in the feelings of so many people dying around him. He pushes the Force away, begs it to leave him alone like it usually does.

“Cal?”

Prauf’s big, warm hand lands on his back. Cal startles, eyes flying open. His vision is fractured by the tears still running, but the burn is easier to manage now.

“You okay?” Prauf asks.

“Yeah,” he says, knowing he doesn’t have to worry about how rough his voice sounds. And then, because he needs a distraction, he keeps talking. “Can’t believe we’re stuck in a ‘fresher.”

Tabbers chuckles. “Get comfy, brat. We might be here a while.”

It’s two days before the foreman gives them the all-clear. The survivors are given a half-shift break to clean up, get something to eat and drink, and then sent back to work to make up for the two days of sitting around doing nothing. Cal notes that their crew is down several people when they meet up to be assigned duties, but no one says anything.

Back to the Bracca routine.