#showdown in a ghost town

[sjsmith56]

On the Road

Summary: Bucky takes a witness to a murder on the road to keep her safe. Over the long trip, they become close.

Length: 9.8 K (I know, it’s a long one.)

Characters: Bucky Barnes, named OFC, Sam Wilson, Yelena Belova.

Warnings: Memories of Bucky’s time with HYDRA, violence causing injury and/or death.

Author’s notes: Inspired by a song Los Navegantes by Hermanos Gutierrez which had me thinking of spaghetti westerns (also referenced in the story). Bucky definitely has a bit of the vigilante in him.

It had been an hour since Taylor Hollis was brought to the Avengers Tower. Placed into witness protection after she witnessed a mob hit, the Federal Marshals on her detail had little time to prepare for an attack on their safe house. While three of the officers stayed to fight off the attackers, the fourth Marshal successfully managed to get her to a motorcycle stashed in a shed at the back of the property then drove through the thinnest part of the gauntlet where his colleagues had focused their counterattack. He brought her to the safest place he could think of at that moment, Avengers Tower in the heart of Manhattan. After flashing his ID at the security desk, he pulled Taylor forward, asked them to protect her, then collapsed, dying in hospital later from the bullet that pierced his spleen, slowly bleeding to death on the desperate drive into the city.

Now she sat on the couch in the communal living room in the residence section, her trembling hands grasping a cup of tea given to her by Sam. He stood with Bucky and Joaquin out of earshot.

"What have you found out?" asked Bucky.

"They were betrayed," replied Joaquin. "Someone in the Marshal's service gave up their location. Someone wants her dead, which likely means whoever gave their location up was involved in the murder she witnessed."

"Fury spoke to a trusted source, and they want us to take over her security while they try to uncover the mole." Sam shook his head. "She could stay here but I'm guessing they'll try again. His source said not to trust anyone from the Marshal's service."

"I'll take her," offered Bucky. "There are lots of former HYDRA safe houses we can hole up in. They have cash, weapons and functional surveillance systems I can access."

Sam looked doubtful. "Weren't those sites all exposed in the info dump?"

"No, there were just as many off the books as those that were documented." Bucky gestured to her. "You know that I can keep her safer than anyone else here. Bring in a SHIELD agent that's built like me, put a nano mask on his face and arm so they think I'm still here. I'll take a burner phone and check in only with you, Sam. Keep it compartmentalized."

As Bucky laid out his complete plan both Sam and Joaquin nodded their approval, even though there was some risk involved. With Sam leaving to inform Fury and Joaquin continuing to monitor surveillance channels, Bucky approached the woman, who had the thousand-yard stare.

"Hey," he said, calmly, offering her his hand. "I'm Bucky. What's your name?"

"Taylor," she smiled grimly. "What's going to happen to me?"

"We were just discussing that. There's concern that your safe house location was compromised by a mole in the Federal Marshal's service." She looked alarmed. "Not the four that were there but someone higher up who may have been involved in the hit you witnessed."

"Is Jerry, okay? There was so much blood, but he never said a word while he brought me here."

"I'm sorry but he didn't make it. None of them did."

She put her cup down and buried her face in her hands, crying. Bucky shifted to sit next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder. As the sobs shook her body he held her, allowing her the time to grieve for the federal agents who died protecting her. Eventually she regained control, and he gave her his handkerchief, telling her to keep it.

"What now?"

He looked at her reddened eyes and swollen cheeks which didn't hide the fact that she seemed like a good person. At that moment he knew why the four Marshals sacrificed themselves for her. It made his offer feel even more righteous.

"I have skills that include staying off the radar," he replied. "You and I are going on the road to some undocumented safe houses. No one will know where we are and I'll only check in with one person, Captain America. We'll stay off the grid as long as we need to. When they arrest the mole, we'll come back in, and I'll stay with you until you testify."

For a moment she glanced away, then she looked back at Bucky.

"How good are you, Mr. Barnes?"

A smile flickered across his face at her using his last name. She knew exactly who he was.

"The best and I'm not bragging. You know who I am and who I was before. I'll protect you as if you were the most important person on Earth. That's my promise."

"When?"

"We need to get some things set up, clothing, transportation, and cash. They won't be here but at a drop off point, although I'll take clothing and weapons from here. We'll use a quinjet in stealth mode to get there. Then we'll be on our own." He looked at his watch. "I think we should leave just after sunset."

"I have nothing with me," she said.

"Don't worry, it's already being taken care of." He took her hand in his right one, squeezing it gently. "Would you like to take a shower or a bath and relax before then?"

Taylor nodded and he stood up, still holding her hand. Taking her to his quarters, he showed her the bathroom, explaining the shower and bathtub controls, then gave her a bathrobe to wear while her clothing needs were sorted out. As he left her there, he came out of his door to find Yelena approaching with an assortment of clothing.

"She's having a shower," he said. "Be kind to her. She's an innocent and feels guilty about the deaths of the Marshals on her detail."

"You're a good man, Yasha," she said. "She needs the best for this, and I know you won't allow anyone to hurt her."

He nodded and sought out Sam. Together they worked out what Bucky wanted; a reliable vehicle that couldn't be hacked or tracked remotely, and any maintenance on it could be done by Bucky, burner phone, $10,000 cash in assorted bills, nothing larger than $20 in denomination, non-perishable foods, camping gear for two, and the weapons that Bucky would choose from the armoury. Anything else could be found in the safe houses or picked up along the way.

"Fury gave a code word for when the mole is arrested and you need to come in," said Sam, handing Bucky a folded piece of paper. He read it and tore it up into bits, then put the pieces in a metal dish and pulled a lighter out of his pocket, lighting it on fire. Even Friday wouldn't know what the code was. Not that Bucky thought it would be needed if the mole used his sources to search for them. Sam then handed him two other devices. "This is a GPS locator. One time use, and then the device scrambles and won't work anymore. If you find yourself in trouble, activate it and stay put. A portal will open to bring help. This other one is a scanner so you can quickly determine if anyone put a tracker on your car. You know the drill."

Bucky nodded. "Stay away from anywhere there are security cameras, no speeding, no drawing attention to myself. I'm going to grow a beard and use a nano sleeve on the arm. I guess I should build a cover story for us."

"Boyfriend and girlfriend taking a trip across America," suggested Sam. "Lots of people do it." He put his hand on Bucky's shoulder. "Stay safe."

A slight smile was his response, and he headed to the armoury, picking up his preferred selection of weapons, including an M249 Saw, two Glock 17s, two SIG-Sauer P226s, and an assortment of combat knives. He added as much ammunition as he could, then tossed in several holsters the pistols and sheaths for the knives. Zipping it all together, he left it in his locker, making sure his tactical suit was folded up and slid into a carrying case along with his combat boots. From there he went to the operations centre and requested a nano sleeve and a couple of ball caps. After checking the sleeve's function, he placed it back in its storage case, taking it with him. On his return to his quarters, he unlocked the door and announced he was coming in.

"We're all packed," answered Yelena, who was sitting with Taylor on the couch in his living room. She turned to the woman. "You're in good hands with Yasha. He is the best."

After she left, Taylor looked at him. "Yasha?"

"Russian nickname for James," he explained. "I just have to pack some clothes. Are you hungry? We should eat first as it might be a while before we stop."

"I guess I should." She stood up. "How are we going to do this? Every movie I ever saw where an agent had to protect someone, they came up with a cover story in case they were stopped."

"We'll keep it simple," replied Bucky. "Boyfriend and girlfriend taking a road trip, so we'll have to hold hands and be somewhat affectionate when we’re in public. I'm going to stop shaving as my beard should grow in enough to disguise me within a couple of days. We'll use ball caps and sunglasses outside as much as we can. The rest we can talk about on the quinjet, then in the vehicle."

She nodded and followed him to the communal kitchen, where someone had laid out several different orders of takeout. Bucky handed her a plate, but no one asked who she was, as they already knew. It was a quiet meal and Taylor put her dirty dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing them in the sink. Together, she and Bucky returned to his quarters, where she waited while he packed a bag of clothes. Finally, he came out of his room with his things.

"Bring your bag and follow me," he said. "I have to make one stop."

At the locker room, he went inside and got his weapons bag and tac suit bag, handing the former to Sam, who was waiting with Taylor.

"Jesus, did you bring everything?" he grinned.

"Just the essentials," answered Bucky. "Too heavy for you?"

"Too heavy for everyone except the cyborg," he answered.

"Not in front of company, Sam."

Taylor smiled shyly at the banter between the two men, recognizing it as two friends expressing themselves before a mission. They took the elevator to the launch pad for the quinjet, which was invisible, except for where the ramp was lowered, exposing the inside of the aircraft. She touched the invisible edge beside the ramp, her face showing her disbelief that she could feel the metal but just couldn't see it.

"It's cloaked," said Sam. "Just in case anyone is watching. They won't see you take off. The ramp is facing the door so from any other angle it's invisible." They stowed their bags inside, then Bucky sat at the pilot's seat, gesturing to Taylor to sit next to him. She buckled in. "Fury remotely programmed the coordinates of the car. As soon as you're off, enter the Recall command on a timer so it returns here. Take care. Miss Hollis, you're in very good hands."

"That's what I understand," she replied, then she looked at Sam. "Thank you for your kindness."

He smiled, then squeezed Bucky on the shoulder and left the quinjet. The ramp closed and Bucky went through his checklist.

"Ready?"

Nervously, she gripped the arm rest, then laughed at herself as she didn't even feel it lifting into the air. Even as Bucky applied the throttle, it was so smooth that she wondered why all aircraft weren't like this. An inquiry from Air Traffic Control about their flight had Bucky responding in a coded message that took a moment for ATC to answer. When they did, they responded with another code and Bucky was given clearance to a secure altitude.

"We're off their radar," he answered to her unspoken question. "Because of the classified nature of some of our missions, they can't know where we're going. This is one of those situations." He flipped a switch. "That's just to make sure. That repels any attempts to track us by radar." He set a timer and then the automatic pilot. "We've got time to talk now."

For the next hour she told him about being a server in a restaurant in Manhattan, one of two jobs she had. She had just finished her shift then realized she forgot something at the restaurant she needed for her other job. Returning, she went straight to the back room, to retrieve it, then heard several loud pops. Cracking the door open she saw several armed men surrounding a table of men who arrived shortly before she returned. One of them at the table was dead, his head facing sideways on the table. She gasped, a sound that one of the armed men heard. Closing and locking the door, she went out the back and into the alley, trying to stay behind the various dumpsters and garbage cans that blocked the view of anyone coming into the alley. Coming out near a subway entrance, she went down the stairs and used her transit card to get onto the platform, desperately waiting for the next train. As it arrived, she saw several of the same armed men from the restaurant coming down the stairs, looking for her. Trying not to stare she boarded the train and prayed they wouldn't get on. They didn't but when the train passed the men, one of them stared right at her and she realized he knew she saw them.

"I didn't notice that I dropped the package for my other job, but they showed up there, and got my address. I was already at the police station then, filing my witness statement. Right away they called the Federal Marshals, and I never went home after that. That was a week ago."

"Our director thinks one of the men who was there is a mole in the Federal Marshal's Service," said Bucky. "Did anyone have you look at mug shots or employee records?"

She nodded. "They're associated with the Umberto crime family. They didn't mention looking at employee records."

They spoke some more about their cover. It was important that they not spend too much time in a single place ... no more than a few days.

"Do you know how to fire a gun?" he asked.

"Not really," she answered. "My ex was into guns and tried to show me, but he wasn't a very patient man. He made me more nervous than anything."

"Okay, I'm a good teacher and I'd like you to know how, just in case I need you for backup."

An alert sounded and they returned to the cockpit, seeing they were within minutes of their destination. Taking control, Bucky used the sensors on the quinjet to locate the vehicle, its ghostly image showing up on the screen. Another vehicle was nearby, and it flashed its headlights in the Morse code configuration for 73, meaning Best Regards. Bucky flashed a light under the quinjet with CFM for Confirm. He landed, then put his hand on Taylor's arm when she started to rise.

"It's better if they don't see you," he said. "I'll get the keys and anything else that needs to be handed over then send them on their way."

He turned the lights inside down low then went to the ramp and pressed a control to lower it, then raised it again when he was outside. A holographic screen came on in front of Taylor showing him talking to two agents. One of them handed him the keys to the car, while the other gave him a sealed envelope. Then both agents got into their car and drove away. Bucky watched until they were out of sight before he returned to the quinjet and opened the ramp, entering.

"Friday, lights please." He pressed his thumb on an outline on the envelope then waited as the sealant on it dissolved before he opened it. There were several sheets of paper that he scanned quickly. "Looks like they figured out who the mole is. He's a Marshal, John Patterson, who was assigned to guard a witness in another Umberto trial. They were attacked and everyone except him was killed. They did a forensic audit of his finances and found an offshore account using an alias from when he was a regular police officer working undercover. A deposit of $5 million was made three years ago when he was head of the detail for that witness. There was another $2 million deposited last week just before the hit, and $2 million yesterday. He's definitely after you." He heard a gasp from Taylor and looked up. "Sorry, I'm not trying to scare you but it does mean we may have to improvise and change the existing plans a little. If they gave him that kind of money it means they can buy off other law enforcement. Now that he's been identified I have permission to take him out if you're in danger. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a stone-cold killer anymore but if I must, I will."

Together they transferred everything to the Toyota 4Runner, a 2002 model that had no tracker installed. Bucky ran the scanner over it to be sure. Inside the back was everything he asked for. He took some of the money out, placing it in his wallet then put the clothing bags on the back seat, but everything else fit into the back. He also slipped the nano sleeve onto his arm; in case they were stopped for any reason. Finally, they were ready to go and put their seatbelts on.

"I can stay awake for long periods of time so I'm going to drive for as long as I can," he said. "You might as well sleep."

"I'll try," she answered. "Do you know where we are?"

"Yeah, I know exactly where we are, but we'll be far away from here by morning."

She smiled at him, then as he pulled onto the highway, she turned slightly towards him so she could pull her knees up onto the seat. When he looked again her eyes were closed and her breathing steady. It made him feel good inside that she trusted him enough to sleep.

🌅

A hand on Taylor's arm woke her up; she opened her eyes to Bucky's blue ones.

"We're getting close to the safe house," he said. "When we get there, you stay in the vehicle while I check to make sure it's safe for us to go in. Keep the doors locked." He looked at the road again before glancing back at her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I usually can't sleep in a car, but I guess I was more tired than I thought."

He pulled into the driveway of an overgrown property and got out. Grabbing a gun, he gestured to Taylor to lock the doors and walked to the door of the house, looking for any signs of a surveillance camera. Not finding one, he examined the door, searching for an input device. He found it behind a false panel that popped its cover when he pressed gently. Looking at the keypad he studied it for several long moments then entered a code based on his memory, certain he had been in this building before. A click, and the door opening confirmed it. Carefully, he stepped inside, placing a chair in the doorway to keep it from locking behind him.

It smelled musty inside and there was a thick layer of dust on everything. The fridge was empty, but the door was propped open and the power to it was off, as was the power to the light switches. After checking every room, Bucky was convinced that the house had sat empty for a long time. Coming out the door, he motioned to Taylor to unlock the vehicle.

"It seems clear," he said. "No power but I'll check to see if it was turned off at the panel. We'll bring the sleeping bags to sleep in, and the camping lanterns if I can't get the power to run."

Together they took some of the food, their clothing, weapons, and the sleeping bags inside. Bucky went back out and switched the vehicle's position closer to a door at the back of the house, in case they couldn't get out the front door. Using one of the camping lanterns he went down to the cellar and found the electrical panel. It was turned off, so he flipped every switch over.

"The lights work!" yelled Taylor from upstairs.

He nodded to himself, then turned on a light switch down there and double checked the cellar. Like the rest of the house, there was no sign of anyone being there for some time, making him wonder if any HYDRA stragglers had already cleaned it out of weapons and cash. Searching the walls for any signs he noticed a shelving unit and stood in front of it, noticing it had a backing. Sliding his fingers along the back edge he found a small depression and pressed it. The shelf moved towards him, revealing a storage room behind. Turning on the light he saw there were heavy drop cloths over everything, and pulled them off, revealing an assortment of weapons.

"Jesus, I've never seen that many weapons in one place," said Taylor, who stepped in behind him. "Who left these here?"

"HYDRA," he replied. "They have places like this all over; some documented, some secret. I knew of many of the secret ones because they wanted me out of the public eye and would bring me there after a mission to lay low until it was safe for us to leave." He picked up a Skorpion sub-machine gun, examining it closely. "I remembered being here and actually fired this one. As soon as the mission was complete, I had to hand everything over to my handler."

He took it and some ammunition, then looked for a gun cleaning kit and two sets of noise canceling headphones, handing those to Taylor. Heading back upstairs, he put the gun and kit on the kitchen table, then looked at her.

"Hungry?"

She nodded, but pointed to the tap. "No water."

"Should be a pump out in the yard," he answered. "Have to let it run for a while and the water will taste metallic but it's potable, at least it was. We can boil it to make sure."

He took care of that, coming back ten minutes later with a full pail of water. He looked through the dehydrated camping meals provided for them and picked out an oatmeal one, then found some instant coffee, a small tin of evaporated milk and some sugar. After boiling some water for ten minutes he poured some into the oatmeal package, stirring it with a spoon that was in a package with the food, and filled their camping bowls.  He spooned some coffee into their mugs and poured more water into them. It was quiet as they ate, neither feeling the need to talk. When they were finished, Bucky cleaned the Skorpion while Taylor watched.

"You seem to know what you're doing," she noted.

"I've handled a lot of different firearms," he shrugged. "They're a tool, nothing more. I use them for work, but I don't keep one on me." He grinned slightly. "A knife is a different matter. I always carry one in a custom-made sheath built into my boot." She looked at him questioningly. "It's quiet, better for closeup fighting, and just as deadly for someone that knows how to use it, which I do."

She chuckled and it was his turn to look at her for enlightenment. "That ex I told you about was fixated on guns. He was constantly wanting to go to gun shows and buy the newest thing always saying he was doing it to protect me and the house. I swear that he cared more for them than he did about me. It bothered him that I didn't like having that many guns in the house. Yet, seeing you cleaning this one, and knowing what's sitting in that room below us doesn't seem to bother me like that."

"Did he ever shoot anyone?" Bucky looked directly at her as she shook her head. "I was a sniper in World War II. They called us marksmen but my job with the Howling Commandos was to kill anyone who pointed a gun at Steve Rogers, or any of the other guys on the team. I was good at it, but I didn't like it. Even though I wasn't religious it seemed a sin to kill indiscriminately like that, but it was wartime, and I knew my duty. When HYDRA got their hooks in me, and realized how good I already was, it was like they won the lottery. All those calculations that I needed to work out in my head for trajectory, wind speed, and everything else was so ingrained that all they had to do was add to my arsenal. Every new firearm that came out was brought to me and I was expected to become an expert in it. I couldn't say no or object. It was master it or be punished." He breathed out heavily. "I find that the guys who have never had to pull the trigger on someone are the ones who love their guns the most. Maybe it makes them feel more manly. I never intend to kill anyone when I fire at them but the instinct to make it count is too strong." He looked her in the eyes. "I'm not a killer but I do kill when I have to. Then I try to live with what I've done."

He stopped talking and finished cleaning the gun, reassembling it. Standing up, he gestured to her to follow and went outside with the Skorpion, the Glock he still had in the back of his pants, and ammunition. For the next half hour, he showed her how to fire the Glock, standing behind her and reaching around her to position her hands properly on it, aiming at several signs he found in the barn and propped against the fence. His method was calm and measured, and Taylor found herself appreciative of how he let her take her time before firing. By the end of the half hour, she was able to hit smaller targets, like old oil cans, mason jars, and the odd tin can.

"How are your hands?" He took them in his, gently massaging them. "If you're not used to it your hands can start to feel numb."

"Not bad," she admitted, appreciating how he seemed to look after the little details. She looked at the Skorpion. "Are you going to let me try that?"

"That was my intention," he answered. "You want to give it a try?"

Taylor nodded and he walked her through the parts of it, then let her feel how light it was. He put the larger signs up again, then they put their headphones on, and she fired a short burst. Her first time brought a shriek, then laughter from her which made him smile. Once that was out of her system, she got serious and tried it again. She hit the target on about half the shots before they had to reload. Bucky made some suggestions then let her try again. This time she did better. He didn't bother putting the smaller targets up.

"If you can hit them anywhere in the body, they should go down. I think that's enough for today. I'm going to go back down to the weapons locker and figure out what else to take with us. There should be a safe on either the main or second floor with cash in it. If you could look behind the pictures and see if you can find it, I would appreciate it."

She did find it and when Bucky came up with an armful of weapons to clean, she showed him, then watched, mesmerized, as he bent his head to the safe door and listened to the sounds of the dials inside the safe to unlock it. Inside was more cash, several passports, including some old ones of him and Rumlow, and several printed pages. He looked over them, learning of several more previously undocumented safe houses. They would take the list with them. He burned the passports as they were all expired anyway.

They ate again, choosing a package of beef stew that was decent enough. When it got dark Bucky set up their sleeping bags on the bed in two of the rooms, wrapping the pillows that had been left on the beds in some sheets he found in a linen closet. There were no mice, thank goodness, but he didn't want to take any chances of anything crawling out during the night. During the night, he was awakened by Taylor appearing in the doorway, holding her sleeping bag and pillow in her hand.

"I'm sorry but I'm cold," she whispered. "Can I sleep with you?"

Without answering he opened his sleeping bag up then zipped hers to it. Laying back inside he held the top open while she climbed in, and they zipped the sides up.

"Better?" he asked, as he pulled her towards his body and rested his arm around her.

"Much. You're very warm."

"Yeah, it's a super soldier thing," he replied. "Close your eyes. I'll keep you warm."

They spent three days and nights in the safe house, sharing the same bed for sleeping. On the fourth morning Bucky turned on the radio in the 4Runner and heard an odd news report.

Authorities are still looking for several men who shot up a tailor's shop in New York City. The men are believed to be in Pennsylvania, near the Scranton area, according to federal authorities. Residents in the area are to be on the lookout for anyone in plain clothes identifying themselves as law enforcement. According to spokesperson Detective Wilson of the NYPD they are considered to be armed and dangerous and may be headed towards Philadelphia.

Recognizing it as a planted warning to him, he informed Taylor it was time to go. Within 20 minutes they were on the road.

"Which way are we going?" she asked.

"West," he answered. "Ohio, but I have to get gas first."

Once that was done, he drove through Pennsylvania and most of Ohio for over nine hours, stopping a couple of times for a bathroom break and to pick up food, before he pulled up in front of a motel on the outskirts of Cincinnati. Paying cash for a double room, they took their things inside where Bucky offered the shower to Taylor first. Using the landline in the room while blocking the phone number he called Sam.

"I got your radio message," he said, by way of greeting. "Any updates I should know about?"

"Some informants have confirmed there's a hit out on Miss Hollis," replied Sam. "They know you're with her. The SHIELD agent who impersonated you wasn't exactly up to the task which didn't impress Fury. Plus, there are probably police on their payroll who have been watching for you. There's a bounty out on you, to bring you in alive."

"Let me guess, the Russian bratvas." Bucky ran his hand through his hair. "They worked hand in hand with HYDRA when it suited them. Well, we'll stay mobile and hopefully avoid them until I can get them into an area where no one else gets hurt."

"How is she handling it?" asked Sam.

"Not bad," he replied. "I like her. I've taught her to shoot. She's a pretty calm person considering what she's been through already."

"Alright, we'll try to insert more coded messages in the radio broadcasts if it looks like they're congregating in an area," said Sam. "Stay vigilant and let me know when you're close to your destination. I assume it’s western Kansas.”

"You know me too well," smirked Bucky, hanging up.

The bathroom door opened to Taylor in sleepwear with a towel wrapped around her head. He grabbed some things from his bag and took his turn, coming out to her watching TV. Sitting on the other bed he gestured to the screen.

"What are you watching?"

"Old movie, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly," she answered. "Clint Eastwood."

"Don't think I've seen that," said Bucky. "Any good?"

"Kind of, in a weird way," she answered. "It's called a spaghetti western because it was an Italian production, filmed in Spain, about the old West, done in a very stylized method. There were three movies in all, and they made Clint Eastwood a star. Everyone knows the music as parts of it have been used in all sorts of different commercials, TV shows, and even other movies."

He watched for a while, then grinned at Taylor when the distinctive music played during a scene. Leaning back against the headboard, he watched the movie, scoffing at some of the scenes in it. It was quite ridiculous, but he could see the appeal to others. They slept in their separate beds, then headed out right after breakfast after he told her what Sam had revealed.

For the next week they alternated between a couple of days in a safe house, then a night in a motel to shower, always listening to the news on the radio for the next message from Sam. They even did their laundry in a rundown laundromat that was out in the middle of nowhere in Missouri. As they drove through Kansas, Taylor sat with her feet pulled up onto the car seat and turned so she could lean against the door.

"Don't you get tired of driving?"

Bucky shrugged. "There were times I was up three days straight waiting for my target to show up. Falling asleep would get me punished. At least driving gives me something to do." He gestured towards the windshield. "Besides, we're seeing America."

"Maybe you could do it with your girlfriend sometime." She looked steadily at him. "Is there someone?"

"No, there's no one," he answered. "I'm not prime boyfriend material."

"Why do you say that?" Bucky shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "Hey, we've shared a bed platonically. I think I'm beyond being a person to protect. I like to think that we've become friends." His mouth was clamped shut but she could see a muscle twitch on his jaw. "Ah, we're not even that in your eyes." She turned back to looking forward out of the windshield. "Forget I said anything."

A few miles up Bucky pulled into a rest stop, then turned off the ignition. He got out, went over to her side of the vehicle, and opened it, offering her his hand. Not letting go he took her over to a stand of trees that provided some shade. Sitting down on a bench while he still held her hand, he studied her face carefully.

"I do like you, more than like," he said gently. "It's been hard for me to keep my mind on my mission, which is to protect you from harm. I have issues, a lot of emotional baggage from the years I spent as a prisoner. Around you, I feel better, and it becomes easy to think of us as something more. There have been times when I've wanted to wrap you up in my arms, kiss you like I want to kiss you, then to share a bed with you in a very non-platonic way. But I can't, not while those guys are still out there, looking for us. If I do give in to what I really want, then my focus is divided, and it could end up costing us." He caressed the side of her face, then kissed her lightly but with enough feeling behind it for her to know he was being truthful. "When this is over, we can decide where we want this to go."

She gazed up into his blue eyes. He was right. Still holding hands, they returned to the 4Runner, and kissed again, before getting inside. After another day of driving, he turned onto a dirt road, following it for several miles until he turned off onto another road. A barely legible sign pointed towards an upcoming town. When they got to its outskirts he stopped and turned off the 4Runner, stepping out and walking forward a little, placing his hands on his hips. Taylor joined him, squinting her eyes in the bright sun.

"What is it?" she asked. "Why are we here?"

He took out his cell phone and shook his head at there being no signal. It meant he would have to use the GPS locator to bring in help. There was little to no cover, not for them and not for the people who were tracking them.

"I haven't been entirely honest with you," he said, still looking out over the still and desolate landscape. "The thing about having a corrupt Marshal on your payroll is that he usually isn't the only one. Russian bratvas have put a bounty on taking me alive, just as the Umberto family have put out a hit on you. They have corrupt officers all over the place who have been reporting our location to them as we drove. I tried to stay clear of populated areas because they don't care who else they hurt when they're after someone, so I've been leading them here. It's a ghost town but there is a HYDRA facility here. You'll be safe inside while I deal with them."

"By yourself?" She touched his arm. "Why would you go after them yourself?"

He smiled sadly at her. "It's what I do. But once I'm out there I want you to press a button on this." He showed her the GPS locator. "It will bring help and hopefully get you to safety." She looked at it in his hand, not wanting to take it. "I told you that my mission is to protect you from harm. The only way I can do that is to get them all in the same place then go after them and hunt them down. Believe it or not, the odds are in my favour."

"I don't believe it," she snorted, stepping back. "You're one man. How many are you expecting?"

"Dozen, maybe more."

"Bucky, what if you get hurt or killed?"

He smiled at her and caressed her face. "I'm too valuable to kill but I might get hurt. They really don't know my capabilities, especially when I'm motivated. Come on, we need to get ready for them."

He drove the 4Runner to a large rundown building, stopping in front of a garage door. Under a flap on the frame was a keypad. Noticing the wear on the number pads he entered a number, but it didn't open. Once more he tried but it didn't work again. With a sigh, he used his knife to pry off the number pad covering and pulled two wires out, connecting them. A grinding noise signified the door opening but it stopped halfway, and he had to push it up the rest of the way himself. It dropped down a little, so he looked inside the garage for a piece of steel to prop it open. Then he drove the vehicle inside.

After finding the electrical panel he flipped the rest of the switches on, hearing Taylor confirm that the lights worked. While she made something to eat, he searched for the weapons locker. He noted a door marked as the Operations Centre, then saw a door marked Treatment Room which made him pause. As he opened it, he immediately relived everything that ever happened in that room. He flashed back to when he was last here, in this particular base, being wiped then programmed for a mission in Denver. Rumlow had done terrible things to him before wiping him, then taunted him about it afterwards.

"Bucky, are you alright?" Taylor's voice drew him out of his memories. She came further into the room, looking at the memory processing machine with trepidation. "What is this place?"

"This is where they erased me, then programmed me for my missions," he replied, after a moment.

"They hurt you here," she stated. "I can see it on your face. Does anyone else know about this place?"

"No, just Sam, me, and you."

"Then we destroy it. All of it, so no one can use it again."

He looked at her with fondness then nodded, turned around and left. She closed the door behind them. With a promise to come up to eat as soon as he found the weapons locker she left him to continue his search. Ten minutes later he brought a large box up, filled with an assortment of items. Serving out the food, she watched as he ate while he took the things out and laid them on the table.

"We're going to make IEDs," he said. "Bury them in the roadways into town. It will take out their vehicles and maybe a few of them at the same time. Then I'm going to clean some weapons and place them in various hiding places throughout the town. I'll leave you the Skorpion, a Glock and plenty of ammunition. You'll stay here and if anyone tries to get in you shoot them."

"Anyone?"

"Unless they're Avengers," he grinned. "Don't shoot them."

They worked until after midnight assembling IEDs and Taylor began to fall asleep as she sat at the table.

"Come on," said Bucky, picking her up in his arms. "Bedtime for you."

She snuggled into his arms as he carried her to an interior room with a cot. Noticing it was a single, she looked at him drowsily.

"You're not going to sleep with me?"

"No, I have work to do," he answered. "Don't worry, you'll be safe." Kneeling down as he tucked her into the sleeping bag, he stroked her hair. Then he kissed her forehead. "I'll check in on you later."

Turning off the light, he left the door open a little then went back to the assembled IEDs. Carefully, he put the first one in the treatment room, using a timer on it set for later in the day. The rest of them were placed in a box, then he put their detonators in another container. Carrying both to the 4Runner, he placed them in the back then drove to each end of the single road in town, using the camping shovel to dig a hole for them by the beam of the headlights. He placed them in random spots so that it would slow them down. With precision, he inserted the detonator then used his hands to cover them up with the dirt. When that was done, he looked to the east, and saw the ribbon of orange along the horizon, realizing that sunrise was on its way. This had taken longer than he estimated, and he still had to put weapons in hiding places. There was no time to clean any from the weapons locker so it would have to be the ones he already had. Driving back to the HYDRA base he grabbed the weapons bag and some duct tape that he picked up along the way. At each building he taped two guns in a hidden location, placing them methodically in spots up and down the street of the ghost town. When that was done, he looked to the east again then at his watch. Sunrise was in an hour. Perhaps he would have time for a catnap.

Returning to the base, he removed the piece of steel from where it propped up the door and pulled it down, then jammed the steel into the bottom, keeping it from being opened from the outside. Turning off the lights, he used a camping lantern to find the room where Taylor was and toed his boots off, climbing onto the cot behind her. She whimpered a little, but he shushed her and stroked her hair as he spooned her from behind. Then he closed his eyes and listened to her breathing, falling asleep quickly.

It was the sound of an IED going off that woke both of them. Checking his watch Bucky swore at how late it was. Quickly, he climbed out of the cot and put his boots on then ran to the operations room, turning on the surveillance cameras there. Taylor joined him. The sun was well up showing everything brightly. There was a car burning at the same entrance they came in from. Several cars were behind them, with more people stepping out, to survey the scene. Switching to the other side of town, he saw several more vehicles there, waiting. No one got out of them until a big man stepped out with a machine gun and sprayed the roadway in front of them with bullets. Remarkably, he didn't hit a single IED and walked confidently forward, stepping directly on one of the hidden bombs.

"Don't look," said Bucky, turning Taylor around. "It's not pretty. They'll be more cautious now."

"What do we do?"

"I give them a target," he said. They went back to the kitchen, and he put the GPS locator in her hand. "You lock yourself in the operations centre with the Glock and Skorpion. As soon as you see me on the screen you press that button. Then watch what happens. You'll know when it's safe to come out. If anyone tries to break down the door you wait until you see them then shoot at them with the Skorpion using short bursts."

Bucky went to the 4Runner and took out his combat gear. With a shrug, he stripped down to his briefs then put his tactical suit on, before putting the last of his weapons into their holsters and sheaths. Then he cupped her face, kissed her lightly on the cheek and headed over to a ladder that led up to the roof. Climbing up, he went out a door at the top and left her alone in the building. She went back to the operations centre, locked the door, and checked all the different screens until she saw him appear on the one screen, heading towards the centre of town. Pressing the button on the GPS locator she watched Bucky do what he did best. The strange thing was, is that she wasn't afraid for him anymore. The way he walked and looked showed he knew exactly what he was doing.

Out on the street, Bucky strode to where he was visible to both groups of men at each end of town.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He shouted out. "I'm here, come and get me."

As they came out of their vehicles he shot at them, taking fire in return. After hitting two of their men, he ran towards the nearest building, making his way to the roof and firing on them from there. They scattered, taking cover and he jumped onto the lower roof of the next building, then down to the ground, hitting someone who came out from behind his cover. The sound of an IED at the other end distracted the intruders and Bucky ran right past them, firing until he was out of ammunition. Sliding into one of his hiding spots, he pulled the duct tape off the two guns there and waited to see what the others would do first.

The Russians were yelling instructions to each other making him shake his head as they were revealing their next moves to him. Standing up, he fired at two of them before they got under cover, sending them down, then he ran behind the building towards another, coming to the corner of the structure. Taking a peek drew some fire so he ran back to where he had been, hoping they would draw closer to where he had peeked out. Sure enough, two were approaching his old position and he shot at the back of their knees, crippling them. Running towards them he stopped to give each man a punch, knocking them out, then took their guns, slinging them over his shoulder.

As he ran across the street he heard a gunshot, then felt the burning in his leg, ignoring it as he reached the safety of another one of the gun hiding places. Grabbing them, he went inside and up the stairs to the second floor, breaking a window so that he could shoot at anyone who approached. A sound behind him made him turn and he fired, killing the man who didn't have time to fire first. Listening carefully, he heard a creak on the landing and repositioned himself to just inside the door. When he saw the gun he pulled the man into the room, throwing him against the wall and aiming his shots into his knees before punching him senseless. As he was taking his gun, he noticed the man was wearing a comms piece and pulled it out, putting it into his own ear. There was a mixture of Russian and English on the channel, as the two sides were obviously working together.

"Where's the girl?" asked someone.

"Don't know," said another. "He just appeared in the middle of the street."

"You and Patterson check each building. She has to be hiding here somewhere."

Then he heard another voice. "What the fuck? What is that? Take cover!"

With a grin, he realized a portal had opened and Sam was likely flying in. Striding over to the window he saw both Sam and Joaquin, swooping down and firing at anything that moved. They were followed by the quinjet which hovered just above the ground releasing Kate, Yelena, Shaun, Scott, and Hope. It went back up in the air and began targeting the other vehicles, destroying them so the intruders had no means of escape. The chatter on the comms pieces died out until he heard an explosion and a sentence that chilled him.

"Found her."

Racing down the rickety stairs he ran towards the HYDRA building, then heard several short bursts of shots from inside. The garage door had a hole blown into it. Crawling through the hole he approached the operations room, the door ominously open but badly damaged. He listened carefully, finally hearing the sound of someone crying.

"Taylor?"

"In here."

Her voice was strained. Slowly, he approached the door, then he saw the two men on the floor, both dead. She sat in a chair, still holding the Skorpion submachine gun. He removed his guns and approached, kneeling in front of her.

"I had no choice," she whispered. "They blew the door, and I just fired in short bursts like you taught me. They went down and didn't move." She looked at him with reddened eyes. "Are they dead?"

"Yeah, sweetheart, they're dead," he answered, then he put his hands on the Skorpion and took it, putting it aside. "But you're alive and they're not going to come after you again. Come on."

He helped her up, keeping his arm around her as they left the room and went to the garage area. He took a moment to raise the garage door manually, putting the steel piece back into place to keep it open. They both came out into the blazing sun, then heard the sound of wings above them. Taylor cowered against him.

"It's okay," he said, holding her closer. "It's Sam."

Lightly, Sam landed and looked appraisingly at Bucky. "You were supposed to let me know when you got here."

"No cell service," replied Bucky. "It's a ghost town for a reason. Who's flying the quinjet?"

Sam smiled. "Clint. He was visiting."

"There are several IEDs at each end of town that haven't been activated yet. He should probably explode them before the authorities get here. Patterson is dead. Taylor shot him in self-defence."

"Well, there are others who are still alive and we have enough evidence to link them to the Umberto family and the bratvas. I don't think they'll come after Taylor or you, anymore. We also tracked their phone calls and found the police officers who were passing on your location to them. Uncovered quite a few, so Fury's happy about that." He noticed Bucky's leg. "You get shot?"

"Just grazed. It'll heal on its own."

Sam passed on the information about the IEDs to Clint and they soon heard explosions as he used the aircraft's sensors to locate them. When FBI helicopters and vehicles began arriving, Bucky took Taylor back inside, making her sit while he brought her some water. She was better but still quiet for some time.

"Bucky? Is it like that for you all the time?"

"No, not like this," he replied. "It's been a long time since I took on this many people on my own."

She nodded then spoke in a small voice. "I killed two men."

"Yeah, you defended yourself. They would have killed you."

"I think I'm going to be sick."

She ran from where she sat but didn't make it to the bathroom, landing on her knees just outside the door, dry heaving. Bucky kneeled behind her, rubbing her back, then drew her into his arms when she began to cry again.

"It's okay, you're going to be okay."

"Can we go now? I don't want to stay here anymore."

"Let me check. Why don't you pack your bag, and I'll come for you."

Nodding her head, she allowed him to help her up and take her to the room where she slept. He left her then noticed Yelena and asked her to watch Taylor while he checked on some things. When he found the FBI agent in charge, they discussed Bucky taking her back to Avengers Tower. Discussed, as in had an argument over who had jurisdiction. Fortunately, for them, Fury was listening in and pulled rank, claiming that Taylor Hollis was placed in the custody of the Avengers and would stay in their custody until she appeared in court. As the FBI agent ordered his men to search the building Bucky shook his head.

"You don't want to be here any longer than you have to," he began, then looked at his watch. "In about an hour, this building is going to blow up. There is nothing here that should be of interest to you or to anyone else. I'm taking my things, my vehicle, and Taylor out of here. I would suggest you do the same." The man stared at him. "Did I say an hour? I meant twenty minutes, I think, but I didn't check my watch when I set the charge."

Bucky didn't wait for his response but did pack his bags. Then he found Taylor and together they went to the 4Runner. After driving it out of the building he stopped at where he hid the rest of his weapons, adding them back into his arsenal. When the last one was packed away, he pulled up to the quinjet where the other Avengers were waiting.

"Tell Fury that we'll be back in about a week, maybe ten days. Taylor needs the time to decompress."

"You'll need this," said Sam, reaching into one of his flying suit pockets and pulling out a smartphone. "Stay in touch."

Bucky took it then looked over at the HYDRA building, noticing there were still FBI agents going into it. "Tell him that I wasn't kidding. That place is rigged to go up. They had a functioning treatment room, Sam. There was no way I was going to leave it intact."

"I'll tell them," he replied, then he looked at Taylor. "You'll be okay. Bucky will help you. Take your time and stay at some nice places."

She smiled wanly, then he and Bucky shook hands before he stepped back, letting the vehicle pass by them. As they drove out of the ghost town, Bucky reached out to Taylor's hand, grasping it in his.

"Wherever you want to go I'll drive there. We really don't have a timeline now. It's just you and me."

For several miles she said nothing, then she looked over at Bucky.

"Can we go to Iowa? I want to see the Field of Dreams."

"You mean, like the movie? The baseball diamond?" She nodded. He reached for his smartphone and handed it to her. "Find it for me."

She looked it up, an almost 13 hour drive non-stop.

"We can stay overnight in Kansas City," suggested Taylor. "It's a 6 ½ hour drive from there, closes at 6 pm."

"Sounds like a plan," smiled Bucky. He reached out for her hand and squeezed it. "Why don't you find a nice place to stay?"

"One bed or two?"

"Whichever you want," he answered.

When they pulled up to the premium motel in Kansas City, and presented themselves at the counter, Bucky gave his name for their reservation for a single room, king-sized bed. The clerk asked how long they were staying.

"Two, maybe three nights," answered Taylor, before Bucky could say anything. "We've been on the road for a while and need to relax." She wrapped her arm around his waist. "Is that okay, honey?"

He squeezed her back. "Whatever you want, sweetheart." As he signed the register, he looked at the clerk. "Two things. Can you keep our presence here quiet? Do you have room service?"

The clerk glanced at the name again, recognizing it.

"Yes, sir, we'll make sure you have your privacy. Room service goes until midnight. There's a menu in your room. We also have liquor delivery, if you're interested."

Bucky smiled at him, then took the key cards. At the door to their room, he stopped, looking at Taylor in a very non-platonic way. She took the key card, held it to the reader and entered the room, immediately putting the Do Not Disturb sign outside on the door handle. No one at the motel saw either of them until an order for room service and liquor was made an hour before the midnight deadline. Bucky answered the door wrapped only in a towel, gave the two delivery people a big cash tip then disappeared back into the room. They looked at each other, having noticed the perfect physique and metal arm, then returned to the lobby, where they were warned again about keeping quiet. Considering what Bucky gave them for a tip, it was the least they could do.

One Shots Masterlist

[mallow-blue-yt]

Check out today Video! Scooby-Doo Showdown in Ghost Town.

[hopeless--light]

Dp x Dc Why do I hear boss music?

Drabble or ficlet? Who knows I thought of this and would like to write a short dp x dc

The Joker was walking around gleefully he had escaped Arkham yet again but he hadn't done anything yet. Tim was on strict watching duty to see if he can catch Joker in a scheme before he did anything. Everyone else was either off-world, Jason and Dick, or in the middle of busting a trafficking ring, Bruce and Damian. So the Joker was still a high enough priority to keep an eye on but they didn't have the men to spare to take him back.

Tim knew he was being extra stealthy he did not want to become the next Robin victim he had enough clown trauma thank you very much. But he still swore the maniac had turned towards him with a creepy ass smile he always wears. But after an hour of just mindless wandering in the dark, the Joker had yet to do anything. That was until he turned down an alley toward a kid wearing headphones.

Now who wore soundproof headphones while wandering a back alley in the Gotham? Tim could only assume a tourist on top of the kid was prime adoption bait with black hair and pretty glowing blue eyes. Wait glowing? Tim couldn't tell properly from his vantage point on the roof across the street but it really did look like his eyes were glowing blue. And the Joker had noticed too, Shit the Joker was after a defenseless pretty meta. It's just a plus he had black hair and blue eyes, Joker knew Batman had an adoption type.

Time watched in slow motion as the Joker smiled at him and then reached for the teen. The Joker ripped the soundproof headphones off and Tim was hauling ass only stumbling when he heard boss music?

Danny was the final boss.

It started off as a joke between Sam, Tucker, and him, he was the ghost king after all so that means he was technically the final boss. If this were a game he would be the final showdown for heroes to protect the world. Pariah Dark was literally his final boss and he took that mantle up.

So what did the trio do they made a playlist of all their final boss music whether it was video games or movies and played it anytime Danny was visiting them, as he was now in Gotham working on his college degree. But what Danny never would admit is he genuinely enjoyed that playlist and listened to it when he was trying to amp himself up for what future project he needed to work on. Like now he was wandering the streets trying to get inspiration on his final project for class while listening to some boss music to stir up adrenaline.

Sometimes he forgot he was in the most crime-ridden town and that technically he was a meta so color him surprised when he was amping himself up this Freakshow wannabe ripped his headphones off. Not cool. But the worst part was the cord coming off his phone blasting the music. Now he can get away with listening to boss music but he will forever cringe at what started playing when those headphones were yanked away.

Meglovania

[windvexer]

Theme and Action: a tarot method for brainstorming plots, setting, and characters

I find a lot of story brainstorming spreads to be clunky and rigid, so I did a little experimenting and came up with a method I like a lot. I haven't done a ton of testing yet but I thought I'd share what I have.

Basically, it's a two card draw from a deck split into majors and minors. Each draw always has one major card (theme) and one minor card (action).

When you have a question, like:

What are some ideas for the next scene?

Why would that character behave that way?

What's the defining characteristic of this vampire clan?

What do the people in this society fear most?

Why is this scene dragging?

What does this character need to feel more real?

You would draw one major card and one minor card!

Themes and Action; what it's about vs how it manifests

We could call these cards a bunch of different things depending on exactly how the question is framed, but Themes and Action are good enough.

Basically, the major arcana card gives subtext or context, and the minor arcana card provides specific incidents. Like this!:

"In my vampire setting, what is the most important thing in vampire culture?"

Theme: Death

Action: 10/Pentacles

Interpretation: (Theme) The most important thing in vampire culture is the process of dying and the equalizer of death itself. (Action) This has resulted in cultural rituals where death is treated as a sacred adoption or initiation into a new family/estate.

(I really drew this test spread and it really was death lol)

We can swap out the Action card to see a different outcome:

Theme: Death

Action: 5/Swords

Interpretation: (Theme) the most important thing in vampire culture is the process of dying and the equalizer of death itself. (Action) the horror of death and loss has never been overcome in this society, and it must be dealt with as an individual - because vampires process the pain of their own deaths by taking it out on each other.

Here's a different example. In an urban fantasy book where a witch solves ghost mysteries, pacing is dragging and we need our next scene to be exciting. But despite a foot chase after a suspected ghost poacher, the scene doesn't feel fast paced or exciting. The question is, "how do we spice this up?"

Theme: Hermit

Action: King of Cups

Interpretation: (Theme) instead of a crowded street, the character will be isolated and without normal support. (Action) she'll be trapped in a closed space with the story's main villain, who most closely connects with the King of Cups

Another swap, this time switching out the theme card:

Theme: Empress

Action: King of Cups

Interpretation: (Theme) the scene feels boring because it's action without development. Show the main character's personal development and give her a 'level up' moment. (Action) have the ghost poacher lead her to a premature showdown with the main villain, whom she faces bravely for the first time.

This is already long so I'm not going to go on and on with examples but so far I've found this method to be pretty versatile.

Try interpreting Theme and Action as literally as you can within the context of the story!

If you're writing a story about a flower princess who sleeps on a dewdrop in the mystical Gnarlwood Forest, the Sun card will mean one thing.

If you're writing a story about vampires, the Sun card probably means something very different.

Major arcanas can be literary themes, like the moon representing deceit within society, but they can also be literal; in a werewolf story, the Moon card might represent the celestial body that controls the lives of certain people.

The most important thing for me is to avoid interpreting the cards in a general self-help sense.

The cheerful villagers of prosperous Splitsky Castle are waiting for you to invent a festival so a mysterious stranger can come to town and get the plot going.

The question is, "what kind of festival gives me the right setup to pull off the plot point I want?"

The theme card is the Magician, so ideas for the festival could be:

A festival honoring magic users (if they exist in your setting)

A festival honoring the resourcefulness of the villagers

A festival of stage magic and trickery

The action card is the 6/Cups.

Probably, the festival is not about healing your inner child with Jungian shadow work. More contextual ideas might include:

A festival where children are chosen to be trained in magic

A festival celebrating teaching the next generation important skills

A festival meant to delight and entertain children with stage magic

Developing related factions or foils

Draw a major arcana card to identify a certain Theme, maybe along the lines of:

What do they hold to be sacred?

What do they not care about, or hate?

What is their most cherished virtue?

What is the defining feature of leadership?

When they sing about home, what is in their songs?

This theme will be the same for both entities.

Draw different minor arcana cards to show how each entity expresses that theme.

Conversely, work in the opposite direction: keep the minor arcana card for both entities, and swap out the theme card.

Finding Action cards when you know the Theme

Holding the deck so that it's facing you, thumb through the cards until you find the major arcana card that describes your theme. The most recent minor arcana card that was on top of it, even if separated by other majors, is the action card.

Reversals

I tend to read both cards as upright and reversed, and just apply whatever meanings are most relevant. In my experiments using reversals ended up being too finicky and specific, and limited my creativity.

Complex Concepts and Plots

For a complex reading, like plotting an entire novel or building an entire character, I have found more utility in doing many pair readings rather than doing one large spread with many pairs.

My tests so far have suggested that the most creative freedom is found in asking specific questions, like "what is this character's driving motivation," and "what is her quirky hobby," and "what makes her put up with her annoying best friend," rather than trying to build a giant spread that includes all of these things at once.

As a caveat, in plot spreads, I will sometimes put pairs down without returning them to the deck, and then connect Theme/Action pairs with single action cards to suggest events that connect the dots.

[honourablejester]

Every time I go back and watch Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, I’m amazed all over again by the panoply of genres this movie and the VHD setting in general indulges in.

The story is set in “the distant future, where vampires rule the night but their numbers are dwindling”. It sort of plays like a weird techno-gothic post-apocalyptic sci-fi western? Over the course of Bloodlust, we start out in a cross-bedecked gothic city, head to a meeting in a ruined church straight out of western, complete with rifle-armed cowboys on guard, go full fucking Dune in the middle with D riding his biomechanical horse across the back of field-sized sand manta rays migrating across a massive duned desert, head to a small canyon town that's a hideout for various yokai, stop off at a roman ruin in a lake and a massive science fiction stronghold with a mirror-cloaked exterior and automated defense lasers, before heading to the final showdown in the massive crimson techno-gothic castle of Carmilla the vampire queen, which doubles as a spaceship. Because the vampire D has been pursuing this whole time wants to go to the endless night of space to be with his love.

The team of hunters competing with D are armed with, variously, a massive fucking hammer, an absolutely ridiculous arm-mounted crossbow that launches roughly 2000 silver arrows a second, a singularity shooting pistol, and an astral self that flies around the battlefield like an angry sparkly ghost that shoots lasers.

Conveyances include said already-mentioned biomechanical horse, a horse-drawn carriage drawn by similar horses, a full-on motorbike, a massive armoured motor truck-slash-tank, and also said previously-mentioned spaceship.

Let’s just say the aesthetic is simultaneously all over the place, and weirdly unified. It’s a far flung dystopic future run by gothic creatures of the night, after the slow apocalypse that has led to their dwindling. So you have futuristic technology and gothic medieval sensibilities in bizarre but functional post-apocalyptic union. It’s really cool.

Possibly helped by the fact, mind you, that this movie is just stupidly beautiful and so gorgeously animated that you’ll forgive it a lot of sins. But it isn’t actually committing too many. The weird genre blend makes sense, and the vibe is cool and coherent enough that you’ll roll with it.

[theresattrpgforthat]

any ttrpgs for spooky dark boarding school stories? gotham academy, the boarding school: las cumbres, wednesday, that kinda thing?

THEME: Dark Boarding Schools

Hello there, at first I felt like this overlapped with all of my magic school recommendations, but once I did some digging, I realized that there's a lot of big differences! That also means that there was a good number of games I haven't recommended before, so I hope there's something here that fits what you're looking for.

Tangled Blessings, by Cassi Mothwin.

On the eve of your final exam at Brackroot Academy, what mysteries, secrets, dread, and drama will you recall from your last four years of schooling?

Tangled Blessings is a solo journaling or two-player RPG inspired by dark academia media, ghost stories, and graduate school. Featuring a wizarding college, wandering specters, assigned houses, curses, devils’ bargains and more supernatural flavor, Tangled Blessings blends horror and the fantastical to help players craft a story that spans their time at the academy — culminating in one final showdown against their rival.

If your favorite stories ever involved sneaking around an ancient building, uncovering dangerous secrets, studying in a dusty library, practicing spells on the lawn, or making perilous deals with creatures lurking in the darkness… This game is for you.

Tangled Blessings is a game about discovering the dark secrets hidden behind the allure of a secret magical world. You use a tarot deck to determine your character’s placement at the school, the nature of their rival, and the ghosts and creatures that will emerge throughout your years at the school. Each year is represented by a series of card draws, which will represent events that you have to decide how you respond to. If you play this game using the 2-player variant, each of you will play each-other’s rivals, comparing your results to see how the school year affects the both of you. The game culminates in a Final Exam that will determine whether you or or rival comes out on top.

St. Hornbeck, by belsaas.

Welcome to St. Hornbeck College/

Atop a small hill in the woods just outside the small town of Southfield, WI sits a College. Old, copper-rimmed limestone buildings huddle together against the harsh winters, while herds of students wander between them in search of wisdom, kinship and the occasional party. Soon, those herds of students will include you. There are two main reasons for enrolling at St. Hornbeck. Firstly, they have a leading program in the field you want to major in (yes, whatever you may choose). Secondly, there are only a handful of colleges that accept monster-teens in America…

This game relies on traditional teenage tropes to inform your character background, and leans fully into the allegory of monstrosity being a metaphor for young adulthood. Gameplay occurs over a series of scenes, marking various days in the calendar of the school year. In each scene, you can roll for or choose complications related to your monstrosity as a way to invite tension and obstacles for your characters to overcome. If you want to see something that’s a bit darker, you might want to check out this game’s inspiration, by snagging Midnight Oil from Jay Dragon’s Patreon.

Lost Years, by Summerwood Games.

The boarding school in this game is any boarding school, every boarding school. The walls are old stone or red brick, the dormitories are filled with young people going through the agonizing process of becoming themselves, classrooms retrofitted with ceiling tiles and modern lighting.

There are spaces of this school that belong only to us students, sacred rites performed in them that mean nothing to others and everything to us. We smoke cigarettes in the basement, make out in the tack room, make meaningful eye contact across the cricket pitch. I will tell you two truths and a lie: no one can take these years from us, none of us will be the same when we leave, no class will teach us more than we learn from one another. Can you see now which one is the lie? We couldn’t.

Lost Years is a Belonging Outside Belonging game set in a boarding school menaced by a mysterious force that threatens to empty the students of everything that makes them themselves. Meant for 3-5 players, it can be played as a one-shot but is most suited for multi-session play. 

Lost Years looks to be a game that focuses on the emotional highs and lows of being a teenager trying to survive in a strange environment away from the eyes of their parents - but still under the control of some form of authority. Your characters will fill the roles of various tropes from boarding school media, such as the Sporty One, or the Witchy One.

Because this game is BoB, the school itself will fill the foreground, with various locations such as the Attic and the Greenhouse being fleshed out by different players around the table. If you want a game that focuses on the themes of dark academia and how they affect the relationships of these students, you might want to check out Lost Years.

Never & More, by Small Stories.

NEVER & MORE is a quick-play roleplaying game and Edgar Allan Poe-inspired hack of John Harper's Lasers & Feelings.

You are the newest recruits of The Society of Ushers, an occult secret society. Your mission is to prove yourself to your superiors, master the rituals required to move up a rung, and learn how to talk to ravens. Your direct superior and teacher, the Belfry-Devil, has finally deemed you suitable to circulate by yourselves amongst greater society, trusting you to remain faithful to the Ushers in the face of attempted poaching, targeted seduction, and superior parties.

This isn’t necessarily a game about academia, but I think it carries similar elements of learning, dark secrets, and hierarchy. Lasers and Feelings games balance your characters between two qualities; in this case, you are torn between your desire for safety and your hunger for knowledge. You can play this as a one-shot or draw it out if you like, just keep in mind that these types of games usually don’t have resources for character advancement, so your characters won’t gain any new abilities - although whether or not they learn from their mistakes is up to you.

Precarious Prep, by Seaworks.

Welcome to Precarious Prep.

Something dark is going on at Precarious Preparatory School, and one detective - your GM - needs somebody on the inside. In the daytime you'll take classes, get to know the students and faculty, figure out who you can trust. The better you do in class, the faster you'll level up. At night you'll investigate the campus, search for clues, and unlock puzzles. Report your discoveries to the detective to gain points.

Instead of having 6 universal stats, Precarious Prep uses a curriculum - the stats your character takes on are determined by the course load you pick up each trimester. The better you do in classes, the more firepower you’ll have in your investigations. Classes can be fully relevant, partially relevant, or irrelevant to the checks you need to make throughout the game, so coordinate with your team and round out your education with a variety of skills.

Precarious Prep uses something called Discovery Points to indicate how close your students are to revealing what exactly is going on at this preparatory school. Your characters use the things they are learning in class to investigate the mystery, while trying to avoid generating enough suspicion to get them kicked out. Many of the rules strive to generate a number of different gambles that the players can take while trying to gather information - will you do something that increases your chances of success while also increasing your chances of getting expelled? Can you get enough information before the school year ends - or before one of you gets killed?

This game is still in open beta, which means it’s free, but also that it might still have some kinks that need to be worked out. The designer is very eager for feedback, so if you take a look at this game, you might be able to contribute to the final product!

I’d Also Recommend….

The Gardening Club, by Wizard of Ox.

[duckiemimi]

cant wait for u to read yuuji’s chapter :( kind of made me tear up

i almost cried. this is probably my favorite chapter in jjk hands down. five year old yuuji played with slime in sandboxes, collected grasshoppers in meadows, and was in awe of how big horse heads are and he still is. tranquility and nostalgia permeate every panel. the domain's default location was an empty train station in what is now virtually a ghost town with lingering warmth. yuuji's domain isn't flashy or conceptually complex; it's his old town, it's his childhood home, it's what he believes defines his humanity. despite how serene and quiet it is, it's raw. unapologetically raw, just like how yuuji is.

right after showing sukuna around the soft underbelly of his memories, they finally sit to have the most anticipated talk of the series—the one about their clash of ideologies. one on one, face to face. i've slightly touched on the ambiguity of "good" and "bad," and how to frame it from a reader's perspective (click), and now we can finally use yuuji's monologue and sukuna's response as definitive anchors for a spectrum of beliefs, the fine yet strong line between protagonist and antagonist.

i loved yuuji's monologue. so much. so so much.

despite the bleakness of shinjuku showdown, the narrative leans towards a humanistic perspective and it seems we may be ending on that note, no matter how rushed it may come to be. i loved chapter 265. one of gege's best works, i'd say. pure magic.

[royal-daydream]

Wings and Wisps would be decently interesting as a "Nobody knows"

Danny would have to do the snooping on Peri himself while trying not to seem paranoid to Sam and Tucker.

The mall showdown with Skulker would also go differently as Peri would be in a lot worse of a condition afterwards due to the fact that Danny wouldn't have Sam and Tucker's help with him.

He'd also find out about fairies intangibility immunity as he'd try and phase through the house with Peri but at least he'd be able to tell his friends that the reason he vanished was looking for/patching up his ghost attack wounds because Danny of all people would know ghost related first aid.

And because I think it would be more interesting, Peri doesn't know Danny is Phantom, And for that reason, He'd be much more anxious because this town hero ghost boy keeps running into him, Seemingly on perfect timing to protect him from a ghost.

Meanwhile Danny would Access Peri's threat level as a fairy and make the risky decision to try and integrate him into his friend group, That way he can keep tabs on him because Danny knows that Peri like the flame moths flock to when it comes to ghosts.

Danny doesn't go to yell at Vlad because he doesn't have the back up that Sam provided.

It's really interesting to think about this kind of au because I really need to deconstruct the story due to how important Sam and Tucker's assistance to Danny is.

I'd love to post more hypotheticals and spin off au's of W&W, I'm actually working on a art piece for one of them.

[animemusicbrackets]

Vocaloid Song Showdown!!!: Prelims Part B Brackets

You can find the preliminary brackets, as well as the full list of submissions here

ALL MATCHES CAN BE FOUND AT THIS LINK

All prelim matches were made with a random sorter. They will all be posted at noon EST, and will last for one week. There will be one winner per match that will advance (17 total winners).

The Preliminaries Part B will be released as follows:

Saturday, February 10th

Match 1:

"Honey I'm Home" by GHOST; feat. DEX

"Hyperventilation Dance" by Nashimoto We; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Spinning Sky Rabbit" by Orangestar; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Marshall Maximizer" by Hiiragi Magnetite; feat. KAFU

"Children Record" by Jin; feat. IA

Match 2:

"Remote Control" by WONDERFUL☆OPPORTUNITY; feat. Kagamine Rin & Len

"Unicorn" by Teniwoha; feat. flower

"DEAD HAND" by Ferry; feat. Yuzuki Yukari

"Drowning in a Wave of Sadness" by Neru; feat. Kagamine Len

"Mozaik Role" by DECO*27; feat. GUMI

Match 3:

"Proto Disco" by nulut; feat. flower (with KurageP, Bis, MatuMotoMoti, *Shimi, nulut)

"Meteor" by Jonsann; feat. Hatsune Miku

"SUSHI-GO-ROUND" by Utsu-P; feat. ROSE

"Town of Jade" by Mel; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Kaisei" by Orangestar; feat. IA

Monday, February 12th

Match 4:

"The Liar Witch and Gray Rainbow" by Soraru; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Testament" by Hiiragi Magnetite; feat. Hatsune Miku

"ROKI" by Mikito-P; feat. Kagamine Rin and Mikito-P

"BRING IT ON" by Giga-P; feat. Kagamine Rin & Len (with MEIKO)

"World is Mine" by ryo; feat. Hatsune Miku

Match 5:

"Mermaid" by Somari; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Waltz of Anomalies" by Hoehoe-P; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Magic Mirror" by teamOS; feat. Kagamine Rin & Len

"Doctor=Funk Beat" by nyanyannya; feat. KAITO (with maimie, Shindou Gaku, Amaoto Junca, and Dashio)

"Mirage" by Harumaki Gohan; feat. Hatsune Miku

Match 6:

"Hate it Hate it! Huge Ego!" by Wada Takeaki; feat. Otomachi Una

"*Hello, Planet." by sasakure.UK; feat. Hatsune Miku

"The Last Revolver" by MOTHY; feat. GUMI

"You’re Telling Me A SHRIMP Fried This Rice?!" by Jamie Paige; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Vita" by Hiiragi Kirai; feat. flower

Match 7:

"Witch" by Suzuki-P and Ryotai; feat. Megurine Luka (with Camui Gackpo, Kagamine Len, Kagamine Rin, Hatsune Miku)

"MONSTER" by KIRA; feat. GUMI

"Karakuri Pierrot " by 40mP; feat. Hatsune Miku (with GUMI)

"Kakome, Kakome" by Zawazawa-P; feat. Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka

"Parade of Mediocre People" by Wada Takeaki; feat. Otomachi Una

Wednesday, February 14th

Match 8:

"Dreaming Chuchu" by emon(Tes.); feat. Megurine Luka (with Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin)

"iNSaNiTY" by CircusP and Azuralunar; feat. KAITO and SF-A2

"RRRRafflesia" by Utsu-P; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Spinning Song" by DATEKEN; feat. Kagamine Rin & Len

"Common World Domination" by Pinocchio-P; feat. Hatsune Miku

Match 9:

"The Intense Singing Voice of Hatsune Miku" by CosMo; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Heavenly You" by LonePi; feat. REML

"The Madness of Duke Venomania" by MOTHY; feat. Camui Gackpo (with KAITO, GUMI, MEIKO, Megurine Luka, and Hatsune Miku)

"Heart Democracy" by Mikito-P; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Fake Fake Psychotropic" by Kairiki Bear; feat. GUMI

Match 10:

"Jitterbug" by Kuriyama Yuri; feat. Hatsune Miku and MEIKO

"LIAR DANCE" by DECO*27; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Unfriendly Hater" by Meddmia; feat. Hatsune Miku and KAFU

"HITO mania" by Haraguchi Sasuke; feat. Kasane Teto

"Teo" by Omoi; feat. Hatsune Miku (with Kagamine Rin, GUMI, IA)

Friday, February 16th

Match 11:

"Shunran" by john; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Sand Planet" by Hachi; feat. Hatsune Miku (with Hachi)

"Triple Baka" by LamazeP; feat. Hatsune Miku (with Kasane Teto)

"Blessed Messiah and the Tower of AI" by teamOS; feat. Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Len, Kagamine Rin, Megurine Luka, Camui Gackpo, GUMI, IA, MAYU, MEIKO, and KAITO

"Datte" by Yuyoyuppe; feat. Natsuki Karin

Match 12:

"oyasumination" by ippo.tsk; feat. Eleanor Forte

"I’m Gonna Buy! Buy! Buy! " by Signal-E; feat. Luo Tianyi

"Propose" by Naisho no Pierced; feat. KAFU

"Neo-Neon" by DECO*27 and TeddyLoid; feat. Hatsune Miku (with Shiho)

"Jailbreak" by Neru; feat. Kagamine Rin

Match 13:

"Play" by shr and itsuki; feat. Matsudappoiyo

"Reckless Battery Burns" by GHOST and Vane; feat. Kevin

"Hungry Nicole" by Niru Kajitsu; feat. flower

"Tell Your World" by kz; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Gehenna" by wotaku; feat. Hatsune Miku

Match 14:

"Abstract Nonsense" by Neru; feat. Kagamine Rin

"Electric Angel (Giga-P Arrangement)" by Yasuo-P and Giga-P; feat. Kagamine Rin & Len

"Mind Brand" by MARETU; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Vampire" by DECO*27; feat. Hatsune Miku

"makka" by Yuyoyuppe; feat. Natsuki Karin

Sunday, February 18th

Match 15:

"Can't I Even Dream" by Fumii; feat. Hatsune Miku

"hand" by Avogado6; feat. Asane Ema

"Weenywalker" by youman; feat. GUMI

"Schadenfreude" by Guchiry; feat. Otomachi Una

"Alter Ego" by Misumi; feat. Hatsune Miku

Match 16:

"All I Need are Things I Like" by Pinocchio-P; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Machine Gun" by KIRA; feat. GUMI

"Love Me, Love Me, Love Me" by Kikuo; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Kimagure Mercy" by Hachioji-P and q*Left; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Seraphim on the Ring" by Mitchie M; feat. Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin, KAITO (with Kagamine Len)

Match 17:

"Super Nuko World" by Mafumafu; feat. IA (with Kagamine Rin)

"Love! Snow! Really Magic" by Mitchie M; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Crazy ∞ nighT" by teamOS; feat. Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Len, Kagamine Rin, GUMI, Camui Gackpo, Megurine Luka, KAITO, and MEIKO

"Nobody Makes Sense" by Pinocchio-P; feat. Hatsune Miku

"Reincarnation Apple" by Pinocchio-P; feat. Hatsune Miku

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls: 3x8 Let The Games Begin (Aka Let The ShitCircus Begin) (Send In The Clowns) (Send Help) (Part 1)

You can read my thoughts on all previous episodes in my Pinned Post. Ladies and Gentlemens, do you know what time it is? it is officially Literati Kickoff Time.

To get everyone up to speed, in the last episode, Rory recieved a Public Dumping for the Ages, Dean has stepped down as Rory's Primary Male Life Ruiner and handed that crown to Jess, Shane has been eviscerated into a bloody pulp, Lorelai and Luke both missed the showdown at the DM and so Lorelai learned about this tea off-screen sometime between the last episode and this one. It's yet unclear whether Lorelai learned what happened through second hand gossip or if Rory dusted off her Season 1 Balls of Steel and had the courage to inform her mother that Dean was out and Jess was in. Episode Opener: we see Rory and Lorelai walking through town shortly after the dance marathon, complaining about their sleep deprivation and achy feet. ("At least you bitches still have your feet," says Shane's dismembered ghost, looking down at her new webbed swan feet).

What is this shirt? It looks like an octopus ejaculated on this shirt.

Hey baby hey baby hey! J: Hi R:Hey J:Hi Lor: Hi (Who told you you could speak? Butt out, bish) Luke: Hi Jess: Hi R: I have to get to school. J: Me too. R:Bye J:Bye. Bye. Lorelai: Bye (bish, I swear...) R: Bye Luke: Bye Jess: Disappears

Only THE CUTEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED?! That was so cute, they should be immortalized into a pair of Precious Moments figurines. The little plaque on the figurine would be titled "Idiots In Love." So naturally, a certain Grinch in a lavendar blouse has a problem with this and it only further reassures her that Jess is nothing more than A Sex Criminal (who would never murder anyone).

Yay. Lorelai and I are both crying on the inside over this development, but for vastly different reasons. Anyway, look at her hanging her head! This bish is in mourning! Look at how depressed this bish is! Hahaha! Get SAD, BISH! I WILL LICK YOUR SALTY, SALTY TEARS! Ahem. I haven't seen such a somber delivery since the medical examiner delivered the news to Shane's parents that he had positively identifed her mutilated corpse.

Who will visit my home and sift through my panty drawer now? Luke: What happened? Lorelai, somber as a funeral director: Jess happened. Luke, uncharacteristically giddy with excitement: Wow! WOW! This is great! Wow! Rory and Jess! Jess and Rory! This is great! Don't you think this is great! Honestly Luke and Lorelai reflect both sides of my conflicting feelings about the Literati Shit-Circus. Lor: "I'll tell Dean you said that." I'm sure you will before the next time you gargle his dick. I think it's the next episode where Lorelai tells Dean, "Just because you and Rory broke up doesn't mean we did." #Sick

MOMMY FAIL! Rory is 18. She's a fucking adult so leave her alone. Anyway, what does that mean? I think it's code for "It's about time Rory dated a boy who knows how to remove a bra.' Luke: I know Jess is tough (LOL, yeah, he's a real toughie, just look at that last exchange) but he likes Rory and Rory's a good kid. Her good will rub off on him.

You are so full of baloney. You're a Baloney Superstore. You are the Walmart of Baloney. Oh, this episode contains multitudes. Lorelai is insufferable on not just one but two fronts. Heavens to betsy. This is the episode where she has a shit-fit over Richard taking Rory to interview at Yale. One of the most ridiculous Lorelai tantrums I can ever recall, at least in the earlier seasons. Maybe not as insane as "I'd rather my child and I be homeless than accept a loan from my mother to save my termite infested house" but it's up there in the top 5 for me.

I am so brave. Ar FND, Richard invites Rory to embark on said Road Trip to Yale, which shouldn't be a big deal for a child with any other mother besides Lorelai Gilmore, but this is Rory so she is shaking lke a flu stricken chihuaua at the thought of her mother finding out she would ever deign to visit a school endorsed by her grandparents. She reluctantly accepts, then quietly pees her pants.

God speed, girlypop.

Fun with Product Placement time: Rory went to fetch a soda from the kitchen, and my immediate thought was: "These rich bitches better have name brand Coca Cola in their fridge, and not that odd Hansen's soda that Rory is always drinking", and they do. A real honest to god prominently labeled Coke can. Girlypop here is feeling the heavy weight of possibly displeasing her mother in both her romantic and academic choices. She has a lot on her plate right now. While the car is parked in the Gilmore Grands driveway after FND, girly pop musters up the courage to tell Lorelai "Grandpa wants us to go on a road trip to Yale" which causes Lorelai to huff and immediately exit the car. She begins storming back into the house, intent on demanding that her father explain this unbelievably callous and cruel attempt to brainwash her daughter into considering another school besides Harvvard. Rory stops her at the porch. where a lengthy argument ensues. Rory has to (once again) dig in her heels to defend her position against Lorelai over something so STUPID. I am really sitting here watching Lorelai and Rory go back and forth forever just because (ADULT) Rory wants to visit a college campus at the invitation of her own grandfather. Lorelai even calls Richard a "master manipulator" for this evil plot. You know what Rory, stop asking Lorelai for her input. Since you don't have a car, just hop on a bus to New Haven and just fucking go. After comparing the city of New Haven to leftover sludge at the bottom of a coffee pot, Lorelai decides she's going to accompany Rory on the trip anyway, even though its been made quite clear she does not have to go (just like the Sherry Baby Shower). In both instances, Lorelai's presence will ruin everything. Per @frazzledsoul: "Lorelai is so spoiled here. Imagine being a parent of a teenager and your worst problem is what Ivy League school your kid goes to." Amen. The rest of this episode promises to be a complete shitshow of epic proportions. At least the next episode is "Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving", one of the best.

[son1c]

conclusion to the falling stars bonus chapter (yeehaw edition)

falling stars fic masterpost

Shadow glared at the cowboy ghost. It was difficult to keep his eyes on him while also keeping track of the possessed horse statues, but somehow, Shadow was managing. He saw them whinny and kick their feet out of the corner of his eye, their metal hooves scraping against the dirt.

“We’re no one’s dinner,” Shadow growled, his grip tightening around Sonic.

“Watch yourself, boy,” the ghost warned, his ferocious grin widening. “You ain’t the first folks to have made it this far. I’ll round you up like I’ve rounded up the rest, and you’ll be mine again before sundown.”

The horses reared their heads back in agreement. Shadow glared at them too.

“I saw through your ruse once,” Shadow said. “It won’t work on me a second time. You’re a fool if you think otherwise!”

That made the ghost laugh. “You’ve got the spirit of a stallion, hedgehog.” Leaning forward, the ghost then said, “But there’s one thing you ought'a know: even the toughest spirit can be broken.”

The sound of metal on metal suddenly tore through the air. The noise was loud, and horrible, but it wasn’t nearly as horrible as the sight of the horse statues charging at Sonic and Shadow. Their twisted steel bodies shuddered with every pump of their spindly legs, and their heads jerked this way and that as if they were puppets on tangled strings, their creepiness factor working on overdrive.

Shadow dodged the first horse by diving to the right, but the second horse adjusted course quickly, and was on top of him before he had a chance to get out of the way. When the metal monster stomped down on him, Shadow was forced to drop to the ground and block the attack with his foot, since he still had Sonic in his arms. The horse’s bestial strength was apparent from the gust of wind that blew through Sonic’s quills when its hoof connected with Shadow’s shoe.

With wide eyes, Sonic stared at the killer hoof. It was less than an inch from his nose, and still fighting to get closer.

Shadow set his jaw. He wasn’t willing to become roadkill. With a great heave, he pushed the metal horse back, and jumped to his feet. A bead of sweat rolled down his face, but he was far from beat. “I won’t break,” he snarled as he shot a loathsome glare at the cowboy ghost. “If you don’t back down, your pets will be the only ones left in pieces.”

The look in the ghost’s eyes was hungry. “Quit yappin’, and show me your fire!”

Sonic tugged on Shadow’s shoulder. “Stripes,” he said tensely, “you gotta put me down.”

Shadow didn’t break eye contact with the ghost. “No. You’re in no condition to fight.”

Sonic balled his hands into fists. “I can handle myself. ‘Sides, it’s no good if I’m slowin’ you down.”

The two hedgehogs were surrounded. Six metal horses stood in a circle around them, leaving no room to escape. The ghost town offered no spectators, but the fog created the illusion of figures if the sun hit it at the right angle. It felt like they were in the middle of a grand event, a showdown at the town square, except they weren’t fighting for the title of sheriff; they were fighting for their lives.

Shadow briefly turned his attention away from the ghost in favor of looking down at Sonic. When he spoke, he did so with annoyance in his tone. “This isn’t up for debate. You–”

The dark hedgehog was cut off by the sudden appearance of a third horse. Its huge steel head was plowing forward, ready to bash Shadow’s skull to bits. Sonic yanked Shadow backwards, and the two hedgehogs rolled under the horse’s attack, missing it by a hair.

Now on the ground, Sonic pushed himself out of Shadow’s grasp and said, “I got us into this mess, alright? The least I can do is stay outta your way while you clean it up.”

Shadow looked like he wanted to argue, but when the cowboy ghost sent another horse his way, he decided to prioritize the threat. Now that he had both hands free, he was able to grab the horse when it charged at him, and with that same unnatural strength as before, he flipped it over his head and slammed it down into the dirt. The horse shrieked in surprise, but because it was a haunted statue and not a real horse, it couldn’t really feel pain.

Shadow would need to completely destroy it in order to take it out of the fight.

Sonic, meanwhile, was thinking about what he could do to help. He didn’t want to be a dead weight–anymore than he already was. Surely, there must be something he could do to aid Shadow in the fight. His broken leg complicated things, but he’d sooner break another bone than just stand there and do nothing. So, he looked between all of the horses, at their tall metallic bodies that cut into the sky like cursed blades. And he noticed something.

The horse statue that the cowboy ghost was sitting on moved seamlessly, its motions almost indistinguishable from a living, breathing horse. The ones on the other side of the square, however, moved more erratically, their bodies twitching like they were running out of power.

Maybe, if…

“Stripes!” Sonic shouted, his eyes big from the realization. “You gotta throw it, man!”

Shadow, who had been trying and failing to punch the life out of the undead horse statue, shouted back, “What?!” He narrowly avoided the statue’s dagger-like teeth when it snapped at him.

“As far as you can,” Sonic answered. “Just do it!”

Grunting, Shadow figured he might as well give it a shot. He ducked under the horse’s hooves, whipped back around, and grabbed its spindly legs with both of his hands. Then, he spun it around, faster and faster, until finally he let it go, and the statue sailed through the air, crashing into a house two blocks down the street. It did not get back up.

Shadow’s eyes lit up. Five more to go.

Moving fast, Shadow managed to toss all but the last horse out of the fight. When it came to that last one, however, he had to stop, because it was the one the cowboy ghost had chosen as a steed. And the cowboy ghost now had Sonic clutched in his ghastly fist. The blue hedgehog was clawing angrily at the white hand wrapped around his middle, but if the ghost could feel it, he didn’t seem to care.

“I’ll cut you a deal,” the ghost purred, his swirling eyes glowing bright purple as they bored into Shadow. “Surrender, and I’ll let him go. Your Chaos Energy’s all I’m hankerin’ for, anyhow. Ain’t no need to be greedy!”

“No! Stripes, don’t–”

The ghost tightened his grip around Sonic, choking him. His freaky eyes never wavered from Shadow’s face. “Refuse, and I’ll kill him.” Grinning, the ghost said to Shadow, “The choice is yours.”

Shadow watched as Sonic’s face started to turn blue. His chest frothed with rage at the cowboy ghost, the feeling swirling inside of him like a snowstorm, prickling his skin and fur and threatening to burst out in a storm of icicle spears. He looked the ghost dead in the eye, his expression frigid. His voice was equally as cold when he replied, “I refuse.”

The ghost blinked in surprise. However, he quickly recovered, and his expression darkened. “Stubborn hog,” he sneered. “As if I’d let a good meal go to waste!”

Then, the ghost loosened his grip around Sonic, and Sonic gasped. But before the blue hedgehog could recover, the ghost pressed his big thumb against Sonic’s little forehead, and said evilly, “Do me a favor, won’t you, darlin’? Wrangle that friend a'yours for me.”

Sonic’s efforts to break free from the ghost’s grasp died down when his green eyes started to fill with purple. And when he looked down at Shadow from his place atop the horse statue’s head, it was with the same swirling gaze as the cowboy ghost.

Great. Now Shadow would have to–

Blinking, Shadow stared at the top of the horse statue’s head, but Sonic wasn’t there anymore. His ear twitched, and he snapped his head to the side just in time to see Sonic’s fist coming towards him way faster than he ever would have thought was possible. Shadow caught it, but only just barely, and his palm stung from the impact.

The two hedgehogs skidded across the dirt, the speed of Sonic’s attack carrying them forward even after it had been stopped.

It was the sweat lining Sonic’s brow that caused Shadow to look down. Under the leg brace, Shadow could see the bandages begin to turn red as fresh blood seeped through. He gritted his teeth. While Sonic’s speed certainly came as a surprise, it was being forced out of him, and if Shadow didn’t stop it soon, the consequences could be dire.

Sonic threw another punch, although this one seemed slower than the first. His fist still streaked through the air like a speeding bullet, however, and Shadow had to be quick to catch it. Then, the dark hedgehog’s chest squeezed with rage at the cowboy ghost when he heard Sonic’s breath hitch from the next step he took.

No more playing around.

Shadow dropped Sonic’s fists and ran towards the cowboy ghost and his steed at top speed, his icy anger igniting and turning into a burning flame inside his heart. He refused to let this spirit keep them trapped here any longer, and when he curled into a ball, all of his rage joined him, his body set alight with red hot Chaos Energy.

The ghost did not dodge. His hunger consumed him–when he saw Shadow’s overflow of Chaos Energy, he simply waited in anticipation.

Less than a second later, Shadow’s hit connected with the horse statue’s skull, and the haunted art piece burst into flames, overwhelmed by the power of Shadow’s attack. The cowboy ghost was next, as Shadow bounced off the statue’s head and slammed directly into the ghost’s face, still on fire with that crackling red energy.

It proved to be too much for the voracious ghost. He, too, burst into flames. His spirit burned away quickly, destroyed by the unrestrained power of Shadow’s Chaos Energy.

Shadow landed on his feet. He watched as the last of the cowboy ghost’s wispy form disappeared into the sky with a dark expression. Good riddance, he thought. Then, he rushed over to the other side of the square, where Sonic was standing, wobbling on his feet.

“Sh… Sheesh! What hit me?” Sonic laughed, though it was strained. “F-Feels like I just went through the spin cycle! Haha!”

Shadow inspected Sonic’s eyes, but could find no trace of the ghostly purple that had previously been infecting them. Did he not remember going fast?

“Let’s get out of here,” Shadow said tersely, casting a glance over his shoulder. The hospital building had disappeared, but that creepy fog remained hanging over everything. “Before anything else shows up.”

“Huh?” Sonic blinked, still a little dazed. “Oh, yeah. And let’s hunt down a cafeteria while we’re at it–one without an ectoplasm problem!”

Shadow suddenly felt a searing pain in his head. It burned him, like the Chaos Energy he had just unleashed onto the cowboy ghost. He squeezed his eyes shut to curb his spinning vision, but it did little to help the sudden nausea that was now gripping at his throat.

Sonic noticed the sudden change and immediately shook off the last of the funk clouding his brain. He reached out to Shadow, holding him steady by gripping the dark hedgehog’s upper arm. “You doin’ okay, bud?”

Grimacing, Shadow pried his eyes open. “It’s nothing. Just–”

Whatever he was about to say died in his throat, as his body completely shut down on him. Sonic, alarmed, caught him before he could become a pile in the dirt.

Thankfully, he could feel Shadow’s breath against his shoulder, so he knew he wasn’t dead, just asleep. Still, Sonic was concerned.

“Take it easy,” Sonic said, even though Shadow couldn’t hear him.

Sonic’s leg–which he had been pointedly ignoring up until this point–screamed at him to sit down, but there was no way he could stop and rest in this messed up ghost town. The buildings loomed at him through the fog, the specters of the horse statues lurking just out of sight.

Sonic slung Shadow’s arm over his shoulders. He didn’t have the leg strength necessary to carry him like a Disney princess, so hopefully the dark hedgehog wouldn’t mind being half-dragged through the mud while Sonic limped up the hill and out of town. He didn’t stop until the haunted town vanished behind the hills at his back, and when it did, he carefully laid Shadow down in a bed of flowers before flopping down next to him, exhausted.

Staring up at the stars, Sonic listened to the soft sound of the wind blowing through the grass. To no one in particular, he asked, “Has my life always been this exciting?”

[blueikeproductions]

So I’ve been thinking of the EarthSpark children’s books again.

Besides the Guidebook, these two seem to be the only ones out atm that are original stories and not recaps/adaptions of episodes of the cartoon. I personally prefer original stories set roughly during the cartoon’s universe, and to no one’s surprise I’m naturally a big fan of the RiD15 books being all original stories.

However, my nitpick with the EarthSpark books is they’re too short and … safe. There’s no real conflict or if there is one, like Racetrack Recon, it’s resolved instantly…

Now kids books or not, I think most of us want some kind villain for the Autobots to fight, which the RiD books excelled in. My favorites being Scuzzard from above, Liege Maximo starting trouble because he was bored and needed a cheap thrill, and Drift meeting up with his old Decepticon crew. So what can the EarthSpark books do?

Well for starters:

Use Swindle. He’s perfect for low scale conflict, and you can get a lot of mileage out of him starting trouble with a guest star that the Terrans have to stop. Obviously you could experiment with other villains besides him, but still.

Book idea 1: Items have been going missing from Witwicky. The culprits are Swindle and Chop Shop.

Besides trying to make a quick buck, they also seek to steal important GHOST tech to benefit the Decepticons still roaming the Earth. Dot and Optimus have to keep Croft and Schloder distracted so the Terrans can put a stop to Chop Shop’s kleptomania.

Book Idea 2: The Decepticons need energy if they plan to still take over Earth and stick it to Megatron and GHOST. Swindle, seeing an opportunity to make some moolah, gets Octane and RatBat to join him on a fuel syphoning scheme.

I feel like it’d be a Jawbreaker and Grimlock story as a gag on fossil fuel.

Book Idea 3: Revision of Recon where Swindle fixes the race using the RiD15 originated Stunticons. I already talked about this one.

Book Idea 4: Tarantulas runs afoul of an old lab partner, the insane Autobot scientist Flame.

(For a potential toy, I feel Flame would be a hybrid design of these two, taking more from the one on the right for ease of toy design.) Flame, fed up with the humans treatment of Transformers, decides to release a Cyber-Virus bio weapon Tarantulas developed during the Great War, and use it to Cyber Form Earth into something more palatable. Tarantulas needs Nightshade, Wheeljack and Hashtag’s help in a race against the clock to defeat Flame’s mad ambitions. Akin to RiD15 Grimlock with Simacore, Nightshade gets their first arch rival in Flame.

Book Idea 5: Nightshade and Sam team up to take down crime in Philadelphia, playing up a bit of the superhero side to the owl. Playful parody of 60’s Batman, using Animated supervillains like Angry Archer and Nanosec.

The supervillains are part of a larger scheme by the Decepticon Malignus.

Of which Nightshade and Sam need to call in the rest of the “Teen Terrans” and Bumblebee to help deal with.

Book Idea 6: Optimus Prime’s trailer/Combat Deck starts malfunctioning and causing a rampage around town, causing a headache for GHOST and the Autobots.

It’s discovered the jailhouse Decepticons implanted a computer virus into the trailer via Bombshell’s Cerebro Shells to spite the Autobots. Twitch, Robbie and Hashtag have to jack in and defeat the computer virus within, Kremzeek, in a video game showdown while Jawbreaker, Mo, Thrash, Nightshade and Megatron try to contain the Combat Deck on the outside. There’s a fun visual of Roller effortlessly pulling the trailer around town in its rampage.

Book Idea 7: GHOST develop their own Navi program in TORQ III from studying Cybertronian technology and Teletraan 1.

A hybrid of the G1 episode, Marvel UK’s Raiders of the Last Ark, and TFP’s Flying Mind, TORQ finds GHOST inefficient and seeks to apprehend every remaining Decepticon on the planet with his own methods, regardless of the consequences to the Autobots, and humans like the Maltos. Optimus, Elita and Megatron have to stop TORQ and his mind controlled Decepticons from starting a new Machine War.

Book Idea 8: The elusive Mirage, based on the RotB version with his body being closer to RiD01 Mirage, returns and pays a visit to the Malto household to see what all the hubbub is.

Mirage, Robbie and Thrash become fast friends, and team up to put a stop to the latest scheme of Swindle’s. Battletrap, Transit and Scorponok are present as part of further RotB synergy.

[explosivehrt]

A sheriff and an outlaw, locked in a staredown, star-crossed, scar-crossed, tumbleweeded- I think theres something about this in a scripture somewhere, on how the devil was once gods favorite angel, how an outlaw could've been a town hero's favorite something. Maybe not much has changed, because theres some kind of excitement in the way they stare eachother down, two cowboys on each end of the street, fingers twitching to the pistols at their belts. Familiar, challenging, dangerous, sending the sheriff aquiver when the outlaw grins, crooked and toothy. I dare you. It goes unspoken, the outlaw says something else instead. I told you to stay out of my damn way, Sheriff. He drawls, all lazy confidence and this sounds different, like a climax, they've taken pot shots during chases, but they've never had a true showdown like this. The sheriff finds himself aching for it, trigger finger itching. He wants to shoot. He wants to wound. He wants justice. He also wants to give and get, wrestling like when they were younger but they have guns now. Fingers twitching to belts. The sheriff wants to cackle and sing out. You think you can outshoot me, motherfucker? Well think otherwise, because this gun spits hell’s fucking fury! The outlaw grins wider, jerking his chin like a dare. Well, I’ll shoot you if you shoot me too, what do you say, sugar?

In a blink, pistols raise and fire twin shots, turns out both guns spit hellfire, because both bullets find their marks. Shoulder. Gut. Blood soaks leather, stains the sand red. The outlaw laughs, loud and cacophonous and crazy. There's something wrong with him. The sheriff keels over, shoulders shaking as he joins in. Theres something wrong with him too. Hand to the agony in his gut, blood spurting through his fingers, knees in the sand, spurs digging into his own ass as he laughs until theres tears in his eyes. He hears the outlaw before he looks up through blurry vision to see him, spurs clacking with each step. Blood flows freely from his shoulder and he holds out a hand. The sheriff grunts and takes it, gets pulled back to his feet, and they're not laughing anymore. These wounds wont kill them. There's crazy in them both, like moon-drunk coyotes. They hang off of eachother like the old days and limp to the doctor. They won't get turned away, there'll be no remorse and no charges because there’s nothing against a little friendly competition in this ghost town, no laws in the wild fucking west, not for this outlaw, not from this sheriff. Good shot, the sheriff says, looking sideways at the outlaw and up through his eyelashes like a dame. The outlaw slaps a hand to his injured gut and he keels over again, hand flying to the hole in the outlaws shoulder and digging his fingers in until the man cries out. Pain for pain, a bullet for a bullet, one day an eye for an eye. Flirting. With eachother, with death. He tears his fingers out of the outlaws shoulder and they climb back to their feet, the sheriff itches his lip, blood gets on it, on his lips, his mustache, he licks it away, tastes the cocktail of their blood and laughs again. They're something wild, the two of them. Maybe by morning the postsign by the archway into town will have their faces plastered to it, banned, far too untamed to be allowed to stick around any longer.

[tanglepelt]

A blizzard of his own creation

Ao3 next

Summary: Danny has a breakdown creating a blizzard.

It was all gone.

The town. His friends. His family. The portal into the realm. Vlad just had to mess with the king.

Of all people, he had to mess with the one that had been sealed away. The one who had brought terror to the ghost zones. Ghost fled the zone far from the king. The king that took several ancients to seal away. Just for some stupid crown.

Vlad caused the king’s outrage.

In the Kings fit of rage to retrieve the crown and ring. He stole Amity from Illinois. Trapping the citizens in the ghost zone. Surrounded by a green dome. There was no escape and even if there was the ghost zone was not friendly.

They would only ever be seen as trespassers. Too many rules had been broken.

Danny had gone to find a way back. To reverse what the king had done. Danny wanted to save everyone and rescue the town. Vlad was only trying to save himself; he was never going to change. It has and will always be only about him.

Danny heard the commotion from the school. He went to go help; Vlad followed. After only the ring.

The Fright Knight in all his glory stood guarding a sword. The one emitting the green light forming the dome trapping them. Valarie is behind him. On the ground. A failed showdown. It wasn’t a fight she could have won. The Knight looked at her seeing the ring Vlad planted on her.

Valarie had always been smart. She threw it away from her. The knight went for it.

Vlad lunged for it. The fright knight stopped him. Pulling the sword from the gound. The sword in his hand still emitting the green dome. Vlad was struck down. Trapped in a nightmare. The sword plunged back into the ground right after. The attention was back on the ring that had fallen. Valarie is ready to strike.

Grabbing the sword with full intentions to stop any more injuries. Pulling it from the ground he charged at the knight and the ring.

A flash of green

He was in a crater. Where his town once stood. Where the town wasn’t any longer.

Alone.

Exposed water lines and sewers were visible. The crater slowly fills with water higher and higher. Still pumping in from out of town. The outskirts of Amity had power lines missing their connecting pieces. Everything was gone. Remnants of basements. Nothing from FentonWorks. The one place that would help him.

Sam’s theatre remained. The city hall's panic room. Even the school's boiler room. No people, no buildings. Just reminders of what had been.

Everyone is trapped in the ghost zone. Him alone in the human realm

What was he going to do? Even if he went to Wisconsin, it wouldn’t do him any good. Vlad's portal went up in an explosion from not changing the filter. The only reason he had been here.

Why did Vlad have to ruin everything?

No one else had a portal.

In the middle of the crater, he fell to his knees. Clutching his jeans tight. He had been forced out of his ghost form upon being kicked back into this realm. Danny struggled to breathe. Breaths were rapid and shallow.

He felt hopeless. What was he going to do? How was he going to save everyone? How was he going to get to the ghost zone? How? How just how?

There were no solutions. No answers. Just more and more questions.

The temperature around him began to drop. He didn’t notice. Not the snow with no clouds. Not how the water in the crater started freezing from him out. Danny was only focused on his thoughts. His alone.

If someone was to look at Danny, they would see his blue breath the ice around his fist spreading into the jeans. The way his skin began to get a blueish tint. The way his eyes glowed blue. A green tint on the edges.

There was no one to notice.

He was all alone.

The more he thought the harder it got. Lost in his thoughts. He’d never be lectured by jazz. He’d never see Tucker or Sam. He’d never see his parents. He’d never hear his dad rant about fudge again. His mom's experiments. He’d never see the fruit loops mug. He’d be all alone.

The ice only spread faster. The air even colder. Snow starting to stick to the ground.

Danny wouldn’t be able to make a new portal on his own. He wasn’t the genius in the family. He can’t do it alone. He was only 14. It wasn’t time for him to be on his own. He should be with his family. His friends. Not on his own.

The snow fell faster. It got larger.

The snow now sat about two inches tall.

Unbeknownst to him it began to spread through Illinois

Tears began to fall. Landing on the ground around him. Completely ice. The tears clinked as the ice hit the ice.

Danny still didn’t notice. Consumed by his emotions.

No more being threatened by his parents. No more school. No more Lancer telling him he could do better. No more friends. No more family.

Who would play Doom with him? Who would lecture him on vegan food? He’d miss it all.

The world around him was covered in snow. Snow falling so hard you couldn’t see. Snow piling around him. Never on him but surrounding him. The walls around him act as a barrier to the outside world. If he could see it would only be white.

The snow was at least three feet now.

He doesn’t know how long this went. Danny doesn’t know nearly the entire US and the bulk of Canada were now in a whiteout condition. A blizzard the world never saw coming. Danny did know one thing.

His family wouldn’t give up.

His parents had the ghost shield. A suit they were working on.

Sam and Tucker had anti-ecto weapons stashed everywhere

They had weapons stashed everywhere.

The theater and broiler room had weapons hidden in them. Attacks happened all the time at school. They had prepared for ghost attacks. They had contingencies. They had stashes of weapons everywhere.

The trio had commandeered weapons from his parents. The awful ones. Not the poorly designed ones. Only awful because of the pain they caused. The ones that hurt ghosts, beyond the standard ant-ecto weapon. The ones that could be dangerous. And the most important one on his mind. The ones that sent beings back to the realm.

He only ever saw his mom use it once. The town meeting that Walker caused. They had determined it unsafe for them to have. They hid it away in a place his parents would never be welcome. Sam’s house. The theatre specifically.

He looked up. Seeing the snow. Finally feeling the chill in the air. The wind was blowing he could only see the snow. He had to get away. As his breathing got fast and his panic rose the blizzard got worse. Blue breathes coming out of his mouth.

It was his blizzard.

One based on his feelings. The ice on his jeans, holding his hands up to his face, the blue in his skin. He had caused this storm. He needed to calm down.

A Deep breath.

The snow became lighter. He could now see the wall of snow in front of him. Air still freezing.

Another breath.

The air began to warm up.

The thought of getting to his friends. Getting to the weapons. He could shoot himself. Get to the ghost zone. Just like his mom had done in the town meeting where Walker took control.

The snow began to disappear.

Newfound hope. A plan to get into the zone forming.

The wall began to vanish. No melting just gone.

Every breath, every good thought. His blizzard dissipated. Gone from existence as if it had never happened.

Standing up he heard a clink. A black ring had fallen as he stood up. The same one he had gone for.

The ring of rage. It was in front of him. Just on the ground. The very thing the king was after, he needed both halves to complete his powers.

This could work.

Danny knew what to do. He would get back into the ghost zone. Charge Pariah for the crown. With the right weapons, those made to maim and the element of surprise he could take the crown. He’d then have the power.

He would save them all.

[ninja-muse]

This month's last-minute review is brought to you by something of a reading slump. I've read a fair number of good books this month, if you look at the ratings I've given them, but no books that I've gotten excited about, that I've felt were unexpectedly good enough that I had to talk about it.

Until now.

Lovecraft Country was my first Matt Ruff, and it's not going to be the last. It's well-written, with strong characters and good humour, and a really interesting structure. It's a smart book, and feels very grounded and real. Is it an astounding book? No, but it does its thing very well and I enjoyed reading it more than I thought I would.

Let's start with the structure, because that's one of the things that impressed me most. It's a novel-of-stories, with each chapter being a different character on their own adventure, but there's still a narrative arc for the book, clues the characters gather and the readers pick up on, and nastiness that builds and builds until the final showdown. It's a tough structure to pull off, but Ruff's done it.

I also liked that the structure lent itself very well to a sort of puzzle-box story. You get all these clues and hints about what's truly going on, even if you don't realize that till later, and even though you kind of know where the book is going, watching everything slowly slot into place and trying to put everything together before the characters do is a good part of the fun. It's a lot like watching good SFnal TV, which Ruff's author's note says this was meant to be; you get invested in the characters and the individual "episodes", but there's meaning in that key, that comic book, that thing in the forest. Surely there must be, but how?

And the characters! I loved all the point-of-view characters—they're smart, opinionated, complicated, aware of the forces acting against them and doing what they can to avoid them. I was scared for them, I wanted them to succeed, all that good stuff. The white people are also believably drawn, in that they're self-important, greedy, and used to power, but also, when the story allows for us to see it, sympathetic and complicated all the same.

It's hard to say whether this is science fiction or fantasy, but it's definitely in that wheelhouse rather than being a straight-up historical novel. There are ghosts and monsters and grimoires and secret dimensions and a lot of other stuff you might expect to find in a book that's influenced by pulp fiction and early sci-fi and horror. But, as with a lot of genre work that tackles such things these days, Ruff has fun with this stuff while also adding a social twist to them. In this case, having a Black cast allows Ruff to illuminate and comment on the racism inherit to the 1950s. There's humour to it, but in a way that helps the points hit home.

And that brings me to the last thing I need to mention: that this is a book about Black people written by a white man. It's also written primarily for white people, as far as I can tell, because while the characters take redlining and sundown towns for granted, Ruff doesn't assume that his readers will even know what those are or, if they do, be aware how they actually impact people. However, Ruff's also done his research and tackled the subject thoughtfully. The characters don't conform to stereotypes but are definitely informed by their pasts. The stuff they face goes beyond the usual talking points of Black History For White People; there's mention of boycotts of racist businesses, the Tulsa race massacre, the intricacies of buying real estate while Black, the difficulties of loving science fiction when everyone who writes it hates you. And of course he acknowledges that dealing with racist BS on a daily basis and constantly being underestimated puts you at an advantage when there's some really massive BS going down. I thought Ruff handled it all very well, without being heavy-handed or going into anything that he couldn't do justice. (Well, maybe Ruby's story. I need to think about that one more.)

So yeah, I was surprised by this book on a few fronts, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The humour and love of SF tropes, balanced with the antiracism and social commentary, was right up my alley, and the way Ruff told the story was the cherry on top. Like I said, it's not an amazing book—it might have pushed the boundaries of speculative fiction when it came out but it certainly doesn't now—but it entertains and enlightens and does so cleverly. This won't be my last Matt Ruff, like I said above, but I'm also not likely to pick up another one for a while. Maybe in a year or two when I get a hankering for the sort of stuff he does.

[rumbelleshowdown]

-

Question: How many unused prompts were left after the Showdown?

Answer: 170! And here they are! (Under the cut, b/c long.)

You’re not like me. 

Trust isn’t everything. 

Liberties. 

Teeth.

The light’s gone out. 

Sweet or savory. 

Worst patient. 

Flower of fate. 

Workplace romance. 

Cinderella AU. 

Wake the prince. 

Runaway bride. 

Little Gideon, shop, Weaver. 

Leather and steel. 

Magical exhaustion. 

Near-death. 

Fluffy clouds, shapes, sunlight. 

Dark, darker, darkest. 

The Book of Kells. 

The Long Room. 

Irish pub with music. 

Historical AU – Victorian. 

Sharing a dreamscape. 

Milestones. 

First kisses. 

Last time. 

Tea shop. 

Hedge maze. 

Heist gone wrong. 

Last of the teabags. 

Phone battery low. 

Is the ghost friendly? 

A bad book. 

Uglier than you are.

Talking in your sleep. 

Modern pop culture references

Soulmate au -seeing colors

Overhears talking to self

Plus size belle

Chatroom/catfishing

Matchmaker henry

Appearance glamor

Blind/deaf main character 

Talking tea pots

Dreaming of maidens and monsters. 

Whispers of desire. 

Belle kicks Zelena’s ass. 

TikTok trends. 

Twister game night. 

This isn’t your Uber. 

Adopting a new pet. 

Deck of cards. 

Aquarium, coffee, washing machine. 

Preparing for something big. 

Words on your skin. 

Enchanted Forest. 

High School Musical. 

Station 19. 

Hyperion Heights. 

Little girl named Rose. 

Storm, poison, tears, light. 

Sacrifice, True Love, healing. 

Weaver doesn’t make it. 

Nurse Belle. 

Please help my Papa. 

Please, wake up. 

Sacrifice, pain, light, laugh. 

Don’t leave me alone. 

Whiskey in a teacup. 

Night talk. 

Butler!Gold. 

The Light One!Belle. 

Let’s just pretend. 

Blood went cold.

Greenhouse, museum. 

Twirling in his arms. 

Crushed wedding. 

Flirting at a ball. 

“I forgot to shave?” 

“There is only me.” 

Forget-me-nots. 

Candyshop, Baelfire, awkward. 

Creature of darkness. 

Bird in a cage. 

Yearning for adventures.

Turn no into maybe.

I have school tomorrow. 

Some bathing suits shouldn’t…

Let’s keep this one. 

Younger and younger. 

My bag of tricks. 

Slowly yet surely. 

weaver. 

Warm and cozy. 

Library, lingerie, desk, defile. 

Ravenous, coverage, squirting. 

Moving out. 

Moving in. 

Cat sitting. 

“Well, this is awkward.” 

Red wine. 

Storybrooke’s incumbent mayor. 

Hiring Mr. Cassidy. 

Dagger, snow, fire. 

Arrows, magic, curse. 

Curse, awakening, assassin. 

Heroes.

The witching hour. 

Salt. 

Touch. 

Honeymoon. 

Cloud gazing. 

Spontaneous presents. 

Handcuffs. 

Stroking the hair. 

Soothing caress. 

Selfie. 

One last taste 

“Please don’t go.” 

Blood and tears. 

Wedding on the run. 

Werewolves, bake bread, family. 

Detective, curious, strange. 

Amnesia, photographs, scent, blankets. 

Bird in a cage. 

Secret garden. 

Fairy, mischief, music-box, mist.

Empty, street lamp, snow. 

Ball dancing, imp, tease. 

The girl is drunk. 

Golden hour. 

Lantern, fright, cloak. 

Crooked teeth. 

Magic ritual. 

Magical flower. 

White sheets, bright light. 

Lonely night. 

Stuck in my brain. 

Ski/Skateboard. 

Surfing. 

Dreadful weather. 

Strange love, trouble, ghost. 

Heaven in hiding, garden. 

Gardener. 

3 am, drive, hurricane. 

Dress made of gold. 

Dizzy, truth or dare. 

Suffocating, night, walk, breath. 

Running away. 

Ocean waves. 

Haunted house. 

Witch!Belle, magical library, Salem. 

Insane. 

Gloom. 

Goose, attack, hug. 

Strawberry shortcake, tongue, blood. 

Horrid sight, “How dear.” 

Liminal space. 

Hatred, “You saved me.” 

Poetry, smoking, naked, paintings. 

“It’s our secret, then.” 

Forest spirit. 

Jeweler!Gold. 

Misty town, secrets. 

Something to uncover. 

Mermaid/merman. 

Fall through the ice. 

Forest is my home. 

Dumb and dumber. 

You don’t know everything. 

-