#situations where the war got a very different start than usual

[transingthoseformers]

I would love to hear more about Empurata Op/Orion please

I'm toying with a situation that's between tfa and rid15 (elements of idwg1 of course) in what post war Cybertron is like, aka: bad. Post war Cybertron is bad, and it's not what neither autobot nor decepticon fought for

Torn between Megatron being out of the picture (like in rid15) or if he's here and on the chopping block (like in MTMTE and LL) but in my mind I really really want it to be a situation where people start blaming Optimus for the war too (for the angst)

And it's a *Thing* for an Optimus who just wanted to try and ease off of leadership after the war

(I see a fun opportunity for megop here, an opportunity for "What have they done to you?", and unlikely team ups)

(or, hell. We can go full hurt/no comfort here, and lean into the new hell Cybertron has become)

(We can do a lot of things)

[sleepyconfusedpotato]

MWIII Campaign Thoughts and Reviews

(Played in the recruit difficulty because I suck at FPS games, and I want to explore and spent time in the campaign without dying too much). Leave some thoughts!

⚠️SPOILER ALERT⚠️

So… that was devastating. 

(+) To start things off, Makarov - Boy, holy shit. Yes. YESSS. They didn’t hold back with the new Makarov. He’s a mastermind, he’s a charming fella, he’s a psychopath lol. And the fact that he smiles a lot in this campaign just adds to the creepiness. I might get some side-eye here, but this Mak can go head-to-head with the OG!Mak. He’s always onto something, he’s proven destructive, had the 141 hauling ASS to chase him.

Makarov had stolen American missiles from ULF, caused false flag missile attacks on Russian Military base, and successfully orchestrated a false airplane hijacking, all under ULF's name - everything in the span of 48 hours since he got out of prison. I saw people saying that this Makarov ain't got nothing on the OG one has to be inhaling some shit copium because this is only in one single game and he's destroying shit.

I know just one game with rushed development won’t be enough for an iconic character like him, so I’m glad they didn’t kill him.

(-) I absolutely ABHOR, DETEST, LOATH the Open Combat Missions (OCM). It is so very not Call of Duty campaignesque. it doesn’t help anything with the narrative, and if anything, it even took away the narrative for us. The former missions in former games are iconic in their own way because the mission designer put a lot of thought into how the game will be played, the situations we found ourselves in.

But OCM's, we're like... Left to our own devices without any story-driven dialogues.

I think one of the reasons why MWII was so close to everyone's heart was because of the banters between the characters, especially in Alone. Here, because it's literally our choice and our time, it left us with no actual given time to know and love the characters more than we already did. Yes we love the characters, MW19 and MWII did that for us. But in this one? They said "character development is done, mate. Now go to war.”

Then again, is OCM a product and evidence of MWIII’s rushed development? 100% yes. I don’t give a shit if they cover it with “oowh we make OCM so you can play the missions differently each time without repeating the same mission over and over again!”. Let me ask you this, Activision - Have ‘repeating the mission over and over again’ been a problem with us campaign-enjoyers? No! I played the MWII campaign like 5 times, in all difficulty (except realism I still love my life), and I enjoyed it, because the mission designers took a lot of time and thought to it instead of just creating a map, putting a bunch of loadouts scattered around the area and throw us in it. So yes, it’s clear that OCM is a product of rushed development. It sucks the life out of the campaign missions.

Some people may enjoy it, but I play the campaign exactly for the linear style missions, not DMZ style.

(+) Look, I said it before that I will go to the campaign with the lowest expectation possible. I expected Mak to be sub-par, I expected them to play safe with the characters, and BOY WAS I WRONG. Setting aside the point above where the character feels stuck on the character development (which is a huge minus btw), all the characters have time to shine in their own missions, especially Price because I feel like we play him the most. However, I do also love the fact that the girls get shit done here. Farah and Laswell did their work so beautifully and apparently it was revealed that Laswell will be a MP operator, so that’s cool. 

(+) Ghost being a menacing presence, can stood his ground. Price being level-headed though at the same time unhinged as usual. Gaz being the voice of reason throughout the entire fucking game LMAO. Soap being the brave man he is, the passion and fury is evident throughout the campaign. Farah being badass and dependable as usual. Alex being the main supportive guy to Farah (Faralex is canon at this point argue with a wall). Nikolai being our most reliable get-away guy.

And of course, Graves and Shepherd being the fucking goofy ahh duo I actually find interesting. The trial cutscene was such a goofy scene LMAO the fact that they backstabbed each other in the ass is real funny. I side with Graves though. However wrong and unhinged he may be, Graves is just a guy doing his job and did what he’s told to do.

(+) I love the fact that Mak tried to frame Urzikstan to pin the blame on them. It's exactly what the OG!Makarov did but in HD. The Passenger mission is phenomenal and more damn traumatizing if only it was a bit longer and more stretched. There are many more reference to the OG games and I absolutely love it.

Now…

Soap’s Death

Remembering all the MWII missions with Soap... It hits differently now, man. 

(-) I've read a lot of people's arguments about it that the fact that it happened is just for shock value and kind of disappointing. Because let’s be real here, Soap is an SAS who got the name Soap because of how much of a slippery bastard he is. Granted, Mak is an ex-Spetsnaz and can fight with Soap. But how he went down in a goddamn takedown without any chance of fighting is just… it’s not it.

To add to that, the reaction from the boys is just... Underwhelming? Like I get it they're battle-hardened SAS soldiers, but let them show some damn emotions for fuck’s sake. One of the main reason why the OG!Soap’s death is really painful is because of Price’s reaction to it. How he said “NO. NO NO NO SOAP!!” While he shook Soap’s lifeless body in the table. At least let Price kneel to him, straighten his body, touch his vest. Close his eyes, gather Soap’s hand and PUT HIS GUN ON his chest all the while Ghost and Gaz knelt beside them. I do love the fact that they literally went to Scotland to let go of his ashes with Ghost holding the urn though. I cried in this scene. 

And the fact that it happened with the shortest campaign out of all the reboot MW games, it just felt rushed. Yes. It’s completely rushed, there’s no doubt about it. Again, the result of rushed developments.

(+) Now, with that said, I kind of want to shed light on how Soap is literally the youngest guy in the group. He had so much to live for. He's a sunshine in the middle of this gruff emotionally hardened man. He's such a joy to be around. He's brave. He's fresh. The fact that he's got so much to live for adds to the sadness and bitterness, which I actually like.

Sometimes I do kind of like those kinds of deaths, where the character is too soon to die,  because it hit so much harder and in a different way than the OG! one. We got to see the OG!Soap went from when he was an FNG, turn to a captain, to a man of fortitude that  earned Price's honor and sacrificed himself to protect Price. We saw how he developed and changed. We saw his entire career with us throughout all the OG!MW trilogy.

Reboot!Soap's story barely even started, and the fact that he's still so young, imagining how he'd be one hell of an officer, how he'd lead his team in the future. 

OG!Soap’s death is sad because all the times and memories we’ve been through with him, but Reboot!Soap’s death is equally sad for the times we could’ve gone through with him.

I want to say this though, some people said that Soap's death is sudden, but I wouldn't agree with that. I think the telltales are all there.

In the helicopter scene after Price and Soap caught him in Verdansk, Mak literally SAID HIS FULL NAME. That is a literal pinpoint death sentence from Makarov. And how emotional Soap’s reaction is compared to the other boys when the airport blew up. The signs are literally all there! I saw it coming actually. 

So is Soap’s death rushed? Yes. Could it have been executed better? Yes. Is it for shock value? Yes. But is it as sad? Yes. Honestly, I blame the rushed development and due dates for this. Activision is a cash grabber who wanted a yearly release so they can catch more money. I fucking bet my ass that initially they didn’t want to kill Soap, but it’s like a last-minute decision to make this game actually look like it’s worth 70 dollars. 

Like by the end of the game, nothing has been accomplished. Big Bad Guy is on the loose, and we lost Soap. Yea we did stop some of Makarov's attacks, but we ended with a loss. It's a completely sad ending. I just wish we get to continue with more missions after Soap's death like in OG!MW3 though :(

WHAT'S NEXT?

Now. Shepherd is positively fucken dead. Price is now an actual criminal and a fugitive. He just killed a 4-star US Marines general in his own office. Price is entering his insane and unhinged era. I do wonder if he'll go even more unhinged than this.

The story will undoubtedly continue in the MP seasons (although probably only 2 seasons that mattered because it'll also undoubtedly be filled with skins and collabs and shit). I think it will also focus more on transitioning to the next CoD games, which will be Black Ops (It is confirmed that for the 2024 and 2025 CoD, it will be Black Ops games).

We're talking future here, so if there's going to be a CoD MWIV, It might be possible that this is the game where we'll finally defeat Makarov while the 141 copes with losing Soap. I do wonder if Price will become too unhinged and will get rid of everything on his way to kill Mak. Price's reckless acts will become too much for Gaz that it's starting to hurt other people and himself, and Gaz will do something against Price's command or wish - and Ghost will have to choose a side. Now that's the kind of drama I want to see.

What do I score this campaign, what do I score this campaign... The story is actually good, but because the development is evidently rushed, the packaging feels a bit hollow. It's a 7/10 for me!

---

Wait you know what

We get to pet a dog named Riley. 10/10, Game of The Fucking Year.

Reboot!Logan/Hesh (?) 👀

---

So there it goes! If you've read this far I love you and Activision will pay for my therapy (ʘ ͜ʖ ʘ)

[pookie-mulder]

October 2024 fic roundup

👶☑️ Beginnings by @television-overload

The most perfect follow-up to Of Our Own Making! Seeing m&s fall in love and go on their first date AFTER getting married and having a child together is just precious. (Especially Mulder’s “will u go out with me” note!) I love their unconventional relationship so much.

🐓🍽️ Untitled by @aloysiavirgata

This little fic is hilarious! I love Mulder getting the chance to be subtly petty towards Bill. I also love to see MSR being so domestic and settled down in the unremarkable house.

blue prints by @foxmulders

(Couldn’t find an ao3 link to this one)

Oof. This one hurts in the best way. It’s everything you want for these characters that they never got to have. It’s fluff, but it feels like angst because it’s a reminder of what the Mulder-Scully family could have been. I love it!

🛁🫧 the alchemy by @leiascully

I absolutely adore “platonic” intimacy that happens when they’re not quite together, and this fic starts out that way and ends in some incredibly satisfying RST. For such a short fic, this one sure does pack a punch! One of my favorites from fictober.

🕳️📍 You Send Me by spookynerd

The silliest premise leads to the sweetest romance! I love to see Mulder all pathetic and pining. My favorite line: “I’m in love. I think it’s terminal.”

🧜‍♀️💍 mermaids, native to montana by @foxmulders

I read this one a while ago and recently stumbled across it again. It’s the type of fluff with an undercurrent of sadness that creates such a powerful sense of longing. If you’re a fan of an unconventional marriage fic, read this one!

🛌🚂 Untitled by @myassbrokethefall

I usually steer clear of revival fics (I haven’t even been able to bring myself to watch it yet) but this one is just so darn sweet! I’d like to go back in time and show CC a copy of this fic so he writes it into the show.

🎂💌 Birthday Blues by Donnilee

I’m a fan of an author who can turn the silliest, most improbable situations seem probable, and this fic delivers. Read it if you’re a fan of tropey goodness and smut that’s as adorable as it is hot.

💇‍♀️💥 By the Dim and Flaring Lamps by @sunflowerseedsandscience

I was in the mood for a historical setting, and this Civil War AU fit the bill! One of my favorite things was its exploration of 19th-century gender roles, not to mention the unconventional romance.

🇮🇪🏰 Katherine of Ireland by Jenna Tooms

If you’re a fan of Hiraeth (as I am), you’ll love this one! It has a very similar setting and plot. The writing styles are very different, though, so it’s not like they’re carbon copies of each other or anything.

Anyway, this fic is achingly romantic, with plenty of lines that take your breath away.

(If you want the epub for easier reading, let me know!)

🏝️👻 Waldron Island by @sisterspooky1013

Like Gaslight, this fic features M&S not being able to trust their own minds. However, this time, it’s for horror reasons, not sci-fi reasons. Regardless, that concept is one of my favorites to explore in fiction, so I absolutely devoured this spooky fic! (And the ending scene? 😫🔥🥵🥹‼️)

😈🪞 Succumbing to the Truth by OnlyTheInevitable

If you liked Waldron Island, you’ll love this one! It’s a similar concept, but lies more in the casefic genre rather than straight-up horror. I loooove the way it uses the plot (a succubus demon) to force M&S closer together and finally talk about their feelings. It’s one of those fics where you can see where it’s going, which adds anticipation and makes the ending so much sweeter!

🥤🛍️ Inevitable by @thefinestmuffins

This alternate version of the car conversation in Tooms is an incredible Scully character study that’s absolutely dripping with UST. For a short fic, it truly packs a punch! One of my favorite parts is this: “On the Dana Scully list of priorities, want figures very, very low. It’s not that she doesn’t possess it in great quantity, it’s just that she fights like hell to rate it less highly than ambition, dignity, control, pragmatism, self-sufficiency, stability.”

[hollowed-theory-hall]

re.: the weasleys + parenting

what's always bugged me most abt percy's fight with arthur (especially in the fandom, where everyone's like 'oh, he turned his back on harry and betrayed his family to side w the ministry) is that. that's hardly what the fight is about at all. the fight is about the fact that percy, an 18yo kid who just got promoted to his dream job instead of straight up losing any chance at ever being Minister (because they tried to scapegoat him into taking the blame for the crouch business even though he managed to keep the whole department running while his boss wasn't even there), comes home all excited to tell his parents that "Hey, he's not unemployed and bereft of any and all hope for his biggest dream", but rather that his skills and competence got recognized by The Most Important Man In The Government, and molly and arthur look him straight in the face and go—"no you didn't."

there is no mention whatsoever that they even try to be gentle about it, that they congratulate him first and then bring it up later like "just be careful around Fudge, he's always looking for people to get information from and you are the best of both worlds, close to the action and actually good at the job he hired you for", nothing of the sort. they straight up don't even consider how any of those factors might've weighed in Fudge's decision to hire him.

and, perhaps worst of all, they have no faith in Percy. he tells them "I'm working for the minister", and not only do they not spare a second to be happy for him over this frankly momentous achievement (or at the very least concern for the position it puts him in), they jump straight to conjectures and accusations. "you only got this because of Harry" has got to crush Percy, who was raised to believe that good things come to honest, hard-working people and who has been working for this since he was a small child. and it digs the knife deeper when you realize that most of his siblings have basically replaced him with Harry. Harry, who also plays Quidditch and also keeps throwing himself into death-defying dangers and overalls fits much better into the family dynamic than Percy ever has.

and there's just this. crystal clear implication that they do believe Percy would spy on them. he's so Different and Other and Un-Weasley/Gryffindor-like and they've alienated themselves from him so absolutely that they can't see any reasons he wouldn't willingly and consciously jeopardize his parents' livelihood and Harry & his siblings safety just to stay in the Minister's good graces, when if anyone's actually at risk of losing their job for siding with Dumbledore is his father, who's still working there quite merrily and continues to so for a long time afterwards.

Percy, who runs into a freezing lake mid-February while attending an international event as Crouch's replacement to make sure Ron is alright, who pesters Ginny to eat and have a pepper-up potion most of her first year bc she doesnt look well, who tails Harry and Ron a lot of their second and third years bc there's something petrifying kids and then Dementors on the grounds and a mass murderer on the loose and they all just think he's being willfully bothersome like no you idiots he's worried.

of course he left. of course he left. what did he have to gain by staying at the Burrow, beyond fresh home cooked meals harassment and disagreements? why wouldn't he leave?

sorry I have a lot of feelings about this.

No need to apologize, this is brilliantly written!

I don't even feel like I need to add anything as you summed up the Percy situation perfectly.

But I can't help myself because I love discussing the Weasley family dynamics, so it's a bit more rumbley than my usual...

Percy cares so much for his family. When Voldemort is revealed and the war actually starts, he puts all his disagreements with his parents aside to come and help and make sure they're okay, because he cares. And still, he is being shunned and treated like an outsider.

Arthur and Molly Weasley are just really good at alienating their kids because it isn't just Percy.

Somehow all of them succeded in feeling like outsiders in a family of 9. Bill shows frustration with his parents and only returns to Britain because of the war, Charlie's in Romania for most of the series. Fred and George run away the moment they can and are treated like trouble by their parents most of the time (Molly and Arthur assume they are selling stolen goods from Mundungus when they hear they have money, not that they, idk, somehow earned it), Ron has a whole complex of low self-esteem and a tendency to blame himself for everything. Ginny is isolated from her brothers as the only girl and youngest...

And Percy cares and tries to be the best and most responsible sibling and gets scorned in turn.

Harry and Ron do acknowledge Arthur's and Molly's accusation towards Percy was awful and that he was right to respond negatively in OOTP. Ron is just sensitive about their family's financial state which soured Percy to him after Percy blew up at their dad (rightfully so, honestly, I'd say way worse to Arthur if it was me).

The thing is, Percy also gets scorned by his siblings, not just his parents (like Fred and George do). He gets grief for trying to be responsible and for wanting his siblings to do well in school and not get in trouble, Fred and George lock him in a pyramid...

That being said, do I think Percy is perfect? No, he is pretentious and overbearing at times, but he is a child in a large family who tries to find a place to fit himself in. According to child psychology, usually when it comes to siblings, the eldest would usually (at least in childhood) try to be everything the parents want (Bill), and then each next sibling will carve a different niche for themselves, and we see this with the Weasleys. I think the twins being born right after Percy and demanding a lot of attention from their parents from a young age as they were little troublemakers from the start is a big reason why Percy chose the niche of being bookish, ambitious, and responsible for himself. To contrast himself with them and his older brothers and get some attention from their parents.

I'm not a fan of the epilog (like everyone), but I find it hard to imagine Percy being close to his family post-books. I think he never fully got over the sting of not being seen as skilled and competent and that his parents believed he'd turn on them all without a second thought. Nor do I think he should just get over it.

Like, I'm really salty that Percy was the only one to apologize:

“I was a fool!” Percy roared, so loudly that Lupin nearly dropped his photograph. “I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a—a—” “Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron.” said Fred. Percy swallowed. “Yes, I was!” “Well, you can’t say fairer that that,” said Fred, holding out his hand to Percy. Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. She ran forward, pushed Fred aside, and pulled Percy into a strangling hug, while he patted her on the back, his eyes on his father. “I’m sorry, Dad.” Percy said.

(Deathly Hollows, pages 512-513)

Like, yes, it's great he was smart enough to realize the ministry is corrupt, but this demand only for him to apologize when Molly and Arthur Weasley were just as much in the wrong. Fred and George weren't beacons of sainthood here either. But none of them have apologies demanded of them. None of them are demanded to confess they are "morons". Just Percy.

Who even after his apology is still an outsider. Probably always will be one.

You said it best: "Why wouldn't he leave?"

And that's what we see him do (if temporarily).

[drunkenskunk]

Been thinking a lot about Lancer lately, in case you can't tell. And a thought has crossed my mind.

The various military powers that exist in the world of Lancer. Union. The Karrakin Baronies. The Aunic Ascendancy. The corpro-states like Harrison or SSC or IPS-N. Even the smaller independent nations in the diaspora outside the control of Union or anyone else. How are all the various armies of these different powers organized, and what are their respective doctrines actually like?

Let me explain.

When you play Lancer, the book makes it VERY clear that what you, the players, are doing when you're in the combat part of the game is... the exception and not the rule. 3 to 5 people in absurdly customized and overpowered mechs is not normal. You are exceptional people, piloting exceptional machines, constantly being thrust into exceptional situations.

So how are the armies of regular mechs organized, and how are they deployed against one another in actual war?

By way of an example: Battletech. When it comes to the armies of the Inner Sphere (at least during the Succession Wars), forces of mechs would typically be organized like:

4 mechs in a Lance

3 Lances in a Company

3 Companies in a Battalion

3 to 5 Battalions in a Regiment

Now, obviously I'm oversimplifying here. There's gonna be some variations, depending on the time period and the Successor State in question, and anything larger than a Regiment has it's own problems... but that tends to be the starting point. Usually. And there's also many different variations when it comes to the organization of things like aerospace assets, armored vehicle elements that are NOT mechs (like tanks and artillery), and infantry units. Because even in a setting dominated by heavy metal, the humble footsoldier has never truly gone away.

But that's just how the Successor States of the Inner Sphere do things. Mostly. The Clans have a very different way of organizing their armies:

A Point is the smallest unit for the Clans, either being a single mech, two aerospace fighters, two armored vehicles, five power armored infantry, or a 25-man platoon of conventional infantry.

5 Points in a Star

2 Stars in a Binary

3 to 5 Binaries in a Cluster

3 to 5 Clusters in a Galaxy

The Clans like thing to be simple and organized, which... can be both a good and a bad thing, depending.

In terms of battlefield doctrine, the way the Successor States wage war is an absolute clusterfuck. Tactics can vary wildly depending on which house you're talking about, and when, but for the most part? They're going to employ some form of combined arms, with mechs spearheading an assault, supported by infantry, armor, artillery, and aerospace assets. The Clans, on the other hand, have a completely different doctrine: their Batchall, or "Battle Challenge."

See, the Clans treat war like a game. It's a sport. It's not (usually) about annihilating the other side; it is (supposed to be) a means of settling disputes in a "civilized" manner. Clan Wolverine would probably have some choice words to say about that description, but that's a topic for another day. See, they want things to be an even fight. A test of skill, rather than a test of who can buy the biggest weapons or field the largest number of troops. For example: if your side has warships, and your opponent does not have warships, then you're expected to bid away your warships and you don't get to use them in that fight.

It is a very fair, but very stupid, way of waging war, and that battlefield doctrine came to bite them in the ass in 3052 when the ComGuard beat the shit out of them at Tukayyid.

... I think I may have drifted slightly off topic.

Right, yes, Lancer, that's what I was talking about.

What got me thinking about this? Well, I was reading through the rulebook earlier; specifically, going through the GM part of the book where it has the list of all the different NPC types and the templates you can apply, and how to build encounters and such. And I was also fucking around in Comp/Con. Doing things like trying to figure out how strong I could make the "squad" NPC using the rules available (is it even possible to make a squad of infantry a threat to mechs?), and trying to see what stats a tank would have, that sort of thing.

And as I was futzing around with all this, I noticed that the way you build encounters reminded me a lot of... well, building a Lance of mechs to fight an opponents Lance of mechs in the tabletop wargame version of Battletech. And then that got me thinking about organizational structures and battlefield doctrine, and...

I suppose the point my autistic ADHD-addled mind is trying laboriously to get to is: would it be possible to modify the rules of Lancer to play it like a tabletop wargame instead of an RPG? Y'know, like...

Well, Battletech, I suppose.

And, y'know, from a lore side of things: what would an army of mechs in Lancer actually look like (beyond the squad of player characters who are special by dint of the narrative), and how would those armies be organized?

[presidentofthelipglossclub]

Please, tell me more

About Heatwave and Bumblebee siblings dynamic

It sounds stupidly fun

And with lots of shenanigans

Tell me👀

YESSSS OK.

listen this just started out because i had the passing thought that we all joke about heatwave being optimus's kid and it's been a pretty popular joke for a long time to say that about bumblebee as well. it was just a joke headcanon. but then i got to thinking.

heatwave and bumblebee are actually a really interesting duo (even tho they barely interacted in canon) for a lot of reasons, but the main one is that they're functionally narrative foils. in case anyone doesn't know what a foil is, foils are characters who are opposites in ways meant to highlight specific qualities each character possesses. in some cases, the foil for the protagonist is an antagonist, but not always. also, when i say narrative foil what i mean is the development and storyline the characters follow are opposites.

the narrative foils between heatwave and bee are more easily drawn between rescue bots and robots in disguise, because in rid bumblebee becomes team leader, like heatwave. because of that all the stuff i'm saying is about them post war, during rid.

firstly, heatwave starts out as team leader, while bumblebee we see growing into the role. this creates an interesting dynamic because optimus has always known heatwave as a leader, while for a very long time bumblebee was someone under his command. the differences in how optimus treats their decision making could cause some sibling rivalry. bumblebee is jealous of heatwave because optimus trusts him more, and because optimus isn't constantly hovering. heatwave is jealous of bumblebee because optimus actually spends time with him, and because they know each other better.

another interesting thing about them is their backgrounds. heatwave's dream was to be on optimus's team, because he wanted to prove himself. he loves fighting, and wanted nothing more than to help by joining in on the action. to heatwave, bumblebee is living the dream. but bee would much rather live like heatwave, away from cybertron where everybody expects him to just move on. of course they both understand that the other's life isn't perfect, but they're both seeing through rose colored glasses. the grass is greener on the other side, so to speak.

also, bumblebee loves earth, like, a lot. in rid he's constantly talking about how beautiful it is, and how interesting humans are. heatwave is the complete opposite. even after cody convinced him to stay, he was still the least interested in earth. to him, it's just another mission, which makes sense because he'd been to plenty of other planets for the same reasons. earth isn't anything special to him. but for bumblebee, someone who rarely had the chance to explore the life of other planets, earth is unique. the autobots were too busy fighting to take in the sights in the earlier days of war, and by the time they moved to new planets the old ones were usually destroyed anyways. being able to just exist on another planet is something he hasn't done, and especially not in a post war situation.

i think bumblebee would harbor a lot of negative feelings towards heatwave (especially in the beginning) just because he's known optimus for way less time but earned his trust much faster. also because heatwave has a lot of potential? i guess? because of his quadruple changer status and as the last rescue bot leader. and since i headcanon him as a psychic, heatwave is really a golden child, so to speak. bumblebee resents him, but then he feels guilty for resenting heatwave because even if he's jealous that's still his brother.

heatwave is less resentful of bumblebee (although there is still a level of resentment) and more openly admiring of him. to the rescue bots, who have been kept from knowing anything about the war, bumblebee is a hero. i mean to a lot of people he's a hero, but the rescue bots get most of their info about everything that's going on from bumblebee because optimus doesn't want them to know. heatwave wants to fight, but optimus won't let him. he feels weak and unworthy (serious survivor's guilt btw), and so he sees bumblebee as what he needs to become.

a lot of this stuff is kinda angsty which i didn't intend because i genuinely do think they would also get along really well and could become close. but also there would be a LOT of sibling rivalry between them just because of the kinds of people they are.

(also important to note: i personally see bumblebee taking on an older sibling role especially during rid because it fits his character arc of maturing and growing into leadership. this adds another layer of complicated to their already weird relationship because heatwave has always been the one responsible for others while bumblebee is very new to it. but as bee gets more comfortable exercising his own agency and heatwave gets more used to trusting others, they settle into a sibling dynamic that actually works.)

[maybeafrog-blog]

Mutant Mayhem Shredder Speculation

So far, Mutant Mayhem has like, totally removed the whole Hamato clan thing. On the one hand, I sorta enjoy this? IDW's foot clan political drama always got on my nerves, and I sorta don't care about Splinter's beef with Oroku Saki and unending generational feuds end up feeling pretty repetitive. By starting the turtles in a place where they don't have any built-in beef with ninja clans, Mutant Mayhem freed up a lot of time for government experimentation stuff. I think that the dehumanization of that whole situation is a really interesting angle for this iteration specifically, with the turtle's ultimately aiming for human acceptance rather than Ninja Honor and whatnot.

I do wonder how the Shredder is going to come into play. Obvi the Shredder is being hired by Cynthia Utrom - who now does have personal turtle beef - to take down our half-shelled friends, but like, how is that gonna go? The turtles are public figures now, it's not like a mercenary taking them out will be unnoticed.

One possibility that Shredder is going to be an Utrom/Kraang/Alien again, like in 2003. Cynthia Utrom is a remarkably suspicious name, we all know. that TCRI usually is a Kraang, and more often than not the Kraang made the ooze themselves, like, for fun or something. 2003 Oroku Saki also ended up with a huge amount of financial and political power over NYC at one point, which would be very helpful in making a turtle murder justifiable in the media. During her villain monologue, Cynthia keeps mentioning that she wants mutant soldiers to deal with some "enemy," but doesn't specify what that is-- I think that the Utrom/Kraang are at war with each other or maybe some other alien faction (I would LOVE to see some triceratons), and the Foot Clan might even be like, an active military unit or something.

What I don't know is how the Intense Feud would arise from that. Mutant Mayhem is really different from other versions already and they might just make Shredder vaguely evil and persistent, but I do appreciate a weirdly personal and sadistic Shredder. I sorta want to see Leo get his ass thrown through a window, if Shredder's only goal is to grab a turtle for milking he has no reason to do that. Seeing the turtles in Northhampton/ forced back into hiding after a few months of freedom would be some Solid Angst and a rad new angle for the farmhouse arc. Maybe attacking the turtles unintentionally ruins Saki's public image somehow? Turtles/Mutants in General Framed for Crimes via Defenestration? Who tf knows only Seth Rogen probably

[voidindividual]

Here, have another bit of my as of yet unnamed Victory of Eagles fic. (also this isn't going to be a weekly thing, it just so happens to have been a week since I posted the last bit)

It had been a long and normal day for Leonard. He had gotten up early to ensure proper feed for the dragons at the breeding grounds, as it hadn’t been easy to find enough cattle since the start of the invasion.

Eventually he had managed it, but of course the dragons all complained that he had kept them waiting longer than they liked. He didn’t even try to explain the situation to them, he had given that up weeks ago, at one point he had done so, but the dragons weren’t very understanding. 

In the afternoon a Winchester came to the grounds. In itself that wasn’t very unusual. Ferals sometimes came and went and he had assumed that this was the case with this one as well.

Contrary to his expectations however, the dragon didn’t go to get food or to talk or mate with any of the other dragons at the grounds. No, the Winchester wanted to talk to him. 

This he wasn’t as used to. Unless it was due to an oversight or other fault of his, he was usually the one to initiate the conversations. 

But this “Moncey” fellow, he wasn’t quite sure what he said because he talked so fast and excited, seemed to not be here to stay, but apparently to “recruit them for the war effort”, whatever that meant.

Still a bit confused he asked “Mind slowin’ down a bit? I hardly understand a thing you’re saying.” The dragon looked annoyed, but he complied. 

“I was sent by the commander to bring more dragons from the breeding grounds into the militia. You are to follow them with the cattle to ensure our supply.” 

The confusion on Leonard’s face shifted to worry “You’re mad! How am I supposed to manage that? And, back up a bit. You want the ferals to go into combat? How do you expect that to work? They haven’t got crews or control, ignoring the lack of investment for the war. After all, they’ve got everything they need right here.” 

The Beast now looked down on him, as if talking to a stubborn child, and with an appropriate tone said “Well, you bring the food to them anyways, so what difference does it make where they get it. And as for the dragons, let me worry about them. They will come. Now will you do it, or not?” 

"Oh no, I won’t! Do you have any Idea what chaos that would cause? You can be sure that every one of those dragons will be recaptured and executed alongside me for permitting this to happen.” 

“Quite the contrary,” Moncey said, to Leonard’s growing horror, “You’ll be a war hero for having brought essential help to the commander when it was most needed. Oh, and I am afraid it isn’t really a choice. The dragons will go and either you bring them their supply, or they will pillage it from the countryside and you will have abandoned your duty.” 

“You bast- Oh, what am I even doing? It doesn’t matter what I do, I’ll be hanged anyway.” The Winchester, taking the last part as an acceptance of the circumstances and an agreement to care for the supply, flew deeper into the grounds, presumably to rally the dragons for this “Militia”.

[idontknowmyownmind]

There are a lot more Thames survived. They might be a small family, but many, those greedy for power, want them. It's because they are a family blessed by Gods. Each one of them have abilities that it said to be powerful, some even say that the powers are omniscience and/or omnipotence.

Each member have different ability, some might similar but never the same. In one generation, only one may have certain types of power. Only when they die, others member might be born with that certain power. There are never more than one member have same spesific power in a same generation.

Cale never know his family from his mother side. But, he know one person. It's his distant cousin who work as a maid in his house. No one but him and his mother know that they are related. Thames might be known to have red hair (an AU where someone born with red hair is most likely have Thames blood run in them), but there are cases when they don't. But all of them have same eyes color. Mixed blood Thames are likely to not awaken their power, it's very rare to happens.

Thames' abilities can be used by other people. How? There are two methods. The first method is by consuming the blood of the Thames who has the power you want. But it's only work temporarly depends on the abilities and the amount of blood consumed. The second method is by transplanting a Thames' heart into your body. But this method is very risky because Thames is not your ordinary human.

Cale power has things to do with time. That's why he is able to regressed and transmigrated and it's not a one time thing.

While his cousin's power has something to do with multiverse, where she can jump from one world into another. But only world similar to her birth world. Which mean other version of it. Usually, in one world can't exist two same soul, but with her power it's possible.

And it's possible for her to got all the information of the world she is in (how? Idk, she just do)

She can't jump to other world different than hers unless there is someone tied with her in that world. Meaning she can't jump into any earth or other world not tcf other version but she can jump into earth 1 since Heniroksoo is there.

But, since earth is added into her list because of Heniroksoo, she can jump into another earth but with many limitation such as she can only stay for few days at most

So, team 1 know that KRS (Heniroksoo) doesn't have any blood relative but one day, there is one girl who suddenly appear in their daily life and seems so close with their team leader.

What if, before the current LCF, there are many similar worlds where GoD and Nellan Barrow attempted to help?

They made many guide books from different perspective and picked different helps that started in many different points but it never work out. With the help of Cale's cousin, they attempt to safe the worlds many times

Until it's a succeed in the current LCF with the guide book, The Birth of a Hero, and the help, Kim Rok Soo

Remember that Cale's ability has to do with time? Yes, yes, Cale already regressed amd transmigrated into other bodies many time but he never remember any of it. He only has fragments of those memories he brushed off as dreams and so fast to forget.

Oh! The cousin jump world with only her soul and not her body. The body is being keep safe in one of those worlds and only Cale who know the location. He doesn't know know, but if he truly attempt to find it then he will surely find it somehow

Imagine, Cale who already done with the war and hunter bullshit can't get his slacker life because this damn cults popped out of nowhere and try to kidnapped him multiple times asking where is a body of someone is being keep as if he know it, wtf?!

After many attempts, they finally realized that Cale is not Cale and they need to find out where his original world is so they can bother Heniroksoo (they face this type of situation multiple times already)

Okay, I'm gonna stop here... idk how I should continue this... sorry 🗿

@skyeyeager I know that it's probably very different with what you have in mind, I try.. you may add your thought on it or how you want it to go 😔

[dadstarkk]

So I work for the US government, specifically the Dept of the Air Force. I'm not passionate about it. In fact. I'm morally opposed to most of the work I'm doing, but I needed a paycheck and had set my life back 7 years by joining the Air Force and had pretty much no skills outside of the job I did in the military.

As would be expected, I work with a bunch of conservative white men and honestly, at this point, I contemplate quitting every day. Before the election (and even up to the inauguration), it wasn't too bad. The occasional shitty opinion was shared, but I could mostly ignore it and just do the job and go home. Now with a new *Shitty Thing (TM)* happening multiple times a day it is literally impossible to ignore. I got an email yesterday with the subject "Defending Women." It told us that paperwork or pretty much anything that mentions gender is being reviewed and changed to only reference biological sex (which is funny since the people I work with couldn't even define biological sex and are too fucking stupid to know genetically we're not all xx or xy, but they don't care). What bothered me more about this email than the others (no more DEI, the 1 week ultimatum to quit and definitely be paid for work you're not doing..., etc) is that this one came directly from our boss. The others had come from OPM. The wording was clearly not his, but I can't get over the fact that he personally sent it (I know this is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things right now).

Also, I do usually speak my mind especially when people are spouting bullshit, lies, and propaganda. But I'm in a very precarious position, because I am still in a probationary period until June, meaning I can be fired for just about any reason, and I am truly afraid I will be fired if I dissent from our new Führer's insanity.

I am not really in a situation where I can quit. I need the money and truly do not have the skills or experience to get a different job paying nearly as much. But hearing the talk of impending war (with whom, I have no idea) and essentially the celebration at the loss of our rights and the descent into fascism (though no one I work with will admit that) is overwhelming and I fear I may just up and quit on a random Tuesday with no plan. I am going to try to start an online masters, and I intend on quitting pretty much as soon as I'm done. My undergrad degree is not worth much at this point

[inairbinad]

Steve's Got a Date with a Vampire! (4)

part four of seven | Explicit (eventually) Part One | Part Three | Read on AO3

“Come on Steve, we never get quality one-on-one time anymore,” Dustin whined into the phone, trying to get Steve to forgive him and hang out again.

“That’s because you’re a little sneak,” Steve replied casually, examining his cuticles as he held the phone cradled between his ear and shoulder. It’d been two more weeks since the closet incident, but Dustin’s punishment of no rides—even when the other kids were getting them—had only lasted a few days. Steve couldn’t stay mad at the kid, but he could keep lording it over him as a guilt trip every chance he got.

“I promise I won’t do anything like that again,” Dustin pleaded. “But you have to admit, you guys are closer now, right?”

Steve had seen Eddie a few times since, and things did seem at least back to their flirtatious status quo, but it was never just the two of them. They very pointedly hadn’t brought up the feeding situation, either, though Steve was more than willing to offer again. He spent too much time worrying if Eddie was eating at all, actually.

(And if Steve started exclusively jerking off to the memory of the Eddie’s teeth in his wrist and tongue on his skin after that, well, that was Steve’s business.)

“If you say so, Henderson,” Steve relented without giving too much away. He hadn’t admitted to anyone exactly what happened in that closet, not even Robin. But he couldn’t deny that Dustin’s little scheme had done something to shift whatever relationship he and Eddie had now. “What did you have in mind?”

“How do you feel about a night at the fair?” Dustin asked, smile obvious in his voice. 

Steve didn’t trust the sound of that smile, but he agreed anyway.

———

Steve was completely unsurprised when Dustin’s version of ‘quality time’ together involved Eddie. In fact, he would have been more surprised if Eddie didn’t magically run into them at the fair in some capacity. Eddie, on the other hand, seemed to be at least a little appalled by Dustin’s blatant lying.

“You said you wanted to spend time, and I quote, ‘just the two of us!’” Eddie cried. “No offense, Stevie.”

“None taken.” Steve could only laugh at the nerve of this kid they practically shared custody of. Steve knew this was just another ploy to get him to spend more time with Eddie, but at least Dustin would be a buffer between Steve and his wildly inappropriate thoughts this time. He was willing to go along with it as long as Eddie was. “He told me the same thing.”

“Is it so bad of me to want a family outing?” Dustin crowed, pleading his case. “Where we can all spend some quality time together?”

Steve rolled his eyes and didn’t dignify the display with any more of a response. “You got us here, alright? Now what are we doing first? Food, rides, or games?”

“Games!” Dustin and Eddie said in equally excitable voices. Steve smiled at them both and led them off towards a row of booths filled to the brim with unwinnable stuffed animals.

First Dustin made them play their hand at water pistols, a game Steve resoundingly hated. But then, it was already well established that he was bat guy, not a gun guy. Dustin ended up winning, but all he had to show for it was an off-brand Star Wars themed pencil sharpener and a finger cramp that he wouldn’t stop complaining about. 

Next they went to have their fortunes told by an old lady with scraggly gray hair and a (probably fake, Steve suspected) mole on her nose to complete her witch’s getup. She took one look at Eddie when he sat down, whispered “I see blood,” and all three of them booked it out of there faster than she could say boo.

After that Eddie wanted to shake off the creeps and play Skee-ball, claiming he was “the master,” and that Steve couldn’t possibly beat him. Steve begged to differ, as that title had historically been his, and a whole lot of bickering and competitiveness ensued. Eddie tried his usual tricks of trying to distract Steve with various gutter-minded and flirtatious remarks (“Bet you can’t get it in the hole,” said in the most delighted and daring voice was one Steve was having trouble forgetting), but Steve did his best to steel his nerves and ignore it. 

He was only partly successful, so after a couple of rounds he decided to play dirty, too. 

At first Steve stood back, his hip cocked and his arms crossed as he very deliberately stared at how Eddie���s body moved with each throw. But he waited for Eddie to come to him.

“What, Harrington?” Eddie asked, after his second toss, looking a little put out. Dustin perked up, expectantly watching the both of them with a stupid grin on his face. 

“Nothing,” Steve said, innocent. But Eddie wasn’t buying it. He just crossed his arms over his chest and mirrored Steve in a challenge, just like Steve had wanted. So Steve shrugged noncommittally and said, “Your stance is wrong, is all.”

“My stance—” Eddie huffed and cut himself off with a disbelieving smile. “You’re losing and you’re critiquing my stance?” 

“I’m not losing,” Steve pointed out, because he wasn’t. He probably would be after this round, based on how many 100s Eddie was hitting, but that was all the more reason to try and throw a wrench in the works. “Score, Dust?”

“Steve’s right, actually,” Dustin replied with ease, and Steve couldn’t help but suspect Dustin was trying to help him out. 

Eddie grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, and Steve just chuckled when he dropped his chin to his chest in resignation. Then something in his posture changed, and he looked up at Steve with a dangerous grin. “Why don’t you come show me what I’m doing wrong, then?”

If Eddie thought he’d found the upper hand by suggesting it, Steve couldn’t wait to show that this was exactly what he’d been gunning for. Or maybe they both just wanted to give Steve an excuse to touch Eddie and all of this was just silly pretense. Either way, Steve didn’t care.

He inched up behind Eddie with a crooked smile, and gently put his hands on Eddie’s hips. Then he twisted Eddie back towards himself a bit, until Eddie’s right hip pressed into Steve’s. Steve just barely kept his nose out of Eddie’s hair when he murmured, “Just tilt your hips like this. It's all about finding the right angle.”

Eddie scoffed, but it sounded a little stiff. All the same, he managed to bite back, “You’re not the only one who knows how to use their body, jock.”

The line might’ve given Steve a plethora of ideas of what else Eddie might’ve been able to do with his body, sure. But invoking jock culture also gave Steve a devious idea.

“Fair enough, nerd,” Steve laughed lightly, then smacked Eddie’s ass as if he’d just made a great play on the court. He lingered just for just a moment before he retreated back to his perch beside Dustin. 

Eddie looked mildly scandalized, while Dustin just snickered and gave Steve an appreciative pat on the shoulder. Eddie managed to recover well enough to shake his head with a laugh and throw the ball, but it was the first time he’d missed potting a 100 in several throws.

Steve didn’t do much to contain his self-satisfied smirk.

In the end it was close, but Steve failed to account for the special vampire advantage, and he lost on the last throw. He couldn’t even be bothered to care, because the victory dance Eddie did somehow managed to be both cute and sexy when he wiggled his hips and his shirt rode up a little. 

All-in-all, Steve was willing to consider it a win.

Dustin wanted popcorn next, so Eddie went off to get some while Steve and Dustin wandered around, looking for their next attraction. When they came upon the basketball free throw game, Dustin immediately bounced on his heels and pointed at a giant pink stuffed bear that was hanging there as one of the grand prizes. 

“I have it on good authority that Eddie very much wants that pink bear,” Dustin said, loudly.

“Oh? Did he tell you that psychically?” Steve asked. 

“No,” Dustin grumbled. “I just know him well enough to know he would love it.”

“Good for him,” Steve shrugged. He knew exactly where Dustin was going with this, but Steve was pretty certain it was an impossible ask. Steve had spent a lot of time and trying to win prizes from this game, thinking he’d have an advantage since he was good at actual basketball, but these hoops were too small and the ball never had the right amount of air in it. He could never get the feel of it right, much to the disappointment of several of his former dates. 

“You should win it for him,” Dustin suggested, but it sounded more like an order. 

“Pretty sure that would be weird,” Steve said, instead of addressing the more glaring problem with the fact that he didn’t think he could win it. 

“It would not,” Dusting sighed. “It would be romantic! God. I thought you were good at this stuff.”

“I am,” Steve defended himself weakly. “But these games are rigged anyway. The hoop is too small!”

Dustin opened his mouth to argue some more just as Eddie sauntered up to them both, munching on a giant stick of cotton candy and handing over two bags of popcorn for Steve and Dustin each. Steve had to do a double take.

“What—“ Steve stopped and tried to figure out a polite way to phrase his question about the dietary restrictions of vampires. “Does that even taste like anything to you?”

“Of course it does. Like pure sugar,” Eddie flashed him a toothy grin, showing off his dimples as he did. “It’s like drinking the blood of a Care Bear.”

“Charming,” Steve remarked, but couldn’t keep his grin quite contained. Eddie noticed and only smiled bigger at him. 

“What were we arguing about, dearest family?” Eddie asked, turning to Dustin. 

“Steve doesn’t think he can win the free throw game,” Dustin said immediately. 

“Please,” Eddie scoffed. For a split second, Steve thought he might be taking his side, but then Eddie faced him full on with that same daring smirk. “I’ve seen you play. You can kick that game’s ass.”

Steve appreciated the vote of confidence, but he was too busy getting stuck on the words ‘I’ve seen you play’ to pay it much mind. “You have?” he asked, baffled. “I thought you hated basketball.”

“Um.” Eddie shifted his eyes quickly between Steve and Dustin, apparently realizing he’d admitted something he hadn’t meant to. Dustin had a look of pure glee on his face, and Steve had to admit he was probably nearly as happy in that moment. At some point, Eddie must have decided to roll with it instead of being embarrassed, because he leaned in and rested a hand against Steve’s chest, then said in a low tone, “I do hate it. But I believe in you, Stevie.”

Fuck me, Steve thought. Now he had to win that goddamn bear. 

It took him three rounds—the first to really get a feel for what kind of force he had to toss the ball with, the second to actually use that knowledge and get into a groove, the third to perfect it—but he did, in fact, win the goddamn bear. Eddie and Dustin were both bouncing up and down and cheering him on. 

“How in the hell did you actually manage that?” Eddie asked between cheers, squeezing Steve’s biceps in excitement as he did.

“I thought you believed in me?” Steve asked, playing at being offended. Eddie’s eyes practically sparkled as he opened his mouth to respond, but the kid working the booth interrupted when he flagged Steve down to ask which prize he wanted.

Before he even had a chance to ask and make sure he picked the right one, Eddie leaned into his ear and muttered, “I’d pick that teddy bear, if I were you.”

Dustin overheard it anyway, because he snorted so loud that any astronauts in orbit probably noticed. He didn’t have to say I told you so for Steve to hear it anyway. 

Steve pointed out the pink bear, and once it was in his hands he promptly handed it over to Eddie with a bow and a bit of flourish. 

“For me?” Eddie put his hand flat over his heart and let his eyes go wide. Steve couldn’t help but smirk.

“Couldn’t have won it without you,” Steve said, and Eddie gingerly accepted the bear from him. It was so big it stretched from the top of Eddie’s head to his knees, so he had to wrap his arms all the way around it to wrangle it in. Steve reached out and felt the soft plush of the bear’s fur between his fingertips, making sure to let his knuckles brush against the back of Eddie’s hand as well. He moved a fraction of a step closer and dropped his voice for only Eddie to hear him say, “It just takes a soft touch, is all.”

Steve was close enough to see the way his words made Eddie shiver, but Eddie managed to keep a straight face throughout. 

“I think I’ll name him Lars,” Eddie said, turning back to his bear. 

Steve bit down on a triumphant smile.

They took a long enough break for Steve to force Dustin to eat something resembling real food, before Dustin insisted on going to ride the Ferris wheel next. He practically skipped on the walk over while Steve begrudgingly trudged along behind. Strictly speaking, he didn’t exactly find the concept of a Ferris wheel appealing, and he hadn’t braved getting on one since he was about thirteen.

But by the time they’d already been in line for fifteen minutes, Steve couldn’t really bring himself to stay back and wait for Dustin and Eddie to ride it on their own. This night was going too well, and Steve refused to be a party pooper on account of his fear of heights. He decided the best thing he could do was suck it up and try not to look down. 

Once they were next in line, he thought he’d talked himself down enough to try and enjoy it. Even though it was four to a car, Eddie and Steve were struggling to fit Lars in while Dustin idled behind them. Once they finally did, Eddie plopped onto a bench and Steve sat beside him. To Steve’s surprise, the operator closed the door behind them without Dustin getting in. 

“Wait, where’s Dust—“ Steve started to ask, looking around the platform for Dustin’s Thinking Cap, before it dawned on him exactly what just happened. Again. 

Eddie could only manage a bubbling laugh, probably resigned to the fate of dealing with this kind of shit from Dustin for the rest of their lives. Not only was he not getting on the ride with them, he was absolutely nowhere to be seen.

“He better not have gotten kidnapped,” Steve grumbled. “Because I’m just assuming he’s a little shit and doesn’t actually need help.”

“He’d be an awful person to kidnap,” Eddie said around his laughter. “They’d give him back before they even made a ransom demand on account of his meddling in their personal lives.”

Steve snorted, unable to disagree with that. Instead of getting even more worked up than he already was, he tried to settle in for the ride. He leaned back in his seat and stretched his arm across the backrest, casually resting it against Eddie’s shoulders. “Guess it’s just you, me, and Lars.”

To Steve’s complete surprise, Eddie responded by leaning further into his side just as the wheel started to turn. 

“He’s very invested in our getting along,” Eddie said quietly. 

“Who, Lars?” Steve asked, and Eddie lightly slapped his arm.

“Dustin,” he corrected with a lopsided grin.

Steve held in a scoff, not yet wanting to admit aloud what Dustin was actually trying to do here. Eddie wasn’t stupid, and Steve thought he had to know already—but Steve still wasn’t sure if Eddie was actually open to more than whatever it was they were currently doing.

“Well, to his credit, I think it’s working,” Steve said, unable to keep his hesitance from bleeding into his voice. Last time he’d confidently asserted that he and Eddie were on good terms, he turned out to be very wrong. 

“Oh, it definitely is,” Eddie said, staring at his hands in his lap with a small smile. “In fact I think he’s going overboard. We’re already friends. What more does he want?”

Steve’s mouth went dry as he searched for any answer to that question that wouldn’t leave him caught out. He pretended to clear his throat before saying, “I don’t know. Friendship bracelets?”

“Oooh, or we could wear matching outfits,” Eddie suggested. 

“Yeah? You wanna go through my collection of khakis?” Steve offered. 

“Don’t kill our friendship in its crib, Harrington,” Eddie warned, pointing a finger at Steve’s chest. “Especially not when you’d look much better in my clothes.”

Steve spent a good long pause getting caught up in picturing that in his head, but was abruptly interrupted when the wheel jerked to a stop. 

“Uh…” Steve said, braving a look towards the ground. They were nearly at the top of this thing, and the view alone was starting to make his heart hammer in his chest. He knew sometimes Ferris wheels paused for people to ‘hang around,’ so to speak, but he didn’t think it usually came with a screeching grinding noise. “Is that normal?”

“I—“ Eddie looked down as he was cut off by the sound of the guy in the car below them yelling. 

“What the fuck!” He practically screeched.

“—don’t think so, no.” Eddie finished. Then he looked back at Steve’s face and frowned. “You okay, Stevie? You’re looking a little green.”

“I, uh, don’t exactly love heights,” Steve admitted. Eddie went paler than usual.

“Then why in the fuck did you get on a Ferris wheel?” he demanded.

“Didn’t want to ruin the fun?” Steve tried, only to be met with a truly unimpressed look from Eddie in return. 

“You need to learn to tell people no, my friend,” he chastised, while staring Steve down quite effectively.

“Well I didn’t think the damn thing would get stuck, either!” Steve cried, starting to feel himself panic. Stupidly, he looked out over the edge of the cart again, where he saw the damn child they had operating this thing run off in search of help. Steve dragged his eyes back into the car and stared at his shoes as he felt his breath come in quick, short spurts. 

“Okay, okay. I’m not helping.” Eddie realized aloud. He looked around him, apparently scrambling to come up with some kind of idea to help Steve calm down. He seemed to settle on a course of action when he twisted in his seat to face Steve, and gently tugged Steve’s chin between his thumb and forefinger.

“Look at me,” Eddie prompted, then dropped his hand when Steve did. He almost whined at the loss of contact, until Eddie took both of Steve’s hands in his own instead.  “Don’t look down, don’t look at the horizon, don’t look at anything but me.”

Desperate never to look down again, Steve followed Eddie’s instructions. He focused on Eddie’s eyes, on the deep brown of them that sometimes seemed tinged with amber these days, and the softness with which they regarded Steve in that moment. 

“Good,” Eddie praised. “Now breathe with me. In, two, three, four….out, two, three, four…again.” Steve followed Eddie’s breaths until it seemed like he and Eddie were the only two people that existed, sitting here on top of the world together. He stayed in that presence of mind for as long as he could hold onto it with shaky, desperate fingers. By some miracle, it started to calm him down. 

“Where’d you learn to do that?” Steve asked once he felt like he could speak again. He could still feel the buzz of something excited and a little scared in his veins, but he wasn’t entirely sure that was his fear of heights so much as it was just a side effect of Eddie still gently holding onto his hands. 

“Wayne,” Eddie answered with a faint smile. Steve’s surprise must have shown on his face, because Eddie elaborated. “I used to get panic attacks, especially after I finally moved out of my parents’ house and in with him.”

Steve didn’t have much time to process that information, because now that Eddie seemed satisfied that Steve wasn’t going to hyperventilate, he turned away and started digging around in one of the many pockets in his leather jacket. Steve had been wondering why Eddie’d even worn the thing at all, but then realized he could probably get away with fashion statements without overheating anymore. After another moment of fidgeting, Eddie huffed out a small ‘aha’ and dug a flask out of one of the pockets. He presented it to Steve like it was a prize. “Drink up, big boy. Looks like we’re gonna have to wait here.”

Steve accepted the flask and took a swig, not caring much about whatever might be in it. It turned out to be vodka. 

“Why did you bring a flask if you can’t drink anymore?” Steve asked after taking a gulp. The burn of the vodka at the back of his throat did a lot to make him feel more grounded, despite the fact that he was currently suspended about a hundred feet in the air.

“Thought you might want it,” Eddie shrugged, apparently trying to avoid Steve’s eye. 

Steve thought it was very cute that Eddie thought of him at all, but eventually his brain caught up to the part of that explanation that didn’t quite add up.

“I thought you didn’t know that I’d be here?” Steve tilted his head to try and get a better look at Eddie’s face. The most he could make out was a faint, crooked grin.

“Please,” Eddie scoffed then looked back at Steve. “Henderson is very predictable. I just put on that surprised act to guilt trip him for being a little liar instead of just asking, ‘Hey, wanna go to the fair with me and Steve?’ like a normal person.”

Steve felt a little smug at the admission, but he didn’t rub it in. Instead he said, “Thanks. For bringing it, I mean. It’s helping.”

“Yeah, well.” Eddie scratched the back of his neck. “Technically I owed you a drink. Or a transfusion. And don’t try to tell me that I didn’t need to do that, either.”

Steve pressed his lips together and mimed locking them and tossing the key over the side of the car. Eddie rolled his eyes in an affectionate kind of way and rested his chin in his hand. He never took his eyes off Steve, who took one more swig from the flask before capping it and handing it back over. He needed the liquid courage for his next question. 

“Have you, uh, been eating well? Since?” Steve winced at himself, but he was dying to ask. He tried to lighten his tone a little, at least, by adding, “Or is cotton candy one of the food groups for vampires?”

“Oh, god,” Eddie groaned, but it seemed mostly good-natured. At least Steve hoped it was. “You’re gonna fuss over my eating habits for the rest of time, aren’t you?”

“Probably, yeah.” Steve shrugged and smiled. Eddie cast him a sideways glance and then ran his hands through his hair, fluffing it up in the process. He kept staring forward though, and Steve couldn’t help but miss the eye contact.

“I mean, cotton candy is enough of a nothing food that it won’t make me throw up later,” he said, as if that part of Steve’s question had been serious at all. “But it doesn’t give me much of a sugar high anymore, which is sort of the whole goddamn point.”

“Eddie—“ Steve started, but Eddie cut him off.

“Fine, yes,” Eddie huffed. “I’ve been eating.”

“Good.” Steve nodded, bit his lip, then decided to throw caution to the wind and say what was on his mind anyway. “Because I can—“

“Let’s just call that a one time thing, yeah?” Eddie cut him off again before Steve could even offer to do it again. Was it weird that he wanted to? Eddie seemed to think so, otherwise he wouldn’t have been quite so short about it.

“Oh,” Steve pushed out, his voice sounding pathetic to his own ears. He was sure his face had drooped into something pitiful looking as well. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”

Steve went back to staring at his shoes, but he could feel Eddie’s eyes boring holes into the side of his head. He couldn’t bring himself to look back up, though—at least not until Eddie gently nudged his knee against Steve’s.

“Did you…” Eddie started to ask something, then bit his lip and stopped. Steve returned the knee-nudge to try and encourage him. “Was that something you wanted to do? Again?”

“I mean,” Steve’s voice creaked, and he had to clear his throat again. “Yeah. If you wanted to.”

“No seriously, Steve,” Eddie said. “I’m not asking what I want. This won’t be another ‘sure I’ll ride the Ferris wheel even though I’m terrified’ situation. Do you want to?”

“Yes,” Steve breathed out, not bothering to lie. Robin was really the only other person who ever asked Steve what he wanted most of the time, and hearing it come from Eddie too opened the floodgates. “Is that weird? Because if it is—if it’s too fucked up for you—I understand. Like absolutely no offense would be taken—”

Eddie put a hand on Steve’s arm to get him to stop rambling. Steve chewed the inside of his cheek to keep himself from starting up again, while Eddie took a beat to choose his next words. 

“It’s not too fucked up, Stevie. It’s just the right amount of fucked up, actually.” 

His shy grin made Steve feel like he could fly, but still being trapped up here, the thought kind of made him nauseous. Or maybe those were just the butterflies that were kicking up in his stomach. Either way, he couldn’t stop the dopey grin that spread across his face, like agreeing to let someone drink your blood was the height of commitment. 

It was pretty damn intimate, though, Steve had to admit. 

“Okay then,” Steve nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from Eddie’s. 

“Okay then,” Eddie repeated. They were still incredibly close, even by the standards of the enclosed space they were stuck in. Steve felt the heat of each place their bodies made contact—where Eddie’s hand still rested on Steve’s forearm, where their thighs were pressed together on the narrow bench. Steve watched as the breeze picked up a stray curl and made it dance across the sliver of Eddie’s collarbone that peeked out beneath his shirt. Steve wanted to tuck it behind Eddie’s ear and leave his hand to rest right on Eddie’s neck.

Steve thought this would have been the perfect set up, on Dustin’s part—to the point were Steve wondered if Dustin had actually managed to sabotage the ride himself, somehow. All except for the one detail that threatened to ruin it. They were in public. There was literally nothing Steve could do about the way Eddie was looking at him now, not with so many prying, small-town, small-minded eyes around to catch them out. 

Steve didn’t know if he was more grateful or infuriated that the ride lurched forward in that moment, then began its descent back towards solid ground. 

By the time Steve managed to drag himself out of the car, his knees felt wobbly. He felt Eddie come up behind him and gently put his hands on Steve’s waist to help stabilize him. 

“You alright there, soldier?” Eddie murmured in his ear. Steve gave a stiff nod, curling his toes in his sneakers to try and bring some sense of stability back into his body. 

“I’m good,” Steve assured him. “Don’t forget Lars.”

“As if I ever could,” Eddie huffed out a laugh. Steve felt it against the curve of his neck and had to suppress a shiver. Just as quickly as it had come, Eddie’s presence at his back vanished. He reappeared by Steve’s side a moment later, Lars in hand, and said, “Now. Shall we go find us a Henderson to kill?”

Dustin was full of excuses once they’d found him. He’d said, “I didn’t do it on purpose!” and “I saw a friend I had to say hello to!” so many times that none of the words sounded like English anymore. Eddie and Steve only exchanged a series of exasperated looks over the top of his capped head before giving him more shit for being an incorrigible liar. 

They spent another couple of hours on rides that Steve actually liked, or just wandering around, or listening to Dustin’s lame excuses for ditching them. It was absolutely an improvement over Steve's minor meltdown, but really it was all about Eddie wanting to be sure that Steve was okay to drive home on his own as well. Steve never really felt the effect of the couple of swigs from Eddie’s flask he’d taken at all, beyond the way it helped him feel a little less like he was about to die at the top of a Ferris wheel. 

All the same, it felt strangely nice for Eddie to fuss over him and buy him a funnel cake to be sure.

Eddie offered to take Dustin home since Steve brought him, but Steve only agreed to it once he’d made Eddie promise not to throw the little interloper in the quarry. Then they’d hugged goodbye in a lingering sort of way that made Steve want to scream.

Instead he settled for rolling the windows down and letting the sticky July air come whooshing into the beemer in a rush, blaring I Want to Know What Love Is and singing it at the top of his lungs as he drove home alone.  

Steve called Robin the second he got home. She didn’t answer until the sixth ring. “Hi, Steve.”

“How did you know it was me?” he asked, once again wondering how she always was able to guess.

“Only my favorite platonic soulmate would let it ring that long on a Friday night and still expect an answer,” Robin said. Steve could hear the shrug in her voice.

“Well obviously I was right,” Steve pointed out as he twisted the phone cord between his fingers. “Are you busy?”

“Nope,” Robin sighed. “My favorite platonic soulmate ditched me to hang out with a fifteen year old tonight, if I remember correctly.”

“You said you had plans with Nance!” Steve yelped indignantly. 

“Jesus, calm down. I did, dingus,” she said with a scratchy laugh. “I’m just fucking with you. What’s got you all squeaky?”

“Guess who also just happened to be there, also hanging out with the fifteen year old?” Steve offered.

“Gee, could it have been Eddie?” Robin asked, full of mock surprise.

“It was, indeed,” Steve confirmed, then launched into a rather whiny recap of the events of his evening. When he got to the part about his and Eddie’s little blood pact, though, he hesitated. “I should probably also tell you about something that happened when we were trapped in the closet at your graduation party.”

“Okay…” Robin said, clearly wary. “I thought you already told me all of that?”

“I kind of left out a key part of the story,” Steve hedged. 

“Like?”

“I may have let Eddie…suck my blood. Just a little.” Steve knew enough to pull the phone away from his ear a bit as soon as he stopped talking.

“You WHAT?!” Robin screeched, and Steve knew he’d made the right decision.

“He hadn’t eaten in two weeks, Robin—“

“Get your ass over here right now, Harrington,” Robin cut him off with her sternest tone. “I need details.”

The line went dead before he even had a chance to consider if he wanted to agree or argue with her. Steve sighed and grabbed his keys.

———

Naturally, Robin had about a million questions. By the time Steve thought she’d exhausted them all, it was nearly midnight, and he was sprawled out across her bed feeling completely sorry for himself.

“What am I going to do, Robbie?” he whined. “Eddie is not an idiot. He has to know what Dustin is doing, because he is not subtle.”

“Neither are you, apparently,” Robin deadpanned, and mimed biting her own wrist. Steve pulled a pillow over his face and let out a muffled howl.

“I know,” he agreed once he was done. “I’m a disaster.”

“Well, to be fair, you weren’t subtle before the blood sucking either,” Robin pointed out. Steve hated that she was right about that, too.

“Yeah, well,” Steve stammered his way into an excuse. “That was when I thought he was just fucking with me or playing around. Now he��s got to know I was serious about all of it.”

This time it was Robin’s turn to scream into a pillow. When she emerged, hair mussed and face a little red, she said, “You big baby.”

“Robin,” Steve whined again. “I’m in crisis.”

“Oh my god. Look,” she shifted her posture to sit up straighter, like she was about to level with him, so Steve made sure to pay attention. “If he realizes you’re serious, that’s a good thing. Because then maybe you’ll both stop being assholes and tell each other how you feel instead of whining to your friends about it—“

Robin abruptly cut herself off, and her eyes widened like she’d just let something slip. 

“Rob…” Steve drew out her name in a way that he hoped would make her confess. Her cheeks were turning increasingly more pink, and she refused to look at him. 

“What?” she asked, then bit her lip. 

“What do you know?” Steve asked, sitting up for the first time in probably an hour or more. He hugged the pillow he was still holding to his chest and stared her down. 

“Nothing,” Robin squeaked.

“Robin.” Steve said, and put on his best begging face—the one he knew she could rarely resist.

“Ugh, please don’t look at me like that,” Robin tried to look away from him, but he just kept shifting back into her line of sight.

“I’m going to cry if you don’t tell me what you know,” he threatened.

“Fine!” Robin growled. “Nancy may have told me that she has a similar problem with Eddie whining to her about you. It was very cathartic to talk to someone who understands what idiots you two are, honestly.”

Steve gave himself a good minute to process what Robin had just said, because he was pretty sure his brain was audibly making a whirring sound. 

“…Whining about me how, exactly?” Steve said, when finally managed to ask a follow-up question. 

“The same way you whine about him! About how he’s totally into you, but keeps worrying that you’re gonna realize that and hate him!” Robin exploded this time. Probably a little too late, Steve wondered if her parents were home. “Because of the fucking popsicle, of all the damn things!”

“The popsicle?” Steve asked in a tiny, dumbstruck, yet hopeful voice. “Why?”

“Because for most of the day you were flirting your ass off, but after that you avoided him all night,” Robin explained. “And now you’ve been dancing around each other without admitting you want him for weeks.”

“I only avoided him after that because I was so…” Steve paused to look for the right word, “affected by it.” 

“That’s what I told Nancy. And that’s what Nancy told Eddie. But I’m pretty sure he’s gonna have to hear it from you, dingus.”

Steve thought about that for what was probably too long to be considered a natural pause in the conversation, but Robin humored him and waited patiently while he digested all of it. It made sense, since Eddie pulled away after the pool party, and then seemed to be under the impression that Steve was afraid of him again until the closet incident. 

Goddamnit, Steve was such an idiot sometimes. 

“It felt like if we weren’t surrounded by people earlier—“ Steve trailed off, feeling his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth as he tried to push the words out. Robin poked him in the side and urged him on. “I don’t know. It felt like we might’ve kissed, if we were alone. Or if we were a boring straight couple.”

“See?” Robin immediately shifted from exasperated to bouncing with some kind of optimistic glee. “He’s into you. Clearly. He literally wants to eat you. Just do something about it.”

“Just do something about it,” Steve repeated it like a mantra. 

“Yes,” Robin agreed. “But do something about it tomorrow. Because we have to work the morning shift and we should go to bed. I washed your PJs from the last time you stayed over.”

“Aren’t your parents here?” Steve asked, though he already knew the answer.

“Oh sure,” Robin scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I regularly scream about my friend the vampire and his sad little bisexual boyfriend for my parents to hear. Of course they’re not here, Steve. They’re out of town.”

“Alright, alright,” Steve held his hands up in retreat. “Just checking.”

Long after Robin had fallen asleep beside him, Steve laid awake with images of amber brown eyes and Ferris wheels turning in his head. When he finally drifted off, it was with a newfound sense of hope. 

I know I probably don’t have to point out that it’s unwise to do a shot of vodka, have a panic attack, and then drive, even if you do have a vampire to buy you a funnel cake and make you walk it off. But I’m pointing that out anyway. Anyway, next update is gonna be a double chapter. Take from that what you will!

[youdontloveme-yet]

It seems people around here need a bit of an insight on the events that are happening in the Middle East currently. (btw, there has been a devastating earthquake in Afghanistan, which also needs attention) I will compile what my friend has said since this genocide started and what they're basically being forced to live through. Excuse me, survive through.

07.10.23: First thing my friend sent me in the morning was this:

Saying the bombings have not stopped since 6am, while he texted me this photo at 8am. He said there're bombs and rockets flying in different directions from all over Gaza. Be it by Hamas or IDF doesn't matter. Our conversation continues to me witnessing a 22 year old man breaking down, wishing this was just a bad dream. A little while later as I bombard him with questions about the situation and what they're saying on the news and whatnot he simply said:

When I asked if there are any protocols for civilians:

As the day went on and I had to function like an actual person and go to work, in the evening I asked if his family has emergency plans.

And asked for shelters.

He joked about the situation. We joked about the situation. You know, to keep the normalcy rather than making it worse for everybody. He didn't sleep that night. I couldn't stop crying through the entire day and night.

08.10.23: First thing is the morning is to see if he's okay. Still alive, still joking about it. I asked about the bombing and he tells me they've been going on every few minutes through the entire night. We continue speaking through the entire day, as I cannot stop shaking nor crying, because I am absolutely fucking useless and helpless.

Is what comes out as he is barely holding up, amidst joking around. He still asks me about my day, why I am scheduling therapy, if I have eaten anything and so on. Regardless the fact that he is now in an active warzone with very big prospects of him dying. So, I think you can paint a picture of the type of person he is. I try to keep our conversations light and normal, as they usually are, so as he doesn't lose his mind. He send me pictures of his cat and growing a stress beard. We joke around and keep up the normalcy as much as possible. We go back and forth with how he will not get rid of me especially in this situation. With him constantly telling me it's not worth it and how I'll only get hurt. As you can imagine I legit do not care, since I will stick with him 'till the very end. We continue going in circles with why I shouldn't get attached or how he's happy to see my ugly mug, some innuendos being throw around and whatnot. Every night I tell him to stay safe as if he has any power over it. In the evening I ask if he needs some distraction, either to talk or play games. He played a few games with the rest of the server, you know, to keep his sanity. I keep sending memes and stupid shit to keep it light. We got to the point where we started talking about books, so I ask him for his favourite:

I unfortunately literally passed out after our book conversation, as I was fatigued from crying and shaking all day.

09.10.23: In the morning he tells me he is alive and doing okay-ish. After which we continue with the back and forth of "it's a waste of time to stress about me". I ask about his family, how I'll love and support him even if he commits war crimes and whatnot. To which he continues to answer with stuff like this:

Well, we both know is a bit too late to not get attached. :)

There is something so viscerally horrifying when a big, strong man tells you he is scared. There is something so incredibly painful, when the person you've grown attached to tells you he is scared. I cannot even start to explain how my heart sunk and the most abusive and profound sadness nested itself in my chest. I woke up every hour during that night, even though I smoked enough weed to keep me asleep for a week. And I woke up in terror every fucking hour of the night.

10.10.23: He's alive and well. As well as someone can be in his situation. Hadn't slept all night, but is alive. We continue our usual banter and jokes through the day. Later he apologizes for forgetting that I am going to therapy. We talk about flowers, because he loves flowers and we both need distraction. As we keep talking he casually throws in how he finally has his meds. Which to me is weird, because he hadn't mentioned any pills before. And this is how I learn he is on anti-depressants since his brother killed himself the previous year. He hadn't told anyone else. I will here remind that he is not even 22 yet and has gone through absolute shit. By absolute shit I mean the worst things imaginable. For example, he shared in the server how he witnessed a rocket split a person in half, nearly killing his brother when he was only 14 years old. Later on I had the small victory of making him laugh, while bombs were still raining on them. We even played a game that night. Then the horrors continued:

I left him to his own vices for that time, as I knew anything I'd say would make it only worse. When I spoke to him next he had calmed down, even tho he was battling his demons. Even made him smirk with a pun. And the dread came back in full power after.

So, as you can imagine, knowing that the person you most deeply care about doesn't want to exist is absolutely and irrevocably devastating. I do not recall if this was the same night, when he told us they started using white phosphorus rockets, but it might as well have been the same night. I would like to remind here that white phosphorus is banned as a weapon and is allowed only to use for smoke screen. While in this case they were launching rockets full of it towards houses and entire neighbourhoods. The whole idea behind it is that if a person doesn't die from an entire building collapsing, they will either suffocate or literally melt due to the phosphorus. Which automatically means that they cannot identify victims or have claims that a child has been killed. It is a very old tactic used in the majority of devastating wars.

So, here I will ask all the zionists and racists, how can a person like this be dubbed a terrorist? How can a person, who cares more about my well-being, while being actively under siege, a fucking terrorist? With what consciousness do you call all Palestinians terrorists? What goes through your silly little minds to support Israel in slaughtering such people?? Palestine is 2mil people, 55% of which are children. The average age in the country is 18. And people still dare to say that they are animals, subhuman and terrorists. You have no actual evaluation of what is right and wrong, if you cannot get it through your thick skulls that Hamas is but a fraction of Palestine, while the rest 90+ percent of people are just like you and me. Have you no empathy for those who have been subjected to severe ethnic cleansing for 80 fucking years? Because you all had sympathy for Ukraine when Russia attacked, but when it is not white fucking people, it is not a genocide, it's the colonial state of Israel defending themselves.

I will end this here for now, as I have to pretend to be a functioning person and work. I will continue this when I can.

Peace and may your Gods save your souls when karma comes for you. Everyone else, stay safe :)

[zodiactalks]

These 4 Zodiac Signs are Most LIKELY to START a FIGHT

Attention, all hot-headed signs! You’re getting called out today. Whether we’re looking at the zodiac sign most likely to tell someone a piece of their mind, the first ones to post a mean comment on someone’s photo just to get a kick, or the first ones who will actually fight to the death over something trivial, today we’re covering the most violent zodiac signs.

It’s not that they want to be like this, but the skies bestowed them the uncalled for honour of being the ones with the shortest fuse. These are the signs that love revenge, that are quick to take their earings off as soon as someone breathes in their direction, and that will stop at nothing short of blood. #1. Aries

You must have seen this one coming. These hot-headed monsters are ruled by the God of war himself, Mars. It certainly does not help that they’re the very first zodiac sign of the wheel, where the energy of creation just explodes into a fiery, yelling, ugly-crying mess. Not only are these zodiac signs quick to anger, but they love fighting in all of its forms.

Did you take a bit too long to answer their text? You better find shelter, quick. A cashier made a mistake to their order? A manager needs to come and deflect the situation before the whole joint perishes in an unknown cause fire.

Of course, Aries are total sweethearts, but they’ve got way too much energy to be able to handle it properly, especially when someone is chewing so loudly next to them. The audacity! #2. Capricorn OK, hear me out. They won’t jump to bite someone’s face off for no reason, but Hell has no fury like a mad Capricorn. They will use their expertly crafted replies to get the worse of you out and then call you a baby for getting mad. Of course, you getting mad is exactly what they were after because, at that point, they will obliterate you with the wittiest, snarkiest remarks. And if you were stupid enough to actually start a fight, you already lost. But they won’t back down, even if you’re two times their size. A Capricorn will fight to the grave, and they’ve got every chance to win because we hear they can conjure up entire armies of demons in the blink of an eye. That’s probably not true, but I would certainly not risk it and let them have the last word. #3. Leo Leos are certainly cute, fluffy fur babies. They love to be comfortable, and they generally want to be liked. So they’re not going to start a fight for no reason. The only problem is that what they consider a good enough reason is wildly different from what a reasonable person would think.

They are most likely to fight someone that came up to a party dressed like them or put pesky trolls in their place when they’re commenting something negative under their pictures.

While physical fights are not their go-to weapon - mostly because they don’t want to ruin their clothes or makeup, they are masters of witty insults and sarcasm. There’s no one quite as sassy as a Leo, so your best chance is hitting them and running well before they’re able to insult you. #4. Libra

For anyone who does not know, Cardi B is 100% Libra. They’re tempted to yell “What was the reason???” way more than they like to admit. Although Libras are one of the most diplomatic and tactful signs of the zodiac, they only have two moods: complete, serene calm, and hellfire.

The scales can only hang in one direction, and if there’s something that throws them off balance, you better believe there’s going to be some turbulence before their stoic calm has returned.

But you don’t need to fret. While they’re very likely to pick a fight and yell with their whole pulmonary capacity, these social butterflies are usually just talking. They will threaten you with their heels, but as soon as there’s any real danger, you can catch them getting a cab sooner than you can say “Manolos”.

[avatarskywalker78]

So while I was writing this Doctor Who fic I came up with the idea that the Celestial involved with Ruby's Mystery (because I'm not at all convinced her story's wrapped up in the slightest) could be the God - or, rather, the embodiment of Beginnings, The Oldest One by default because everything started at the Beginning, and while in the fic I left it vague as to how he was involved...I've now got an idea after thinking on it for a few days.

So we have this Celestial. The Beginning, Oldest Being In Creation, in this universe thought to be part of the Pantheon of Discord only it's not really that simple because nothing ever is, an entity that spans eons and space and time because there is always something beginning, somehow, and he mostly goes unnoticed. Unlike the others he (a pronoun he's going by at the moment, but as with other Celestials gender has no meaning) doesn't wield his power over others, doesn't hoard it - he's had his moments, of course, but he's long since learnt his lesson, so very long ago. Being an Embodiment (or a god or whatever you want to call yourself) comes with a certain degree of responsibility. The Pantheon never understood and the last encounter he had with them lead to him being imprisoned...or, at least, that's what they thought, but as most of them ended up banished from this plane of existence it wasn't like they had a chance to realise that they'd been entirely unsuccessful, and hopefully it stays that way.

Of course the Universe never lies still - the Last Great Time War caused a lot of ongoing problems and the last Time Lord gets into literal universe-ending situations. The Beginning doesn't really worry about this, at first, and despite the trials and tribulations the Doctor usually manages to sort things out. And then all of a sudden, the Doctor's backstory is different - the Doctor's species and origin is different, vastly differently, then the Flux happens when the embodiment of Time starts getting pissy about being constrained (despite the fact that the universes where it wasn't always ended badly) and a vast chunk of the universe is wiped out and it's Wrong, it's a gaping wound that he and his counterpart Ending feel keenly and the Beginning doesn't know this happened-

Then Fourteen unwittingly releases the Pantheon and Beginning knows exactly how it happened - the Toymaker and his brand of chaos. 'I made a jigsaw of your history' he gloats to the Time Lord, 'did you like it?' and Beginning isn't unsurprised at his complete lack of regard for life, but unfortunately it is a problem. The Flux was never meant to happen, the Doctor was never meant to be anything other than a Time Lord and now the Pantheon's back. Many ripple effects are being sent up and down the space-time continuum and the essence of Sutekh, currently wrapped around the TARDIS and something that could end Existence itself...forever. He can't be defeated in a conventional way and directly confronting him would just make the End quicker...

All these problems that need to be dealt with but currently? The Death God most of all. He needs a way to take him by surprise in such a way that he never sees it coming, and what he needs...is to buy time. He doesn't see how Sutekh's initial plan can be stopped but it could be reversed if the right people have time. There needs to be something that stops Sutekh from destroying absolutely everything, destroying the Doctor...

What better than a mystery? Something that would confound even Sutekh himself and he knows how this works, what Sutekh's power would do, how it erases generations going back...but what if he couldn't? What if there were no other generations? What if...

There were a person who appeared out of nowhere? No family, no blood connections, nothing and no one they could be traced to...and yet there was something Not Quite Right about them. A child abandoned and seemingly normal, until they aren't, until it seems that a Celestial is somehow part of them...even the God of Death couldn't resist something like that. And it's not that Beginning likes the idea at all, but there really is no other choice here - for the first time in a very, very long time they're going to have to create life in such a way that intrigues everyone, it has to be a story and a mystery...

He heads to a Christmas Eve in what one society calls the early noughties, cloaked so that no one can see him. Snow is falling and there's a carol being sung in the distance and in the midst of this he uses all of his powers - and creates a little baby girl right there and then. Fully human, as any test will show, but this is where she begins, and he heads over to the nearest church and leaves her there. Time changes, and she's suddenly taken by goblins. Time changes again, and the Doctor saves her, and this along with Sutekh's presence creates enough of a ripple that the Beginning is noticeable for the first time in ages, as he intended.

For the time being, he doesn't look back. There's the other pantheon members to track down - Doubt's gone native and Dread seems to have her own agenda - and there's still a massive great hole in the universe. The girl who'll become Ruby will hold her own, and will eventually be able to tap into her own power once the circumstances are right, and hopefully at least one great evil will be dealt with.

But it's going to be quite a long and complicated journey before they can properly fix things...

[chickensoup-4-mysoul]

herculean (drrr x f!reader) - chapter 16

Chapter 16 - Fall of the Dragon's Peak

synopsis: you discover the van gang's plan to end this gang war once and for all. determined to save your friends, you insist that you come along.

word count: 3,013

warnings: canon-typical violence

"neon lights, nobel prize when a leader speaks, that leader dies he won't have to follow me only you can set you free,, cult of personality - living colour

It becomes evident to you that you are running pointlessly through the night. Even so, you can’t bring yourself to stop, as time was fleeting, and Anri could easily end up in the hands of danger at any moment. You felt so utterly hopeless. After what felt like a lifetime of running, you finally ease into a brisk walk. You check your phone for any sign from Anri--a call or text, but to no avail. Huffing, you return the device to your pocket, scanning your surroundings. There was no telling how far you had gone.

“Out for an evening walk, are ya?” Your heart leaps into your chest at the voice. However, you quickly calm down as you realize that it’s a voice that you very much recognize. A large vehicle rolls into your peripheral vision, eventually coming to a stop. Erika’s smiling face would usually be soothing to you, but the urgent situation you were in didn’t allow for a moment of ease. However, your dread for Anri’s sake was replaced by a different dread--one elicited by the sight of yellow bandanas around Saburo and Kyohei’s necks. 

You gasp, staggering away from the vehicle. The gang is visibly perturbed by your reaction. Silence hangs heavily in the air as you stare back at each other. However, the tension is broken by Walker’s laughter. “Oh yeah! Kyohei and Saburo look like Yellow Scarves right now!” he laughs. Kyohei and Saburo glance at each other before starting to chuckle themselves. You can only watch them, greatly confused. 

“Hey, don’t worry about it, alright? We’re in disguise.” Your heartbeat begins to slow at Kyohei’s reassurance. You’re clearly still on guard, though. “We’re on our way to the Yellow Scarves hideout. It’s time to put an end to all of this, once and for all.” The Yellow Scarves hideout! If Anri was trying to do what you thought she was, that’s where she was heading. You had to get there, fast.

“Okay, I’m coming with.” You approach the vehicle and Saburo, despite his obvious confusion, opens the door to let you in. Kyohei wearily eyes you as you crawl in next to Erika. “If you say so--but don’t think you’re coming in with us.” 

“What? Kyohei, I have to--it’s important.”

“Didn’t you hear what I said? We’re in disguise, you’ll stand out even more than those two.” He nods his head at Walker and Erika, who you notice aren’t wearing bandanas. Honestly, he wasn’t wrong, it only took one glance at you to notice that something was amiss--especially in this stupid patterned shirt. “Got any extra bandanas?” you ask. 

“It’s gonna take more than that,” Kyohei scoffs, but you pay him no mind. Erika reaches into the back of the van and pulls one out, handing it to you. You take it from her, dropping it in your lap for later. “W-woah!” Walker exclaims, quickly covering his eyes. Kyohei looks back at the three of you to see what the commotion is about, but quickly directs his attention forward again. Saburo, after peeking through the rear-view mirror, does the same. Erika, however, is unperturbed. 

You had taken off your shirt in front of her before, after all. Ignoring the embarrassment of the males in the vehicle, you continue to unbutton your top, eventually pulling it off and discarding it. You’re not a bit flustered, considering the fact that you had walked out in tube tops more revealing than the black sports bra you were wearing underneath. You lean over and reach into your backpack, then victoriously pull out the object you were searching for. The black face mask was always in your bag, per the recommendations you had read on numerous traveling forums. After pulling it over your mouth and hooking it behind your ears, half of your face is very well covered. You fold the bandana into a large triangle and pull it over your head, tying it over your hair. 

“This enough?” You ask after tapping Kyohei’s shoulder, prompting him to look at you again. His eyes barely scan your form before he looks away again. He wordlessly unzips his jacket, tossing it back at you. “You’ll attract attention for a different reason. Put this on.” Assuming that you had won this one, you gladly put on the large article of clothing. It’s a little long, but rolling up the sleeves does the trick.

Since Saburo continued driving through the entire exchange, you all arrive soon after. He parks the van around the corner, not wanting to risk blowing your cover. It was a good call--that anime girl on the door could be recognized from a mile away. He grumbles when you point this out to him. You, Kyohei, and Saburo walk the rest of the way to the hideout. 

“What made you want to come so bad, anyway?” Kyohei asks. He’s more willing to look at you now. 

“My friends need help,” you explain simply. Even through your vagueness, he seems to understand, not pressing any further. You can tell when you get closer, because more and more people in yellow begin to join you. The three of you bow your heads, trying your best to blend in.

When you round a corner, your heart stops at the crowd of yellow-clad goons. Exactly how many members of the gang were there? You’d always had the idea that it was a small gang, but it looks like you were wrong. Kyohei did say that they had brought back up, but how much exactly? As the three of you waded through the crowd, you secretly scanned the area, searching for any sign of Anri or Masaomi. “Don’t follow,” Kyohei mutters quietly, before breaking away from the group. Splitting up seemed like a good call, but you don’t know how well you would fare if you were all on your own. You allow for some distance between you and Saburo, but you do your best to keep an eye on him.

The crowd gathers around a stage and you remember Anri’s recollection of what she had seen the night that she snuck in. A man comes forward and the crowd quiets down. You recognize him instantly. Horada surveys the crowd, grinning cockily. His smug demeanor sure doesn’t match his neck brace, or the bandages on his face. Looks like Shizuo had done quite the number on him.

The man sure was ambitious, that’s for sure. Quite the public speaker, as well. The crowd ate up every word he had to say, cheering at every sentence. As you scanned the different people, you noticed some were less enthusiastic than others, and some not cheering at all. Perhaps those were the backup that Kyohei mentioned. Horada intended to extend the gang’s control over not just Ikebukuro, but the entirety of Tokyo. It was a foolish thing to believe, but a part of you grew worried at the notion. 

“That damn Shizuo Heiwajima is gone! The only ones left in the Dollars that are still acting tough are his girl, with Kadota’s Gang!” You shrink at those words. Burying your face into the collar of Kyohei’s jacket, you wearily glance among the crowd, nervous that anyone would notice you. “So, we just gotta crush ‘em--then we’ll hit their leader, Ryuugamine…!”

Anything else he says after that falls on deaf ears. The enthusiastic yells sounding around you are muffled by your own thoughts. Ryuugamine... that wasn’t the Ryuugamine that you knew, was it? No, it couldn’t be! That doesn’t make any sense! 

Emperor of the Dragon's Peak. That name was distinct, so much so that Walker and Erika joked that it had to be a stage name or something. You didn’t quite understand everything about Japanese names, but you suppose it was like having McHunterKnife for a last name. Seeing that it was, in fact, his birth given name, you found it very ironic. Now, as you stand here, surrounded by hollering gang members, you reflected on how revealing it turned out to be. 

Anri is connected to the Slasher.

Masaomi is the head of the Yellow Scarves.

Shy, awkward little Mikado...is the leader of the Dollars. 

Perhaps Celty knew what she was talking about when she turned to Mikado as the solution to the gang war. Where were they now? Would they be okay? Danger was beginning to invade your friends’ lives faster by the minute. Your eyes scanned the crowd for your companions. Kyohei’s gray beanie was hard to spot, and Saburo’s mop of brown hair wasn’t very conspicuous either. Were you surrounded by enemies or companions? The question drove you crazy.

One by one, heads began to turn away from the stage where Horada had just stepped down. Your heart rate spiked, before you realized that everyone’s attention was directed toward the entrance of the warehouse. The crowd parted down the middle, making a path for whatever force had suddenly overtaken the space. From your spot among the rabble, you can barely make out the moving figure as they follow the path. However, a space forms between the people blocking your vision, and you finally make out a head of blonde hair.

Masaomi.

You don’t have to hold back your surprise, as you aren’t the only one shocked by the boy’s appearance. Considering the fact that he was the leader, you expected to see him there--but the look in his eye sent dread shooting through your senses. To your confusion, none of the gang members, Horada included, had the same expectation, staring at the boy incredulously. Masaomi looks over at the crowd, searching everyone’s faces. You anxiously pull the scarf lower over your forehead. 

“What’s going on here!? I don’t even recognize any of you,” the boy gripes. “No one’s taking my calls...what’re you up to??”

“Well, looks like all of the those guys that didn’t want me at the top ended up in the hospital--still recovering!” Horada laughs nonchalantly. “Oh, it was so scary!! Must’ve been the Dollars, right guys?”

Taunting laughter fills the air, and it suddenly occurs to you how...mature it sounded. This wasn’t the same group of scrappy teenagers that roamed the streets weeks ago; These were adults. The ones that crowded around that sleazy Horada and brought the horrors of the Yellow Scarves’ actions to new heights. Those foolish kids were gone now, crushed under the self-serving desires of some greedy slob--and that slob was trying to do the same to Masaomi.

Horada goads Masaomi, having no qualms with rubbing salt into his wounds. You don’t quite understand everything, but you notice how Masaomi bristles at the mention of an ‘Izumii’. It’s very clear that Horada and Masaomi weren’t comrades at all, but enemies. Especially when Horada starts talking about changing the name and color of the gang.

“That’s right! Everyone surrounding you right now? They’re all Blue Squares--the guys you hate!”

Blue Squares… the gang that your van friends had been apart of, but eventually left. They never told you exactly why, but they implied it was because of ‘creative differences’. Judging from the way that Horada was acting, you didn’t blame them for doing so. 

“It’s your own damn fault! All we had to do was take off our blue and ask to join, and you let us in so easily!” The jerks were hooting and hollering now, getting quite the kick out of their own sick antics. You stuffed your trembling hands into your pockets, looking through the mob once more. With everyone causing a commotion, it was easier to spot those who remained still. The closer you looked, the more people you noticed that simply stood quietly amongst the chaos.

Masaomi looks surprisingly unfazed, and when he looks up, you swear that you can see him smiling. He steps forward, causing the group of men closest to him to stagger back. So they’re still wary of him, huh? What exactly is he capable of…

The tall door grinds shut behind him, closing him into the space full of his enemies. He refuses to be cornered, however, continuing to approach Horada. He talks steadily the entire time; a normal life, his past, his fear, a girl he couldn’t save, his readiness to both die...and kill. You choke on a lump in your throat, frantically looking for Kyohei. Now... give the signal now, before he gets hurt!!

No one hears your prayer. In a shoddy attempt of self defense, Horada grabs a crowbar and hurls it at Masaomi. You barely conceal your scream as it collides with Masaomi’s temple. The clatter of metal against concrete rings throughout the warehouse, leaving a thick silence in its wake. A trail of blood trickles down the side of the boy’s face, pooling at his chin. Despite the injury, he remains standing, surprisingly sturdy on his own two feet. Horada, shocked by his resilience, orders his goons to attack the boy. Your viewpoint of the ordeal lessens in clarity as groups of men charge at Masaomi, swinging fists and weapons. It got to a point where you couldn’t see if he was holding his own or not and all you could do was listen to the clamor of grunts, falling bodies, and clashing weapons. Desperation wells up inside you. How could you just stand there and watch? You needed to do something, anything….

Everyone seems too caught up in the spectacle to mind you pushing your way through the crowd. You could see Masaomi now, and boy, did he not look good. Blood streamed past his chin and stained his neck and chest. Your heart squeezed itself at the sight of him on his knees, thoroughly debilitated. The feeling of a hand grasping your wrist stopped you in your tracks. You whirled around to face your captor, dreading the idea that you had been caught. However, you relax slightly when you see that it’s Kyohei. Your eyes flicker to Masaomi’s defeated form, silently begging him to let you go. He only shakes his head, subtly pulling you back to him.

He was right to stop you and you hated it. There was no telling what you were gonna do if you actually got up there, and it would have definitely blown everyone’s cover. That didn’t stop the panic that swelled within you at the sight of the gun that Horada was pointing at Masaomi. Looking at Kyohei, even he looks ready to spring into action, his grip on your wrist loosening.

A large man appears beside Horada, so suddenly that you hadn’t even seen him approach. However, the pipe in his hand that knocks the gun clean out of Horada’s grasp alerts everyone of his presence. You shoot a look at Kyohei, wondering if the man was one of his friends. The look on his face is just as bewildered as yours, however. If he hadn’t brought him, then who was this guy?

Horada grabs the guy by the shirt, shaking him roughly. Rather than cowering in fear, the man rests limply in his hold, head lolling backward. He was speaking coherently, but he seemed so out of it . “Sorry, I just feel like Mother would be upset if you killed this guy. In fact….”

You squint your eyes, staring closely at the man. His eyes were small on his face, but the shine in them was very noticeable. “I sense Mother is going to be here any second.”

The excruciating sound of screeching metal meets your ears and you hiss at the sudden sensation. Confused mutters fill the air as everyone turns to the source of the sound.

The tall, metal door--having just been shut behind Masaomi’s back--beared a large slash right down the middle. The air stilled for a moment, paused and waiting, before the pieces began to topple. A wince jolts your body as the remains assault the ground, ringing out with each impact. Peering through the new entryway, all that could be seen was darkness. Even the streetlights in the distance did very little to reveal the cause of such destruction. However, averting your gaze downward, you finally see her…

In such a large opening, she looks so small in comparison--but her stance implied anything but. Feet perched wide, Anri was clearly on the offensive. Her eyes glared red like two headlights in the dim night. In her hand, catching a glimmer just as bright as her gaze, a long sword rested. A sword capable of cutting clean through pure metal. She surveys the room, frantically searching. Her stern countenance momentarily breaks once her attention reaches the battered boy at the center of it all.

“M-Masaomi!” she cries, vermillion eyes wide with horror. Surprisingly able to move, the boy sluggishly turns to her. He mutters her name, voice so terribly weak. Anri doesn’t move, only capable of staring at Masaomi’s damaged state. Your attention is pulled from the standoff by a unusual noise. It’s so faint that, for a moment, you wonder if you imagined it.

The mass of darkness that whizzes past Anri immediately dispels your suspicions. Even at such a speed, you can still make out Celty’s bright yellow helmet skidding to a halt right beside Masaomi. Looking closely, you suddenly realize that it’s not just Celty occupying the bike. The green colorblock pattern of Mikado’s jacket is alarmingly apparent to you. The three kids stare at each other, sharing a brief moment of recognition. 

The unease welling up within you made you nauseous. No matter how much you tried to reassure yourself, you couldn't shake the feeling that you were in the middle of some sort of climax.

The Headless Rider. The Slasher. A man with superhuman strength. Kyohei Kadota. The van gang. The Raira Trio. A gang war. The Yellow Scarves. The Dollars. The Blue Squares. It had all been building up to something--one big breaking point fixed to overflow at any moment.

Would this be it? All of the tension building, secrets hidden, lives twisted and manipulated--was this the moment that it would all come crashing down?

For some reason, you hoped that it was.

[queen-of-the-night-lights]

Different ( The Bad Batch x OC) Ch.2

A/N: HAPPY MAY 4th!!! I know this isn’t my most popular fic, but it brings me joy. I hope you all have a happy and safe Star Wars day and pleasant dreams of your comfort characters.

Warnings: Bullying, and mass disrespect.

Summary: After being caught by the Republic for attempting to steal from various senators Tessa is given a unique prison sentence. This leads to her being forced into various rotations throughout the GAR, but due to her personality not many of the clones like her. Now she has one last chance to prove she’s not difficult to work with, but the squad she is assigned to isn’t what she expected.

Ch.1

All too soon morning came and neither party was exactly thrilled about the situation. Tessa had gotten there earlier than anyone else did, which usually was frowned upon because many thought she would try to steal any information she could. So she called two guards informing them that she was coming early which then caused them to give her the usual speech of stay quiet and stay where the security cameras can see her. She always replied with a “ You guys are no fun.” Every single rotation and every single briefing she was told this, except for if the troopers liked her or found her tolerable.

After waiting ten minutes the troopers from Clone Force 99 came in. Tessa already was able to get a feel for them by the way they each walked in and what they looked like. The most obvious is that if she didn’t know better she wouldn’t think that they were Clones. She had read up about Jango Fett, the base of all the clones, and would have thought that these guys were related to him. Not as the cloned soldiers they were. She debated on whether or not to make eye contact with them. Usually when she tried with others they didn’t give it a second thought but she didn’t want them to feel like she was staring.

She then decided to look around at nothing in particular and then look at them every once in a while. She didn’t know why she felt nervous, she had met and fought with so many troopers that this shouldn’t be any different. Tessa got out her data pad and started looking over the specifics of the first mission to avoid her spiraling thoughts. Maybe they were and maybe they weren’t looking at her but she still felt as though their eyes were on her. Funny thing about being caught and held prisoner, you will always feel like you are being watched.

The boys didn’t quite know what to make of her, all they knew was what Tech told them and that she is rarely what she appears to be. Her physical appearance could tell them very little about her. This girl was tall not necessarily taller than all of them but definitely as tall or taller than the regs. She was curvy, not what one would expect from the typical solider of the GAR, but who were they to judge. Long, dark brown hair that easily could’ve been mistaken for black. It was free flowing showing that it was well past her shoulders, she must tie it up during missions because it most definitely would be a hassle. What surprised them was that she had these large round glasses that weren’t too different from Techs goggles.

The personality of this girl who was in front of them wasn’t someone you could read easily. It’s one thing to hear about traits whilst reading reports, but it’s another thing to experience a person face to face. She seemed nervous and spratict as she looked around the room and quickly back at them. When she started reading her nerves seemed to calm. They couldn’t believe that this was the person who was going to be flying them around to missions. There was an awkward amount of silence between them until someone entered the room.

General Kenobi and Commander Cody entered the room. The boys immediately stood at attention, Tessa did as well just slower. She let out a sigh as they were greeted and the boys were introduced to her and told her predicament. She hated this part, luckily General Kenobi was a good man and the way that he presented her did not sound cold and uncaring. He made it sound as if she was actually there of her own will helping. Even though it was far from the truth, but it was at least the thought that count. As he finished she gave a nod of acknowledgment. The one known as Hunter did the same, the large one gave a smile, and the other two just gave her a quick glance.

The one with the gray hair was the easiest for her to read. He didn’t want to be there, he didn’t like this situation, and so far he definitely wasn’t going to like her regardless of the fact they haven’t truly spoken to each other yet. This let Tessa know that no matter what this was going to be a long rotation. People like him always made it harder for her to stay in her lane and follow the rules she was given. Not to say that she would do things on purpose to upset people, she just has an impulse problem when she’s upset.

Once the two men explained the first mission of her rotation it actually surprised her, it was an info grab and a destruction job. “ The facility is a new Sepratist model, so our schematics are incomplete. Once you get inside and past the outer layer, you’re on your own direction wise. Once you find their main computer get as many files as you can. That shouldn’t be too hard between Tessa and Tech.”Cody explained as you all looked at the man who was multitasking. Judging by the reflections in his goggles he was already looking at the blueprints, or the pieces of them. “ Once you have that I trust you boys can take care of the rest.” The larger one let out a chuckle. With the briefing now over they were dismissed that is all except the Sergeant.

She tried not to eavesdrop on the conversation as she headed out but couldn’t help it when she heard her name. “ I’m not saying this to put pressure on your squad or to put pressure on her.” Cody explained. “ Sir with all due respect we might not be the best squad to determine a persons life.” Hunter responded. “ She just… make sure she does what you need her to do and let me know immediately if something drastic happens. If this is to be her last few missions it would be a loss but an understandable one.”

“ LOSS!” Tessa shouted as she popped back in the room. “ Commander why did you decide to leave this information out! Especially if it concerns me!” Sighing and giving her a stern look Cody asked “ Where are the troops that were supposed to escort you?” She shook her head in anger and stomped back to her room. She didn’t care if she had her escorts or not or if she got in trouble for walking by herself. She felt like she was seeing red.

“ Tessa, stop!” Cody called after her. Finally catching up to her he stood in her path preventing her from walking away. “ Were you going to tell me?” She asked him. “ I was ordered not to.” He answered honestly. She rolled her eyes and sighed angrily as he continued “ I tried my best to hint at it yesterday.” “ You know how much I hate that. I hate when people don’t say what they mean! It’s confusing and I thought you were just reminding me of the rules. Not that I might actually be sent to prison after this rotation. That this is practically my last chance. You don’t think that is something you should’ve told me?! I thought we were at least… at least on the same page.” She said feeling defeated in her words.

They weren’t friends, she knew that. They couldn’t be, but she thought that Cody at least liked her. Maybe she was wrong. Deep down she knew that they were supposed to follow orders and that it was none of her business what he was told, but the principal of not telling her this information is what made her blood boil. “ I’m sorry.” Was all that Cody could say. Tessa then nodded as he placed a hand on her shoulder to guide her to where they could get her some escorts. The walk was quite as both were in thought after their argument.

Once her they found troopers to escort her while Cody went back to work, Tessa was quiet. No snarky remark that usually came from her, no teasing, nothing. She just walked to caf, acting like the prisoner she was supposed to be. They sat her down at her usual table, standing on either side, and she began to eat her tray that was already there. Her food didn’t seem appetizing at the moment, but she ate knowing she would need her strength. Tessa had a weird relationship with her nerves and food, most of the time she could out eat a bantha when she was upset. However there was the rare occasion like today where she would reluctantly eat.

The Bad Batch maneuvered themselves to their table as the finished getting their food in the caf. Luckily not many troopers were in there at the time, so any comments about them weren’t likely to be made. “ How long do we have until we have to go?” Wrecker said with his mouth full. “ Approximately 3 hours, 45 minutes, and 15 seconds.” Tech answered. “ Enough time for you to swallow your food before talking.” Crosshair sneared. Hunter ran a hand through the ends of his hair as he kept his thoughts to himself. He replayed his talk with Commander Cody in his head over and over again. This girls life was in their hands. Was she really that much trouble? He knew they were and he knew them breaking rules was way different than her breaking them, but still. The explanation of “ This may be her last rotation. She doesn’t know. She needs to figure out how to behave and be a good solider on her own. If she doesn’t do well with your squad, her sentence will be forced to change.” played in his mind.

He didn’t know why it bothered him so much, but it did. He had only met this girl twice and barley introduced to her. Maybe it was the whole situation that caused him to feel like this, he needed to protect and worry about his brothers reaction to the slight change. They weren’t the most adaptable. “ Hey isn’t that the girl we’re workin’ with?” Wrecker asked pointing to the table behind them. The four looked over to see her slightly hunched over, her broad shoulders making her appear more spread out and her head in one of her hands. She was slowing pushing her food around making small designs as she ate. “ Why is she by herself?”

“ Wrecker she’s not like the rest of us. She probably has too.” Hunter explained to his brother. “ While there is no galactic law around it she most definitely would have similar ristrictuons that any prisoner would have. It’s surprising anyone else is aloud to be in her with her. Besides the troopers guarding her.” Tech explained. After a moment of thinking Wrecker stated “ I’m going to go sit with her.” “ What!?” The other three said in unison. He started to crumple up napkins around his spoon and Crosshair warned “ Whatever plan is going through that thick skull of yours needs to stop!” When Wrecker sets his mind on something there is almost no way you can stop him. He quickly threw his creation across the room and into the hall causing the trooper that were guarding her to leave.

“ We are going to go check that out do not leave and don’t move.” They ordered her. “ Where would I go?” She grumbled to herself. The batch kept their heads down and focused on their trays as the refs past them. When they were far enough Wrecker loudly whispered to his brothers “ My plan worked!” As he was about to stand Tech whispered “ Wrecker, you simply cannot just sit with her, there must be-“ “ Watch me.” He then stood up, tray in hand and walked over to Tessa’s table. Shaking his head Crosshair groaned “ He’s a dikut .”

Unwisely Tessa was not aware of her surroundings so she jump slightly when a large voice said “ Hi!” Her eyes widened in shock at the absolute unit of a man stood infront of her introduced himself “ I’m Wrecker. Guess we’re gonna be workin’ with ya.” As he sat down the table started to shift towards him as he steadied himself. “ Sorry.” He said as he noticed her reflexes quickly grabbed your full glass. “ It’s okay, but you can’t be here.” She said with a slight hurry in her tone. Scared that at any moment the trooper would come back. “ Why not?” He asked with a slight head tilt. Confused and caught of guard by the situation she responded “ I-I … I don’t know you just can’t.”

“ Well that’s dumb.” He said taking a bite of his food. She slowly dragged her tray back towards herself looking intently at it. Her long hair covered her face as her nerves worsened. She didn’t know if she or Wrecker would be in trouble if they had gotten caught. “ Why are you here? With me?” She asked him. “ You looked lonely. I know I wouldn’ like it if I had to sit by myself without my brothers.” Tessa looked up at him and melted at his sweet smile. It warmed her slightly hearing the sentiment, then the one she now knew and recognized as Hunter came up and said “ Wrecker you need to come back, I’m so sorry.” The last part being said to Tessa. “ No it’s okay, go.” Just then her guards came back.

“ Step away from the prisoner.” One said. “Or what?” Wrecker challenged. “ Or you will be removed from her by force. Now go back to where you were sitting.” Said the other. Taking a large stride towards them to appear even bigger than he was, Wrecker claimed “ Make me!” Hunter was about to jump in to try to ease the tension when all of a sudden he heard. “ Hey Wrecker.” The two brothers turned their heads towards Tessa as she spoke “ It’s alright, I’m fine. I’ll see you in a few hours okay?” There was this look of calm and understanding when she spoke. Wrecker nodded an “ Alright.” And Hunter walked next to him with a hand on his shoulder to comfort his brother. He understood that his intentions were good, but he also knew that it was a bad idea what he just did.

Tessa let out a deep breath as they walked away. She did not need a fight to be broken out because of her or involving her, especially right now. The two troopers had their blasters aimed at her. She knew they were always set to stun so having any clone aim their weapon at her became something she no longer feared. She looked between the two of them anc slowly sat back down.

When Hunter and Wrecker returned to the table Crosshair teased “ So how was she?” Wrecker sat down with a pout and said “ Cut it out Crosshair.” Not making eye contact with his brother. “ Wrecker, you must try to remember that she is not like us or the regs. The rules are very different for her.” Tech explained doing his best at comforting his brother. Hunter sat back down and rubbed his temple, and in that moment he and Tessa were thinking the same thing. This was going to be a very very long six missions.