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ncisfranchise-source · 9 months ago

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It came down to the wire, but NCIS: Hawai’i ultimately didn’t make the cut for next season at CBS. The news comes days before the network is set to announce its fall schedule on May 2 and before the Season 3 finale of Hawai’i is scheduled to air on May 6. According to sources, the episode was not meant to be a series finale and includes a tease for what was to come but fans won’t be left reeling by a major cliffhanger.

The cancellation is not a complete shocker since, as Deadline has been reporting, NCIS: Hawai’i was on the bubble. Still, the outcome is surprising since I hear an effort was made to extend the drama’s run for at least an abbreviated fourth and final season, with producers agreeing to a massive budget cut and open to other concessions in order to keep the show going.

Hawai’i, the first series in the NCIS franchise with a female lead, Vanessa Lachey, is now the first series in the franchise not to get a proper sendoff after a brief run compared to its predecessors NCIS, renewed for a 22nd season, NCIS: Los Angeles (14 seasons) and NCIS: New Orleans (7). It is unclear whether series producer CBS Studios would shop the drama but there are no obvious buyers, with Paramount+ already stocked up with two NCIS original series, Sydney and the Tony and Ziva spinoff.

Attracting sizable viewership on a linear network is quite a challenge, so it is not common these days for a network to let go of the #12 most watched non-sports program on broadcast that averages 7.8 million linear viewers (most current) and 10M in Live+35 multi-platform viewing.

That is what CBS is doing with the cancellation of NCIS: Hawai’i, which added some star power and NCIS continuity this season with NCIS: Los Angeles‘ LL Cool J who has been in every episode.

It comes on the heels of Top 25 series So Help Me Todd and CSI: Vegas getting the axe last Friday. As I noted in the CBS Renewal Status Report earlier this month, the network was going to have to make some painful cancellation decisions, getting rid of shows other networks would’ve been happy to renew.

The series, as well as So Help Me Todd and CSI: Vegas, ultimately became a casualty of a strong schedule, a cost-management drive and overall uncertainty at the parent company Paramount Global, which is in the process of being sold.

Even before CBS’ lineup, delayed by the strikes, launched with the Super Bowl, the network already had committed to five new scripted series for next season, dramas Matlock, Watson and NCIS: Origins and comedies Poppa’s House and a Young Sheldon spinoff, with renewal conversations on NCIS: Sydney also well underway.

Then CBS’ originals returned, exceeding expectations, with the network claiming the top 16 most watched shows of its premiere week and 14 of the top 20 non-sports programs overall this midseason in Nielsen most current linear viewership.

With no obvious weaklings, Blue Bloods getting a final run next season and S.W.A.T. surprisingly uncanceled, the network had to cut deep in purging its slate to make room for the additions.

Just a year ago, a renewal for Hawai’i would’ve been a no-brainer: it’s part of a storied franchise with solid rating and crossover potential with the mothership series that yielded big ratings in January 2023. But now, CBS already has three other NCIS series already locked for next season: the original series, renewed for Season 22, Sydney, returning for a second season, and the upcoming Young Gibbs prequel NCIS: Origins. There is also the Tony & Ziva NCIS spinoff series greenlighted by Paramount+, making for a crowded NCIS field.

With strong multi-platform performance, as NCIS: Hawai’i ranked above several CBS dramas that have been renewed, including FBI: Most Wanted, FBI: International and S.W.A.T., it probably came down to money.

Even with the proposed budget cuts, NCIS: Hawai’i was still going to be expensive. Its long-term prospects were unclear — whether it would become a big global hit and moneymaker like its franchise predecessors. With CBS’ parent company focused on its short-term balance sheet as it prepares to sell, a corporate decision was made not to take a chance and find out.

In NCIS: Hawai’i, Special Agent in Charge of NCIS Pearl Harbor Jane Tennant (Lachey) and her team balance duty to family and country, investigating high-stakes crimes involving military personnel, national security and the mysteries of the island itself.

Alex Tarrant, Noah Mills, Jason Antoon, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Tori Anderson and Kian Talan also star. Matt Bosack, Jan Nash, Christopher Silber and Larry Teng served as executive producers.

In a recent Deadline interview, CBS Studios President David Stapf spoke about how “wholly unique” Hawai’i is while also being part of the franchise as the first NCIS series with a female lead, Lachey, and with its Hawai’i locale. “We were just coming off Hawaii Five-0, a very successful show,” he said of the spinoff’s origins. “People love that setting, it plays well over the globe.”

#ncis hawaii

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fanartfunart · 5 months ago

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The Light is Not What Hurts You

Chapter 4

Ao3- Chapter 1 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 5

Warnings: grief after major character death, peril

The Links regrouped and set off again to rush out of the rain through the fields. The rain pattered hard against a barn roof. A wash of noise in the grey.

Malon spotted her father under an umbrella and gasped, waving, “Poppa! Poppa!!” She shouted, rushing to him. He smiled brightly, and fumbled his umbrella, immediately enveloping her in his arms.

“Oh, Malon, you're late! The rain's coming down so hard, I was beginning to worry. In fact I was so worried I was about to go looking for you!”

Malon giggled lightly, then gestured at the Links, “To tell the truth, poppa. These young boys rescued me! The soldiers around the castle were behaving so oddly, and I couldn't get past them. They were moving these old cannons around, and even aimed their blows at me!”

“What?! Really?” Malon's father looked her over for injuries, sighing in relief when he found none. “I'm just glad you made it home safely.” He turned to the boys, “My thanks to you all for saving my poor Malon!”

Three Links shuffled their feet awkwardly, nodding vaguely.

“OH, Link wait!” Malon shouted, holding her hand out toward somewhere behind the other three. They turned around, watching Shadow freeze in his attempt to slink back away in the shadows of the treeline. “Come inside, all of you! Take a break from the rain.”

“We really should go to the castle quickly. If the soldiers are acting this dangerous and strange, we must free them from whatever influence is in the castle, before they hurt someone,” Green said.

“Well then let me show you a token of my gratitude,” Malon's father said with a smile, “You come inside, and I’ll saddle up four horses for the lot of you. Your trip will go a lot safer on my swift horses!”

“I won't be-” Shadow started.

“Four horses! Yes please!” Green announced, rushing to grab Shadow and squeezing painfully tight on his arm. Green looked at him, sharp and determined. Shadow glared back, but he fell into step with him.

They walked into the house, taking off wet boots and hats to let them dry by the fireplace.

“Do you kids want something to eat real quick?” Malon's father offered.

“Oh my goodness yes please,” Red breathed out quickly.

“I'm starving,” Blue stressed.

Green swallowed, feeling a hunger pain at the reminder of food, “I almost forgot about it,” he mumbled.

He laughed, “I'll whip up some eggs and toast. Want some milk?”

“Yes!!” cheered all four immediately. Shadow gave them an awkward grin as they glanced back at him with light glares.

Malon grinned, grabbing glasses to fill with milk, directing them to a table to sit around. They thanked her in a round. Shadow dramatized his thanks, he took her hands and just barely brushed his lips to her knuckles, playfully. This earned him three free glares, beside Malon’s giggles.

Shadow shrugged, tilting his glass of milk around in the light, considering the bright white contents. He hummed and drank it slowly.

“Ya know, Link . I don't think we discussed how you've fared against Shadow Link.” Blue said, a slight grimace of a grin on his lips, showing sharp canines.

Shadow glared into his glass and sipped more.

“Who’s that?” Malon asked.

“He's a full on monster,” Blue said, shifting to look at Malon, “Some demon from the Dark World. Shadow is who took the Princess and released Vaati.”

Shadow dunked back even more milk.

“He has ruined our attempts to get Zelda back at every turn, absolutely hates our guts, and is trying to turn the whole world into the same terrifying darkness as where he came.”

Shadow slammed the glass on the table. “The dark world is a good place! It's not just a source of evil.”

“What is good about that hellscape?” Blue hissed.

“The dark is a haven, it hides its children and protects them. There's no judgment there, not intrinsically. That all comes from the Light.”

“It hides monsters,” Green said, eyes flicking up finally to stare at Shadow. “And it keeps children away from their families and friends.”

“Plenty of kids did have fun there- It's not my fault some didn't understand-” Shadow cut himself off as he looked at Malon's confused, slightly disturbed expression. “It has its bad parts too…” he swallowed, “I'm not denying that. It's just… it's just like Hyrule. Good and bad.”

“So this Dark World is like… Night all the time?” Malon ventured.

“Ehhhh. It's hard to explain.” Red mumbled, sighing.

Shadow shook his head.

“Regardless, I also want to hear your thoughts on Shadow.” Green said, “What do you think he's playing at?”

Shadow looked down, brows pinched. “I don't know.”

“How can you not know?” Blue demanded.

“I just haven't figured it out yet!” Shadow hissed back, “I don't know anymore. I just don't.”

Red blinked, glancing at Shadow with furrowed brows. He shifted to sit up straighter. “Ah… How about we drop this. For now. Malon doesn't need to worry about it!”

“Right. Sorry,” Shadow whispered.

She nodded lightly, shrugging. “I know you all haven't been traveling together for a while. You just need to get back on the same page.”

“...Sure.” Blue grumbled, “Sorry or whatever. Thanks for all the hospitality.”

“Hopefully there will be less arguing when your bellies are full!” Malon's father announced as he brought over some plates. He passed out a fair helping of food on each plate.

They all thanked him profusely. The trio dived into the food ferociously.

“Goodness, you really were starving.” Malon's father muttered.

Shadow laughed and shrugged. He picked slowly at it. Shuffling the eggs around with his fork more than eating them.

“You gonna eat that?” Red whispered, poking at Shadow's plate as he'd finished his.

Shadow shook his head and rolled his eyes, casually dumping the contents of his plate onto Red's. Red grinned, happily taking the food.

They chatted about calmer things with the ranchers. Events on the farm. Horses, what they liked. Eventually, the food was gone. Bellies full and satisfied.

Malon and her father went out to prepare the horses with cheerful attitudes. Green smiled and nodded to them as he stepped closer to Shadow. The door closed and Green rounded on him, gripping his arm with furrowed brows. Shadow dropped his disguise, blond shifting to black, blue eyes shifting to a dark red. “Y'all are kinda rude guests,” he concluded.

“Says the evil demon?” Blue exclaimed with a flailing gesture.

“Are you trying to get Malon sent to the Dark World or something?” Green hissed.

“Nope.”

“I say let’s just send him back to the dark world permanently. Who cares what he wants if he's not able to do it.”

“Not possible,” Shadow said, glancing at Blue. “You need all four swords to do that, and then Ganon will simply pull me back.” There was no smirk of overconfidence like he usually carried at that reminder. Purely a tired fact and nothing more. It was a strange look on him.

“Ganon- the Gerudo man. He's your actual boss, isn't he?” Green demanded.

Shadow grinned sharply. “He freed me from the prison of following y'all's footsteps constantly. He’s the most powerful man in both light and dark worlds, you'll never stop him. Especially not alone.”

“Why did you help Malon?” Red asked quietly. “You didn't seem to have any reason to. But you offered to help her before we even got there. You couldn't have expected us to follow you, and you didn't even try to kidnap her or anything.”

He snapped his head to Red, eyes wide.

“That's it! I'm done asking stupid questions he's just gonna lie about!” Blue exclaimed. He shoved Shadow out of Green's grip, “He killed Vio!” Blue lunged, golden blade glinting with light. Shadow ducked, raising his sword to block. He twisted out of the way, the golden handle a sharp contrast against the colorless wielder.

“That's Vio's,” Blue gasped. He stared at the violet gemstone. “I thought you destroyed it.”

Shadow swallowed, eyes flickering to the blade, “I did. This is my duplicate. Ganon told me to destroy Vio's sword and I did .” Shadow lowered his voice to a whisper, “The eyes of Ganon are everywhere, please-”

The trio looked confused, eyes flickering between each other.

“Link!” Malon cheered from just outside the door. “The horses are ready!”

Shadow once again returned to looking like the Original Link as soon as the door was opened. A smile placed on his lips as he pushed past the others to walk to Malon. “Thank you so much. You’ve helped us all so much,” He said, glancing back at the trio.

Malon smiled, hugging him again. “Oh its no trouble! Thank you. I don't know what I would've done without you, you're my hero.” She rested her head against his chest. He kept his arms raised, eyes wide. He glanced at the other three, who's expressions were less than kind and less than helpful.

He patted her back awkwardly.

“Well we better get going. Thanks for letting us warm up and use your horses. We'll take good care of them.” Green said, stepping up to Malon with a smile.

She nodded lightly, “Of course! Any time! My father is waiting by the horses for you. And don't worry about leading them back, they're trained to come right back here after you let them go.”

“Thank you” Green grabbed Shadow's arm again, yanking him along through the threshold. He whispered under his breath, “You're giving us Vio's sword back.”

“No, I’m not,” Shadow hissed back.

Green’s brows furrowed.

“Why are you taking me with you?” Shadow asked, eyes flicking to the grip on his arm.

“I'm making sure you can't hurt anybody else.”

“Why not just kill me like Blue wants?”

“You said it yourself. It won't stick.” Green huffed, muttering something about unfairness under his breath.

They greeted Malon's father with a wave. The group of them thanked him profusely, while Red went to pet and snuggle the face of every horse. Blue carefully pet a horse's neck, gaze soft.

“Can we have a lead rope, too?” Green asked, “...Link here can get lost easily.”

“Oh really? That's what you're going with?” Shadow grumbled. He looked up at Malon's father, “I'm being kidnapped Sir.”

He just laughed, “Right, right. Be gentle on your kidnappee, kids.” The ranch owner smiled, going to grab an extra rope, handing it to Green. “Now be safe out there, stick together, ya hear?”

“We try our best.” Green said quietly, looking down at the rope.

Shadow sighed, hoping into the saddle. “I'm just here because ya'll aren't annoying me yet.”

Green stared at him, an ill look on his face. How could he be so… casual with them? It made no sense. Not with the tear stricken image of his face still stuck in his mind when Shadow announced Vio was gone. Forever.

Green shook his head and hopped onto his horse.

#loz #legend of fanart #loz au #four swords #shadow link #red link #green link #blue link #loz malon #fsa link #fanart's fanfic #four swords adventures

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spoilertv · 2 days ago

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#SpoilerTV

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rubybirdgrad604 · 1 year ago

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Week Six - Objects

left to right, top to bottom

1 - Photograph of my Poppa in costume

This photograph is of my Poppa who passed away a few years ago. I keep this photo in my room as a reminder of him and the memories I have of him. My family are very important to me, and played a role in shaping and supporting my interests as I grew up. I really like this photo of my Poppa in costume as it shows a fun and humorous side of him that I never really got to see. The decorative frame on the photo is also an element that I really like and think it is a shame that objects and photos aren't created in a way that prioritises aesthetic any more.

2 - Map of the Atlantic Ocean

Ever since I was young, I have been fascinated with maps and geography. It is one of the only consistents in the world that connects so many people- land and place. The visual language of mapping - colours, lines, labels, keys, type - is something I have always found fascinating. This map in particular is from an old National Geographic magazine, which is a source of inspiration for me.

3 - Lino Print of my house

This is a piece of work I created for my minor paper last year. I really like lino prints, as I think they capture a really nice contrast between organic and clean lines and texture. It is a technique that I would love to work with more and incorporate into my design work. The theme of place and home in this work is also a common theme in a lot of my work.

4 - Film Negative

This is a negative from a roll of film I shot a few years ago. Recently I haven't been experimenting with photography as much but I would love to get into it again. The photos on this strip aren't visible in this photo but are of places visited on a family holiday in New Zealand. Places and travel give me a lot of inspiration for my work.

5 - Love Hearts lolly

This lolly was a gift from my mum, who sent some up to me. While being a nice gift and reminder of home, I also find the type and vintage style design on the packaging exciting. Found typography is another source of inspiration to me, and something that I notice a lot in my everyday life.

6 - Hundertwasser book

Books are another source of interest and a hobby for me. This book is designed in a way that I really like, and also includes some interesting type. The actual content of the book is inspiring as well; Hundertwasser's work is something that is quite different from a lot of other's work, and his color usage is so interesting to me - he is not afraid of colour or using a broad palette.

7 - Beach Boys record

This is a record from my collection. As well as having some music that I really like on it, I find the type on the cover to be very inspiring and interesting. Album covers have always been an aspect of art and design that I have loved, and is an area of the industry I would love to be involved with.

8 - Crochet square

Crochet is a craft that reminds me of my mum and my home. Throughout my childhood, my mum was always crocheting or knitting, and these are skills I have learned from her. I think having lots of different creative pursuits happening in my home as a child has definitely played a role in my own pursuit of a creative education and career.

9 - National Geographic Magazine

I have been collecting old National Geographic magazines for a few years now, and I find them a good source of inspiration to me. The colours and photographs themselves are so beautiful, but I also find the advertising and graphic design of the old magazines to be super interesting and a style of design I am drawn to.

10 - Green Mug

This mug is an object I use very often, usually when doing my work. It was a gift from my oldest friend who lives in Dunedin, so it reminds me of her when I use it.

11 - Andy Warhol Print

This is a print of one of Andy Warhol's portraits which I saw at the NGV in Melbourne. He is one of the most famous and interesting artists in history, and his work is something I really like. The techniques and colour usage in his work make him very unique and his influence on art and design today is huge. His work in the music industry, designing album covers like the famous banana for the Velvet Underground, are works that I really love.

12 - Paint Swatch

As a child, I loved going to Bunnings and other hardware stores simply to browse the paint swatches, leaving with ridiculous stacks of colours. I have always loved and been drawn to colour, and the range of possibilities in this area. My dad is an architect and sometimes uses paint swatches, and I have a lot of fond memories of going through swatches and cutting out colours I liked.

13 - Fountain Pen

This pen was given to me by my Grandad, who was an art teacher. He was a big creative influence for me growing up, always fostering art and drawing. The pen was his for a number of years before he gifted it to me. It is an important object to me, reminding me of him and the memories of him growing up.

14 - Sea Shell

This shell is from the beach near my home in Mount Maunganui. I have lived in Mount Maunganui my whole life, only moving to Auckland to study at AUT. The natural environment of my home is very beautiful and is something that I have found to be a big inspiration to me. Home and the idea of place and belonging is a strong theme in a lot of my work, especially now that I live in Auckland.

15 - Watercolour Paint tube

This is a material that I use in some of my work. I like the finality and contrast that comes from working with black. I often use this material in the drafting and ideation process. It allows me to put marks and bold fluid lines onto the page, and the freedom of the material almost forces me to let go of the idea of perfectionism

16 - Matisse Print

This print is taken from my wall in my room. Matisse is an artist who is very famous and for good reason- his forms and colours are so visually interesting and beautiful. I like his use of solid forms, and how he manages to get such a dynamic and lively feel to the forms.

17 - The Beths Record

This is one of my favourite records from one of my favourite New Zealand bands. Music is one of my favourite things, as well as the visuals and design associated with it. This cover was designed by a Kiwi artist and designer Lily Paris West, who does a lot of work that I like, such as Mermaidens records and music posters.

18 - Pictionary Sketch

This is a sketch from a pictionary game with my grandparents. As a kid I loved playing pictionary, as it was a way to force my family to draw with me. I was always fascinated with how my grandad was able to draw; each sketch looking like a confusing array of lines until he drew the last line, when magically it would become a beautiful sketch of a recognisable object.

19 - Angled Ruler

This is a tool that I use in my practice. It was given to me by my father, who uses one of these often in his work as an architect. It is a handy tool to have in my pencil case and I find myself wishing I had it with me at quite random times.

20 - Film Roll

This is an undeveloped roll of film that I need to get developed. As well as a connection back to photography and place, I like the design and type on the roll itself. The only elements are type and colour, but they work together so well and look quite beautiful.

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dreadfutures · 3 years ago

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all I have of my heritage is blood and blankets and food

growing up we had all these blankets. some of them were massive, thick, wool blankets from Mexico. Some were crocheted. Some where woven tightly. I don't have the language to describe their differences. Many were rainbow. Many were browns and whites and beige.

All of them came from my grandmother, either from her own hands or from her home in Chihuahua. The orange and purple and brown knit one, she made for my dad when he left for college. The blue and red one, for my mom when my parents got married. They were all over the house. My sisters and I liked to be toasty.

This grandmother died when I was very young. She said goodbye to me in an impossible dream. I was the last one she ever taught how to make her pan, her bread. And I never remembered the recipe. And no one ever wrote it down. But we had the blankets.

My grandpa died my freshman year of college, during finals week. I got the chance to speak to him over the phone and he told me he loved me and was proud of me--and that he wanted me to take my finals. Not to come home. So I did. I stayed and took my finals and passed my classes and missed the funeral and earned what feels like everlasting scorn from much of my extended family, who mostly were high school drop outs and belligerent about the ones who had gone to college.

They divvied up the inheritance while I was away. It was a busy time and my dad called me off hand to ask what I wanted.

A mug. The rainbow one.

Blankets.

Blankets of my own, made by my grandmother's hand or sourced from her love, that smelled like my grandpa's house. One of his jackets.

I got the mug and the blankets.

It's been nearly eight years--these blankets are surely older than that. They are falling apart. When I pull them carefully up to make the bed, the edges fray and fall off. They have developed holes and running tears. And they are handknit boiled wool and textiles I cannot hope to repair. And they still smell like Poppa.

I would get a cedar chest and keep them in it, safe. My mom would certainly admonish me for not doing just that.

But I like being toasty and smelling not of chemicals or work or dog or strange college apartments, but of my Poppa. Feeling like I'm staying at my grandparents' house, falling asleep to MASH or a John Wayne Western or golf.

#personal #off topic

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the-great-imagines-of-1812 · 4 years ago

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Remember Me, Will You? - Din Djarin x reader

Summary: You’ve been travelling with Din and The Child for almost two years. On the day you’re due to leave, he asks a favor of you.

TW: angst, The Child is sad. Soft and Vulnerable Din. fluffy ending.

~~~~~~

The Child cooed in your arms as you gently rocked him, stroking his ears.

“I’m going to miss you, you little womp rat.”

The Child doesn’t seem to understand. You wish he could. His eyes seem to get somewhat bigger as he tilts his head at you. Reaching out for your finger, he traps it in his hand. And he seems to say I’ll miss you too; even if he doesn’t know it.

As you continue rocking him, his eyes close and light snores come out of his mouth. You think about all the adventure the three of you have had in the past years. Running from Moff Gideon, to celebrating Republic Day with Cara every year.

But it was over now. When Mando had asked you to join his crew, you both agreed that you’d travel for two years and then he’d leave you on the nearest planet.

And somehow; without managing to, it had become a small dysfunctional family. You and Din were always out on bounties, and worrying about The Child took a health toll on you and from that point on, you stayed on Razor Crest.

But also, Din. You’d have both patched each other up several times, fingers brushing against the other. You could always feel his adoring eyes looking at you, even from behind the helmet. Feelings were never supposed to get in the way; and now your time with him was up.

Gently, you placed The Child in his crib. Maker, his ears almost didn’t fit. You’d just hoped Din would be able to get one without your help. You turn to make your way to your quarters, and you hear a modulated voice from behind you.

“You’re leaving tomorrow. Just-um just thought you should know, the ship is on autopilot for Sorgan. We should be there by first light.” Din’s voice was softer than you had ever heard it.

You get closer to him, holding out your hand for him to shake. “I’ll never been able to thank you enough, Din. You’ve given me more of an adventure that I’d ever thought I’d have, like ever.”

Glancing down at your hand and back at you, he gives you a firm handshake. “There’s no need to thank me, cyare (beloved) And I’d to it all over again if it meant having more adventures. This Is The Way.”

Chuckling, you bring yourself to look at him. “You never told me what cyare means, Din.”

“It’ll remain a mystery.”

There’s a silence between the both of you. Your hands were both still clasped in a firm handshake position, but somehow Din had managed to thread his fingers through.

“Din-”

“There’s this unspoken thing between us, cyare. We can’t- you can’t just leave and expect us to never have talked about it.” He said. His hand, even with the glove, was so warm in yours. You just wished you could hold it forever.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Din I-”

He moves closer to you, and if his helmet weren’t on his head, you would feel his breath on your face.

“You know very well what I’m talking about. Please- stay with me. It’s been so long. You can’t leave me alone.”

“Din, we both agreed-”

“You could stay. I wouldn’t mind. The Child loves you. What will he think when you’re gone?” He then proceeds to bring the part of his helmet where his forehead is to yours.

You pull away, and both of his hands clasp yours.

“No, Din. It’s time for me to move on, to settle down. I have to leave.”

“No, you don’t understand-”

There suddenly was a thump. Waddling over to your pant leg, tugging on it was The Child. He looks at you with eyes as big as the entire galaxy.

“Momma?” his very first words.

You swore to the Maker tears were about to burst into tears on the spot. “What happened honey?” You scoop him up, and he rests his head on your shoulder.

He strokes your tunic gently with his hand, as if he suddenly understood; asking you to stay. “I’m so sorry, love. Momma’s tired.” You gently detach him from you, handing him to Mando.

“Poppa!” He squeals, with a big smile on his face.

If you were to stay any longer, you would surely break down. You turn around, with some last words “Goodnight, Din.”

“Goodnight, cyare.”

~~~~~~

The sun shone through the few windows on the Crest. You were right in front of the door, double checking you had everything in your knapsack. Hearing footsteps from behind you, you turn around to see the source.

“Hello. I’m assuming you have everything.” Din’s voice was harsh. You’d understand, especially after you left him last night.

“I do. Thank you for everything, Mando.”

He says nothing as he presses the button to open the doors. It reveals the beautiful forests of Sorgan. In the distance, you could hear children chasing each other around in the distance, in the village.

You make your way down the ramp, before he cuts you off. “Promise me something.”

Laying your knapsack on the ground, you turn to answer him. “Anything, you know that.”

“Remember me, will you? Don’t forget the adventures we had.” you couldn’t see it, but tears were streaming down his face. He was losing the person who grew to be one of the best things in his life.

“I couldn’t even if I tried.”

“This is goodbye, then. Until our paths cross.”

“Until our paths cross, Din. May the force be with you.”

~~~~~~

It had been a year. A whole year without seeing Din and the Child. You had settled on Sorgan. Life was calm. You shared a cottage with Cara near the village, and you both became close.

You would cook together, read together, and make each other laugh at night until you fell asleep. It was a simple and good life; but leaving your little family had left a hole in your heart.

And you remember the day he came back so well. It was the hours of the late afternoon, and you were outside the house tending to the herb garden, while Cara was inside, making lunch.

He must have not seen you, as he knocked on the door for Cara to answer. Unknowingly, you walked through the back door with a basket full of herbs who you set down at the table.

Din and Cara were talking in the hallway, ans when you came in, both sets of eyes turned to you.

“Din.”

“I- I better leave you two alone.” Cara said, with a slight smirk on her face.

Before he gets the chance to answer you, you run into his arms, practically jumping on him.

“Cyar’ika. (Love) I’ve missed you so much.”

You’re overwhelmed with love for him. “Din- I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for leaving.” finishing, putting your hands on the sides of his helmet.

He takes his gloves off, throwing them on the floor. Hands warm, he places them over yours. “Listen to me. Shh shh. No tears. I can’t bear to see you so sad.” the voice might have been modulated, but it had been the most comforting words you had heard in a long time.

Sniffling, “How’s the child?” you asked, your forehead on his.

“Not much change. The little womp rat is still as annoying as ever. He misses his momma- asks for you every day.”

You take a deep breath as the cool metal rests on your forehead. There had never been more peace than there had been in this moment in time.

“Leave with me.”

“W-What?”

“Please, come back. I- I can’t do this alone.” his hands were trembling around yours. He was desperate for you to come back; to have some company and someone to share his life with. “Share my life with me.”

“But what about- the creed?”

“I got out. We can find some nice planet to settle on. I’ll build you a house. The child will have so much space to run around in. Please.”

Pulling away, you placed both your hands on the latch to take the helmet off. “May I?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, cyar’ika.”

The helmet makes a small hiss as you pull it off his head. Soft, dark brown eyes meet your own. There were tiny scars littered all over his face, it was a beautiful tan color.

“Hi, Din. You’re so beautiful.”

~~~~~~

i am SOFT

- Talya

#ugh someone get me a din #din djrarin x reader #din djarin #the mandolarian #the mandalorian x reader #i SIMP for this man DAILY #oh to rest my hands on his helmet #k bye

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chekovs-fuckup · 5 years ago

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100 Homestuck Headcanons Of Mine

Both Meulin and Nepeta say “hewwo” unironically. They can also replicate the OwO and UwU faces near perfectly.

Roxy loves Five Nights At Freddie’s, Undertale, and Minecraft.

The Striders and Lalondes have a group Minecraft server.

One time Roxy convinced Rose to play Halo with her, Dirk, and Dave. That was when they found out Rose was surprisingly good at it, and Fortnite.

The trolls all love Animal Crossing

Actually, everyone loves Animal Crossing.

The Mayor is the only one who had Raymond. That is because Dave gave him Raymond.

Everyone else wants Raymond.

Vriska stabbed someone for Raymond. She didn’t get Raymond.

The Harley-English-Egbert-Crocker family have a group Minecraft server, and that’s it.

They tend to spend their free time seeing what whacky things they can alchemize.

At one point they managed to alchemize Captain America’s shield. No one is sure how, but it works.

Roxy and Dirk can both eat whole ghost peppers. Rose and Dave both hate spicy food.

Jane doesn’t mind spicy things but prefers sweet stuff instead. John and Jake are fine with a little spice but not as much as Roxy and Dirk. Jade can’t have anything spicy or she will get extremely sick.

Spicy peppers, and peppers in general, are lethal to trolls, due to the capsicum in them. The first time Karkat and Kanaya saw Dirk and Roxy eating peppers they freaked out.

Dirk and Roxy have occasional competitions to see who can eat the most peppers in a minute. It’s hilarious.

Karkat learned the Alternia equivalent of an Earth ukulele before the game. He remembers one song from it and occasionally borrows Jake’s ukulele to play it when he’s sad.

Jake, Jade, Jane, and John have every musical instrument you could name, and some you couldn’t.

Jake can play the ukulele and bagpipes. Jane can play piano and keytar. Alongside bass, Jade can play the trumpet and otamatone. John can play guitar and saxophone.

Dirk can play the otamatone. That’s it.

Roxy keeps requesting that Jade alchemize cats. She has about 30 by now.

Roxy gave Dave a cat. He named him Skittles, and claims it’s completely ironic.

Dirk also has a cat, named Twilight Sparkle

Rose has a cat named Cthulhu.

Jake has a parrot named Indiana Jones

Jade now has a corgi named Thor.

John managed to get Jade to help him alchemize a dragon. It’s name is Fluffernutter.

Jane is a master at anything kitchen-y. Jake and John both burn water. Jade can cook stuff but prefers take out.

Roxy knows how to make grilled cheese and soup really well, and Dirk is good with a grill but that’s it.

Rose makes the best hot chocolate, tea, and coffee. Any drink you want, she can make. She can’t cook anything though.

Alternatively, Kanaya is an excellent cook but thinks that mixing Dr. Pepper, Sprite, and Faygo together is good.

Kanaya has mixed every soda the kids could find together before. Dirk paid John $30 to drink it. John did.

“If you open a banana from the bottom you are a disgrace to the world and we all know you’re a top who can’t find a bottom.”- Rose, Kanaya, Jade, Vriska

“Opening a banana from the bottom lets you have the most banana without eating the weird thing at the end of it”- Dirk, John, Jane, Karkat

“Why bother peeling bananas when you can just eat them whole?”- Jake, Dave, Terezi

One time John used the Mayor’s cuteness to get Jane to bake him a cake. Dave found out and was pissed.

Dave convinced Rose to knit the mayor a sweater.

The mayor loves Doritos. He always gets the last one in the bag.

Kanaya loves mixing different types of one kind of food or drink. She has mixed all the candy in the house, much to the delight of most everyone, has mixed all the soda (it now lives in the back of the fridge for when they play truth or dare) and has mixed all the cereal in the house, much to the irritation of Roxy and Rose.

Dave ate a handful of Kanaya’s cereal mix because Dirk said he wouldn’t.

Has read Twilight: Rose, Roxy

Hasn’t read Twilight: Jade, Jane, John

Doesn’t know what Twilight is: Mayor, Calliope, Karkat, Jake

Hates Twilight: Dave

Vocally anti-twilight but secretly wrote and published a 100k fanfic: Dirk

Can swim: Rose, Roxy, Dirk, Jake, Jade

Can’t swim: John, Calliope, Jane

Hates bodies of water: Dave

Trolls don’t have grey skin, they have grey fur.

Said fur poofs up when the trolls are scared as a defense mechanism, like a cat. But instead of being fluffy, it’s spiky and sharp. Trying to punch a fluffed up troll ends badly.

If you mix Faygo and sopor slime you get the troll equivalent of weed.

Calliope found archery and axe-throwing, and is wonderful at both.

Dave convinced Rose to knit a sweater for the Mayor.

Cereal before milk: Rose, Roxy, Jane

Milk before cereal: Jake, John, Jade

“Just eat the cereal dry, cowards”: Dave, Dirk

Dave had a popular Vine account

Karkat does not understand the term Yeet.

Instead of saying “Yeet” Rose says “defenestrate”

Roxy has a Tumblr account filled with things their group has said.

Kanaya has designed outfits based around pride flags for everyone.

Dave likes Mindless Self Indulgence and My Chemical Romance

Calliope likes Fall Out Boy

John listens to twenty one pilots a lot

Dave also likes cavetown

Kanaya loves girl in red

The beta trolls ancestors can change their size.

The Grand Highblood and the Condesce shifted to a larger size permanently to intimidate other trolls.

Some don’t use it as much, or at all, like the Dolorosa, the Signless, or Neophyte Redglare.

Dualscar uses it to ease travel or to win fights, and will grow to extreme sizes so he can get through the water faster. It’s also ten times easier to sink ships.

The Psiionic couldn’t use the power once he became the Helmsman.

Darkleer uses it to grow smaller, so he can work on the small, delicate parts of his inventions.

Carapacians grow weed as a crop. For them, it’s their main source of food. For humans, it’s weed. It’s poisonous to trolls.

Sea dwellers’ lusii die more frequently (possibly due to the eldritch being at the bottom of the ocean), so they started letting older sea dwellers adopt sea dwellers that aren’t really old enough to survive without a lusus.

How many sweeps a troll is can be equated to human years, but when compared to other blood castes it becomes very skewed. A sweep equals roughly two human years, but different blood castes view this differently. Rust bloods, bronze bloods, and gold bloods all live fairly short lives, so 7 sweeps is roughly half their life span. Lime bloods and jade bloods all view 7 sweeps as being a bit like their early twenties. Teal and cerulean bloods would consider 7 sweeps to be roughly 13 or 14. Cobalt and purple bloods would see 7 sweeps as maybe being 6 or 7. Violet and fuschia bloods live for thousands of years, so legally and when comparing life experience to other fuschia/violet bloods, 7 sweeps is basically a very young toddler. This is just how each caste views age internally, given that they have different lifespans. 7 sweeps is roughly 13 or 14 in human years. This is explained badly but it’s also an alien concept put into English.

Teal and cerulean bloods have the closest lifespan to humans.

Dealing with eldritch beings shortens your lifespan because of the toll it takes on your body. This means that if Rose never reached godtier she would have died earlier than she was supposed to. This also means that if Eridan wasn’t chainsawed in half he probably would have had the lifespan of a purple blood or blueblood.

An ahab crosshairs or whatever can be really deadly in certain situations, but outside of that it’s basically useless.

The one time Dave met Kankri, he decided to put all of Mindless Self Indulgence’s songs on shuffle and play whatever came on first to Kankri. It was ‘Stupid MF’. Kankri flipped his shit and Dave is no longer allowed near him.

Meenah turned it into a game to see who could get the loudest reaction from Kankri by playing an MSI song. So far the winners have been 1. Vriska with ‘Faggot’, 2. Cronus with ‘Bitches’, and 3. Meenah with “Fuck Machine’. Honorable mentions include ‘Get It Up’, ‘Big Poppa’, and ‘Dickface’.

The honorable mentions change constantly

The game is ridiculously easy to win, given that most MSI songs are A) about sex, B) have slurs in them, C) are just really offensive in general, or D) all of the above.

To win the game you record Kankri’s reaction to the song and upload it to a forum on pesterchum.

Kankri is unaware there is a game.

Cronus repeatedly hits on everyone he meets. There are two people who he’s stopped flirting with, though.

The first one is Vriska. The first time he flirted with her she kicked him in the balls. The next time she stabbed him. He stopped trying after that.

The other one is John. He kept comparing Cronus to people from late 20th century movies with greasers in them.

Roxy loves riot grrrl bands.

Roxy, Sollux, John, and Karkat started a coding club. Roxy and Sollux help Karkat and John get better at coding, and also challenge each other to break into more and more ridiculous places.

At one point, using the codes that let Roxy and Dirk talk to Jake and Jane, Roxy and Sollux were able to hack into different government websites in different universes.

This includes the Pentagon, the FBI, and the CIA. They figured out how to get news live from the other universes, so occasionally they invite their friends over and watch a different world panic.

They end up doing internet troll stuff once in the websites. They’ll leave things equating to “aliens from another universe were here” and shit. They’ll make it so every time the website is open the screen turns pink or red and blue.

One time they left a picture of a message in Alternian. When the feds decoded the message, it just said “2ollux and Roxy were here. 2ucker2.”

One time they replaced all the photos of people with badly photoshopped versions of the photos where all the faces had been replaced by either Nic Cage’s face or Danny Devito’s face.

When they aren’t breaking into government websites, Roxy and Sollux will set up firewalls for the other to try and get past.

Aradia and Federico bleached Eridan’s hair while he slept, and cut it short. They also put pink bows on his horns. Just because.

Because Sollux can hear voices of the imminently deceased/is basically half dead, and Aradia has a strong connection to death, they were able to manipulate this so they could communicate telepathically. It takes focus, but they can do it.

Dirk knows Japanese, and can understand Damara. He is the only one who can.

They have inside jokes about everyone they know

Vriska found 5 or 6 doomed versions of herself and brought them back to life. They live in a shared hive and use the fact that they are all various Vriskas to prank people to an extreme. The only one who know whats happening outside of them is Terezi, because A) seer, and B) the one who gave John the list of things to do was brought back as well and told her.

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beyondspock · 6 years ago

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DON OSTERTAG: OFF STAGE

DINNER AT THE NIMOYS’

The elder Nimoys, Dora and Max, were living in a first floor apartment in a red-bricked building in a middle-class section of Boston when I met them. It wasn’t the house where they raised their two sons, Melvin and Leonard, in. This was their retirement home they moved into after Max left his barbering trade.

It was during the second leg of Leonard’s one-man show ,VINCENT, tour. During the first leg, which ended months before, our little troupe consisted of Leonard, his wife Sandy, his dresser Erik, Dennis Babcock, who was the Special Events Coordinator for the Guthrie and the person responsible for converting the bare-bones VINCENT that Leonard brought to the Guthrie and turning it into a full-blown show and for booking the first tour in which he also served as Tour Director. I was the show lighting director, show set-up carpenter, and show electrician.

On the first leg of the tour, a Guthrie production, we jumped from city to city. We spent a lot of our time together, stayed in the same hotel, often on the same floor, and ate many of our meals together. We even spent three days living in Leonard’s home in L.A..

The second leg was completely different, a week of brush-up and four weeks of shows, all in the Wilbur Theater in Boston, Leonard’s home town. It was no longer a Guthrie show, but was promoted by a New York producer. Leonard and his wife, Sandy, stayed in a hotel downtown and were kept busy with friends and relatives. I stayed in a theatrical hotel in the theater district. The first tour had been something special. This time it was like theatrical tours usually are.

I had left the Guthrie shortly after we got back from the first tour and was free-lancing off the Union Hiring Hall. Dennis Babcock had taken a short leave of absence from the Guthrie and helped us get the show back on it’s feet, and then he went back home. Like I said, things had changed.

Leonard said no matter how busy he would be in Boston he wanted Denny and I to met his folks. ‘They want to meet you two. Dora will cook us one of her great dinners and Max will entertain us.’ Leonard set it up for the third evening the set-up week.

One of the things I was surprised by was the fact that both of Leonard’s parents barely came up to his shoulders. One thing I was not surprised by was the immaculate condition of the apartment. Sandy, Leonard’s wife had not come with us, but she had warned us not to feel guilty about making our visit extra work for Leonard’s mother.

‘Her house is always dust free and polished like a mirror. You could walk in at two o’clock in the morning or six o’clock at night, anytime, and the place would look the same, like she worked hours to clean. And as far as cooking a big meal… Max might have left for work with only a cup of coffee and a bagel and lox for breakfast, but no matter what, there was always a big meal waiting when he got home. Of course,’ she added, ‘Homemaker and mother was the only job Dora ever had.’

We walked into the hard wood floored dining room and sat down. Denny and I both had made an attempt to take our shoes off in the hallway, but Max wouldn’t let us. We sat down and Max poured us a glass of wine. ‘Nothing fancy. Kosher. Gets the taste buds alive for Momma’s cooking. L’chaim,’ he said raising his glass. ‘To life.’

[For Max Nimoy’s adventures as a barber and how Dora and Max met please go to the original posts]

(...) I had accepted the offer for seconds, but politeness made me turn down the offer for thirds. Mrs. Nimoy told us that they were going to see VINCENT the night after the opening. She said that they had seen it when we were in Washington D.C. I remembered many of Leonard’s family attended a wedding there. That is where I met Adam, Leonard’s son, but did not meet Leonard’s folks.She said that she really enjoyed VINCENT, but it made her sad. ‘Such an artist. And such a life. But,’ she added, ‘It is a great show. You all should be very proud.’

I had accepted the offer for seconds, but politeness made me turn down the offer for thirds. Mrs. Nimoy told us that they were going to see VINCENT the night after the opening. She said that they had seen it when we were in Washington D.C. I remembered many of Leonard’s family attended a wedding there. That is where I met Adam, Leonard’s son, but did not meet Leonard’s folks.

She said that she really enjoyed VINCENT, but it made her sad. ‘Such an artist. And such a life. But,’ she added, ‘It is a great show. You all should be very proud.’

Momma’s favorite though is when Leonard plays Tevye in FIDDLER, Max told us.

‘Tradition! Tradition!’ Max sang out. Mrs. Nimoy frowned at him.

‘It reminds me of our life in the Ukraine’, Mrs. Nimoy said smiling. ‘Even when Leonard is not in it. I like the story.’

Max laughed. ‘And she really like it when Leonard’s friend, Zero Mostel was in it. They were rehearsing it here before they reopened it on Broadway. Leonard brought him over here for supper one night’, Max told us. ‘Now there was a man wasn’t afraid to accept thirds.’

‘Charming man,’ Mrs. Nimoy said. ‘I cried when he died last year. Way too young to die. Such a shame. Such a good actor, too,’ she added.

‘And a brave man who wasn’t afraid to stand up for his principals,’ Leonard said, his voice drifting off as he spoke.

Max jumped in breaking the sad mood that had settled in. ‘You know, Leonard, I think maybe my story about cutting The Goat’s ear had something to do with you liking Van Gogh so much. What do you think?’

‘If you say so, Poppa,’ Leonard smiled. ‘And maybe your talking about your scissors subliming gave me the idea for Spock’s Vulcan salute.’

‘Leonard,’ Mrs. Nimoy said as she stood up, ‘Don’t humor him! Now who wants dessert? Apple pie and ice cream.’

Source: https://donostertag.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/1618/

DON OSTERTAG: OFF STAGE

DESSERT AT THE NIMOY’S

(...) Later in my hotel room I thought back on the night and meeting Leonard’s parents. And I thought of all the framed pictures around the dining room. All the pictures were of their two sons, their weddings, their children. There wasn’t any pictures showing off their celebrity son in his many roles like Spock or Tevye. Oh, I imagine somewhere there were scrapbooks filled with pictures and articles of Leonard; but that was a something not to be confused with their pride in their FAMILY, the most important part of their lives.

I never had the privilege of seeing Dora and Max again. Max died in July of 1987. Dora died the following December. But meeting them that one time under those homily circumstances showed me where their son Leonard got his down-to-earth humanity.

https://donostertag.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/dessert-at-the-nimoys/

#Voices #stage #parents #vincent #Leonard Nimoy

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ladymiraclewings · 3 years ago

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Poppa Wheels: Do you remember what our training to become a Super Wings was ?

Poppa Wheels: Capacities Duels, Mazes with the traps.

Poppa Wheels: Oh and also when we left alone in a mountain ?

Grand Albert: That was the classic training !

#super wings #super wings incorrect quotes #incorrect quotes #poppa wheels #grand albert #source: the owl house

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elektrolokomotive · 5 years ago

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whoops i have NOT been posting my oneshots here

anyway here’s day 2 -- Fireside

All day, it had been blustery--not at all unusual for an early November day on Lake Michigan. But as evening fell on California Avenue, the winds rose to a howling crescendo, lashing the flanks of the engine house and whipping through the leafless trees outside. Listening to it roar and hiss, Electra was grateful for the warmth and shelter the engine house afforded. The common room was a bit drafty, and the frame of the structure groaned with each strong gust, but the fire in the huge central hearth was unfazed.

The Racer basked in its warmth. He had spent the day on the green, looking after Zenith and the other youngsters of Cali Ave and shivering in the winds. When he had at last returned indoors, he was quick to take up a place between Purse and Joule on a chaise. There, warmed by the fire and his companions, he could forget the bone-chilling cold and doze peacefully.

But his rest did not go uninterrupted long. He was nudged to wakefulness by Wrench, who was standing over him with Zenith curled up in her arms. “Here you are,” she said. “Freshly bathed.”

Electra took Zenith readily into his lap. The baby pressed his head under Electra’s chin immediately, whirring in adoration. He disliked being parted from his mother even for the short time it took Wrench to bathe him. Now, his small, clever hands found the loose hair falling over Electra’s shoulder and stroked it as though it were a beloved pet. Electra rocked him gently, inhaling the mild scent of shampoo and the underlying ozonic tang typical of electrics. Zenith, for his part, was rapidly nodding. His head was a pleasant weight on Electra’s collarbone.

The front door of the engine house opened with a harsh creak that jerked Electra to wakefulness once more. He turned, watching as a group of carriages hurried in out of the cold, giggling amongst themselves. He glanced at the nearby window, finding that it was fully dark outside now--the evening trains were arriving home. The small group headed directly for the hearth. They were led by Buffy, who in Electra’s long absence had come to be a sort of unofficial captain to the carriages.

“Hey, Lex,” she said as the group approached. Ashley was, as always, close behind her. The rest were younger, less familiar to Electra. He smiled pleasantly at them all. At his chest, Zenith squirmed into a better position to survey at the newcomers. He was a curious child, and he liked nothing more than attention from any conceivable source. Buffy cooed at him as she settled in a nearby chair.

“It’s a cold one,” she said. “That wind is something.”

“I don’t envy you, darling,” Purse said, yawning. “There’s no place I’d rather be than right here by this fire.”

Ashley knelt on the floor in front of Electra to admire the Zenith. “Hi, Zeezee,” she said. “I bet you had a busy day.”

Zenith smiled coyly, chewing a hand.

Before long, the group gathered by the hearth had been joined by Belle and Pearl. Not long after them, Greaseball appeared with Tank in tow. Soon it seemed that any spirit not at work had come to settle by the big fire--that was the way of things, when it got cold. Nothing kept the bitterness of an approaching winter at bay like the warmth these gatherings provided.

Electra found himself snug, with Greaseball at his feet and Krupp no more than arm’s length away, cuddling Joule. He stared into the fire flickering in the hearth and let out a soft breath. There was soft chatter, peppered with laughter and teasing. Belle produced a basket of fresh fruit to be passed among them.

Then, Tank said, “Any of you ever seen a rail grinder?”

Silence fell quickly. Electra perked up a bit, petting Zenith’s back. “You mean, in person?”

“Yeah. I never seen one. I reckon they’re not real.”

Purse snorted. “Of course they’re real.”

“You see one, Penny?”

Purse raised an eyebrow. “No. But I haven’t seen the Eiffel Tower either, and I know it’s real.”

“What’s a rail grinder?” Joule piped up.

“It’s a maintenance of way vehicle,” Belle replied. “Something the humans use to keep the tracks functional. But a lot of people think that the spirits who pilot them aren’t like us.”

The windowpanes rattled as she spoke, shaken by the high wind.

“What do you mean, not like us?” Greaseball asked, sitting up straight.

“Well, we come from elementals, of course. Earth spirits, fire spirits, lightning spirits, you know. All made for a purpose. But some people--and I’m not saying whether I believe them--think that the rail grinders come from something else.”

Electra barely resisted rolling his eyes. He was keen on what Belle was doing; he had himself heard stories of the maintenance of way vehicles and summarily dismissed them as childish tall tales. But everyone else around the fire, it seemed, was enraptured.

“What do they come from, Belle?” Joule asked. Her eye were wide and dark in the firelight.

Belle paused for a moment to pop a grape into her mouth. “I don’t know for sure,” she said at length. “I’ve never seen one myself. But if you go and ask Poppa, he can tell you some stories.”

Pearl caught Electra’s eye. She was smirking slightly, clearly having heard this kind of talk before.

“Poppa’s got lots of stories,” Greaseball said. “Not all of them true.”

Belle fixed him with a cold look. Then, returning her attention to her story, she said, “He’s seen a few of them face-to-face. He says they’re not like anything you’ve ever seen.” She paused for dramatic effect; everyone was silent. “He reckons they come from the wild spirits. Those type that live in the deep, dark parts of the world and who the Starlight does not shine on. He said they’ve got that look.”

Beside Electra, Joule swallowed audibly. Reflexively he reached to take her hand, gentle and reassuring.

“Why would anybody use the wild spirits for work?” Tank asked.

“Beats me,” Belle said. “I don’t think it’s any work a steamer couldn’t do. But Poppa saw what he saw.”

“What do they look like?” Buffy spoke now, for the first time since Belle had begun her story. She didn’t strike Electra as the superstitious type, but her face had grown rather wan.

“Big,” Belle asked. “Bigger than any of us. And real ugly. They walk on all fours and have big, red eyes. Some say they breath fire.”

“But they’re harmless, right?” Joule asked. “Why else would they be allowed to run an engine?”

Belle shrugged. “I know people who have seen whole forests go up in flames because of them. They leave destruction in their wake.”

Electra sighed softly, leaning back against Purse. “You don’t believe any of this, do you?” He whispered.

Purse shook his head, but he didn’t smile. “I’ve never seen one either, Lex.”

“They live in abandoned yards with the other maintenance of way vehicles,” Belle was saying, “and sleep all year, until they get woken up to do their work. That way they don’t run wild and out of control.”

“Lucky there’s none of those yards around here,” Pearl said with an air of exaggerated worry. “We’d really be in trouble.”

“I haven’t told you the worst part about those spirits yet,” Belle went on, ignoring Pearl. “There’s something terrible about them, that makes everyone so afraid.”

She took another pregnant pause, looking around at all the gathered faces turned towards her. With a solemn smile she said, “They eat other spirits. Little ones, the kind that are easy to catch. Gobble them right up.”

The silence that followed this statement was deafening. The very concept was outlandish to the rail-folk; to harm a fellow spirit was not in their nature. Electra glanced around at his companions and found all of them, save Pearl, pale and wide-eyed.

A gust of wind picked up, slipping through an open window somewhere and slamming a door like a clap of thunder. The entire party started visibly. Belle, clearly delighted at this good timing, burst into peels of laughter.

“Starlight,” Purse breathed. “I thought my heart stopped for a second.”

Electra allowed himself to roll his eyes at last, giving Zenith--who had been awakened with a start by the slam--a gentle bounce.

“Aren’t you at least a little scared?” Greaseball asked, tipping his head back to smirk at Electra.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the Racer replied. “I worked for the Racing Commission for more than 30 years. Nothing scares me.”

#starlight express #jude's writing #stex electra

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