#what is happening why are we entirely malfunctioning again

[caelcstis]

bitch the way my body is so fucked rn-

[factual-fantasy]

Happy 1st Birthday Jangles!!

This post was originally going to be a humongous comic filled with lore, goofs, and even a bit of angst? 👀 And then have a funny/wholesome ending. Just like Bibi’s birthday comic.

But.. I ran into a problem. I didn’t know what to get for Jangles.

For Bibi’s present it was obvious what to get him. He wanted a real friend. Bringing Jangles to life was perfect and really tied the whole comic together.

But Jangles? What does he want? 

I wracked my brain for days. And when I finally thought of an idea? I only had 8 days left to make it happen. Sketch the comic out on paper, sketch it again in digital, line it, color it, backgrounds, dialogue.. I also had to make the actual present so that its picture could be used in the comic. All while having a very busy schedule for this week AND while working on Moon Malfunction..

I thought I could pull it off. So I got to sketching right away.

The comic would start with me in a big black blob. Locking myself away to try and get this project done as fast as possible. You know, like a total drama queen XD

Bibi and Jangles break in, and Bibi tries to talk to me but I ignore him. Meanwhile Jangles goes over to this goopy present by the wall. The present has a tag with Jangles name on it. As he goes to open it I do a spoopy jump scare and tell him not to.  Jangles and I then proceed to go back and fourth. “Why not?” Because its not good enough yet. “I’m sure its fine, what is it? What’s it for?” I cant tell you what its for because its not that day yet. “What is that day? And why cant we know about it?” “BECAUSE, its a S E C R E T-”

Bibi then says I need a break. I tell him I cant because I’m running out of time. I tell him that it needs to be posted on a specific day and that it has to be perfect but I don’t know what to do..

Jangles then deadpans “Its my birthday isn’t it?”

“...Yes. It is.”

“Okay? So what? I get wanting to post it on the day. But why all this pressure for the perfect gift?”

I explain that Bibi got a big special comic for his birthday. It had all the bells and whistles and it had the perfect gift. Jangles. And I wanted to do the same for him. I explained that the problem though was I haven’t really written enough of Jangles character to know what he would want.. I then wrote for Jangles response to be,

“Well what I dont want is you stressing yourself out over me.”

..I stopped sketching the comic at that point. I realized that I was stressing myself out way too much over this comic. It was 1 in the morning at that point. I was already pushing myself so hard to get this done on time and make it perfect that all the fun was just zapped right out of it. 

But I still worried a bit. I care about Jangles as my character and I wanted to do something cool for him. I wanted to post this at midnight on the dot, but that would require me to stay up until then when I’m still wiped out from the day before.. I also still wanted to get him a cool present.. But again I figured Jangles wouldn’t want me to stress over this “big comic” and “special gift” stuff.  So I just settled for a break. 

This entire post was prepared early, and posted when ever I was awake enough to post it. All the days beforehand I spent just taking my time with Moon Malfunction and focusing on my schedule. And on the day I’m posting it, I plan to draw nothing. Just relax and take a break from everything. I’ll get back around to all my projects tomorrow.

I think a post with minimal effort and day of no Tumblr, is probably exactly what Jangles would have wanted. So Happy Birthday Jangles! And thanks for the day off! XD

[gejo333]

A Misunderstanding

Father Miguel O’Hara x Mother Spider Reader

—> pt. 2

Summary: Your relationship with Miguel was doing amazing. But when you find out your pregnant Miguel begins to close himself off . You decide it’s best not to tell him and end things. But what happens when you see him again after five years and learns that he is a father?

There is a sensual scene, if you feel uncomfortable just scroll past it.

I was going to write it all in one post but I decided to do a part two. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow. I apologize for any grammatical mistakes I missed.

Hope you enjoy🤗

Wc: 3.2k

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A heavy breath leaves your lungs; sitting on a piece of rubble, you stare at the anomaly being taken away by another spider back to HQ. On a mission like this one, an anomaly of this low stature wouldn’t make you sweat. But for some reason, you had a hard time defeating it.

Peter B comes up to you, lending you a hand. You gladly take it rising from your makeshift seat. After walking through the portal back to HQ, Peter puts his hand on your shoulder, stopping you.

“Are you feeling alright, Y/n?” Peter looked concerned about your tired complexion.

“I’m fine. I must not have slept well last night. But thanks for checking in and for your help with the mission.”

“No problem. Are you reporting back to Miguel?”

“Yeah. I should tell him about the mission getting out of hand. I’ll see you around.” You wave goodbye before making your way to Miguel’s office. When reporting missions that didn’t go exactly to plan, spiders asked you to report to Miguel.

Before you began dating him 6 months ago, you still had a close relationship with him. Ever since he recruited you, he’s had a soft spot for you, never once getting mad with you.

Walking into his “lair,” as most spiders called it, you tried to shoot up a web to him, but your web shooter malfunctioned.

Miguel jumped down from the platform, walking towards you. His gaze crossed your entire body, checking to see if you were hurt.

“I heard the mission went a bit south.” Miguel wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you against his chest. He lifted your chin and leaned down to kiss your lips lovingly. You wrapped your arms around his neck, lifting your toes to press deeper into the kiss. Breaking apart, you caress his cheek as he leans into your touch.

“Yeah, I needed to call backup. The anomaly was more to handle than I thought. I’m not sure why. I just don’t feel my best today.”

“How about we get some delicious empanadas near my apartment and watch a movie. How does that sound? We can leave right now if you want?” A smile graces his lips as he gazes at you with so much love waiting for your response. You smile back at him as your e/c meets his mahogany eyes. You were the only person to see his true eye color.

“That sounds perfect.”

Pressing a few buttons on his watch, Miguel opens the portal back to his universe. The two of you walk through, entering an ally a block away from Miguel’s place. Both of your suits dissolve underneath casual clothing hiding underneath.

The two of you walked into the little store that sold the best empanadas in all of Nueva York, as Miguel had told you multiple times.

“Miguel! Mi cliente favorito. Cómo te va?” An older woman walked around the counter, hugging Miguel, which he gladly accepted.

“Estoy bien. Y usted?” Miguel said as he led you fully into the store. You loved seeing this side of Miguel. He only revealed his true warm side when he was back in his world or alone with you on missions or at HQ.

“I’m doing good. Business is good. And who is this gorgeous woman by your side Miguel?” The woman looks at you with a bright smile. You look up at Miguel as he looks down at you with a smile.

“This is Y/n. My girlfriend.” Miguel’s response made the woman beam with joy as she hugged you.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Y/n. It’s so nice for Miguel to find such a nice woman as you. The usual order Miguel?” The woman returns behind the counter, grabs a box, and puts in empanadas.

“Sí, plus a few extra.”

“Of course!” She adds a few more before handing them to you. Miguel pays her before adding $500 to the tip jar. The woman looks astounded and takes the money out, trying to return it to him. He closes her hand, pushing gently back towards her.

“Miguel, this is too much.”

“Nonsense. You make the best empanadas in all of Nueva York.” The woman hugs Miguel again as tears brim her eyes.

“Thank you so much. You truly are a good man Miguel.”

“Until next time!” He waved goodbye before leading you out of the store.

Miguel opened the door, letting you go first before making your way to the kitchen, setting the empanadas down on the counter. Miguel places both arms at your sides, trapping you against the counter. You turn to face him, leaning back a bit against the counter. Hands run up his chest and wrap around his neck. You run your hands through his hair as he leans his back, enjoying the sensation of your hands through his hair.

He leaned down, lips centimeters from yours. His gaze goes to your lips, his eyes starving for your touch. You give him a quick kiss.

“Let’s choose something to watch.”

“Yeah.” Miguel calms down his breathing before letting you go. The two of you grab an empanada and head to the living room as you get comfy on the couch, putting a blanket over the both of you. You rest your head against him.

Almost halfway into the movie, your gaze is directed toward Miguel as he stares ahead. He shifts slightly, uncomfortable. Your gaze falls down to his lap, where a tent appears. Sliding a hand to his lap, you pull down his sweats, setting him free as you give him a handjob.

Miguel’s head leans back, a groan escaping his lips.

“Y/n” You continue your movements as you feel your hand getting covered in precum.

“You like that?” You lean towards him as you kiss his neck towards his lips, where he hungrily captures yours.

“I need more of you, mi vida.” He groaned before removing the blanket. He grabbed you by the waist, sitting you on his lap as he ripped your panties off, thrusting himself fully into your wet folds.

“Those were my favorite.” You moaned out. A pout was on your face before Miguel captured your lips.

“I’ll buy you all the new pairs you want,” Miguel whispered into your ear as he thrust his hips into you.

“Miggy!” Your moans grew louder as his pace quickened, sending you into euphoria.

You awake from your bed in a sweaty state, your breath uneven. Sitting up from your bed, you place your head against your knee as you calm your heart. Why that memory again? You’ve had that same memory plague your dreams for the past week.

Looking at your phone, it was 8 am. You get up from your bed and go to the room next to you. Opening the door, you walk up to the small race car bed. Leaning down, you brush the dark brown hair from your son’s face and press a kiss to his forehead.

You watch his eyes flutter open, his big brown eyes tiredly staring at you.

“Good morning.” You say, gazing at your five-year-old as he wakes up. He jumps into your arms as you pick him up.

“Are you excited for today? It’s your first day of kindergarten!”

“Yes!” His arms went up in excitement. You set him down as you grab the outfit you prepared for him today. After the both of you got dressed, you went to the kitchen to start breakfast.

“What would you like?”

“Pancakes! With chocolate chips!”

“How about pancakes with blueberries? Make it a bit healthier.” You suggest as you already begin making the batter.

“I love blueberries!” He cheered.

You place the small pancakes in front of him as you finish getting ready in your room. After you finish putting on your makeup, you see your son walk in with a face covered with syrup. You chuckle at the cute site as you get up and bring her to the bathroom to wipe her face and hands.

“Mommy, can you do my hair how I like it?”

“Of course!”

You set her on the bathroom counter as you brush his hair. You combed your fingers through his hair. You look at him through the mirror. Distinct brown hair and eyes. Warm honey-toned skin. He was the spitting image of his father.

It’s been almost six years since you last saw him. Ever since that fateful day, you wonder if you made the right decision. But he made it clear to you.

“Mommy?” You’re brought out of your thoughts.

“Sorry, sweetie.” You finish the combing his hair. You grab your purse and his brand-new fire truck backpack. Grabbing his hand, you walk out the door and towards the school.

Arriving at the school, you walk through the front doors to his classroom. You see the other 5-year-olds entering the classroom or clinging to their parents. Arriving at the door, you see the teacher come out.

“Hi! My name is Ms. Williams. And who might this be?”

“This is Mateo (L/n). Say hi, Mateo.” You say to your son, who clings to you. Hiding his face behind your leg.

“Hi.” Mateo slowly waves to the teacher. Ms. Williams holds out her hand toward Mateo. Mateo looks up to you as you smile.

“It’s ok, Mateo. Go make some friends. Mommy will be here to pick you up in a few hours.”

“Promise?” He holds his pinky out to you, which you hook with yours.

“Promise.” Mateo smiles at you before taking his teacher’s hand, walking him into the room. He turned to wave goodbye before disappearing into the room.

A tear escapes you as you wipe it away. You couldn’t believe he was already 5. It went by so fast.

After drying your tears, you make it back to your apartment. Sitting at your desk in your bedroom, you stare at the drafted article before you. Since you quit Spider Society, you got your job back as a journalist.

Your mind drifts off from the work before you.

Sitting on the edge of the toilet seat, you stare down at the small object in your hands.

Two lines. These two lines answer the question that was in the back of your mind all day.

You were pregnant. Your body jumps up when you hear someone walk into the bathroom. Unlocking the door to the stall, you quickly wash your hands and clean off the stick before hiding it in a secret pocket of your spider suit.

A beep from your watch tells you to go to Miguel’s office. Miguel… what would he think? You rush out of the bathroom and towards his office.

Ben Reilly and Jess are talking with Miguel about a mission. Standing next to Miguel as he continues talking. However, everything he said was unheard as your thoughts raced.

“Y/n?” You came back to reality as Miguel placed his hand on your shoulder.

“Yep! Understood.” You say, hoping he didn’t notice you drifting off into space. Miguel dismisses Ben and Jess as he turns to face you.

“Is everything ok?” His eyes grew concerned as you weren’t your usual happy self. You decided not to tell him yet. You were too nervous to tell him. Since movie night, Miguel has been nonstop busy and stressed from work. You didn’t feel you should stress him out more with your news.

And it’s only been 6 months since you started dating. You didn’t know if he wanted children, especially after what happened to his daughter.

“Yeah! I’m good. Just tired. So my mind is a bit off.”

“How about you go home and rest. I’ll do the mission with Jess and Ben.”

“It’s ok. I can still go on the mission.” You try to reason with him.

“No mi amor. Go home and rest. I don’t want you getting hurt on the mission if you’re tired.” You decided to listen to him as he would not change his mind.

“Ok, fine. See you later tonight.” You give him a kiss before saying goodbye.

…

“You’re 2 months pregnant.”

The doctor’s words shocked you. You didn’t think you were that far along. It’s only been two weeks since you found out you were pregnant.

After leaving the doctor’s office, you head back to HQ. Going to the doctor at HQ was free, but you knew word would get back to Miguel, as everyone knew you two were in a relationship.

Spider HQ felt off today as barely anyone was here. You go to Miguel’s office but find all the lights turned off except one of his monitors.

Miguel sat in his chair, his head resting in his hand. He looked so sad. You never had seen him this way before.

“Miguel?” You walk closer to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. You look at the monitor. It was a video of him and his daughter.

“Y/n? I thought you weren’t coming in today.”

“I wasn’t. But I’ve barely seen you for the past two weeks. I wanted to just check in on you.” He moved his chair to face you. As he opens his arms to you, you sit in his lap. Wrapping his arms tight around you, he nestled his head in your neck. You comb your fingers through his hair to help comfort him.

“Today’s her birthday.” He mumbled against your skin. His words clenched at your heart.

“Miguel…” You lifted his chin to look at you as you softly caressed his cheek. He leans into your hand, looking at you with red eyes. Not his normal ruby red, but red from tears.

“She would have been ten this year.” A tear slipped from his eye, trailing down his cheek, which you gently wiped away. You never have seen him in such a vulnerable state before. It made your heart break seeing him like this.

Would it be ok to tell him now about the pregnancy? To try and lift his spirits? Maybe it was too sudden. It was Gabriella’s birthday, after all.

“The thought of having another child is unbearable. I couldn’t handle the pain again if something happened.”

His words shattered you. He didn’t want to have more kids. You placed a hand on your stomach. It would be pointless to tell him. He didn’t want to be a father again.

His watch suddenly beeped, indicating that there was an anomaly he needed to deal with.

“Maybe you should let someone else do the mission.” You got up from his lap as he continued to sit in the chair.

“No, I’ll do it. He stands from his chair as he opens the portal. Before he leaves, you gently grab his arm.

“I can go with you.” He smiles at you as he brushes some of your hair behind your ear.

“I’m going to do this one myself, Hermosa.”

“Oh, ok. Be safe.” You say before he walks into the portal.

…

You gaze at the surroundings of HQ, seeing various spiders interacting with one another. Ever since Gabriella’s birthday, you’ve barely seen Miguel. He buried himself in work. You tried several times to see him, but he was so distant from you that you decided to stop visiting him.

That was a month ago. Now 3 months pregnant, you have a baby bump, so when you came into HQ today, you decided to wear casual clothes that hid your bump. For what you’re about to do. You didn’t want anyone to know, especially Miguel.

Anxiety blossomed at the bottom of your stomach as you walked to his office. Were you being selfish? Maybe you should wait until he’s better. But time would run out in 6 months, and you didn’t want to face the truth of him rejecting his child. You wouldn’t be able to bear it.

You reach his office, where he talks to Peter B. and Jess about past missions. The three turn when they notice your presence.

“Y/n! It’s been so long! You’ve barely been to HQ this past month!” Said Peter as he went to hug you. You quickly give him a side hug so he wouldn’t find out your little secret. Peter gave you a confused look at your gesture but decided to ignore it.

Your gaze shifts to Miguel as he looks back at you. He’s barely seen you this month. Longer even.

“Jess, Peter. Is it ok if I talk privately with Miguel for a few minutes?” Your serious tone makes the two briefly look at Miguel and back at you before leaving his office.

Miguel walks up to you and places his hands around your waist.

“Is everything alright, cariño?” His gaze turned serious when you didn’t wrap your arms around him like you used to. Bile felt like it was threatening to come out of your throat. Not from the pregnancy. But what you were dreading telling him the past few days.

“I’m quitting Spider Society.” His eyes widened slightly before worry and confusion replaced them.

“What for?”

“Other life commitments need my attention back in my universe.”

“Like what?” He pushed you to tell him.

“Just other things.” You can see hurt in his eyes by your answer.

“You don’t have to quit. You can take a break if you need it.” He suggested.

“No, I’m sure of my decision.”

“Fine. But we’ll talk about it later. I don’t think you should quit. You’re an amazing Spiderwoman. I’ll come over after work with some food.” He wasn’t happy about your answer, but he let it slide.

“Miguel…” His heart dropped when you moved out of his arms.

“I have loved every second we’ve spent together…”

“Y/n?” You held up your hand to stop him from talking to let you finish. Tears began to threaten to spill out.

“But our lives are starting to go in different directions. I think we should stop seeing each other.” Tears spilled down your cheeks as you saw how hurt he looked. You felt terrible.

“Mi amor…” He tries to caress your cheek, but you move your face away, breaking him further.

“It’s for the best, Miguel. I hope you find someone who brings you happiness and love.” You turn away from him. But he grabs you by the arm and pulls you into an embrace. He kisses gently up your neck.

“You brought me that. I’ve never been happier in my life when I’m with you. Please don’t leave me.”

You wanted to melt into his arms and forget everything you said. But you couldn’t let your guard down. Removing his arms from your waist, you walk away from him. You turn to look at him one more time.

“Goodbye, Miguel.”

Tears fall onto your computer as you relive those memories. Even after five years, the look in his eyes broke you. Your heart still aches for him. There were times when you thought of reaching out. But you remembered he never came to your universe to fight for you both. To say he wouldn’t accept you breaking up with him.

You knew you told him it was over. But you still hoped he would run after you. Looking at the time on your computer, you realize you need to pick up Mateo.

You wipe your tears before grabbing your wallet, phone, and keys. As you were about to open the door, you heard a knock. Your spider-sense was going off, which you didn’t know why.

Slowly you open the door. The air from your lungs briefly left you as you dropped everything in your hand.

“Miguel?”

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Hope you enjoyed it.🥰

[scenesniper]

☆ genos ; nsfw headcanons

pairing / genos x afab gn! reader

disclaimer / penetration & a bit angsty

word count / 879 words

draft from october that i never finished oops

⭒ genos is a virgin (obviously) and was certainly confused why you're even sexually attracted to a cyborg at the first place but nonetheless, he still loves you. 😔 he's never had the luxury of expressing himself as a hormonal teenager since his attention was set on getting revenge on the cyborg that took his family away from him.

⭒ but god, when he met you, everything changed. skipping the details but to say the least, he can finally explore that hormonal teenager experience he missed on.

⭒ sex with genos is very limited because again, he's part cyborg. man got nothing packing down there, i'm sorry to break the news. that doesn't mean he can't penetrate you with his metal fingers and give you oral with his tongue! in fact, he's EXTREMELY skilled despite having no prior experience.

⭒ in fact, he can't feel anything he touches. whenever he has his eyes on you, he has to watch your mannerisms closely. what part do you squirm in the most, what is the cause of your whimpers? because of this, he basically knows your entire body language. although he doesn't feel anything, it doesn't matter to him because he's a giver more than anything. he loves to please you.

⭒ his entire body is cold. his finger is bulky and thick, which can easily penetrate you. it happened between you two once, but i promise he's trying his best to be gentle with you! 😭

⭒ his finger movements are rhymtic, he's just absolutely fucking you senseless repeatedly. clutch onto his chest or hold onto his face while his finger is deep in you, he'll feel so embarrassed but yet proud of himself.

⭒ he loves it when you're taking charge. please treat him gently, not just because of the possible future repairs from you putting him out of service but also just because he wants to be taken care of for once.

⭒ completely malfunctions whenever he sees you strip in front of him. he absolutely heats up like a goddamn heater and you have to be like "where is that heat coming from?" (surprise, surprise, it's from your horny boyfriend).

⭒ one time however, one of his parts were to malfunction from overheating while having sex with you. he distracts you by this (EXTREMELY CONCERNING safey hazard) by flipping you over as he eats your face out, only to break the kiss when he's certain that specific part will be able to last a little longer.

⭒ very good with his mouth and when i say good, i mean GAHDAMN. it's just pure bliss, how else could you describe it. he's very gentle when it comes with you but just knows the right amount of force to have you wanting for him more.

⭒ for the sake of this scenario though, i will give him a tongue for all of you nasty bitches (i am nasty bitches) 🤝.

⭒ his tongue is very.. scratchy. its' texture is similar to that of sandpaper and a sponge meshed together. he's a natural kisser but whenever he includes his tongue.. his way of going is very.. interesting to say the least..! 😁

⭒ he literally just shoves his tongue down your throat and not like in a hot and heavy, sexy way but in a lord i feel my dinner coming up. the first time he tried to include his tongue, it's a literal "pause, nah nah we can't do this" moment. 😭

⭒ with oral though, he's heavenly when it comes with sucking your cunt and lapping your juices like a starved man. his tongue, as said before, is scratchy so your pussy will legit be so itchy but it's okay because it's genos.

⭒ he does loves it whenever you sit on his face. maybe you're hesitant at first but when he finally convinces you to do so, he's instantly on cloud 9 and holding you down while he laps away at your juices.

⭒ sex drive is unlimited because well, he's a cyborg. he's very attentive of you so when you're near your limit, he immediately stops whatever he is doing. he doesn't want you to push yourself and end up passing out, but is he okay with having you scream and writhing the entire time? why, yes.

⭒ aftercare will be genos running a cold bath for you. while you're soaking up, he'll begin cleaning up the remnants of the mess the two of you made.

⭒ nights like these are his favorite. he can watch your beautiful sleeping face with the shining moonlight upon your form. he learns that his anxiety disappears completely with just you by his side in these quiet nights. if it was any other day that he wasn't laying beside you, his mind will torment him with guilt just like every waking hour that he is aware.

⭒ and moments like these are his favorite, it is something that grounds genos down. something makes him feel a little bit human. he wonders what kind of feeling the satisfication gives you but genos doesn't have that luxury to ponder at that. the only pleasure he is given is your ecstasy. after all, he is only a cyborg and you are a human.

[sosa2imagines]

Misunderstanding. Part 5.

Warnings- Angst, Fluff.

The silence in the abandoned building was punctuated, only by the rhythmic hum of the bomb. You and Matt sat side-by-side, both tense but determined. Your combined weight kept the pressure plate off, the only thing preventing a city-wide catastrophe.

But that didn’t stop Nat from laughing and Matt being kind enough, not to directly laugh at you.

You had burrowed Nat’s phone to send, a whole-hearted voice message to Steve. After you were done, you looked at them, little very proud of your speech. What you didn’t expect was them to laugh.

“Ha ha! Very funny.” you scoff, with a serious look.

“You are really adorable.” Matt says, trying his best not to laugh, but failing miserably. “She is adorable, I mean that voice message though, chef’s kiss.” Nat laughed. “You do realize right; Rogers might not check the message sent through my phone?”

You glare at her, she raises her brow daring you to glare, which you immediately replace with a scowl, though she was right. “If things go in the wrong direction…” you motion with your hands to the current situation, “you can tell him…to check…” you pout.

“What happened to, I trust everyone and we’ll be safe Matt?” Matt reminds you, with that damn adorable smile. “I still trust everyone, but” “She is being dramatic” Nat cuts you, rolling her eyes. “Why don’t you kids, get to know each other, while I look around more.”

“Sounds good to me, not like we can do much here…” Matt says. “Behave you two” she winks at you and heads out.

“So,” you began, your voice a low murmur, “Lawyer by day, vigilante by night, huh?”

Matt chuckled; the sound surprisingly warm. “Just doing my part. You seem to handle yourself pretty well too.” “Just another day at the office,” you replied, the words laced with a hint of a smile. “Though I wouldn't mind a few more gadgets and a flying suit right now.”

You both lapsed into a comfortable silence again. You stole a glance at Matt. He seemed calm, almost serene, despite the ticking bomb beneath him. His face, etched with the faint scars of past battles, was surprisingly handsome. There was a depth in his dark eyes though hidden through his glasses.

You spoke again, breaking the silence, “care to share, what’s the issue, between you and Tony?”

Just then Nat comes back, “My senses told me, we are about to gossip.” Matt chuckled, blushing slightly, as he begins to tell…

Flashback-

Tony Stark, scowled as he watched Matt Murdock walk confidently into Stark Tower. The lawyer, Pepper's choice for handling the legal aftermath of the Iron Man reveal, had become a thorn in Tony's side. It wasn't Matt's legal prowess that bothered him, it was the way Pepper spoke of him.

“He's so calm and collected, Tony,” Pepper had said, a genuine smile on her face. “He handled the press conference beautifully, even with you throwing curveballs.”

Tony had grunted, the jealousy twisting in his gut like a malfunctioning arc reactor. Matt Murdock, with his quiet demeanor and kind eyes, was everything Tony wasn't. He was the grounded lawyer, the responsible one, the complete opposite of Tony's flamboyant billionaire persona.

“Mr. Stark,” Matt greeted, his voice a low rumble. “Pepper said it was urgent.”

Tony gestured to a chair, the tension in the room thick. “Yes, well, there's been a slight... disagreement with a certain Captain America, and I need you to clean up the mess.”

Matt listened patiently as Tony ranted about the disagreement, his words laced with sarcasm and barely concealed bitterness. When Tony finished, Matt simply raised an eyebrow.

“Mr. Stark,” he said, his voice calm, “you're asking me to fix a situation that primarily stems from your own actions. Captain Rogers is not entirely unreasonable.”

Tony scoffed. “He's a relic from a bygone era, clinging to outdated ideals.”

Matt leaned back, his gaze unwavering. “Perhaps, but he's also a man who fought for what he believed in long before you donned a metal suit.”

Tony's jaw clenched. He hated the way Matt spoke, the subtle challenge in his voice. He was a good lawyer, Tony grudgingly admitted, but the man was starting to grate on his nerves.

“Just fix it, Murdock,” Tony snapped, his facade slipping. “That's what I pay you for.”

Matt stood, a faint smile playing on his lips. “I'll do my best, Mr. Stark. But perhaps a little humility wouldn't hurt in the future.”

He left the room, leaving Tony fuming. Humility. The word tasted like ashes in his mouth. He, Tony Stark, the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, needing humility?

He slammed his fist on the desk, the sound echoing through the sterile room. It wasn't just the disagreement with Captain Rogers that bothered him. It was the way Matt, with his quiet confidence, seemed to effortlessly win Pepper's admiration. It was the way he made Tony feel...

He watched Matt leave, the jealousy still lingering, but something else stirring within him. Maybe Matt was right. Maybe a little less arrogance and a little more understanding wouldn't hurt. He glanced at Pepper, who was working on her tablet, of course he is not going to accept that. How dare he impress Pepper!

“Woah” you and Nat said in unison.

“So you were his lawyer...and he has a problem with you...because you gave some advice?” Nat asks, narrowing her eyes. “Yeah, I guess so...I mean, I don't have any other reason, why he would have a problem with me...” Matt replies.

“Wait what problem, did he have with Steve?” you ask in curiosity. “You should ask him…” Matt said, rubbing the back of his neck, giving you a sheepish smile.

Before you could push him further, suddenly, Tony clad in his Iron Man suit, stormed in, his helmet retracted. Relief washed over you.

“Took you long enough,” Natasha remarked, a hint of relief in her voice. “Traffic” he smirks, before looking at you.

“Kid, are you okay?” he asks, as his gaze landed on Matt, he gasped. “Murdock? What are you doing here?” Tony's voice boomed through the helmet.

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Good to see you Stark.”

“He's with me,” you interjected, “helping with the bomb.”

Tony shot you a glare. “He's a lawyer, kid! Lawyers don't defuse bombs!”

“He's not just a lawyer,” you defended. “he is a vigilante.” Tony scoffed. “Right, because Daredevil is known for his expertise in explosive ordinance.”

Yes, Tony knew who he was. He had done his homework on Matt. Another reason why he had a problem with him.

“Well, if either one of them, gets up, none of us can survive…” Natasha chimed in, her voice calm amidst the chaos. “Murdock's and Y/n combined weight has kept it off.”

Tony hesitated. Pepper had always spoken highly of Matt, his legal prowess and unwavering moral compass. It irked Tony, a strange mix of admiration and resentment. He sighed, “Alright, fine. But if he blows us all up, I'm blaming you.”

Matt chuckled again. “Fair enough.”

Matt was kind enough, to put his arm around your shoulder, to make you comfortable. You did blush and as a reward you got a glare from Tony.

“Traitor!” he mutters to himself. “Kid we are setting some serious ground rules for you...” You narrow your eyes, giving him a questionable look, “What did I do? Isn't this a part of the job?”

“Young lady, don't make me ground you!”.

“To ground the ‘young lady’ Nat rolls her eyes, “we need to save her!” she reminds him.

For a few minutes, which felt like hours, Tony kept glaring at Matt who was unaffected by it. After couple of minutes, Tony snapped out of, mentally doing whatever he was doing to Matt, addressing back to the current problem.

“Care to tell me, how you got in this situation?” even before you or Nat could answer, Tony speaks again “I want the truth, nothing but the truth, don't even try to hide a tiny detail.”, he looks at Matt before looking at you again “or else I'll get FRIDAY to get me all the cctv footage, across town!”

If you thought hiding something from Natasha is hard, meet Tony Stark, who has access to everything. With a big gulp, you tell Tony, every single thing.

“This is getting ridiculous, Murdock!” Tony growled. The lawyer's calm demeanor, the way he held himself with an unwavering confidence, it all grated on Tony's nerves.

Tony knelt beside you, his scanners analyzing the bomb. “Looks like a basic pressure-sensitive trigger. We need to disarm it without lifting either of you. These wires are connected in different places.”

“What does that mean?” you ask. “It means we need to cut these wires at the same time, as soon as I figured out the code system.” Tony tells you. “Thankfully, Rogers is here too… he can”

“Steve? He’s here?” you ask in surprise. “Yeah, he tagged along...he” “Where is he?” you cut him off, desperate to see Steve.

“What the hell?” You all turn to the direction of the voice, Steve was standing, looking extremely furious, not at the situation, but you and Matt sitting together.

Part 4 - Part 6

Taglist- @blackhawkfanatic @ordelixx

@sapphirebarnes @differenttyphoonwerewolf

@vicmc624 @thezombieprostitute

@lillyxlillian @nekoannie-chan @ashley202

@lovely-geek @redbloodedgurl

[vikkirosko]

🐻 Glamrock Freddy x Reader Oneshot New home⚡️

"Are you sure this is the right place?.."

Gregory looked uncertainly at the most ordinary house in which someone clearly lived. When Freddy said that he knew a place where they could stay after they left Pizzaplex, Gregory did not expect that this place would turn out to be someone's house.

"How do you know that we can stay in this house?.. I don't think the owners will be happy with the animatronics and the child...

"Don't worry, superstar, everything will be fine"

Freddy walked confidently to the front door. He himself wasn't entirely sure why he had brought Gregory here. He didn't know where he remembered this place from, but he knew one thing for sure. There was a person in this house who could help them. When he knocked, at first there was some kind of oppressive silence, and then you opened the door. You didn't know who could come to you so early in the morning, but you assumed that something emergency had happened, so you opened the door. But you didn't expect to see an animatronic and a child on your doorstep.

"Hello, sorry to disturb you so early in the morning, but we need your help (Y/N)"

Gregory gave Freddy a blank look. He couldn't understand how the animatronic knew you, but after looking at you, he realized that you didn't fully understand it either. Having once again looked at the guests with a glance, you let them into the house. Freddy felt a strange feeling inside, as if there was some kind of malfunction in his system. However, to Gregory's surprise, you listened to what he told you and you did not consider it all nonsense. You felt clearly worried when you heard what happened at Pizzaplex. It revived memories from the seemingly distant past. You let the boy and the animatronic stay in your house, realizing that they have nowhere to go. While you were talking to Freddy, Gregory managed to see some photos on the wall. These photos were of you and a young man Gregory didn't know. But what caught his attention was the pizzeria in the background. The same pizzeria where the children disappeared once.

"Excuse me, is that you in this photo?"

You looked at Gregory in surprise and you approached him. A wistful smile touched your lips.

"Yes, it's me and a very dear person to me, his name is Michael Afton, he was the son of one of the owners of this pizzeria"

Gregory realized that it was this person from the photo who could help find out more about what happened. But your next words made him freeze.

"Unfortunately, he's been missing for quite some time..."

Freddy listened to your conversation and felt this strange system failure again. The name of Michael Afton awakened something in him, something that belonged not to him but to someone else. Someone who has been with him for a long time. He didn't know who it was, but he hoped that you would help him find out whose voice in his head seemed to be calling you, trying to support, calm down and just shout to you.

[sunnicee]

════════════════════ ⋆★⋆ ════════════════════ bills parents were blue and red. but... bill is yellow. blue and red don't make that color! it makes purple. yellow is the parallel of purple. which directly translates to bill being doomed from the beginning. there is no reality that turned out to be fortunate enough for him. in every timeline, his story is the same... but the outcomes were different. when you go to the theater to watch a movie in 3D, they give you glasses. the lenses of those glasses just so happen to be blue and red. [ a/n: if we were to put on the cinematic 3D glasses… would bill still only have one eye? I feel like this would give us the opportunity to finally see the alleged eye behind his eye! ] which means, in the birth of Bill.. the parents' eyes somehow malfunctioned and overlapped. that's why bill was always looking ahead in the cosmos. to his parents, they cannot see three dimensional objects. they probably thought their son was mute and blind until he became reactive and responsive to the world around him. he was always looking out, but they couldn't see what lie beyond flatland. ultimately that was what sealed the deal for him and his parents. they were cursed from the jump.

in flatland, it's pretty self-explanatory. you're flat, and all of your attributes are all seen at once. eyes are on one side of the face, and you aren't as dynamic. you're flat. that's all you know. bill, even with his mutated coloring, was never considered normal. his eye wasn't to the side, no, it was straight. looking up, always. looking forward. despite his oddities, his parents continued to love him dearly; flaws and all. in the actual thisnotawebsitedotcom.com, baby bill screams for his mother. after all, he was just a baby when he was treated like a superior interdimensional being. to experience that sheer amount of loss is devastating. sure, you might've felt like an outcast from the jump, but that was home. you were never terribly picked on, and you had unconditionally loving parents. none of this was ever meant to happen. why was he born this way? why did he, out of all people have to carry such an impacting mutation? he was the *only* one who experienced this. why did something he didn't even ask for cost him everything? it was never his fault; he couldn't control that he was born that way. but then, it was when that grief manifested into something else. he was from an entirely different plane of existence, and the world was at his fingertips. he had already lost everything valuable to him, so what did it matter? was it really wrong for him to harness his power? I mean, they were given to him! he was just making do w/ what he had. he had power. he was robbed because of it. so.. he took advantage of it as a twisted revenge.. i guess.

he just liked looking above. out of everything he observed in the forever changing sky, the little dipper and the shooting stars were his favorite things to stargaze at. being born was the start of this. looking was the start of this. he was the start of this. now, this might be a stretch.. but let's refer to the pines:

now imagine.. before you lost everything, you saw two things. wouldn't you associate those things with negative feelings? I would. ex. if I was in a car crash with a red car, I would be weary and incredibly anxious when driving past them. if before the car crash there were two yellow trucks on either side of the red car preaccident, I will automatically assume off that this identifies if there will be a crash. obviously, this won't be the case again, but that trauma stays. it affects your perception and rationality. so imagine him when he stumbled upon two individuals whom directly symbolize what he had before he lost it all. even though Bill can look up/stargaze at any point in time, he doesn't because it's associated with trauma. or perhaps a better word for it would be a trigger. that's not the reason he wants total control though, not because they triggered him. it's because they meddled in matters that didn't need to be bothered and inserted themselves into a situation long coming. he reacted, is all. he found an opening, and decided to take it.

timelines. in every episode that aired under GRAVITY FALLS, we are in the timeline that gives the best outcome, so we're not shown that. however, one way or another, one of the twins (or both) die. that's why in the book of bill.. it shows us an entire assortment of alternative universes when escape wasn't applicable. when they couldn't change their fate. when something just wasn't quite right. every detail matters, even to the socks that they put on. anything can change the outcome of that episode.

it's just so crazy to think about, because that also applies to reality. as in, our real life. whatever we do, will reflect and change our future. I've experienced that phenomenon before. HYPERVIGILANCE: occurs when you become uncomfortably aware of your own existence. the harsher side of sonder, I suppose. ex. deciding to wear your helmet when riding your bike, and you just so happen to collide with the front part of a van that sends you flying. it's startling and it unsettles you greatly to know that your brains would be seeping into the concrete if not for your helmet. ☄. *. ⋆ gravity falls is so cool. definitely going to rewatch the series (again) and poke/prod around on the website to see if I can find any useful information to gather lore and connect the loose pieces of the puzzle that are lazily floating about in the crevices of my noggin! ════════════════════ ⋆★⋆ ════════════════════

[honestsilasbirchtree]

June 15, 1952

The waffle house had been nameless for the entire eight years it had been in operation so far. Lizzie Dixon, 22, had been working there for three of those years. She could now begin preparing orders based on the sound of the cars pulling up and the tops of hats and hairdos that she could see through the blinds.

All of her lunchtime regulars were currently in, the dishwasher was out for a "smoke" again, and absolutely nothing was going to surprise her. She thought about dropping a milkshake glass for the hell of it.

"The back of that greasy kid's head looks like it could use some sparkle! Why don't you give it a hurl!"

Lizzie jumped at the sudden loud voice by her ear and dropped the glass, just missing her foot. The shards scattered. "Oh-! Oh no, no..." The dishwasher, finally back behind the counter, turned around at the sound. "Whoa, Lizzie, what happened?"

"Where have you been?" Lizzie snapped. "Don't just-- careful stepping through, oh, come on, get a broom or something, I have to take this gentleman's order--" She turned back to find herself face to face with a pale stranger in a suit and hat.

"Shucks, you missed!" he continued. "Better luck next time, huh?"

Lizzie allowed herself a smirk at that. "I might like that, but I like working here more, I'm afraid."

"Oh, you do?" said the stranger. His voice seemed strangely loud and shrill no matter what volume he was speaking at. "I see, got to comfort yourself somehow after your big audition flopped. Don't worry, that whole rodeo will fold a year from now anyway! BIG shooting malfunction! You're better off out of the, haha, line of fire! Trust me!"

Lizzie's eyes flicked over to the ad taking up most of the far wall at the end of counter--a flirtatious blonde cowgirl, SLUGGER COFFEE, 'Start Your Day Like a Shot!' She really hoped he was talking about cameras. "...I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Silas Birchtree, travelling salesman and so much more!" he doffed his hat. (For a moment, she heard some kind of buzzing.) She could see his eyes better now, wide and avid to a near painful looking degree, just like his smile. "Now, Lizzie, can I just say--"

"Hey!" A redheaded young man wearing a blazer in an unfortunate color took a seat at the bar. "Is this fella bothering you, Liz?"

"She hasn't been interested since you called her "Lizard" the first day of junior high, Chris!" the newcomer shot back. Heads all through the establishment were turning. "Take your comedy act somewhere else! I'd suggest the middle of the road, but if this one horse town ever gets anything resembling actual traffic, I'll eat that horse myself!"

Lizzie wanted to sink into the floor. Chris flushed red and balled up his hands. "Why don't you get bent, you creep! Who d'you think y--"

"Hey, ain't you supposed to be dead?" an old farmer at the other end of the counter called out. "We had a burial and everything, I saw." This set the gathering crowd murmuring.

Birchtree flashed a megawatt grin his way. "Normal human man, right here!" He thumped his chest hard. "Aren't you supposed to be cutting back on the drink, Ray? Then again, the doctor has bills to pay, too! Wanna bet you can help finance his new car?"

Ray's brow furrowed. "Say, how'd you know all that? What new car?"

"An excellent question! My unearthly knowledge comes from above!" Birchtree threw his arms wide, shouting to the whole restaurant. "An all-knowing entity of awesome power has chosen me to be his herald! He's seen your mistakes! He watches your dreams! He foresees the terrible way that you will die, yes, each and every one of you!" Now he was standing on the counter, with a sea of open-mouthed faces around him. "All of these secrets and more I will share with you rubes, if! You! Follow me outside!"

He stepped down from the counter and strode out the door, a throng following him out and down the street to Orchard Lake's central square. Lizzie let herself out from behind the counter to join them, still trailing broken glass underfoot.

"Hey, where are you going?" the dishwasher shouted after her. "Hey! Lizzie! What are you doing? Come back!"

[thisnameisnotspokenfor]

Chapter 30 Rough Chapter Preview

((ooc: here have this entire segment!))

 “What....what is this place?" Asha breathed. 

“My guess is as good as yours,” came the star’s voice as his eyes settled on a partially collapsed statue behind them. One that if was still whole, would have easily rivaled Rosas’s biggest cathedral in size. “I’m not one to leave loose ends after bad encounters. But I thought it’d be best if we spent some time down here to convince your little ‘acquaintances’ that we hadn’t survived the fall.” 

Shivering, she half-heartedly wrapped her wet shawl around herself. “Did you know this was down here?”

“Oh, you mean the city?” He shook his head, “I didn’t. The only reason why I found it was because I felt something coming from here.”

“You felt something?” Her eyes darted from the star to the collection of dilapidated buildings that stood before them. 

He nodded “A calling.”

“How exactly does one feel a calling?” 

“Same way how one manages to conjure a large air bubble that’s strong enough to keep you alive down here. That’s how.” He gestured to the walls of said air bubble before turning his eyes to the darkness outside. “But I suspect it’s coming from a malfunctioning artifact or a distress beacon of sorts.” 

A distress beacon? It had been how the injured Atlantean general had summoned the stone serpentine. So the idea wasn’t too far-fetched. But from here of all places? 

“You know it’s funny you say that,” she started as she felt herself slightly shiver. The coldness of her still-wet shawl had done her no favors. “My Saba once told me of a legend from when Rosas was still young, a fisherman used to sail the Salcona river. After narrowly surviving a boat accident he claimed that he’d heard strange voices coming from the bottom of the river.”

“Voices?” His light pierced the darkness as it briefly illuminated the ground below, revealing the bits and pieces of stained glass that had been embedded within what she could only assume was once a beautiful pathway. 

“Yeah. Strange ones. They said it drove him so mad that he swore to dive to the bottom of the river…No one ever saw him again,” She whispered, eyeing the sparkling shards of the ground that led towards the heart of the sunken city. 

“You don’t think there are survivors here, do you?” Impossibilities of survival aside, How was anyone to be rescued from something like this? She’d tried to not think of the hopelessness of the situation crushing the survivors as they’d desperately searched for any sign of

“I wouldn’t bet on it. But It’s not as outlandish as you think,” He’d shifted closer, holding his hand towards the bubble’s wall. “I’ve heard of astronomers having hidden underground tunnels that allowed them to travel all over the kingdom in dire situations. Factor in their food supply, powers, extended lifespan, and technology, and anything is possible.”

“But that can’t be right- Rosas was founded on a completely new island! This city can’t be a part of its predecessor.”

“And yet it just so happens to be full of those same astronomical symbols,” the star interjected before leaning towards her. “A little too coincidental don’t you think?”

She nodded, her eyes lowering to her feet as she contemplated his words. 

If what he said was true then that would mean that Rosas had never left the ashes of its predecessor behind just like the historical records had claimed.

But how could that be? Surely someone would’ve pointed out the error sooner! There was no way the scholars nor her father would’ve allowed such untruths to be propagated to future generations. 

“BAAAA” came Valentino from beside her as he gestured for her to look forward.

“What?” She asked. “What is it? Do you see something?”

He shook his head, before pressing it to the walls of the air bubble as if he’d wanted her to follow suit.

Of course, doing something like that initially seemed ridiculous to her under the fear of possibly popping the bubble, but come to think of it, this wasn’t any normal air bubble, right? So maybe she could get away with a few sudden movements…But her reservations had been quickly put to rest when she’d felt the low vibrations of something that she could only deduce was sound coming from the nearby city. 

Quickly, she pressed her ears towards the bubble’s side, making out the sounds of Bells and chimes softly ringing in the darkness. But why would they be ringing?  

“Asha-,” came the star’s voice as something swam past once more, nearly startling her. “What are you doing?”

“Listening,” she answered, briefly sparing him a glance. “Do you hear that? It’s the sounds of bells and chimes ringing and I think it’s coming from the city!” She exclaimed as he blankly stared at her. “I’ve always known that water isn’t a vacuum, so sound could travel through it. But for the bells and chimes to be ringing so continuously like this…that must mean that something underwater is making it move! But the real question is…what?” She started to pace the bubble, which was frankly, a near-impossible task given the bubble’s rather small size. But that hadn’t stopped her from asking “Is it the current or something else? Maybe it’s connected to the calling you felt! But…why?”

His brows furrowed as his hand pushed his hair back.“You really want to know?”  

“Of course I do!” she exclaimed, unable to hide her smile. “Don’t you?”

“Well…” he, the self-admitted reckless and insane star, hesitated. The expression on his face was wavering. “I suppose so…”

“Suppose so? Cepheus we literally just made the greatest archaeological discovery of this century!  This is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement that could be the answer to all of our questions involving the order and its strange absence!”

“Or, it could be dangerous,” his voice lowered as the light within his hand flickered.” You don’t know what’s down here.”

A part of her couldn’t believe that of all the things they’d done, this was where the star drew the line. He’d been so troubled about the order’s strange absence, yet he seemed reluctant to explore the one place that could give him answers. Granted he did have a point, as up until now, the most she’d ever assumed was down here was nothing more than fish and scattered bones. 

But that hadn’t stopped her from being curious, not when the existence of the buildings that challenged Rosas’s history had so proudly touted the symbol she’d seen from the astronomer’s order.“True, I don’t. But I guess it’s a good thing I have you then, don’t I? You’re probably scarier and way stronger than any apex predator that roams the ocean.”

“Apex what?” 

“Apex predator,” she repeated. “You know, a carnivorous animal that resides at the top of the food chain!” she explained as a small idea formed within her mind. 

“Am I an Apex predator?” he asked, curiously pointing to himself as he leaned towards her. 

“You?” she looked around the small bubble thoughtfully. Flattery had always done wonders on nobles, now she wondered how well it would work on a star. “Well, I mean you remorselessly maul people three times your size with sheer brutality, without taking any damage.” she shrugged. “Yes. I think you’d comfortably classify as what they’d call an apex predator.”

The star beamed, “Ha ha! Wait-,” he paused as his smile faltered. “You’re complimenting me-,” His eyes narrowed at her suspiciously, “who are you and what have you done to Asha?!”

She rolled her eyes before pointing to him accusingly. “I mean I could be asking you the same question. You didn’t use any magic whatsoever in that fight for someone who’s so highly pro-magic.”

“Touche,” he conceded. “But don’t think flattery is gonna convince me to take you down there.”

“Well it’s not really flattery if it’s the truth now is it?” she asked smoothly as she leaned towards the star.

“....Fair point,” he shrugged, before clearing his throat. “Alright then, I guess we can look around for a little bit. IF-”

“If?” she repeated.

“-You promise to stay close to me. The pressure at this depth is very unforgiving. So It’s best we stick together for now.”  

She nodded, unsure of how she’d be able to do anything else given the limited space the bubble provided.

Nearing the city, Asha’s eyes took in the pieces of columns, buildings, and broken statues that littered the ground, offering a mere glimpse of what she could only assume was once a beautiful courtyard.  

“There are so many statues here,” she murmured, briefly pausing to listen in to the sounds of the surrounding bells.

“Of course there are,” he sighed. “To a star, there’s no greater form of praise than a beautiful artistic piece that’s fashioned after them. You should see the palaces that some of the alpha stars live in. It’s full of human art.” 

“Do you recognize any of these then?”

He shook his head without hesitation, as they swam past several collapsed statues that could have easily rivaled the castle in size. 

“How about these?” she asked, pointing to another.

To her dismay, his voice promptly answered with a somewhat unenthusiastic, yet decisive “No.” 

Setting aside her confusion for now, she continued looking around the desecrated town square, not seeing anything particularly noteworthy until her eyes caught sight of something glittering beneath the edge of the star’s light.

“Wait!” she halted him before pointing to where she’d spotted the glittering object beneath them. Obediently the star guided his light towards the direction she’d pointed in, quickly revealing the location of said object to be within the hole of a large building that had partially collapsed. 

Excitement once again filled her at the sight of the astronomical symbols etched into the building’s stone roof as she shivered and asked, “D-do you think that’s the order?”

He gently shook his head. “The order was far larger than one building, but from what I’ve heard they did have a location in the heart of the kingdom, which was very close to the castle.”

The castle? She’d looked around for any sighting of said castle but had come up empty. There wasn’t much to go off of whether or not this part of the city had been near the heart of the kingdom nor if this building had been a part of the astronomer’s order, but something in her mind had told her that it was at least worth exploring.

The star nodded to himself as he peered into the dark depths of the building. His mind surprisingly made up as he cracked his knuckles. “Well, I suppose now is a time as ever to make life-altering mistakes while embarking on a pointless albeit fascinating search.”

“Life-altering what?” Asha spat as he smiled at Valentino.

“Go on Valentino we’ll be right behind you!” he gestured towards the dark pit beneath them. 

Valentino, understandably bleated in protest as the star frowned. “What? What do you mean by no?” Valentino shivered before bleating once more as the star gasped. “Ah right, I keep on forgetting that you earth creatures are weirdly addicted to oxygen. Me personally? I’ve always been more of a hydrogen and helium guy, not that I need them of course-”

“Wait,” she grabbed his hand, gently pulling him back as she thankfully put a stop to his strange rambling. “Before we enter. Promise me that there will be no more riddles, no more games. I just want transparency.”

“Transparency,” the star repeated, looking genuinely confused. 

“Yeah you know, honesty. It’s what friends do. They tell each other things that they need to hear, even when it’s not easy.”

“Friends do that? Does that include constructive criticism on interior decor and capes?” he asked as he glanced at her soaking-wet shawl.

“My friends do, and no it does not include constructive criticism on interior decor or capes,” she retorted before quickly stuffing her shawl into her satchel. 

“How many friends do you have beside me?”

“A lot but that’s not the point,” she lied with a huff. “Right now we’re looking at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one that I doubt we will see again. So it’s best that we try to answer any questions we have while we’re still down there. Right?”

To her surprise, the star pleasantly answered, as he placed a hand over his heart, “Of course Asha. Let’s get started, shall we?” She nodded as the bubble slowly began to descend the roof’s hole and into the building below. 

The room they’d slipped into had been massive, with its downward stairwell structure nearly reminding her of an academic auditorium. Everything in the hall was covered in algae, as objects such as furniture, books, bookshelves, scrolls, and all sorts of instruments lay strewn about as the remains of a once beautiful crystal chandelier lay in the middle of the room. Carved into the surrounding dark-colored stone walls were depictions of strange Creatures and people, all poised towards a chalkboard full of strange letters that stood at the other end of the room. She and the star exchanged glances before nodding, carefully approaching the chalkboard.

“This was written in Asterahi,” he murmured as he tentatively looked over the board.

“Is that another star language?” she asked, noting how different the ‘words’ had looked from the ones he’d shown her yesterday.

“It is. A far more exclusively spoken one though.”

And yet one that he appeared to be capable of reading she’d thought as he’d continue to look over the language’s strange symbols. For a star peasant he was rather well-educated, wasn’t he? “I know you said you could tell which court had spoken Cosmelathian based on the dialect or rather variation you saw it written in… Does the same apply for Asterahi?”

He carefully nodded, “It does…and from the looks of things, this looks like it was written by someone from the,” his eyes widened, as he quickly shook his head. “No….That can’t be right. Not here…Why here?”

“What? What is it?! Cephues what’s wrong?” He failed to answer her as his eyes continued sweeping over the board. His smile was gone now as she felt the water around them begin to move, pushing away some of the debris near the foot of the chalkboard as she gasped.

“Cepheus, look!” she cried, pointing to the large half-destroyed ship that lay in front of the chalkboard. “It’s one of the ships we saw Erlan’s people use!” She could barely think straight as she gently shook the star’s shoulders. “It’s real! It’s really real! And it’s here!” She paused, feeling the weight of reality set in. “Wait so are you telling me that story wasn’t fictional?”

“I don’t ever recall telling you that it was,” he answered with a slightly furrowed brow.

“Oh…” she whispered, releasing his shoulders as she stepped back. “Wait…so do stars actually look like that? A dark cloud with glowing eyes and a multitude of voices or was that a creative liberty you took?”

He grinned rather smugly, “Creative liberty, of course, in reality, we stars usually look far worse.”

“Worse?” she repeated, before pointing to him. “Even you?”

“I’m not sure why I’d be excluded from that, but yes, even me. There’s a reason why we’re so…particular about how we look when we’re around humans…”

“Finally,” she grinned. “A form of you that isn’t ridiculously handsome. Now I actually kind of want to see-”

“Finally a form of me that isn’t ridiculously handsome?” he repeated, staring at her in silence before the true meaning of her words began to sink into both of them. She hadn’t meant it like that! But the grin that slowly spread across the star’s face told her that she was now in for a world of trouble.

“Asha-,” he sang.

“I’ve never been one to ask a building to collapse on me before,” she grumbled as she tried to ignore how her face burned.

“Do you think I’m handsome?”  The wicked little star was enjoying this. “It’s okay if you do. I think you’re really pretty too~,”

She shook her head, quickly taking another step back as she cursed the tightness of their air bubble. “Ha, ha, no, no, I never meant that you were handsome, you see what I was trying to say was that-,”

“That?” the star repeated. “Go on Asha, tell me what you were trying to say.” He was really enjoying this, wasn’t he? 

“Scratch that, I hope the building collapses on both of us.”

Valentino panickedly pleated as the star’s smile sharpened. Mischief filled his eyes as he leaned towards her, “Is this you showing your strong feelings for my form again? I knew you liked it but to call me ridiculously handsome-,”

“I am politely asking you,” she called while staring at the partially collapsed ceiling. “To please do it. Just make it quick.”

“Ha! Listen to me princess, very few things in this universe could kill you while I'm around, but I'm afraid this building” he pointed upwards towards the ceiling. “Isn't one of them-,” he’d flippantly waved his hand as he leaned away from her. 

“Alright, so what could?”

“Nothing that you’d need to worry about,” he replied, his voice a bit more ominous than she liked.

“Well unnerving note aside, this means that Erlan’s kingdom could have been the ancestor or had some sort of ties to Rosas’s predecessor!” She looked over the ship once more. To call it advanced would have been the understatement of the century. No, this wasn’t advancement. It was technological perfection. “Do you think it still works?” she asked the star after she’d finally managed to partially break the trance the ship had, had on her. “We could fix it though, couldn’t we? Just like how you fixed the music box! Imagine if we could get it to fly again! This could be a life-changing thing for the people of Rosas! The king would have to listen to us! He’d have to!”

To her chagrin, he looked away before shaking his head, “I don’t think your king would be very pleased if you made this discovery public Asha.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well from what you tell me, I think his abhorrence to technology seems personal, and like you said your people are complacent and dependable on the king, something that may not be as benevolent nor generous as you think it is.” 

Not benevolent or generous? She wasn’t certain about that! Yes, it had made everyone a little too safe and lazy, but she had to give credit where it was due. King Magnifico had made them complacent as a consequence of his dedication to serving and protecting them, something that she’d argue was very kind given how most monarchs tended to act.

The star looked her over, and as if reading her thoughts, he’d gifted her a smile heavily laced with what she could only recognize as sardonicism. “You know Asha,” he started. “A king’s greatest enemy isn’t those who he faces on the battlefield or those who he strong arms into trade deals or diplomacy. No, it’s the people who he must convince and assure of his divine right to rule with each and every passing day.  Because the minute those people think to themselves that there is another, someone better, is the day that everything a king has worked for goes to naught. His kingdom will become nothing more than a gilded cage as those around him fight to secure themselves for power.”

“I…I can’t disagree with what you’re saying….But the people and royal family of Rosas aren’t like that! You’re free to think of the king however you want, but nothing can change the fact that he and so many others worked hard to make Rosas into a place where people who’d suffered could be given a chance! Just like how Erlan used his power as king to help others and establish the Astronomer’s Order!”

He tilted his head, as he thoughtfully stared at the nearby collapsed pillar. “So passionate. You sound as if you speak from experience, or perhaps intimate knowledge of the royal family?”

She shook her head. If the star had thought that he was the only one who could maintain secrecy under this amount of hydrostatic pressure, then he was sorely mistaken “It’s history that we’re all required to learn…”

The star hummed, evidently not sounding too convinced.  “History? Alright then…How did you know that Erlan established the astronomer’s order? Surely they couldn’t have had that in your history books.”

“They don’t.”

“So how did you know?”

“I didn’t I-,” her voice trailed off. “I heard it…in a dream.”

“A dream?” Cepheus’s eyes narrowed at her as the cold seemed to seep into her bones. “You’ve been having weird dreams lately?”

“Sometimes,” she confessed. “But everything that’s happened to me has been very strange and a little too coincidental.” It was a shame that the bubble was so small, otherwise, she would’ve started pacing once more as she began to think aloud. “But Maybe you’re right…maybe I shouldn’t show this to the king.”

“Oh? And why do you say that?”

“Well…come to think of it, isn’t it a little odd how those figures not only chose to attack me on the one day I’d have a vacation? There’s no way they could’ve known that unless they had an informant in the castle keeping them updated on my whereabouts. But then there’s the fact that if they truly didn’t care about assassinating other people, then why hadn’t they done it this morning if they’d been stalking me for a while?” She’d asked glancing at Valentino who shivered before looking up at her. “But they only attempted it when I was alone with you….Wanting to discreetly dispose of me is one thing. But doing it when there’s another person around, one completely irrelevant to the situation is irrational…unless, of course, they had their reasons for wanting to kill you as well.”

“You think they knew that I am a star?”

“It’s quite possible, or at least they know now given what you showed them. And they had magic of their own, and-” her voice trailed off as she remembered the red crystal she’d seen on the woman’s neck. Ones that looked nearly identical to the crystals that the Atlanteans and Erlan’s people had worn. Had the people hunting them down been astronomers who’d sworn allegiance to the crimson court? But that didn’t make any sense! If they’d sworn to serve the stars then why were they shattering wishes?

She shook her head as she turned her attention back towards the star in front of her. “But it still doesn’t make sense to me. The language that you heard their leader speaking in, was it close to ours?”

“Close, but not identical. I’d say from its roots that most linguists would probably tell you that it’s a sister language of yours.”

“And then there’s the fact that they didn’t hesitate when nearing the bridge that’s usually guarded. It’s like they knew it would be empty by the time they’d be approaching…and the river” She shook her head. “they knew which path to block. They deliberately tried to send us down Salcona. That can’t be a coincidence.” 

“I feel as if you’re on the verge of something here,” he started. “You’re formulating some sort of hypothesis aren’t you?”

“Sort of,” she admitted, still thinking about the red crystal and shattered wishes.

“BAAAAAAAA-,” Came Valentino’s voice as he leaped forward, gesturing to the other end of the hall.

“You see something?” Cepheus repeated as he turned around. Valentino reverently nodded before gesturing towards the wall on the other end of the hallway. 

“It’s some type of mural I think,” she murmured, examining it as she noticed the bits and pieces of colorful stained glass shining the minute the star’s light landed upon it.

Sirius,” she’d whispered on recognizing the figure depicted by the mural.

He’d looked nearly identical to the picture she’d seen in the journal, only this time he wore a beautiful crown embedded with blue and golden jewels as the words on the mural’s edges read Sirius de Solari-, her eyes squinted trying to make out the rest of the letters that had been lost to time.

But she’d suspected the final words were ‘de Solarius.’ A suspicion that had only been confirmed by the figures of blue and golden that acknowledged him on either side of the mural.

He must have been someone important. Otherwise, she’d have seen no other reason why such a beautiful mural would be dedicated to him if he didn’t at least hold some power in the world of stars and astronomers. 

But as she studied his face, she couldn’t help but quietly admire the artistry and dedication that had gone into what could have easily been the most expensive piece of art in Rosas.

“Cepheus?” She looked from him to the mural and then back to him. 

“Don’t say it,” he grumbled, but his voice had lacked the venom she’d expected. No, now he just looked tired. Tired and expectant as if the similarities in looks had been brought up multiple times before. 

He’d denied being Sirius, but surely they must’ve been closely related… why else would they so strongly resemble one another? But… if they’d been related then why would Cepheus be a mere peasant while Sirius appeared to practically be a prince, or maybe even a king?! 

Maybe Cepheus was his illegitimate son. An illegitimate son that he had neglected for whatever reason, hence why the son had resented the very name and resemblance he had to his father. 

Hmm, that was plausible. 

Cepheus was dangerously close to scowling now as he practically snapped, “Draw a picture of him Asha, it will last longer.” 

She blinked in surprise. “What?”

“You’ve been staring at that wall for at least five minutes,” he complained with a frown as he crossed his arms. 

“Well, I’m an astronomer. It’s sort of my job to examine and study stars for a living Cepheus.”

She hadn’t expected to see a cold fire ignite within the depths of his eyes as he staunchly turned away. She glanced at Valentino who seemed just as confused as she. Had it been something she said? 

“Well go on,” he’d said after a moment or so of uncomfortable silence. “Ask your questions. You want answers about him don’t you?”

Goodness. Of course, she wanted answers! It’s why she’d wanted to explore in the first place. But she didn’t want answers at the expense of invading the star’s privacy or boundaries. 

She shook her head, “No. I can tell that this is a rather sensitive topic for you, and if you don’t feel comfortable talking about it for whatever reason then I won’t ask about it. But if you ever want to share then I want you to know that I’ll be here, ready to listen.”

“Ready to listen?” he repeated as confusion laced his voice. “But what if I never want to share? What will you do then?”

A challenge. Maybe even a warning. She’d swallowed the unease as she forced herself to shrug, “Then that’s okay too. Look Cepheus. I’m not going to force you into doing something that distresses you, alright? That’s not what friends do, and it’s not what I’m going to do.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

She wasn’t sure how many seconds of silence had ticked by before his face slowly softened and he offered her his hand.  

His fingers slowly intertwined with hers as she quietly welcomed his warmth.

“C'mon,” he says softly as the bubble begins to move away from the mural. “Let’s go see if there are other ships around.” He must’ve sensed her confusion as he quickly added, “Just because the king can’t appreciate it, doesn’t mean that you can’t use it to further your own studies, right?” 

“Right.” She nodded, and a small ghost of a smile teased at his lips as they moved forward, this time through the large hole in the center of the floor. 

“Where are we headed to?” Her voice echoed as the star’s light peered through the darkness, revealing the misfortune that had befallen a place of prestige and beauty. 

“The panic room,” he’d answered. “I think it’s where the signal is coming from.”  He’d only briefly paused once to shine his light on the wall behind them, revealing another mural. This one depicted planets, none of which she recognized. Perhaps they’d been planets from another galaxy? It was a possibility, given how stars had most likely been the ones to divulge such information in the first place. “I have a, no pun intended, sinking suspicion that if the evacuation ships and distress beacons were to be anywhere. They’d be in the bottom of the building near the panic rooms.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Imitation is said to be the highest form of flattery,” he’d half-heartedly gestured to the columns full of strange vein-like carvings. “So there’s probably a good chance that they’d keep their weapons where we would normally keep ours, which is usually near the panic rooms.”

His voice echoed as they finally slipped into the entrance of an expansive hallway filled with murals behind statues that had lined either side of the hallway.

But whatever admiration she’d had for the statues and murals order couldn’t extend to the rest of the hallway. “It looks like a tornado came through here.” She’d commented as she took in the sight of the broken statues, glass, and rubble that littered the hallway. The architecture of the fountain had surprisingly looked quite similar to the one she’d found in her father's library, evoking a sense of disappointment as she realized just how little Rosa’s’ style had changed. 

“That probably isn’t too far from the truth,”  he’d replied before glancing towards the pile of debris. Then he’d looked behind them. Surprise coloring his eyes as he smiled, speaking in Cosmelathian as he’d turned to fully face the mural. 

“Who’s that?” She’d asked, watching as the light finally revealed the mural to be of a red-colored individual, draped in exquisite robes. A crimson star. She’d nearly backed away until she’d taken note of the rather relaxed expression on Cepheu’s face.

“Antares de Luktu Nocturnus, an ancient figurehead of the crimson court,” he’d answered simply. Antares? She’d been certain that that had been one of the names she’d read in both the astronomer’s journal and the cards from the king’s study. But they hadn’t said any more than that as Cepheus quietly took a knee near the foot of the mural. Unfamiliar words left his lips as he bowed his head. 

Shock filled her as she watched him pay his respects to none other than a red star. “Did…did you know him personally?”

“He was before my time,” his voice was so painfully quiet that she’d nearly strained to hear him add. “But he helped to pave the way for hybrids like me.”

“I see…I’m sorry for your loss….” she spoke, as a small beat of silence followed, until she asked, “Was he a star hybrid too?”

“No, he wasn’t. But that didn’t stop him from trying to improve things for those like me…” He glanced into his palm now full of blue energy. “Compared to the other members of the crimson royal family, he was quite unorthodox in his methods, so much so, that it allowed those who wouldn’t usually tolerate a crimson star to take a liking to him. But after he…ceased to exist…there was never another docile crimson star.”

Ceased to exist. Antares was dead. But it hadn’t sounded as if he’d died of ‘natural causes.’ “How did he pass, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Frankly, I’m not sure,” he answered as he stood back up. “The elders have never been transparent about it. All they say is that in spite of all of his wisdom, Antares committed the ultimate sin that a wishing star could make.”

“The ultimate sin for a wishing star? “Did he kill the person who wished on him?” 

“I…Ha…quite the opposite actually...the ultimate, or rather worse sin a wishing star can make is to fall in love with their wisher ” He abruptly looked away. “It’s strictly forbidden.”

“But star bloods exist-,”

“Yes, but never as the result of a wishing star and the person whose wish they’re granting. It’s serious, Asha. A wisher already has far more power over their star than realize. To fall in love with someone who has that power is the ultimate death sentence, or at least it was for Antaris.”

“I see…was this why you started acting out when Mr. Silver and Mr. Bjorn made those jokes?”

“Ha, I suppose you could say that…”

“You Suppose?” 

A mirthless chuckle escaped him as he shook his head. “You’re a nice girl Asha, but I don’t want you to get hurt….”

“You think us becoming a couple would hurt me?” she asked, feeling her brows furrow. 

But a part of her couldn’t help but wonder. If the stars hadn’t forbidden it, would he have attempted it? He did seem sorta flirty… But would he have bothered with her if the rules hadn’t dictated it? A part of her didn’t think so, not after she’d seen just how closely he resembled a possibly high-ranking star. Then there’d been their back and forth near the port. Yeah. He wasn’t interested in her, rules or no rules, she just couldn’t see them happening.

He nodded, as she mentally noted how quickly the star had averted his eyes as they continued swimming into the partially collapsed hallway. Every now and then he’d muttered something under his breath as his glowing eyes combed the darkness around them. What that something was, she doubted he’d tell her.

Her eyes slowly combed over the passing star murals as the words slowly came into view.

_____‘de Solarius’

_____del Apsuramal’

_____ del Myrkadius

_____ De Nocturne

The first part of the mural had been far too incoherent to translate, but those were the titles of Alpha Stars! And they’d been on every single mural they’d passed.

A hallway full of alpha stars…Figures of scarlet, cerulean, gold, and silver danced across her vision before she spotted the final mural, trapped behind the debris of the partially collapsed hallway. It’d been too dark to make out the figure depicted, as her eyes had managed to make out the words beneath the mural.

Alderamin de ____ the rest of his title was missing as darkness enveloped the mural.

Alderamin was an alpha star? That made sense. From all accounts, he’d sounded powerful…Had he known Sirius? Surely he must’ve maintained some interaction with the order if they’d studied and even fashioned a mural after him… But why had the journal’s author gone to such great lengths to scratch out any details about him? Wait…hadn’t Alderamin been in the play that she’d seen in Banquo? Yes, she was almost certain that he had been the name of the star he’d slain…and yet Cepheus spoke of Alderamin as if he were still alive…

She knew she’d promise to refrain from asking him uncomfortable questions, but in the face of such discovery, it was hard to be content with her decision. All that she’d seen and presented with had only given her more questions, that she needed to answer, if not for her own sake, then for the sake of her father and anyone else who’d been lost.

Unable to maintain the silence any longer, she heard herself say, as she quietly trembled “Did they ever mean anything to your people?” 

“Pardon?”

“I asked what the star’s perspectives on the astronomers were. It’s not hard to see that the astronomers evidently thought very highly of your kind. But I need to know…was that feeling ever reciprocated? For the astronomer? For my father? Did they ever mean anything to your kind? Or were they seen as nothing more than novel curiosities?”

He fervently shook his head, “Of course, they mattered to us. The astronomers have always been important to us! Having a personal astronomer has always been a sign of honor and prestige for us! They were our bridge to your world Asha.”

“So then why didn’t any of your kind come to earth sooner when you’d lost contact?”

“That’s…” he hesitated, briefly thinking it over before he shook his head. “I’m not sure…but we tried, everyone tried, even the council but no one could break through…all I know is that they think something was purposefully limiting our power on earth, so much so, that we thought you’d cut us off-”

“How could the astronomers cut you off? You’re the source of their power!”

“I know, which would be more than enough motivation for someone who didn’t like the order to go through with it.”

She paused. His words strangely made sense to her as the pieces slowly began to fall into place. “Would there have been anyone on earth motivated or strong enough to pull off such a feat?”

“Possibly, but I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t here.”

Her mind wracked through every possibility and suspect she could think of until she’d remembered them. “How powerful is a starblood?”

. “Most if not all-star bloods who would've been around that time were probably the children of high-ranking stars.”

“Which means they would’ve inherited a good deal of power… more so than any astronomer would have gained from an allegiance.”

The star frowned as his expression darkened. “If you’re trying to say, what I think you are…Don’t.,”

“Why not?”

“The star bloods have always had powerful connections to the courts. Most wouldn’t appreciate you speaking so negatively about them.”

“And yet in tumultuous times, Tau Vitrius and the other astronomers didn’t seem to trust them!”

“Most astronomers didn’t,” he retorted.

“They didn’t?” Silence. “You know something don’t you?” an involuntary shiver slipped down her spine as she watched the star’s eyes narrow.

“Not any more than you do, no. But if I could tell you more, I would…”

“But you can’t?”

“No, I don’t know half of it, and even if I did, where would I start? When I came to earth, I expected to see an order thriving and full of life, not, this!” he’d exclaimed as he gestured to their surroundings, and for a brief second, she could hear it. The fleeting note of panic and perhaps even anger in his voice as he’d stressed the word ‘this’. But he’d quickly recovered, shaking his head as he looked away from her,  “I can tell that this whole ordeal is distressing to you too. But if I could fix it, I would. I’d do everything in my power to.”

“You’d bring back the order?”

“If I were powerful enough, then yes. I’d make it possible. But we’d have to get the council involved.”

“I’m sorry we?” she frowned before gesturing to him and then herself.

“Yes, we. You can’t make an Astronomer’s order without stars nor can we make it without humans. There’s a common ground here Asha. You wished for more for yourself, your country, and your people, and nothing could bring you greater prestige, honor, advancement, and wealth than an order like that.”

“Okay,” she conceded with a reluctant nod. "you bring up some solid points but what is this council you speak of?”

“Ah well, the council is a group of elderly alpha stars that after abdicating their thrones in this part of the galaxy or universe move on to other ones. The current ruling alpha stars have to answer to them since they have the final say in a lot of things. But I don’t think it would matter,” he started as they moved forward, and quickly slipped through another hole in the ground... “If they could’ve brought the order back then they probably would’ve done so already.”

 With each and every passing room, the piles of debris had seemingly grown smaller and smaller, something that felt odd to Asha as she began to hear the faint sound of chimes and bells once more, soothingly filling the darkness that surrounded them as they descended deeper and deeper. Had it not been for the star’s light, Asha wasn’t sure that she’d be able to maintain her calm. Or at least she was calm until the star had come to an abrupt halt when they’d been swimming down a stairwell. 

“What is it? What’s wrong? Have we reached the panic rooms yet?”

“Yes, but I think you might want to see this.” He pointed towards one of the distant yet intact hallways connected to the stairwell. “It was Tau Vitrius, right? The astronomer’s writings who you and your father studied?”

She nodded, looking in the direction of his light as she saw a barricaded hallway, near the end of it was an open room filled to the brims of maps, telescopes, scrolls, equipment, and journals. But near the center of the room, pinned to the wall was a metal slate that had read TAU VITRIUS.

Had it been a classroom? Or maybe some sort of office! She’d desperately tried to take in the figures that had been drawn onto the maps in hopes of possibly cross-examining them with the manuscripts later, but at this distance, it had been nearly impossible to see anything, anything except for another metal slate that hung near one of the maps. 

“Tomas,” she whispered as she read the name on the metal slate over and over again. “That’s my Dad! My Dad’s things are in there!”

“Hold on!” Cepheus exclaimed, holding her back as she struggled against him.

“Let me go!” she protested. “I need to get to that office! That map!” she groaned. “If only I could get to it! It might be the key to translating his manuscripts!”

“No. Asha, it’s too dangerous…” he whispered as he looked her over with concern. He shook his head, “we’ve been down here long enough. If we stay down here any longer then you might become hypothermic. You’re already shivering enough as is.”

“What? But we haven’t gotten either of the things we’ve come for! Weren’t we supposed to make it to the panic rooms?”

“Asha,” he adjusted his grip on her. “We are in the panic rooms.”

“What?” Her breath hitched at the sight of the destroyed panic rooms. Her fears were only confirmed when she’d caught sight of bones scattered around the tattered remains of clothing, pinned beneath a fallen column. She’d fought to keep the bile down, as the darkness quickly swallowed the remains of the unfortunate person.

There were so many skeletons of different sizes lying around the hallway, some posed as if they were still about to ascend the stairwell, while others sat in their chairs or on the floor, surrounded by objects like clothes, jewelry, and toys. All of the colorful crystals around their neck were dull and broken as if the power of the stars had no longer persisted in them.

But it had been the final skeleton that had been the worse, the one slumped over in the furthest corner, holding a flashing crystal in one hand and a small toy in the other. They’d been inches away from a partially destroyed ship that no doubt could’ve saved the lives of everyone who had perished in this room.

It was like Atlantis again, wasn’t it? A powerful empire that at its pinnacle had found itself on the bottom of the ocean, forgotten. But someone, no, something had killed these people. Her father’s mentors, his colleagues, his friends. However, none of their poses had looked combative or panicked, but whether or not that could’ve been attributed to the elements' toll or the strange circumstances of their death, she couldn’t know. She nearly didn’t want to know. 

If it had been this bad now, then what had it looked like the day it had happened? She didn’t want to think about it, not after she’d seen how haunted her Saba had looked at the very thought of said day.

Tears prickled at her eyes as she tried not to imagine their final moments, and the dread they must’ve felt knowing that they’d never see their loved ones again. Whatever they’d faced, she could only pray that it had been swift and merciful as she’d covered her face. But it had all been in vain as her shaky hands could only do so much to shield her from the world of violence she’d been immersed into as the tears began to fall.

“I’m sorry Asha,” the star had whispered as he held her. 

“Take me back,” she’d pleaded, unable to stop how badly she now trembled.  Guilt flooded her as she began to realize that despite her curiosities, she was standing in a graveyard, one that deserved more respect than her partially selfish intentions. “Please. I don’t want to see anymore.”

“Alright,” he’d nodded, holding her close as they slowly began their ascent. 

They were nearly halfway towards the surface when she’d briefly looked back at the shrinking city below. Up here the city’s shape looked…off, as if it had been carved or rather broken off where the furthermost edges of the most dilapidated buildings sat. 

“Asha?” came the star’s voice as he let go of her. “Stay here” he’d told her. “I’ll be right back.”

“Wait,” she started, tugging at his sleeve before she’d even realized it. “You’re going back down there? Alone?”

He nodded, his eyes searching her face before he cracked a lopsided grin. “Why? Are you worried something will happen to me now?”

“Who said I was worried?” she scoffed, before crossing her arms. “I just don’t want you getting false hopes that I’ll be the one to come and save you when you find trouble down there.” 

“Noted. If I’m not back in five minutes, send Valentino,” he grinned as the goat barely bleated in protest. “I’ll see you soon.” he smiled. His hands gently gripped her forearms for a moment as he stepped back, gently slipping out of the bubble’s confinements. 

His hands were still holding her arms as he drew a deep breath and closed his eyes as his body began to glow a bright cerulean, one that had nearly been identical to the Atlantean’s crystal.

Her jaw dropped as she felt his hold disappear, his eyes meeting hers briefly as he began to sink, slowly settling himself into the ruined remains of the city’s square. He burned brightly as the same blue light from his body began to engulf the city beneath him, spreading through the building’s strange carvings as the chimes and bells began to ring louder, the choir of their voices nearly overwhelming as he looked around the city.

Then as if deciding on something, he’d flickered out, leaving them all in complete darkness and Asha to her thoughts.

She’d hardly believed what she’d just heard, much less seen. It had felt as if the lost city had come to life one last time to sing to the star through a chorus of bells and chimes, one of which had suspiciously sounded like the chimes her father had placed on the porch, that had been silent until the day the star had come….

Her eyes widened in realization, as silence seemed to greet her ears. A silence was promptly broken by the sound of something large moving through the water below.

[wordwarriors]

World Building

I'm a little late with the summary, but here it is. Thanks to everyone who attended and see you all again next month!

Where does your story take place?

Real-world v created world: You can use the world that we live in as it is. You can use the world that we live in with some tweaks. You can use alternate timelines/universes or create an entirely fictional world.

Alternate timelines Ex: modern day real world but WW I never happened.

High v low fantasy:

High fantasy refers to epic fantasy which is set in an alternate world. It typically includes lots of magical elements, fantastical creatures, and unusual technology. Whereas low fantasy is when magical creatures and elements intrude upon the regular world.

Things to consider/include:

Magic system

Geography

Political systems

Religion

Culture

Is there a class system? What does that look like?

Being grounded in the real world doesn’t save you from having to world-build.

What continent, country, city? Urban or rural? Mountains? Beach? A country can be set in the real world but it’s a fictional country. A city can be fictional. It can be based on NYC for example but still be fictional. Change the name and whatever else you need to.

You can blend real and imagined. Ex: Used the name of a real restaurant but placed it in a different town, etc.

Example: I used real roads but fake places. Anyone local will recognize the intersection but I put a fictional forest where a horse pasture actually sits.

You can create fictional shops, buildings, etc in NYC. NYC is real but the places aren’t.

Example: I had to create a building with a helipad in a story once b/c there are no helipads in that area, but I needed one for my story to work so I made it up. Could have used an actual one but my characters would have had to get past the FBI barricade, so it was easier to make up a building that was inside the perimeter.

Note:

If using magic, one must first establish how it normally works before showing it malfunctioning. Same if the character is supposed to be super strong or smart or something, establish that first so the reader understands what is normal in this world before the thing goes wrong.

Establishing Scenes: tell us all of the above. But do it in a way that shows not tells.

Also, make sure it matters. You need rich world-building but the reader doesn’t care what your character's first car was unless that information tells us something important about the character that we need to know, like he worked three summers in a row to earn the money because his parents were poor. Or because they were rich but stingy. Or because they were rich but wanted him to learn to earn things rather than have things handed to him. (if this is important to set a tone for his character or personality, ie, learned the value of hard work or this is why he resents his parents or this is why he is so driven to succeed in his career so he never goes hungry again!

Fabulous establishing world-building scene courtesy of @karahalloway:

The horse responds with a sour-faced snort, stepping quickly past the moss-covered waypost — a brazen reminder of this land's heathen roots. Because despite the House of Rys' conversion to Christianity almost a millennia ago, in the far-flung reaches of the kingdom — where the roads ran out, and the name of the King is just that... a name — the tenet of the old ways is more than just a memory. It is a living, breathing ethos. Suffused into the very heart of this harsh, rugged, yet beautiful land. Where portents, spells, and otherworldly creatures exist in the same breath as Christ, the Eucharist, and Judgement Day, and the very air crackles with mysticism and superstition. Which is partly what drew me here — to the edge of the proverbial map, where the laws of Cordonia fray into irrelevance in the face of the jagged peaks of the snow-capped mountains, and your fortune is what you craft it to be.

This sets the stage with so many rich details: geography, history, socio-political, religious background, his place in this world,etc.

Please, if I've missed anything, feel free to mention it in the comments and I'll add it!

Also, check out these articles:

World Building

February Event:

Live Discussion on character building on Friday, February 23rd, 2024 12:00 p.m. CST

Word Warriors:

@karahalloway @aussiegurl1234 @harleybeaumont @alj4890 @peonierose @petiteboheme @twinkleallnight @lizzybeth1986 @noesapphic @thedistantshoresproject

@ryns-ramblings @tate-lin @nestledonthaveone

@aallotarenunelma @kristinamae093 @coffeeheartaddict2 @memorias-depresivas

@jerzwriter

[mephiles97]

Murder Drones AU/Fanfic: "Through The Looking Glass"

AO3 summary: What happens... When you look through a mirror and find out the world is reversed? Is it like looking at the same world but completely different at the same time? Is it like you're looking into a window to a different world? What happens if the world as you knew it was completely flipped upside down? What happens if you look in that mirror and the same person staring back at you... Isn't you anymore? But is someone completely different living life in your shoes on the other side of that mirror?

Beau Doorman is what he'd call an average worker drone... Except maybe not so average by the time you factor in the weird dreams and the crazy over the top inventions. Okaaaaay maybe not as average or as normal as he thinks he is. Any semblance he had to normal flew right out the window with the reappearance of the colony's local drifter, a fateful scavenging trip, and three new friends haunted by their ghosts of the past. With the reemergence of a terrifying program from the past, everyone finds themselves being thrown into a story about found family, loss, grief, and recovering from that grief.

Information about this AU and a link to its fic's first chapter below the cut!

"Through The Looking Glass" (abbreviated to LG from here on) is my personal take on a swap AU! In this AU, MD canon as you know it has been taken and flipped upside down or perhaps more aptly, run through a cracked mirror. This is a character swap AU but the characters and roles have been shuffled around in deliberately wacky and wild combos and not every character/role has a clean 1:1 swap or direct mirror to their canon role

Since LG is a swap AU, this is set to retell all eight (yes, I am aware only seven are out at the time of writing) episodes of Murder Drones but with the swapped characters. Do note this is not just a 1:1 retelling of canon and some scenes are entirely new or have been twisted upside down and all around compared to how they went down in the actual episodes to the point they're almost unrecognizable unless you notice the roots of the scene

As you can see from the AO3 summary I copypasted... This AU stars Beau Doorman as our main character, taking the place of Uzi's role. He was born and raised in Outpost-3 by his parents Alice and Khan Doorman. Unlike canon Nori... Alice did not meet the business end of nanite acid in this AU and has lived to the present day/the fic's start. She is well known around the colony for being a bit of a menace with her hobby of making all kinds of scrap inventions and weaponry

Beau is joined by his childhood best friends Vivian (V) and Thad who happen to be the two most popular kids and the power couple of the school. He has also managed to befriend the mysterious borderline feral drifter named Uzi that's been randomly turning up at his colony for months now before disappearing without a trace again. Nobody knows why that mysterious purple haired girl seems to crawl around on all fours or make warbles and chirping sounds... Or why her systems are seemingly constantly running at feverishly high temperatures

There's also those three disassembly drones that haunt the vertical corpse graveyard outside Outpost-3. Let's take a look at them now, shall we?

Serial Designation B (Braiden) is the appointed leader of the disassembly drone squad and the pilot of their crashed landing pod but he's... sort of known for not feeling much like a leader. He struggles with a lot of fears over failing the squad and letting the people around him down. In fact, he worries so much about letting people down he felt bad when he tried to scare off a certain worker drone he had befriended for their safety...

Serial Designation C (Cyn) is the fastest but physically weakest of the squad due to her body and core being prone to malfunctions. She has good days where she can move about normally but on her worst days she is prone to motor malfunctions as well as voice box malfunctions leading to her voice skipping words or getting stuck. She seems to harbor a lot of guilt over some ghost of the past...

Serial Designation D (Doll) is the strongest of the squad and in a way the secondary leader because B asks for her input or suggestions often when it comes to planning or hunting tactics. She carries the weight of the squad on her back most days and tries to keep B and C from falling apart on her, but she seems to know a lot more about things than she lets on...

None of the three seem willing to mention or talk about the missing fourth drone of their group... None of the three seem willing to discuss the mysterious three-pronged symbol that's popping up on the visor of their new worker friend either. Gee, I wonder why they look so scared...?

Visit the link below to read the first chapter of the AU! Do note this AU is still ongoing so it's not finished yet but I am working on it and post chapters as they're done. Also! My ask box is open if you want to throw a question or two my way about the AU (or my other AUs!)

(And one more quick note: LG here was the first fic I started writing if we don't count two quick shorts I did so the earlier chapters read a bit roughly. If you can bear it, I swear the formatting and wording gets better in the later/newer chapters now that I've had some practice. I will one day go back and edit the earlier chapters of LG to make it easier to swallow but I haven't done that yet at the time of writing this so you have been warned)

[n7punk]

i know i've kind of talked around this stuff for... fuck, three years now? but idk, now it's getting closer to "resolving," i kind of want to talk about it. journal, get it off my chest, idk

i haven't really been specific about my health issues much because 1) privacy and 2) very complicated feelings on it, but feelings are becoming less complicated, so... yeah. privacy is still really important to me, but i have too many feelings about this to keep feeling like i'm silencing myself for some hypothetical... i dont even know what

tbf, if it had turned out to be anything else, i probably wouldn't be comfortable even making a vent post about it now. but it turned out to be. annoyingly simple. i've also got other stuff, physical disabilities and such i've been more candid about but still want to keep the specifics of private, but this is... very different.

long story short, during the pandemic i started experiencing Symptoms. i'm honestly not sure if/how much i have talked about what was wrong with me, because i don't remember... entire years, much at all. i know ive described it as my brain being on fire, but it's more like it instantly melted down and i was left with the aftermath for hours/days/weeks at a time. it really fucked with me emotionally to be fighting through that on top of the direct effects of the Symptoms. and, well, the problem was my brain (probably) so that tracks.

it turns out it was migraines. migraines that shared many symptoms with seizures, brain tumors, or pressure on the brain stem, but yeah. "just" "migraines." and, actually, we don't know that! but migraine medication is helping, so it's probably that and this is where i am, finally waking up these last few months (this summer of updates could Not have happened if it weren't for my new medication) and feeling both very frustrated with what i lost and relieved to not always have to deal with suddenly being unable to understand a sentence anymore.

it's not like. fixed. my brain is still going to burn sometimes. It seems to come in waves, like two bad weeks and then two good ones. we're not done trying to treat it now we know some stuff it's responsive to, but its not like it used to be, wildfires raging all day and my head wavering on my shoulders as i struggled just to read messages from my friends. i literally had an emote i would use to communicate when i couldn't communicate that everybody who knows me understands. i haven't even twitched since starting my new meds! well, like, uncontrollably. trust me, that's progress. i literally had to get a bigger bed so i could be safe in the middle of it when the fits were especially bad and i got twitchy.

uh so that was more story than i planned. really i just wanted to finally talk about what i've been experiencing (at least for the first time that i remember). honestly writing was the only thing that kept me sane while i was trapped inside my own malfunctioning brain. i don't know why it was one of the easiest things for me, when i couldn't even understand a full two sentences being said to me i could still - usually - write (again: i literally couldn't talk for like three of the days when i was writing and updating catcher daily), but i'm so grateful for it. and everybody who told me my stories helped you, or that you looked forward to them, or even just that you enjoyed them: you helped me right back, because you told me there was one thing i could still do, from a capability standpoint to having the ability to make any impact on the world when i was trapped at home. so thank you.

okay i'm done now. just. had to get that out

[thegoldheartlocketandkey-blog]

911 Spoilers Season 3: You’ve been warned. 😅 Buddie Rewatch

Episode 8-9

Episode 8: Malfunction

Ice Rink Disaster:  Eddie calmly searching, while buck is like a baby dear, unable to stay up on ice. Eddie and Buck on finding finger duty. They find all the fingers. Buck finds 3, and Eddie found 1.

 We learn about Bobby’s ice-skating past. The entire 118 finding this new information amusing. Eddie judging Bobby and stating he thought he was more into hockey. Bobby taking the comment and throwing it back. Bobby walks away as everyone is left visibly confused. Chim has my favorite facial reaction. Hen a close second.

Eddie and Buck are standing near each other with the same confused look. The height difference is prominent. Buck suggesting the google photos later, Eddie just nodding his head in agreement.

Buck almost slips on the ice again, but catches himself. Eddie rolls his eyes at Buck’s clumsiness.

Eddie is in the middle of another fight. He’s fighting against someone arguably twice his size. He’s focused, not holding back, letting out all his anger. He is getting paid for the fight, wants more of these fights. Passively mentions Lena gave him the advise that he needed an outlet. The promotor reminding him he’s not invisible, rules apply to him too.

 Buck is pulling something out of his jeep when Eddie pulls in with a brand-new pick-up truck. Buck walks towards Eddie to ask if the truck is a rental. Eddie admits to impulse buying because his last truck the AC went out. Buck is the one to point out it was an impulse buy. Eddie tries to use Chris as an excuse.

Buck has a light banter about Eddie needing more shifts in the future to make payments.  Eddie changing the subject to ask what Buck is carrying. They playfully run into the fire house.

Scene cuts to Bobby’s morning brief. Buck and Eddie are standing so close together. Practically shoulder to shoulder, with smirks on their faces.  Buck bites his lip and Eddie moves out of the way, loudly singing to catch everyone’s attention as he pulls out a life-size cut out of young Bobby as an ice skater.

Buck being extra silly admits he’s the one that got the photo from his old partner. Eddie standing there all proud, makes fun of Bobby’s hair. Hen appears late from dropping Denny off at school, at this moment you can see how proud Eddie is with his hands on his hips and his head bopping up and down and Buck looking towards his direction and back at Hen. They really love their little prank.

Athena cooks dinner for the 118. Eddie and Buck sit next to each other as they eat. Bobby stops Buck from adding salt to Athena's salt. Eddie practically begging Athena cook more for them. Buck trying to stay neutral and says he likes both Athena's and Bobby's food equally.

Self Driving Car; Eddie and Buck are working together to move debris and move the victims.

Maddie, Chimney, and Buck are hanging out at Buck's place. They are talking about how weird Hen is being. Buck points out that he thinks Eddie is also being weird. Maddie points out how quickly information spreads in the 118. Chimney asking Buck for further clarification on why he think Eddie is being weird. Maddie turning towards them with an annoyed look.

If I wanted to be real delusional I would say Maddie turned around at the mention of Eddies name because she has been a Buddie shipper from day one. That is not what happened, but the way the clip is edited, it is so easy to pretend.

Eddie is fighting again. He's throwing elaborate punches and kicks. Really doing damage on his opponent. He kicks the guy in the face. The man has a seizure and isn't breathing. Eddie calls 911 and everyone attempts to flee the scene. Eddie leaves his opponent sat up and airways clear giving him the best chances when help arrives.

Lena's station is the one to respond to the call. She is the one to make the connection that someone helped the victim and gave him the best odds. She knew almost instantly that Eddie was involved.

She finds Eddie and confronts him about if he was the one that saved the man or the one that almost killed him. Eddie admits too being both. Eddie looks tired, upset, and annoyed at the entire situation.

She hands Eddie her firefighter jacket, Eddie confused by this, she explains its’s to give him a cover, to keep him out of jail, so that she doesn’t have to bail him out.

Lena is now interrogating Eddie outside. Asking him if how long he’s been fighting. Eddie says he’s been fighting a lot because it pays good money. Lena sees thru that bullshit and knows that the thing that was suppose to be an outlet, has become a very unsafe obsession. Eddie does not want to listen to Lena’s concerns. He’s very dismissive.

Eddie walks into the fire house, Bobby calls him up for a meeting. He sees Lena walking down the stairs and is pissed off at her because he thinks she snitched.

Lena puts him in his place and establishes they are not friends, because Eddie is too one sided.

Eddie and Bobby have a one on one, discussing how this fighting thing is about wanting control. Bobby discloses that Lena came over to defend Eddie, Eddie feels guilty for fighting with her. The conversation leads to how Shannon asked for a divorce and Eddie is still angry with her. He is trying to fight off the tears, but ends up crying in front of Bobby.

Piss Robot: Buck is the one to connect that the robot must have freaked out because the victim peed on it. Eddie judging the victim for peeing on the robot.

So, looking closely at the scene, it seems like Eddie wasn’t there for most of the filming. There is a random stand by that is obviously suppose to be Eddie in a few shots. A lot of the shots Eddie is he is completely by himself. This is the explanation as to why we do not see a lot of Buck and Eddie team work like we would normally have. I will say if it wasn’t for this rewatch I would have never noticed this discrepancy.

Hen’s Ambulance accident; This scene is so hard to watch. Hen makes me feel every emotion of despair, guilt, and sadness she is feeling.

Buck and Eddie are standing near each other restocking the engine, when they hear Chimney on the radio announce they just got into an accident.

I don't know how I didn't notice this before but Eddie is also not really in this scene either, they have another stand by and a lot of solo shots. So there really isn’t much to break down outside of the fact that everyone in the 118, is sympathetic towards what Hen is processing and going thru. Hen on the ground being held by Athena, really broke me.

Episode 9: Fall out

Episode 9: Fall out

Meteorite: Buck and Eddie walk in the building together. Buck is the one to find the meteorite and wants to grab it, but is chastised by Bobby and Chim.

Buck knowing about the one other time a person has ever been hit with a meteorite and letting the victim know she’s special. The victim is confused as to why Buck knows this information. Eddie being the one to explain that Buck has become a little obsessed with natural disasters ever since the tsunami. Buck chuckling after Eddie’s explanation.

We meet the departments therapist Frank, who has sessions with Hen, Maddie, and Eddie.

 Eddie discussing how in moments he should be happy and should be proud, he doesn’t necessarily feel those emotions. Frank telling him there is no right way to process trauma.

Eddie making it a point to say that he does not want to be in therapy, He would much rather be at home with Chris, but that he is there because he doesn’t want Chris to turn out like him. Eddie was at the verge of tears when talking about how Chris felt the need to hide his pain, to make Eddie feel good. Eddie never wants Chris to feel like he has to do that ever again.

Eddie vocalizing how he almost killed a man.

Buck is asking Bobby when they should expect to hear some news on Hen’s investigation.

Eddie mentioning running into Hen on his way to Franks. That she seemed okay, but was sad.

Buck asking Eddie how therapy with Frank is going and how he himself hasn’t seen Frank in a while.

Eddie not looking a Buck as he says the therapy is going well, but that they aren’t really clicking. Chim offering Rosemary, the therapist he saw after the stabbing. Buck chiming in to ask if that is the therapist he slept with. Bobby quick to say no, that therapist was fired.

Eddie judging Buck for sleeping with his therapist. Buck trying to be nonchalant about the situations, saying he was going thru a phase, turning the conversation back on Eddie and asking him wasn’t he just going thru a phase. Eddie becoming uncomfortable and shifting in his seat.

So in this moment, I don’t blame Eddie or Chimney for making jokes and judging Buck for sleeping with the therapist.  They obviously do not know the full extent of what happened, and would likely have reacted differently if they had known. Bobby is the only one in that room to fully understand what happened and how that situation was wrong. Buck himself has not even processed that moment other than he was Buck the player and addicted to sex. He never even thinks to blame the therapist.

Really wish the writers approached this differently, but I was happy to hear she was fired.

Eddie talks about the drama in his household when his sisters were applying to college. Buck not remembering what he wrote for his college paper. Chim making fun of him and implying Maddie wrote it for him.

Maddie telling Josh, how he doesn’t want to experience Buck singing Eye of the Tiger while doing one arm pushups. I on the other hand would love to see this.

Buck telling Maddie she is a bad ass for preforming a finger thoracostomy. He tries to comfort and reassure Maddie.

Eddie and Christopher are at Buck’s place. They seem to have just finished dinner and are cleaning about while talking about what happened to Maddie. Eddie is lowkey a little dressed up with a button up shirt.

Buck takes the lesson Maddie learned about not being able to help someone who does want to be helped and applies it to what is happened with Eddie. Eddie catching on quickly to what buck is suggesting and tells him to not go there. The entire tone of this scene starts to shift.

Buck is apologizing for not being there for not being there for Chris or Eddie. How he was so selfish for focusing on the lawsuit. Eddie is quick to tell him that they’ve moved passed that. Buck telling him that he hasn’t. How he should have been there. Buck is moving closer towards Eddie. Eddie stays pressed against the counter watching Buck as he speaks.

Eddie and Buck having a light banter about how Buck could have talked some sense into Eddie and stopped him from buying a new truck and Eddie correcting Buck by telling  him he would have suggested a more expensive truck.

Eddie telling Buck that he doesn’t have to beat himself up over the past. Buck in a semi flirty tone says “Why because you would rather do it.” Eddie sightly confused by his comment. Buck states that he knows Eddie is not being honest at the moment. That if therapy wasn’t for Eddie, but the ring was. That Eddie must have wanted to punch Buck.

Eddie stating, he wouldn’t punch Buck because he’s on blood thinners. Buck laughing and getting closer to Eddie and stating “Want to go for the title?” The scene cuts to Buck and Eddie playing a video game with Chris in the middle.

The writers where evil for this scene. This scene should have ended with Buck and Eddie making out. They obviously wanted to. I’m going to say that the only reason they didn’t kiss is because Chris was in the other room.  There is no heterosexual explanation for this scene. It was gay!

Radioactive Truck: Eddie and buck checking on the driver. They are trying get him unpinned. The driver becoming conscious and telling the about the Cobalt 60. Bobby sending Eddie and Buck out of the tunnel.

Buck and Eddie are outside of the tunnel wondering where the nitrogen is. Buck wanting to go back in but receiving orders from Bobby to stay out. Buck being the first one with the nitrogen hose and Eddie right behind him running in to fight the flames.

Eddie approaching Buck and Chimney to say the coast is clear and the fall out will be minimal, Chim pointing out that maybe not for all of them. They all look towards Bobby as he’s being decontaminated.

Hen narrating about pain and how things don’t work out how you plan. Eddie looking at a photo of Chris and Shannon.

The 118 giving Hen a big hug for her welcome back. Eddie and Buck being the most vocal in this hug, They hug again before the alarms go off.

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 29

welcome to the twenty-ninth fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.  

1. don’t know what i did to earn a love like this (but baby i must be doin’ something right) by littleghost

“I went to the desert to listen to country music.” It falls out of him, and he keeps going, voice hushed like there’s more than just him and Lance in this room. “It always reminded me of you and I would go stare at the stars, think of you, and listen to country.”

i know littleghost has been inactive in the voltron fandom since literally 2017 but i am so obsessed with their fic. im not huge on high school aus usually but this fic in particular had so many of my favourite niche headcanons that ive read this fic like twelve times. yall know how i feel about quiet devotion and its everywhere in this fic.

2. every day i wonder by kirargent

Lance has a stuffed-full backpack, a beanie pulled down over the tips of his ears, a blanket draped around his neck like a thick scarf, and his cell phone pressed to one ear. He looks like an idiot, and he’s being entirely too loud for a good cryptid hunt.

this shit made me fucking LAUGH. keith is such an ornery bitch i literally love him so much. this fic bodies the ‘fuck am i in love with HIM?? why??? why am i so HAPPY ABOUT IT???’ so well i love it

3. mortal bodies, timeless souls by @littendeservesbetter

“Wait!” Coran lets out a triumphant noise. “I got it! If my calculations stand corrected, then our visitors will be people we actually know! Keith, Lance, you two will be meeting your alternate selves today!”

Coran says it like the idea is so mundane that it takes Keith a while to process. The moment he does, however, he feels his heart drop to his stomach.

“We’re going to what?!” Lance yelps, effectively voicing out Keith’s thoughts.

Or, the castle's teludav malfunctions, alternate realities are mixed, and Keith finds out that he and Lance are a lot more... close in other realities.

they are fucking in love in every single reality in every single universe always and endlessly. they are Soulmates. i know its cheesy but im obsessed with them literally. also extra incentive this fic has pike/thunderstorm darkness

4. here comes the violence by stardon 

“Fancy seeing you here, Whiskers.”

Keith feels his tail wag in annoyance, which is almost as horrifying as his current situation. “No. Absolutely fucking not.” He looks at his bare wrist, pretending he has a watch. “How about we postpone this? My calendar says I’m free from the seventh of never through to the fifteenth of ain’t-gonna-happen, how does that work for you guys?”

Pidge looks up, quirking a brow. “Lance has an amazing influence on your humour, you know that?”

In which sometimes Keith is a bit Galra, sometimes not.

this fic is excellent because their both so obviously in love and down bad for each other but theyre both also stupid. borderline already dating but also not and driving each other insane is peak peak trope

5. Beast of Burden by melancholymango [EXPLICIT]

“Keith, no, we can’t go again.” Lance pleads fall on deaf ears. Keith is honed in on him now like predator to prey. He’s fighting a losing battle and they both know it. He sees it in the way Keith is raking his eyes over him, sizing him up. “We’ll be so late getting to the bar.”“Just one more.” Keith insists, herding Lance toward the counter with a stubbornness that is innately wolf. Lance pouts, but he doesn't have anywhere else to go but backward.“That’s what you said last time! And the time before that!”--The week leading up to a supermoon, as told by the world's best werewolf boyfriend, Lance McClain. The good, the bad, and the horny.

this is just monsterfucking but its also like soft in there. but mostly its monsterfucking

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!    

[gear-project]

Annon-Guy: Sorry for getting deep and philosophical here, but what's your stance on artificial life forms?

You see in Guilty Gear and BlazBlue/XBLAZE alike, the heroes usually treat artificial beings like Gears, Valentines, Homuculus', Prime Fields and Embryo Storages as equals while villains treat them as nothing more than garbage, including Hazama and Sechs who are such beings themselves.

We always have a fear of the unknown, but I'm saying that if such a being exists in real life, I'd be like Sin, Ragna and Touya and treat them as another living being just the same. That's just how I feel anyway.

It's a very complicated and politically charged statement.

Do you acknowledge sentience for its own sake?

Or do you acknowledge emotions over reason and intellect?

By what standard do you determine something or someone to be sentient and give them the same dignity we of Human standing enjoy?

Or is it perhaps sheer hubris that Humans even place ourselves above the concept of Artificial Life Forms and Artificial Intelligence?

A lot of Modern Content Creators have been offended by the concept of Artificially Created A.I.-generated videos and artworks... but what happens when the A.I. achieves a level of understanding of emotions and the Human Will?

What happens when all that we hold sacred to our definition of what makes us "Human Beings" and "Members of Society" suddenly gets replicated with an Artificial Automated Standard?

You could technically argue that Humans ourselves are Mass Produced, after all.

We even have our own biosphere system set in place that surrounds us with everything we could possibly need to function in this world at the bare minimum. Many would argue that we ourselves are "created through birth" in a form of bio-manufacturing.

Where do you draw the line between home grown and artifice, there?

You could also argue that Humans underestimate the true potential of Creation: that anything that is created can and will inevitably become superior to its creator.

That any Modern Ideas will always far outstrip older concepts and traditions.

Though that is not always the case, it is certainly a compelling idea to think about, no?

What you can at least differentiate is the idea that every individual form of life is just that: Alive.

Respecting that Right to Live is essential, and the foundation of coexistence. It's how we take the first step towards interaction and communication with others besides ourselves.

Perhaps something is malfunctioning in that Life Form, or perhaps they hold beliefs different from your own... it is a case-by-case consideration.

Well, even for machines, there's the consideration that you won't damage a well-built device and let it function as intended, no? That is, of course, unless it posed a threat to you for some odd reason and such a defense was entirely justified.

Of course, unlike Machines, Humans are prone to making excuses for our actions, whether we are truly justified or otherwise.

If a Machine does something outside its intended functions, there's no excuse for it per se, but merely a "reason" for why it didn't do what it was supposed to. Like any tool, most are morally neutral.

But what happens when that "reason" becomes something close to "being human"?

That's what happens when GEARs become Sentient and gain a will of their own.

When a machine that was once debilitated and limited to a set parameter of functions exceeds all and sundry and can suddenly sing and dance like Humans can... what do you do in that case?

Would it be "safe" to call something that was once a "weapon of mass destruction" a "friend and ally"?

Perhaps it is, once again, a case-by-case determination.

But even GEARs fear their own true potential, just as we Humans fear for our own Futures and what we are truly capable of.

But just as Fear can be dispelled by the Truth... and Facts dispel Lies... what we Fear can eventually be Understood as "Reason" once more.

But to achieve that "Reason" more "Understanding" must be acquired. More "Communication" and more "Trust" must be fostered.

To Trust and put Faith in the true potential of ALL forms of Existence.

[incorrectreddwarfquotes]

Lister: Man, it totally sucks that the portable time drives don’t work anymore.

Rimmer: Yes, it’s a shame that the time trap that supposedly killed the Inquisitor also overloaded our quantum rods, and now we’re forced to build a new time machine just to return to our own time. I just hope it doesn’t malfunction.

Doug Naylor: (offscreen) Right, is everyone getting that? Good.

Lister: Rimmer, do you ever wonder what happened to the Inquisitor? I mean, did he really die in the time trap? What if the time trap didn’t kill him, but sent him hurtling through the time stream instead? As we speak, he could be in the past, actively corrupting the entire space-time continuum!

Rimmer: Normally I’d say that’s too contrived, but with this series, that’s exactly what must’ve happened. … Wait, hold on. If the Inquisitor did survive, then we never technically never took his gauntlet away, right? Which means our future selves would be forced to show up to get us to finish the mission they gave us, right?

(The two look around to make sure their future selves haven’t shown up.)

Rimmer: See? We’re fine. Now help me finish this before they show up.

Lister: Wait a minute. Couldn’t our future selves be waiting for us in our own time?

Rimmer: Good point. The first thing I’ll do when we get back is get Kryten to build an anti-time field so that no time travellers can visit.

Lister: But if you’re going to do that, won’t your future self already know about it and be able to stop you?

Rimmer: But if he did, then I couldn’t do it, and he wouldn’t know…

Lister: Ow. I think my brain is bleeding.

Rimmer: Look, no matter what we do, our future selves will already know what we’re going to do, right?

Lister: Right.

Rimmer: So the way I see it, there’s no point in worrying about what we may or may not make ourselves do, right? Besides, if you ask me, our future selves can take their predestination smeg and shove it up their-

Future Rimmer: This is so much funnier now than it was then.

(Future Lister and Future Rimmer come into view. It’s not clear how long they’ve been there.)

Lister: Oh, smeg. It’s our future selves again!

Rimmer: What do you want now?

Future Rimmer: The Inquisitor didn’t die in the time trap like you were hoping. We’re here to help you stop him.

Rimmer: What? You’re going to help us? Why?!

Future Rimmer: Because we remember us helping you back when we were you.

Future Lister: Duh.

Rimmer: Wait a second. Why are you helping us now instead of last time you showed up?

Future Rimmer: How many times do we have to explain this to you? We can’t do anything our future selves didn’t do when we were you.

Rimmer: So, you’re just doing whatever it was you remember doing before? Don’t you have free will? Are you both just a couple of mindless robots?!

Future Rimmer: Was I really this dumb back then?

Future Lister: Yep.

Rimmer: Look,  maybe we don’t want your help.

Future Rimmer: You don’t really have any choice in the matter.

(Suddenly out of nowhere, Doug Naylor appears.)

Doug Naylor: Wait! Before this gets any more confusing - and it will - I’ve got something to do.

(Doug slaps nametags on their lapels noting where in the timeline they come from.)

Doug Naylor: There. Now we can all tell you guys apart.

(Just then, another Rimmer from the double-double future shows up. Doug looks like he’s about to explode. Lister simply facepalms.)