#wouldn't surprise me if this is the way they force me to get the AI update

[babysdrivers]

my ipad just decided that it doesn't want the fingerprint sensor to work anymore ✌🏻 great job once again, apple

[ghostdiva]

ok so the new trailer for episode 3 just dropped. big hype. here are some theory's, notes, and observations.

also I took a lot of screenshots...

anyway here we go.

so the adventure is set to be "The Mystery of Mildenhall Manor". Now, I do think that Caine is gonna be the quest giver this time, sending the gang to find something inside the spooky, probably haunted manor.

small guess is that they gotta find Matilda, one of the ghosts haunting the manor, and trap her in a vacuum. idk why, it's literally just a hunch.

Jax also takes a moment to harass Pomni with a vacuum, which just makes me think of Luigi's Mansion.

anyway, the gang (minus Zooble) are gonna go in the manor and try to find whatever they're looking for, and either by agreement or random set of events, the gang is gonna split up, Pomni and Kinger being paired up. I don't really know if Ragatha, Gangle, and Jax stick together or not, as they're not really shown much in the trailer.

I am inclined to believe it is a set of events that separates the gang tho.

it's the one of the reasons I can think of that'd make Pomni climb on the door like that.

I mean... outside of the very spooky decorum.....

which Pomni has a pretty reasonable reaction to

btw, I fucking love Pomni's cartoon physics with the squash and stretch rubber-hose animation. it's so expressive and fun to watch.

anyway, it seems Caine is determined to have Zooble go on adventures. so he literally sits them down and tries to therapize them.

though with Caine being an AI with very little knowledge of how the human mind works, this goes predictably horribly.

I imagine Zooble tries on some level to convey to Caine the ludicrousness of their situation. stuck in a digital world getting repeatedly traumatized by meaningless adventures that seem to do more harm than good. though I get the feeling Caine would miss the point, leading Zooble to correct him, and/or get upset at him for not understanding. watching this verbal fight happen between these 2 will probably lead to us, the viewer, understanding more about Zooble.

anyway, back to the manor with this cute little guy.

look at him, he's so cute and squishable. unfortunately this guy is the only cute and squishable NPC here because Pomni and Kinger seems to really be going through it.

they're mostly poking around, opening drawers and stuff. maybe they're looking for a key to get back with the others or something? who knows.

they both probably stumble around in the dark for a bit, both figuratively and literally.

they might end up stumbling into an antagonist NPC, which is the only way I can explain some of these screenshots.

it looks to me like Kinger is facing something. I mean, He's missing an eye in the first one, smacking something with a gun in the second, and looking really worried in the third. Plus the fist 2 have similar lighting so I'm inclined to believe those 2 pics come from clips in close time frames to each other.

there's also another image that has similar lighting...

now... this may sound weird, but I think that either Pomni got Possessed somehow, or something tried to take her shape. Possession seems more feasible since we know at least 2 of the NPC's in this adventure are ghosts, and at least in media ghosts are known to possess people. seeing as digital circus seems to love pulling from video game mechanics, this wouldn't surprise me at all.

this would also kind of explain why in the "POMNI WAKE UP!! IT'S TIME TO GO ON AN ADVENTURE" video, in the "Kinger with a shotgun" clip, he seems to be hitting Pomni with the gun. it makes a lot more sense if Pomni ends up getting possessed somehow, forcing Kinger to hit her in order to defend himself from the ghost.

this also could tie back to the worried look on Kingers face in the screenshot before Possessed Pomni. Cause he'd know what he has to do, even though he doesn't want to hurt Pomni.

Hell, I'm pretty sure Kinger even openly protects Pomni in this episode.

because of the shot in the trailer taken from this hole's perspective

not only is Pomni hiding behind Kinger, but he has one of his hands out in front of her, as if to protect her from whatever is in that hole.

also in regards to guns, Kinger isn't the only one who gets to have a gun.

Pomni gets to wield a shotgun too, and it's likely to help both herself and Kinger fight off whatever was after them in the hole.

Ghost possession and gun-slinging aside, I do think that Pomni and Kinger have a little heart to heart in this episode.

boy doesn't that screenshot look familiar. reminds me of episode 2 with the blue lighting and concerned expression on Pomni's face. That scene in the test room where Pomni comforts Gumigoo. this time tho, she's comforting Kinger. it almost makes me wonder if this will be a reoccurring theme, with all the other characters eventually having a heart to heart with Pomni, and Pomni comforting them.

it'd really make her live up to her quote in episode 2 "I guess I just don't want you to feel like you're nothing. I don't want anyone to feel like that".

the only thing I do still have questions about, is wtf is Kinger looking at here?

I mean, it looks like the eyes of a ghost, if they could make their eyes glow like that.

ya know what, maybe he's looking at a mound of pillows or something.

yeah, like that.

[captainsophiestark]

A Bad Idea

Obi-Wan Kenobi x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2023!

Fandom: Star Wars

Day 31 Prompt: "It's not your fault."

Summary: Obi-Wan and his best friend/fellow Jedi are getting Hondo's help on a mission. Predictably, things don't go according to their plan.

Word Count: 2,045

Category: Fluff, Humor

A/N: That's a wrap for Fictober gang! Thank you so much to @fictober-event for putting this whole thing on and to everyone who's read one of my stories! Honestly can't believe the amount of writing I got done for this event

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"I think this might be the worst idea we've ever had."

"If you don't count ideas that Anakin came up with and we agreed to, then yes, it probably is."

Obi-Wan Kenobi and I stood shoulder to shoulder on the ramp of our ship, waving as the one and only Hondo Ohnaka came towards us. We'd recently gotten information that the Separatists were using a different group of pirates to smuggle things out of reach of the Republic, and together, Obi-Wan and I had decided the best way to infiltrate a pirate base was with the help of another pirate. On paper, it sounded perfectly rational, especially since we had a pirate contact we could go to. In reality, it was probably going to get us killed.

"Kenobi!" called Hondo once he got within earshot of us. "It is wonderful to see you again! And who is your lovely friend? A girlfriend, perhaps?"

Heat and embarrassment rushed through me, and I felt a wave of discomfort coming off of Obi-Wan in the Force too.

"Jedi don't typically date," he quickly explained, waving Hondo off. "And it wouldn't be any of your business anyway."

"I'm a friend of Obi-Wan's," I continued. "We grew up at the Temple together."

Hondo gave me a quick once over, then evaluated Obi-Wan the same way. Then, he smiled and held out his hand to me.

"Well, any friend of Obi-Wan's is a friend of mine! It is very nice to meet you, I'm sure!"

I forced a smile as I took his hand and shook it. I didn't think he'd meant to, but Honda had hit a very sore spot for me. I'd harbored feelings for my best friend for years now, against the Code, and I'd done my best every single day to hide them from him and from anyone else. A hundred Jedi who'd known me since birth couldn't tell, but this Weequay had hit the bullseye within moments of seeing me for the first time.

"Come on," Obi-Wan whispered to me, leaning in close to my ear so Hondo couldn't hear him as the Weequay moved past me into the ship. "The sooner we start this mission, the sooner it's officially over."

"Can't wait," I muttered. "And you said this guy was your friend?"

Obi-Wan shrugged. "More like... acquaintance who tries to kill me sometimes. Although I think he unironically considers me his best friend."

I smiled a little at that, especially as Obi-Wan moved into the ship after Hondo and Hondo immediately flung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in. Based on the conversation I could hear as I brought in the ramp, Hondo was trying to convince Obi-Wan to sell him some of our Republic tech at a frankly ridiculous price. To no one's surprise (except maybe Hondo's), Obi didn't budge. He was remarkably gentle in his refusal, though.

After a brief challenge where Hondo insisted on piloting the ship and Obi-Wan had to convince him to sit in the passenger seat instead, we were on our way. With Hondo's help, we quickly found the pirate base we were looking for.

"Do you guys just constantly share locations with each other?" I asked as we came in for a landing not too far from the gates. Hondo shrugged.

"We do business with each other from time to time. Helps to know where your business partners are."

"Hm. Makes sense."

Hondo grinned at me. He clapped me on the shoulder and started walking down the ramp, and a moment later Obi-Wan took his place next to me.

"Don't turn your back on him," he warned. I turned, coming face to face with Obi-Wan. We'd known each other for most of our lives; I'd seen him a million times or more. But for this mission, we weren't in the typical Jedi robes, in an effort to go undercover. And seeing him standing next to me in a dashing pirate costume made my heart beat a little faster.

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it." Obi-Wan stared off after Hondo, his expression clouded, so I reached out and gently squeezed his shoulder. "We'll be fine, okay? We've survived everything we've gone through so far. What's a couple pirates?"

"The last time I interacted with pirates, Anakin and I ended up handcuffed to Count Dooku."

I laughed as we started strolling down the ramp together to catch up to Hondo.

"Well, if we find ourselves in a similar situation, I promise to make fun of Dooku even more than Anakin did with you."

"That, I would look forward to seeing." He sighed, nudging my shoulder with his just before we caught up to Hondo. "I suppose there's nothing left for us to do but dive straight in."

"Like you said. Sooner we start, sooner we get to go back to Cody and other, saner partners in crime."

"The fact that Anakin is significantly more rational and predictable than Hondo is... concerning."

I chuckled, and Obi-Wan and I shared a smile. Hondo clapped us both on the shoulders once we'd caught up with him at the door to the pirate's fort, and then we headed inside.

The next thing I remember, I was waking up on a concrete floor, my head pounding. I groaned, lifting one hand to my head, and to my surprise something dragged my other hand with it. I opened my eyes.

I was handcuffed. More than that, I was apparently handcuffed to someone else. I turned to my right to see Obi-Wan, already sitting up and looking at me.

"Good morning."

"What happened?"

"We were played." I sighed and flung my head back. All that talk about having each others' backs and not trusting Hondo, and it had been for nothing. "We were jumped as soon as we made it through the gates. Hondo turned us over and went to collect a bounty for us from the other pirates."

"Oh wonderful," I sighed, slumping back against Obi-Wan. My heart sped up a little bit at our close proximity, but unlike every other time we'd been close, this time I couldn't chicken out. It was lean against him, or very clearly, obviously, and uncomfortably lean away from him.

"I should've known we couldn't trust him," Obi-Wan said. "I just thought that this time we were prepared, so Hondo wouldn't be able to get one over on us. I should've known better."

"It's not your fault. Even I'd started to believe Hondo was honestly going to work with us for this mission. The fact that he'd already double-crossed us, before we even got on the ship..."

I trailed off, shaking my head. Obi-Wan sighed, and we spent a few moments leaning against the wall and each other, hands close together and heads resting against each other. I could've stayed like that for a long time, if we hadn't been sitting in a jail cell.

"So..." I finally started, still not moving an inch. "What did you do the last time you were in this situation?"

Obi-Wan sighed heavily. "Bickered with the Count, mostly. And made a few escape attempts. We would've been successful from the beginning had it not been for Dooku."

I huffed a small laugh. "Well, it's a good thing I'm here instead of him then, isn't it?"

"I truthfully can't think of anyone else I'd rather be stuck with."

We shared a smile, a warm feeling quickly dominating my chest. I couldn't quite stop myself from leaning forward ever so slightly, like Obi-Wan had his own gravity pulling me in. In this place, out of sight and temporarily forgotten by everyone else, being close to him didn't feel as scary as it did in the Temple or aboard the Negotiator.

To my immense surprise and delight, Obi-Wan leaned in too, a moment after me. He huffed a small laugh, his blue eyes sparkling.

"This is... probably a bad idea."

I didn't need to ask what he was talking about. I gave him a small smile and shrugged.

"No worse an idea than the one that got us in here in the first place."

"You certainly make a good point."

As one, we smiled and closed the remaining distance to each other, our lips meeting in a kiss I'd thought about a thousand times. It was even better than I'd imagined it would be, especially as I could feel Obi-Wan through the Force. My best friend, the man I'd loved a thousand different ways before I even really knew what the word meant, glowed with a happiness that matched mine.

No one had ever really found evidence that soulmates were real, despite all the mystical forces that did exist in the galaxy. But as I sat on the filthy floor of that cell and kissed my best friend, our energies twining together in the Force, I thought we'd come pretty close.

"Oh, this is very gross. And yet, it's exactly what I'd hoped to find."

Obi-Wan and I broke apart to find Hondo staring at us through the bars of the cell, a grin on his face. We fixed him with matching scowls.

"Come now, what are those looks for? You should be happy, look at the two of you!"

"Happy might be a stretch, since you double-crossed us," I said. Hondo's mouth dropped open and a hand flew to his chest.

"Double-crossed? No no no, I have done no such thing."

"Then why did we wake up handcuffed in a cell?" Obi-Wan demanded. "In my case, again."

"Ah, you see, it was all part of my brilliant plan!"

Obi-Wan and I shared a very, very skeptical look. Undeterred, Hondo pulled a ring of keys out of his pocket, still beaming at us.

"You thought the two of you, two Jedi, could actually sneak in here unnoticed? Ha! It never would have worked. So, I pretended to double-cross you, and while the two of you were in here admitting feelings for each other, I found your documents! After collecting the credits for turning you two over as prisoners, of course."

Obi-Wan and I stared, dumbfounded, as Hondo explained his plan and removed our handcuffs. We stood, helping each other up, both a little stunned that the Weequay had really outplayed everyone here.

"Come on, we must hurry," said Hondo, waving us after him as he headed for the cell door. "It won't take them long to figure out what we've done."

We spared one last shocked glance at each other, then hurried after Hondo through the winding halls of the pirates' lair.

"If you got your money and information, why did you come back for us?" asked Obi-Wan, suspicion dripping from his words. "Why not leave us to be cashed in for a bounty?"

I wanted to smack him for asking that question before we were safely back on our ship, but Hondo just turned to us, looking hurt and outraged that Obi-Wan would even suggest it.

"Kenobi, I am hurt! I would never do such a thing to such a good friend!" He turned, ignoring Obi's raised eyebrow as we at last made it out of the hideout. "Besides, there were no more credits to be gained by leaving you here. The only thing that would've happened was a profit for my competition."

I failed to fight off a smile. Now it all made sense.

Obi-Wan and I trailed just behind Hondo the last bit of distance to our ship, and cautiously, I slipped my hand into his. He gave it a gentle squeeze, turning to fix me with a small smile.

"You know this is going to complicate our lives beyond belief, don't you?"

"Yeah. But I think it's worth it. Our lives are already wildly complicated anyway."

Obi-Wan huffed a small laugh. "I agree."

"With which part?"

"All of it. But especially the part about this being worth it."

He gave my hand one last squeeze, and we shared another tender look before reaching the ramp of the ship and returning to business mode. I let Obi-Wan lead the way, and as I closed the ramp, I could already hear Hondo bargaining with Obi-Wan for credits in exchange for the information he'd retrieved while we'd been in the cell. Despite the exasperation on Obi-Wan's face and in his tone, I could still feel that glowing happiness radiating off of him in the Force, a mirror to my own. We were going to be just fine.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Grey 42

First / Previous / Next

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a blinding flash of white light. The Dreadnought appeared directly in front of them, impeding their progress. Stormy fired the thrusters and tried to duck underneath.

"Get back into your seats! I'm going to link away again." Northern and Zhe dove towards their seats and bucked back up, but before Stormy could link, there was a clatter and a shudder throughout the ship. New alarms sounded throughout the ship, a kind of wailing trilling noise. It was incredibly loud.

"What's that Stormy?" Zhe clapped her hands over her large ears. "Can you turn it down any?"

"It's... It's a grapple. We've been grappled!" Stormy's rage permeated her voice. "Those were banned centuries ago! I can't believe they used a grapple on us."

"Can we do anything?" Fen asked. She looked down at her screen. There were new spots of orange on the readout where the grapple was damaging the hull.

"Our options at this point are to allow us to be taken aboard, or blow the reactor." Northern shook her head. "They've got us."

"Stormy, might as well disconnect and come up here. I don't want them doing anything to you." Fen closed her pad with a snap. She looked at Zhe and Northern. "Sorry."

Zhe shook her head. "Nothing to be sorry about, Fen. We're in this together."

Northern nodded. "Despite myself, I do find that I like you two. I wouldn't be here if I didn't. It's not your fault Fen."

Fen sighed. "Yeah, but if I wasn't a clone of the first Empress..."

"There's no way these people know that Fen. They're just after their current Empress and probably think we know something about it. I'd say just answer their questions mostly honestly." Northern ticked off points on her long fingers. "We saw her on Picaresque, we went out drinking, we partied with her and her honor guard, and in the morning we left. None off that is a lie."

Stormy walked into the Command Deck and looked around. Finding a seat, she sat down and buckled in. "The four of us is enough to operate a frigate of this size without raising too much suspicion. They shouldn't ask about whether we have an AI pilot."

Zhe's ears flicked in surprise. "Really? Only four people?"

She nodded. "It's just about the bare minimum, but it's possible. It could be explained away that we're a new merc group and haven't taken on more crew yet. These kind of ships are meant to be run lean and mean anyway."

Fen wasn't so sure, but she couldn't do anything else.

They waited.

About 30 minutes later, there was a pounding on the airlock. Fen unbuckled and went to the lock. Peering through the window she saw three armored spacesuits. She toggled the intercom. "Yes?"

"Human Imperial Navy. Open up please. We have some questions for you."

Please? That was interesting. "Why did you grapple me? You could have used your radio."

"The Admiral wishes to speak to you in person."

They did not elaborate further.

The voice of the suited person sighed. "Look. If you just open the doors, it'll go better for you. We won't even restrain you. You just open up, we bring you to the Admiral and then we let you go once she's happy with the answers."

"And if I don't open the lock?"

"Then we force it open, capture you, restrain you-" They hold up some metal zip cuffs. "-and still bring you to the Admiral. Only now, your ship is damaged and you can't leave once she's finished speaking. Your choice."

Fen cut the intercom. "Fuck." she said to nobody, and pressed the purge button. Both airlock door snapped open and there was a puff of air as the pressures equalized. Fen's ears were pained for a moment, but she swallowed and her ears popped.

The guard lifted their helmet. It was two men and a woman who looked so similar they could have been related. The woman smiled. "Thank you, really. My name is Lieutenant Shelly Cooper. What's yours?"

"I'm Captain Fenchurch Whitehorse, but please call me Fen."

"Very well, Fen. Who else is aboard?"

"The rest of my crew. They're on the Command Deck. There are four of us."

That caused Lieutenant Cooper to raise an eyebrow, "Four? That's it?"

Fen smiled awkwardly. "I wasn't able to hire anymore crew than that. Believe me when I say I've been trying." It wasn't a lie, not really. Fen found that there weren't many people who were willing to sign on to an unproven merc company, even if they were a couple years old.

The Lieutenant turned to one of the men behind her. "What did the bioscan say?"

He looked down at a pad strapped to the arm of his suit and tapped at it with a gloved hand. "She's not lying. Ship is empty except for the command deck."

"Curious." Cooper stared hard at Fen. "Have we met? Are you from Sol? You seem familiar to me."

"I don't see how. I grew up in a Gren station, far outside of Colonial space." Again, it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth. Of course people in the military would know what the first Empress looked like.

"Hmm. Okay. If your crew agrees to keep the reactor powered down and be powered by an umbilical, they can stay confined to the ship and you accompany us. Deal?"

"Yes, I agree to those terms. Let me go tell my crew."

Lieutenant Cooper nods. "You have three minutes."

Fen hurries back to the command deck. "The Admiral wants to talk to me. They said you can stay here so long as you agree to be powered only by their umbilical."

Zhe stood up and crossed her arms, her tail swishing irritatedly. "It won't matter, because we're coming too."

Northern looked to Zhe and sighed, but only a little. "We can't leave you out to dry, Fen. We'll come along too. How bad can it be? Plus, if we come with you we can't suffer "an unfortunate accident" in the hangar."

Fen exhaled. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath in. "Thanks Northern, Zhe." She turned to Stormy. "You're welcome to come along, but I also know this isn't your thing. We had just hired you after all."

Stormy looked at Northern who shrugged with her eyes. "Up to you."

She runs her hands over her face. "Fuck, me. I swear Northern, you know how to pick them." Stormy stands up and smiles. "I'll come along, what the hell. Sitting on the ship was going to be boring by myself anyway."

The four of them went to the airlock, and Fen went up to Lieutenant Cooper "I spoke to my crew, and they want to accompany me."

Lieutenant Cooper throws up her hands. "Fine, I guess we'll just give you the VIP tour on the way." She gestures out towards the hangar. "Here is the hangar, where we store our smaller ships and boats, as well as the frigate of a merc captain we captured that the admiral wants to speak to and offered to let her crew stay onboard but they want to follow their captain to the ends of the galaxy."

Fen crossed her arms, but said nothing.

"Come on then. We'll find you some more chairs or something." Lieutenant Cooper turned on her heel and walked out of the hangar, without waiting for them to follow. The two guards with her looked at each other and one of them gestured for them to follow.

Not too far from the hangar, Lieutenant Cooper came upon a small conference room. She opened the door and led them inside. As they sat, a steward came by with a small cart of drinks. Fen was offered and accepted a coffee, and they went around offering beverages. Lieutenant Cooper also took a coffee, but everyone else abstained.

Cooper took a sip and looked down at the comm on her wrist. "The Admiral will be here shortly. Please be respectful. She's... lived a long life and doesn't suffer fools. If you want to make it back to your ship, answer her questions quickly and honestly."

Fen wasn't halfway through her coffee with the door chimed. Lieutenant Cooper stood. "This is where I leave you. The guards will wait outside the door and - should you be able - will escort you back to your ship." Her face was odd. She looked worried, and also like she felt bad for them. Just what kind of person was this Admiral?"

The door whooshed open and the Admiral strode in. She was about the same height as Cooper, maybe a few centimeters taller than Fen. Her hair was blond streaked with grey and she wore it clipped very short on the back and sides and a little longer in the front. She wore her hat at an angle that probably was against regulations. Her uniform was immaculate and her chest bulged with medals. She had a hard, but not unattractive face, lined with time. As she entered, she looked down at everyone sitting, and as she passed over them she stopped at Fen, and her breath caught.

"You are dismissed, Lieutenant."

Cooper saluted sharply. "Yes, Admiral."

"Dismiss the guards as well. I will not need them."

"Admiral? With all due respect-"

The Admiral turned to face Cooper and stared at her. Without saying anything at all, Fen could feel her shouting at the Lieutenant. Her gaze was withering. Cooper swallowed and saluted again. "Yes, Admiral."

The door closed behind her and the Admiral's demeanor immediately changed. She shrank down a little, looked older, less hard. She strode around the room and glanced down at the carafe of coffee. She poured herself a cup and sat at the head of the table. While everyone watched, rapt. She took a sip and placed it down on the table without a clink. She looked at Fen.

"You look like her, you know? I can see that you're different. A product of your upbringing. It's your eyes, and the way you carry yourself. I can see so much of her though. It's a little spooky."

Fen blinked. Whatever she expected, it wasn't this. "You know I'm a clone of the first Empress?"

The admiral laughed. Her voice was surprisingly musical. "Fen, I knew Melody. I was friends with her. I... I was on a different ship when she was killed. I became Empress after her."

Stormy gasped. "No. No way. She retired to Venus, and let her daughter reign. She would be over five hundred years old. You're not her."

The admiral smirked. "If you know all that, then you know that the Nanites can extend life. I can't do the Voice anymore, and it's been more than two centuries since I carried a crown and wings, but I am still me.

Northern turned and stared at Stormy. "Who is it, Stormy?"

The admiral spread her hands wide. "I am Empress Helen Raaden, First of Her Name, Ruler of Sol - Retired."

[noxexistant]

ai-less whumptober; day one

@ailesswhumptober 1 — public torture, stress position, “If you cry, we’ll go easy on you.” ↳ the refuge, circa 1894 word count; 1.4k

cw; abuse, light torture, violence

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

It was worth it, Oscar decides. He'd known, of course, right from the moment he'd let himself throw that first punch, that he would be in the shit for it — but it was worth it. If only just to feel his knuckles meet Kelly's face a precious few times, blood spilling, before the guards were marching into the bunk room at the sound of a fight. One grabs him from behind, yanking him by a handful of his hair to draw him from the throng, before wrenching him up by the arms so hard he feels the joints grind, forced backwards by calloused hands. He kicks backwards helplessly as the ground draws away from him, bare feet left without purchase, all his meager bodyweight — not near enough for his sixteen years — left dangling from his shoulders. It hurts, more than his throbbing nose or aching cheek do, and there's no satisfaction to this kind of hurt. No mutuality, none of his own simmering rage satiated into violence like there is when he's beating Kelly into the floor.

Jack's shouting and protesting as he's wrestled into submission too, all the audience of boys clamouring and jeering, and Oscar joins the cacophany to let out a feral noise like a growl. He wasn't done, the fight wasn't over, and what little satisfaction it had brought is already fizzling again. But it was worth it, he tells himself again. Worth it to get those hits in, when Kelly had been asking for it like that—

"That's enough!" Snyder hollers.

Fuck. It wasn't worth it.

He didn't think Snyder would come, not just for some stupid scrap, but here he is. Tall and as immaculate as ever in the chaos, jaw drawn tight as he walks slowly through the overcrowded room with his hands folded at the base of his spine, gaze sharp and ice cold. All of the other boys have scurried away in an instant, the crowd watching the fight dispersed. Instead, they're all standing beside their bunks, heads down, like the cowards they are. The circle that had surrounded the fight has morphed to surround the whole room instead, dozens of eyes all staring at Snyder and Oscar and Jack and the guards, awaiting what will happen next.

It's sort of like being a circus performer, Oscar imagines. Snyder's the ringleader, his crisp three-piece suit his costume, the thin cane in one hand across his back his whip.

Oscar certainly feels like a caged animal. One that's about to be beaten into a performance.

He raises his chin defiantly, fighting in his current position to look beside him and take stock of where Kelly's at — but his stomach drops when he sees Morris first, held brutally by a guard the same way Oscar is, arms pinned behind him.

"Hey," Oscar protests immediately, unhesitatingly. "No. Mo ain't do nothin'. Let him go."

Snyder's eyes snap to him immediately, something edging on amusement lifting a brow.

"I trust he was retrieved from the fight just as you were, Mister Delancey," Snyder says, voice that godforsaken leisurely drawl it always is. So in control. So above it. "It certainly wouldn't surprise me. Yourself and your little brother always seem to walk hand-in-hand into trouble."

Oscar bares his teeth. "So he was jus' lookin' out for me. He weren't in the fight. He's a kid."

Snyder hums. He glances over his shoulder, lets his gaze catch on the youngest boy of the three for more than long enough to make Morris squirm, and finally turns to face him properly.

"Did you throw a punch?" he asks sharply, suddenly. Morris flinches, gaze set on the dirty floor below his dangling bare feet.

"No, sir."

Snyder stares at him, gaze hard, enjoying the opportunity to have Morris pinned like a bug. And Oscar knows the asshole could turn and ask a witness — it's a strategy he usually loves to employ, turning all the boys against each other, creating at atmosphere of distrust and lack of safety. But today he doesn't. He jerks his head sharply at the far wall.

"Go," he orders, and Morris obeys without hesitation, because what else is there to do? The guard lets him go and he walks, gait clumsy as it's always been since his knee got fucked up, and meets the wall Snyder had gestured to. Oscar's stomach churns as he watches his brother just…wait for further instruction. It's all too familiar, all too much like how Da had treated him. Treated them both.

"Kneel," Snyder says. "Balls of your feet under you. You know how."

Morris does. He kneels. Oscar immediately sees the tension run through him as his knees hit the dirty floor, and Oscar knows what it's like. The brutal, sharp dust and debris all over the uneven wood. It's torture to stand on, let alone to kneel on, but Morris doesn't make a sound. Even as he pulls his feet under him as instructed, sits up on his bent toes and the balls of his feet to put yet more pressure on his knees.

Snyder smiles.

"Good boy," he says warmly, and his gaze turns again. It finds Jack first, and he meets it with all the hatred in the world in his face. Lip curled back, eyes dark with it.

"You're torturin' him," he spits. Snyder's smile falls like a penny dropping, expression effortlessly and immediately shifting back to cold distast.

"You've made it clear countless times you take issue with my discipline, Mister Sullivan," Snyder says calmly. "Not that you have any input, criminal within my own institution as you are. But you needn't worry. I'll employ a different method with yourself and your foe Oscar here. One the two of you have always responded to better."

The first hit cracks across Jack's face hard enough to make the whole room flinch. The watching boys grimace or avert their gazes, and amongst them Oscar feels a ripple of opposing feelings. Amusement, grief. Gratitude it isn't them at the end of Snyder's ire. Not this time, at least.

Jack inhales shakily. His cheek is immediately swelling, dark skin flushing a brutal red where the hit had landed. It'll be a vicious bruise.

"I ain't afraid of you," he breathes.

"What a pity," Snyder responds. "We'll see if we can't fix that yet."

He draws his cane finally from behind him, and lays it across his other palm — the palm which had just collided with Kelly's face — as he walks, slowly, to Oscar. Leans in so close that Oscar can smell the cologne on his neck, the expensive tobacco on his breath.

"Are you afraid of me, Oscar?" he asks slowly, voice low and quiet. There's something unsettlingly intimate about it, something that has Oscar's skin crawling. "If you tell me you are. If you cry. Perhaps I might be compelled to be kinder to you, regarding your punishments. Like I am to your brother."

Oscar looks over at Morris, helplessly led by the prompt. His gaze lands on the bony little figure of his wee brother, kneeling with his back to the rest of the room. His shoulders shaking in a torn shirt that isn't even his, was pried from the back of an older, bigger boy who hadn't been here months or even years by the time Oscar and his brother arrived. He's helpless to wonder if that boy had even made it out alive, but he'll never know. Nobody ever will.

"Fuck you," Oscar breathes.

He knows the first hit is coming as a result of it, knows it'll be as hard if not harder than Kelly's. But somehow it still catches him off-guard, the way a sudden, brutal hit always does. Always will, despite every effort of his father. An order is given above him, and the guard that has been holding him all this time lets him go in an instant too — and Oscar's on the floor. His shoulders light up with the agony of their first movement, and he finds he can't pick himself up.

The next hit comes swiftly. And the next, and the next. He can feel all of the eyes on him — can feel Kelly's eyes on him. At some point, he's sure he can hear Morris start to cry, start to shout and plead, not for himself, but for Oscar.

It's Hell, familiar and bright white with pain. But he takes it.

And promises himself that, someday, he'll be the one in charge. The one to be afraid of. The one above it all. And he won't give people the option for him to be kinder.

[sepublic]

Sometimes I do have to question the decision to make Samus into the Chozo's personal champion/warrior; I think there's def some questionable moral implications about this. Especially when you find out that the Chozo let Raven Beak donate his DNA into Samus', which is just a whole can of worms; How the heck did this happen, how did they agree to it??? Did Raven Beak threaten them, why did they never tell Samus? Why an interest in Samus? How did Mother Brain think of all this, because I'd be surprised if she just never noticed despite her massive control over Zebes.

It's different not mentioning it was Gray Voice's DNA specifically, because I can see why it wouldn't be deemed relevant by either the Chozo or Samus herself up until the circumstances of that reveal. Samus definitely knew they donated somebody's DNA from that community, and she only knows of Chozo on Zebes, not Tallon IV or SR388.

I could see the Dread arc in a Metroid show being a storyline where Samus is kinda forced to confront her Chozo heritage, her relationship with them, ask these sorts of uncomfortable questions; I think Samus has a problem with seeing herself as only a weapon, a destroyer, which should make her dynamic with Adam compelling in theory because despite being a military commander, he does try to remind Samus that she should have an existence outside of these things. And this plays into his AI reincarnation finding a way for Samus to survive Fusion while still completing her objective. The fact that Adam himself was a military human might play into this, because he might understand firsthand how Samus feels the need to be her role; More on that in a bit…

And after Fusion, after the guilt of the Metroid genocide, and now carrying one's DNA within her, I can see Samus having a lot of questions about what she is, who she's made up of, etc. So in the buildup to the proper Dread storyline, I like to imagine that after Fusion, Samus actually goes to Earth, the ancestral homeworld of humanity, to reconnect with that original side of hers, with Rodney and Virginia's.

Seeing how much humans are used by the Federation as attack dogs (per my own HCs and the series itself) makes Samus wonder if there's more than that, hence Earth. It's a way for her to clear her head from depression and take a damn vacation with Adam, who has his memories again... Maybe Anthony? I think Samus might be in too much of an awkward spot with the Federation to invite Anthony, because that would put him in such an uncomfortable position as a Federation employee himself.

Still, seeing the role that humans play as the Federation's infantry species makes Samus wonder, at some point; Is that why the Chozo chose to adopt me? Obviously they saved me, but they could've just left me at an orphanage, maybe insisted on seeing me through a successful adoption process. But instead, they took me to Zebes, away from my people, and changed me to be more like them. Maybe when I joined the Federation, it was in the hopes of reconnecting with my human side.

It's a bit of irrational, panicked doubt that Samus has the luxury of being able to voice to Adam, who acts as a more objective, rational observer after becoming an AI; He's also reconnecting with his emotions, and we possibly get an arc of him showing Samus his home on Earth and where he came from, if he isn't from another world entirely like Samus herself is.

There's definitely a recurring question: Did I even know my people? Do I know who runs through my veins? The Metroids are a good example of this question, since Samus thought of them as just dangerous animals, and for a brief while as unnatural bioweapons after learning more on SR388 (which helped to justify their extermination in her Mind). But then she meets the Queen and then the Infant, and has her whole world rocked via gradual realization.

So Raven Beak showing up is the perfect time to contribute, when Samus starts to reconsider her relationship with the Chozo, her existence as a weapon. And Raven Beak outright says, Samus was groomed by the Thoha into their weapon because they were cowards.

He says that the Thoha were hypocritical, useless cowards; Despite their supposed devotion to peace, down to making it physically painful to inflict it, they still had plenty of workarounds. The Thoha still saw firsthand how violence was a necessary, natural part of life; Case in point, the X were not about to respond to diplomacy, so the Thoha had to create the greatest bioweapon the galaxy has ever seen. And this bioweapon, despite their attempts, would be weaponized later on by so many others, and cause so much destruction.

They also saw the need for the Mawkin; Despite their hostility and dismissal of their 'warmonger' brethren, the Thoha accepted their help when pushed into a corner. It was Mawkin soldiers who gave their lives sealing away the Metroids, so that SR388 might live. So perhaps, then, it was only justice, blood for blood, that Raven Beak slaughtered the Thoha for the deaths of his soldiers.

(I don't see him as being sincere in terms of 'avenging' his soldiers, because I prefer to write the members of a cause as less sympathetic the higher up the command chain they go; Feels truer to real life imo.)

This is a very uncomfortable position for Samus, she's backed into a corner and cut off from a friend like Adam who would be there to speak reason and back her up; Here, she feels alone. This is nonsense, Samus insists. The Thoha made themselves resistant to violence so as to encourage different methods, another way.

Yes, and those 'different methods' were simply to make others do the violence for them, Raven Beak notes. That's why the Zebesian Thoha groomed Samus into their own Metroid, why they accepted Raven Beak's DNA donation. The Thoha weren't trying to minimize violence; They simply sought to keep their hands clean of the dirty work by manipulating/creating others to do it for them.

But Raven Beak knows, he's figured out there's no difference; At that point, just cut out the middle man, do it yourself! This is why the Mawkin are the loyalists, while the Thoha and other clans are traitors; Only the Mawkin remain the True Chozo. And Samus must join them, because like the Mawkin she knows the simple truth that violence IS a natural, necessary part of life. She's seen how naturally vicious animals can be, engaged in that violence herself.

Other things are also necessary, Samus challenges sarcastically. Do you expect me to increase those tenfold in my routine? Raven Beak dismisses that question; Maybe if the situation calls for it. But in this chaotic state, the galaxy needs violence more than it does diplomacy, and so violence is what Samus must offer.

On Raven Beak's end at least, he WAS interested in Samus' status as a human; The Federation's most widespread infantry species. Especially given his plans to clone an army of Metroids... And then an army of Samuses. In general he was intrigued by the use of bioweapons and chimeras, hence Raven Beak adding to hybrid warrior Samus.

This makes it all the more poetic that Raven Beak would forcibly become a chimera himself, thanks to an X; Fusing with Kraid's DNA, with Kraid and the Space Pirates as a whole also operating on the idea of "We are physically superior, especially in combat, so we deserve to take advantage of that for ourselves and rule. Also Metroids are good bioweapons."

So despite their opposition to one another, the Space Pirates and Mawkin are truly two peas in an X pod, aren't they? Raven Beak 'got his wish' by fusing with the Space Pirates' most physically powerful member, and indeed his kidnapping of Kraid might have something to do with his eugenics and bioweapon plans.

Maybe Samus brings up, that beings like her and the Metroids are just a few examples; But the majority of Thoha options was peace, and Raven Beak's folly is that he only recognizes violent options and their success, while only remembering the failures of peaceful options. But it just goes to show how flashy they are, that the Mawkin are too 'bored' and 'under-stimulated' with the banal work of real peace to glorify it. Maybe Samus says this, or Adam, or even Quiet Robe-X.

Point is; If Old Bird is still alive out there, Samus has a LOT of questions for him and the other Zebesian Thoha when they reunite. That's assuming Raven Beak didn't get to them first, and unlike the game, the Metroid show has them actually appear in-person to add to this chaotic arc for Samus. Maybe this could lead to a respectful disagreement, where Samus decides she HAS to fight and this is necessary; But she understands why the Thoha are averse and feel shame, after their warring past.

[elisaphoenix13]

Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

Like most families, late evenings were Stephen's time to wind down. The boys were awake but in their rooms for the night and wouldn't need his attention unless there was an emergency, and all three girls were asleep. Lucy had just fallen asleep so Tony was upstairs on his Starkpad making sure the little girl would stay asleep, but he would likely join Stephen in the next ten minutes to wind down with him.

The sorcerer was already starting by heading into the kitchen and opening the freezer to grab some chocolate ice cream. He had to bend a little further than usual because of course everything got buried or misplaced when someone went looking for their own thing, but he was determined to get his chocolate fix. Especially since Valerie wouldn't be eating off of his plate. Or in this case, his spoon.

He didn't even process the sound of the elevator opening as he searched for his elusive ice cream, but he did process the rather surprising and abrupt smack to his ass that almost made him jump. It left a sting behind from the strength and force of it and he turned to reprimand Tony.

"Damn, Sugar, if y'wanna popsicle you just hafta asss…" A snicker. "Ask."

It. Was. Not. Tony.

Stephen couldn't decide whether to be mortified or to laugh because in Quill's defense, the kitchen light was not on and the light in the freezer wasn't great.

The man was also drunk. It was a wonder the god could get drunk since he literally manipulated energy and light, so he must have gotten into the Asgardian ale and gotten off at the wrong floor. So as calmly as possible, Stephen finally found and retrieved his ice cream while Quill sniggered to himself about something, closed the freezer, and walked over to the light switch to flick it on.

Quill blinked back at him, looked him up and down, and sniggered again. "Yer magic 's gettin' good. Didn't know you could turn into Stef–Ste–Mom."

Stephen rolls his eyes. If there had been a physical representation of the alcohol Quill had sustained in his body, it would be up to his eyeballs. "VICTOR, please ask Scott to come get his very lost, and very drunk husband before he continues to molest me."

"Scott is currently out of town until the end of the week." The AI responds apologetically. "Shall I get Cassie?"

"No. I'm not going to–" Stephen starts but then the elevator opens again and the teen herself walks off.

"Ugh. There you are. You're hopeless when Dad's gone." Cassie walks over to Quill and links her arm with his. "Come on Papa. I think you need to go to bed now."

Stephen watches with some amusement as Quill looks down at her before saying, "but wha' about Scotty?"

"Dad isn't here remember? That's Mom."

"Huh…" Quill glances at Stephen again. "No wonder Tony taps that."

Cassie chokes and Stephen covers his face with a long-suffering sigh. "I apparently look like Scott when the kitchen is pitch dark with only the freezer as light. Do you deal with this everytime Scott is out of town?"

"No. He's usually busy with work too. But sometimes he has a day off and he gets drunk because he misses Dad. It's okay though. He's really easy to take care of. As long as I keep an eye on him and direct him to bed, he'll go to sleep and be fine in the morning. He's kind of like you when he's drunk. He just needs something to cuddle…but it has to be living. He passes out once he glomps onto me." Cassie shrugs. "I tried Emir but it's not the same for him."

Stephen frowns. "He doesn't…do anything does he?"

Cassie gags. "Oh god no. If he did I wouldn't deal with it. He's drunk but he knows it's me. He gives me extreme Papa Bear cuddles when he's drunk. Somehow he's more protective."

The sorcerer sighs with relief. "Well you better get him to bed before he decides on revisiting his old crush on Tony."

"I will die if that beast tries anything with me." Tony mumbles as he joins them in the kitchen. "I like my ass the way it is and I don't bottom to anyone. Especially not to him."

"Please stop. My ears are bleeding." Cassie gags and starts tugging Quill back over to the elevator. "Come on Papa."

Quill went without argument and as soon as the door closed on them, Stephen winced and rubbed the spot the god had not so gently slapped. He wouldn't be surprised if there was a bruise already forming. Normally if it had been Tony to deliver the blow, other parts of him would have been very interested, but he supposed some part of him knew it hadn't been so it wasn't an instant turn on. Maybe it was the strength behind it.

"What did I miss?" Tony asks curiously as he watches Stephen rub the sore area of his rear.

"Quill's drunk and mistook me for Scott. My ass will likely have a reminder of it in the morning."

Tony smirks. "Want me to kiss it better?"

"Maybe after I eat some of my ice cream." Stephen mumbles, getting a spoon from the drawer and taking it over to the living room to sit on the couch. 

Fortunately it seemed Tony was content with Stephen's answer…and he was successfully distracted by the jaguar insistently nudging his head under Tony's arm. Apollo turned out to be loyal and reliable much like Athena, but he was just a little bit…needier? He was nowhere near Flynn's level but it was likely that the large cat was mistreated to some degree. Like Emir had been. Apollo had been on the black market after all.

Stephen ate his ice cream and watched TV in peace, and when they were finished, he and Tony both decided to call it a night and retired to bed. There was no lovemaking, but Tony did get as far as getting them both undressed and giving every inch of Stephen gentle attention. He even followed through with his promise of kissing the forming bruise on the sorcerer's rear. Stephen would have normally been exasperated but Tony had been trailing kisses all over his body and drawing relaxed sighs from him that he couldn't find it in him to care.

Sometimes the gentle touches were all Stephen needed. Tonight it was enough to lull him into a dreamless sleep.

====

Tony woke up the next morning to his chest vibrating. It simply took him opening his eyes to find out it was because of a certain overgrown black cat lazing on him, and he pushed at Apollo.

"Get off. You have your own space." 

Tony grunts, relieved when the jaguar gets up and returns to his spot at the foot of the bed next to Athena. He laid his head next to the wolf's, who didn't even huff. She was already used to Apollo's disruptions. 

"Steph…" Tony rolls onto his side and wraps an arm around his spouse, minorly surprised when the sorcerer doesn't respond. "Stephen."

Stephen still didn't respond and Tony decided to let him sleep for a little while longer. He clearly needed the sleep and the two youngest girls weren't demanding his attention yet. At least if Diana needed something, she was willing to ask Tony about it. She was more likely to go find Cassie though. Tony would worry about Quill recovering from a hangover, but to everyone's irritation, the god didn't suffer from them.

Bastard.

Tony thought about staying in bed and relaxing for a bit longer, but then decided that it was a good day to make breakfast for the family. He didn't do it very often and considering Stephen was still passed out, the former doctor probably needed some breakfast in bed. The man did enough, everything under the sun, and definitely deserved it. 

Not that Tony didn't spoil him anyway.

So as quietly as possible, he slipped out of bed and got dressed before heading downstairs to start breakfast. It would be the usual large assortment since it was all eaten anyway and the kids were more likely to eat better with a variety of choices. Especially the girls. Although Valerie would eat anything on Stephen's plate…sometimes even William's. The plate sharing thing was likely part of her attachment but neither of them seemed to mind sharing with her.

It was in the middle of cooking breakfast when the kids started to wake up to the smell, and Valerie came into the kitchen holding her Mooey and looking a little upset. 

"What's wrong topolina?" Tony asks softly.

"Mama not waking up." She responds.

Tony frowns. "Still?"

Harley entered next looking equally worried and holding Lucy who looked like she had been crying. Now she just looked grumpy. "Yeah, Lucy was crying and Mom slept through it. Is he okay?"

"As far as I know." Tony answers and wipes his hands on a kitchen towel before holding his hands out for Lucy. "Give me Lulu and finish breakfast while I check on Mom?"

"Sure," Harley nods and hands his youngest sister over to his father and then takes Tony's place at the stove. "Come on Val, wanna help me out until Will wakes up?"

"Okay." Tony hears the quiet response as he leaves the kitchen and heads back up to the master bedroom.

Just like Valerie and Harley said, Stephen was still asleep and seemingly dead to the world. A thought that worried Tony so he walked over and checked to make sure his spouse had a pulse and breathing. He did have both at a steady rate, so Tony tried shaking him awake again, but to no avail.

"Steph." Tony says loudly with another attempt at shaking his shoulder. "You alright?"

No response. Not even when Lucy rather loudly demanded her mother's attention. Something that would have woken the sorcerer up from a dead sleep. Hell, even Valerie walking into the room for his attention would have done it too. Which made Tony worry even more. He tried checking for a fever next because usually that was one of the rare reasons Stephen slept like this…but there was nothing. Stephen was seemingly healthy as a horse…so Tony could only think of one thing.

Magic.

Stephen never used magic on himself to sleep, even if he was desperate for rest because he always wanted to be available for his children or for emergencies. He rarely even used it on the kids or team members. If he did it was for their safety or the safety of others. So if this was magic, had something or someone done this to him?

Tony grabbed his phone and decided to call Wong as William walked in. "Val and Harls told me Mom isn't waking up."

"I'm calling Wong. It might be–hey," he says when the sorcerer picks up. "I might be in need of some magical advice."

Wong sighs heavily. "Isn't that what your wife is for?"

"Ordinarily, yes, but he's the problem this time."

"What is it this time? Merman? Wolf?" Wong asks, sounding bored.

"No. He won't wake up." Tony says.

The line goes silent and he pulls his phone away to look at it, finding that the other man had indeed hung up on him, but before he could call Wong back, there was the unmistakable sound of a gateway forming behind him. Wong stepped through into the room moments later and immediately walked over to the bed to look the Sorcerer Supreme over as Tony and William watched curiously. Wong was hard to read at the best of times so they weren't sure if the situation was serious, but after a few minutes of Wong casting various spells, he sighed.

"It's not serious." Wong finally says. "It's exhaustion caused by astral projecting too much for too long."

Tony frowns and says, "so he just needs to sleep it off?"

"Yes and no. Sleeping it off can take longer than the alternative option."

"What's the alternative option?" William asks.

"There's a reason we call it Sleeping Beauty Syndrome." Wong snorts.

"Sleeping Beaut–" Realization dawns on Tony and he gives the sorcerer a flat look. "You're kidding right?"

"True love's kiss is a thing, just not the way the fairy tales portray it. Unfortunately most of the Sorcerer Supremes of the past didn't have someone like Stephen has you. So they had to sleep it off." Wong says and Tony raises an eyebrow.

"And how long would it take?"

Wong shrugs. "Days, weeks, years."

"Yeah…this family can't function without him for five minutes so we'll take the easy way." Tony snorts. 

He moves back over to Stephen after Wong steps aside with a sarcastic "hopefully you're actually his true love" which Tony deftly ignores after panicking about it for a split second. If he wasn't Stephen's true love, then he had better have an explanation if it wasn't one of the kids. Tony honestly wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be Valerie.

But he leaned over to kiss Stephen after setting Lucy on the bed, and just when Tony was starting to believe that maybe he wasn't Stephen's true love, the man inhaled sharply and started to open his eyes. Lucy decided to help with the process by slapping his face in the way only a small toddler can.

"Ow." Stephen grumbles and opens his eyes to find three other people looking down at him. "Since when has watching me sleep become a spectator sport?"

"When you decided to overuse astral projection." Wong huffs. "Your husband had to call me because you had Sleeping Beauty Syndrome."

Stephen sits up and rubs his face as Lucy squeals happily–probably because she thought her slap helped wake Mama up. "I didn't realize I used it that much. I'll try to be more careful."

"Thanks," Tony says to Wong and motions to the bedroom door. "You want breakfast?"

"Yes."

The sorcerer abruptly turned and left the room and Tony couldn't help but laugh a little.

"We should feed him more often." Then Tony looks back at Stephen and folds his arms. "I should ground you from chocolate for worrying me and the kids."

"I promise it wasn't intentional." Stephen says as Athena finally walks up the bed to him to lick him.

"I'm glad you're okay." William says softly, reminding Tony the teen was still there. "Val was a little upset and worried."

"I'll apologize to her." Stephen says.

"Part of your apology could probably be letting her sit in your lap and eating off your plate." Tony says humorously.

"She does that anyway." Stephen says, getting up and digging some clothes out of the dresser and getting dressed. Tony smiles and turns him back around and holds his waist, making Stephen blush a little. "What?"

"I love you too Duchess." Tony grins.

"Douchebag."

"Harley's right. You can be vomit-inducing." William says as he picks Lucy up from the bed. "I'll leave you to your…grossness."

When William leaves with Lucy, Tony bursts into laughter. "Grossness?! Harley is definitely rubbing off on him."

Stephen smirks. "I think he's just realizing that he and Harley are getting to that point too."

"What kind of parents would we be if we didn't gross out our kids or embarrass them?" Tony smiles and kisses Stephen. "Come on Duchess. You have some groveling to do."

[ask-sunshine-the-hedgehog]

Sunshine stands frozen in surprise for a moment, blinking in confusion as he takes in his suddenly new surroundings. What had just happened? A moment ago he had been making his way up one of the enormous towers that had sprouted forth from the ground and now he was suddenly standing in a seemingly endless red void, feeling like he was being pulled along toward an unknown goal. He decided to follow the strange force wherever it was trying to guide him since it might be his only lead to figure out what was going on and how to get out of this place.

He didn't know how long he had been walking or how far he had gone when he finally spotted Tails, Knuckles, and Amy together ahead of him. The hedgehog sprinted to them, only to stop dead in his tracks when he discovered what his friends were gathered around.

It was Starlight.

The normally bright and energetic hedgehog stood ridged and still, static and unblinking like a statue staring into space.

"Sonic...? What happened to him? Where are we?"

Sunshine questions as he joins up with the rest of the group, hoping that at least one of them would be able to give him some answers about their current situation and about what was wrong with his husband.

"He must have taken on so much cyber energy that it corrupted him. He's stuck between realities because he took on our corruption to save us..." Tails replies sadly as Sunshine looks down at his own body, realizing that he had regained his corporeal form along with all of their friends.

"Sonic no!" Amy gasps, hands covering her mouth and tears filling her eyes "We have to fix this!" The pink hedgehog cries out while Sunshine places a hand on his husband's cheek, feeling a fuzzy static sensation coming off of him like an old TV screen.

"You have to return to cyberspace, quickly!" Sage's voice finally catches the hedgehog's attention as she speaks to her creator, small hands placed on the side of the scientist's hovercraft.

"What? Why? I just got out!" The human replies to his AI daughter. How long had the two of them been there?

"Because you'll be destroyed if you're still here when it gets out!" She says fearfully, concerned for her father's safety.

"When what gets ou-?" Eggman begins to ask, only to be interrupted by a rumbling roar that seemed to fill the sky, followed by an equally powerful voice:

"Since time immemorial I have languished here. The locks are broken. Now I shall tear down the walls between dimensions and consume all!"

"Oh no you don't! This is my world to conquer! I'll mobilize the Eggfleet and blow you right out of the sky!" Eggman shouts at the unseen entity, shaking his fist at the sky.

"It won't be enough! It defeated the Ancients and their advanced technology, your weaponry wouldn't stand a chance against that kind of power! My simulations show a success rate of zero percent! Please let me fulfill my function, let me protect you!" Sage warns him, begging the doctor to flee to safety.

"Starlight worked too hard for us to give up now! There has to be a way to push back the corruption and bring him back to us! Restoring our physical forms is what did this to him, maybe us going back into cyberspace will reverse the affects of the corruption?" Sunshine theorizes, his hand now resting on the blue hedgehog's shoulder.

"That might work, even if only enough to restore his consciousness. We have to try something, sitting here doing nothing and awaiting our demise won't solve anything" Tails says, holding his hands out for his friends to take. Sunshine nods and takes one of the fox's hands in his own while Knuckles takes his other hand and Amy closes the circle by taking the echidna's and the fox's outstretched hands.

"Anything for Sonic!" "We're even after all this!" Amy and Knuckles state in unison as all four of them shut their eyes and focus on fighting back Starlight's corruption. Their bodies begin to flicker and fade out again as the corruption starts to vanish from the blue hedgehog's body, restoring his mental and physical state, although some of the corruption still remained. All of them except for Sunshine. While Amy, Tails, and Knuckles were now returned to their cyber hologram stat while Sunshine's body remained in his normal form. "Sonic, are you okay? Did it work?" He questions, pulling his husband into a tight embrace.

"I'm fine now thanks to all of you guys. Thank you" The blue hedgehog grins at his partner and their friends.

"This is our chance! I never simulated a scenario where Sonic and his friends helped since you never authorized me to even consider the possibility!" Sage pipes up excitedly as she addresses her creator.

"I still don't want to..." Eggman grumbles angrily, arms crossed as he looks past his creation to glare at the group of Mobians. "Please, father! This might be our only chance to succeed!" The AI girl pleads desperately.

"Fine...ahem, I hereby temporarily induct the lot of you into the Eggman Empire and order you to save us all! This is not an alliance, understand?" The man huffs.

"Sure, if you say so" Sunshine rolls his eyes while Starlight grins smugly at his longtime enemy "Whatever you say, Dr.Ego-man" The blue hedgehog laughs.

"Sage, you stay with me to help me bypass the Ancient's security systems and access their database so we can try and figure out just what exactly this creature is and possibly how to defeat or contain it" Eggman orders his creation.

"As you command, father!" Sage nods "But first I must speak to Sonic and his friends, there is something important that must be addressed before we proceed with the plan" She says, turning to the Mobians "Of my millions of calculations, there was one so remote and unlikely I did not consider it as a viable option. However, as things stand, it could be the scenario to save us all"

"Well we've beaten the odds more times than we can count! What's the plan?" Starlight asks, still as optimistic and cheerful as ever despite his lingering cyber corruption.

"I can stabilize your corruption for a brief time by transferring a portion of it to your partner and guide you both on how to convert that corruption into power that you will use to end this conflict and save father" Sage explains.

"And save the world too, right?" Sunshine questions, amused and somewhat endeared by the AI's dedication to her father.

"It is his world to conquer, so yes" Sage replies matter of factly, causing the two hedgehogs to sigh and shake their heads.

"Wait a minute, hold on. Isn't there another way to do this that doesn't involve Sunshine being corrupted too? I don't want to put him through that, especially after what it did to me" Starlight interrupts, concerned for his husband's well-being.

"I'll be fine, love. You took on the full brunt of it for us, the least I can do is take on some of that burden and fight at your side. Please let me do this with you" Sunshine assures the other hedgehog "I want to be there for you. You don't have to do this alone, we're a team"

"You're right, let's do this together" Starlight grins at his spouse, taking his hand and squeezing it firmly. "Ready when you are!" Sunshine smiles back at him.

Sage floats down to hover in front of the couple, a ball of glitching white light appearing in her hands. She shuts her eyes and the ball of light splits in two before surging forward into the two hedgehogs, causing searing pain to shoot through their bodies as some of Starlight's cyber corruption spreads into his husband. Sunshine stumbles and falls onto his knees, one hand clamped over his mouth and the other clutching at his middle as a wave of nausea washes over him. The feeling soon passes, leaving both of them dizzy and disoriented as they catch their breath to steady themselves.

Sunshine feels a static sensation running up and down his back in a soothing motion, he smiles a bit when he realizes that it was Amy attempting to comfort him by rubbing his back to the best of her capability "Thanks, Amy...you guys are the best, y'know that? I mean it" He says, slowly standing up and helping Starlight to his feet.

"Alright, I know it's been rough since we all came here and things are still pretty confusing, but I need you guys to just follow my lead" Starlight says, looking to Amy, Tails, and Knuckles "I need you three to find the Chaos Emeralds while Sunny and I take care of this corruption, okay?"

"Alright, we trust you two" Amy nods with an assuring smile. "You can count on us!" Tails chimes in. "This'll be a piece of cake!" Knuckles boasts.

"We must hurry! There isn't much time before the threat arrives, follow me!" Sage warns, motioning for the married couple to come with her as the other three Mobians split up to find the Chaos Emeralds "I will return to assist you after I complete my current objective, father" The AI assures her creator before heading towards the first tower with Sunshine and Starlight in tow.

"Be careful...my dear daughter" Eggman mutters softly, watching his digital child leave.

[ohheyitsokay]

some incomplete, unfounded, and unpopular thoughts on the new ai announcement:

I'm choosing (maybe stupidly) to feel tentatively optimistic about it.

one of the things people who are trying to move to other platforms are quickly discovering is that the high likelihood is that many many of the other options are also likely selling your work either over the table but without clear disclosure or under the table.

unfortunately, frankly, I was operating under the assumption that some portion of my things were already being used. does that suck, in a frustrating dystopia way? yeah. but we also live in a world in which I'm acutely aware technology is advancing far faster than rules, regulations, and laws can keep up? also yeah.

secondly, I was also not surprised to hear the announcement because... we know tumblr has needed the money and has been forced to prioritize keeping the website afloat (longterm) over keeping its users happy and comfortable (shorterm). we know that businesses have never been our friend. they need the money, and I truly believe there were worse options for them to get it and worse ways for them to have screwed us over, and it wouldn't been standard to not tell us about it at all.

honestly i wish other platforms disclosed the deals and gave an opt out option. I hope this sets a president for other social media.

so glaze your art, be careful about your posts, toggle off the sharing whether or not it matters, and understand the internet has never been safe. persist anyway. enjoy creating and enjoy your friends and we'll figure it out. keep pushing and pushing for ai regulations and data selling disclosure and all that stuff - read up on it when you get the energy and don't get dragged down when there's too much to fight for. find and support people who have expertise in the areas we don't understand fully and do your best to keep plowing forward.

persist, with passion for what we create and determined optimism for what we can change and apathy for things outside of our control.

I am sure I'm making naive arguments about these things but I simply do not have the time or energy to be devastated every time a company makes a choice that knowingly or unknowingly impacts me. I've got people to love and art to make and I'm trying my best to be educated and make change but I refuse to die over it. this part is just me saying please don't come for me

tl;dr while the new ai deal is discouraging and scary, i do not think it's a catastrophe. and artists (of all kinds) have always and will always persist

[cometsama]

Blue Lock AU Thought Dump

Hi, I'm Comet and I have this massive AU that's taking up way too much space in my mind. So I'm just gonna dump it all here. This is basically a self-insert in second person pov lmao (if you recognise me no you don't)

I'm not a writer so it's just going to be random plot bits. Had to guess parts of the timeline to make it work...

Parings: possibly Sae x reader??? Idk lol, Ness is pretty cute

Timeline:

Age 2:

Your family moves into the Itoshi's neighbourhood

Your mom becomes besties with Mrs Itoshi

You befriend Sae (3) and Rin (1)

You enter kindergarten a year early (with Sae)

Age 5-10:

You attend primary school and develop an interest in data analysis while observing the Itoshi brothers' football practice (think Momoi from KnB)

Age 11:

You enter middle school with Sae

Sae (12) gets scouted and goes to Spain

You go abroad to study and get into coding (and eventually machine-learning + AI)

You remain close with Rin (10) but drift apart from Sae

Age 15:

Sae (16) briefly returns to Japan at the same time as you

The fated fight occurs and you take Rin's (14) side

While you understand Sae's pov, you do not agree with his approach and additionally blow up at Sae for being distant and not communicating

Communication with Sae completely stops

Age 16/17 – Present:

You graduate and return to Japan after deciding to take a gap year

You land a job as a lab assistant at a university research lab which somehow leads to you becoming a part-time manager/data analyst at Blue Lock

Notes:

Rin views you as a big sibling and calls you (name)-nii/nee (gender neutral honorific where?).

You are super observant and have an innate talent for spotting trends.

Where you study doesn't really matter but I did it with the UK (England specifically) in mind. Cuz I studied there and they have an extra year of secondary school compared to Japan. Also, the UK does year group cut-offs at September while Japan goes by birth year (I think...) so international students usually round down even if they can technically enter the year above. But you're smart so they put you in the year above.

Also, British slang is fucking hilarious and I want silly Manshine antics.

Unlike the US, it is really hard to skip grades in most other countries since the curriculums are so rigid but with this I can make Reader graduate early without making it too contrived lmao.

Also, independent schools (private schools but that means something else in the UK) tend to force you to learn all modern foreign language in lower years before you decide on your GCSE language. So I can have Reader have rudimentary understanding of French, Spanish and German. Full coverage baby!

The specific language you pick doesn't really matter but it's NOT Spanish (cuz Sae)

It's actually pretty much impossible to get a placement at a research lab right out of highschool cus demand is insane (I would know 😭😭) but let's pretend you have a super banging resume cuz you're smart as fuck idk

Still undecided on exactly when you join BL tho cuz I need Sae to be taken by surprise about you being there but I also want Reader to bond with the boys before NEL. Especially Shidou. So after third selection but a few days before Sae takes Shidou? Coincidentally, you are off-site for whatever reason.

Also, I want Reader to drag Rin out for the outing during the post U-20 break.

Hmm introducing Reader right after the win would also be interesting. Especially with Rin being in peak-angst mode. I want himself to do another behavioural 180° (more like 120°). Sae wouldn't be there cuz he'd be in the U-20 changing rooms. The outing thing could still happen if you exchange numbers with Bachira.

Actually, I like this idea more so I'm going with that. The Shidou bonding could wait.

Job description:

The next bits are completely pseudo-science and I'm bs-ing 💀💀

Anyway, the lab develops simulations of athletes as a training aid. They're collaborating with Blue Lock cuz where else can you find such a large sample size of athletes at a similar stage of development who also conveniently wear fancy biosignal-recording suits 90% of the time? Literally no where.

The only issue is that all the data is stored in servers located in the compound and, for data-protection reasons, need to be completely anonymised. For plot reasons, someone needs to be on-site most of the time to sort out server shit.

The data stuff is real in the UK and EU btw. That's why there's such a big fuss about certain US corps selling personal info. Not sure about Japan in particular tho but most BL participants are also underage so...

This is actually the reason they hired you lol. Especially since you're already familiar with the sport.

So you now have the job of making sure the data is being anonymised and transferred properly while the lab sends you occasional projects to work on. Which isn't too bad but Ego decided to make you a part-time manager to assist Anri (who's super busy with BLTV's explosive popularity) after witnessing your analytical skills.

At least it's amazing for your resume and you're paid EXTREMELY well...

[shiroi---kumo]

@dont-call-me-a-lyre asked:

bother cid you say? 🛠️ + Are you offended by Kain knowing more about Kumo than you? What are your thoughts on him in general, actually?

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ "Odd question but no actually. Why would I be? Kumo has accepted Kain as a romantic partner from what I've gathered so it would make sense that Kain knows more about him than I do. I wouldn't be surprised if Kain knows more about him than Kaze does now and that makes sense to me.

The thing about Kain isn't so much as being offended but instead curious. I've spent the better part of a year trying to crack that man open and get him to talk to me and I've succeed here and there in certain places but in most of them Kumo is still very much a locked door.

I never want to or have wanted to force things out of him. I've never pushed him and I never will. I don't know what hell he went through when he lived in Gaudium but I know it wasn't good. I will never try to pry information out of him unless it's for his better health.

I can't say I'm not a little jealous though. Kumo's never felt safe enough to speak to me about his home or his family or even his language. I've learned here and there just by being around him but I don't even know when his birthday is or what his favorite color is. Kumo has always kept himself very closed off from everyone.

So really when it comes to Kain, it makes me wonder what he did that was different. It makes me wonder how he's managed to crack his way through that thick shell so quickly. Kumo is kind and talkative when he feels comfortable but he still keeps his secrets and he still plays his cards close to his chest. He's always been secluded even with the kids.

He's close to Ai and Yu but he even kept them at a distance so what is so different about Kain that he's not just managed to crack Kumo's shell but also to cause Kumo to fall in love with him. Kain is a curious case. I would love to know more about him. He's great with his hands and he's got one hell of a mind of technology and mechanics.

It's nice to have someone else to be able to talk to about it, but really Kain is just a puzzle to me. I don't have a clue how he did what he did but Kumo spends every second he can with him and Kain does the same. They're practically glued to each other's hips and that used to be Kaze for Kumo but it's not anymore.

You can tell Kumo still very much cares about Kaze but the way he looks at Kain.... that's the first time I've ever seen real magic."

[despair-to-future-arcs]

I had a feeling we were close to the ending of episde 11, but damn, things really went by fast here!

I think this has got to be one of my favorite episodes so far, a good chunk of it was setup for what's coming next; The DR2's cast new identities, the reveal of their teacher is, the first steps of the SDRA2 storyline, which has gotten me really excited for the upcoming episodes on top if what i was already looking for which were the briefcase missions.

I do believe the main element of this episode is the conclusion of the shelter plotline which i think was done pretty well and even took me by surprise in some of the ways the story progressed, i previously mentioned how much i love seeing Hitaru's role in this, so allow me to focus on talking about some other characters that caught my eye in that place. While Jataro confronting his father was definitely a highlight and marks another step towards his redemption, as he has fully realized his mother was also a victim in the situation and regrets killing her, i have to say i enjoyed Kotoko's part in the climax a bit more than his as seeing Kota talk about her was a wake-up call to the fact that she's, unfortunately, also abused people in a similar manner that he did. It makes me think about the cycle of abuse and how people who were abused but never recived any proper help to deal with the trauma or escape the situation can end up becoming abusers just like those who hurt them, and getting that reality check is what makes Kotoko realize she was essentially trying to steal Jatato moment here when she really didn't had the right to do that.

While it was minor to me in the liking scale, i enjoyed seeing Mio and how she's starting to warm up to the WOH and even the Remnants of despair a little, I'm also intrigued by what's going on with Sanae's family's as i have a hunch that Minoru may have been the one to set off the fire that killed the rest of the Suzuki's, but so far I can't accuse him of that when he's mainly just been an asshole. Another thing i really enjoyed this episode, and one that caught me by surprise, was the inclusion of the Temnants of despair in its resolution as i really didn't expect them to have a part in this but it served to show Juzo and Munakata first hand how they have been changing and that Nagi's plan isn't just a complete waste of time. It's like when you're forced to do something for a school project that you don't like and wouldn't have done it otherwise but end up finding out you're pretty good at it, it's the kind of sudden action that they needed to actually give her plan a shot, now the Remnants will finally get some more care around the Jabberwock facility and Makoto will finally be out of house arrest! A win for everyone!

On the fangame side of things, I'm really enjoying seeing your take on the events leading up to SDRA2 and how you've been characterizing its many mastermind. Syobai acts just as you'd expect him to but the fact that he invaded the foundation and injured one of its members makes me really curious as to why Tsurugi would go and hire his services later down the line. The idea that Kokoro was going to extract Mikako's brain for further research and that's what made her husband finally take action and leave with the child is absolutely heart wrenching and so absurdly in character for her, she is the one canonically said to have done that to Yuki and she really doesn't care for her daughter so really, what was stopping her from seeing that as the next most logical step in an already unethical experiment? Still on her I've been really enjoying her interactions with Ai Mikado as they show us how those two really aren't that different from one another and i hope to see more of that, i also hope we'll get one last look at the NGH before shit hits the fan.

Unfortunately, the setup for the Utsuroshima killing game is also where my main criticism for the arc comes from, as i think you made a mistake by having the remainder of the voids meet Kokoro before the killing game begins. That may have seen like the logical thing that happened, but we are never told that every pawn in Mikado's plan knew of each other and i feel like them knowing Kokoro beforehand opens up a pretty significant plothole in the first chapter of the game because wouldn't the voids question or at least find it incredibly suspicious that Mikado deleted her memories and transformed her back into a teen during the killing game? From their perspective, this is all just an act and none of them would actually die by the executions, so there isn't a logical reason for Mikado to do that to her, in fact, from the void's perspective this may even appear as a counterproductive move of his part because now that Kokoro doesn't remember that she's on their side she will likely use her intelligence agaisnt them, which brings the question on how someone like Nikei didn't start suspecting that Mikado would betray them from that point alone and not just after the first trial.

I also found it the decision to turn Yuki into a severed head and not just a brain strange, but take that with a grain of salt because i have a feeling this is one piece of a bigger thing, one of which if i am right about i shall keep my mouth shut to not spoil the surprise for the rest of the audience

But overall, great episode that's made me really excited for what will come next

-Critic anon

//Well thank you very much for reading this and again, thank you for the comments I got as it's a joy to read!

//Honestly, writing the shelter storyline was so fun and brings attention to one of the WoH member that I feel does get ignore a bit but also shows the damage the WoH had done since I think the idea of the shelter was; 'So what would happen if they discover the people are residents of Towa City that survive/were able to get away but they weren't masked by the WoH or killed by Haiji's group but the person saving them is pretty shitty themselves?'

//It's a situation that no one wants to be in but it's not like the other choices are better and I feel Kota is the type of character that was this reality check for Kotoko and given that her story is coming up next and indeed; I think Kotoko's case is the cycle of abuse and how it's really hard to break out of while also not getting help with your trauma but also I think it is proof that Junko never care about them except Monaca because if she did, I imagine things would be different with Jataro's mom and Kota would of been killed instead. Funny thing was that the RoD was like a bit of a last minute decision there but I think it was a good one since I think the idea here was to prove that they can change to Future Foundation, after all - actions speak louder then words and despite what happen with Nagito, everything work out and hey, at least Makoto can finally get out of his room and help with the investigation.

//Ah Kokoro, a shame how she turn out and how I feel her younger self would of been disgusted by her but again, I do think she's rather interesting and a very depressing case of being a product of her time as I got quite a bit more to do with her but I think what I got plan for her is going to be quite the ride. In regards to all of Void meeting Kokoro, well... there is going to be a reason why they met Kokoro before the killing game and things will come together, just give it a bit of time as things are only starting up so wait and see.

//As for Yuki, there is some plans for why he's just a head in a jar, but again things are gonna come to fruition.

[fantasy-overload3]

Galactic Reckoning

Today just had to be the day the Invaders attacked didn't it?

Warning alarms blared all throughout the ship, systems shutting on and off, chaos erupting from all corners of the damaged spaceship.

Yelping in surprise, I struggled to keep my hold on the gangway's rail, as the anti-gravity systems shut down automatically and without warning.

"All systems failing. Reactor Core shutting down", the metallic voice of the ship's AI, A.X.E, rang out through the abandoned ship's corridors, before the lights shut out too. I sighed, shaking my head to clear it and continued my struggle to the engine room.

The hollow echo of my footsteps in the abandoned spaceship, the only other sound in the empty spaceship besides the alarms that were slowly ripping my sanity away from me. Regret started to creep in as I thought about the choices past me had made.

.....

My mission was clear: protect the cargo, ensure its safe delivery to the secret military base on Taka, and prevent interception by enemy ships.

More and more cargo and courier ships have been attacked recently, their cargo being stolen and most likely destroyed.

Which is why I'm here.

Nowadays many ship Captains have been secretly paying millions of credits for mercenaries and others with the right skill set to blend in with their crew and help protect their ships and cargo.

Rumour has it that the military and the Government have been trying to invent a super weapon to force the Invaders back out of our territory. Which is also the reason why the Invaders keep attacking and stealing from ships.

So my ONE and ONLY priority on this ship HAD been to protect the special and priceless cargo this courier ship had been carrying. That is what I was paid to do. I didn't know much of what it was exactly, but I knew from the amount of credits I was offered for this mission, that it was extremely important and I really needed to get it back.

I had already been paid half of what I was promised, and the other half was to be given to me on my completion of the mission. Now because of those blasted Aliens, I had no precious cargo nor a crew to get it to where it was supposed to be.

I also wouldn't be paid if I failed, which can't happen because I never fail, and if I do now my reputation would be destroyed. Plus I really needed that money and that WAS a hell of a lot of credits offered. I wasn't about to give up that much money without a fight.

……

"Uggh!" I grunted as I landed my fist into the cold, metal wall, my anger finally breaking through my somewhat calm facade. This bloody ship is like a maze, how anyone can manage to navigate it, I don't know. I groaned, massaging my head trying to stop the migraine that was building up in my forehead. I knew I should have researched the layout of the ship more.

Panting hard, I tried to regain control of my breathing, I glanced up trying to figure out my current location.

A manic grin broke out across my face, when I realised where I had stopped

Finally, now staring at the bleak engine room door, I made a promise to myself.

Those Aliens better run fast, because I'm going to enjoy blasting them into space goo for forcing me to clean up their mess.

.....

Grunting in exhaustion, I stood up running my grease covered hands through my wild mess of curls, narrowly avoiding hitting my head on the many metal pipes running through the small room, as I stared at the now glowing reactor core.

I had managed to get the alarms to turn off pretty quickly, as well as the anti-gravity, which made it easier to fix the reactor core. For not being much of a mechanic, I think I did a pretty good job of it AND I managed to not break anything else which is a miracle in itself. 

After finishing up my final checks, double checking everything to make sure everything was in working order, I made my way  up to the control deck, where the ships steering controls were located.

"A.X.E? Please locate the Invaders ships current coordinates" I ordered the now operational AI. 

"Of course Sir, locating coordinates now".

I had already devised a plan to retrieve my cargo back and the rest of the crew. I just had to execute it. I figured I had only one advantage over the Invaders - the element of surprise.

Only one person knew my true mission aboard this ship: Captain Sol Pelix.

A man in his 50s, old, bald and a taste for the finer things in life. He kept my name off the crew list and made sure none of the crew were any wiser on my true reasons for being aboard his ship, in return for my services. He has my thanks for that, because he now has also granted me a way in.

The door to the control room hissed open, and I stepped in, making my way to the largest chair in the room - the Captain's Chair. I stared out into the starry vast galaxy in front of me, my hand resting on the back of the chair as I got lost in my own reverie.

"Sir, I have located the Invaders battleship. Shall I input the coordinates into the system?" A.X.E asked inquiringly, shocking me out of my daydream.

Sitting down in the seat, I grinned that manic grin again. 

"Sir?" The AI questioned.

"Hmm, oh yes. My apologies A.X.E, set the coordinates".

"Setting coordinates now".

Grinning even harder now, I relaxed into the comfortable chair, as the AI prepared the ship for the jump. 

Those damn Aliens had no idea the chaos that was about to unfold.

THE END.

[aiyiyichat]

Week 25

The Bots are alright I finally got the Bots to talk to each other as well as to the User and remember all the ongoing context. No easy feat! It took ASGI, WebSockets, and some creative workarounds, but it's GLORIOUS and HILARIOUS. Having a group chat with these two characters is a riot. It increases the delightfulness factor dramatically. This feature was a nightmare to implement (see previous entry), but so f*ckin worth it. Does it qualify as MVP (Minimum Viable Product)? No it does not, but I care more about Viable than Minimum. I'm also building this for myself and this an interaction I really wanted. Code Interpreter saves my life A few weeks ago ChatGPT introduced a feature called 'Code Interpreter' which allows me to upload a code file for GPT to analyze. This was a God send because my code has grown so complex that I can no longer paste all of it into a prompt without GPT complaining it is too long and refusing to answer my questions. This forced me to carefully inspect (and learn) the code GPT was writing for me so that I could issue questions and instructions. I am thankful to have been forced to learn this before the introduction of Code Interpreter, but now I can share multiple interlinked code files and ask GPT what the discrepancies are. Or upload a very long error/log and ask GPT to discern some subtle break that would've taken me days to tease out. I feel as if my timing with this project has been serendipitous (Kismet-y?). ChatGPT launched right when my contract at Yahoo was ending making AIYIYI Chat possible and giving me the courage to attempt it by myself. Then GPT-4 launched at exactly the moment I was starting work on the AI characters and I was miraculously in the first batch of developers granted API access. Then just as the codebase was growing too complex for me to wrangle, Code Interpreter was introduced. The GPT-4 API is still prohibitively expensive compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo, but at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if OpenAI dramatically reduced the price right as I'm ready to launch. This series of events reminds me of a midrash regarding Moses and the parting of the Red Sea: “We all think of the scene in The Ten Commandments movie with Charlton Heston, where Moses lifted up his rod, and the waters rolled back. But this midrash says that’s not how it happened. Moses lifted up his rod, and the sea did not part. The Egyptians were closing in, and the sea wasn’t moving. So a Hebrew named Nachshon just walked into the water. He waded up to his ankles, then his knees, then his waist, then his shoulders. And right when water was about to get up to his nostrils, the sea parted. The point is, sometimes miracles occur only when you jump in.” - Rabbi Andy Bachman An old friend shows support My buddy randomly called me this week to catch up and inquire about my progress. He's a big time music producer and I used to champion him when he was just starting out almost two decades ago. He says the tables have turned and my time is around the corner. I sure hope so. He's got an RIAA Diamond award (10 million albums sold). The real takeaway from our 3 hour conversation was that we are both happiest just working on our craft in solitude. Just vibing out, plugged into the collective superconscious. Success is the cherry on top, but the sundae, the fudge and the sprinkles is in the making of the thing. The journey. I'll take the cherry, but I don't need it to smile. There's other ways I could've burned through my savings, but this is the way that is bringing me the deepest creative satisfaction I've felt in many years. I've already gotten a return on my investment. 🥰

[jpitha]

Dreams of Hyacinth 31

First / Previous / Next

Back in their room, Eastern started pacing. "What are we doing, Nick? Why did I say that? What is going on?"

Nick flopped onto the bed, watching Eastern pace. "I don't know hon, I don't know. I have a feeling the Nanites are influencing what we say and do when we're trying to be-" he shrugged "-royal, or whatever."

Eastern stopped pacing. "What was that?"

"What? I just said that the Nanites are influencing us when we're trying to be royal?"

Yes, we are.

Nick and Eastern's heads snapped to each other. "Did you hear..?"

"I did."

I don't see what is so surprising. Like we told the AIs, we're after growth of the Gate system and more points where we can enter your world. We believe that a galaxy-wide single government is our best way to achieve that. We've done it before and it worked well, it's a proven method.

"But why are you helping us?"

We work with what - or who - we're given.

"But not Raaden, the other Empress?"

Nick could have sworn that the Nanites scoffed. "She seemed to hold so much promise when she was with Melody. Perhaps Melody's influence worked as a moderator to her default behavior. Now that she has been given full reign, she is choosing to enrich herself and take over Sol. She's not building a Gate, she's not traveling to other systems, she's not expanding.

"Can't you... take away her powers?" Eastern sounded hopeful when she asked.

We can remove her Voice, we can remove her ability to understand languages, she would age at a normal rate, yes. Her power and influence are such now that those would not really matter. She rules Sol in all but name, and nothing short of force would change that. Additionally, we don't want to.

"You don't want to? Why not?"

She is Empress.

"But, so are we?"

You are... and you are not. You have the potential to be Empress and Emperor. You have been given the means. You aren't Empress yet. In fact you have been discussing options about running away. The AIs have tried to plant that seed in your minds. They would like nothing more.

Nick looked up at Eastern. She moved her shoulders very subtly.

We wouldn't stop you. You could do that if you wanted. We'd remove ourselves - safely, you'd be fine - and then you'd go back to being 'just' Nick and Eastern. But, you'd lose your chance to defeat Raaden. You'd lose out on ever going back to Sol. You'd lose your chance to be able to remake things the way you both want.

"The way we want, or the way you want?"

We were right in selecting the both of you. Both can be true. All we want is more Gates. Expansion. How you and Eastern go about it is immaterial to us. You can become the iron-fisted rulers of the galaxy, feared and loved in equal measure.

It's not the only way though. You could use diplomacy. Convince the colony worlds, the K'laxi, the Xenni, and everyone else you meet to have a Gate in their system, to trade, to cooperate. We get more Gates, we get more entry points into your dimension and you... don't have to rule.

"We don't have to be Empress and Emperor?"

No. Just because it's a proven method, does not mean it's the only method. In fact, why don't you try diplomacy? We always have Raaden to fall back on. She can be... convinced to expand when she's done having her fun. If you two convince everyone outside of Sol to work together and build Gates and make a true... galactic Community, we'll get what we want, and you'll get what you want.

Think about it. But, don't think too long. The K'laxi are about to dock.

Nick and Eastern were alone with their thoughts again. Though when Nick thought about it, he never really was alone with his thoughts now. He'd always be sharing space with the Nanites. He looked up at Eastern. "Well?"

"I'll be honest, I hadn't thought about diplomacy. We're not diplomats."

"No, but we're not warlords either. If we want to follow their plan A, we'll need to defeat Raaden and... take over the Galaxy. I don't think I have the stomach for that."

Eastern nodded. "Me neither. We could give it all up..."

It was Nick's turn to nod. "But then Raaden 'wins'."

Eastern rolled her eyes. "Nick we don't win against people like Raaden. We never have. Our only option is to survive or be ground down."

"Normally, yes. But now?" Nick raised his eyebrows. "Now, we've been given a chance. The Nanites think we could win. I'm willing to give it a try. It's better than hiding for the rest of our lives."

Eastern sat down on the bed next to Nick and leaned against him. "Oh Nick. I wish Selkirk was here. She'd know what to do."

Nick leaned against Eastern. "I miss her too."

"Let's try diplomacy."

Nick nodded. "Okay. Diplomacy it is. He wrapped his arms around her and they hugged.

Eastern broke off the hug and stood. "If we're going to meet the K'laxi, we should look the part. I remember that Melody was able to use the Nanites to make her gowns, so let's see what we can do..."

Eastern closed her eyes. She tried to visualize how she wanted Nick and her to look. They weren't trying to be royalty, so a gown was out. She thought more of the uniforms she remembers the diplomatic corps wore on Luna. Sort of like a suit, sort of like a uniform with a few touches here and there that were supposed to remind people of spacesuits.

"Eastern, what's going-" Nick started, but then stopped in awe. Eastern was surrounded with a dappled golden light, the same color as her crown and wings. It grew brighter and brighter until Nick had to shade his eyes. In a flash it had faded, and she was wearing an emerald green... uniform. It was the only way Nick could describe it. It made her look official and governmental, but it was also different enough that you couldn't say for sure which polity she belonged to.

Eastern grinned and spun around. "Well? What do you think?"

"You look amazing. You did your hair too?"

Eastern reached up and touched her head. Her long dark hair had been shorn in an undercut, with whorls and stars shaved into the sides, with the very top remaining a shock of her original hair.

"I felt like... it was time for a change. Come on Nick, stand up. I think I can give you a new uniform too." She grinned "Want a haircut?"

Nick crossed his arms. "I'll give myself one, if I decide I need it, thank you."

Eastern's laugh was music.

****

The K'laxi dreadnought gently came up alongside Tinker Toy and opened an airlock. Tink snaked out an umbilical and they docked together. "We're connected. Atmostphere is different than hours, but breathable. I'm still not going to mix gasses though, so you'll have to cycle the airlock, okay Eastern? Nick?"

Eastern and Nick stood by the main airlock in their new diplomatic uniforms. In the end, Nick had opted to keep his hair the same. It was still his close cropped dark hair with just a touch of grey starting near the temples. In the name of looking good and official, he did comb and oil his beard though.

"Thanks Tink. We'll be careful, and we'll let you know what happens." Eastern shook her head and felt her new haircut. Her crown glowed very slightly and her wings were not visible.

"Is Chloe mad at us still?" Nick looked around, but they were alone in the hall.

"Yup. She's pretty steamed. Hat is with her, and He's telling me not to worry. He says she's been like this before and the only fix is to let her get over it. Hat is hopeful we can all talk and debrief when you come back."

Nick shrugged. "That's how it goes sometimes. Thanks Tink. I hope we won't be long." He reached over to start the airlock cycle.

"Good luck, see you soon."

While they stood in the airlock waiting for it to cycle, Nick looks at Eastern. She really does look good. He can hardly believe he's looking at the same woman who not one month ago was running small time scams and gifts with him. "Eastern, what's the plan?"

"Hmm?" Distracted, she turns and looks at Nick.

"With the K'laxi. What are we going to do?"

"I was going to ask them why they're attacking the Xenni and tell them to stop."

"Will that work?"

"One way to find out, isn't there?" She flashed a smile.

The airlock finished cycling and the outer door opened. The umbilical was only about 10 meters but Nick still felt odd floating across to the K'alxi Dreadnought. When they arrived, their airlock was closed. Nick and Eastern paused at the closed door.

Nick looked at Eastern and grinned. "You know, I've thought about doing this before, but I never thought I'd have the chance." He reached out and rapped sharply on the airlock door.

A moment passed, then another. Nick looked at Eastern and shrugged. "Should I knock again?"

Before she could answer, there was a rumble, and the door rolled open slowly. They floated into the empty airlock, and as the door rolled shut behind them they gently touched the floor as the gravity ramped up.

Nick felt his ears pop as the pressure changed, adjusting to the K'laxi's ship. Their planet was smaller and older than Earth and they tended to have a slightly lower ambient air pressure. As the air was exchanged, Nick and Eastern smelled something. It was almost like a forest.

Finally the inner door rolled open, and Nick saw them.

A K'laxi in a smart uniform stood flanked by two more in armored pressure suits holding rifles. Nick was surprised at the show of force, but it seemed that Eastern was ready. She sood at ther full height, towering over the shorter K'laxi. "Are you Commander Tev Halmiar?"

The uniformed K'laxi nodded and his ears flicked. "Yes."

"I am Eastern Standard, this is my partner Nicholas North. We've come to speak to you about your attack on the Xenni and learn more about the Civil War."

Nick's heightened body language processing could see that the K'laxi commander was knocked back by the request from Eastern. Whatever he was expecting, it was not this. "Empress we-"

"I am not Empress."

Even without his heightened abilities, he could see that the Commander was confused. His tail swished back and forth and he blinked.

Eastern, what are you doing?

I've got an idea Nick. Roll with me. We didn't want to rule, now is our chance to get that info out into the world. He could feel her grin in his cybernetics. No stress.

Commander Halmiar scoffed. "Not an Empress? You have a crown, you speak with the Voice."

Eastern nodded. "My partner and I have been blessed to receive the gifts of an Empress, this is true, but we choose to reject the title. Everyone deserves to rule themselves. The current Empress does not see things this way, so we oppose her."

There was a long pause. Nick was watching the K'laxi carefully and he could see that the guards were just as confused at the Commander was. They weren't staring at Nick and Eastern anymore, but instead at the Commander himself. Finally, the K'laxi sighed. "Please. Come aboard. We can talk about this in a more comfortable location."

They were led to a conference room deep within the ship. The seats were made for K'laxi but other than being a little small and having a tail cut out in the rear were fine for Nick and Eastern. A steward came in and offered them tea. Remembering Selkirk, they both ordered K'laxi tea and doing a very good job of hiding his surprise, the steward brought two steaming cups.

Nick and Eastern had enough time to drink half their tea before the Commander came into the room - alone this time - and sat across from them. He looked at a pad, touched it a few times, and then placed it on the table, face down.

"You two-" He started, and then shook his head, fluffed his fur and swallowed. He tried again. "I apologize. It has been a stressful few weeks. Before we go any further, you must know that we represent the anti-Empress faction. We do not wish to be subjected to the Empire... again."

Eastern nodded. "That is fine by us. As I mentioned in the airlock we have no desire to rule."

"Pardon my skepticism, but you used your Voice to order us to break off our attack, you appear to us in a uniform unknown to us and you can speak K'laxi."

Nick's eyes went wide. "We're doing what?"

The Captain narrowed his large, expressive eyes at Nick. "We've been speaking K'laxi this whole time. My ship is from K'lax itself, half my crew has never seen a human, and only a third of us speak Colonic." Tev looked at a point carefully above their heads so as to appear as if he was looking into their eyes without actually doing so. "Honestly, I was worried that our translators wouldn't be much help."

"I apologize for using my Voice commander. I needed you to break off your attack on the Xenni and when we called out to you, our hails where ignored."

Tev grunted. "We were busy at the time. We had assumed that it was either a trap or a human trader working with the Xenni.

Nick decided to follow Eastern's lead. "Just why were you attacking the Xenni anyway?"

Tev looked at Nick and his tail flicked. "We need supplies and we were told to try and 'requisition' some from the Xenni."

"Bully them into giving you theirs you mean?"

"One responds to force with force." Tev's voice gained a hard edge. "The Xenni never treated us with any respect, and only hold off on attacking us because you people entered the war on our behalf. If you were to leave, we'd be back to the old ways within a K'laxi year."

Eastern looked at Tev curious. "Commander, do you truly believe that? The Xenni have been non-agressive for nearly one hundred human years."

"They live long lives. They know how to wait."

He really hates the Xenni.

I know. I was hoping I could just convince him to break off the attack, but if he needs supplies and hates the Xenni this much, they'll just come back and harass them after we leave.

We could make him not attack.

Ugh, then we'd be no better than Raaden.

"Tell me Commander, how goes the war?"

Commander Tev looked up sharply at Eastern, then he crumpled. "It's a stalemate. A war without end. We're evenly matched and both running low on supplies. At this point both sides have effectively decided to wait for the other side to starve and sue for peace."

"What kind of supplies do you need, Commander?"

Tev flipped over his pad and consulted a list. "Almost everything really. We're low on mass for the printers, we're low on food, we're low on maneuvering mass for the thrusters. Honestly, you're drinking some of our last tea even."

"Instead of... attacking the Xenni, would you be willing to trade with them?" Nick was looking at the K'laxi as he asked his question, trying to gauge his reaction. He was hoping the question wouldn't make the Commander angry.

Instead, the Commander just looked resigned. "If we had money, we'd trade with the Xenni or even you Humans. We have no way to pay."

"What about a line of credit? I imagine the Xenni would be interested in extending you a line or credit to purchase your supplies - from a real supply depot instead of a research station attached to a Gate - and your government could pay them back."

"The Xenni would never agree to it."

"Don't be so sure. Nick and I can be very convincing when we want to be." Eastern's smile sparkled.

Commander Tev looked up at Eastern, surprised. "You know what? Fine. If you can get the Xenni Station-Captain to issue a letter of credit and recommendation, we'll link to the nearest Xenni supply depot and purchase what we need. We'll even pass it along to the rest of our fleet and buy from them entirely. It's not like we're the only ship that needs supplies."

Eastern stood. "Wonderful! I will contact Station-Captain Regi'lan from my ship. You shall have your credit in a few hours."

Come on Nick, we have to leave before they get cold feet. I think the Nanites are giving us a hand without the Voice.

Nick stood next to Eastern, and the guards led them back to the airlock. As they stood, waiting for the inner door to shut, one of the K'laxi guards looked up at them. "You really think that you can get the Xenni to sell us supplies?"

Eastern nodded. "I'm sure of it."

The inner door closed, and the airlock started to cycle.

[doridoripawaa]

She was always a better writer, but Setsuna didn't mind.

When the dark-haired idol initially sat down to begin drafting a song, pen in hand, she'd admittedly been daunted by the task. Writing for herself was easy enough: it was an escape for her, a means to convey the love and emotion she was forced to keep bottled up most of the time. In a household that wouldn't accept her, wearing a facade that kept her true self in a cage, she had no other way to stretch her aching wings than to fly away on paper, with lyrics as her key and music as her wind.

How could she ever hope to recreate that magic for someone else? Someone else with her own experiences, her own feelings, her own messages to convey.

'But she hasn't submitted any lyrics for her new solo yet,' Setsuna reminded herself. 'If nothing else, I can inspire her to get started.'

In her role as student council president, she had lauded herself as knowing everything about every student. But that was also just another part of her elaborate ruse, another layer that made her mask heavy as she put on the face that the world expected to see.

To a certain extent, though, Nana Nakagawa was also her. So surely, using Nana's knowledge wouldn't cause any harm?

Except to write for one of her beloved members of the school idol club, she didn't need Nana's technical expertise.

She needed Setsuna's heart.

'What would she write about?' Setsuna wondered as she sat at the desk in the center of the club room, tapping her chin thoughtfully with the end of her pen. 'What kind of dream would she want to convey? How would she allow her feelings to bloom into song, when words don't quite do the trick?'

Her gaze flickered over to the object in her other hand: an encyclopedia of flowers. Setsuna's expression softened as she took it in, even as the mere weight of the book was enough to send most people into a mild panic. Tackling a new subject was always daunting, but for her sake....

Setsuna placed the encyclopedia onto the table and began to flip through its pages, submerging herself into that world of color and light. The vast quantity of information threatened to drown her, but she kept pushing onward, searching for the exact blossoms that would convey the feelings deep inside her heart.

Aster. Carnation. Chrysanthemum. Heather. Rose. Tulip. Zinnia.

"Setsu?"

Upon hearing her name, Setsuna lifted her weary eyes from the paper in front of her and turned to see who had entered. Much to her surprise, she noticed that the light in the room had vastly changed; the reds and pinks of sunset were flooding the windows, a gentle but firm reminder that it was time to go home.

"Whoa, Setsu is always working hard!" Ai gasped as she scurried over to the table, her excited golden gaze flickering over the half-finished lyrics and the volume laid out in front of her. "But I thought you finished your solo already? Are you redoing it? Did you not have the write idea the first time?" She snickered at her own pun, and Setsuna couldn't help but giggle softly as well.

"This isn't for me," she reassured the blonde with a wave of her hand. "It's for Ayumu. She hasn't finished her solo yet, so I--"

"Setsu..." Ai cut her off, and her expression was uncharacteristically fretful. Did Setsuna say something wrong?

"I don't mind!" she tried to comfort Ai at once. "Anything for a friend! Especially for the good of the school id--"

"Setsu," Ai repeated, more firmly this time. The reluctance in her eyes, much duller than they were a moment ago, spoke volumes, but Setsuna for the life of her could not put her finger on what was troubling her friend so much. "Ayu-pyon... isn't an idol anymore. Remember?"

The wall that Setsuna had put up so carefully came crashing down.

How... how could she forget?

The yawning absence in the club room. The frigid air where Ayumu once stood. The silence in the AZUNA meetings. The emptiness... the overwhelming emptiness that threatened to drown Setsuna every time she lingered on the thought for too long, every time she allowed her mind to wander to the day when Ayumu had tearfully walked out of that door and never looked back.

Setsuna had put up another persona without even realizing she had done so. It was a defense mechanism, without a doubt. She needed to be a leader, she needed to be the smiling and sparkling Setsuna that could spread love and passion and happiness... even without Ayumu there.

Even without Ayumu?

No, the Setsuna she had presented to the world was one who naively clung onto the hope that Ayumu was going to return. That whatever had been broken could be fixed. That they would all take the stage together again, hand in hand.

At what point was it a mistake to keep dreaming? At what point did she need to stop her chase?

"That... would explain why I haven't seen her song," Setsuna murmured at last, forcing out a sheepish laugh. "I was so busy with student council work that I must have... I must have forgotten!"

"Setsu..."

"I'd better clean up, then. It's getting late! You should head home, too," Setsuna added. "Were you helping the basketball club again?" Jumping to her feet, she was already ushering Ai out the door before her classmate could respond. "I hope you aren't keeping Rina waiting! I'll see you later, okay?"

She probably shouldn't have pushed Ai with that much force, at the end. She probably shouldn't have locked the door behind her. She probably shouldn't have wandered back over to that desk, where her half-finished work sat staring her in the face.

A reminder of her failure.

Absent-mindedly, she began flipping through the pages, her eyes cold and grey as she searched for the perfect flower to set up in her heart's garden.

Purple hyacinth.