#Helicopter takeoff

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Heyo! What's the most harrowing helicopter rescue that Sky ever done for the hospital he flies for? Also, does he go to schools to show kids what his job's like?

This sent me on a dive into close calls in a helicopter and I ended up on a website written by flight crews who survived crashes and now I have a new level of anxiety about flying in a helicopter 😂🙃 I’m choosing to be nice to Sky, his most harrowing thing in his civilian job was an engine failure that made him turn the bird around and cancel the call they were going on, they all arrived safely back at the helipad thank you very much. Oof.

His military days, though… 👀

I think his agency does some PR stuff where he’ll fly to a school and let them see the helicopter every once in a while. Let me tell you, though, when he does training with the local agencies it might as well be the same thing because everyone loves to see his fancy loftwing.

[dragon411keeper]

plen

an idea just popped into my head

what if, a plane spun like a helicopters rotor in order to take off, and at peak height it cartoonishly stopped spinning and flew as if nothing happened?

[inkskinned]

in the time loop the only way out is to leave her there but you don't ever leave her there, never in the roughly one thousand years you have been in the same day. it is probably like "50 first dates" but you haven't stooped so low as to watch "50 first dates" yet. (but who is to say what another thousand years of the same media will bring to you, maybe you will develop a new taste).

you spent about 200 of these years sulking in a bathtub or on the couch or staring at the seaside. 300 of them have been spent slowly mapping the geographical distance you can actually get before the time loop restarts. you have a list of favorite places: one library in Western Massachusetts called "The Bookmill", which has weird hours and has never raised an eyebrow to you arriving out-of-breath and panting, asking to see a specific book on a specific shelf. There is one beach without a name in North Carolina; it is an accident of geography and ownership title disputes - and it is pristine, untouched, warm and cozy. you've taken her on a lot of picnics there. Acadia National Park. One specific birdhouse in the mountains.

you were stuck in the time loop with the money you entered it with: not enough to rent a private jet. you've robbed a bank a few times, you don't like the way it ends. maybe next century you'll get the hang of it. you don't like the look on her face when you say hang on i have to stop at the bank.

you just have to leave her, and you can go back to being a person again. you took 5 years just catching a flight and sitting in the Grand Canyon. if there's one thing you regret more than anything, it's that you hadn't gotten your passport renewed before this fucking time loop. maybe you should spend some time learning forgery - but also, like, you look like an english teacher. nobody is going to be cool about you asking to see their paper printing machines.

the world is very big. that is one of the things groundhog day gets wrong. there are no consequences, so you have literally all the time (or none of the time?) in the world. in groundhog day, he does a lot of very cool things, but in reality - your muscle memory never gets better. you can't necessarily learn how to play piano or sculpt ice, because your hands never remember the practice. but hey - maybe you'll try violin next. drums. synth.

you can open any door and walk into any conversation. money isn't really an object. you can try every meal off every menu, forever. take her on helicopter tours and into every museum and on every event that is happening right-now at-this-moment. parades and funerals and calligraphy classes.

but you are somewhat trapped by the limitations of your body. if you were reading a book, you still need to get up and go back to the library and find that book again when the day resets. (thank god for the internet). it still takes like 2 hours to board a plane, and then takeoff and landing and traffic. you've gotten off to run around on the freeway. one of the little thankful things: since your brain isn't actually developing (it's a muscle too), the days thankfully don't feel shorter to you. that would be agony.

all you have to do to leave the timeloop is let that man get away with it. that's all. in every version of yourself - forever - you have stopped him.

the problem is that this experience has convinced you of the existence of the human soul. after all, how else are you forming memories? your very cells reset. information has to be transferred somehow. and if timeloops are real, you can convince yourself other magic exists. so you have two choices here: this hell, or the next. there might be a millennia where you have been worn down to the point you can accept fate's decision. this is just not one of them. ironically - she is the one thing you have left.

and besides! if you can't always find something new in your partner, aren't you failing them? there is something new about her, every day with the same morning. every brutal day with the same orange sunset.

after all, you wanted to live with her in heaven, in eternity, and, well - isn't this second-best.

[imaginesheaven]

Pilot!Reader x TF 141

Friendship Headcanons

Warnings: cursing

Words spread like fire about your amazing skills in the air. Every team that got assigned to you and your helicopter comes back home safe and sound.

Captain Price demands your transfer to his team after you had the honor to do a mission with the Task Force 141. He only chooses the best of the best to work with.

“John! You can’t demand every good soldier I have for your team.” – “Laswell, I can and I will~”

Needless to say, but Laswell is more than pissed since you are one of the best pilots if not the best pilot on the base, but Price always get what he wants.

With your quite sassy and funny demeanor you win the hearts of the tough men rather quickly.

“Dear Task Force 141, this is your pilot speaking. If you look to the right side of the helicopter you can see Eagle 3 challenging us to a race. So, please keep seated and hold on for dear life because shit is about to get real~”

The team making bets between you and the other pilot of Eagle 3. In the end, you always win.

At first the team makes fun of you naming your helicopter Valkyrie, but after a little nosedive after a hard mission they stop very quickly. They really made the mistake of underestimating you and your helicopter.

Valkyrie actually was ready to be dropped out from the military due to old age. It was love on first sight for you. It took weeks to convince Laswell but, in the end, you got the old birdy and brought her back to her glory. It came in handy that you are literally blessed with a mechanic soul.

In your free time you love to try out new things to improve Valkyrie for the next mission. Gaz really wants to help every time, but ends up standing in the way most of the time.

“Can you give me the screwdriver for the Fillister Head screws?” – “Uh…. this one?” – “Nope, there most be another one.” – “This one?” – “… You know, Gaz, the windows are in need for a good cleaning. Could you do that for me?”

You hit him with the puppy eyes and Gaz goes to clean the windows like you asked. In the end he is just happy to be there with you :)

Soap is really fascinated with the weapons Valkyrie carries for the missions. You always take your time to explain and show him everything. Here and there he is also allowed to help you out during missions to kill a few of the enemies. That makes him literally so happy like a little boy in the candy shop.

Nevertheless, you use every single chance to mess with Soap. Sometimes Price joins you just for the fun of it.

“Get away from my baby, Soap.” – “I’m not doing anything!” – “You are way too close and I don’t like how you look at her.” – “What the hell?” – “Do what (Y/N) says, Soap!” – “But, Captain!” – “No buts.”

Gaz and Ghost know exactly what is going on and try to hold in their snickering.

With you there is literally not a single dull moment before, during and after missions. The boys love and life for those moments.

Once you left behind one of the soldiers because he got on your nerves before take-off.

“Eagle 2, where are you going?” – “Uh, Urzikstan.” – “You forgot one of the soldiers. He’s banging on the window here.” – “Yeah, we kind of had a fight and he’s an asshole so I kind of had to kick him out. I’m sure Eagle 3 has enough space for him.” – “Eagle 2, you can’t do that. Cancel takeoff clearance!” – “Oops, I accidentally put the throttles to TO/GA. See you later alligator~”

Or the other time on the way back to the base.

„Watcher 1, we request medical at the gate. Uh, we beat up another stowaway…” – “Eagle 2… YOU DID WHAT?!” – “Uh… yeah, we found him halfway back to base and he refused to leave the helicopter so we beat him up and tied him like a present gift on Christmas morning…” – “I am not dealing with this! Land like always and contact ground for medical aid.”

To Laswell’s displeasure you take your sweet time after missions to come back to the base. Here and there you make a little stop at the next fast-food chain.

“I think the drive-through will not do it. Someone has to go out and order at the counter…”

Those encounters with Laswell over the comm create a quite close bond between the two of you over the time.

“Look, who’s back!” – “Don’t even say it, Watcher 1.” – “You were supposed to land five hours ago?!” – “You should be happy we came here at all~” – “How about you land on time for once. That’ll make me happy.” – “We got burgers. Do you want one?” – “YOU GOT WHAT, EAGLE 2?!” – “Burgers…” – “… You will be the death of me … Get them over here fast, Eagle 2.”

Of course, Kate would never admit it out loud that you are her favorite pilot.

“Oh, Eagle 2!” – “Shut up and let me concentrate!” – “Five hours late again. At least butter this landing.” – “We are not Eagle 3. At least we know how to land.” – “Let’s learn how to come in on time next… Did you secure the goods?” – “Sure, Watcher 1. Your usual order coming right to you~”

Captain Price lost count how often you saved their lives with Valkyrie. They trust you blind and know you would do anything to bring them back home. But during one special mission you show how the team really mean to you.

“(Y/N)! We need air support! We can’t get to the evac point!”, the team needs your help, but you ran out of ammo a few minutes ago. You know exactly that they won’t make it without your help. This is the hardest and easiest decision at the same time you have to make.

“It was a good time we had together, Valkyrie”, you say your goodbye to the helicopter before you let crash your baby into the pack of enemies.

“NO! (Y/N)!”, the men are devastated to see Valkyrie go down knowing exactly you must be in the helicopter. Their hearts shatter. They couldn’t save you.

“Boys, come on! We need to be at the evac point in five minutes. Eagle 3 will get us!”, you stumble around the house corner quite out of breath. “You are alive!”, they can’t believe their eyes.

“Not much longer!”, you grab the first one by the hand to drag them into the direction where Eagle 3 will collect you. Once in the helicopter you are all safe and sound for now and on the way back to the base.

“(Y/N) … you crashed Valkyrie … for us?”, Gaz looks at you with his big puppy eyes. You only shrug with your shoulder not trying to think about the helicopter trashed into thousand pieces, “I really don’t want to talk about her.”

It might sound strange, but you are mourning Valkyrie like the helicopter would have been a real soldier. You had spent so much time with her. She was part of your family.

Of course, the team would make it up to you as good as they can. So, one day Gaz comes up to you with a blindfold, “Put it on.” You shake your head immediately, “Not for anything in this world.”

He defeats you with your own weapons. The puppy eyes. You put the blindfold on and get dragged over the whole base until you lose track of where you are actually going. “Oh my god, Gaz! I’m getting really sick.”

“TADA!”, he pulls down the blindfold. For a second you were blinded from the sunshine, but then it hits you. “We can’t give you Valkyrie back, but how about Valkyrie II!”, Soap exclaims pointing at the new helicopter. The whole team looks so damn proud of themselves for gifting you an even better helicopter.

“Thank you, boys. You are too sweet”, you get wrapped up in a big bear hug. “So, you know, Laswell doesn’t want you to know she gave us the money to purchase the new helicopter”, Price tells you with a smile on his lips.

“I chose the interior of the helicopter and the color!”, Gaz exclaims and points at Valkyrie II.

“I was responsible for the weapons! I can show you everything!”, Soap adds.

“I coordinated everything”, Price shrugs his shoulders.

You look at Ghost. He holds up an air freshener, “I want it to smell good.”

[welcometomytrashcan]

Before the Dawn: Chapter III // Logan Howlett

Logan Howlett x f!mutant!reader Chapter 3/4 Read Chapter 2 here Word Count: 1369

Background: You are a mutant with hydrokinetic abilities (think Percy Jackson meets the mermaids from H2O), and arrived at the X-Mansion 4 months before Logan. You started dating Logan after the events of X-Men but before he left for Alkali Lake. You are both in love with each other but have yet to confess it. Takes place within the events of X2, Canon violence, pre-established relationship

With adrenaline pumping through your veins, you and Logan sprinted through the collapsing base. The roar of the dam’s crumbling structure echoed through the metal corridors, water already starting to flood certain sections. But that wasn’t your focus. Right now, you had to find Stryker and stop him—once and for all.

As you stepped outside, you spotted Stryker near a helicopter, preparing for takeoff. Logan moved fast, grabbing Stryker by the throat and slamming him against the helicopter, driving his claws into his sides.

Stryker screamed in agony.

"How does it feel, bub?" Logan growled.

Stryker gasped, "Why did you come back?"

"You cut me open. Took my life. You tried to take Y/N's too," Logan snarled.

Stryker managed a twisted smile. "You make it sound like I stole something. You volunteered for the procedure. As for Y/N... I wasn’t going to pass up that opportunity."

Logan's claws dug in deeper, and Stryker winced.

"Who am I?" Logan demanded.

Stryker smirked. "You're a failed experiment. If you knew your past—the kind of person you were, the work we did—you’d know people don’t change. You were an animal then, Wolverine. You still are."

Stryker glanced at you with a cold grin. "He’s still an animal now."

He turned back to Logan. "I just gave you claws."

Suddenly, an alarm blared from the distance. The ground trembled as the sound of metal screeching and concrete cracking filled the air.

"What the hell is that?" you asked, alarmed.

Logan pressed his claws deeper into Stryker, demanding, "What is it?!"

"The dam’s ruptured," Stryker said through clenched teeth. "It’s going to flood the spillway. It’s too late. In a few minutes, we’ll all be underwater."

You and Logan exchanged a tense look. Stryker glanced between you both, sneering. "You can’t save your friends. They’re as good as dead."

He turned back to Logan. "You’re a survivor. Always have been."

Logan’s face hardened. "I thought I was just an animal—with claws. If we die, you die."

Without hesitation, Logan ripped his claws out of Stryker and shoved him against the helicopter’s wheel, securing him with a chain. You stepped forward, melting the snow beneath him and freezing it again, pinning him to the ground.

"We have to find the others," you said urgently, pulling Logan’s attention back to the base. The rumble of the dam breaking grew louder.

As you started to walk away, Stryker shouted after you both. "There are no answers that way!"

Ignoring him, the two of you raced back toward the base. Jean, Scott, Storm, the students—they all needed to get out before the dam collapsed completely.

The base was shaking violently by the time you reached the others. They were about to head down a pathway that would’ve led them to certain death. Logan thrust his claws into a control panel, slamming a door shut.

"You don’t want to go that way," you called out. "Follow us!"

You helped guide the group back outside, everyone moving as quickly as they could through the snow. But when you reached the spot where the helicopter had been, it was gone.

"Damn it," Logan muttered, scanning the horizon. Panic started to creep in, but then, through the clouds, you saw it—the jet. Rogue was at the controls, with Bobby helping her.

The jet descended, wobbling dangerously as Rogue struggled to keep it steady.

"She’s not going to make it," you said, fear creeping into your voice.

Rogue managed to land the jet roughly onto the ground.

"Go help them onto the jet!" Logan ordered, his tone sharp but firm. "I’ll catch up."

"What about you? What are you—"

"I need to take care of something," he interrupted. "Go."

Reluctantly, you nodded and ran toward the others, helping them board the unstable jet. Despite the chaos, you kept it together, focused on getting everyone to safety.

Once everyone was aboard, you glanced back and saw Logan confronting Stryker again. Stryker was chained up, thanks to Magneto, and Logan stood below him.

"Who has the answers, Wolverine?" Stryker taunted. "Those people? That creature you’re with?"

Logan didn’t reply. He glared up at the man who had ruined his life, the man who had turned the woman he loved into his own weapon. “I’ll take my chances,” Logan spat, tearing off his dog tags and dropping them at Stryker’s feet before turning his back on him.

As Logan walked away, Stryker shouted after him. "One day, someone will finish what I started, Wolverine! One day!"

Logan jogged back to the jet, leaping inside just as the ground shook violently beneath you. The dam was about to burst.

"Are you okay?" you asked as he rejoined you, your hand brushing down his arm in comfort.

Logan gave a small nod. "I am now."

He planted a firm kiss on your forehead.

"Come on, get us out of here!" he called, strapping himself in.

Storm and Scott scrambled to start the jet, but the engines sputtered and failed. The cabin filled with tension as everyone realized that the water was coming fast.

“Why isn’t it working?” you yelled, fear rising in your throat as the water rushed toward the jet.

And then, in the chaos, Charles’ voice softly called out. “Jean?”

You looked around, suddenly realizing Jean was missing. Panic gripped you, and you shot a glance toward Scott, who was frantically looking around as well.

“She’s gone,” Scott muttered, his voice strained. “Jean… where is she?”

You bolted to the back of the jet, searching for any sign of her. Your heart pounded in your chest as you screamed, “Jean! No! You can’t do this!”

But as you reached the door, it slid shut in your face. Through the window, you saw her standing outside, her eyes glowing with power, her face set in grim determination.

“No!” Scott yelled, banging his fists against the glass. “Jean! Don’t do this!”

You felt a pang of guilt slice through your chest. You could’ve helped. You could’ve used your powers to manipulate the water, to do something. But your leg was still weak from the earlier fight, and you weren’t strong enough to control the water currents. You hadn’t been at the school long enough to master your abilities. I could’ve helped her…

Outside, Jean’s powers surged, and she lifted the jet with her telekinesis, guiding it into the air. The water from the dam swirled around her, bending to her will. She was holding back an entire flood.

You pressed your hands against the glass, tears streaming down your face as you tried to reach out with your powers. “Jean!” you called, but your voice was lost in the roar of the flood.

Scott’s voice broke, trembling with anguish. “Jean… please.”

But it was too late. With a final, heartbreaking glance at Scott, Jean guided the water around the jet, holding it at bay just long enough to save you all. The jet soared into the air, leaving Jean behind.

You searched desperately for her in the water, your hydrokinesis pushing you to the limit. But with the blood loss from your leg and the overwhelming force of the current, you couldn’t sense her. You weren’t strong enough.

As the jet ascended higher, the reality of what had just happened sank in. Jean was gone. And it was your fault. You should’ve been able to do something. You could’ve saved her.

The silence in the jet was deafening. Scott collapsed into his seat, his face pale and stricken with grief. You sat down, staring blankly at the floor, guilt clawing at your insides.

“I could’ve helped her,” you whispered, more to yourself than anyone else. Tears streamed down your face, and the weight of Jean’s sacrifice pressed heavily on your chest.

Logan placed a hand on your shoulder, his voice low. “It wasn’t your fault.”

But you couldn’t shake the feeling that it was. You’d failed her. You’d failed Logan. And now Jean was gone because of it.

The jet flew through the sky, but the atmosphere inside was heavy with grief and guilt. The battle wasn’t over, but as you sat there, surrounded by your team, you couldn’t help but feel that you’d already lost.

Tag List: @spacemacandcheese @oscarissac2099 

[soumarhea]

The Wall of Heroes in Maru's workspace; the little details that lives rent free in my head. I'll just paraphrase what I and another troper wrote on Maru's Shout-Out entry on TvTropes;

Keep in mind this is taken straight from The Art of Planes, so pretty much a concept art, and have slight difference from the ones in the final cut of the film.

There's a total of five aircraft on the Wall including Nick Lopez, and each aircraft got another picture and one or two newspaper clippings pinned along their framed photo. Very much grouped like this;

The top left picture on the Wall (boxed in red) is a Grumman S-2 Tracker of the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (abbrev. CDF, now CalFire) with "87" marked on the tailfin. Pic above shows it to be "82", but in the film proper it is "87", and slightly zoomed in. Tanker-87 was lost in a midair collision with another CDF S-2, Tanker-92, over a fire near Ukiah, California, in 2001.

The bottom left corner of the Wall (boxed in green) is a picture of a Bell 212 helicopter. On 21 May 2011, while fighting a wildfire, a Bell 212 helicopter went down just offshore in Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta.

In the film proper, the picture at the center of the Wall is a C-130, with "82" marked on the tailfin (yes they just shuffled that number around), in a livery similar to Aero Union air tankers livery. C-130A N130HP, call sign Tanker-130, also painted in red and white (albeit with a different livery), was lost with all crew on board after experiencing a catastrophic breakup in the air while fighting the Cannon Fire on 17 June 2002.

The picture at the center of the Wall above (boxed in yellow), is a Martin JRM Mars with Forest Industries Flying Tankers (FIFT) livery. The JRM tanker Marianas Mars was lost while operating under FIFT when it went down while fighting fires in British Colombia on 23 June 1961.

The picture on the top right corner of the Wall (boxed in blue) is a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter, painted with Carson helicopters livery. On 5 August 2008, S-61N N612AZ crashed on takeoff while assigned to the Iron Complex fire in California's Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

Bottom right is Nick Lopez. The only thing notable in the picture is he died at 36. Also, look at Blade's dumb face lmao

Headcanon; every time Blade crashes, Maru pinned even dumber picture of him on the Wall.

Anyways, a closer look at the bottom-center map gave us Piston Peak location and,

pardon my nonexistent map-reading, I live on the other side of the globe,

Piston Peak National Park seems to be somewhere in Oregon... or is it upper California/Nevada?? Wait hold on,

Map is roughly overlaid but I guess, definitively, Piston Peak is somewhere in Oregon.

[h50europe]

9-1-1 - Black Hawk Down

(Helicopter crash, Angst)

It was supposed to be a routine flight. Tommy climbed into the cockpit of the UH-60M Black Hawk and immediately felt like he had never left. He put on his helmet, grabbed the checklist and started to run it. Tommy remembered his tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and how this beast had become one of his closest comrades. Beast, he chuckled. That was Evan's nickname for him. He owned it to their first night together, where Tommy surprised Evan with his stamina and some other tricks that had left the younger man craving for more and sending him into the stratosphere as he came hard while a multiple orgasm ripped through him.

Tommy bit his lower lip as his blood rushed south, reminding himself that he had a job to do and needed to focus. He flipped switches, checked the tanks, and meticulously followed the entire list. When he was done, he placed it in the co-pilot's seat and hit the start button. The twin General Electric T700-GE-701 turboshaft engines, each rated at 1,560 shaft horsepower, roared to life. The sound of the mighty blades was like music to Tommy's ears. He wished Evan could be with him, but he got a call about an hour ago and was ordered to the station. A fire at an industrial plant was threatening to get out of control. Dispatch had ordered all available engines to the scene. Tommy's only mission today was to fly the Black Hawk to Renegade airfield near Vegas. It should be a smooth flight. The weather forecast promised clear blue skies. A little turbulence was expected, but nothing troubling.

Tommy felt the familiar vibrations caused by the whirling rotor blades. Flying a Black Hawk was so different from the helicopters they used at LAFD Air Operations. Tommy radioed the tower and asked for a VFR departure: "Echo Lima Foxtrot, VFR departure east at or below 1,500 feet."

The tower replied: "Echo Lima Foxtrot, stay east of runway 10/28 at all times, east departure approved. You are cleared for takeoff from taxiway Bravo."

There was a static crackle, then a familiar voice came on and said, "Ground Control to Major Tom, have a save flight."

Tommy cackled, "I have no idea how you did that, Hen, but you rock."

"Copy that," she replied with a big smile on her face.

Hen was sitting in the tower next to one of the controllers. She had been training some of the employees in first aid today and had heard about Tommy and his Vegas trip. Grinning, she leaned back and watched him take off and then transition.

The estimated flight time was about 1.5 hours. Tommy felt relaxed and looked forward to the upcoming flight. He knew that flying over the desert could be challenging due to the absence of reference points and the constantly shifting sand caused by the wind. However, he was prepared to rely on his instruments to navigate through these conditions.

As the routine flight progressed, the atmosphere changed when the Black Hawk's responder signal was abruptly lost, and the helicopter vanished from the radar. Strangely, there was no distress call from Tommy. Meanwhile, Hen was packing her bags when she suddenly became aware of the chaos unfolding in the tower.

[bekolxeram]

S8 opening disaster predictions

I was patiently waiting for more bts material before making my predictions, but due to recent events, it seems like we're not going to get much more before the premiere, so here goes nothing, I'm making wild guesses out of what we've got so far. (No, we're not going to Oz.)

Bees

We've all seen the constant reference to bees in promos, the latest official teaser seems to indicate a bee-nado as well. I don't think it's an actual tornado with bees in it, or even a The Swarm style large scale bee disaster. In that film the bees crash 2 military helicopters, derail a train and contribute to a nuclear meltdown. I don't think ABC would greenlight The Swarm parody or an actual bee-tornado, especially after how widely mocked Lone Star was for that frozen man CPR scene.

I can see it being a severe bee infestation with multiple bee sting emergencies. Whenever a swamp of bees is reported by media, it's often described as... you've guessed it, a bee tornado. I can totally see the 118 dealing with bee attacks in 8x01.

I can't think of how the bees alone would be a major disaster though. A couple unfortunate people might get stung by a swamp, some more unlucky firefighters might have to fight through the bees to get to the patient, but it's hardly a city-wide catastrophe. I highly doubt the opening disaster is just about the bees.

Plane

I've already written why I think S8's big disaster would be aviation related, judging by the few photos and clips uploaded by the crew.

Every international airport in the US is required to have enough resources to deal with regular aviation incidents like bird strikes, hot brakes, engine failures, minor runway excursions, etc. There must be a very real possibility of a catastrophic mass casualty event for the fire department to send in engines from outside the airport for support.

The emergency vehicles we see in the hangar seem to be parked neatly in rows, so I don't think it's the case of a plane rapidly dropping out of the sky, looking for a place to land as soon as possible, or a sudden accident happening within the vicinity of the airfield. Emergency services have already been notified before the aircraft's arrival, so the trucks are just waiting on the side.

One real life example I can think of that matches these 2 conditions would be JetBlue Flight 292 in 2005. The A320 was flying from Burbank to New York when the pilots realized they couldn't retract the landing gear after takeoff. The crew tried troubleshooting while hand-flying the plane in a holding pattern (the stuck gear prevented the autopilot and the auto-throttle from engaging) to no avail, so they decided to divert to Long Beach and suggested doing a low fly-by for airport officials to assess the damage to the landing gear before attempting to land. It was reported back that the nose gear of the A320 was rotated 90° to the left, meaning it was completely perpendicular to the direction of the fuselage.

In the case of unsafe landing gear, pilots would usually attempt a gear up belly landing instead, as most modern airliners are designed to handle that. Since the nose gear was sideways in this case, retracting it was not possible, so the pilots decided to hold over the city for more than 2 hours in order to burn fuel (A320s can't dump fuel), then attempt to land at LAX, since its runways are longer and wider.

The LAFD mobilized over 100 firefighters all across the city to the airport and positioned them at different locations along the runway on standby. On the other hand, news stations sent out flocks of helicopters to broadcast the whole incident live on TV. Not only their loved ones at home, but the passengers themselves could utilize the in-flight entertainment system to tune in and witness the very plane they were on circling over LA, with aviation experts on air discussing the potential disastrous scenarios they might encounter.

At around 18:00, the flight crew turned off the in-flight entertainment system and gave the passengers a few minutes to call their loved ones. After that, the plane successfully landed at LAX with 1000 feet of runway to spare. No one was injured.

This is what's left of the nose gear wheels.

I'm not saying it will be exactly like this incident, but a major mechanical failure that hinders an aircraft's ability to land safely would fit the most.

Prisoner

Apparently Athena will be on a flight escorting a prisoner in 8x02, at least according to that person working at ONT who posted the photo with Angela on reddit. Naturally, some theorized that the prison would have something to do with the plane going down. I've seen nothing to disprove this theory so far, so it's absolutely a possibility. Although, that would make it the second time in a row a sort of transport vessel with Athena in it runs into a disaster caused by criminal sabotage. It's predictable and repetitive. I also haven't seen in bts stuff the amount of cops required for a hijacking scenario.

What I've noticed from crew photos is that the plane outside of the hangar during filming is a Boeing aircraft, while the cockpit we see earlier at the studio is an Airbus. If there are indeed two different airplanes involved in 8x02, then I can see maybe an impending emergency landing shutting down the airport, the prisoner being stuck inside of a plane on the ground decides to open an emergency exit and makes a run for it. Athena tracking down the prisoner would be the B-plot or something I don't know. I have 0 evidence to back it up, it's just a wild guess.

Sankes Bees on a plane?

Bees swarm airplanes all the time, but getting inside is a different story.

It's kind of hard to miss a swarm of buzzing bees inside an airplane. After pre-flight inspections by technicians and the flight crew, security checks by the cabin crew, the time it takes for the passengers to embark and the baggage to be loaded. then pushing back and taxiing, if a swarm of bees somehow still goes unnoticed, I guess everyone has to be blind and deaf.

Also, if the nature of the disaster is merely a bunch of angry bees attacking people on a plane, it would be quite boring? It would just be a lot of first responders triaging people and applying first aid.

What if the the bees are in the cockpit and the pilots are stung? Well, do both of them just happen to be allergic to bees at the same time? If so, I can maybe see a passenger onboard having to land the plane listening to instructions from the ground. I say 80% chance it'll end badly, thus needing fire rescue. But still, it's a very improbable scenario that requires way to many coincidences.

Bee strike

Airplanes accidentally hit wildlife in the air all the time, the most common one is bird strike, but there have also been locust strike, bat strike, even fish strike.

A swarm of bees is not like a flock of geese, bees don't have bones and are much lighter in mass, so while they can still cause some minor damages to the engine(s), it's usually not a big deal. The leftover bee goo on the windshield might affect visibility, but modern airliners have so many automated systems and navigational aid in place that they can pretty much land in 0 visibility.

So the bees have nothing to do with the plane?

Not exactly, bees and wasps are actually a serious hazard to aviation safety, but not in the way you would think.

Some species of bees and wasps like to build their nests in small, exposed cavities belonging to an aircraft, especially the pitot tubes.

A pitot tube is a crucial instrument on the fuselage of an aircraft that measures its airspeed. If it becomes clogged by foreign objects, in this bees, wasps and/or their nest, the pilots would be left with unreliable airspeed indications. If they unknowingly fly too slow, the plane risks stalling and crashing, like Birgenair Flight 301 in 1996. Air France Flight 447 also stalled and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean due to blocked pitot tubes, but this time not caused by insects, they were blocked by icing.

Brisbane Airport in Australia struggles with wasps infestation particularly badly. In 2013, some mud daubers managed to clog the pitot tubes on an Etihad A330 in under 2 hours, resulting in an overweight emergency landing. For that, airport authority recommended the use of pitot tube covers for aircrafts on the ground, but that causes a whole new problem.

Although the pitot tube covers are big red things with "REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT" written on them, ground crews forgot to remove them before pushing back... twice! The 2022 incident was luckily caught just in time by a refueller nearby, but in 2018, the Malaysian Airlines A330 actually took off with all 3 pitot tube covers still on and the flight crew had to circle back to the airport with no airspeed indications.

While pitot tubes seem to be the most popular among bees and wasps, there have been cases of other openings on an aircraft being blocked by wasps. This Gulfstream business jet had its cabin pressurization relief valve clogged by dried dirt from a mud dauber, leading to a cabin over-pressurization event.

There shouldn't be a catastrophic crash because of unreliable airspeed if the pilots are well trained, but I can imagine a TV show finding some even more crucial flight instruments to be clogged by bees.

Bees as indirect contributors

Of course it can also be the case of bees just happen to sting the one person keeping the aircraft safe. Maybe bees distracted a small aircraft or drone pilot, causing a midair collision.

Or it could be an important airplane mechanic missing work to recover from bee stings. Just last week, an article was published on the Seattle Times detailing the timeline leading up to the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 door plug blowout incident. It was revealed that there was basically only one single mechanic who would work on door plugs. On the 2 days when the door plug in question had to be opened and closed back up to replace damaged rivets, the mechanic happened to be on vacation. His replacement, a young trainee, had no idea what they were doing, and the 737 with a ticking time bomb of a door plug rolled straight out of the shop.

Aviation experts have commented that if the door plug exited the aircraft at a higher altitude, the result would be much more catastrophic: some parts in the cabin could be ripped off, objects would fly out of the plane and possibly ingested into the engine, and if the plane hit cruising altitude, unbuckled passengers and flight attendants up and walking around the cabin would be sucked right out.

Tommy's role in this disaster

The 217 truck is right there next to the 118 one, so Tommy's house is definitely involved. It probably happens at the airport where the 217 is located as well. We've already seen Tommy working on the ground in 7x06, he'll be needed in this kind of all hands on deck situation at his station's airport too.

He could also be airlifting seriously injured patients to the hospital. One service Air Ops provide that is often overlooked, is VIP transport. Tommy may be asked to fly higher ups of the fire department around the airport to assess the situation. LAFD helicopters were deployed for the JetBlue 292 incident in fact.

*Whisper*

There’s also a chance that Tommy’s helicopter will crash. One crashed in New York back in July because its fuel vent was clogged by a wasp nest.🫣

But I hope not, not so soon. Let me see them be cute and sweet for a while first, that’ll make the angst more delicious.

Conclusion

My predictions are probably super wrong, I don't have a lot to work with, so take them with a grain of salt, maybe think of this as simply a fun read about planes. These all are about as accurate as the Wizard of Oz theory, only I didn't grow up watching classic fantasy musical like a normal person, I watched all 24 seasons of Mayday.

I guess we'll find out in a month.

[hellishere7980]

Whatever It Takes (CH-4)

Dear mother, I know you're mad at me. I was supposed to stay with Damien. Stay ‘safe’ as you put it But there is still a weak point I need to cover. You said our aim was to get Damian to safety. Mother, you and I both know he is not completely safe. Safer? Yes. But not completely safe. You know, I promised to myself that I would do whatever it took to keep you both safe. This is my way of doing it. Go ahead and say that ‘You don't need to do it’. But I know I need to do it. So, forgive me, mother, for disobeying your direct orders. I was following the order you gave me a long time ago.

I love you, Mother.

You always said that repeating something again and again reduces the value of your words. These three words I will never tire of speaking to you. Because you gave birth to me. You kept me safe as much as you could. You snuck in and stayed with me when I was sick. You are my mother.

You always said, “Mariam, You are my daughter. Be brave.”

Now I'm saying, “You are my mother, Trust me.”

Trust me to know what I'm doing.

Your daughter, Mariam.

Talia fell down crying after reading the letter. The woman who never shed a tear even after being stabbed and shot.

Bruce stepped forward and supported her to a chair.

— — — — — — — —

“M-Mother?” Damian asked as Talia was about to get back into the car.

“Yes, Damian.” Talia said, smiling at him.

“Don't worry.” Bruce said, standing beside Damien. “We'll keep a lookout for Mariam.”

Talia just nodded and was about to get into the car when a notification chimed up in the bat computer.

Facial match: Ra’s Al-Ghul Location: Gotham Harbour, Dock #7

They all looked at each other as they rushed to put on their costumes. Dick dragged Damian with him to at least make him wear a basic black Kalver uniform. Soon enough, they all took off. Dick and Tim on the nightcycle and the R-Cycle. Bruce, Damian and Talia in the Batmobile with Alfred manning the comms. After breaking some traffic laws, they pulled up at the Gotham Harbour in under 20 minutes. They all stepped out and saw Ra’s standing on a cliff while his personal helicopter, ready for takeoff, waited below in the sandy area.

“Well.” Ra’s said, turning towards them. “I expected that pusillanimous girl of yours to do this.” He said to Talia. “But you? You failed to achieve the low expectations I set for you. This has gone on for long enough. If you so desperately wish to get out of the league, then fine. The league has no place for cowards like you and your daughter who can not even respect their blood. Come along, Damian.”

“NO!” Talia And Damian said together.

Ra’s opened his mouth to say something else but just then a stone was catapulted from the nearby higher cliff which hit Ra’s, the momentum throwing him off the cliff and onto the spinning blades of his helicopter.

Everyone else remaining on the cliff were stunned and watched in utter shock as they heard the sound of flesh being sliced and falling into the slightly acidic waters of Gotham Harbour. As the men in the helicopter jumped out, arrows from the nearby cliff, although from a different area, claimed their lives as they fell down in the pools of their own blood.

All of them stood motionless. Then Batman said, “Whoever did this, the intention was not to harm us yet. Proceed with caution. Robin, Damian, check if there are any survivors. Talia, Nightwing and I are going to check the cliff from where the attack came.”

After spending hours, they couldn't find anything. Just a note that said.

I Bow to thee, Talia Al-Ghul. The Demon Head of the League of Assassins.

“What does this mean, mother?” Damian asked when they showed the note to everyone back in the Batcave.

“This is an ancient ritual.” Talia said looking at the note with something akin to silent horror. “Whenever a Demon had died and the heir took the place as the next Demon Head, all the people of the League of Assassins were supposed to pledge their loyalty to the new Demon Head. They used to bow as a symbol for accepting their superior.”

“But didn't Ra’s say that you were not to inherit the League?” Bruce asked. “Because you are a woman.”

“I know that.” Talia said.

“OK, OK, you are the new Head.” Dick said. “Got it. What are we gonna do now? I think that Mariam might have done it—”

Talia said, “She wouldn’t kill her own Grandfather.” She took a deep breath in.

“I still think the League isn't a fit place to bring up Damian. I still wish you would keep him here.” Talia said, looking at Bruce.

“That would be my absolute pleasure.” Bruce said. “But I want to know one thing.” He continued turning towards Damian, kneeling down to his level, “You wanna stay here, Damian?”

Damian looked deep into Bruce's eyes. “Yes, Father.”

“Well, that's settled!” Tim said. “He gets to stay with us. And you,” He said to Talia. “Get to head the league. Fun.”

Talia gave a light chuckle. “I will leave now.”

And so the days went by. Damian adjusted in his new life as the new Robin after Tim gave him the mantle. Talia went on to Head the league, changing the name from League of Assassins to League of Shadows. When Damian called her about it, she replied, “A new change of aim, means a new change of name.”

Talia even revealed that Jason was back in the living world. They tried to fix that burnt bridge. But Jason was still not completely open to coming back, but, baby steps. Everything was going swimmingly until one day, specifically on Damian's birthday, someone rang the doorbell.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Sussex Website Timing Question: Did Harry Know? Or Did Meg do this Solo? It appears they set it up IMMEDIATELY after finding out Charles has Cancer. by u/somespeculation

Sussex Website Timing Question: Did Harry Know? Or Did Meg do this Solo? It appears they set it up IMMEDIATELY after finding out Charles has Cancer. Feb 4: Website registered.Confirmation: https://ift.tt/pHX9Wn5 from the seller: https://ift.tt/kxm2wJU 5: Public finds out Charles has cancer. BBC tweet is at 1:01 pm London time, which is 5:00 AM in Montecito.It’s plausible Harry and Meg found out late evening of Feb 4th Charles’s cancer - and immediately got to work updating Sussex.com before the public announcement.Harry is on an evening flight that day. https://ift.tt/MtGTqRo 6: Harry arrives in the UK and ever so briefly meets with Charles (approx 12-30 mins, depending on the report. 45mins from car arriving to Charles departing). Charles did not invite him, as he had to delay his helicopter takeoff to Sandrigham even in order to see him. Harry was on an overnight flight from California. https://ift.tt/7jauJO8 also likely wanted to discuss his being denied Royal level security, as the RAVEC judgement draft was already released Feb 1 - despite it not hitting the public press until Feb 28. https://ift.tt/hOVz5yC - Did Harry know their website was already being updated to roll out when he met with Charles, and, if so, did he mention it? Or not? What do you think the motive was in either case?OrDid Meg scramble to have the website registered immediately after finding out Charles was ill, without Harry knowing? It was purchased in December, but there was no activity until suddenly the same day they likely found out Charles had cancer. As in did she initially throw it together without his knowledge? It would explain her pap lap, Cheshire Cat victory lap drive even more. This feels awfully similar to the six months to the date of QEII’s death when People magazine announced ‘Princess Lilibet’ (while Harry was out of town, at a BetterUp public panel, and should have been Harry’s PR press coverage that day instead of being overshadowed). Meg was also photographed that day at Gracias, Madre (thank you, mother) while Harry was in San Francisco. Thoughts? post link: https://ift.tt/yFQkuSh author: somespeculation submitted: March 02, 2024 at 05:42PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

[2inx4inx8inbrick]

Cleveland Clinic helicopter N759P landing at Kettering Health Main Hospital

taken 9/12/24

takeoff video

[pocket-lad]

CH 1- Something of an Unsolvable, Fascinating Mystery, but in Essence, a Friend

Next

Hey, so I'm writing a multi-chapter Jurassic Park g/t fic. You can also find it on my Ao3 account - pocket_lad.

Massive shoutout to @obwjam for being so helpful and encouraging. I would not have had the courage to write or post this without their support, so please check them out. Much love!

***

In hindsight, coming with Ian was probably a bad idea. 

It was definitely a bad idea.

The pocket was stuffy. The humidity was already getting to her, and they weren’t even near Costa Rica yet, meaning it would only get worse. Everything was sticky. Her clothes, her hair, the black, heat-retaining fabric of Ian’s shirt. She felt like she would suffocate at any moment. 

Though somehow spared from the normal sounds a helicopter usually came with (or so she assumed), this was the bounciest, roughest ride Adelaide had ever experienced. And living with a giant meant she experienced rough rides pretty much daily. 

Despite the humidity, Adelaide clung onto the dark insides of Ian’s breast pocket for dear life during their ascent. The roar of his voice coming from above and behind her barely made it to her ears as she put all her focus into not breaking a limb. 

As the helicopter began to level out after takeoff though, she found she was able to loosen her death grip on the fabric a little. This didn’t eradicate her fear – it only shifted the feeling from being about the plane to being about the giants lounging around them. There had to be at least a couple, and Adelaide was starting to wonder how she’d make it through this trip and avoid notice. With nothing else to do, she turned her focus to the giants’ conversation.  

“No? Non-linear equations? Strange attractors? Dr. Sattler, I-I refuse to believe that you aren't familiar with the concept of attraction,” Ian said, loudly chewing his gum. 

Adelaide rolled her eyes. They’d been on this trip for how long? Less than an hour? And Ian was already hitting on somebody. She could see the sly grin on his face without even having to look at him. Adelaide had to see this woman for herself, so slowly, carefully, and very cautiously, she pulled herself up to the lip of Ian’s pocket. Just for a quick peek. 

The fresh air greeted her face as it took her a second to locate the woman. She sat across and one seat down from Ian, though the space was small and cramped, so she wasn’t too far away. Adelaide absently noted that there were quite a few giants in the plane with her. 

Oh, okay, Adelaide thought. That makes sense.   

The woman was gorgeous, but in an effortless way. She was very tall, even for a giant, and her blonde hair was haphazardly pulled back into a loose twist. Her blue eyes sparkled with curiosity, though clearly, they could see right through what Ian was pulling. She smiled an infectious smile that made Adelaide want to do the same. No wonder Ian hit on her. 

Curious, and admittedly stalling before she had to retreat into the cramped, gross pocket, Adelaide took note of the other people in the plane. Or at least tried to. In the corner next to the woman sat a middle-aged man with a fun hat and widened eyes that were looking directly at Adelaide. 

Uh oh. 

*** 

Ian proposed the trip to Adelaide a couple weeks prior. She knew he was excited, so she hated to break the news, but she made her decision. It was too risky.

“I’m not going.”  

“It’s not like I can just leave you here,” he said.  

As the afternoon dragged on, the temperature was approaching ninety-five degrees, leaving Adelaide in a melted puddle on the kitchen table. She never understood how Ian essentially lived in his leather jacket, especially during the Texas summers.  

“Oh, so you think I can’t handle myself? You think I’m completely dependent on you?” Adelaide goaded, sitting up and raising her eyebrow. She knew he didn’t really think that, but she also knew it would make him feel guilty. Ian loved to tease her, but he always made sure to protect her sense of independence. But a trip to some unknown place with unknown people? And they’d have to take a helicopter to get there? Something that flew in the sky??? No thanks. She survived by herself long before Ian came into the picture, and she’ll do it long after he leaves. A couple days would be nothing. 

Ian gave her a look that said he knew what she was trying to do, and that it was not working.  

“Come on. It’ll only be a couple of days. See the world, see some dinosaurs,” he rambled.  

Adelaide interrupted him. She still wasn’t clear on what a dinosaur was exactly, but she knew Ian’s feelings on the subject. “You said yourself that it wasn’t going to work!”  

“No, obviously it- it won’t, but I need to be there to say...well...I told you so. And I uh, I want you to be there with me.” Ian gave her a charming smile and kneeled next to the table, putting himself at eye level with her. “A couple of days,” he repeated. “That’s all.”  

Adelaide knew it was a losing battle, especially when he positioned himself to make direct eye contact with her.   

“Fine,” she agreed, “but I don’t want you showing me off to any Beans unless I say so.” She made sure her tone indicated that she still wasn’t thrilled about the idea. Ian didn’t notice or didn’t care, as he swept her off her feet in a loose grip to go get ready.  

“Dude!” she screamed, falling back onto her butt as she lost all sense of direction. “Stop doing that!”  

*** 

Adelaide ducked back down into the pocket, her heart pounding. The man saw her. Like really saw her! The logical part of her brain realized that this was probably inevitable. At some point or another, a Human Bean was bound to see her. It was only a matter of time, but she at least wanted to delay it as long as possible, because outside of Ian, she had never been seen by a Bean before. In no way was she ready to interact with one. 

In their brief moment of eye contact, Adelaide noticed that he was fidgeting with a curved, sharp object longer than she was tall. She couldn’t help but think about what the purpose of the object was, and even if it was illogical, how easily it could be used against her. 

Adelaide chided herself for messing up so soon. Maybe if she held still, he would just assume it was his imagination. But even she couldn’t believe that. 

What Adelaide didn’t see after she retreated to the depths of the pocket was Alan’s eyes flickering between the pocket and Ian. He didn’t know what to think or say, or should he even say anything? Nobody else acknowledged the tiny being. 

Ian kept a close eye on everyone and noticed Alan’s odd behavior. He had felt Adelaide shifting around and wondered what she was doing. Getting into trouble, apparently. 

Context clues filled in the rest, and Ian picked up on what Alan had gathered. Alan was smart. There was no way he was going to let this go, and Ian also knew this was going to happen eventually, so instead of wasting his time trying to convince Alan that Adelaide wasn’t real, he took control of the situation. 

“Ah, you seem to have spotted my- my friend here? Della, why don’t you come out and introduce yourself?” Ian gave it a second, but when nothing happened, he regrettably stuck his hand into the pocket to fish her out. 

With every word Ian said, Adelaide’s dread grew tenfold. What was he doing!? All the time they spent together, all the trust they built? She may have been comfortable with him, but he knew she was not to be shown to any other Bean without her consent. Ever. 

When Ian reached for her, she kicked at his fingers and pressed into the far corner of the pocket, as far away from his giant, stupid hand as possible. She was only going to come out on her own terms, which was hopefully never. 

Obviously, her kicks did not hurt him and therefore did nothing to stop the hand from approaching. It took him multiple attempts to slide his fingers underneath her, glued to the corner of the pocket as she was, but eventually he got a secure hold. Desperate, Adelaide pulled out an old trick that she hadn’t needed to use in a long time. She bit him. 

Adelaide could hear Ian hiss, then quietly laugh as if trying to play it cool, but he just readjusted his grip and continued to pull her out. Gently, though, as ever. Always gentle. Always careful. 

Adelaide thrashed and thrashed and thrashed. How could he not take the hint? She was explicitly telling him no. Not now. She thrashed until she saw the bright light of day, then held completely still, not wanting to look like some feral animal to these unfamiliar giants. She only half succeeded as she was unceremoniously held out on Ian’s palm, sweaty and disheveled, hair sticking out at odd angles from the leftover static of his pocket. 

When Ian’s hand uncurled, Adelaide held a hand up to her eyes, shielding her from the light. She blinked a couple of times, and once her vision adjusted, her heart dropped through her stomach, out of her butt, and fell right through the floor of the helicopter into the ocean, washed away and never to be seen again. 

There were exactly four other Beans in the plane with her, probably excluding the one that had to be flying the massive machine. 

Despite spending the last few months with Ian, he still overwhelmed her at times. But this was something completely different, completely worse. She was surrounded on all sides by giants who could do anything to her. They could reach out and grab her, they could hurt her, they could kill her. They could eat her. 

Back when Ian first discovered her, Adelaide was worried that he might eat her, among other things. It’s what she was raised to believe. Human Beans ate borrowers. Later, once she admitted this to Ian, he laughed a condescendingly loud laugh. 

“Humans don’t even know you exist, for one. And even if they did,” he assured her, barely able to keep a straight face, “they surely would, um, not - not eat you.” 

Of course, she believed him now, but being this close to so many of them, all staring directly down at her, it was hard to keep that at the front of her mind. 

Adelaide remained frozen, save for her hammering heart and wide eyes. They continuously darted around, keeping all the Beans in her sight in case one of them made a move. It’s not that she didn’t trust Ian to keep her safe if anything were to happen, (even though that trust slipped a little when he pulled her out and presented her like some kind of show & tell trinket) but Adelaide and Adelaide only was responsible for keeping Adelaide safe. 

Her hands instinctively went to clutch the knife that always hung at her side, but it seemed as though it, along with her bag, was left behind in the pocket. Probably fell off in her battle against the probing fingers. Adelaide felt naked without that knife, and infinitely more defenseless. 

It was another moment before she realized Ian was talking to her. 

“Della. Say hi.” 

She whipped her head to look back at him, astonished that he was still following through with this, and when his face gave her no hints, she whipped it back around to look at the others, unable to make direct eye contact with any of them for more than a second. 

“Hi,” she said shortly, looking at the palm beneath her.

She tried not to let any of her nerves show, but out on Ian’s open palm like this, under such scrutiny, Adelaide couldn’t help but curl in on herself a little bit, arms clasped awkwardly in front of her. 

Ian let out a small, resigned sigh. That was fair. He shouldn't have expected anything different. 

The man sitting to Ian’s right finally broke the silence. 

“What is that?” he asked loudly. 

It was an innocent enough question. Adelaide couldn’t help but admire his forwardness. She smirked, even if she was mildly offended at being referred to as a “that”. 

“’That’, Gennaro, is...well, I’m not quite sure, actually. ‘That’ is something of a fascinating mystery that I have not been able to- to solve, but in essence, ‘that’ is uh...that is my friend. ‘That’ is Della,” Ian explained. 

While Ian showed off his ability to talk without saying anything, Adelaide tried to place where she heard this man before. He sounded familiar, but she didn't recognize his face, so he wasn’t a frequent visitor to Ian’s house. He looked a little ridiculous in his nice tan coat and matching shorts over skinny legs. His bewildered face made Adelaide laugh internally, until she realized that she and him were essentially staring each other down. She quickly looked away. 

Gennaro....Gennaro.... OH!  

*** 

Adelaide sat on the arm of Ian’s uncomfortable, impossibly hard couch, listening to the phone that lay on his chest, set to speaker for her to hear. Not that she’d ever participate, but she appreciated his efforts to include her.  

“You’re not gonna wanna pass this one up, Malcolm. It won’t take any time at all. Just one weekend in Costa Rica. Paid.”  

“Yeah, with a bunch of insufferable geneticists,” Ian muttered. He was sprawled out across the couch, resting his feet on his unbelievably expensive coffee table. His body gave off an air of indifference, but his mind was as alert as ever, the gears churning rapidly.  

“This may be huge. I’d hate for you to miss the opportunity to be a part of something so innovative, so...amazing.”  

“If it works.”  

“If it works. And if it doesn’t, no harm, no foul. You can do your thing, let them know how...wrong they were or whatever...You’d be doing me a huge favor, Ian. And you know you love the attention."  

Adelaide laughed and Ian shot her a look. “You do love attention,” she said. “And telling people off.” Her voice was too quiet to be picked up by the phone.  

Ian rolled his eyes as he responded to Gennaro. “Yeah, no, I - I do. Tell you what. Let me think it over. I’ll let you know soon.” Without waiting for a reply, he placed the phone back on the receiver and hung up.  

“Well, what do you think?” Adelaide ventured. She wasn’t quite sure where his head was at, but the thought of leaving, even for a few days, made her nervous. The possibility of literally anything happening when she stepped foot outside of the house increased by a million.  

“Oh, we’re going,” he said as he shot to his feet, his excitement evident. “Chaos is already oozing out of this- this 'park' and we haven’t even left yet. It’ll be unparalleled.”  

We.  

Adelaide gave him a shaky smile as he walked away. ‘We haven't even left yet.’  We are going. 

*** 

When Adelaide came back to the present, Ian had just finished his unintelligible explanation of what she was. 

“Ah,” was all Gennaro could say, clearly not understanding but wanting to let the subject go. 

“Can I say hi?” Ellie asked. The curiosity Adelaide noticed in her eyes earlier was stronger than ever, and her mouth hung slightly agape. She wasn’t talking to Adelaide though. She was asking Ian. Adelaide felt a bit miffed about that one - Ellie talked over her like she was some kind of pet. 

Ian shrugged, jostling Adelaide a little. It was all she could do not to fall over, but Ian said nothing further, indicating that it was up to Adelaide.

Ellie took that as her cue anyway, so she leaned in to get on Adelaide’s eye level. Though it was probably a normal speed for Ellie, it was much too fast and much too close for Adelaide’s comfort. She leapt back with a small yelp, causing her to fall onto her back. So much for not falling over. 

“Oh! I didn’t mean to startle you,” Ellie said in a voice that was a little too loud for Adelaide’s small ears, but there was no way she was going to cover them. She couldn’t look any weaker than she had already made herself appear. It was times like this where she remembered just how gentle Ian was with her, how often he slowed his movements or quieted his voice for her benefit. 

Ellie continued when Adelaide didn’t say anything. “But uh, I’m Dr. Ellie Sattler. I’m a paleobotanist. This here’s Dr. Alan Grant.” 

Alan was still in shock. He wasn’t quite sure what to say, so he tipped his hat toward Adelaide with an awkward, “How do you do?” 

“Oh,” Adelaide said. 

Stupid! Say something else! she thought. But nothing came. It was all too much, and she needed a moment to think. 

Sensing Adelaide’s uneasiness, Ellie prompted, “So your name’s Della?” 

That snapped her out of it. Adelaide hated that nickname. Nobody had ever called her that until she met Ian. He came up with the name not long after their first introduction and once he knew she didn’t like it, he never stopped calling her that. As time wore on, she corrected him less and less, and at this point it was almost endearing, but Adelaide was nothing if not stubborn. 

“Adelaide,” she said. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” She pointed her thumb back at Ian without turning around. 

This made Ellie laugh, and she was pretty sure she saw Alan chuckle too, even though she was only half-joking. At this, Adelaide’s shoulders released a hair of tension. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Adelaide.” Ellie said as she retreated to her upright position, once again too quickly (though her eyes remained trained on the small person), leaving Adelaide dazed and breathless. Beans moved fast. 

Directly across from Ian, an older man dressed completely in white held up his hands in a placating matter, startling Adelaide. He looked directly at her and said, “I don’t mean any offense miss,” He had a funny accent that Adelaide wouldn't be able to place if she tried. His gaze shifted up to Ian and Gennaro. “But neither of you told me you’d be bringing a guest on this excursion. She obviously won’t be any trouble, given her...well...her stature.” He gestured vaguely at her. Adelaide kept her eyes trained on those hands. “But I like to know who’s coming in and out of my park.” 

“You think I knew about this?” Gennaro protested. 

Adelaide did not like the thought of giants fighting over her, especially suspended in a metal box a billion feet above the ocean, but she didn’t need to worry. 

Before Ian could rise to her defense, the old man sighed. “No bother. Can’t change the past, can only move forward.” He gave Adelaide a smile that she forced herself to return. 

Ian’s palm started to move skyward, taking Adelaide with it. I guess he’s decided I’ve had enough socialization, she thought dryly. But his hand stopped by his shoulder, indicating he wanted her to get off. She complied, not because she wanted to, but because she didn’t want to fight with him in front of everybody, and she knew the pocket would just get hotter and stickier, amplifying her miserable attitude. 

She sat down hard with her back against his neck and her legs stretched out along his shoulder, facing the window of the plane. Though almost everybody could still see her, if she faced forward, Adelaide could pretend that they didn’t exist. Or she could at least try to. She’d be lying if she said she couldn’t feel all their eyes boring holes into her back. 

The giants continued for the rest of the ride mostly in silence, only punctuated by the occasional polite conversation about each other and about the island. Adelaide couldn’t bother to pay attention to any of it though. She was still furious at Ian, and she wished she could have just stayed home. 

Not one hour ago, Ian was the only Bean who knew she existed. Now there were five, and with the way the trip was going so far, more were probably on the way. Adelaide was mad, yes, but she was also scared, not that she’d admit it. Coming to trust Ian had taken a long time and a lot of things had to happen on his part before she even considered being near him. 

Adelaide was not afforded that luxury with these people. She did not know who they were or what their intentions were. They seemed nice enough, but she didn’t actually know them. Businessmen, lawyers, scientists, all with their own agendas. They could kidnap her, dissect her, sell her. But what Adelaide was most afraid of was what she had the least control over. They could talk about her. Her existence, and therefore the existence of borrowers, could be widespread news by the time this trip was over. Even Ian had next to no knowledge about her kind, and Adelaide wanted to keep it that way. She would have put her whole species in danger, and for what? Extinct animals? 

Adelaide’s ears perked up when she heard the old man say, “There it is!” 

Everyone turned to look at the sprawling green hills of Costa Rica. Just as she felt herself begin to calm down at the sight of the gorgeous, lush, peaceful landscape, the helicopter suddenly dropped a couple of feet, sending Adelaide into the air. She yelped as she crash landed back onto Ian’s shoulder. Though she luckily didn’t fall off, Ian’s hand was there in an instant, just in case. 

She appreciated the gesture, but remembered she was still supposed to be mad at him, so she batted at his fingers. “I’m fine,” she said, though the helicopter continued to jerk around with unpredictable movements. 

“Bad wind sheers,” the old man explained. “We have to drop pretty fast, so hold on. Cause it can get just a little bumpy." He buckled his seat belt as another big drop sent Adelaide flying again. 

“Probably best to get in the pocket,” Ian said. Adelaide hesitated. She wanted to put up a fight, but she might actually fall to her death if she wasn’t careful. So. 

“Okay,” she said, letting no emotion shine through.

Even if she wanted to protest, Ian’s fingers were suddenly there, taking up her whole view. He didn’t wait any longer before his fingers wrapped securely around her whole body, pinning her arms to her sides. A brief jolt of fear shot up Adelaide’s spine as his grip tightened more than usual. 

She squeezed her eyes shut. He’s not going to hurt you. It’s bumpy. He just doesn’t want to drop you.  

Adelaide felt herself shoved into the pocket. It didn’t have a flap or a button to close her in, so Ian held his hand firmly but gently over her body to keep her stable. 

Once again, she appreciated the gesture, but she couldn’t help feeling incredibly claustrophobic. It seemed as though the sweat she left behind from earlier hadn’t evaporated, rendering her time out in the fresh air useless. Now, with the temperature hotter, the humidity higher, and her nerves running high, the pocket became an unbearable bowl of Adelaide stew. Not to mention Ian’s hand pressed her into the fabric and into the wall of his chest. 

She couldn’t take it anymore. Adelaide shoved against his hand with all her might. She may not have been able to budge it on her own, but he’d definitely be able to feel it. Yet he refused to let up. 

She could hardly move, hardly breathe. Every breath she took fogged up the air even more, choking her. Trapped. I’m trapped. Adelaide needed to get out. Now.  

She shoved and shoved, using way more energy than she should have. Whether it was the panic attack or lack of oxygen or overexertion of her body, Adelaide’s eyes slowly fluttered closed as she passed out.

.

Next

[jungkookjeon0007]

Nights in Vegas | CH. 8 (JJK FF)

☆ summary: When Olivia flies to Las Vegas for her first ever BTS concert w/ her best friend, she was expecting to make lots of unforgettable memories... What she wasn't expecting was to end up with the lead singer, Jeon Jungkook, knocking on her hotel room door only to find her in nothing but a towel. What will happen when the golden maknae wants to see her again? Will it lead to heartbreak, or a promising future for them both?

☆ pairing(s): jungkook x olivia.

☆ ratings: (18+) for detailed sex scenes + harsh language.

☆ genre: smut, angst, fluff.

☆ word count: 1.5k.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

We went to grab some lunch at the cutest place called The Blueberry Hill Family Restaurant and it was seriously some of the best food I've ever eaten.

We talked and had a good time laughing at each other's jokes and the most embarrassing things that have happened to us in our lives, debating whose was worse.

Once our bellies were full, it was time to take a few tours and do some sight seeing around the city. Jungkook had planned the whole day for us, so I had no idea what was on his itinerary.

We arrived at our destination and I was stunned to see a helicopter waiting for us. I looked at him with a confused expression, "A helicopter? Where are we going in a helicopter?"

He replied with a mischievous smile, "You'll have to wait and see because I can't spoil the surprise."

He winked at me, grabbing my hand, "Come on they're waiting for us"

With that I followed him to the helicopter and once we were ready for takeoff, the pilot had us put on our headphones so we can talk to each other while up in the air. We sat beside one another and as I was looking around waiting for us to take off, I felt someone staring at me. As I turned, I caught him looking at me with an adorable smile on his face. "What?"

He shook his head, "Nothing, I am just thinking how happy I am to be doing this with you."

He smiled and grabbed my hand, interlocking our fingers together.

"Okay, is everyone ready for takeoff?" The pilot asked.

We both gave a thumbs up and said yes in perfect sync. The pilot smiled, starting up the helicopter and before I knew it we were up in the air. If I were afraid of heights, this would be terrifying... but like Jungkook, I was fascinated and could not believe how beautiful the view was.

Our first place to visit on the tour was the Strip of Las Vegas. We could see nothing but a boulevard of casinos, hotels, and a mash-up of replicas of the world's most iconic places (Egypt, Venice, France etc) and it was a sight to be seen. We lingered for a bit while the tour guide told us all about the Strip and why it was so popular, soon flying off to the next place on the list.

The Hoover Dam.

"This is amazing, but why is it so famous? I am curious." Jungkook stated as he peered out the window.

The tour guide once again started to explain that The Hoover Dam is famous because it protects Southern California and Arizona from disastrous floods that the Colorado area used to be common for. 

"Woah, does it do anything else besides that?" He asked full of curiosity.

I caught myself staring at him as the tour guide explained that it also provides water to irrigate farm fields and that it supplies water and power to LA and other cities in the southwest.

He stared at him with big doe eyes shining in fascination.

. . .

We toured a few other places until the guide let it slip that our final trip would be over The Grand Canyon. I gasped in awe as I saw it in the distance and grabbed Jungkook's arm in excitement, "Oh my gosh. I have always wanted to see The Grand Canyon but never actually thought that I would be able to! I am so excited right now that I could cry."

He gave me a huge smile and wrapped his arm around me, moving my headphones to whisper in my ear. "I know, Lacie may have  helped me out with this part." His lips barely touching my ear.

I pulled back and looked at him in confusion as he smiled at me. "L-lacie. My best friend?"

He nodded.

"But, how? I was with you all night and this morning?"

He shook his head as an amused smile spread across his face, "I will explain later, for now look out your window and enjoy the view." He nodded to the window behind me.

I was so into the conversation that I didn't realize we were flying right over the west rim of The Grand Canyon. My mouth was wide open as my eyes were shining in awe at how beautiful it was in person. I could only imagine something like this before, and he made it a dream come true for me to be able experience this. I was feeling so overwhelmed with happiness that my eyes started to fill with tears, daring to spill down my cheeks. It wasn't only the fact of seeing the canyon in person, but it was the fact that he did all of this for me and went completely out of his way to ask my friend what I liked. He will never understand how much this moment truly means to me.

I planted a sweet kiss on his cheek as we flew over end of The Grand Canyon, "Thank you so much for this Jungkook."

. . .

[Jungkook's POV]

We started heading back towards the city after a 3 hour tour of all the beautiful landmarks, along with The Strip of Las Vegas. I couldn't get the image of how perfect she looked seeing The Grand Canyon out of my head and when she kissed my cheek, I swear that spot burned the remainder of the helicopter ride. I am on cloud and loving every damn second of this adventure with her and lucky for me, our day of plans is not over yet.

I surprised her with one more thing and took her to The Strat Hotel Casino SkyPod. This is where some of the world's most extreme thrill rides are located and I myself have been itching to get on them. Naturally they knew I was coming before hand, and only let so many people in to avoid the place being overcrowded.

As we got in the elevator to go up to the top floor, I could tell she was confused.

She looked at me with her eyebrows furrowed. "Are we not going to the casino?"

I shook my head, "Just hold my hand and we will be there before you know it, okay?"

I sent her a sweet smile and while returning it, she grabbed my hand nervously. "Okay."

As the doors opened, I could see the look of excitement flashing across her face, "You brought me to ride these rides??? How did you know I always wan-"

She stopped mid sentence as realization hit her. "Lacie huh?" She asked with a sly smile on her face.

"She may have also mentioned that you've always wanted to ride these as well."

She shook her head as we started walking towards the rides, riding all 3 back to back and laughing the whole time. Never would I have guessed that she would enjoy rides like this or not be afraid of heights.

This woman keeps getting more and more amazing as the days go by, I swear.

. . .

[Author's POV]

After they took the helicopter tour and rode some of the world's scariest thrill rides together, Jungkook and Olivia started to get sleepy and wanted to head back to the hotel. First before going back though, they stopped and got some snacks to take back and within 30minutes, they arrived back at the hotel.

"Hey Liv, I really want you to come back to my room so we can snuggle together and take a nap... but I want to also take you out to dinner later just the two of us. I was kind of hoping it could be like a date." He instantly turned crimson red.

"I would like that too, but I think it would be best if we went to our own rooms so you can pick me up properly for our first date later."

He quickly snapped his head up to look at her as she was already smiling. Before he realized what he was doing, he picked her up and spun her around. She giggled and laughed when suddenly the air got serious. He didn't realize the situation they were in until both of their breaths hitched and got heavier. Olivia's egs were wrapped around his waist as he held her butt in the palms of his hands. They were staring into each other's eyes, feeling the urge to have their lips on one another. She laced her fingers in the back of his soft and silky black hair, pulling him closer. Their lips then met, sharing a steamy and hot kiss inside the elevator.

When the elevator signaled they were on her floor, they broke the kiss and at each other as he put her down.

"I guess I will see you later then huh?"

"Absolutely you will." He smiled at her, waving goodbye.

Not believing what had just happened, she touched her lips softly and knew right then, that she was starting to fall in love with Jungkook.

[dei-lab-assistant]

Nothing Builds a Friendship Like a Crisis (part 4)

Co-written with multifandoms27

Summary: Mokuba has been kidnapped as the two of you performed his monthly inspection of Kaiba Land. Reginald O'Malley, the president of rival gaming company Knightly Rook, is responsible for the kidnapping, and has challenged Kaiba to a tag duel in order to win back Mokuba. To your surprise, Kaiba asked you to be his partner for the duel, since Yugi was out of town. As you head to the rooftop helipad, you hope you're not getting in over your head. Dub canon plus a version of DSOD. Female Reader. Set maybe two years post DSOD. (This chapter does not contain playing the card game...) Fun fact: I always write my Reader character with personality and specific description. Each reader character also has a specific place in the Yu-Gi-Oh world, and is basically an OC with set connections and feelings about the various canon characters and other reader characters. This is reader B, who is immune to the siren song of romance, cheap, eccentric, logical, and hands-on. Word count: 1,647 You can read part 1 here. You can read part 2 here. You can read part 3 here. You stood inside the elevator which had roof access, feeling the floor press against your feet as you and Kaiba shot upwards. The doors slid open to reveal a helipad. Stepping out onto the roof, you squinted in the blinding summer sunlight as heat radiated up from underfoot and down from above. After ditching your hat, abandoning your sunglasses, and replacing your t-shirt with a fitted black shirt and a short white vest, you had run after Kaiba, barely catching the elevator in time. Now, staring at your shadow, you smiled at your silhouette; it was angular, with your capris falling to your midcalf, and the vest cutting off halfway down your torso, with a high collar and flaring out shoulders. It was a good image, a strong outline, and it sort of reminded you of something… Team Rocket. You groaned. 

Kaiba strode past you towards the helicopter, his hair ruffling in the wind created by the rotors. He moved without hesitation. This was your last chance to back out, but your mind discarded the suggestion. When you jumped into a project, you didn’t look back. This was no different. As the artificial wind and engine noise increased, you followed Kaiba inside the helicopter, feeling the sudden lack of blustering air as you pulled the door shut behind you. It was surprisingly quiet inside.   

You almost planted your face against the window during takeoff. For a few minutes, the excitement of being in a helicopter drowned out everything else. Settling down on the bench opposite Kaiba, you tried to focus on your deck and prepare for the upcoming duel. “You look nervous.” Kaiba commented. “I am nervous. We’re about to duel for your brother. What if I’m not up to the task? What if we lose?” You regretted sharing your worries as soon as you said them.

“I don’t lose.”

“Oh, we both know that’s not true.”

Kaiba scowled at you. “I don’t lose to two-bit schemers like O’Malley.”

Fair point. Kaiba was an excellent duelist, one of the best in the world. “I might. I’m a decent duelist, but my deck is hardly top notch, and—”

“You won’t hold me back. I’ll win on my own if I need to.” Kaiba’s voice was ice. His eyes softened a smidge. “But you’re a competent duel partner.”

Kaiba believed in your ability? You gave a faint smile, he wouldn’t have asked you otherwise. “I try.”

“You better.”

After a few minutes of silence, Kaiba spoke up again. “Let me see your deck.”

Switching to the bench Kaiba was sitting on, you pulled your deck out of your belt box and spread the cards between you. Working at a game shop brought advantages; you had managed to get some decent cards, and were using one of the new ‘archetypes.’ When you first found out about the Kozmo cards, you knew you wanted to try and build a deck with them. But even with an employee discount, and Yugi’s Grandpa helping track down cards, you had barely managed to build the simplest form of the deck. 

“Hm.” Kaiba grabbed his silver briefcase from the floor and opened it. His laptop was strapped into the lid, and the base of the case held thousands of dollars worth of cards. Your eyes widened. “Borrow a few for your deck.” It sounded more like an order than an offer.

“I can’t start swapping my cards right before a duel! It could mess up my strategies.” It was stupid, but you didn’t want to feel like you owed him anything.

Kaiba planted his fingers on a few of your cards and slid them across the bench towards you, “I’m offering you a chance to replace your weak staples with stronger options. Take it.”

“Fine, but I’m giving them back after we win. I don’t need your charity.” You took the briefcase from Kaiba and perused the contents. This would require thought. After selecting a few cards like Ice Dragon’s Prison and Pot of Greed, you showed Kaiba the chosen cards and slipped them into your deck. He nodded approvingly.   

Kaiba pulled out his own deck, rifling through the cards idly until he found one of his favorites. 

“Can I look at one of your Blue-Eyes?” You were surprised at your own audacity, but if you wanted Kaiba to treat you like an equal, you would need to act like one.

“Sure.” Extending two fingers, he held the card out.                    

Up till now, you had only held the ripped Blue-Eyes at the game shop. This one was beautiful. You could imagine its roar. Feel its presence. Holding the card was an honor—you felt like Kaiba had handed you part of his soul. 

“Do you know what that card represents?” Kaiba asked.  

“You?”

Kaiba almost smiled. “You spend too much time with Yugi.”

You realized your mistake. “Your power.” It wasn’t a guess anymore, you knew you were right.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards for a moment, before seriousness won out again. 

You knew the card text without needing to look at it, “This legendary dragon is a powerful engine of destruction. Virtually invincible, very few have faced this awesome creature and lived to tell the tale.” 

“Listen,” Kaiba stared at you intently, “We’re about to step into enemy territory. You can’t show weakness or fear, because our adversaries will pounce on any opening you provide.”

You nodded. “I’ll try, but I don’t feel overly confident right now.”

“Your feelings don’t matter.” Kaiba slammed his deck down on the bench between you. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” It was the truth.

“Then remember my power is behind you now, and act like it.”  

“Kaiba…” You saw no deception in his eyes, only trust, and determination. “Thank you.” You handed back his card, realizing he was letting you into his world because he wanted you at his side. Taking a deep breath, you asked, “How long until we arrive?”

“Less than an hour.”

You leaned back against the wall, which vibrated as the copter beelined for your destination. Closing your eyes, running over everything your deck could do, you tried to focus, until the events of the day caught up to you, and you dozed off. Some time later, your head jerked up as your eyes flew open. It was too quiet. The helicopter had landed on another roof, this one in rolling mountains, surrounded by forests. Standing near the front, Kaiba held a muttered conversation with the pilot. You stretched and rubbed your neck. “This is our destination?” Outside the helicopter, men in suits and sunglasses gathered—a security team. Closing your eyes, you rolled them to slightly reposition your contacts; it was almost time for action.

Kaiba strode to the door. “Remember what I told you.” 

You cracked your knuckles, nodding. “Let’s do this.” Nerves settled themselves; playing a game was easier than waiting for it to begin.

Throwing open the door, Kaiba jumped down. Inhaling deeply, you drew yourself up to your full height; you had always been comfortable with yourself—it was time to stop worrying about manners and act more like Kaiba. You grinned, casually stepping out the doorway and landing beside him. It was cooler here than in Domino City, the air filled with the buzz of cicadas and birdsong.

“What are you doing here?”

Hearing the quiet murmur, you turned to Bishop, who shifted slightly under your gaze. “Surprised to see me?”

“I went to considerable expense to keep you out of this mess, Ms. l/n.”

“Why’s that?” You asked, remembering Kaiba’s words about the high cost of the drugs in your slushy.

“I didn’t want to see a naive little girl get caught up in this game.”

“I’m four years older than Kaiba.” You weren’t angry, you had always looked younger than your age, and you certainly lacked experience in these high stakes games. “But I appreciate your concern.”

“Your boss is using you.” “Hnh.” Kaiba crossed his arms. “I like being useful. Besides,” you slid your hands into your pockets and leaned back against the helicopter, “I make my own choices, Bishop.”

“Suit yourself. But I wash my hands of your fate.”

Before you could reply, the nearby elevator entrance dinged. As the doors slid apart, Mr. O’Malley strolled out before they finished opening. He grinned. “Ah, Mr. Kaiba, I’m so glad you could join us!” The security men parted to allow their employer through. “And you’ve brought a woman with you. I’m impressed. Perhaps even the intolerable Seto Kaiba can attract a pretty face.”

“Don’t waste my time with your ludicrous assumptions, O’Malley.”

“Darling, the girl is obviously a gold digger.” From the elevator emerged a woman with bottle blond hair and flashy jewelry, her makeup and clothes trying desperately to hide her status as a middle aged woman in her forties. She wore a sleek black dress with brown fur accents perfectly matching O’Malley’s tie. 

“Allow me to introduce the missus.” Holding out a hand to his wife, who took it with a regal air, O’Malley presented her as though royalty. “My dear queen Sasha—bright as fireworks in a summer sky, ambitious as Caesar, and lovely as the Ring of Kerry.”

“Am I supposed to be impressed?”

“Now now, Mr. Kaiba, no need to be rude. I’m sure your own queen has many lovely qualities as well. While her devotion to the white king shows a certain lack of wisdom, I’m sure she possesses other charms.”

He was still using chess metaphors, you noted. 

“Get to the point, O’Malley, we’re here for Mokuba.” 

“Ah yes, your poor little brother. The lad’s been quite adamant you would come for him.”

“Where’s Mokuba?” Kaiba’s tone dropped lower, bristling with hostility. 

“I’m not a cruel man. I shan't keep such devoted brothers apart for long.” Turning gracefully, O’Malley looked back over his shoulder at them. “Please, follow me.”