#Ketch and Release

[coochiequeens]

This is the second story I’m posting about a transwoman sexually exploiting or trying exploit children in just one day.

A trans-identified male who was convicted for the possession, production, and distribution of horrific child abuse materials has been released from prison early in Ireland, despite not being legally allowed to even be in the country. 

Bruno Binda De Souza, who also uses the name Bruna Meirelles, was released from prison on October 26 after being caught with “thousands of depraved child abuse images.” 

De Souza, 32, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of possession of child pornography, five counts of production of child pornography, and one count of distribution of child pornography on three dates between December 2017 and July 2020. The materials were found on all of his electronic devices, including his phones and computer.

As reported by Sunday World, during the trial, the court heard how De Souza was introduced to child abuse material by a former client while using the drug crystal meth. 

After viewing it for the first time, De Souza reportedly became interested and downloaded significant amounts of the material. The court was told that De Souza began distributing sexual images of children via WhatsApp and Facebook, and had engaged in sexual conversations about children with other pedophiles on the internet.

His crimes were uncovered as part of an operation into child abuse material called Operation Ketch. Gardaí, Ireland’s national police force, were notified of De Souza’s activity by the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Guardaí then launched an investigation into De Souza and seized multiple devices. 

On one phone, 2,464 illegal images were uncovered, with 752 images and videos being found on another phone. Additional evidence was uncovered on his MacBook.

Detective Garda Martin Allen told the court that some of the child abuse images found were “unique” in that Gardaí working the Cyber Crime division had not come across them before. Police often cross-reference child sexual exploitation images against catalogues of media that have been uncovered in the past in order to assist in the gathering of information of importance, including tracking distribution and locating victims. 

De Souza, who is a Brazilian national, was based in Dublin at the time of his crimes and, during the criminal proceedings, his visa expired. He was expected to be deported upon his release, but has reportedly been allowed to freely leave Midlands Prison and enter the community.

Prior to his arrest, De Souza had been active as a prostitute in Ireland, charging 250 Euros per hour. Operating on Irish escort websites under the name “TS Pocahontas” since 2011, he earned thousands of Euros per week. His profile, which has since been removed, boasted of De Souza’s penis size. 

Despite the horrendous nature of the materials De Souza was found with and distributed, presiding Judge Martin Nolan portrayed De Souza sympathetically.

“I don’t think she is a bad person but, she committed serious offenses and the court must punish her for her misbehavior,” Judge Nolan said, using feminine pronouns to refer to De Souza.

Judge Nolan also stated that De Souza had no previous convictions and had co-operated with the Gardaí in handing over passwords to his devices. 

In 2020, Nolan sentenced De Souza to only three years in prison, but backdated it to when he was first placed in custody. His October 26 release indicates he was turned loose just 2 years into the sentence. 

While in prison, De Souza had reportedly demanded a hairstylist or aesthetician be sent in to visit him, but his request was rejected. 

[6rookie-writer0110]

Let's talk on the phone

Avengers Cast x Male Reader

Request - Ok so can I request avengers cast x Male Reader R has worked with all the avengers cast before and has played as the love interest of them in different movies but he finally debuts as Danny Ketch Ghost Rider in doctor Strange 2 (I haven't seen it but let's say he makes a cameo) and the fans are loving him and are going crazy when it's announced his also gonna get his show that's gonna ma15+ and when Marvel release the trailer for R's ghost rider show all the fans are going crazy.

You are at Comic-con with the Avengers cast. They are answering questions from the fans and talking about upcoming projects. You are sitting between Elizabeth Olsen and Benedict Cumberbatch, you get along with everyone. A fan asked you a question...

“Hi, Y/n. Umm is it true, you did other movies with everyone from the Avengers?” She asked.

“Yes, that is true. With Cobie Smulders, I played her cheating husband, then with Elizabeth Olsen, I played her boyfriend in a time period movie. Then I played Scarlett Johansson’s husband in a movie but I died. But I did work with everyone in the Marvel cast” You smiled.

“Today, we will show a cameo that is what is expected in Doctor Strange 2,. So here is the first look of Danny Ketch, also known as Ghost Rider,” Sam Raimi said.

The lights get dim. The video starts to play Scarlet Witch fighting Doctor Strange, but they stopped because they hear someone…

“Is your friend?” Doctor Strange asked.

Ghost Rider is on his motorcycle and he gets off the motorcycle. Then Ghost Rider takes out the whip.

“No. But I don't care I will fight you or him” Scarlet Witch said.

“Avengers? Fantastic Four? X-Dudes? They can all kiss my bony, flammable ass." You said.

Ghost Rider was about to fight then the video stopped.

“Ghost Rider will be played by Y/n. And Ghost Rider will get his own series and will be rated as mature” Sam Raimi said.

Everyone starts to cheer then Elizabeth hugged you. Fans started to ask questions about Ghost Rider and you answer each question.

After the Q&A, you took pictures with fans and signed autographs. Then you take a break with Benedict.

“Everyone seems to be happy that you will be Ghost Rider,” Benedict said.

“I’m just this time Ghost Rider will be accurate like in the comic books. If he wasn't accurate then I would have given up on the role. The fans did like the cameo and I'm happy about that. Plus we are going to get to see a different side of Danny, but that goes along with the storyline like in the comics” You said.

“I’m guessing, Ghost Rider is your favorite hero?” Benedict said.

“Good guess, but yeah. Since I was a kid, Ghost Rider has been my favorite. I have action figures and comic books. Anything related to him, I would buy it” You said.

“I know you will do great as Ghost Rider. Can't wait to keep working with you” Benedict said.

“Thanks” You smiled.

✯ ✫ ✯ ✫

Weeks Later… you have been doing interviews for your role as Ghost Rider. The fans are liking the outfit and Ghost Rider’s form. You are doing an interview with the cast

“Is Ghost Rider going to meet the Avengers?” the host asked.

“Yes, but not in a nice way. All I can say is that he will not follow Steve Rogers's rules” You said.

“I had to film a few scenes with him and Scarlett. We think the fans will like how our characters meet” Chris said.

“The fans can't wait to see that. Y/n, have you always been a fan of Ghost Rider or have you found out recently who he is?” the host said.

“I have always been a nerd when it comes to Ghost Rider. He is my favorite character and I'm glad the movie and the show will be accurate to his storyline” You smiled.

“He has told me many Ghost Rider facts that I didn't know. For his birthday, I got him a Ghost Rider poster and t-shirt, and he stop smiling about it” Scarlett said.

“That was a cool gift” You smiled.

Much later, you went out with the cast to eat. Some fans did take pictures with you then you signed a few autographs.

——

You are on set filming for the Ghost Rider show. You took a selfie with Elizabeth, Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johanson, and it was posted online. Everyone is liking the outfit of Ghost Rider. In the picture, you have on the jacket and you have the chains around you.

[holylulusworld]

Designed by pain (5)

Summary: Broken hearts are hard to put back together. 8 years ago, Dean lost something he didn’t even know he had in the first place. Will he get a second chance?

Pairing: former AU!Dean Winchester x fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, language, past break-up, a little Brit's bashing? (it's Dean), almost car accident (not really, just in case)

A/N: This was an alternative idea for the first chapter of my Bucky story: Monster-in-law masterlist. I decided to use it for a story with Dean.

Designed by pain masterlist

Designed by pain (4)

Dean, stop fidgeting!” Sam tuts. “It’s an airplane. Nothing will happen. It’s more likely that Y/N will stab you to death for following her home.”

“It’s called a romantic gesture, bitch! Maybe I was too chicken to look for her after she left without as much as a note, but this won't happen again.”

“If you wanted to find her, you’d found her in no time, Dean. Do not lie to me. I’m your brother, not someone you can easily lie to. I know you inside and outside.”

“That sounded wrong,” Dean snickers. “Anyways. I didn’t know that she left a message. Back then, I believed she didn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

“Excuses again, Dean?” Sam sarcastically says. “You gave up so easily on Y/N because you let Mother feed you with lies. She wanted you back with Lisa, and you eagerly agreed.”

“I wasn’t with Lisa after Y/N left. That’s a lie,” Dean grunts. “I was with other women, but not Lisa. No relationship worked out for me, though.”

“Maybe no relationship worked out for you because none of the women was Y/N,” Sam looked Dean straight in the eyes. “Just saying. She was the one.”

Dean tries to swallow the lump in his throat. Sam is not wrong. Deep down inside Dean knows that letting you go was the worst mistake he ever made. 

“Let’s not talk for a while. I need to prepare a speech and make Y/N talk to me,” Dean looks at the ring in his hands, swallowing hard. “Do you think she will give me a chance to at least talk about what happened that night?”

“Honestly,” Sam sighs deeply, “I don’t know, man. You hurt her deeply and she had to raise your child alone.”

“I didn’t like that guy,” Dean huffs. “Ketch. He was always sneaking around Y/N, and he wouldn’t leave her out of sight.”

“Maybe he’s just attentive,” Sam grins. His brother is jealous, and this gives him a little hope that Dean will get his shit together and fix what he broke years ago. “You know. Y/N is an attractive woman. A single mom. Maybe he offers to help her repair things and clean her pipes.” 

“Not a word about her pipes!” Dean points his index finger at Sam. His nostrils flare, and his eyes darken. “If that sonofabitch touched Y/N, he’s dog food.”

“Dean.”

“Do not Dean me!” Dean snaps at his brother.

“You’ve got no right to be jealous or angry at that man. Y/N is single because you let her slip through your fingers.” 

Sam leans back and closes his eyes. It’s a few more hours before they’ll arrive in London. He will try to get as much sleep as possible before he must, help his brother get you back.

“DEAN! FUCK! You are driving on the wrong side!” Sam screams at the top of his lungs as his brother curses left-hand driving. “Christ, Dean! I told you about left-hand driving.”

“Fuck left-hand driving,” Dean flashes his brother a smirk before focusing on driving on the right side of the street. “Brits, they are crazy. Why would you want to drive on the wrong side of the fucking street! They are lunatics! All of them!”

Sam releases a shuddery breath. His life flashed in front of his eyes for a split second. “Just drive carefully, and on the right side of the street. I want to survive this trip!”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist,” Dean grins. “I’ve got this. The only problem is, I miss my Baby.”

“Well, at least this way you won’t total your car,” Sam huffs. “Please just slow down and drive us to Y/N’s home safely. I don’t want to face her with my pants soaked with pee.”

“Aw, my baby brother still pees his pants. Cute.”

“Yeah, if his brother drives on the wrong side of the street, almost killing them in a car accident!”

Dean snickers. “Sammy pees his pants. Sammy pees his pants.”

Sam punches his brother’s upper arm. “Stop that shit. We are here to talk to Y/N, not for you to make stupid jokes. Cockiness and bad jokes won’t help you win her over again.”

Dean’s smile falters, and he nods. Sam is right. You will not fall for his charms and cockiness again. Not after he let you down when you needed him the most.

“Mommy, I want eggs! I want eggs,” your son chants while you try to focus on reading the newspaper. “Mommy!”

“You’ve got the pancakes you wanted, Michael Joseph,” you fold the newspaper and give your son a stern look. It’s one of your rare days off, and you want to start it in silence and enjoy the day. “We talked about wasting food.”

“But—” he puckers his lips and batts his eyelashes. Mimicking his father. You gasp as he tells you that he’ll be a sweetheart all day if you make him eggs now.

Sweetheart. The pet name makes your heart ache.

“Please, I want eggs and bacon! Real men eat bacon,” he sniffles. “Please, Mommy. I’m craving eggs and bacon.”

“Real men?” You frown. “Where did you hear that term?” You take a sip from your cup, wondering where your son heard that term.

“Oh, I talked to your friend Dean. He called when you were asleep,” your son grins, making his cheeks dimple. “He loves pie and talks a lot about you and food. Dean said bacon and eggs are breakfast for champions. Especially when it comes with pie.”

“Dean?” You drop your cup. It chatters on the ground, making you flinch. “When did you talk to him? Why did you talk to him at all? I told you not to talk to strangers.”

“He called,” your son sniffs, unbeknownst to the pain he just caused. “And, Dean said he’s your friend. I only tried to be polite, Mommy. Dean was friendly, and I liked talking to him. He sounded like a cool guy.”

“A cool guy?” You shake your head. “No, he’s not a—” Your son looks at you, a big smile on his face when he talks about Dean. So, you bite your tongue and ignore the aching in your chest.

“Mommy, can we call him? I’d like to ask him a few questions about cars,” your son excitedly tells you Dean knows everything about the Impala he loves so much. “Please.”

“We’ll see,” you hastily say. It’s a lie, but you cannot tell your son why you don’t want him to talk to Dean ever again.

For now, you’ll do anything to keep Dean away from your son. He doesn’t know your son is his son. If he calls again, you’ll come up with a believable lie.

“Fuck, I should’ve bought flowers, right?” Dean looks at the model car in his hands. It’s a model of his car. The one his brother found online years ago. “Shit, what do I do now? I need flowers for Y/N.”

“Dean,” Sam hisses. He doesn’t want to draw attention toward him and his brother. “The neighbors are watching us. Ring the doorbell before they call the cops!”

“Not cops,” Dean snorts. “They call them Bobby here! Bobby! He’d so love this!”

“It’s a nickname,” Sam slaps the back of Dean’s head, earning a grunt and a few curse words. “Now stop wasting time. We are here. All you gotta do is ring that bell…”

Part 6

[masoena]

New Chapter of Destined Across Worlds (SPN fic) is up!

Chapter 5 is now live on AO3 with art by Deeranger (click here to see the art) whose creations I first saw during Wincest RB this year and who brought a pivotal fight scene between Sam and Ketch to live visually in the very best of ways, I adore this piece and this chapter in all its angsty, BAMF Sam Winchester goodness.

You can find them here on Tumblr.

Join this one-of-a-kind 7 chapter multi-artist fanfic release. A new chapter releases every other day with art from a different artist. The story is set in a canon-divergent AU, unrelated Wincest a mix of love story, angst, hurt and comfort, please heed the tags on AO3.

Ketch makes an appearance in this chapter and if you didn't like him as a Man of Letters canonically, you may not like him much after this and be prepared for Sam Winchester being BAMF AF!

Subscribe to the fic on AO3 or follow along here on Tumblr so you'll see the chapters and art that are yet to come.

Check the masterpost here for full release dates and artist list. For a fic summary click below the read-more line of this post.

Next chapter: Sep 11:

Chapter 6 - Levitate - Artist: Jayjay-thejet-plane

To start at the beginning go to:

Chapter 1 - New World - Artist: MidnightSilver

Chapter 2 - Rediscovery - Artist: Diminuel

Chapter 3 - Everything and More - Artist: Freckles & Dimples

Chapter 4 - Merging Old and New - Artist: Tsukiyo-7

[tigerspite]

I've been creatively bankrupt but this finally crawled out of my WIPs after sitting there for like. Six months or more. Bon appetit.

Read the rest of The Devil's Claw here

-

CHAPTER ?? / The Disgraced

“What have I done to deserve you gracing my presence?” Eramis drawls, her head cocked to an angle that speaks more of measuring her visitors than a genuine question. 

“We noticed you had some gaps in your crew records from the recent…incident,” Solkis says, eyes flicking to the Captain - Reviks, her last surviving son - hovering behind her. Although shrouded by a large cloak and hood, he averts his gaze from the Hunter, choosing instead to study an incoming Skiff on the opposite runway with an intensity that Scribes would find admirable. 

Wethraks grimaces, braced for retaliation. Being forced to ground her Ketch at Heathrow Spaceport for repairs due to the actions of her son, who should have known better than to lead a raiding party without her permission, has been the talk of the city. Her communications with the Lair are more terse than usual, and he has not dared to intrude on her time. Giving her time to grieve for not only the loss of her crew, but the loss of her son's common sense and lower arms, seemed the only polite course of action. 

Solkis does not fear her. And he guesses that is why he receives a click of mandibles from the Shipstealer that suggests he continue, rather than a derisive statement and a retreat back up the loading ramp of her Ketch. 

While held hostage and dragged across the city with as much dignity as could be mustered, shackles keep him from endangering anyone. The longer he looks, the longer Wethraks wonders if they would be enough to stop him should he turn, or whether he could shatter them with a flex of his wrist. 

“I brought a replacement for one of them.” He steps aside to reveal his gift. A Dreg with a ruddy brown-orange exoskeleton, clothed in scraps of leather and cloth between a cobble of mismatched armor. More disturbing are the lower arms he should not have, flesh bound to metal through a thick layer of uneven scarring gouged deep into the shell of his torso. The prosthetics are little more than steel bars and exposed wiring formed into the crude shape of limbs, built for function over form. 

“Devils nominate themselves to join my crew. You bring a mutilated Scar Eliksni in handcuffs,” she counters. “Why should I take someone who has to be forced to work, and who rejects our banners?”

“He lived on the same Ketch as us during the Drift, he knows about work.” Solkis lets out a dark laugh, nudging their guest forwards. “And his name is Taniks. His House-pledge still isn’t confirmed, but Ursaviks has a use for him.”

Her eyes narrow. “You miss my point.”

As the two launch into debate, Wethraks remains still and tries to fade into the background. The ‘Dreg’ standing hunched between them glowers up at Eramis, lower arms twitching and steel claws flexing. An aura of rage as strong as a thousand suns emanates from him. Given the chance of freedom, it feels as if he would eviscerate every Eliksni on the runway there and then, and realising that he would be the first and closest target makes him shuffle a few inches away. 

"Look at him. He's harmless," Solkis’s voice cuts through her concerns, giving Taniks another shove so that he might be pulled into her Ketch by proximity alone. It earns him a warning growl and a glare over his shoulder, hackles raised. 

“Then release him.”

Taniks’s growl only rises as Solkis fishes in a belt pouch to produce the key without a moment of hesitation, tensing and leaning away from him. As soon as his arms are freed, he pushes him away and hisses, wild-eyed. Straightening up to his full height, he sets his shoulders back, like posturing and challenging will make him run. 

Eramis raises her head, watching his display with careful, guarded interest. When Taniks turns his ire back to her, she looks down her muzzle and gives an amused snort. 

Like a match set to tinder, Taniks lets loose an enraged snarl and lunges forwards, teeth bared. 

She steps back, just out of his range, and his swipe lands short. He takes another step to attack again before Solkis snatches him backwards, locking and twisting one of his upper arms behind his back to force him into retreat. 

A deliberate, and failed test. 

The look of contempt and disgust exchanged between the two Barons, for what Wethraks senses are entirely separate reasons individually, could have triggered a lightning storm.

“A ‘harmless’ liability,” Eramis grates. “Ursaviks must think I'm a fool to accept this offer.”

Solkis jerks Taniks back again to fit the cuffs around his wrists, straining to contain him. “You’re the best Baroness to teach him some manners." 

“He is capable, in the right hands-” Wethraks adds, left hanging as she interrupts.

‘Of what? We left him alone on the Drift for a reason,” she gestures out with one arm, encompassing the time since she last laid eyes on him, and that spent on the Long Drift. “My crew needs shipwrights and skilled workers. Not an animal who would murder myself or others for a perceived slight.”

“The placement is on Ursavikskel’s orders. You take him, whether you want to or not.”

Before she can reject the demand, Reviks finally speaks up, “I can take him,” 

“No!” Eramis snaps, spinning so fast to stop him that Wethraks flinches. She hisses something under her breath about his authority on her ship, all falling on deaf ears as he moves past her to join the negotiation.

“It is my fault that he's here, so he is my responsibility.” Reviks says, stepping forward with his arms spread and head low in apology. "Let me take him. I can keep him under control, and away from the others."

“As long as someone does,” Solkis chirrups with delight, holding out the keys to the new crewmate. 

Wethraks casts a sidelong glance at Eramis, chittering in quiet apology for what has been caused. Through her ferocious scowl, he watches the gears turning in her mind as she weighs up the decision, and whether she could argue and defy her way out of all duty to the charge thrust upon her. While docked and in disrepute, she has the right to overrule Reviks, but that would burn a bridge he needs to cross. Something useful may come of Taniks, and of burdening her family with him. 

Eventually, she concedes, her arms and shoulders drooping. She turns her back on them, beckoning the two towards the loading ramp. "Do not make me regret this.”

"I promise you won't. And if you do, it won't be my fault.” Solkis calls after them, chittering with laughter at his own remark.  

“She will still blame you.” Wethraks mutters.

He chuffs. A given, and not one that concerns him. Eramis has found her reasons with others when required, and his treatment won't differ. Starting to walk away from the Ketch, he replies, “I’m an emissary. She should know to blame the Kell.”

Dithering, Wethraks remains fixed on the three as they depart. Although Reviks has a tight grip of his charge, Taniks writhes in his hold. He thrashes, twisting his head to stare back over his shoulder at where his captor and assistant were meant to be. 

In that last look, his eyes lock with Wethraks, burning with malice and sharp as knives. 

Even when he disappears into the depths of the Devilship’s hangar and is long out of sight, Wethraks swears he feels the sensation of his talons around his throat.

[notgonnaedit]

Healer's Heart

Decommissioned

Summary: When Order 66 ushers in a new era, Althea and the Batch must find their place

Pairing: Bad Batch x Teen!OFC (clones being good brothers/dads)

Chapter summary: The Batch go on another job for Cid and meet two sisters, emulating questions they would like answered

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, Martez sisters deserve their own warning, smelting Depot, reference to Fives, Wrecker fighting the chip, (If I miss a tag LMK)

Master list

​​​​​In Cid's parlor, Echo was teaching Omega how to shoot her new bow. She let go just as someone came down the steps, causing them to yelp and run away in fear.

"S-sorry." Omega said sheepishly. She 

Echo kneeled to her level as she pulled back her bow. The curly haired girl's arms shook as she aimed for the yellow target painted on the wall. "Steady," Echo instructed. "Arms level...and keep you eye on the target."

"You can do it, kid!" Cheered the Ithorian Bolo.

"Not a chance." Said Ketch, his Weequay friend. "Miss! Come on! Miss!"

Althea shook her head from where she stood beside Tech. Those two had been betting on Omega's skill, much to everyone's displeasure.

Omega released her bow, firing a laser at the taget and hitting it. "Ah! Got it." She said with a small fist pump.

Bolo laughed. "Bull's-eye! Pay up!"

Ketch groaned as Echo rested his hand on Omega's shoulder. "Good. Again."

"But I've already hit the target three times." The blonde argued.

"Out of twelve." Echo's voice was stern. "That's luck, Omega, not skill. Soldiers need to be consistent."

The girl let out a sigh before pulling back her bow. Her arms shook worse than before and when Ketch made the comment about doubling the bet if she chokes, she did just that. Omega groaned as Ketch cackled. "I was doing better until those two showed up."

"You have to learn to tune out distractions, which comes with practice." Echo chided. "Again."

"Not exactly a natural, is she?" Wrecker whispered when Omega missed again. Hunter shrugged lightly, silently agreeing.

"Hey!" Wrecker grunted as Cid broke through their small circle.

"Okay, playtime's over." The Trandoshan declared. "We need to talk." She turned to the other two patrons. "You two, scram."

"Hey!" Ketch said. "Okay, we're going. We're going!"

Once they were gone, Cid turned back to the squad. "I assume you boys know what a tactical droid is?"

When no one answered, Tech shoved Hunter away and gently moved Althea. "They were the operational brains of the brains of the Separatist military–"

"Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba." Cid interrupted. "This is my briefing, Goggles." She shoved Wrecker off of the holo table he sat on and pressed a button to show a picture of the target. "Tactical droid intel has tremendous value, which is why your gonna break into this decommissioning facility on Corellia–" She changed the image to a factory. "–And retrieve one before they're all destroyed."

"We haven't decided if we're gonna work for you or not." Said Hunter.

"Allow me to decide for you. You're in!" Cid ordered.

Althea let out a soft growl, something she didn't intentionally do.

Cid sent a glare her way. "Got a problem, Bright Eyes?"

Yes, Althea had many problems and Cid was one of them. But she made no response, and the Trandoshan nodded. "Good." She turned back to Hunter. "I'm talking a mutually beneficial arrangement. You make money, I make money, and I watch your back. With the heat on you, it's the best option you've got."

Hunter let out a small sigh. "I guess we're in."

"I know you're in. I just told you you're in. And you–" Cid turned to Omega and held her arm. "–you're releasing too soon because of those weak noodle arms. Build up your strength." She grabbed the bow and shot three perfect bull's-eyes before handing it back. "Lesson over."

                   •°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Aboard the Marauder, the squad clung to the bottom of a freighter ship.

"This old trick?" Echo asked.

"It gets us past the planetary sensors every time." Tech told him.

Althea smirked. "Except for that time on Felucia."

Tech shot her a look. "We both know that wasn't my fault. And if I recall correctly, we agreed to never speak of Felucia again."

The medic's smirk turned to a full grin, but she didn't press the subject.

"Why is a tactical droid more important than the other droids?" Omega asked as she looked at a holo of their target.

"The more tactical droids fought, the more they learned...and won." Echo told her.

Wrecker grinned. "Yeah, except against us."

"With clones now serving the Empire, knowing how to defeat them just went up in value." Said Tech.

"We're approaching the decommissioning site." Hunter said. "We can land at the industrial dockyard and go in on foot."

Once Tech landed the ship, it was only a matter of sneaking around into the actual smelting depot. The entire building smelled like burnt metal and fire. Along the catwalks were several droids with yellow paint patrolling.

"Cid didn't mention this place was guarded by police droids." Hunter said.

Althea scowled under her mask. "She seems to have that problem."

Tech pulled down his visor, calculating as always. "They're operating on a rotating quadrant scan. If timed correctly, there's an entry point in their blind spot. Follow me."

On his signal, they slunk around the factory until they reached a tall ladder.

"Uh-oh." Wrecker said quietly, but he climbed the ladder nonetheless. At the very top was a door leading to the inner smelting chamber. It was hotter than hell, thought Althea. She could feel the sweat starting even through her armor.

Workers in special suits to stand the heat walked around doing whatever their job was. Wrecker put one in a sleeper hold as they walked through. Finally, once they reached the catwalk, Hunter gave them their orders.

"Echo, Tech, Althea. We'll locate and retrieve the droid. Wrecker, cover us up top."

"But being lookout was Crosshair's job." The demo man groaned.

"That wasn't a request."

Omega looked to Hunter. "What about me? What should I do?"

"Stay here and keep your eyes peeled for the target." Hunter turned to his team. "Let's move."

Omega used her binocs, watching as Wrecker climbed to a tower and took out a worker. Hunter's team made their way to a console where Echo scomped in.

"A tactical droid is listed in the system," Said the ARC. "But only one."

"We have one shot at this." Said Hunter. "Let's get it right."

"Where was the droid off-loaded?" Asked Tech.

Echo spun his scomp. "North end conveyer."

Omega gasped over the comm. "Found it. Sort of. The droid's already in pieces."

"Is the head intact?" Tech asked.

"Affirmative. Wait! Someone just ran off with the droid head."

"I see 'em." Said Wrecker. "One of the workers is stealing our target."

"I'm on it." Omega said, but Hunter stopped her.

"Negative. Stay out of sight." He ordered.

Althea's attention was grabbed by the sound of footsteps. They were coming from the stairs. She nudged Tech, jerking her head towards the stairs. 

"Rafa, come in." A feminine voice said. "What's going on? Where are you? We need to get out of here." 

Tech and Althea raised their blasters at the woman in the workers clothes. She was holding the droid head. "Who are you?" The medic asked.

The woman pushed up her mask, revealing a round face and bronze skin. "Who am I? Who are you?"

Suddenly, a blaster shot rang out. "We've got blaster fire!" A male worker yelled. An alarm blared as the machines stopped working. Police droids came storming in.

"We've got police droids closing in." Said Echo.

"Focus your fire." Hunter ordered as he began to blast at the droids. He ducked behind the stairwell. "Omega, report."

"There's a second person after the tactical droid." She said. "Don't worry. I'm in pursuit."

"No, stay put." Hunter said. "We already have the droid head."

The girl with the head ran up the stairs. "No you don't."

"Hey! Get back here!" Althea chased after the woman, anger fueling her. Hunter was hot on her heels, chasing after the girl with the head. 

She tossed it up to another woman, but it was knocked away on to a conveyer belt. The first woman ran after it, but the second was surrounded by droids. Hunter and Althea blasted them.

The second woman had the same bronze skin as the first, but she wore eyeshadow and dark lipstick. "Hope you're not expecting gratitude."

"Should we have let the droids shoot you?"

"You're welcome?"

Hunter and Althea spoke at the same time, both emitting the same amount of disbelief and annoyance.

"I have the droid head!" Omega said over the comms. Suddenly, everything in the facility came to a screeching halt.

Wrecker blasted at the police droids from the tower. "Wrecker," Echo's voice came over the comms. "Get to the main control panel."

Wrecker ran around the platform, but halted when it came to a steep drop. The control panel was on the other side. "Whoa, whoa! Whoa... I can't reach the platform."

"It's the only way to reboot the whole facility. Figure it out!" The ARC snapped.

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say!" Wrecker sighed as he put his blaster away, his eyes finding a crane hook he could use to swing across.

"Wrecker, hurry!"

The demo man let out a whine before leaping and grabbing on to the hook. His stomach churned as he swung back and forth. "Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't–"

He let go and landed on the platform, but with his momentum, Wrecker slammed his head into the metal post. He clutched his helmet, the pain unbearable. His entire skull pounded, but right behind his right temple felt like something was stabbing from the inside.

"Wrecker, what are you waiting for?" Tech asked.

Barely aware of what he was doing, Wrecker managed to blast a few droids and turn the system back on. He fell to his knees, still clutching his helmeted head.

"Wrecker, the system's online. Now get down here."

He could barely hear Tech over the stabbing pain. He needed to do something, but what? "Good soldiers..." His voice cracked in a whispering stutter.

What did he need to do?! He needed to stop.... something. He needed to obey, then the pain would cease. "Good... soldiers..." He grunted, his head stabbing from the inside and his vision went black.

Hunter and Althea blasted at the droids with the woman. "Why are you after that tactical droid?" Hunter asked.

"That's none of your business, clone." She snarled.

"It is today."

Althea was tempted to knock this woman out with the butt end of her blaster. More then tempted, she was about to do it. But the woman's comm beeped.

"Rafa, I've got the target. Meet me at the north exit."

Rafa grunted as she continued to blast, but soon Omega's voice came on over Hunter and Althea's comms.

"Hunter, I'm stuck on the conveyer. I need help." She sounded scared, more scared than Hunter had ever heard her.

"I'm on my way." He said. He looked to Althea. She nodded, silently telling him she would be fine in her own.

Hunter took a grappling hook from his pack and threw it over the catwalk above them.

"What are you doing?" Rafa asked.

"I'm talking down the support posts. Follow me!" Hunter jumped down on to one of the conveyers, attaching his hook to it.

"Who put you in charge?" Rafa asked.

Althea rolled her yellow eyes and groaned. "For the love of all things holy, will you shut up?!"

Suddenly, the metal groaned and the catwalk came crashing down. Althea pushed Rafa out of the way on to the conveyer.

Hunter ran down the line, jumping over the old droid parts as he ran for Omega.

"Hunter!!" She screamed, so fearful and desperate.

"Hang on, Omega!" Hunter blasted at the droids that got in the way. He could hear her scream as she fell into the pit. She would only have so long before the magma over took her, or melted the soles of her boots. Hunter found the other woman helping Omega, pulling her up with a droid leg. He joined her immediately, pulling up the girl.

"We got you, kid." He said, relief washing over him. "Are you okay?"

Omega panted hard, but her eyes were alert. "Yeah."

Hunter looked to the woman. She looked similar to Rafa, but seemed to be closer to Althea's age, just a bit older. "Thank you."

She smiled softly. "You're welcome." While she looked similar to Rafa, she was much kinder.

Speaking of Rafa, she and Althea came falling to where Hunter was. The medic tucked and rolled, but Rafa just fell. Althea came over to Omga instantly, scanning for injuries. She them looked up at Hunter, who nodded and squeezed her shoulder gently.

"Oh, I'm fine." Said Rafa as she stood. "Don't worry about me or anything." A droid climbed the ladder behind her, but she quickly disposed of it. "Well," She said as she holstered her blaster. "This has been a real treat, but as you can see, the tactical droid is ours."

Hunter drew his blasters. "We can debate this later."

Althea nodded, shooting at the droids. "If we wanna get out of here, we need to work together."

Rafa scowled. "Fine, but I still don't like you."

Hunter ran behind Omega and Althea. "I'm used to it."

Wrecker groaned softly. Somewhere, he could hear Tech calling for him. But the pain in his head wouldn't stop. He couldn't tell what was real from the nightmare. "No. No. No, no, no."

Crosshair's voice echoed in his mind. "Good soldiers follow orders!" 

Ever since Kaller, Wrecker had been feeling strange. He had a strange urge to fight the Padawan Hunter let go, but he trusted his brother and ignored it. It got worse after he hit his head in the crash. All this time, a nagging voice was telling him to follow orders, but he had to fight it.

Hunter, Althea, Omega, and the sisters ran up to Tech and Echo. "All the exits are blocked. And it's about to get worse." Said the Sergeant.

Echo nodded. "A larger wave of police droids is headed our way."

Trace, Rafa's sister, clutched the droid head to her. "We need a diversion."

Rafa leaned over from blasting droids. "What we need is a diversion."

Trace blinked. "Is there an Echo in here."

The ARC squatted in front of her, not being able to pass up this perfect opportunity. "Yes."

"What?"

Echo grinned under his helmet and gave her a small salute. "I'm Echo." Fives would've loved that one.

Trace raised an eyebrow. "Really? Okay, Echo, we need a distraction. And he can help with that." She flipped the droid head in her hands.

"What's that thing gonna do?" Omega asked.

Trace smirked. "We need an army to get out of this. And we happen to have one." She started to work on the head.

"If you activate those clankers, they'll start shooting at us." Echo pointed out.

"Not if we're controlling the droid who's controlling them."

Tech came next to her. "Excellent idea."

Trace put her tool away. "That should do the trick."

The droids eyes lit up. "Cannot transmit..." It powered down.

"It didn't work." Omega groaned.

Tech stuck something on to it and inserted a data stick. "It will, once we boost the signal. And this will help me access the program."

Omega lifted her comm. "Wrecker, do you copy? Wrecker, where are you? We need your help."

A few moments later and the demo man answered. "On my way."

"Brilliant plan, Trace." Rafa snarked. "Really. One of your best."

Althea bit back a swear as she blasted droids. Not when the kid was around.

"We just need a little more time." Trace said.

Just then, Wrecker came plummeting down with a scream. Immediately, he started blasted and throwing around the droids. "Yeah!" He laughed. "I got tired of you guys having all the fun."

Rafa smiled. "Now, him I like."

But even Wrecker couldn't hold them off. He retreated to behind a pipe, blasting when he could.

"Hang on." Tech said as he worked on the tact droid. "The data exchange is nearly complete. Done!" He pulled the data stick from it.

"What is happening?" It asked.

Trace looked at it. "Activate battle droids. Command them to attack all police droids."

"Affirmative."

All the droids whirred to life in the facility. "New command sequence." Said the head. "Your target is factory personal."

They did as the head ordered. "Never thought I'd see battle droids helping us." Remarked Echo.

"That's our cue." Hunter said. "Move out!"

As they ran, Tech showed him the data stick. "Mission accomplished."

"Nice work."

As they ran, Trace called for their droid to pick them up. But in the process, she lost the droid head. It was blasted to bits as they made their escape on to their ship. Althea swore she saw the words The Silver Angel painted on the side, but she had no time to laugh.    

                       •°•°•°•°•°•°•

Aboard their ship, the sisters and the Bad Batch recovered from their battle. Althea kneeled in front of Omega, tending to some minor burns.

"All that work for nothing." Trace lamented.

Omega sighed. "Whoever Cid's buyer is isn't going to be happy."

Rafa turned to Hunter. "Let me get this straight. You knew how dangerous the information on the tactical droid is, but you didn't know who you were giving it to?"

Hunter folded his arms over his chest. "We're being paid to acquire and deliver, not ask questions."

"Paid is an understatement." Althea scoffed.

Trace looked up at Hunter. "Our contact needed that information to fight back against the Empire. They're trying to help people and make things better."

"Why aren't you fighting for the Empire?" Rafa asked. "Isn't that what you clones do now?"

"Not all of us." Hunter said. "We're different."

"Yeah, I've heard that before." Rafa scoffed.

Hunter frowned. As much as he hated to admit it, Rafa was right.

                         •°•°•°•°•

"You should come visit us sometime." Omega said as the sisters dropped them off at their ship.

"Isn't that part of Ord Mantell a little...seedy?" Trace tried her best to be polite.

Omega grinned. "Very. It's great!"

Hunter shook his head, but a smile was present as he did. Althea hung her head, no longer wanting to be around the sisters. She liked Trace, but Rafa was a piece of work.

Rafa smiled "Keep working on that bow, kid."

Omega nodded. "I will. Bye!"

"Bye, Omega. Bye, Althea." Trace said as the girls walked away. The medic kept her hand on Omega's back, guiding her to the ship.

Hunter took the data rod and handed it to Rafa. "Here."

"What's this?"

"Tech copied the tactical droid's intel to this data rod before it got got destroyed."

"Why are you giving it to us?"

Hunter looked Rafa in the eye. "You'll use it for the right reasons."

The woman nodded. "Huh...Maybe you are different."

Hunter turned to walk away, but he looked back. "To be honest, things were a lot clearer when we were just soldiers."

Rafa smiled. "Take it from me. In the end, we all choose sides."

Hunter nodded before walking away, jogging slightly to get to the ship. Omega stood in the doorway waving as the sisters left. 

Hunter pulled the girl inside as Tech piloted away. Althea was tending to Wrecker, something the demo man detested. 

"I'm fine, really."

Althea jabbed him with a disinfectant. "Oh, you're fine? Why didn't you say so? I'll just ignore the face that you've been shot in the same spot for the third time this month!"

Wrecker rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ugh. Fine."

Hunter chuckled. The girls of the squad sure were tenacious.

<- Previous

Next ->

[gemini526sdumptruck]

The Hero Shapes

(and some more lore relating to my jsab universe)

Well, the "Hero Shapes" is what these guys are collectively known as these days at least. Before everything happened, these four were just like any other pixie shape.

Pixie Shapes (no relation to fairies) are shapes who are called such because of their small size and powerful magic. They're ageless, and are the only kinds of shapes who can't be corrupted (unless they were born corrupted). However, they're also incredibly fragile. Even the slightest touch of corruption can chip a piece of them off, and if they don't get a chance to self-regenerate, they shatter.

Aside from that, pixie shapes need a lot of attention and care in general, and that's why you often see one accompanied by a larger shape. Bigger shapes sometimes take training classes to prepare for potentially having to take care of a pixie shape. Some are assigned one by the class, others stumble upon one in the wild.

These four in particular became close friends, and with the permission of their caretakers, often have playdates with eachother.

Cyan is the self-proclaimed leader of the four, and they've always aspired to be a hero. Usually when they and their friends play make-believe, Cyan takes the role of the "knight in shining armor", fighting monsters and dragons to save everyone. Their caretaker is Cube, who was assigned to them when she graduated from her classes. Cyan loves adventures and loves to explore, sometimes insisting they can explore by themself, but Cube is still always close by to make sure nothing happens to them. They're also quite the curious type, which sometimes lands them in trouble. Cyan is also known for having...a bit of a temper...

Yellow likes to view themselves as the "cool" one. They sometimes get into fights with Cyan about who's the leader, but their arguments don't tend to last long. Yellow takes pride in being the fastest of the four, dashing by hazards like they're nothing at all. Of course, they also don't really pay attention to where they're dashing sometimes and run themself right into a wall. They're looked after by Ketches, who found them by their lonesome in an area of Paradise.

Lime is shy and anxious. They have a hard time being around large crowds, and prefer to just be around shapes they know. They find the most comfort in being around their friends and especially their caretaker, Spectra, who was assigned Lime after graduating from his own classes. Lime (before the events of the game) is still pretty new to the friend group, but they've formed a pretty good friendship with each of them.

Orange is cheerful and a bit of a goofball. They're a little ditzy, but not outright stupid. They're very friendly towards other shapes, and while they tend to get super chatty, most shapes enjoy Orange's company. Their caretaker is Lofty, who just kinda stumbled upon them one day.

On the day of the incident, the four pixies were enjoying the 1000th anniversary party, much like everyone else. However, Cyan wanted to explore some more with Cube. During their adventure, they came across a grey plant standing alone in a cave. Now, grey plants normally don't mean harm. They're some of the calmest shapes in all of Paradise, so surely nothing too bad was going on. So Cyan went over to greet them.

Turns out that was a mistake...

Cyan felt very guilty about accidentally releasing a monster, but they also saw this as their opportunity to be the hero they always wanted to be., so they went after them, with Yellow, Lime, and Orange following them, not wanting them to get hurt.

The rest, they say is history.

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: January 7, 2013

Lyrics:

Headin' down south to the land of the pines

I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline

Starin' up the road and pray to God I see headlights

I made it down the coast in seventeen hours

Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers

And I'm a-hopin' for Raleigh, I can see my baby tonight

So, rock me mama like a wagon wheel

Rock me mama any way you feel

Hey... mama rock me

Rock me mama like the wind and the rain

Rock me mama like a southbound train

Hey... mama rock me

Runnin' from the cold up in New England

I was born to be a fiddler in an old time string band

My baby plays a guitar, I pick a banjo now

Oh, north country winters keep a-gettin' me down

Lost my money playin' poker, so I had to leave town

But I ain't a-turnin' back to livin' that old life no more

So, rock me mama like a wagon wheel

Rock me mama any way you feel

Hey... mama rock me

Yeah, rock me mama like the wind and the rain

Rock me mama like a southbound train

Hey... mama rock me

Walkin' to the south out of Roanoke

I caught a trucker out of Philly, had a nice long toke

But he's a-headin' west from the Cumberland Gap

To Johnson City, Tennessee

And I gotta get a move on before the sun

I hear my baby callin' my name and I know that she's the only one

And if I died in Raleigh, at least I will die free

So, rock me mama like a wagon wheel

Rock me mama any way you feel

Hey... mama rock me

Oh, rock me mama like the wind and the rain

Rock me mama like a southbound train

Hey... mama rock me

So, rock me mama like a wagon wheel

Rock me mama any way you feel (oh, I wanna feel)

Hey... mama rock me

Songwriter:

Rock me mama like the wind and the rain

Rock me mama like a southbound train

Hey... mama rock me

Bob Dylan / Ketch Secor

SongFacts:

👉📖

Homepage:

Darius Rucker

[ashes-2-ashes57cba]

The Bad Batch: Specter

Episode 6: Decommissioned

edited by @ryleeeeeenn *kriff: strong expletive warnings: the Martez sisters, the word 'bastard', use of the word 'ass'

Specter winced as Omega let loose another bolt; her arms faltered at the last second causing the shot to stray toward an oncoming patron, effectively scaring her off.

“Sorry!” the girl shouted after her. She pulled back another shot from the energy bow. 

“Steady,” Echo encouraged, kneeling beside her and adjusting her arms. “Arms level… and keep your eye on the target.”

“You can do it, kid!” Bolo encouraged, watching with the rest of the group. 

“Not a chance,” Ketch shook his head. Specter rolled her eyes at the two: they had made a bet on whether or not Omega would ever make a bullseye. Omega grunted and strained,almost fighting with the bow before finally releasing it. 

It hit dead in the center of the bullseye. Everyone cheered as it hit the target, except for Ketch as he paid up Bolo, grumbling about beginner’s luck.

“Good. Again,” Echo instructed.

“But I’ve already hit the target three times,” Omega whined.

“Out of twelve,” he reminded. “That’s luck, Omega, not skill. Soldiers need to be consistent.” Specter couldn’t help but giggle at the girl’s disappointed slouch.

  “You remember when I started out?” she muttered to Hunter, who smiled knowingly.

“Oh yeah. Smallest girl anyone had ever seen, and she insisted on choosing the biggest weapons,” he reminisced with a chuckle.

“Yeah, and then I learned to kick your asses,” she nudged his side. “She’s… getting there,” Specter tilted her head as the girl pulled back another shot. She let loose, but the shot bounced into one of the holo-tables. Bolo and Ketch cackled.

“I was doing better until those two showed up,” Omega grumbled.

“Just imagine their faces on the target,” Specter encouraged. Wrecker laughed as the two quieted down and shuffled a few feet away. 

“You have to learn to tune out distractions, which comes with practice.” Echo put a hand on Omega’s shoulder. “Again.” Omega sighed and turned to the target again, drawing back and releasing a bolt, missing the target by a foot at least.

“Not exactly a natural, is she?” Wrecker whispered. Hunter and Specter shrugged in agreement.

“Wha– Hey!” Wrecker bellowed, turning abruptly as Cid slapped his shoulder and appeared next to the group. 

“Okay, playtime’s over,” she interrupted, pushing her way through the group. “We need to talk. You two, scram.” She shooed Bolo and Ketch away.

“I don’t like her very much,” Wrecker grumbled. If Cid had heard him, she didn’t humor him with a reaction. The woman stood eyeing Bolo and Ketch. 

“Okay! We’re going. We’re going!”

Cid sneered at the pair and watched them leave, waiting until they were out of the room to finally address the gathered Bad Batch.

“I’m assuming you boys know what a tactical droid is?” The group nodded. “They were the opera-”

“The operational brains of the Separatist military-” Tech seemed to nearly pounce on the opportunity to show off his knowledge. 

“Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba,” Cid interrupted, having none of it,  “This is my briefing, Goggles.” Tech seemed to deflate for a moment before regaining his composure. Cid shoved Wrecker off the holo-table, turning it on. “Tactical droid intel has tremendous value, which is why you’re gonna break into this decommissioning facility on Corellia and retrieve one before they’re all destroyed,” Cid explained, pulling up the image of a tactical droid as well as the facility she spoke of. Specter was caught off guard by such a big task, looking at Hunter for his response. He met her eyes, calculating their next move.

Choose your words carefully, Sarge.

“We haven’t decided if we’re gonna work for you or not,” he said. 

“Allow me to decide for you,” Cid shut down the holo, “you’re in!” Hunter was taken aback by her response, his eyes flickered once again to Specter, who gave a reassuring shrug. “I’m talking a mutually beneficial arrangement. You make money, I make money, and I watch your back. With the heat on you, it’s the best option you’ve got.” Hunter and Specter shared an apprehensive look, silently weighing their options. 

“I guess we’re in,” Hunter sighed.

“I know you’re in. I just told you you’re in. And you,” Cid went to Omega, grabbing the energy-bow from her, “you’re releasing too soon because of those weak noodle arms. Build up your strength.” The Trandoshan released three shots in a row, hitting the bullseye each time. Omega stared in awe. “Lesson over.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Traveling from the obscurity and alleged safety of the Mid Rim into the Core Worlds held more dangers than Specter found she was comfortable with, especially with Omega in tow. Even so, a job was a job; and with Cid’s protection, while she wasn’t sure it would be worth much, was better than facing the Empire alone. She chewed on her nails as the Marauder grew closer and closer to Corelia. Tech and Echo piloted the ship, discussing their plans to evade the sensors on the surface of the planet. 

“That old trick?” Echo said incredulously, his brow furrowed. 

“It’s worked for us every time,” Tech insisted. 

“Yeah, but that was against the Separatists. Won’t the Empire see it coming?”

“Not if they don’t know where to look,” Tech said, piloting the ship out of hyperspace just in time to intercept the path of an incoming cargo ship. 

“I don’t know, I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Echo muttered. 

“Well, we’ve made it this far,” Wrecker interjected with a chuckle. With that, Tech powered down the ship, allowing it to drift close enough to the cargo freighter to magnetize to the hull. If all went according to the plan, their ship would blend with the freighter, and they would make it to the surface without being detected. 

“Why is a tactical droid more important than the other droids?” Omega asked Echo, looking at the holo of one. He turned his attention to her. 

“The more tactical droids fought, the more they learned… and won,” he explained.

“Yeah, except against us,” Wrecker cheered.

“That’s because our battle strategy consisted less of ‘strategy’ and more of just ‘battle’,” Specter added.

“With clones now serving the Empire, knowing how to defeat them just went up in value,” Tech added. 

“We’re approaching the decommissioning site,” Echo announced, his gaze turning back to the control panel. “We can land at the industrial dockyard and go in on foot.” Specter held on as they detached and flew down to an empty lot. She readied her gear, putting on her helmet, grabbing her weapons, and preparing to exit the ship. They all carefully followed Hunter through the industrial campus to the decommissioning factory.

“Cid didn’t mention this place was guarded by police droids,” Hunter muttered as a patrolling pair walked past.

“They’re operating on a rotating quadrant scan. If timed correctly, there should be an entry point in their blind spot,” Tech reported, scanning the droids and looking around. A short and sharp whistle sounded, catching the team’s attention; Specter had already snuck away, and was waiting by an escape ladder on the side of the building, outside of the droids’ detection.

“Found the blind spot,” she teased, leaning up against the rungs and watching as the rest of them made their way over. 

“Woah! I wish I could be sneaky like that,” Omega whispered in wonder. 

“Well, you’re halfway there. Keep up with your training and with time, you’ll be able to sneak up on me,” Specter said, ruffling the girl’s hair. “For now, though, we need to get up that platform,” she stepped aside so the others could climb up to the platform at the top.

Wrecker gulped nervously, shifting his feet as he stared at the distance up the ladder. Hunter rushed ahead of them and up the ladder, with Tech and Echo close behind. Wrecker was next, but he hesitated on the first rung and stepped back. 

“Y-you two go first,” he offered to Specter and Omega. Omega started up the ladder, but Specter paused, patting Wrecker’s shoulder in encouragement. 

“I’ll be right behind you, big guy. Go on up.” With a groan, Wrecker started up the ladder with Specter close behind, quietly cheering him on. They may have been a wildly successful unit, but that didn’t mean The Bad Batch was without fear or flaw. Wrecker’s fear of heights was one of the few hangups the group faced regularly on missions. Specter was proud of him for facing it head-on and pushing through to complete the mission. She couldn't help it, but she found herself thinking of Crosshair. Though her brother never admitted it, Specter knew he was scared of being alone. Isolation bothered him more than anything they’d ever faced in war. Her mind drifted back to one particular evening when he’d quietly asked her for comfort. He rarely spoke in those moments, and he never told her exactly what was bothering him, but her brother would sit with his head on her shoulder, her arms around him, in a comfortable silence they shared as twins.

“I’m fine, I promise.”

“Well, I don’t believe you.”

“You’re annoying.”

“I’m your sister”

“...” 

“...”

“And you won’t leave me, right?”

“Of course not… Hey, remember what I always tell you?”

“Not really. Whatever it is, it’s just as annoying as everything else you say.”

“Well, annoying or not, remember that I’m always with you. We’re twins, and that means no matter how far apart we are, neither of us will ever be alone. No matter what happens.”

Bastard. 

As usual, she brushed it off. They made it inside the building, apparently still undetected. Wrecker collected himself in time to swiftly silence a worker who had the unfortunate chance of running across the Batch in the hallway.

“Nighty-night,” he whispered into the worker’s ear as they fell unconscious. Specter almost felt bad for wanting to laugh. They continued onward to the gangways that criss-crossed above the factory floor, crouching low and out of sight, peering at the dismantled droids that passed.

During the war, Specter fantasized about their victory over the droids, but seeing them decommissioned like this was not as satisfying as she had thought, and the Empire was not the victorious outcome she had in mind.

“Echo, Tech,” Hunter started the orders, “we’ll locate and retrieve the droid. Spec, Wrecker, cover us up top.” Wrecker groaned in complaint.

“But being lookout was Crosshair’s job,” he whined.

“Well someone has to pick up the slack, Wrecker, because in case you haven’t noticed, Crosshair isn’t here,” Specter snapped, still reeling from her memory of her twin. A moment of silence passed as her words sank in; regret crept in, Specter hadn’t intended to lash out and was already reminding herself to apologize for it later.

“What about me? What should I do?” Omega asked.

“Stay here and keep your eyes peeled for the target,” Hunter instructed. “Let’s move.” The team split up from there; Hunter, Echo, and Tech headed down to the main console while Wrecker and Specter went even higher, taking lookout positions. Specter effortlessly blended with the shadows around her, trying to keep an eye out for any threats, or at least anything out of the ordinary.

“A tactical droid is listed in the system, but only one,” Echo’s voice came in over the comm, “the rest have already been destroyed.”

“We have one shot at this. Let’s get it right,” said Hunter.

“Where was the droid offloaded?” Tech asked Echo.

“North end conveyor,” he answered. Specter followed the maze of tracks and conveyors, searching for the droid..

“Found it! Sort of…” Omega grimaced, looking through her binocs, “It’s already in pieces.” Specter tracked Omega’s line of sight, using her scope to locate what remained of their target.  

“Is the head still intact?” asked Tech.

“Affirmative,” the girl answered. Specter flinched as something passed through her scope.

“Someone just ran off with the droid head,” she reported urgently, trying to track the suspect.

“I see ‘em. One of the workers is stealing our target,” said Wrecker.

“I’m on it,” Omega’s voice chimed through.

“Negative. Stay out of sight,” Hunter stopped the girl.

“Bogey with the droid head closing in on your position, Sarge,” Specter mumbled, watching the target rush around the facility through her rifle scope. 

“Stay back!” Omega shouted, sending a shiver of worry down Specter’s spine as she looked back to the girl’s position. There she was, face to face with another worker, her bow shakily drawn and casting a dim violet glow between her and the intruder.

“Woah, woah. Take it easy, kid," the "worker" lifted up her mask to reveal her face, holding up her hands, bearing no ill will. “I don’t wanna hurt you, but I can’t have you getting in the way.” Omega’s grip tightened on her bow, causing the woman to step back, straight into Specter, who had appeared behind the pair with her pistol drawn and held to the intruder’s head. 

“I can hurt you instead,” she snarled into the woman’s ear, cocking her gun for emphasis. 

“Okay, let’s calm down, creepy lady!” 

“Rafa, I’ve got the target. Where are you?” a voice came in through the woman’s—Rafa’s, as she was called—comm.

“Don’t answer that,” Omega threatened, readjusting her grip on her bow.

Specter’s pistol rested against Rafa’s temple, keeping her compliant for the time being. “Your hands look a little shaky there,” Rafa started, noticing the nervous look on Omega’s face, “Be careful, you don’t want to hurt your friend here,” she nodded back towards Specter, who pressed her pistol harder into the woman's head.

Omega stood fast, but Rafa wasn’t wrong, the girl’s hands were shaking. Her brow furrowed in concentration. She strained against the bow, and it was in that moment of weakness the girl lost control of the weapon, sending a stray shot ricocheting through the facility until it ultimately blasted through the side of the building, causing pressurized air to leak in with a loud hiss. The air blasted inside with a force that blinded Specter just long enough for Rafa to swat her pistol out of her hand and to its doom on the conveyor and wrestle with Omega’s bow. Specter lunged blindly, tackling Rafa and pulling her back into a debilitating headlock. 

“Now you’ve done it,” she growled through gritted teeth, “No one threatens my kid,” her grip tightened, “and I really liked that pistol.”

Before Specter could tighten her grip, the security alarms began to blare. She watched as every exit was blocked by police droids as the workers shouted and clamored amongst themselves. The facility was locked down. Specter swore under her breath and bit her tongue. She shoved Rafa away and immediately readied her blaster. 

“Try something stupid, I dare you,” she snarled and pointed the gun at Rafa. 

“Jeez, alright, lady! Hey, don’t just stand there, kid. Grab a weapon,” she said, dusting herself off and grabbing her own pistol.

“I had one,” Omega grumbled. 

“Just stay down, hun,” Specter advised, taking aim. Blaster-fire struck down the droids closest to them, coming from Wrecker at his post.

“Get moving!” he shouted. Specter started laying down fire as well, too occupied to notice Rafa slipping away. Omega caught her, however, and went to give chase. 

“Omega, report,” Hunter came in over the comm.

“The accomplice is getting away, but don’t worry. I’m in pursuit,” she said. Specter whirled around, finding that Rafa and Omega weren’t behind her anymore.

Kriff.

“Sarge, I swear she was right behind me,” she said, panicking. 

“Stay put, Omega. We already have the droid head,” he ordered. “Spec, get us a buffer with these droids.” She set to work on destroying as many droids as she could so that Echo and Tech might be able to do what they needed to lift the lockdown. She changed her rifle configuration into her shotgun, loading the cartridges and taking careful aim. She fired, sending a spray of plasma-powered pellets, hitting a few droids but most importantly, destroying the integrity of the platform the police droids poured out from, cutting off their access point. A shot came from behind, narrowly missing her head; Specter whirled around, changing her blaster again in a mere second, and fired. 

“Boys, how’s that lockdown looking?” she asked, moving to a different position. 

“Nice of you to join us, Specter,” Tech replied. “Wrecker just got the system online. Now, both of you get down here.” 

“Copy that,” she replied. 

“Specter, I need cover. Omega’s stuck on the conveyor,” Hunter’s request came in urgently. She skidded to a stop in her tracks, changing course yet again, avoiding the platforms that Hunter had managed to take down.

“Busy. So very busy,” she muttered, taking a position to provide cover fire for the sergeant and avoid blasts from the police droids. Hunter and Rafa made their way across the conveyor towards Omega, trying to dodge the droids’ attack. Specter shot those ones down, clearing their path and any other droids that approached. Hunter gave her a salute and went to help Omega. Specter continued on her route to regroup with Tech and Echo, blasting down droids that were firing at them. “Guys, I’m not having a good time.”

“Welcome to the club,” Echo retorted. “Where’s Wrecker?”

“I thought he’d be with you by now,” she replied, taking cover beside them. 

“Wrecker, come in. Wrecker?” Tech tried over comms, but no response came. Hunter, Omega, Rafa and her counterpart—Trace— joined them in the meantime. 

“All the exits are blocked,” Hunter reported.

“And it’s about to get worse. A larger wave of police droids is headed our way,” Echo added, still plugged into the system, before crouching by Omega and Trace, who was working to reactivate and reprogram the droid head.

“I don’t think whatever you’re planning is going to work,” Specter grumbled. 

“It will! We just need more time,” Trace insisted. 

“Well, time is the one thing we don’t have,” Specter replied. The droid gave an error code, and another volley of heavy blaster fire drew her out of the conversation. 

“Wrecker, do you copy? Get down here now!” Specter shouted, simultaneously shooting at the approaching droids. “You better be dead or else I’m going to kill you myself.”

“Wrecker, where are you?” Omega tried, “We need your help.”

“On my way,” he finally responded, winded.

“Oh, so you listen to her and not me?” Specter quipped, trying to lessen her growing anxiety. She grimaced as another group of droids drew near, firing relentlessly at the group.

Specter hadn't felt a rush like this since their battles in the war, which now felt like ages ago. In the chaos, she found a strange sense of control; with that peace, she had the strength to keep fighting. Her heart raced, and she savored the power and adrenaline that rushed through her veins. The world around her seemed to have slowed. She laid heavy fire on each coming wave of droids, never pausing to see how many she had brought down, taking rare moments to catch her breath. It was here, with her brothers, on the battlefield, that she felt she truly belonged.

She was quickly startled from her battle-induced state as Wrecker barreled into the scene with a scream, landing on and crushing a droid while firing upon and neutralizing a group of them.  

“Well, finally!” she sneered, “Look who decides to show up.”

“Yeah! I got tired of you guys having all the fun,” he said.

“Now, him I like,” Rafa muttered to Hunter, who nodded in agreement. The brute fired, taking a downed droid as a shield for himself before he was ultimately knocked back, forcing him to take cover. 

Gritting her teeth, Specter prepared for another volley of fire. 

It never came, as suddenly the droids on the conveyor were resurrected, stumbling about their new surroundings. 

“I got it!” Trace shouted. Specter glanced back in confusion, hearing the tactical droid faintly give a command sequence. She tensed, readying herself for the battle droids’ attack, but it didn’t come. Instead, the reanimated droids began to open fire on the security droids, providing the group cover and a route for their escape. 

“Okay, this is… not the strangest thing I’ve experienced, but it makes the list,” Specter mused aloud. 

“Never thought I’d see battle droids helping us,” Echo agreed. 

“That’s our cue,” Hunter said when the opportunity came. “Move out!”

“Roger, roger,” Specter teased, running past and leading the group out of the building. 

“R7, we’re ready for a pickup,” Trace said into her comm. Police droids still approached to defend the factory, and while a few battle droids defended their back, heavy fire came at their front. “We’re almost there. Trust me, you’ll see us,” she assured Omega, who had recovered her bow and ran beside her. That was until a lucky shot blew the tactical droid’s head out of her hands. Omega covered Trace, knocking down a few droids as she did her best to recover the helmet, but it was no use. Another lucky shot rendered the tactical droid destroyed. 

“No!” Trace groaned, “but that was a nice shot,” she completed, ducking behind the girl.  

“It’s all about tuning out distractions,” Omega replied with newfound confidence, breaking with pride. 

A ship landed a short distance away, with only a few more droids between it and the group. 

“That's your ride, Martez?” Specter turned and asked Rafa.

“Yup! He’s here, let’s go!” she announced to the group. They all advanced, running past the police droids into the ship and leaving them at the mercy of their old enemy. 

Specter ran straight to the cockpit and entered the coordinates of the Marauder. Rafa was close behind, watching as Specter navigated the atmosphere of the planet. Rafa patted her on the shoulder and turned to meet the others in the main hold of the ship. 

“All that work for nothing,” Rafa sighed, slouching in disappointment. 

“Whoever Cid’s buyer is isn’t gonna be happy,” Omega said nervously.

“Let me get this straight. You knew how dangerous the information on the tactical droid is, but you didn’t know who you were giving it to?” Rafa said incredulously.

“We’re being paid to acquire and deliver, not ask questions,” Hunter grumbled.

“If we’re going to get paid at all,” Specter interjected from the cockpit, crossing her arms. They all turned to look at her with nervous expressions, Hunter especially. “What? I’m not the only one who thinks that, and she is definitely shady,” she reasoned, holding her hands up. 

“Our contact needed that information to fight back against the Empire,” Trace continued. “They’re trying to help people and make things better.”

“Why aren’t you fighting for the Empire? Isn’t that what you clones do now?” Rafa asked, pointing her gaze at Hunter. He sighed, thinking of an answer.

“Not all of us. We’re different,” he explained.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Rafa scoffed before turning back towards the cockpit.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally, the ship landed, although Specter wasn’t too thrilled about returning to Ord Mantell empty-handed; they needed the credits, and having her morals questioned was not on her list. Yet, she smiled as she stood by Hunter and watched Rafa and Trace kneel down to say their goodbyes to Omega.

“You should come visit us sometime,” the girl offered.

“Isn’t that part of Ord Mantell a little… seedy?” Trace asked, apprehensive but still smiling. Omega leaned close, as though she were whispering.

“Very. It’s great!” Specter chuckled at Omega’s spirit.

“Keep working on that bow, kid,” Rafa encouraged, standing up with her sister. 

“I will,” Omega nodded, “Bye!” Specter began to lead her away to join the others.

“Bye, Omega,” Trace replied. 

“Hey, creepy lady!” Rafa called out. Specter turned with a smirk. “If we ever run into each other again, I’ll replace that pistol of yours.”

“I’ll hold you to it, Martez,” Specter winked, following Omega once more. “That was certainly exciting,” she commented.

“It was!” Omega giggled, stepping into the Marauder before stopping. “They said they were going to fight against the Empire… is that what we’re doing?”

The blood rushed from Specter’s face before she responded, “There’s only so much we can do, hun. What matters right now is keeping all of us—especially you—safe. We can deal with the Empire later.”

“But why can't we fight now?” the girl inquired. 

“Because it's six of us against an entire galaxy,” Hunter chimed in, placing a reassuring hand on Omega’s shoulder. “A good soldier knows how to pick their battles, and how to win.” 

Specter smiled at the girl’s compassionate heart. Right now, they were alone in a hostile galaxy, but in a glimmer of hope, she wondered just how many others waited in the shadows for the opportunity to strike… and if their motley crew would join in the fight.  

Since I didn't include it in the piece, I can tell you that Specter would have laughed so hard at the "is there an echo in here?/yes/huh?/I'm Echo" bit

[knackerman]

What do you think of the characters ghost rider, Forget Me not and Access?

They're all marvel related though in Access's case it's a two way comic source.

Of those three characters I’m really only familiar with the first, and even then it’s mainly the Danny Ketch version of Ghost Rider that appeared across several animated Marvel series in the 90’s and had a small dedicated action figure release.

For the uninitiated, although Nicholas Cage played Johnny Blaze in the Ghost Rider films, it was his brother Danny Ketch’s design for Ghost Rider that became the most popular and long enduring, with the leather jacket, spikes, and semi-sentient chains. (Johnny originally had more of a stuntman look in keeping with his origins where Danny had been jumped into a biker gang.)

in the 90’s, much like Spawn, Ghost Rider was the epitome of edgy coolness. He was a super hero but his powers came from Hell and instead of just saving the lives of the innocent he used his power to punish the guilty and corrupt. Much like the Punisher, he was a popular anti-hero at the time that appealed to a teen audience that was looking for characters that thumbed their noses at traditional authority while also appealing to writers that held more conservative ‘get tough on crime’ stances.

As such Ghost Rider was often an outsider, showing up to deal with some particularly heinous human criminals or battle other forces of Hell, but usually moving on quickly after that so as not to attract more trouble to the innocents around him with his mere presence. Over the years there have been various team ups, cross overs, and even melding of the Ghost Rider with other edgy outcast hero’s like Venom or even the Hulk, but usually these didn’t last long.

More recently I think the Marvel universe changed the Ghost Rider to being a teenaged boy with a low rider haunted by the ghost of his uncle, or something like that. Same entity with the same powers, but a completely different approach to the character and its execution. One that I think, frankly, doesn’t understand the original but rebranding the character for a more ‘modern’ audience seems to have been the entire point there. For me this was the true death of the Ghost Rider, at least in spirit, which when it comes to comic book characters is the only deaths that really matter in the long run.

Saying all that, the Gen X kids that Danny Ketch was marketed towards have long since grown up and had kids of their own. Many of them are staring down the barrel of their own retirements, so it makes sense that version of the character would be retired as well.

But you asked what I thought of Ghost Rider. Like a lot of kids that grew up with that most popular version of the character I knew little to nothing of his past or what he was really about. He was just this mysterious badass that looked awesome in comics and cartoons and even cooler on t-shirts and tattoos. I wanted to know more about him - I bought his comics and his action figures and thought he was awesome. I think on him now with nostalgia, and maybe a little bit of embarrassment. He’s less cool to me now, but the same can be said for a lot of those huge shouldered, multiple belt/pouch wearing, and enormous gun toting anti-heroes from the 90’s. They were cool, and cooler than a lot of their current day successors, but they were certainly a product of their time.

[donnatroyprincessofthemyscira]

ComicList: Marvel Comics New Releases for Wednesday, July 26, 2023, by Charles LePage.

All-New Marvel NOW Point One #1 (Facsimile Edition), $7.99

Amazing Spider-Man #30 (Cover A Ed McGuinness), $3.99

Amazing Spider-Man #30 (Cover B Nick Bradshaw), AR

Amazing Spider-Man #30 (Cover C Skottie Young), AR

Amazing Spider-Man #30 (Cover D Betsy Cola Hellfire Gala Variant), AR

Amazing Spider-Man #30 (Cover E Mike Vosburg), AR

Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection Volume 9 Spider-Man Or Spider-Clone TP, $44.99

Avengers #3 (Cover A Stuart Immonen), $3.99

Avengers #3 (Cover B Mark Brooks Corner Box Variant), AR

Avengers #3 (Cover C David Baldeon Hellfire Gala Variant), AR

Avengers #3 (Cover D Joshua Cassara), AR

Avengers Beyond #5 (Of 5)(Cover A Greg Land), $3.99

Avengers By Jason Aaron Volume 4 HC, $44.99

Avengers Omnibus Volume 2 HC (Alex Ross Book Market Cover), $100.00

Avengers Omnibus Volume 2 HC (John Buscema Direct Market Cover), $100.00

Black Panther #1 (2nd Printing Cover A Chris Allen), $4.99

Black Panther #1 (2nd Printing Cover B Rahzzah), AR

Captain America By Ta-Nehisi Coates Omnibus HC (Alex Ross Book Market Cover), $100.00

Captain America By Ta-Nehisi Coates Omnibus HC (Alex Ross Direct Market Cover), $100.00

Cosmic Ghost Rider #5 (Cover A Valerio Giangiordano), $3.99

Cult Of Carnage Misery #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Skan Srisuwan), $3.99

Cult Of Carnage Misery #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Leinil Francis Yu), AR

Danny Ketch Ghost Rider #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Ben Harvey), $3.99

Danny Ketch Ghost Rider #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Sergio Davila), AR

Daredevil And Echo #3 (Of 4)(Cover A Phil Noto), $3.99

Daredevil And Echo #3 (Of 4)(Cover B Rod Reis), AR

Daredevil And Echo #3 (Of 4)(Cover C Maria Wolf), AR

Daredevil And Elektra By Chip Zdarsky Volume 2 The Red Fist Saga Part Two TP, $15.99

Deadpool #9 (Cover A Martin Coccolo), $3.99

Deadpool #9 (Cover B Pablo Villalobos), AR

Deadpool #9 (Cover C Nick Dragotta Hellfire Gala Variant), AR

Ghost Rider #16 (Cover A Bjorn Barends), $3.99

Ghost Rider #16 (Cover B Gerald Parel Hellfire Gala Variant), AR

Ghost Rider #16 (Cover C E.M. Gist), AR

Hallows’ Eve #5 (Of 5)(Cover A Michael Dowling), $3.99

Hallows’ Eve #5 (Of 5)(Cover B Bengal Hellfire Gala Variant), AR

Hellcat #5 (Of 5)(Cover A Pere Perez), $3.99

Hulk By Donny Cates Volume 2 Hulk Planet TP, $17.99

I Am Iron Man #5 (Of 5)(Cover A Dotun Akande), $3.99

Incredible Hulk #2 (Cover A Nic Klein), $3.99

Incredible Hulk #2 (Cover B Bryan Hitch Hellfire Gala Variant), AR

Incredible Hulk #2 (Cover C Leinil Francis Yu), AR

Incredible Hulk #2 (Cover D Joshua Cassara), AR

Invincible Iron Man #8 (Cover A Kael Ngu), $3.99

Invincible Iron Man #8 (Cover B Bob Layton Connecting Variant), AR

Invincible Iron Man #8 (Cover C George Perez), AR

Invincible Iron Man #8 (Cover D George Perez Virgin Variant), AR

Invincible Iron Man #8 (Cover E Junggeun Yoon), AR

Invincible Iron Man #8 (Cover F Kris Anka Hellfire Gala Variant), AR

Marvel Masterworks The X-Men Volume 1 HC (Jack Kirby Book Market Cover)(ReMasterworks), $75.00

Marvel Masterworks The X-Men Volume 1 HC (Jack Kirby Direct Market Cover)(ReMasterworks), $75.00

Marvel Previews Volume 6 #23 (August 2023), AR

Mary Jane And Black Cat Dark Web TP, $17.99

Predator #5 (Cover A Giuseppe Camuncoli), $3.99

Predator #5 (Cover B Tyler Kirkham), AR

Scarlet Witch Annual #1 (2nd Printing Cover A Carlos Nieto), $4.99

Scarlet Witch Annual #1 (2nd Printing Cover B Jim Cheung), AR

She-Hulk #15 (Cover A Jen Bartel), $3.99

She-Hulk #15 (Cover B George Perez), AR

She-Hulk #15 (Cover C George Perez Virgin Variant), AR

She-Hulk #15 (Cover D Jeff Dekal), AR

Silk #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Dave Johnson), $3.99

Silk #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Javier Garron Marvel Icon Variant), AR

Silk #3 (Of 5)(Cover C Nayoung Wooh), AR

Spider-Man India #1 (Of 4)(2nd Printing Cover A Abhishek Malsuni), $3.99

Spider-Man India #2 (Of 4)(Cover A Adam Kubert), $3.99

Spider-Man India #2 (Of 4)(Cover B Doaly), AR

Star Wars #35 (2nd Printing Cover A Stephen Segovia), $3.99

Star Wars Darth Vader Black White And Red #4 (Cover A Taurin Clarke), $4.99

Star Wars Darth Vader Black White And Red #4 (Cover B Tony Daniel), AR

Star Wars Darth Vader Black White And Red #4 (Cover C Kevin Eastman), AR

Star Wars Return Of The Jedi The Rebellion #1 (Cover E Ryan Brown Virgin Variant), AR

Star Wars The Mandalorian Season 2 #2 (Cover A Dike Ruan), $4.99

Star Wars The Mandalorian Season 2 #2 (Cover B Caspar Wijngaard), AR

Star Wars The Mandalorian Season 2 #2 (Cover C Jerry Ordway), AR

Star Wars The Mandalorian Season 2 #2 (Cover D Concept Art Variant), AR

Storm #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Alan Davis), $3.99

Storm #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Ken Lashley), AR

Storm #3 (Of 5)(Cover C Russell Dauterman Hellfire Gala Variant), AR

Strange Academy Finals TP, $13.99

Thunderbolts Epic Collection Volume 1 Justice Like Lightning TP, $49.99

Trials Of X Volume 11 TP, $19.99

Ultimate Invasion #2 (Of 4)(Cover A Bryan Hitch), $5.99

Ultimate Invasion #2 (Of 4)(Cover B Julian Totino Tedes), AR

Ultimate Invasion #2 (Of 4)(Cover C Lucas Werneck Hellfire Gala Variant), AR

Ultimate Invasion #2 (Of 4)(Cover D InHyuk Lee), AR

Venom #23 (Cover A Bryan Hitch), $3.99

Venom #23 (Cover B George Perez), AR

Venom #23 (Cover C George Perez Virgin Variant), AR

Venom #23 (Cover D Ken Lashley), AR

Venom #23 (Cover E Ken Lashley Virgin Variant), AR

Venom #23 (Cover F Jim Cheung), AR

Venom #23 (Cover G Philip Tan Connecting Variant), AR

Venom #23 (Cover H Ryan Stegman Venom The Other Variant), AR

Venom #23 (Cover I Ryan Brown), AR

Venom #23 (Cover J Cafu Spoiler Variant), AR

Venom #23 (Cover K Sergio Davila Homage Variant), AR

Venom #23 (Cover L Insignia), AR

Venom #23 (Cover M Insignia Virgin Variant), AR

What If Dark Spider-Gwen #1 (Cover A Greg Land), $4.99

What If Dark Spider-Gwen #1 (Cover B Marc Aspinall), AR

What If Dark Spider-Gwen #1 (Cover C Rose Besch), AR

What If Dark Spider-Gwen #1 (Cover D Rose Besch Virgin Variant), AR

Wolverine #35 (Cover A Leinil Francis Yu), $3.99

Wolverine #35 (Cover B John Giang), AR

Wolverine #35 (Cover C Mahmud A. Asrar Hellfire Gala Variant), AR

X-Cellent #5 (Of 5)(Cover A Mike Allred), $3.99

X-Men Epic Collection Volume 7 The Fate Of The Phoenix TP (New Printing), $44.99

X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 (Cover A Phil Noto), $8.99

X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 (Cover B Francesco Manna X-Vote Variant), AR

X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 (Cover C George Perez), AR

X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 (Cover D George Perez Virgin Variant), AR

X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 (Cover E J. Scott Campbell Anniversary Variant), AR

X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 (Cover F J. Scott Campbell Anniversary Virgin Variant), AR

X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 (Cover G J. Scott Campbell Retro Anniversary Variant), AR

X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 (Cover H Lucas Werneck Stormbreakers Variant), AR

X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 (Cover I Mashal Ahmed Hellfire Gala Variant), AR

X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 (Cover J Gustavo Duarte Howard The Duck Variant), AR

X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 (Cover K Dan Veesenmeyer X-Men ’97 Variant), AR

[nonesuchrecords]

Grammy–winning singer, songwriter, and musician Molly Tuttle and her band, Golden Highway, will release their new album, City of Gold, July 21, on Nonesuch. You can pre-order and hear the track “El Dorado” now here.

Produced by Tuttle and Jerry Douglas and recorded in Nashville, City of Gold was inspired by Tuttle’s near constant touring with Golden Highway—fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, mandolinist Dominick Leslie, bassist Shelby Means, and banjo player Kyle Tuttle—and their growth together as musicians and performers, cohering as a band. These 13 tracks, mostly written by Tuttle and Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show), capture the electric energy of the band’s live shows by highlighting each members’ musical strengths. City of Gold also features special guest Dave Matthews on the song “Yosemite.”

[odk-2]

Old Crow Medicine Show - Union Maid (2006) Woody Guthrie / Millard Lampell from: "Big Iron World" (CD)

Country | Bluegrass | Almanac Singers Cover

JukeHostUK (left click = play) (320kbps)

Personnel: Ketch Secor: Lead Vocals / Fiddle Willie Watson: Guitar / Backing Vocals Chris "Critter" Fuqua: Banjo / Backing Vocals Kevin Hayes - Guitjo Morgan Jahnig: Double Bass

Produced by David Rawlings

Recorded: @ The Woodland Studios in East Nashville, Tennessee USA 2006

Released: on August 29, 2006 Nettwerk Records

US Labor Day 2023

[holylulusworld]

Designed by pain (3)

Summary: Broken hearts are hard to put back together. 8 years ago, Dean lost something he didn’t even know he had in the first place. Will he get a second chance?

Pairing: former AU!Dean Winchester x fem!Reader; Arthur Ketch x fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, language, implied break-up, time jumps, strong reader

A/N: This was an alternative idea for the first chapter of my Bucky story: Monster-in-law masterlist. I decided to use it for a story with Dean.

Designed by pain masterlist

Designed by pain (2)

Time is a funny thing. One moment you look at old pictures of the love you lost to reminisce, and the next moment, the life you knew is long gone.

A heartbeat later eight years are gone, and you are sitting in an airplane leading back to your old life.

You take a deep breath, and exhale sharply, feeling Ketch’s eyes on you.

“Y/N, if only you told me about this earlier. I would’ve asked someone else to come with me. I should’ve known better than to ask you to face the man breaking your heart.” Ketch became our closest friend over the amount of eight years. He’s your son’s godfather and the big brother you never had. “Are you sure this is okay?”

“I’ve got this, Arthur,” you glance at your laptop to check on the timetable for the meeting with Winchester & Singer Inc. once again. “I’m not the girl he left.”

Arthur sighs deeply but ignores the anxiety clawing at his chest. The last thing he wanted was to force you to face your past. “If you want to stay at the hotel, I can go to the meeting and tell them you got sick.”

“Your designer didn’t get sick. This is my project and won’t stay away from the meeting only because there is a slight possibility that I will run into that man!”

He gives up but worriedly watches you squirm in your seat. You still hate flying but try to put a brave face on. You’re fierce and strong-headed. Only one of the many things he likes about you.

“If you want me to, I’ll break his face after we sealed the deal,” Ketch casually says. “I’m not scared of getting my hands dirty.”

“No,” you grab his hand and squeeze it. “He’s not worth it, Arthur. After all these years I know Dean never felt anything for me. Even his brother tried to contact me years ago. I wasn’t very nice to Sam, but it had to be done.”

A split second can change your life. Dean never believed in fate or karma. But when you step inside the conference room, another man by your side, he’s suddenly a believer.

You take his breath away. Even if you aged, you did it with grace and grew even more beautiful. You carry yourself like no other woman, and he can barely keep himself from pouncing on you.

“Y/N?” Sam is the one rising from his seat first. He does what Dean wants to do. Sam wraps you in a hug, ignoring the man next to you. “It’s really you, Y/N. How have you been?”

“I’m good,” you pat his back, unsure how to react to Sam’s friendliness. “I hope you have been good too.”

Sam finally releases you. He apologizes for not greeting Ketch and shakes your boss’s hand. “Welcome, Mr. Ketch. We are glad you are willing to meet up with us.”

“My pleasure,” Ketch curtly replies. He shakes Sam’s hand while you look around the room. Dean’s eyes meet yours, but you act like he’s one of the people in the room you do not know. He’s only someone you used to know now.

“Daddy, daddy," you freeze when a little boy storms into the conference room. For a moment you watch Dean's reaction. His eyes are trained on you as his brother picks the boy up.

“And who is this young man,” your features soften for a moment, and you look at the boy in Sam’s arms. You blink and put a straight face on. Showing weakness is not in your plans. If this gets too intense you can cry in your hotel room, but not in front of Dean. Never in front of him.

"Y/N, this is Samuel, my son," you nod, turning your attention back toward Ketch, and the papers on the conference table.

Dean took the chance and stepped toward you and Ketch. He greeted your boss, and now he’s staring at you, eyes sparkling as you try to ignore his existence.

"Don't you want to greet Sam's son," Dean wonders but you remain stoic. "Y/N?” He questions. You loved kids, and always played with the children of your friends. Now you ignore the cute boy right in front of you. “What’s wrong with you?”

"I'm not into kids, Dean. What shall I do? Faint?" you huff and sit down, claiming the next best seat at the conference table. You unlock your phone and try to ignore Dean is standing right next to you.

"This isn't you, Y/N," you whip your head toward Dean, face still stoic. “Where is the quirky and lovely girl? Where is the girl who wanted kids and love?"

"Well," you slowly get back up to glare at Dean, a cold smile on your lips, "this is me after you." He inhales sharply, taken aback by your words. "Designed by pain, betrayal, and broken trust. Don't you like your creation?"

His jaw goes slack, and he flinches at your words. Dean doesn’t find his voice, and he swallows thickly.

You don’t wait for his reply. Instead of waiting for him to tell you that you are in the wrong, you sit back down and focus on your job. You’re here to sign the deal of the century, not to entertain Dean Winchester.

Dean can’t believe you have changed so much. Yes, eight years have passed, and he didn’t see you since he fucked things up. Still, you are so different from the girl he loved.

You’re not quirky and bubbly any longer. Maybe you told him the truth. Your new you got designed by pain. The pain he caused so many years ago.

“Did you listen,” John hisses at his eldest son. He clears his throat and tries to pull Dean’s attention toward business and away from you. “I know she’s still a hot piece of ass but get your shit together. You can dick down some bitch later.”

You wrinkle your nose. John is not very subtle. He whispered his insults, but you heard every word. Some things never change. John Winchester is still disgusting and sleazy.

“Shall we come to an end then,” Bobby Singer raises his voice. “I think we are all tired of talking about details. We should sign the papers and have a drink.”

You smirk. Bobby Singer owns a special place in your heart. Not only because he was the one getting you the job in London, but for having your back for years.

He covered your traces and made sure no one was able to find you. Not even Sam Winchester who tried anything to get in touch with you.

A single phone call was all it took to make him stop. You told him that you were about to marry and that you never loved his brother.

“Y/N, wait,” Dean puts his hand on your shoulder before you get the chance to follow Ketch out of the conference room. Your boss is engrossed in a conversation with Bobby and doesn’t see your face fall. “Can we at least talk? It’s good to see you.”

“Why?” You swat his hand off your shoulder but turn around to face him. “You didn’t want to talk after you embarrassed me in front of your family. I gave you a choice Dean. I left a note, almost begging you to not let me down.” 

“You didn’t leave a note. All I found was the engagement ring!” He gets louder. “After all these years you lie to me?”

“I left a note on the bed and placed the ring on top of the note. You didn’t call or come around. That’s all I needed to know. You wanted your ex, and I had to take care of…whatever.” You shrug and turn back around. “Who cares about the past? You had your reasons for not trying to fix things between us.”

“There was no note,” Dean says, a little confused about your behavior. “I swear there was no note. You must remember wrong.”

“I remember every single word I wrote, with tears in my eyes and trembling fingers,” you bitterly reply. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Don’t you think?”

And just like that, you grab your bag and leave the room. Dean watches you leave, just like that night.

“She didn’t leave a note,” he crosses his arms over his chest. Dean tries to recall that night. He remembers brushing Lisa’s advances off. He walked upstairs to apologize, and for make-up sex, only to find the room empty. “There was no note.” He shakes his head, remembering that the ring was lying on the bed, but no note.

“What’s wrong? Why did you let her go again?” Sam asks. “Dean?” He places his hand on Dean’s shoulder. 

“Y/N said she left a note, but there was none, Sammy. I swear there was no note, only the ring,” Dean shakes his head. “I don’t know why she’s lying.”

“What if she doesn’t lie, Dean,” Sam wonders. “Why should she lie about leaving a note? It’s been eight years, and she won’t get anything out of it if she lies.”

“You’re right.”

“So, who had the chance to sneak inside your shared room? Why would anyone take the note and leave the ring on the bed?” Sam wrinkles his forehead. “Let’s recall that night, Dean. What do you remember? Who went upstairs before you? Did you see anyone?”

Dean huffs. ”Mom went upstairs because Dad spilled his drink over her dress. I can’t remember seeing anyone else walking upstairs. I wasn’t sober that night, though.”

“Mother went upstairs,” Sam frowns deeply. He knows that Mary invited Lisa to the party. “That makes sense.”

“What?” Dean grunts. “Nothing makes sense anymore, Sammy. What was right is wrong and…” He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s been eight years.”

“I didn’t take you for a quitter,” Sam taunts. “Why did you never marry, or have a relationship lasting longer than a week since Y/N is gone? You have been waiting for her all those years, and now you want to let her slip through your fingers again?”

“No…but…no…” Dean sighs deeply. “Y/N hates me, and I can’t blame her for it, Sammy.”

“Well then, let’s talk to mother. She has a lot to explain...”

Designed by pain (4)

Tags in reblog.

[theunboundwriter]

The Sea is in Her Blood

"Tis a pirate that's said to be a terrifying breed o' bloodthirsty. Eyes a cursed color of orange from takin' a dead man's treasure." The man paused briefly to take a smoke from his cigar, leaning back in his chair and resting his feet on the barrel in front of him.

"They call him 'Cutthroat Marlowe,' the nastiest pirate to sail these waters in a long time."

He gestured for the bartender to retrieve another drink, tossing him a silver coin, and sliding the glass towards me. He released a shaky breath of smoke before continuing, "I've seen him with me own eyes when he and his crew raided a village I was passin' through. I saw Marlowe take down ten men at once with nothin' but a cutlass and thank the gods he didn't see me or I'd be a dead man too."

The buzz of the chatter of people echoed around us, drowning out any other sound that may be heard. The man leaned forwards, closer to me, his breath rancid and hot on my face. He lowered his voice, "Ye know how fast talk travels, 'specially on the waters, but they say he killed his lover, then his crew, and to be honest with ye, if I hadn't seen 'em with me own two eyes, I'd say he was just a tale."

After another puff of smoke escaped his lips, the man sighed, "I ain't never met a man who'd turn on his own crew, killin' them in cold blood. He must be all kinds of evil to do something so wretched.

"There be guesses, as to how he died. I'd heard that after recruiting a new crew they had a mutiny. Others say he danced with Jack Ketch or got his throat cut like he'd been doing all those years. Givin' him a taste of his own medicine if ye ask me."

He leaned back in his chair once again, and I doing the same. I kicked my feet up and leaned my chair back so it balanced on two legs, the gold bracelets on my wrists clicking against one another as I brought the glass to my lips.

"All I can say is I hope the man's in Davy Jones' Locker, or the darkest corner of hell for all the trouble he's caused. May he rot in pieces."

"I'll drink to that, sir," I smiled, tilting my hat to reveal the amber eyes that had been concealed by the shadows, loose brown curls falling to my shoulders. I took a sip of the ale the man had bought me as payment for listening to his stories.

Sitting down my glass, I stood up to leave, thanking the man for his time and walking to the door. But then, just as quickly as I had left, I spun around on my heel, unsheathing the dagger I kept on my right hip and pressed it against the man's throat.

He looked up at me with wide, confused eyes. They then morphed into fear as he gawked out the word, "you?"

"Aye sir, it's me. And you know how the saying goes," I smile, watching as the man quivered under my knife, "Dead men tell no tales."

About:

Genre: Adventure Status: 1st Draft POV: Third Person Omniscient Tropes: Adventure, Pirates, Curses, Buried Treasure, Found-Family, Will to Survive, Self-Reliance, Learning to Love, Loneliness as Destructive Force Content Warnings: Blood, Murder, Violence, Dark Thoughts, Tag Used: #wip: the sea is in her blood

Synopsis:

June ‘Cutthroat’ Marlowe had built up quite a reputation for herself. Not only was she the daughter of legendary Captain Damon ‘The Marked,’ but she was the only one brave enough to wrong him and get away with it. Now fleeing for her life, June has to find a ship and a crew, and sail to wherever the map she stole from her father takes her, before he can get his hands on the treasure she’s after.  Word travels fast, and it seems as if the seven seas were against her, as she’s being hunted down by more than just her bloodthirsty father: Captain Bates Anderson— The British Navy Officer— who she’d outsmarted time and time again, and wants nothing more than to see her pay for the crimes she’s committed.  The love of her life, who she had left for dead.  This pesky pirate who just so happens to have exactly what she’s looking for. And an ancient curse that had been following her family for years.

Characters:

June 'Cutthroat' Marlowe // Daughter of the infamous Captain Damon 'The Marked,' who only wants to make a name for herself separate from the legends of her father and to finally best him and gain the upper hand. She would do anything to accomplish her goals, sacrificing anyone who got in her way.

Damon 'The Marked' Marlowe // June's father and Captain of the Last Curse. He's built up his reputation through stories that have been spread across the seas, getting what he wants through tactics such as fear and threats. Damon was after a certain piece of treasure that he had to keep a secret from June, knowing that she would want to get her hands on what he was after and he couldn't afford to share with her. After she stole his map, she fled from the ship and jumped into the unforgiving hands of the ocean. If it were anyone else, he would have given up looking for them and assumed the sea had gotten the best of them. But June? She was like a cockroach: hard to kill and always lurking around the corner. If Damon wanted this treasure, he would have to find her and most likely bring her life to an end.

Bellamy 'Red' Carlyle // Captain of the Scurvy Return, and the first person whose heart was stolen by June. He hated to admit it, but he fell for her faster than he could have ever expected. Red welcomed her into his life with open arms, giving her a place to stay and offering her a job on the ship. Little did he know, this would cost him everything: his ship, his crew, his authority, his title as Captain, his heart, and his life.

Pierson 'Albatross' Rutland // The Quartermaster of the Scurvy Return and the newly named Red Treasure after June takes over as Captain. He has a charming smile and always knows exactly what to say, but that doesn't change the fact that he has ulterior motives and is doing his tasks out of greed. He'll say what he needs to say to pass suspicion, buttering up whoever is in charge so no one casts him a second glance. Of course, the traitor always dies in the end.

Captain Bates Anderson // The British Naval Officer that witnessed first hand the horrors that June 'Cutthroat' Marlowe is capable of. After losing the lives of everyone on his crew, he vows that he will do everything in his power to bring them to justice and make June pay for the crimes she's committed.

Jesse Myers // A pirate that came into June's life when his crew attempted to board her ship. She threw him in the brig for the hell of it, but Jesse reveals he has information on the treasure she is after.

Booker // A crew member of the Last Curse that helped June escape the clutches of her father. She believes him to be dead, but he holds a valuable piece of information that will help her accomplish her goals.

Salton 'Grisly' Harding // First mate of the Scurvy Return, and father figure to Red. He's a quiet, older gentlemen with more wisdom than people realize, one of the few to quickly pick this up being June.

Kit Harrison // The surgeon of the Scurvy Return, and the first to speak their mind to June. She was grateful for his snarky sense of humor and the way he says exactly what he's thinking.

Franklin Willoughby // Cabin boy of the Scurvy Return and one of the few people that June tolerates on the ship.

Carter and Carswell 'Righty and Lefty' Garrick // Pilot and Sea Artist, respectively, of the Scurvy Return. They're more fun and games than paying attention to what they're doing, and if it weren't for Salton keeping them on track they would never get anything done.

Benton 'Plank Walker' Charlton // June's first mate aboard the Red Treasure. He is as loyal as they get, following June's orders with a trust that few could possess. He does, however, advise her if he believes there is a better course of action, and she almost always hears what he has to say. He was the only one who would stand up to her without repercussion.

Raleigh 'The Mermaid' Fulton // As a woman studying medicine, she has no where to legally practice. Which is when she decides the only way for her to follow her dream is to do so illegally. June hires her to be the surgeon of the Red Treasure, and only later does she realize that she is the daughter of the Governor.

Philip Irwin // Philip came to June looking for adventure and a place to stay. She made him the cabin boy of the Red Treasure, liking his enthusiasm. He is a firm believer in the fantastical, believing in mermaids, fairies, and anything magical.

Sherwood 'Daring' Ike // The Master Gunner of the Red Treasure. He's incredibly impulsive, and quite literally a loose canon. June initially hired him for his bravery, but she's come to realize that he isn't one to follow orders blindly.

Tag List:

ask to be added or removed @fearofahumanplanet @marinesocks @parttimeghost @houndsofcorduff @creatrackers

[pocketdemonbendy]

Rough sketch of chapter 7

Snip of the story: chapter 7 https://archiveofourown.org/works/43693807/chapters/109870999

Slap~

The pian in his cheek registered long before Tonie realized he'd been struck by Leo. Leo marched out of the room with Donnie hot on his heels calling out for him to wait. Tonie's breath quickened before he released a guttural Roar that rang throughout the lair. He flexed his claws in and out pricking the pads of his hands. All he wanted to do was go after Leo, sink his claws in to him, make him suffer and then kill him. Just when he thought he was going to lose it he was knocked off his feet. Landing on his back he rolled onto all fours hissing. 

Raph was standing across from him his sai out in defense. "Here kitty kitty." Raph growled a teasing grin on his face. 

Tonie pounced instantly claws out ready to sink them into Raph's scales. Raph ducked under him then jumped over him as Tonie pounced again. Raph went in for a jab but Tonie met him with a momentum that he wasn't expecting, knocking Raph back onto his own back. Raph pushed him off and then brought both of his fists down onto Tonie. Tonie scratched at Raphs shoulder climbing out from underneath him and onto Rap's back. Tonie wrapped an arm around Raph's neck digging his claws into Raph's skin. Searing pain shot through Raph's left shoulder, he quickly pulled Tonie off him tossing him across the room then fell to the ground.

Tonie landed with a thud and tried to push himself to his feet but stopped at the taste of blood in his mouth. Looking over to Raph, he could see the blood dripping down from clear holes left in Raph's shoulder from his tusks. Shit Tonie huffed. He had bit him. The two of them stay laying on the ground trying to ketch their breath. 

"You fight like this with Tat~ your brother." Raph breathed running his fingers over the bite mark. 

Tonie raised his head looking Raph in the eye. "I used to, not anymore." He growled sitting up on his knees his hands and body shaking. He'd never admit it to the snapper but Raph could do some damage. "I got tired of it."

"So what you decided to fuck his life up?" Raph hissed looking around for something he could use to put pressured on the bleeding. 

"I just wanted to knock him off the pedestal he perched himself up on." Tonie looked to his side seeing a roll of fabric wrap. He took it and tossed it hitting Raph in the head. 

Raph growled at him but took the wrap. "You let your anger get the best of you?" 

"Yea." Tonie said dryly pushing himself to his feet wincing at the pain. 

"So what exactly did you do?" Raph applied the bandage to his shoulder hissing at the sting.

Tonie sighed walking over to him and placing his hand on Raph's shoulder. His palm glowing red. "The males in my species can be honored or disowned over losing a tusk in battle." He began feeling the sting from Raph's wound. "If you lose a tusk and win the battle your a hero. On the other hand if you lose a tusk and the battle, your a disgrace."

"Okay what's that have to do with Tatuini and you?" Rah asked through clenched teeth feeling the searing pain again. 

"Tatuini lost his tusk and the battle. Judas disowned him shortly after. Tatuini went from loving, wealthy family to being the newest bane of Judas's existence." Tonie slumped down next to Raph resting against him. 

Raph looked over his arm seeing the scratches and the bite was gone. "How's that your fault? You cause the fight?"

"No...I'm the one who ripped out his tusk." Tonie was sullen unable to meet Raph's eyes fearing he would only see judgment in them. "We used to spar on a daily, but this one was different. It started out normal but then escalated. He pushed some buttons and I lost it. Next thing I know I was holding is tusk and he was broken and bleeding out on the pavement half dead."

They were both quiet till Raph raised his arm over Tonie and hooking him to his side. "Why are you taking all the blame for yourself then. Sounds to me like he was asking for it. Maybe not to that extent but he was still looking for a fight."

Tonie pushed Raph's arm away leaning back to glare at him. "If you were the reason your father disowned and threatened to kill one of your brothers, how would you feel? Especially if there wasn't a way to fix it?"

At the thought of that Raph's gut twisted in guilt. "I probably wouldn't forgive myself." 

Tonie released another heavy sigh before, to Raph's surprise snuggled back under Raph's arm. "Neither can I." Tonie hummed a growl laying completely down resting his head and chest on Rahp's leg, his arms folded and tucked under his neck.

Raph not knowing what else to do rested his hand on Tonie's shell rubbing back and forth. Tonie wasn't a bad guy he was just angry. Raph thought looking him over.