#Signs alien news footage

[agentstitta]

Signs alien news footage

#Signs alien news footage series

radar and other surveillance and reconnaissance systems - the intelligence community would not want to reveal what it does and doesn't know. If the sightings were the result of Chinese or Russian technology - either some kind of unknown aircraft or a technology system that can spoof U.S. The Defense Department and Intelligence Community have a lot of work to do before we can actually understand whether these aerial threats present a serious national security concern." "This report is an important first step in cataloging these incidents, but it is just a first step. Marco Rubio of Florida, the Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement on Friday. "For years, the men and women we trust to defend our country reported encounters with unidentified aircraft that had superior capabilities, and for years their concerns were often ignored and ridiculed," Republican Sen. government has made contact with extraterrestrial life. That is one of the reasons this unclassified report will likely disappoint UFO-ologists who had hoped it might offer definitive proof the U.S. government finally appears to be taking seriously what has for so long been considered a fringe issue.įor lawmakers and intelligence and military personnel working on unexplained aerial phenomena, the bigger concern with the episodes is not that alien life is visiting earth, but rather that a foreign adversary like Russia or China might be fielding some kind of next-generation technology in American airspace that the United States doesn't know about. personnel.Īfter years of Washington infighting, including bureaucratic battles within the Pentagon and pressure from certain members of Congress, the U.S. In 11 cases, investigators believed that there was a "near-miss" collision with U.S. These are things that physically exist," the official said, noting that 80 of the reported incidents included data from multiple sensors. "We absolutely do believe what we're seeing are not simply sensor artifacts. official said.īut investigators were also convinced that the majority of the sightings were "physical objects," the official told reporters on Friday. "Of the 144 reports we are dealing with here, we have no clear indications that there is any non-terrestrial explanation for them - but we will go wherever the data takes us," a senior U.S. Investigators found no evidence that the sightings represented either extraterrestrial life or a major technological advancement by a foreign adversary like Russia or China. The report examined 144 reports of what the government terms "unidentified aerial phenomenon" - only one of which investigators were able to explain by the end of the study. government has publicly acknowledged that these strange aerial sightings by Navy pilots and others are worthy of legitimate scrutiny. In short, the answer according to Friday's report is very little, but the fact that the intelligence community released the unclassified document marks one of the first times the U.S.

#Signs alien news footage series

intelligence community on Friday released its long-awaited report on what it knows about a series of mysterious flying objects that have been seen moving through restricted military airspace over the last several decades.

[justcompanion]

Signs alien news footage

Only the US, China and the former Soviet Union have succeeded in carrying out a controlled landing on the moon. The country's first attempt at a lunar landing ended in failure when a privately-funded robotic craft crashed on its final descent last April. Israel's space agency hinted at a future moon mission on Monday by publishing a short clip entitled 'Back to the Moon' with the caption 'Ready to get excited again?'. In the new book he discusses UFOs and 'various theories about their nature, purpose and origin, which in his opinion is probably not from Earth,' according to a blurb.Įshed is described a researcher who 'believes that the human race is not alone in the universe, and that it must fit into the harmony of the great plan'. When he retired in 2011, he was even described in Israeli media as 'the father of Israel's satellite programme'.īut after leaving his role at the defence ministry, he is said to have 'turned to what really interested him - aliens'. The book is called The Universe Beyond the Horizon: Conversations with Professor Haim Eshed.Īs head of the Israeli defence ministry's space directorate, Eshed helped launch spy satellites which he said would help provide high-quality surveillance of Iran. The professor has even put his thoughts into a book in which he describes how aliens have prevented nuclear disasters on Earth, according to the Jerusalem Post. 'They have been waiting for humanity to evolve and reach a stage where we will generally understand what space and spaceships are,' said Eshed. Until that point, he said, aliens have secured an agreement to keep their movements secret. They want to first make us sane and understanding.' 'Trump was on the verge of revealing, but the aliens in the Galactic Federation are saying, 'Wait, let people calm down first'. 'The aliens have asked not to announce that they are here humanity is not ready yet,' Eshed told the Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Aharonoth, according to Jewish Press. Speaking of an 'agreement' between the US government and the alien visitors, Eshed said the extraterrestrials wanted to work with American agents to study 'the fabric of the universe'. understand what space and spaceships are'.Įshed did not say how long the aliens have been hiding in the shadows, but said some of the supposed contact had taken place during Trump's presidency. Haim Eshed - who was head of Israel's space security programme for nearly 30 years and is a retired general - described a so-called 'Galactic Federation' which supposedly runs an underground Mars base in a secret pact with Washington.īut the aliens had to intervene to stop Donald Trump when he appeared 'on the verge' of blurting out their secrets, he told Israeli paper Yediot Aharonot.Īnd the 87-year-old Eshed says the aliens will not come into the open until humanity can 'evolve and reach a stage where we will. Israeli space official Haim Eshed, pictured on the cover of a new book called The Universe Beyond the Horizon, claims that the US and Israel have had contact with aliensĪn Israeli space official has claimed that aliens are real and secretly in contact with America and Israel - but are keeping their existence quiet because humanity 'isn't ready'.

[thebigbadbatswife]

Wonderstruck

Pairing(s): Diana of Themyscira x F!Reader

Summary - Bruce introduces you, his oldest friend, to the one superhero friend of his that you haven’t met yet.

Warnings - First meetings. Reader has social anxiety. Fluff. Humour.

Word Count - 1.5k

“Are you sure about this, Bruce?” you ask, looking yourself over in the mirror, frowning. You’re still unsure about the outfit you have picked out for the party tonight. “It’s been forever since I’ve been to one of these things.”

Bruce chuckles and gently pulls you away from the mirror, turning you to face him. “You look great and keep in mind this isn’t a fancy party filled with upper class dickheads. Just friends and family.” 

You know that he’s right. This is supposed to be a more laid back type of party. Even his outfit is laidback. A black shirt and slacks instead of the usually suit and tie. It hasn’t stopped you from working yourself up though. Your palms are sweaty and your heart is thumping hard against your ribcage. Already your mind has conjured up and played out a bunch of scenarios. Each one going worse than the last one. It’s more than enough to make you feel like running back to the safety of your room.

Being one of your oldest friends, and therefore knowing you the best, Bruce can see every little sign of your anxiety building up and threatening to consume you. The rough feeling of his calloused thumb against your cheek helps with grounding you. 

“Breathe,” he reminds you. “Everything will be fine. You do know most of them.”

“Except for the one you seem most excited for me to meet,” you reply. 

“I just think that the two of you will hit if off,” he shrugs. 

“So you’re playing matchmaker now? What, did you get bored of your cowl?”

“Everyone needs a hobby.” He links his arm with yours and begins to lead you toward the manor’s garden, where everyone else is. “Besides, if you really do start to panic you know that either I or Selina will step in and whisk you away to a quiet room.”

“I know and I’m so grateful to the both of you for that.”

Since your diagnosis, the both of them have gone above and beyond to make sure that you feel safe and supported whilst you seek help and figure out how to manage it. Even being miles away from them, you haven’t been left to feel like you’re all alone. You don’t think you’ll ever be able to repay them for all everything they’ve done for you.

Before you know it, you and Bruce have reached the doors to the garden. They’re wide open, letting the summer air into the manor and you could easily hear the conversations going on. Taking a deep breath, you let him lead you outside. 

He’s right. You do recognise almost everyone and they recognize you, despite the fact that it’s been a few years since you last saw any of them. Barry gives you a toothy grin and waves while the rest take a more reserved approach. A smile here or a small gesture of their hand or head there. Doing their best to not overwhelm you. 

“I’m glad you decided to come,” Selina says as she pulls you away from Bruce and into a hug. You hug her back. Thankful to see your other old friend after so long.

“It’s good to see you, Selina.” 

She smiles at you as she pulls away. “Diana’s over there.”

“Thank you,” Bruce tells her. He leans in close and presses a kiss to her lips. You’re glad that the two of them finally stopped dancing around their feelings and actually got together. They deserve to be happy. Though that very thing is probably why Bruce is playing matchmaker with you right now. He wants you to be happy as well. Like he is.

While you have never met Diana, you have seen her on the tv and the web. Various news reports and footage that spreads across the internet every time that the Justice League stops some alien invasion or super villain attempting to take control of the world, again. In truth, you’ve always had a bit of a crush on her. Thing is you never thought anything would ever come of it until Bruce decided to start introducing you to aspects of his superhero life. Though, now that you think about it, you probably should have suspected something a month ago when he kept bringing her up. 

“Diana. This is…” Bruce introduces you to her. You feel your mouth go dry. She’s even more stunning in real life. Long black hair, the ends dip dyed blue, a red tank, blue jeans and her silver bracelets.

“Hi,” you just about manage, hating how pathetic you must sound. All you want is for the ground to open up and swallow you whole. At the same time, you know now that running away from everything constantly isn’t a way to live.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” she says. “Bruce has told me a lot about you.” 

“Same here,” you reply. 

You both side eye Bruce, who’s doing his best to act completely innocent, like he hasn’t been planning this meeting for ages, but his act is completely transparent. Before either you or Diana can say something, there’s a loud crash. You all turn to where his two eldest sons are suppose to be helping Alfred with setting up the grill, but only seem to be making an absolute mess of it. A long, drawn out and tired sounding sigh leaves Bruce as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

“If you’ll excuse me.” 

You and Diana both chuckle as he walks away and both of his sons scatter when they seem him approaching. 

“So, Bruce is playing matchmaker now,” she says, drawing your attention back to her.

“Apparently. He’s happy so everyone else has to be as well. Which is better then him making everyone else miserable.” 

She nods in agreement. 

With the ice now broken, the conversation between the two of you flows easily. Bit by bit your anxiety slowly starts to dissipate and you are not over analysing every last thing that you say. Diana is completely intrigued by your job as a wildlife photographer and the various situations you have managed to get yourself into during your job. From close encounters with the very animals you’re photographing to poachers and trophy hunters. The mention of the latter two visibly angers her and you share her sentiment. They had not been fun encounters at all.

“And you got out of those situations unscathed?” she asks. 

“Mostly. Selina taught me how to defend myself while we were growing up on the streets,” you reply.

“And the men who attacked you? What happened to them?”

“Most of them are behind bars–” you gesture toward where Bruce and Selina are–“Their handiwork as soon as they found out what happened. They’re now trying to forbid me from travelling to the Amazon Rainforest because of it.”

“What if I was to come with you?”

Her offer takes you completely by surprise. You have only just met each other and she’s already offering to travel to a rainforest with you. A trip that’s bound to last a few weeks. 

“I’m sure that it would soothe any fears they have and it would be an opportunity for us to get to know each other without so many other people around,” she continues. “If you want me to join, of course. I don’t want to pressure you.”

“I mean, I’ve only ever gone with colleagues on these trips, but I think it could be a lot of fun if you came along. It would also stop Bruce from constantly blocking me from charting a flight.”

She nods. “It’s agreed then. We’ll go together.”

Afternoon quickly turns into evening and one by one the rest of the leaguers say their goodbyes and leave until it’s just you, Diana, Bruce and Selina. The four of you have long since come inside and have settled in one of the lounges. 

You decide that now is the perfect time to mention what you and her talked about earlier. As soon as you mention the rainforest you can see Bruce visible tense until you say that Diana has offered to come with you. He relaxes at that and even looks a little smug. Sometimes you could really deck him, but you would really rather not break your hand on his face again. 

“It was an absolutely pleasure to meet you,” Diana says. The two of you are standing outside of the manor to say your goodbyes. It’s got quite late and your social battery is so drained you’re ready to curl up in bed and never leave it ever again.

“Same here. I’m glad that Bruce managed to talk me into coming today.” 

“As am I. You’ll text me the details?”

“Yeah. ‘Course.”

You wave goodbye to her and watch until she reaches the end of the drive, then you’re turning away and heading back inside. Bruce is waiting for you, leaning against the bannister of the grand staircase, grinning.

“I told you the two of you would hit it off.” He sounds as smug as he looks.

“Oh, shut up.”

[timeoutsoup]

Dig You A Grave

Inspired by @im-totally-not-an-alien-2

Part 6

(warning for language)

The Light was in shambles. Vandal Savage had no idea how all of his carefully laid plans came crashing down around him. Members were being hunted down and arrested. Somehow the Justice League had gotten a hold of their plans and files. Pieces of equipment and various items were gone. Someone or someones had even ratted out the Reach to the Guardians on Oa.

Black Manta had retreated to his underwater base. QueenBee returned her Country to Isolation and prepared for the oncoming political onslaught. Lex Luther was taken but pleaded that he was lied to about what his technology was being used for, the coward. All of them had gone to the wind, to save themselves. Savage could not blame them because he did the same, but being held in this U.N. cell gave him time to think.

He would get out of this and get his revenge on whoever was responsible for this.

___________________

Earlier in the week

Tim was so confused. Something had tripped the alarm in his penthouse and when he arrived, there were stacks of files and documents on his coffee table. Sitting innocently on top was an old Young Justice comm and what looked like a note.

Hello Tim,

I thought you would benefit from these files. Maybe spread a little chaos. Take down a few villains. Who knows.

Sincerely,

Your friend Klarion, the Witch Boy

P.S. Don’t tell anyone it was me.

After reading the note he rushed over to his computer, and pulled up the footage from his camera. Checking the footage and there he was, Klarion and his familiar Teekl, standing in his apartment. He had waved his hand and the mounds of files appeared. He continued watching the tape until well after the Witch Boy had left. He quickly called Oracle, Batman and Zatanna for backup.

It took them hours to go over everything, once Zantanna cleared everything. After the initial surprise of what these documents were, had worn off everything was taken to the Batcave to be examined.

____________

At the emergency meeting Batman had called the next day, nearly everyone had shown up, even John Constantine.

Hal and the other Green Lanterns rushed in, panicked. “We know what happened on December 30th!”

“As do I, now take your seats so we can start.”

“No bats you don’t understand. We just finished talking to the Guardians and they told us about..”

“About The Light syndicate teaming up with the Reach to mind control the Justice League frame us for invading, so the Reach can invade Earth as retaliation, but not break the contract they signed with the Guardians of Oa.”

All members were shocked into silence. It was Guy Gardner who finally broke it. “Well, shit Spooky, is there anything you don’t know?”

“You can debrief us on what the Guardians told you later in the meeting. Now take your seats.”

The next few hours the heroes went over everything. By the time they were finished everyone was exhausted. Constantine stood up to leave like the others but was stopped by Zantanna. “We need to talk to you, and fate.”

“Bloody hell. Can I at least have a smoke break first?”

“Fine but meet us back here in five.”

“Alright.” Constantine shrugged her hand off and went off to enjoy a quick smoke. He thought something or someone was being omitted from the meeting, but now he knew it and whatever it is, is powerful and most likely magic. Fuck. He just finished a tough job and just wanted to crash at home.

____________

Klarion waited for Danny to meet him. The heroes had been busy with rounding up the remaining members of The Light. The press had been filled with all of the underhanded secrets. Politicians were debating on clone rights, and what to do about the Reach. Everything else has basically come to a stand still. He had been free to do as he wished and today he wanted to hang out with his new friend.

It wasn’t long before Danny came running up to him, slightly out of breath.

“Hey, sorry for keeping you waiting.” The blue eyed boy panted as he caught his breath.

“Your apology is accepted since you were only a minute late.” Klarion patted himself on the back for being so cordial. “So what shall we do today?”

“I was thinking of getting something to eat. Before that though. Sam, Tucker and I are going to ‘The Back to School Fest’ Friday. I was wondering if you wanted to join us. It’s not the most exciting but it’s held at the fairgrounds.”

Klarion raised a brow and looked down at Teekl. This didn’t sound all that fun and exciting but he didn’t want to scare off Danny … yet. Giving it another thought Danny had good taste in food so far, so maybe more tasty delights could be in his future. Looking back at Danny Klarion replied. “That sounds doable.”

“Awesome. I usually go to Nasty Burger but a new cafe just opened up near the bookstore. Sam says the selection is great.” (It had taken both Jazz and Sam the better part of an hour to convince Danny to not take Klarion to Nasty Burger right off the bat. If he was Amish, the Nasty Sauce would more than likely put him in a coma. Jazz is pretty sure it is low level toxic but no one listens to her.)

Danny grabs Klarion’s hand and heads off. It was a short walk to the little cafe and to the Witch Boy’s delight the establishment had a cat theme and was pet friendly. They were seated outside, ordering drinks, a few cat themed desserts (Klarion has a major sweet tooth.) and they even had a few tasty looking morsels for Teekl to try.

Opening the pastry box, an all too familiar voice calls out as Danny’s ghost sense goes off. “I am the Box Ghost and I am here for your confection containing cardboard.” Exploding out of the box, sending the food flying and looking down at the occupants of the table the ghost realizes just who was sitting there. “So the rumors are-”

“Why today Boxy?!” Danny growls, as he whips out the Fenton thermos, sucking the cardboard obsessed ghost into it. “Sorry about that. Amity has a bit of a ghost problem but don’t worry they mostly leave people alone. The only real issue is when it involves a ghost's obsession and when that happens Phantom shows up.” Nervous of Klarion’s reaction, he quickly stuck the thermos back in his bag. Taking a breath, he gathered the courage to look at his friend’s (date’s?) face and was shocked to see the gleeful expression.

“Oh this is wonderful. There are just ghosts that pop-up and cause chaos.” Klarion broke out into a fit of giggles. “This is so interesting you must tell me more.” Looking down the young Chaos Lord noticed the destroyed treats. “After we replace our snack.”

Danny was thankful that Klarion was finding all of this amusing. He was worried that the culture shock might send the other boy running. The halfa could build with this foundation. Slowly introducing new foods and technology, and maybe Klarion will start sharing more of himself too.

The afternoon flew by as Danny told Klarion the crazy ghost stories that happened in Amity, with some editing of course. Can’t have a secret identity if you tell people who you are.

____________________________

Klarin had enjoyed his afternoon with his new friend. Seeing another ghost and hearing Danny tell all of those wonderfully chaotic stories, made the Witch Boy curious about Amity. Instead of heading home, he decided to stay and see what mischief he and Teekl could find.

—

The first few hours were very boring for the two. If he didn’t know better he would have assumed that this was just another dull city full of mortals. It wasn’t until after the sunset that things began.

It started with a whistling sound that turned into an explosion, which was shortly followed by shouting. Klarion followed the sounds of battle, hoping to catch a glimpse of Phantom and whomever he was fighting. Maybe even challenge the ghostly hero to a fight, if he was lucky.

Following the battling ghosts path was easy for a Chaos Lord like himself. Deciding to stick to the shadows, Klarion watched on. He watched as a tall, buff ghost with a flaming green mohawk, chased down a ghostly teen. The younger of the two seemed unbothered by the projectiles being thrown at him or the threat of his head being mounted on a wall as a trophy. To Klarion the ghost he assumed to be Phantom, from Danny’s description, actually appeared annoyed and dare he say bored.

It wasn’t long before the self proclaimed greatest hunter was defeated, and was sucked into a thermos, just like the one Danny had. Now that the fight was over Klarion was able to get a good look at the ghost. It was unsettling how much he looked like his new friend, so much so that the Witch Boy decided to follow Phantom.

Still sticking to the shadows, they continued to watch as the ghost made his way around town, as if patrolling. It had gone back to being quiet and boring. Klarion was thinking of calling it and just confronting the ghost, when Phantom quickly ducked into an alleyway. Not wanting to miss anything, the Witch Boy followed.

Phantom had landed and began looking around as if to make sure everything was clear. Fed up with waiting, Klarion stepped out of the shadows but before he could say anything, two rings of light surrounded Phantom, and after a bright flash Danny was standing there.

Note: check the tag list below for you username if you’ve asked more than once because I might just have misspelled it. If I did please tell me and I will do my best to fix it.

Also sorry if this seemed a bit repetitive

Tag list

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[eretzyisrael]

by Melanie Phillips

But on June 4, the Famine Review Committee published a report in which it rejected the FEWS NET analysis as not “plausible” and said it could not endorse its famine projection.

The committee said there was a lack of reliable evidence about the number of trucks entering Gaza and the level of humanitarian assistance that was arriving and being distributed around its various areas.

In order to compensate for these gaps in the data, it said, FEWS NET had relied on “multiple layers of assumptions and inference” about food availability and access as well as nutritional status and mortality, and had made “deliberate choices over assumptions, without the necessary supporting evidence”.

Such assumptions, said the committee, had ignored or underestimated the value of both commercial sources of food and certain forms of humanitarian aid.

Although this didn’t alter the fact that Gaza was experiencing “extreme human suffering” and that urgent measures were needed to boost humanitarian supplies, the committee concluded that flows of aid and the availability of food had increased significantly in March and April and “that nearly 100 percent of daily kilocalorie requirements were available for the estimated population of 300,000 people in April, even using conservative calculations”.

In other words, the committee reversed its own dire predictions and damned the famine early warning network for excluding evidence that gave the lie to its anti-Israel narrative. The categorical declarations of imminent famine being caused by wicked, heartless, war-criminal Israel just weren’t true.

It’s worth remembering that USAID, the parent body of FEWS NET, is run by Samantha Power, who served as US ambassador to the United Nations during the Obama administration.

In 2002, Power suggested in a “thought experiment” that America might have to invade Israel to prevent an Israeli genocide against the Palestinians. She also suggested that the only people who might be alienated by this would be American Jews, who she said exercised tremendous political and financial power over America.

Other research has also exploded the “Gaza famine” claims. At Columbia University, two professors have said the evidence shows that sufficient amounts of food are being supplied to Gaza.

They told The Jerusalem Post that it was “a myth that Israel is responsible for famine in Gaza” and suggested that the International Criminal Court and UN had joined Hamas in blaming Israel for a “famine that never was, hoping to stop the war”.

Yet there are no signs that these rebuttals of the “Gaza famine” claim are having any effect on the Israel-bashing crowd. A few days ago, The New York Times was still referring to “starving civilians” and blaming deaths from malnutrition on “restrictions on aid and commercial goods entering Gaza”.

BBC News reported this week that “warnings of famine are looming once again in northern Gaza,” broadcasting distressing footage of infants said to be suffering from dehydration and malnutrition caused by restrictions on aid at the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings.

Other than Fox News, it seems that no mainstream media outlet has reported the Famine Review Committee’s findings that the claim of famine in Gaza cannot be justified. Nor have the anti-Israel humanitarian organisations, although the World Health Organisation’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has now subtly adjusted his rhetoric by talking about “famine-like conditions”.

Famine is not the only anti-Israel falsehood whose debunking has been ignored. The mainstream media and humanitarian crowd are still using the Hamas figure of 37,000-plus civilians killed in Gaza, despite the fact that the UN itself revised its own casualty totals sharply downwards after it emerged that some of the claimed deaths had been drawn from media sources and were fabricated.

Some outlets such as The New York Times, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Time magazine are still claiming that the International Court of Justice said the Palestinians in Gaza faced a “plausible risk of genocide” even though the court said no such thing. As the ICJ President Joan Donoghue herself said, the court decided “that the Palestinians had a plausible right to be protected from genocide. … It didn’t decide that the claim of genocide was plausible”.

[mable-stitchpunk]

Going Home in a Box: Chapter 89 Teaser

This was a huge mistake. She knew it, she knew it was a bad idea, and yet here it was. Here she stood in the dark with a flimsy flashlight in her hand that barely lit the pile of junk laying in front of her.

The dump. The junkyard. The so-called prowling grounds of the Hurricane Clown.

But she wasn’t alone. Thankfully, elsewise she would be incredibly nervous standing in the middle of this dump.

Back when the clown and bear incident happened, Millie didn’t have a friend in the world. Now she had three.

First was Abigail, called Abby by her friends. Abby was as smart as a whip and the type who’d do extra credit work without the extra credit. The typical ‘nerd’ stereotype perhaps but she had a good heart, she was very outspoken, and she had an interest in the environment that Millie could get behind. She was a skeptic, a realist, but otherwise was much more optimistic than Millie tended to be.

Abby had neat braids that went to her shoulders and wore gold frames glasses. She was currently wearing an oversized dark grey jacket with the hood up in an attempt to disguise herself in case someone caught them. Though Millie didn’t know why. Sure, wandering around the dump in the middle of the night was sketchy, but she didn’t remember it being illegal. Maybe she was worried her parents would find out.

Then there was Sarah. Sarah was nice but a little quiet and withdrawn. Largely because she was so self-conscious of herself. Anyone could see it, with how often she was attempting various beauty techniques or spouting off things she read from magazines. She was the sort of person the old Millie would’ve found shallow and self-absorbed, but now she saw past that. She saw someone who was lonely and wanted friends.

Millie understood that feeling well. She wasn’t going to let either of them fall into that same trap. All it did was help get you alone, and then people would take advantage of you.

Sarah was also wearing a hoodie, but instead of for a disguise it was a hoodie she usually wore. It was a baggy dark fuchsia one that she often wore to hide herself in. Along with a pair of baggy jeans. Her hair was shoulder-length brown and unremarkable, as per Sarah’s own words on it.

Finally, there was Mandy. Many was the oldest of the group and only just became part of it. She was new to their high school and because of that she didn’t know anyone or have any friends, and that wasn’t helped by her colorful personality.

Apparently, Mandy had come from some sort of stifling preparatory school, one of those kinds with uniforms and strict decorum. Somehow, she got away with dying her hair and even now still dyed it. She was excitable, outspoken- the type to walk around with a three-ring binder with a tie dye alien throwing a piece sign and not caring when people told her it looked tacky.

Her hair was currently dyed a somewhat uneven turquoise color and was pulled up into a high ponytail before they left the car. She was wearing a simple red t-shirt and jean shorts over plaid leggings along with a thick pair of brown boots. She was definitely not dressed to be out here.

Millie looked down at her t-shirt of a logo for a rock band she had never heard of that just happened to have a disturbing grinning clown on the front of it. That made two of them.

Now, it was Mandy who spearheaded coming down here, not Millie. She aspired to be a would-be journalist and the idea of catching video footage of this supposed Hurricane Clown was too good to pass up. Even if they were all sort of sure it was a hoax.

Abby thought it was a rumor meant to creep people out, Sarah thought it was a running joke, and Mandy was convinced that there was a guy actually dressing like a clown who was running around freaking people out.

Millie was the only one who knew the clown was real, that he was the one she saw at the fair, that he was the one who pulled her from the bear, and that it had to be him that was said to crawl around the junkyard.

She also knew it was a stupid idea to look for him, but she found herself a little too eager to agree.

She hadn’t told many people about her experience with the clown and even her closest friends got an abridged version.

Days trapped inside of a tight coffin with a snide voice laughing at her suffering, telling her about all the things he could’ve done to her. What was her favorite method of execution? She looked like the type of girl who died a long time ago, he said. Up until she got inside that bear, she believed that too. That was part of the reason she was dumb enough to climb into that thing in the first place.

The hunger, the thirst, the humiliation of it all. The thought that she would die there, alone, with nobody the wiser to where she had gone. She was sure of it.

And then the clown came.

This clown- this clown who sort of sounded like the bear and then ripped it apart and pulled her out. She had been so out of it, but she remembered that clown, she remembered his face and his voice. It was like a robot, it had a white mask with a red nose, and glowing blue and yellow eyes.

In that moment it was like seeing a real-life Leprechaun, and then having it drop a pot of gold in her lap.

She had been frightened and confused. It wasn’t until the days following in the hospital that she really processed what had happened and who had helped her. It was crazy, she should’ve been even more traumatized, but she wasn’t. She was curious, intrigued.

Then she heard the rumors of the Hurricane Clown. It had to be him. She had been rescued by Utah’s version of Bigfoot apparently.

Since then, things had changed. She had attempted a new lease on life. Which really meant to stop shoving people away. So, when she returned to school, overshadowed by the rumors swirling about what happened to her, and it was Abby and Sarah- two virtual strangers- who approached her with concern and care, she didn’t shrug them off. Then when Abby suggested the offer a hand to Mandy, she didn’t shrug that off either.

How insane that it almost took dying to get to that point.

She wanted to see him again, to prove it wasn’t a hallucination from dehydration. To prove to herself that something so unexplained existed somewhere out there.

“Ugh, this place is gross,” Sarah mumbled.

“And a breeding ground for tetanus and dysentery,” Abby agreed.

“We should come here more often,” Millie added sardonically.

“Hey, is this your clown?” Mandy called.

Millie shined her light around to look for her and spotted the top of her head, then carefully walked around the trash to reach her. Sarah and Abby following in a single file line to make sure it was safe.

They came around the corner of an old car to see Mandy shining her flashlight down on what looked to be a body. Millie’s eyes widened and she hastily rushed over, only to quickly be disappointed.

It wasn’t even really a clown, but some kind of old mannequin looking thing. The material of it was plasticky and sort of slick, likely having picked up oil or grease from the garbage around it. Its ‘skin’ was stark white, if a little dirty, and it had faded round pink cheeks and a delicately painted but faded pink lips.

It had red hair pulled up into two pigtails. What was odd was that while the body looked old, paint worn, and even the plastic rubbed down along the joints, the hair looked to be in pristine condition. Almost like it had gotten a new wig just before getting tossed into the dumpster.

It had a long neck that led to a slender body that was rigidly straight. Its only clothing was a pink tutu around its waist- one that looked small for even it, like a child would wear. Its feet were shaped like wide wedge heels and the pink on them too was scuffed and fading.

The only thing of value on it seemed to be a silver heart shaped pendant resting on its chest. There was a shiny blue jewel on it, but the design made it look like it could be costume jewelry, and it probably was.

Sarah stared at it with wide eyes. Millie looked on with disappointment.

“No.”

Mandy pulled it up onto its feet with a heave. It was heavier than it looked, but she managed to balance it on the uneven ground. She hooked an arm around it to hold it up and popped a hand on her hip.

“You know what this looks like? Have you ever seen those life-sized dolls that kids dress up and do their hair and stuff?” Mandy asked.

Abby and Sarah both agreed. It certainly looked like that. If a little tall, being taller than even Mandy, the tallest one there.

Millie had another idea. She took one look at those pigtails and knew who it reminded her of.

“I think that’s Circus Baby.”

“Who?”

“There used to be a place like Freddy’s called Circus Baby’s Pizza World that closed down like Freddy’s did. Circus Baby had pigtails just like that, except she was small and looked like a kid,” Millie explained. She sized up the doll. “On second thought, never mind.”

“You might want to put that down,” Abby pointed out.

Mandy was about to when Sarah stepped forward and, seeing her interest, she let her take a closer look.

“It’s actually kinda pretty in a weird way,” Sarah said. “…You know what? I think I’m going to take it home.”

“No, really?” Abby said with aghast instead of sarcasm. “A big doll? No, scratch that. Some kind of… animatronic, maybe?”

“Animatronic, eh?” Mandy said thoughtfully.

“I don’t know, I kind of like it. Maybe we could clean it up and make her look good again. It seems like a major waste just leaving it here.”

Millie gave a derogatory sound and nudged its leg with her foot. It wasn’t responding to any of their movements, though the bear hadn’t either until she was in it.

“You know who’d probably know about how to fix her up?” Mandy declared. “Shelly’s brother.”

“Who?” Millie asked flatly.

“Pickle,” Abigail replied just as flatly.

Oh, Pickle.

Pickle was one of the smartest kids at their high school. That is, book smarts. He could read a dozen books and understand every word, but he couldn’t read a room if his life depended on it. Of course they’d get stuck hanging with Pickle.

But Sarah was determined. It just had such a pretty face. It was a shame to see it go to waste.

So, with that resolve, they took the doll with them. Sarah and Mandy having to work together to carry it to the car. Millie stayed behind to keep looking around for a little while, with Abby following at her heels.

There was no clown.

Disappointed but unsurprised, Millie eventually decided it was time to leave. But she knew she would be back.

[lets-try-some-writing]

The Grim Dark Archives: Statement #004 SITUATION UPDATE

[Statement taken from Agent Witwicky on the 23rd of September 2010 regarding the situation with [Redacted] and the Autobot presence on Earth. Secondary statement taken from [Redacted] shortly after their awakening also included.]

══════════════════

For any listeners, I will say this simply. The reason for the six year gap in further statements and transcripts is because... [Redacted] was caught by the Autobots shortly after their statement on Holoforms. [Redacted] was meant to only be on a short walk around a secure area, but they deviated from the planned route we had cleared for them. We do not know what they were trying to do, but we believe that they were possibly attempting to observe the Autobots from a distance. What little camera footage we gathered from [Redacted] showed them rushing toward where the Autobots were reported to be looking for energon.

Considering how terrified they are of the Autobots, this choice made no sense to us. But whatever [Redacted] was trying to do, they seemed to be taking notes when the Autobot known as Bumblebee snuck up on them. Bumblebee made some sort of sound that our systems could not pick up, and within moment [Redacted] was surrounded by the Autobots at the dig site. There was some sort of discussion in what we assume was their native language before the one called Bulkhead proceeded to punch [Redacted] hard enough to knock them to the floor. Further footage was grainy, but when the Autobots finally left, [Redacted] was all but a crushed mess on the ground.

Our agents were deployed to collect what was left, but miraculously, [Redacted] still seemed to be alive. Whatever power source keeps Cybertronians operational was still blazing. And so while higher command was not exactly the most thrilled with the idea, [Redacted] was brought in for repairs. I wasn't there for all of it, but from what I gather, our scientists and engineers both had a field day and hated every waking moment of trying to put [Redacted] back together. Thankfully for everyone, [Redacted] seemed to be in some sort of sleep while they were being repaired. It took years to get them back into shape, and all the while we kept the Autobots occupied as best as we could. We took [Redacted]'s advice and were careful about what information we allowed the Autobots to have. They are currently under the assumption that we can destroy them with nukes. It seems to have kept them from acting out.

However they were reported constantly watching the stars and searching for things on the surface. We struggled to keep track of them, at least until two things happened.

Firstly, [Redacted] showed signs of waking up from whatever coma they were in. They started moving around and booting online around the time a new alien aircraft appeared in the skies. We couldn't trace it and there were no Autobot symbols. But the Autobots were quick to inform us that the ship belonged to the Decepticons, their mortal enemies. They seemed far too excited for their own good at the prospect of fighting these other aliens. We opted to keep our sights on the ship as much as possible while the Autobots began a frantic search. It was around this time that [Redacted] finally came online enough to speak coherently, at which point we immediately questioned them about the situation. Their response was highly concerning, just like everything else they have ever told us.

I will play a recording of their statement here.

[-Statement playback begins-

That is the Decepticon warship. Sorry, my processors are pounding like a glitch right now, but yeah, Prime wasn't lying. That's definitely Megatron's ship. Why did you think the Autobots were here in the first place? Did you think they turned up for a vacation? No, they came here because this is where the Decepticons are.

How did you not pick it up on your radar? Well the Nemesis has a cloaker. All Cybertronian ships do. You didn't notice the Autobots until they came to you right? Well think about it this way. If the Decepticons can now be picked up on your radar, it means they don't care about being seen. That in turn means that they have a purpose, a mission. They have been hanging around your planet as long if not longer than the Autobots have, likely waiting for the right moment to make their move.

I don't claim to know their plans, but now that they are up and moving, you can bet that Megatron will show up soon enough. That's when slag is going to get real. So far the Autobots have laid low and been pretty docile right? At least I assume they have since you are all still alive and your capitol isn't burning. Well unfortunately for you organics, things just went from bad to worse. Expect my kin's war to begin ravaging your world as well. Hopefully their lack of numbers will keep it somewhat contained, but honestly at this point all I can do is give you context for what is going on and hope you can use it to your benefit.

The Decepticons are likely here to retrieve something or other. There were thousands of objects deployed during the war to keep them safe. Killing the Autobots is just a bonus. As for the Autobots? I can't claim to know, but I bet they will pull the same scrap. The two factions are notorious for being competitive. Just... try to keep civilians out of the way as they try to wage their war.

We are a dying race, and this is exactly why. When one of the factions get what they want, then you can really start worrying again. For now, they will be too focused on turning each other into slag to care much about you.... or me.

-Statement playback ends-]

[Redacted] did not elaborate on what allowed them to survive very nearly being killed. They also did not tell us WHY the Autobots tried to kill them, but we have more important things to deal with now. The Decepticons are active and we do not have nearly enough information due to [Redacted]'s extended coma. We are going to need to work quick to catch up on all we missed and get as much information as we can from our suspicious ally before they get killed for good this time.

══════════════════

[Statement end.

Further statements will be added to this catalogue as soon as possible. The Autobots have been observed moving and I am sure it will not be long before we need [Redacted]'s knowledge again.

Agent Witwicky signing off.

Recording ends.]

[fivecharactersinsearchofanexit]

what are your favorite horror movies/movies that you'd rec?

Yayyyyy okay this is a preddy long list all off the top of my head so I might reblog later with more lol. Some of these aren't exactly horror but everything on here is at least a thriller which for my money counts

Screenlife, faux broadcast, & found footage

Host (There's a couple pictures with this title, look for the COVID era film it's about an hour long. I believe it's on Shudder)

The Collingswood Story

The Blair Witch Project

The Last Broadcast

Creep & its sequel

Milk & Serial (recent microbudget horror, full film is on youtube)

This House Has People In It (technically not a Movie but look for the full version on youtube and you can watch it like one)

Lake Mungo (!)

Ghostwatch

The Bay

Give Me Pity!

We're All Going to the World's Fair

Sorry everything else is gonna be by decade instead of genre 😔

50s/60s

Look up anything produced by Roger Corman

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Seconds

Village of the Damned

Rosemary's Baby although I really prefer the novel and recommend that with a little more enthusiasm

Night of the Hunter

The Bad Seed

Really anything with Vincent Price is going to be a good time

Persona

70s

Obviously Night of the Living Dead is a classic for a reason but Dawn of the Dead is one of my favorite movies of all time. Watch this movie.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The Brood

Don't Look Now

Carrie

Alien

PLEASE double feature Let's Scare Jessica to Death and Robert Altman's Images

Deliverance

Jaws

Eraserhead

80s

Sole Survivor

Pick a Cronenberg. Any Cronenberg. My favorites are Scanners, the Dead Zone (good option if you're not into body horror), and Dead Ringers!

Poltergeist

The Changeling

Possession (!)

The Vanishing/Spoorloos (!!!!!!!)

Please double feature Blue Velvet and River's Edge in any order for an upsetting night in with Dennis Hopper

Reanimator

The Child's Play franchise gets worse with every installment but is always really, really fun

The Shining

The Thing

Blow Out

The Seventh Continent

90s

Benny's Video

Funny Games

IT (the miniseries)

Misery

Candyman

Jacob's Ladder

In the Mouth of Madness

Wes Craven's New Nightmare (great even if you don't like Nightmare on Elm Street)

Lost Highway

The Silence of the Lambs

Night Breed

Cure

Ring (original Japanese version)

The Sixth Sense

Se7en

Fire in the Sky

Stir of Echoes

2000s

Mulholland Drive

Inland Empire

A Tale of Two Sisters (remade in America as the Uninvited, also pretty good!)

Pulse

May

Ginger Snaps

The Descent

Signs

Dead End

The War of the Worlds

The Others

One Hour Photo

2010s

Get Out

Us

Midsommar

The Witch

The Lighthouse

Suspiria

Mandy

Beyond the Black Rainbow

Climax

The Wailing

Possum

Luz

2020s

Trap

Possessor

Nope

M3GAN

Malignant

Barbarian

The Night House

The Beast

Talk to Me

Watcher

The First Omen

I Saw the TV Glow

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Cuckoo

Crimes of the Future

Nightmare Alley (the original is also very good!)

[fideidefenswhore]

So Anne Boleyn didn't want her nephew Henry Carey at court cause he was supposedly disabled? Just like Gregory, Borman turned a good thing Anne did for her sister into a nasty thing? What evidence does she shows for Henry being disabled, or Anne not wanting him around? And for goodness' sake, isn't it strange that some historians and fiction writers seem to hate Anne (like Borman or Weir) but can't help to end up writing about her, because, let's face it, ANNE BOLEYN SELLS! They must feel so bad for always having to return return to this woman they are so eager to portray as the Worst Human Being Ever.

Literally none, and I'm not even joking. There's no citation, no additional information or details, she doesn't even name this nephew so I don't even know if it's Henry Carey to whom she's referring, or one of the Stafford children (whose existence/survival remains disputed), or even the later Elizabethan priest, George Boleyn, dean of Lichfield, who has been erroneously labeled as the son of Viscount Rochford, George Boleyn(illegitimate at times, by marriage other times), Julia Fox has argued for the likelihood he was some distant Boleyn cousin, and I'm inclined to agree. The claim is dropped into a paragraph about the perils of childbirth to contextualize Anne's own potential fears as if from the sky:

Worse still, Anne's closest female relations had suffered an unfortunate history in this respect. Her mother had lost several babies in infancy and her sister, Mary, had borne a son with mental disabilities whom Anne would not suffer to be at court. But in her favour was the fact that her health was generally considered good, and as one observer remarked, she seemed 'likely enough to bear children.' --Elizabeth's Women, Tracy Borman

So...yeah, if who she meant here was Henry Carey, I have no idea what she's talking about, A, and B, this is the sole* "factoid" she chose to mention about their relationship? Not that she had wardship of him, not that she arranged for him to receive his education from the scholar she patronized, Nicholas Bourbon, alongside Henry Norris (the younger), Henry Dudley, and the son of Nicholas Harvey, her 'strong partisan' and the husband of her great friend, Bridget Wingfield...all signs which point to Carey being in Anne's favour. I have no idea if he was ever at court, but if there's no record of him at court while Anne was queen, does it not seem more plausible to attribute this to A) how brief that time was and/or B) that his mother was banished from court due to the marriage she had made without royal permission?

I just don't...know, with Borman, really? It'd be interesting to have the unedited interview footage from BSR because I was surprised how overall sympathetic she was towards the subject, honestly. And I can't speak to the new book, I haven't read it, but the PR push for it has centered around praise of AB as an individual, as to her character.

For Weir, I mean, she received the deal to do that fictionalized serial on the six Queens of Henry VIII, of course AB had to be included. If I'm being perfectly honest, I feel like everything she has done since Lady in the Tower has had this weird self-animus pushing behind it, guilt over having further popularized a figure she hates so implacably. Her original view ("a total bitch...she alienated so many people that that must be true") has been evident in all her subsequent works and interviews; from claiming in one in 2017 that there exists a letter extant in AB's own handwriting where she orders Lady Shelton to beat her stepdaughter (there isn't), to depicting AB in her latest novel as having been so ugly and "painfully thin" naked that it was an instant boner-killer for her poorest little meow-meow.

*I believe other sections of this book are dedicated to the Careys so hopefully she expands later...I can't remember if she does. So far in my current read she has not mentioned the wardship and it was in 1528 and the book is now in 1533, so....

[woodsfae]

Babylon 5 S04E08 The Illusion of Truth previous episode - table of contents

John Sheridan looks at a model fighter? a starship, while he's thinking dark thoughts. Ivanova brings even worse ones: their revenue is way down since Earth banned travel to B5.

Sheridan and his dad have apparently been secretly passing messages and he hasn't heard back in awhile. I remember the last time he talked with his dad, that his mom was out and I wondered if his mom had already been arrested or something. Sheridan doesn't seem to have thought of that. He's primarily worried about his dad, too. Ivanova points out his dad is a former diplomat and thus in her opinion, too visible to disappear.

There are other small problems, but Ivanova dismisses expositing about them in favor of praising the great job Zack Allen's doing as new head of security.

Cut to Zack Allen breaking up a fight and threatening someone to inspect their stuff, and breaking locks with his phaser gun. Lol, the true successor to Garibaldi, indeed. He uncovers that their cargo is camera footage and they claim to be news reporters.

Dr Franklin has a plot update on the telepaths wired into Shadows tech. They're storing more people in stasis they were ever meant to support and they're going to move some of them.

The reporter has been arrested, for the subterfuge. Sheridan says he would have been allowed on, just not the recording equipment, since ISN isn't a trustworth news source anymore. The reporter claims he came to try to find ways to slip in truth about B5 into the propaganda news.

But that's how propaganda already works: using bits of truth to support agendas. It's not an inherently trustworthy argument. But Sheridan does seem interested.

Oh, and some Garibaldi! He's talking to a potential client. And by talking, I mean deducing that his client is smuggling valuables and extorts a percentage of their value from the client. And next up to meet with him is Lennier! I guess Garibadi's still on B5, then?

Sheridan shows up with the journalist, Dan Randall, and asks Lennier to show him around, to help verify the truth of B5. So Sheridan believed his spiel! I hope his trust is not misplaced, or that he has a backup plan.

Sheridan doesn't talk to Garibaldi, just leaves. Garibaldi has a flashback to his brainwashing and imprisonment. I have been wondering if Garibaldi resigning was part of PsiCorps' plot. Did he resign because he felt compromised, but is hiding the fact and limiting the security access he has on B5 therefore the damage he can do?

Lennier takes Mr Randall straight to Down Below and describes its denizens and their plights unflinchingly. Way to go for the worst view of B5 first, Lennier!

Delenn and John give an interview and also flirt blatantly and hold hands on camera. Then act uncomfortable when it is commented on.

What they all say to Mr Randal the ISN guy seems ominously well suited to be cut up to imply a totally different narrative. He hits up Garibaldi, who deflects. Mr Randall presses him to talk about anything he chooses. Garibaldi looks conflicted. I am more convinced this guy isn't here for B5's best interests and to represent it honestly.

Euuuugh as does Sheridan's tempting fate. But we won't be left hanging! Sheridan, Ivanova and Delenn put on the report for us all to watch.

It's a super uplifting and encouraging viw of the rest of humanity under Earthforce. /s

Mars is being militarily re-conquered. A film maker confesses sedition and is remanded into a psych unit. Great signs that B5 will be presented honestly and without bias.

Mr Randall starts out by really hyping himself and his bravery up. He presents B5 as controlled by alien governments with humans living Down Below in squalor while only aliens and command staff live in decent quarters. He has guest on to imply that Sheridan lowkey worships alien species as gods.

Everything is indeed cut to show them in the worst light. Aaaand they did get Garibaldi to talk. Specifically to shit talk Sheridan and say he's both got a God complex and only listens to a few aliens. Perhaps the true brainwashing? How complicated was the PsiCorps programming, anyway. Is Garibaldi's true self dead? Like Talia Winters' presumably was wiped out and replaced??

Back to ISN's hit piece on B5. Mr Randall has found the cryo-units after Dr Franklin got a message from his staff about restarting cryo-units. The picture is fully drawn as oppressing the humans, and using human resources to outfit and supply alien forces.

They get Dr Franklin on record saying there are no people in cryo. And then he has the expert who talked about alien worship comment on the situation.

Conclusion: B5 is in danger, is a danger, and Sheridan is probably unstable and mentally ill and to be pitied and given psychological help. Aliens are dangerous, Delenn being transformed to partly human probably means they're going to force all humans to be partly transformed into aliens.

Well that makes me wonder how much of their Mars war report is even remotely accurate.

Welp, time to conquer Earth and make some of the propaganda come true? Fascism really does create its own threats.

[whoficky]

A Bit of Everywhere - Chapter 1

Sequel to Neither Here Nor There. Definitely read that before reading this!

Note: Holy cow, I'm finally posting this! After years of outlining and getting distracted by other projects, I'm diving back into this one.

Rating: T

Pairing: 10th Doctor X Rose Tyler

Work Summary: Rose and the Doctor are eager to get back to their old life of travel and adventure, but it's not as simple as running off into the stars. They now have two different universes to call home, their relationship to figure out, and a lot of recovering to do.

Chapter 1

Jackie Tyler sipped from a delicate china cup and sighed when the clock over the sink told her only three minutes had passed since the last time she’d checked.  She wondered how she was going to fill the rest of the afternoon in this big empty mansion until Tony got home from school and footie practice.  She’d been foolish to dismiss the staff early today with the gloomy mood she’d felt coming on.  Now she didn’t even have the murmur of their bustling in the background to keep her company.  

She briefly considered ringing a car and going to pick Tony up early, but quickly thought better of it.  Her normally brash little boy had gotten skittish about certain things - late night phone calls, his parents picking him up from school instead of the nanny, any unexpected breaks in his routine.  The five-year-old was tough, but losing his big sister, his hero, had left its mark.  No, she’d just have to wait the extra time for Tony to get home.  She’d figure out some way to keep busy in the meantime.  

Keeping busy - that was the key to surviving this.  She’d learned a thing to two about grief when she’d lost her first Pete.  Though this new loss was so much worse, she knew the same old rules applied.  She knew if she stayed busy, if she didn’t let her mind wander, the pain of her missing daughter could be contained to a dull ache in her chest.  Sometimes she felt guilty for packaging it all up and trying not to think about Rose.  But if she didn’t keep her heartbreak and worry in check, Jackie wouldn’t be able to function.  She still had a husband and little boy who needed her.  She had to stay strong for them.    

And she could.  She could find it in her to carry on, to push all the pain down until it was hidden in the deepest parts of her.  She could do it…well, most of the time.  But in moments like this, when her socialite friends had finished brunch and left for their own errands, and it was still hours until Tony got home, there was nothing to distract her.  So, she dwelled.  At least for a little while.  She sipped at her tea and thought back on the horrible past year.  

 Jackie had missed her daughter when she’d gone back to America for her third year at uni, but the feeling had been mixed with hope as she saw Rose working so hard to build a better life for herself.  Though she worried about Rose running herself into the ground with all her studies, Jackie had thought her daughter actually seemed happy on occasion at that big fancy school.  Being just a regular girl around regular people her own age had done Rose some good.  And Jackie had thought, quite falsely, that her daughter was safe in that American college town far away from the press and Torchwood and bloody aliens.

But then her Rose had been taken.  There had been no sign of her little girl in months, and even when Jackie was fooling herself the most, she couldn’t imagine that Rose was safe.  Dead, probably.  And that wasn’t even the worst case scenario Jackie’s mind had come up with.  She’d talked to Rose’s mate Kimberly plenty of times about the night Rose was kidnapped.  Jackie knew about the bus footage of Rose fighting that goopy alien.  She knew about the blood and the busted mobile.  She’d seen the photos, though she wished she hadn’t.  They’d been in a folder she’d accidentally knocked off Pete’s desk in the early days after Rose’s disappearance.  Back then, when it had just happened and there was still hope, Jackie had spent a lot of time in her husband’s Torchwood office.  She’d wanted to be there to get updates as they came in.  

That terrible evening, Pete had found her kneeling on the floor a shaking mess, crying hysterically with grisly photographs scattered around her.  He’d sat next to her on the generic office carpet and just held her as she sobbed.  She reckons that was when she first realized she’d probably never see her daughter again.  Somehow, her and Pete had gotten themselves stitched back together before it was time to head home to take over for the nanny and put Tony to bed.  And that is what life had been ever since.  Her and Pete were just holding themselves together for each other and Tony.  What else could they do?  Any lead in Rose’s case had gone cold months ago.  Jackie knew she’d likely just have to live with never knowing what happened to her daughter.  It was just like that horrid year when Rose went missing off the estate, except this time it would last the rest of her life.

Catching a tear rolling down her cheek, Jackie wiped at it angrily and stood up, determined to find something to do.  The house was too quiet.  She was too…alone.  She needed to distract herself.  She’d bake, she decided.  She had all this obscenely expensive cookware now.  She should make some use of it.  She’d turn on the kitchen telly, get lost in someone else’s melodramatic story, and make Tony a snack that was far more elaborate than a five-year-old warranted.

And so, she was elbows deep in a batch of lemon-scented dough when she heard it.  

For half a second, Jackie brushed it off as some wind through the trees.  But as that wheezing, alien sound pulsed and grew louder, she froze, flushing with recognition.  

After all these years…  

“The heartbeat of the Universe” Rose had called it when they’d gotten tipsy off cheap box wine one evening.  Jackie didn’t know about all that, but there was something about that sound.  Rose had seemed to always be listening for it.  And since she’d lost her daughter, Jackie realized she had taken up the mantle.       

Taking time only to wipe the worst of the sticky dough off her hands, Jackie was off, running as fast as her stiff knees would allow towards the sound of the TARDIS.  If she wasn’t mistaken, it was coming from her front garden.  And wasn’t it just like the bloody alien to annihilate her carefully sculpted hedges when he landed.

The sun nearly blinded her as she ran down the front steps, but Jackie just shielded her eyes and searched for a special sort of blue out of the greens and pinks of her late summer garden.  And there it was, smoking slightly and crushing her hedges, as she’d guessed.

Jackie wheeled to a stop in front of that damned and wonderful blue box, heart pounding.  She dared to hope that maybe Rose was in there.  The last time her daughter had gone missing she’d come back that way.  It was all Jackie could do to stay still and wait for the doors to squeak open.

When they finally did, it wasn’t her Rose who greeted her, but a beaming Doctor - rudely looking not a day older than the last time she’d seen him.  

“Jackie! Long time, no see!” he grinned before sweeping her up into an unexpected hug.  She barely returned the embrace, glad as she was to see him.  As soon as he set her down, she couldn’t seem to stop the desperate words from pouring out.

“Have you come to find her?” She asked, the edge of tears in her voice, “Because she’s gone Doctor!  Rose is gone and it’s been months and we’ve done all we can and maybe she’s dead like everyone says, but now you’re here, and I’ve seen you do some ‘mazing things and -”

“Mum!” the sound of her daughter’s voice brought Jackie to an abrupt halt.  Before she had time to fully realize what was happening, her daughter, her precious little girl was rushing into her arms.

“Oh sweetheart!” Jackie cried, wrapping her daughter in a tight embrace, “Oh Rose, you’re safe.  I thought - ” 

“Rose!  No!” the Doctor cut in, sounding panicked of all things.  

A moment later, Jackie found out why.  Rose jerked with a little cry of pain and Jackie found herself struggling to support her daughter’s weight as she sank towards the ground.  The Doctor leapt forward, taking Rose into his arms and easing her fall.  He was so careful, so gentle as he cradled her in his lap.  It was a stark contrast to the anger that replaced his alarm once she was settled in his arms. 

 “What in Rassilon’s name do you think you’re doing?!” he hissed, “What part about ‘stay here’ and ‘wait for me’ didn’t you understand?  You can’t do this Rose!  You can’t keep doing this to me.  You can’t keep making me watch you - ooooff!”  Jackie cuffed him soundly in the back of the head.  

“Don’t you yell at my daughter!” she stormed, overcome with emotion and fully prepared to let it all loose on him.  That bloody alien!  Jackie was sure all this was somehow his fault.  All those months of hearing nothing - probably his rubbish driving again.    

“Mum!  Stop, ’s ok!” Rose tried to break in.

“Oh no, I’ll not have him sauntering back here, ruining half my garden and -”

“Mum, please!” Rose said reaching out towards Jackie until the motion caused her to wince in pain.

Where Rose’s pleading had failed, her obvious discomfort caught Jackie’s attention and cooled her ire.  She sank down next to the pair of them, taking Rose’s hand in both of hers.  Now that she had a moment to really look at her daughter, Jackie noticed the battered state she was in.  What she had thought were odd shadows was actually mottled bruising all over Rose’s skin.  Her eyes were dull and sunken and blimey, was she pale.  Jackie wondered how Rose had even made it out of the TARDIS with the large splint that went from one ankle all the way up above her hips.

“Oh Rose,” she gasped, “Oh sweetheart, what happened to you?  What hurts?  What can I do?”    

After a few deep breaths, Rose squeezed Jackie’s hand and panted, “’M fine Mum.”  At the Doctor’s snort she amended, “Well, not fine, not yet, but I will be.  Got the Doctor lookin’ after me,” she offered a warm smile up at the still cross-looking Doctor before focusing back on Jackie, “S’ not his fault I’m a bad patient.  None of this is his fault.  He was taken too.  I’m so - I’m so sorry I’ve been gone…” her voice cracked as her face crumpled on the last sentence. 

“Oh Rose, none of that now,” Jackie wiped at her own tears with her free hand, “Look, you’ve got me goin’ too.”

The Doctor helped Rose sit up and then gently guided her into Jackie's arms.  She wrapped her daughter in a careful hug and stroked her hair, “Oh sweetheart, it’s alright.  I’m here,” she soothed even as she cried with relief and confusion and, oh, about a hundred other things. “I missed you so much, love.  It’s all ok now though.  You’re back.  I got you back.”

Rose slowly settled as Jackie continued to rub her back like she’d done since she was a little girl.  Didn’t matter if was a skinned knee on the playground or a bloke being a prat.  Didn’t matter if Jackie was a mess herself.  She always had her arms open for her daughter.   

“Thanks Mum,” Rose sniffed finally, “I missed you too.  I missed you so much.”

“What happened sweetheart?” Jackie asked again, “Where have you been?  It’s been months!”   She met the Doctor’s eyes over Rose’s shoulder, silently pleading for information.

 “Jackie,” he said calmly, “We’ll explain everything, I promise, but we’ve had quite the bumpy trip here, and I think it would be best for Rose to go lay down.  Now.”

And just like that, Jackie was in Mum Mode.  She could fix this.  Rose was alive and here, and finally, there was something Jackie could do.

 “‘Course!” she said, leaning back on her heels once she was sure Rose could sit up on her own without support, “There’s the big sofa in the family room.  Or your room’s still there, sweetheart.  Haven’t changed a thing.  Knew you’d come back to me.”  Jackie hoped that neither of them could hear lie in that last bit.

“I think…my bedroom, yeah?” Rose sniffed, “I don’t - I can’t - with the staff hovering about, and…Tony’s not here is he?  You should talk to him before he sees me...”

“Don’t you worry about any of that.  I already sent the staff home for the day, and Tony’s still at school.  Can you make it to your room ok?”

“The Doctor’ll help me,” her daughter looked over at him and Jackie didn’t miss the love and trust in her gaze.  A look he returned, looking completely besotted.  

“Look at you two,” Jackie smiled, “Finally figured things out then, did ya?”

“Later mom,” Rose rolled her eyes, but the blush on her cheeks and the smile she was trying to hide told the story.

“Oh alright,” Jackie conceded.  For the moment, at least.  “Let’s head to your room then.”

But before Jackie got up to head back towards the house, she cupped Rose’s face.  “Oh sweetheart, I’m so happy you’re home.”

“Me too Mum,” Rose said, although Jackie didn’t miss how her eyes flicked towards the TARDIS when she said it.  Before Jackie could ruminate on that too much, she pushed herself up off the grass.

“Well let’s go then,” she beckoned.  The Doctor swept Rose up into his arms like she weighted nothing and Jackie led them both back towards the mansion.

[neonshrike]

whump wheel spin + dealer’s choice (just whoever comes to mind or fits best for the result u get! :D)

Whump Wheel Result: Asthma Attack

…Welp.

You know who this one is for.

Brenna sat in the back of her Social Studies class, half-listening to the lecture when Jason, her classmate sitting behind her, loudly whispered.

“Oh my God, a spaceship!”

He ushered his friends next to him closer, and they crowded around his phone to watch a news livestream. The commotion quickly got the attention of their teacher.

“I’ll take that,” she sternly spoke, holding out her hand. Jason scoffed and stood up to give her his phone.

“Aliens are back in New York! That’s history,” he explained, trying to convince their teacher to turn on the news. Most of the class chimed in as well, and she turned on the television.

Helicopter footage showed a ring-shaped ship and as crowds of people ran away. The rest of the class whispered as Brenna just sat and watched, her heart racing.

The newscaster reported that Tony Stark was on the scene, as well as two men that appeared to have magic abilities. “Iron Man’s going to beat them like he did last time!” Jason shouted.

They all kept watching at the edge of their seats as they zoomed in on the group of people with Tony, with one other person unaccounted for.

“We’re getting reports that Bruce Banner is on the scene alongside Mr. Stark and these mysterious enhanced men,” the newscaster reported.

Brenna quietly gasped at the sight of her father, and the world around her started to fade away as she felt her heart pound and her breathing quicken.

After three years, he was alive, and her emotions were just too overwhelming. Some other students pointed out how terrified she looked.

Just as her teacher started to try and calm her down, Brenna started coughing and gasped for air.

She snapped out of it and dug through her backpack for her rescue inhaler as her teacher called for the school nurse.

Brenna started taking puffs of her inhaler, she hadn’t had an attack at school for years. It started to work, but when she looked up to see everyone staring at her, she felt her chest tighten again.

The nurse arrived and she quickly packed up and left with her. She was in the office for half an hour when Betty came in with a concerned look on her face.

“Could we talk alone for a moment?” she gently asked, and the nurse stood outside the room. Betty sat next to her and put a hand on Brenna’s shoulder.

Brenna looked away for a moment, trying to gather the courage to share what she saw with her mother. “Dad is—“ she sighed, tears already in her eyes.

Betty quietly shushed her and pet her hair to keep her calm. “I heard,” she responded with a deep breath, this was just as hard on her.

“I don’t really know what’s going on, but we just need to stay calm and stay together.”

Brenna smiled, nodding her head in agreement as she hugged her mom. “What are we going to do?” she mumbled.

“We’re going home, I took the rest of the day off, and we’re going to the doctor this afternoon,” Betty explained as she hugged back, then let go of her and stood up.

“And we’re not watching the news.”

Brenna chuckled as she stood up as well and threw her backpack over her shoulder. They left the office and signed her out of school, then walked to the car in silence, not knowing what to expect next.

Tagging some people because I think I really did something here: @captastra @rhettsabbott @imogenkol @sorrythatwasmean @spaceratprodigy @carlosoliveiraa

[jedifighterpilot2727]

I think . . . I'm officially back! This little story is turning out a little longer than expected! but I really wanted to do this sort of reverse "It's a Wonderful Life" concept justice! I hope y'all enjoy! Comments literally send me over the moon! If I was one of those goofy TikTok npcs then I would dance every time I got one! I love hearing from y'all, so let me know if you like it, hate it, whatever!

Every Time a Bomb Explodes, A Super Gets Their Cape - Part 2

As discreetly as possible, Lexi shifts her eyes from the tablet in front of her to study the woman across from her.

Her mother was fidgeting in her seat, the fingers of her right hand twirling the wedding bracelet on her left. It almost seemed like an absent minded gesture, but to Lexi the simple act said so much more. Especially with the deep crinkle seated between her eyebrows.

Kara has been acting weird ever since her fight the night before with an unidentified alien; and her behavior had definitely escalated this morning. From her odd behavior in the kitchen, to her extra long hug before they left, and now her distractedness in the limo.

Rolling her neck to rid the kinks, Lexi tried to refocus on the work in front of her. She only has another week to finish the findings report for her latest experiment, and she's trying to concentrate, but she just can't shake the feeling that something is . . . off.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watches as Kara's studies the inside of the car; eyes peering out over the rim of her glasses in a way that Lexi knows means she''s using her x-ray vision. Kara may be think she's being sneaky, but you don't grow up around a super hero without learning their tells.

Lexi swipes over to the message app on her tablet and pulls up the text chain with Lena and Aunt Alex.

"Something weird is going on with mom."

No sooner has she hit 'send' then her phone goes off, lighting up and buzzing in the seat beside her with the notification of an incoming call.

Ignoring Kara's curious look, she silences the phone before turning back to her tablet.

"Don't call me! She's right here!" she types angrily in the text box to her mother as she tries to avoid looking in Kara's direction.

"Who was that?" Kara was trying to sound nonchalant but Lexi could hear the strain in her voice.

"Telemarketer." Lexi shrugged, never taking her attention from her tablet screen.

Even without looking up, she could tell you exactly the look that was on Kara's face - the patented 'super mom' stare - the same one that if Lexi didn't know better would make her believe her mother had mind reading powers.

The message icon flashes with a new text.

"Red Kryptonite?"

With two words, Alex has managed to give voice to all of their fears.

Lexi pretends to stare pensively out the window at the passing buildings; but in reality she uses the opportunity to scrutinize her mother out of the corner of her eye.

She's spent hours poring over Supergirl footage, knows all of the telltale signs of a red kryptonite exposure from the handful of incidents before.

There are no characteristic glowing red veins, and no sadistic glint in her eyes. In fact, she seems almost exactly like the person Lexi grew up with - except she seems . . . lost.

Lost and sad.

The bone deep sort of sadness that Lexi had only seen about her when she talks about losing Krypton.

No. she finally texts back.

It's not red kryptonite.

That much she's sure of.

But it is something. she adds after a moment.

Alex's response is swift.

Do I need to bring tactical support?

If there's one thing that Aunt Alex had drilled into Lexi's head over the years, it was to trust her gut.

It's a feeling, kiddo. You can't explain it, hell; half the time you don't even understand it. You just know.

And Lexi knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that her mom isn't dangerous . . . she's just . . . well . . .

With a start, she realizes that Kara has shifted to meet her gaze and their eyes are locked across the backseat of the limo.

"You alright, Little One?"

It's the same calming voice; the same term of endearment that Lexi's been hearing since she was three years old and first learning to trust people. No matter what's going on, she has to help Kara figure it out, she owes her mom that much.

"Yeah, yeah, just uh . . . nervous. Ma and Taylor have been plotting together all morning, who knows what they've come up with."

Kara's laugh doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"I'm sure it'll a surprise for both of us."

Hopefully a good surprise. Lexi can't help but hope as she types out a response to Alex before closing her laptop.

No tactical support needed.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Kara can't help but feel slightly out of place as the town car makes its way across the city. Sure, she's been in Lena's car service before, but never without Lena; and certainly not sitting across from her . . . kid. It sounds weird saying it even in her head, but it also somehow feels perfectly normal. Like a part of her looks at Lexi and feels, well, motherly. Vague memories taunt the edges of her consciousness like a dream that she can't remember.

Other feelings are there too as she listens to Lexi rattle on somewhat nervously about the space travel experiment she's working on -

Love, is the most obvious by far.

There's a warm blossoming of undying and unconditional affection that Kara can feel deep in her bones in a way that she's never felt about anything before.

Sure, she loves lots of things - potstickers, lasagna, puppies, Alex, Eliza, the memory of her parents, heck even Lena, (in more ways than she's ever even admitted to herself before today). But this, this is something entirely different. She's never felt so much love and pride and worry - god, are mothers always this worried? - directed towards a singular human being before.

She's barely known Lexi for a few hours, but she already knows that she would die for her. Perhaps more worrisome is that she would kill for her too, without a second thought.

Kara doesn't kill.

Or at least, she tries not to.

But if Lexi was in danger, she knows what her choice would be without hesitation.

It almost makes her understand what her own mother must have felt when she put Kara on the space ship bound for Earth. She'd spent years wondering how her Alura could have so easily sacrificed herself and battling with a mountain of survivor's guilt.

But now, looking at Lexi, she understands - at least in some way - the feeling behind her mother's actions.

It's not long before the car comes to a stop in the middle of National City's shopping district, and Kara watches as Lexi packs up her laptop into her shoulder bag.

She feels a rush of nerves as the younger woman slides out of the car calling a "Thank you!" to the driver as she steps onto the sidewalk.

This is it.

Sure, she's seen pictures of her and Lena together in this universe. She's spent some time around Lexi - their literal kid - the 'product of their union' - so to speak.

But this.

This is big.

This is seeing Lena with her own two eyes.

A Lena that doesn't hate her.

A Lena that knows her secrets - ALL of her secrets.

A Lena who she presumably hugs and kisses and - oh Rao, she feels her neck start to sweat under her collar - because they've definitely done things, if the drawer in the closet that she tried not to pay attention to is any indication, they've done a lot of things.

She doesn't know how to be that person with Lena.

She's only ever imagined that kind of relationship with Lena in her deepest, darkest fantasies. And now, now she's going to have to go out there and try to act normal when she knows that Lena's seen her naked before.

Of course, she's presumably seen this universe's Lena naked before too, but she doesn't remember seeing Lena naked, and that definitely puts them on an uneven playing field.

Oh Rao, why did she ever start thinking about Lena naked?!

Now it's the only thing she can think of, and wow her face is really hot -

"Hey! Mom!" Lexi's face appears as she bends down to look in the car. "You coming?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yep." It's then Kara accidentally meets the driver's gaze in the rearview mirror and of course he's looking at her like she might have possibly just grown a second head. So she smiles what is probably the most awkward smile in the history of awkward smiles, and steps out onto the sidewalk.

"Come on," Lexi begins leading her in the direction of the crosswalk. "Ma said they'd meet us on the corner of Chesnut and 4th."

It takes a moment for the light to turn red and the walk sign to flash, but by the time it does, Kara thinks she's gotten herself under control. She's even almost paying attention to the wedding drama that Lexi is going over.

That is, until she looks up and sees Lena and Taylor waiting on them across the street.

Lena isn't looking at her, instead she's looking in a store window, laughing at something Taylor is pointing at.

Kara can't help but stare, because oh, she looks beautiful.

Sure, Kara's had that thought before, but this is something else entirely. She's not sure if it's the strands of gray mixed with Lena's dark bun; or the laugh lines framing her casual expression; or the matching ring and bracelet on her left hand that sparkle when they catch the light just right. Whatever it is, hits Kara like freight train, and just as if the yellow sun turned to red, she feels weighted to the spot.

"Oh my geehad!" Lexi is stopped a few paces ahead of her in the crosswalk, exasperated look on her face. "Quit staring at your wife and come on."

Kara blushes furiously, ashamed to be caught so blatantly staring, and allows Lexi to pull her forward.

"Geez! When will you two ever stop? I swear, it's like you're two little lovebirds that can't stop staring at each other. You've been married for almost thirty years; get a grip, Mom." Lexi's voice is teasing but it does nothing to calm Kara's nerves.

"Sorry, she's just so -"

"Beautiful." Lexi finishes with a roll of her eyes. "Or stunning, gorgeous, ravishing; whatever synonym you pull out of the thesaurus today."

If Kara thought she was blushing before, it's a thousand times worse now, because she knows that they're close enough for Lena to over hear them; and even though Kara isn't the one to say the compliments out loud, she was certainly thinking them.

"Don't worry, chickadee, with any luck, you'll be an old married woman someday and you'll be so disgustingly infatuated with Taylor that you'll gross your kids out too." Lena teases as Lexi leans in to kiss her cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, but it won't be gross when I do it. " Lexi protests. "Right, Tay?"

Taylor laughs, pulling Lexi in for a kiss.

"I think it's adorable."

Kara can't help but smile at the two of them, because their so obviously in love; and young love is something magical for sure. Then she looks back at Lena, and her heart stutters in her chest just a little bit, and her stomach flip flops, and maybe it isn't just young love that's magical. Because now, she's face to face with green eyes that certainly feel like magic to her.

"Don't let her tease you, darling. I love your synonyms." Lena smirks."

"Ah heh." It's then that Kara's brain decides to notice that Lena's lipstick is the same maroon shade as her coat. She knows she's staring, but she can't stop her eyes from tracing the path from Lena's eyes to her mouth and back again. And then Lena's face is inching closer and closer, and before Kara can put together what's happening; Lena's lips are on hers.

Because of course they're kissing, because that's something that they do, obviously.

And of course Lena's mouth feels like heaven, and Kara wants to lose herself in the hypnotic movement of her lips and the gentle tracing of her tongue and -

Just like that, Lena's pulling away.

Because this kiss may be something monumental to Kara; but to Lena it's just a regular kiss - something they do every day, several times a day at that.

Kara can't help herself from chasing Lena's lips with her own.

Can't help reaching a hand up to frame Lena's jaw and pull her closer.

Can't help her tongue from following Lena's back to the other woman's mouth.

Can't help her other hand from settling on Lena's waist and fisting around the leather of her belt.

Because it feels like the first time.

It feels like something she's waited years for.

But it also feels like something she's done a thousand times before and will do a thousand times again - as long as Lena will let her.

Their breath mixes together in a heady sort of haze, and the kiss deepens into something that's almost to much for a street corner.

When Lena pulls back, Kara lets her; but she keeps her hand on Lena's cheek, thumb reaching to swipe at lipstick that's smeared under Lena's bottom lip.

"Ahem." Lexi clears her throat pointedly, and Taylor snickers; but Kara's too love drunk on the sparkle in Lena's eyes to care.

Her stomach, unfortunately, pays no attention to the mood or the desire pooling in her belly and lets out a loud grumble.

The sudden noise may ruin the kiss, but it makes Lena giggle, and Kara can't help but think that that's almost just as good.

"Come on," Lena pulls away, taking Kara's hand in her own as she turns. "Let's stop embarrassing our daughter and get you some food."

[triscribeaucollection]

Shuri for the Win snippet

It starts with an error message.

More specifically, it starts when Shuri enters her lab early one morning, still half asleep, and attempts to pull up her itinerary for the day, only to blink blearily at- static. On her worktable. From her systems.

She finds herself abruptly awake, and distinctly uneasy.

Attempting to run a diagnostic comes with... disappointingly little information. According to the computer, there isn’t anything wrong with her schedule. No corrupted data, no broken connection between files. Only the error on Shuri’s part, attempting to pull up something that- wasn’t there.

Which could not be right.

From the age of six, she meticulously planned her schedule, cramming in as much time as possible for lab studies and projects around lessons and events - Shuri can handle spontaneous developments just fine, but when Wakanda and the world beyond were not actually in danger from criminal or alien threats, she likes to have everything neatly laid out each day. She could- could not actually recall what had been on the schedule for that day, but if she’d neglected to plan anything in advance, then there should only be an empty file, not an error message.

So.

Her own mistake, or external interference?

A little over two hours later, after combing through her systems with the digital equivalent of a fine-toothed comb and opening up several panels to check physical hardware, Shuri concludes no one has gotten into her lab’s private network to deliver any sort of virus or commit other sabotage. Yet, the error message persists. Assigning an algorithm to search for any other signs of static turns up several: at least one block of time on any given day every two weeks or so, going back over a year. Shuri wracks her brain, but cannot recall anything significant she’d done or attempted to avoid on those dates. The only stand-out which she does remember was a three day visit to New York City, which involved meeting with a Stark Industries liaison, checking in with the Wakandan representatives assigned to the United Nations, and- and-

-and something.

Upon realizing she can’t recall what else happened on that trip, Shuri pulls up memory files downloaded from her kimoyo beads, hastily seeking out the dates in question. No visual footage or audio recordings, unfortunately, but at least the data of her movements remain. Shuri opens a screen with a map of the city, transfers the recorded coordinates, and watches an accelerated accounting of where she went each day. At first, only the official buildings she can remember; then, a large amount of time traveling by foot around the section of the city known as ‘Queens’. Which Shuri does not recall in the slightest.

Her fingers drum against the edge of her worktable. When the simulation ends, she saves the map and painted route, then dismisses everything in order to sit back and stare at her blank screens.

An error in the computer was one thing.

An identical error in her own mind... it left an uneasy twist in her stomach.

At least the benefit of her itinerary being unexpectedly clear meant Shuri could immediately go find someone to ask for help.

---

I've got this plus two more pages up on my Patreon page, behind the paywall for now but scheduled to be available to anyone in a few weeks. Hopefully I jot some more down soon and get a chapter onto AO3, but not until after I make some more progress on my other big fix-it fic projects

[cherrybombfangirlwrites]

Flash Fiction Friday - Among Any Option

Thanks for the prompt @flashfictionfridayofficial!

The City is Ours plot/character/dynamic exploration for Book 1, with the team in the first book trying to track down the villains while crowded together in a diner booth. Not a lot of options for them folks!

“How long can it possibly take to hack into something?” Jason asked, “You’re using a computer.”

“Computers can only do what you tell them to,” Chase said, not looking up from his computer. They took a swig of his Monzter energy drink. “But you wouldn’t know that, considering you’ve never lifted a finger in your life.”

Jason squinted, and shrugged. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

Everyone else shared a knowing glance, only leaving the rich boy confused.

They were all squeezed into a booth at Minnie’s Diner, a couple of them (mainly Chase and his tech set up) were spilling over onto a second table they’d dragged over.

Everyone had ordered a milkshake or fries, except for Jason who apparently wasn’t hungry for ‘common’ food.

Asher said, “How are you tracking them?”

“First of all, it hasn’t worked yet,” Chase said, his french fries growing cold. “Second, two of those weirdos don’t even use tech, and I’m not even going to touch the alien shit. But that mad scientist guy- what’d he call himself? Cyanide?- He does use modern tech.”

He slurped down some of his milkshake, munched on a few fries, and washed it down with the energy drink. “So, I’m combing through all the tech and software in the city that I can access from here, looking for his footpr- Oh perfect, found him…”

He leaned into his screen curiously. “Huh. Why there?” They muttered to himself.

“What?” Kylee asked, trying to see his screen as she leaned over to his seat, “Where is it?”

“Ah-ah-” Chase snapped, moving his computer so she couldn’t see. “I can’t work if I’m being watched, thank you.” He waved her off, and she rolled her eyes.

Nickelle said, “Care to share what you found, Chase?”

“The old nuclear power plant outside the city,” Chase said, “That’s where this guy’s footprint is showing up.”

“It would be dangerous for humans to go into the power plant though, right?”

“Not anymore, since the meltdown at the power plant happened 50 years ago. All the radiation would either be gone, or very small. So if we’re only in there for a bit, we’ll be fine.”

Asher nodded. “Only question is-”

Alarms started blaring as everyone’s phones went off, and the diner TV flashed with a city wide threat warning, showing video footage of the street just a few blocks away from the diner.

“Nevermind, we don’t need to go to the power plant,” Chase said as he quickly started packing up, “They found us.”

Everyone jumped up and started chugging their milkshakes and wolfing down fries. The whole group almost ended up in a pile as they tripped over each other to climb out the booth and find a secluded place to change into superhero gear- some opted for the bathroom, others ducked out into the alley hoping the dumpsters would hide them.

Chase’s gear was mostly armor that he wore over his clothes like a shell, so he was done first (after Kylee of course, since she used her superspeed to change). He leaned against the side of the building, watching the live news on his phone while he waited for the others.

Kylee sighed, signing sharply with her hands, “What is taking them so long?”

“Not all of us have superspeed,” Chase said, “They haven’t quite reached this block anyway, it’s fine.”

The others came out the back door of the diner in their superhero gear one by one.

“Took you long enough,” Chase said, and Kylee smacked their shoulder, giving him a look. He rolled his eyes, closing the helmet over his face. “Showtime.”

The team raced out into the street, as Black Hole and his cronies were tearing up the streets while civilians ran for cover.

V said quietly, “That’s a lot.”

The others could barely hear her, but they were all thinking similar thoughts along those lines.

[coffeeangelinabox]

Febuwhump #17: Hostage Situation

There is a pause as the voice on the phone finishes listing his demands. In the hastily set up mobile HQ, there is a silence.

Finally, Sergeant Chris Bryson says steadily, "We don't negotiate. You know that. We can talk about a plea bargain."

His heart is pounding beneath his ribs. This is so far above his paygrade, but they had demanded him. Specifically. By name. Everyone in the room is watching him, expressions barely less hostile than the voice on the other end of the phone. Sweat trickles under the collar of his uniform.

He hears his accent broaden, becoming less soft, lilting, TV Welsh and more they type of voice that just encourages these Southern wankers to make jokes about sheep shagging. Thank God, there's no one here that could possibly know that that's the first sign of his fear. And why is that? He can't believe that, if he's been summoned, the others haven't.

He's not even proper police. Not by the London Met's standards. But he does have a unique skill set that suggests something other worldly in this situation. Something, he had assumed was run-of-the-mill nerves buzzes to life in a very real swoop of fear.

The others aren't here.

He'd been summoned by name.

His hand tightens on the phone with a squeak of plastic and his teeth clench with a squeak of enamel. "As a show of good will," his voice is just about casual, but his accent is so thick he sees a couple of the Londoners swap eyebrow raises and smirks, "why don't you release a hostage or two."

The voice doesn't even speak. There's just the sound of a gunshot. And he flinches. That is the sound of American action movies and war footage on the news. Guns don't get discharged at scenes he is called to. He's little more than a scientific specialist. Fangs, ectoplasm, mind control...he has experience with all of those, but bullets?

Then worse, even that that crack which feels like it's ruptured his eardrum, there's a choked off male cry that he's certain he recognises.

He's heard that man in pain before, it's just usually monsters and aliens and idiots who fancy themselves Spiderman villains, not whatever this is.

Then a woman is speaking to him, words rushed, falling over each other, "Chris! Chris! It's Reiner and his cult. They're all here. You need to get-"

Another snap of sound cuts her off and for a heart stopping moment Chris thinks they've shot again. "Owen? Mandy?" He demands, everyone can hear his terror now - the enemy and the men here both - as his voice cracks like it hasn't since puberty, as he almost bursts into humiliating tears, the adrenaline he can't run or punch out frantic to go somewhere. He doesn't care, professionalism be damned.

Then he realises that the sound had been different. They hadn't shot her, merely slapped her. "I'm- I'm ok." Her own voice wavers and that's terrifying in and of itself. Mandy never sounds anything less than no nonsense and certain. She's the strongest one of all of them. "Chris...you have to stop them." She sounds almost apologetic and he knows exactly why. He's never run a mission himself, he's only worked with them for a few months. And now the fate of the world (and every friend he has in the world) rests only on him.

He ignores the order completely. "Is Owen alright?"

"He's-"

And then she's cut off again with scuffling and another slap, but Chris has to believe that the start of an answer in something that at least approached Mandy's always sensible tone wasn't going to be a time of death.

"Now, Sergeant. We won't be giving a show of good will," the voice says again. Not Reiner, Chris doesn't think, though the man has never struggled for followers for his insane cause. "We won't be releasing anyone. Let's talk again about my demands."