#WILL PROXIMA EVER GET PAID?

[mysticonsheadcanons]

Hey Proxima, did you ever jumpscare anyone as a kid? Because once when I was 11 I had an appointment with my family doctor, to keep him anonymous let's just call him Dr. McD, I had an appointment I don't remember what it was for, and I decided to hide behind the door and jumpscare him, and he screamed so loud that the entire hospital heard! 😂 I swear that man doesn't get paid enough for me to be his patient!

PROXIMA: Not really. I was too shy to do that when I was little, and I guess I became more serious. (Thinks for a moment). Though sisters do play a prank on each other, and Arkayna is like my sister, so maybe I can try jump-scaring her.

Proxima gets Piper's help to do the jumpscare, as she never pranked anyone before. It failed, as Piper ends up giggling, so Arkayna realizes someone's there. They all laugh, and Proxima says that maybe Zarya would have been better to help.

[spicycreativity]

Ticket Crimes - Oneshot

Rating: T Words: 9,752 Characters: All Category: Gen Summary: To welcome his new crew members about the USS Foley, Starfleet Captain Janus Gaines schedules shore leave on the pleasure planet of Ya'Lotus. Janus and Virgil run into an old acquaintance who seems to have ulterior motives; Roman and Remus attempt to infiltrate a drug trafficking ring; Patton and Logan narrowly avoid death on a history tour. Content Warnings: Mild violence/violent intent, alcohol use/mild intoxication, guns and phasers (no shots fired), mentions of drugs and drug trafficking (no drug use depicted) Note: You do not need to be familiar with Star trek to read this. In fact, it's probably better that you're not, because I took a LOT of liberties with canon

Doctor Patton Kelsey's boot heels clicked along the metal floor of the USS Foley as he made his way out of Sickbay. Despite the corridors' unusual emptiness, he kept to the right side out of habit, dragging his fingers along the wall as he went. He counted the doors, mouthing the numbers to help him keep track, until he came across the door he was looking for.

There was nothing usual about Ensign Virgil Salem's door except for the fact that it rarely ever opened. Virgil emerged for his shifts and for scheduled meals and made himself scarce the rest of the time.

Patton had studied Virgil's chart extensively but found no psychological defect that would render him unfit to serve in Starfleet. Surmising that Virgil was shy, Patton privately declared himself responsible for looking after the young recruit. The fact that they had joined the crew at the same time only served to strengthen this notion.

Patton raised his fist and knocked gently on the door, knowing full well that Virgil was inside. "Ensign Salem?" No response. "Virgil? Kiddo? Our group is about ready to beam down."

"Do I really have to go to that?" Virgil asked, his voice muffled behind the door.

"You don't want to?" Patton asked. "It's a party for us!"

"I would have been fine with a bottle of Saurian brandy, but nobody bothered to ask for my opinion, did they?"

Patton smiled a little and leaned against the doorframe. "Look, kiddo, you'd better just come with me before Captain Gaines calls you over the intercom."

"Shore leave is supposed to be optional," Virgil shot back, but Patton could tell that his resolve was slipping away. Virgil took a while to warm up to things, but he could usually be convinced.

"Not when the whole reason we're here is to celebrate you!"

"And you," Virgil said, and he was much closer to the door now.

Patton stepped back and waited for the door to slide open. It did a moment later, and Virgil appeared still tugging on his gold tunic over the standard issue black undershirt. His dark brown hair, slightly longer than regulation permitted, stuck up in the back where he had been resting his head against his pillows. Patton absentmindedly smoothed it down, though he managed not to lick his hand to do so.

Virgil let him lead him down the hall toward the Transporter Room. "You know I'm not actually your kid, right?"

"But we look so much alike!" Patton smiled sunnily at him. Patton was sturdy and soft where Virgil was rail-thin, and his honey blonde hair and blue eyes contrasted with Virgil's own dark hair and darker eyes.

"Sure, pops." Virgil shook his head, but there was a fondness to it. "I look like your shadow."

He stuttered his steps as they approached the Transporter Room so Patton would enter before him. Virgil respected Captain Janus Gaines, but he was also keenly aware of their difference in rank whenever they shared space. While Captain Gaines played fast and loose with regulations and encouraged his crew to do the same, Virgil never forgot what those regulations were. They had been drilled into his head at the Academy and haunted him like a ghost no matter how casually the Captain treated him.

"Took you long enough," Janus drawled. "I was starting to think you'd gotten lost."

"That was one time," Virgil said before he could stop himself. Not that it mattered; Janus had only ever been amused by Virgil's backtalk.

The rest of the party to beam down were milling about like guests at a mixer, largely ignoring Virgil and Patton. Janus stood out among them not only for his nonchalance, but for his unusual appearance. He made no secret of rejecting his half-Vulcan heritage and regularly spirited away Lieutenant Commander Remus Aime to help him bleach his hair and eyebrows. This resulted in unhealthy-looking white-blond hair and stark black roots. To make up for this transgression, he kept his hair at an acceptable regulation length, one that revealed his mismatched ears. The left was pointed exactly as a Vulcan's ears would be, but the right was rounded like a human's. Contributing to the asymmetry were his mismatched eyes: the left was a piercing blue while the right was warm and brown.

"We're ready now!" Patton said. He often focused on the bridge of the Captain's nose to avoid staring openly at him, and he did so now with a sunny but vacant smile gracing his lips.

"Places, everyone," Janus said, cutting off the murmured conversation between the remaining party members.

They all stepped onto the platforms, Virgil with his stomach turning with nerves, Patton staring dead ahead, still smiling.

It was over in a blink.

Janus stepped forward, turning around so he could address his party. "Gentlemen," he said, raising his arms for maximum melodrama, "welcome to Ya'Lotus."

"Uh, yeah, so what is this place?" Virgil asked, stepping off his platform.

He was interrupted by Lieutenant Roman Aime, who had made no secret of his disregard for Virgil since day one. "Weren't you paying attention the first two times we explained it to you?"

Janus rolled his eyes, annoyed at having lost control of the conversation, but made no attempt to regain it. "Logan?"

The android nodded at him, stepping forward and edging Roman out of Virgil's space. "Lotus Island, located on the planet of Ya'Lotus, is a popular shore leave destination due to its vast array of amenities and unique ticket-based economy."

Virgil, who had not been paying attention in the slightest the first two times this was explained to him, frowned. "Ticket-based?"

"Like Earth money," Remus Aime interjected.

"Yeah, yeah," said Roman.

"Ooh, like the county fair!" Patton said.

Virgil wheeled around to face him. "Is that an Earth thing? I'm from Alpha Proxima II."

"Well," said Janus, regaining everyone's attention by clapping his hands once. "Thank you, Ensign Salem, for that fascinating little jaunt into your personal history. But seeing as we're here to have fun, why don't you just stick close to me until you figure everything out, hm?"

"Yes, sir," Virgil said, squinting at Janus. He, like many others, was never sure where he stood with the half-Vulcan, and was unsure what to make of him because of it.

"Joy," said Janus. Addressing the rest of the landing party, he said, "Virgil and I are off to the Tier III Lounge. Is anyone else coming?"

"Logan said he wanted to do the self-guided history tour," said Patton, nudging the android in the ribs.

Logan nodded, causing his ash blond hair to dance along the line of his jaw. His gray eyes differed from organic beings' only in that they reflected no light, and he turned this unsettling gaze upon Patton, who tried not to flinch. "That is correct."

"An island full of debauchery and you're going on a history tour?" Remus demanded, grabbing a fistful of Patton's shirt. Despite the height disparity (Patton being the tallest member of the party and Remus being the shortest), Patton bit his lip and leaned back as much as the young Romulan's grip allowed. With his extravagant face tattoos and devilish bearing, Lieutenant Commander Remus Aime was no stranger to getting his way through intimidation tactics.

"You get free salt water taffy," Patton said, glancing around to see who might assist him.

It was Remus' twin brother who came to his aid, yanking Remus back by the hair. "Knock it off."

"I am your superior officer!" Remus said, releasing Patton and turning to face his brother.

"Oh, I do apologize, Lieutenant Commander Hair Dye," Roman said. To Janus, who was toying with his bleached locks with an exaggerated carefree expression, Roman said, "We'll go with you."

"No way!" Remus said, freeing dark hair from his brother's grasp. "I don't want to go to some stuffy lounge."

"We'll find our own fun on the way," Roman said.

"Again with the melodrama." Janus sighed and looked over at Virgil, who was slouching with his hands jammed in his pockets. "Follow me. If we lose them, we lose them."

Janus turned on his heel, an impressive feat given he was supplementing his already substantial height with three-inch heels, and left the receiving Transporter Room with Virgil in tow. Always loath to be left out, Roman followed suit, trailing Remus, Patton, and Logan behind him.

The first stop was a massive receiving terminal where they were all made to spin a wheel to receive their first round of tickets.

"How, exactly, does this work?" Virgil asked, folding his tickets into a small stack.

"If you really cared to know, you should have paid attention the first two times Logan explained it to you," Janus said, stuffing his own tickets up his sleeve like an Earth magician. "You're more than welcome to join him and Doctor Kelsey on the history tour if you think that would be a better way to spend your time than a high-end liquor tasting."

"You know," Virgil said, "I think I'll stick with you."

"That's what I thought."

A fair distance behind them trailed the Romulan twins Vrih and Vaebri i-Elehu tr'Aime, better known but their preferred names. Given that they hailed from a particularly superstitious region of the planet Romulus, the twins had dubbed themselves "Roman" and "Remus'' respectively to avoid the bad luck of giving away their full names.

"Captain Quick Step is trying to ditch us," complained Remus, his boot heels clicking against the concrete. Patton and Logan had already peeled off, leaving the brothers to tag along after Janus and Virgil on their own.

"Don't let him," Roman urged, nudging Remus to hurry up.

Lotus Island was a hectic place, bustling with all races of aliens. Music rang out loud over strategically-placed speakers and workers called out for the crowd to try their luck at a variety of carnival games from multiple cultures. Sequestered away in gravity-defying skyscrapers were gambling halls, and further inland towered the tracks of massive roller coasters.

Remus dodged an inebriated Orion and nearly tripped, grabbing onto Roman's tunic to stay upright. "He's dodging and weaving, that bastard!"

"You shouldn't have worn heels," Roman chided, grabbing Remus by the wrist and yanking him forward.

"You're wearing heels, too."

"But I can actually walk in them."

Far ahead of them and gaining ground, Janus was employing Earth-based power walking techniques. Virgil stuck close behind him at a jog, toying with his tickets, privately amazed at the unfamiliar sensation of actual paper between his fingers.

Virgil, despite his rigorous Academy training, was somewhat out of breath. Janus was not, and even if he was, would not have allowed Virgil to see him gasping for breath. He had determined long ago to take the best of his Vulcan heritage and the best of his human heritage, suppressing his weak points far beneath the surface where no one could ever see them. Despite his fondness for Remus, Janus Gaines was simply not a man who allowed himself emotional attachments and weaknesses, and this had very little to do with his early childhood training on Vulcan.

"Any particular reason you're running me like a racehorse?" Virgil asked.

"Like you've ever seen a racehorse," Janus replied.

"Okay, don't answer the question."

Despite their rapid pace, Janus managed to turn and leer at Virgil, micro-expressing as only a Vulcan could. "Because it's funny."

Virgil didn't see what was so funny about ditching crewmates, but (wisely) kept that to himself. "Why don't we catch a lift, then?" He gestured to one of the many ride services available, surreys and bicycles, rickshaws and moving sidewalks.

"We're almost there," Janus said, motioning to a blue-black building ahead of them. The rounded windows were blacked out, leaving Virgil to wonder at what was inside.

It was a regular lounge, as he soon found out, quiet and upscale. The interior was dark and just a touch too cool for Virgil and Janus' liking. Virgil crossed his arms as he followed Janus to the bar, but was soon distracted by a familiar hissing and clicking from the corner. "Is that a pinball machine?"

Janus looked at him like he'd just said something phenomenally stupid, mostly to hide the fact that he had only a vague idea of what a pinball machine was. "You can worry about that or you can let me buy you a drink."

"Fine," said Virgil, who had yet to master the subtle and esoteric art of decoding Janus' communication style. He clambered onto a barstool and picked at the piping on his sleeves that denoted his rank while Janus ordered something that the universal translator couldn't translate into English.

The sensation of eyes on him made Virgil shudder. He ran a hand through his unruly hair and glanced down the bar only to make eye contact with a pair of green eyes. They belonged to a Vulcan Virgil had never seen before. Unsure of what to do, Virgil froze, leaving the Vulcan to break the eye contact. He looked Janus up and down, then up again, his gaze lingering on his bleached hair.

"Dude," said Virgil, once he had recovered from the off-putting sensation of having been cased and rejected, "I think that guy likes you."

Janus leaned forward and peered down the bar before pulling back in an attempt to hide behind Virgil. "Shit."

Then came the voice, bassy, yet undeniably Vulcan in its even monotone. "Chu'lak? I thought that was you."

"Fuck," said Janus, already smiling, "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He slipped off the barstool and landed cleanly on his toes so the click of his heels didn't disturb the lounge's quietude. "Sihok."

Sihok saluted both Janus and Virgil, though his attention was mostly on Janus. "Scheduled shore leave?"

"A welcome party," Janus said, holding out his hand for a shake.

Sihok eyed it with what Virgil regarded incorrectly as apathy and Janus recognized as disgust and a trace of amusement. After a fraction of a section of hesitation, he shook Janus' hand. "And this is the new recruit?" he asked, indicating Virgil with a small nod.

"Ensign Virgil Salem," Janus said.

Virgil, who had been trained in cross-cultural contact, gave the proper Vulcan salute with a trembling hand. Despite being unable to decipher Sihok's body language, he could sense the tension between Sihok and Janus as keenly as he could the difference between scotch and bourbon. Somewhere behind them, Virgil registered the click of their drinks being set down.

"Ensign Salem," said Sihok. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Virgil said, trying not to fidget.

"It is gratifying to know that you've held on to your manners despite your proximity to Chu'lak and his… half-measures."

Virgil's eyes went wide and he quickly averted his gaze. But to Virgil's surprise, Janus, rather than dressing Sihok down, gave a cold chuckle and put a hand on Virgil's shoulder. "It's Janus. Captain Janus Gaines."

"You always did have trouble conforming," Sihok said.

"Yes," said Janus, "Mathematically speaking, I thought I would go for half acceptance. How do I measure up?"

Seeing that his companions were otherwise occupied in their strange battle of insults, Virgil rotated slightly to retrieve his drink from the bar behind him. He had a feeling he was going to need it if Sihok stuck around for much longer.

Sihok lifted one eyebrow ever so slightly. "They call you The Mad Vulcan."

"Well, now you have my attention." Janus turned and retrieved his own drink. "Shall we get a booth?" He knew perfectly well that Sihok was getting at something, and the mystery of the subject matter had him more curious than he would care to admit. He was reasonably sure he had managed to hide this from Sihok, having expressed anger and amusement as a sort of misdirection.

Virgil said, "Is this a worm?" He held his drink up to the light, examining the fizzing red liquid within to try to get a better look at the thing floating in it. "Like mezcal?" From the look Janus gave him, he judged that the universal translator hadn't been able to find a good Vulcan equivalent of the word. "Never mind. Booth?"

"But first." Janus held up his glass for Virgil to toast. "Congratulations, Ensign Salem. Welcome to the Foley."

--

"I didn't want to go to that stupid lounge, anyway," Remus said, crossing his arms. In a fit of pique, he grabbed Roman's braid, which ended just shy of his lower back, and gave it a yank.

"Oh, don't pick a fight with me just because you're grumpy," Roman said, flicking Remus' temple. "There's a million other things to do; I'm sure we can find something more fun than stalking the Captain and the new kid."

"Drugs?" said Remus, brightening considerably.

"I meant like a roller coaster or something, but if you want to go find an upper, I guess that's--"

"Let's go!" Remus started walking away.

"Seriously?" Roman said. "I was kidding! An island full of stuff to do and you want to get high?"

"Re-lax, Vrih. Janus will have a fit if I bring drugs onto the Foley, inside or outside of me. This is more of a personal challenge." Remus continued on his merry way, weaving behind buildings and sticking to areas so nondescript that Roman would have stayed away from them out of pure instinct.

"C'mon, Vaebri, I'm sure the heavily-regulated pleasure planet doesn't have a scary criminal underbelly for you to infiltrate. We're wasting time."

"We're almost there," said Remus.

"What do you mean we're almost there? Almost where? You've never even been here before."

"Do you ever shut up?"

Roman crossed his arms over his chest and scowled, but continued to follow Remus as he strode away from everything that made Lotus Island appealing. They ventured past a few 'Keep Out' signs written in Federation Standard and Vulcan into a gray jungle of humming machinery all locked inside tamper-resistant metal cages. Remus darted up to one particular machine and wasted no time jamming his face up against the grating.

"I'm gonna leave," Roman threatened, his arms still tightly crossed over his chest.

Remus was only half-listening, having just uncovered something he found far more interesting than gambling or thrill rides. "This powers an elevator!"

"Ooh," said Roman, barely giving the gray machinery a glance, "an elevator. Not like the Foley has turbolifts or anything."

"Someone wasn't paying attention to Logan's little spiel."

"Uh, yeah, Ensign Salem."

"No, no. You know what's under the island?"

"Water?"

Remus rolled his eyes and gave Roman's braid another tug. "You've been spending too much time with the Captain.

"Will you knock that off?" Roman demanded, kicking Remus in the shin.

"It's the staff's living quarters!" Remus said, growing bored with the argument.

"Oh," said Roman. "So we're definitely sneaking down there to take a look around?"

"Way ahead of you," Remus said, already fiddling with the control panel.

Behind them came the distinctive hiss of turbolift doors opening, followed by conversation. Roman and Remus, in a moment of synchronization, both turned on their heels and stood at attention. As Romulan twins, they were both fully aware of the attention they tended to attract once strangers figured out they weren't Vulcans. But the pair of humans, both wearing hot pink uniforms denoting them as staff members of Ya'Lotus, didn't so much as glance up as they carried on toward the Midway.

The twins exchanged a glance, then Remus dived for the closing doors with Roman hot on his tail.

"Nice," said Roman, already examining the panel of buttons.

Remus pressed one at random and the elevator began to drop, taking them far beneath the surface of Lotus Island. When the doors opened again, the twins were met with the sight of pale blue walls and concrete floors. It was eerily silent.

Roman stepped out hesitantly, looking around for any possible passers-by, but there was no one. He motioned for Remus to come out after him. While Remus held the higher rank, arbitrarily bestowed by Janus, Roman was the older (and bossier) twin and had yet to relinquish the sense of authority he had gained from a childhood of leading Remus around Romulus and, later, Decos Prime.

"What language is that?" Remus asked, nodding at the phrases painted on the walls.

Roman studied it for a moment. "Federation Standard. Sickbay is to the left, plus the Medical Staff Break Room. Living Quarters to the right."

"Break room," said Remus, already heading toward it. Roman fell into step beside him, so perfectly synchronized that the click of their heels on the concrete sounded like that of only one person. It was a trick they had perfected in childhood that had served them well in previous instances of trespassing.

"It's kinda freaky down here," Roman muttered. "Where is everybody?"

Remus shrugged. "Sleeping? Working?" He wasn't too bothered. Remus was of the mind that getting caught was half the fun of misbehaving.

"And what do you want with Sickbay, anyway?" No sooner had the words left Roman's lips did realization click into place. "Are you still on drugs?" he hissed, barely resisting the urge to grab Remus by the shirt and drag him back to the elevator.

"No, I'm not on drugs," Remus whispered back, displaying a picture-perfect shit-eating grin. "That's the problem." Upon spotting the door to the break room, he fell out of step with Roman and lunged forward to peek inside.

Roman was savvy enough to stop walking when he noticed Remus breaking away. He watched, half annoyed and half embracing the inevitable, as Remus froze in the doorway with wide eyes. With his facial tattoos, his unruly hair, and his mustache (which he had to shave before every inspection), Remus did not pass for Vulcan half as well as Roman did, even with his long hair.

Still, Remus straightened and crossed his arms behind his back, falling into a passable impression of Vulcan stoicism. "Good morning."

In the hall, Roman frantically flashed the Vulcan salute, trying to get Remus to notice.

"Officer," said a voice from within.

"Lieutenant Commander," said Remus, wiggling his fingers playfully at Roman behind his back.

"Did he send you?" asked another voice.

Remus' facade fractured for a moment, his lips twitching with excitement. He clenched one hand into a fist and shook it at Roman as much as his current positioning would allow. Roman rolled his eyes, confident now that Remus could see him.

"Yes." Remus had to fight to hold still as he stared down the two Caitians lounging at a table in the center of the room. They both had PADDs and communicators in front of them, both had half-empty mugs of a substance Remus couldn't identify.

One of the Caitians, whose name tag identified her as M'Birr, tilted her head at Remus, pupils going wide. "Shaa. What if he's lying?"

Remus rocked forward onto his toes, and he flashed several nonsense hand gestures at Roman behind his back in excitement. It was time to bring out one of Janus' favorite lines, albeit with less sarcasm than the Captain usually employed. "Vulcans do not lie."

"Yeah," said Shaa, her pupils also wide, "I have heard that. Beside, the Big Guy would have vetted him before sending him to us."

Bored with the waffling, Remus decided to take a risk. He had no way of knowing what or who the Caitians were referring to, or even if there was any mischief afoot. But Remus had a nose for trouble and he could see Roman getting bored in the hall. So he adjusted his posture and fixed M'Birr with his best impression of a calculating Vulcan stare. "I was instructed to obtain a sample of the product."

It was all he could do not to squirm in delight when M'Birr sighed and said, "He could have at least given you a Staff shirt. How am I supposed to sneak a member of Starfleet into Sickbay?"

"Incidentally," said Remus, still wiggling his fingers at Roman, who was pantomiming shock in his peripheral vision, "I wasn't told the name of the product."

"Like it matters," said M'Birr. "They're calling it 'kin.' How much did he tell you to move?"

Before Remus could answer, one of the communicators on the table chirped. "Voight here."

"Shaa."

"Starfleet's onto us."

Shaa side-eyed Remus, who took pains to hold completely still. "How can you be sure?"

"We've got two hitting all the stops on the trail. Not buying. Just looking. They went straight from the Help Desk to the Founder's Statue."

Remus and Roman sighed in tandem, both knowing full well it had to be Patton and Logan making their rounds on the self-guided tour.

"Not with us," Remus mouthed, looking M'Birr in the eye.

She exchanged a glance with Shaa, who shrugged briefly and addressed the communicator again. "What's the plan?"

"Dispatch. We can't let them off the planet."

"On our way." The two Caitians stood and moved toward the doorway where Remus was still standing. "Sorry, Lieutenant Commander, but we've got trouble."

Unable to help himself, Remus said, "You're just gonna leave me down here?"

"I'd think a Vulcan would know better than to cause trouble," M'Birr said pointedly. "Excuse me." She pushed past Remus, followed closely by Shaa. "And who's this?"

"Backup," said Roman, trying not to react to the sight of the two cat-like aliens before him.

M'Birr stared at him, calculating, but Shaa nudged her and said softly, "We don't have time for this."

"See yourselves out," said M'Birr. She and Shaa took off for the elevators, leaving Roman and Remus to stand awkwardly until they were out of sight.

"Drugs!" said Remus, stamping his heels on the floor and shimmying. "What did I tell you?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Roman, annoyed despite himself that Remus had gotten his way. "Can we go save our friends from getting murdered now?"

"Sure," said Remus, heading back toward the elevator, "if they haven't already died of boredom yet."

--

After receiving their specially-programmed PADDs for the self-guided tour (along with two bags of saltwater taffy), Patton and Logan had set off for the first stop on the tour.

"Ooh," said Patton, who was attempting to read, walk, and eat taffy at the same time. "There's trivia."

Logan grabbed him by the shoulder and steered him out of the way of a group of Andorians. "I believe that all the knowledge we gain here today could be referred to as 'trivia,' Doctor Kelsey."

"No, no." Patton shoved a candy wrapper in his pocket so he could use both hands to show Logan the PADD. "There's a trivia contest at the end! We should pay extra close attention."

"Noted," said Logan. "I will make an effort to keep the information in my memory banks."

"Oh, by the way." Patton navigated back to the map of Lotus Island. "You can call me Patton, you know."

"If you're sure," said Logan. "I am aware of the human concept of 'politeness' and did not wish to overstep if you were being polite when you introduced yourself."

"Nope! You really can call me Patton," Patton said cheerfully, holding up the PADD and rotating it, trying to get his bearings. "Where's Virgil when you need him?"

(Virgil was, at the moment, weighing up the benefits of crawling under the table and abandoning Janus and Sihok to their Vulcan mind games)

"Allow me to assist." Logan removed his own borrowed PADD from under his arm. "Next up is the, ah, 'Fun Wheel.'"

"That thing?" Patton asked, pointing to the massive Ferris wheel ahead of them. At their current proximity, the hulking metal contraption dominated the horizon.

"Yes," said Logan, biting back a sarcastic comment. The Captain responded well to sarcasm and Logan's communication style had evolved accordingly, but time and experience had shown that most people found Janus' sarcasm off-putting. And Logan had seen him don the mask of diplomacy, which received much better reception. So Logan decided he would be diplomatic in the hopes that it would make Patton feel at-ease. Logan did not want to be the crewmember responsible for scaring off their new CMO.

They made for the Ferris wheel, Patton still with his nose buried in the PADD. "You get more taffy for correctly answering trivia questions!"

"What could we possibly do with more taffy?" Logan asked.

"Share it with the others!"

They reached the viewing platform of the defunct Fun Wheel and both held up their PADDs to read the description.

What the PADDs did not tell them was that less than 30 guests attended the self-guided tour per Earth year and those guests that did were rarely members of Starfleet. The PADDs had also not been programmed with the knowledge that every single stop on the tour was a tradeoff point for distributors of a new drug known colloquially as 'kin,' as the scientific name was several syllables long, untranslatable from Golic Vulcan, and contained a multitude of niche phonemes.

"Do you smell that?" Logan asked, searching his memory banks for several pieces of data at once.

Patton sniffed and looked around in confusion. "The ocean?" Most of Ya'Lotus consisted of a saltwater ocean that contained no indigenous life. The sea breeze was fresh and cool and smelled, to Patton's human nose, unremarkable.

Logan shook his head. "There is a strong chemical smell emanating from the lower cabin of the Ferris wheel. I believe it may be opioid in nature."

"Opioid?" Patton sniffed and again could only smell rust and sweet ocean air. "You can get all that just from the smell?"

Logan nodded and approached the low metal fence, leaning over it to try to get a closer look at the cabin. It was caged off and covered with a fine mesh that blocked even his keen android eyesight. He cycled through his senses, again landing on smell as his best means of solving the puzzle before him. Beneath the smell of iron and grease, there was a definite tang of something other, something distinctly sedative. He wasn't specialized to identify chemicals like this, and the sensation of answers dancing just out of reach in his databank was enough to elicit an emotional reaction. He looked at Patton and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fuck."

"Whoa!" said Patton, tucking the PADD under his arm. "What's wrong?"

"Forgive me, Doct-- Patton. I am expressing frustration because I would like to know the source of the smell."

Patton leaned in over the guardrail. "Maybe it's just an industrial agent you're smelling? I can't think of any reason why opioid drugs would be anywhere near a Ferris wheel. Not here, anyway. Not on this planet."

"You're right," Logan said. "I will let it go." To emphasize this, he let go of the railing and stepped back. "Are you finished reading?"

"Yeah," said Patton, also backing up. "Let's move on."

And they turned and walked away from the first hidden kin manufacturing still on the tour.

--

By this point, Janus was fairly sure Sihok was getting at something, though he was circling around the point like a seabird waiting for the kill. It was a tactic Janus could respect, though it was decidedly un-Vulcan. Virgil, meanwhile, signaled for another round of drinks with his fingers. He too had an idea that Sihok was getting at something, and that Janus was as well. While he was admittedly inexperienced with Vulcan body language, he was reasonably sure that Janus hadn't figured it out yet. With boredom and alcohol combining in his mind, Virgil sat back and decided to try to figure it out before Janus did. Sure, he was just an Ensign, but he wasn't stupid.

At the moment, Sihok and Janus (whom Sihok insistently referred to by his Vulcan name, Chu'lak) were talking lightly about their careers.

"I thought," said Janus, drawing one fingertip around the rim of his glass, "you were studying xenobiochemistry."

"I was."

"So how did you end up here of all places?" He gestured to the room at large. Virgil, tracking the movement with his eyes, caught sight of the pinball machine and gazed longingly at it before remembering himself. "As I recall, you had a natural talent for the sciences. If you'll forgive my saying so, working security at a glorified casino seems a bit beneath you."

Sihok's expression did not change that Virgil could see, but he marked that Janus was smirking just a bit.

Sihok nodded. "I discovered in the course of my schooling that xenobiochemistry better suits me as a hobby. And, if you will permit a lapse in logic, I find the the atmosphere of Ya'Lotus most agreeable."

"You dig the vibe," Virgil blurted before he could stop himself. Janus and Sihok both stared at him and before his eyes, the expressions he had mistaken for disapproval read simply as confused. A small spark of triumph ignited in him; he was learning to understand Vulcan mannerisms.

"That didn't translate," Janus said.

"I thought you spoke Federation Standard," Virgil said.

"That was not Federation Standard."

Virgil's cheeks began to burn. "Ah, never mind. You were saying?"

"I think," said Sihok, "there is a certain beauty in mathematics. Do you agree?"

"Sure," said Janus. "But why do I get the feeling that you're not referring to fractals?"

Virgil fished a maraschino cherry out of his drink and began to bat it around the table with his fingertips.

"There is an objective beauty in symmetry," Sihok said vaguely. "No one could argue that. But it's asymmetry that has my interest. Chu'lak, answer a question for me."

"Yes?"

"Where are you staying tonight?"

Virgil stilled, his eyes flicking to Janus. He had no doubt that the question had translated oddly, that Sihok wasn't seriously propositioning Janus. But Janus had been given an opportunity to tease, and even from his limited experience aboard the Foley, Virgil knew that Janus rarely passed up an opportunity to make fun.

"I hadn't decided yet," Janus said with an arch smile, staring at Sihok under his lashes. "The Foley, I suppose, or someplace lavish if I ever make it to the casino."

Virgil resumed playing with the cherry, knowing on some level that he was behaving unprofessionally. He was just drunk enough to not care, the alcohol softening the sharp edges of his anxieties.

"Why?" Sihok asked.

"Why?" Janus repeated.

"You have everything you need on the Foley, don't you? And the free accommodations here are sufficient to sustain life? Why strive for more?"

Janus made no effort to hide his confusion. His patience was wearing thin. He had been intrigued at first by Sihok's vague enterprise, but his insistent refusal to get the point left Janus struggling for diplomacy. "I didn't think you cared for philosophy, Sihok. You've changed."

"Think it over," Sihok said.

The maraschino cherry rolled across the table. Virgil grabbed for it, having flicked it a little harder than intended, but missed, and watched in a hazy mixture of horror and amusement as it rolled off the edge of the table, hit Janus in the knee, and bounced to the floor.

"Sorry," Virgil mumbled, already ducking to grab it. Movement under the table caught his eye; Sihok adjusted his grip on something. Forgetting the cherry, Virgil eyed it curiously. It looked very like the rolls of Lifesavers that Alpha Proxima II would import from Earth, little pieces of culture to keep the colonists connected to their heritage. Virgil had preferred dark chocolate bars and later, coffee and brandy, but his mother had been quite fond of the sharp taste of spearmint Lifesavers. Whatever Sihok had a grip on was wrapped in a translucent white paper that allowed Virgil to see the colorful discs within. Not wanting to linger too long, Virgil resurfaced with the cherry and set it down on a cocktail napkin. "Sorry," he said again.

"Didn't you say you wanted to try the pinball machine?" Janus asked. He was already formulating an exit strategy, but it had never been his intention to hold Virgil hostage. Sihok was taking his time getting to his point, and this was supposed to be a welcome party for Virgil. "Here." He scooted out of the booth and stood.

"Thank you," Virgil said. He walked slowly, listening as Janus apologized and Sihok began to wax philosophical once more about the beauty of asymmetry in mathematics.

A few rounds on the Starfleet-themed pinball machine only left Virgil frustrated and half-sober, overstimulated. He didn't understand why Janus didn't just make an excuse and go. They had both been drawn in by Sihok's vague manner, but Virgil knew that his continued refusal to get to the point must have been driving Janus crazy.

The music changed to something reminiscent of heavy metal, blast beats ringing loud in Virgil's ears. He practically felt in his face: the shredding guitars, the way all the conversations became louder to compensate, the beeps of the pinball machine. Virgil had been declared mentally fit to serve in Starfleet, having proven he could push through bouts of anxiety and even thrive in high-pressure situations. But subjecting himself to the torment of this noisy bar was unpleasant and wholly unnecessary, so he turned and followed signs for the bathroom.

Once inside, he leaned back against one of the cool metal walls, heedless of the potential for infection. He had been vaccinated for just about everything under the sun upon joining Starfleet and he doubted any pathogen on Lotus Island could make it through his defenses.

The door opened and shut and a human stepped in, eyed Virgil up and down. "You look like you could use a chill pill."

It was old vernacular, slang Virgil had picked up at the Academy, because no one on Alpha Proxima II talked like that. He was quiet for a moment, wondering if this stranger was merely using a turn of phrase or if they were, in fact, stupid enough to offer drugs to a member of Starfleet. He decided on the former. "Am I that obvious?"

"You're about to chew a hole in your lip," the stranger said. "Look, you're already bleeding."

Virgil had long grown used to the taste of iron on the tip of his tongue. "It's just a little loud out there."

"I've got meds that can help with that," the stranger said.

Virgil blinked and reassessed: they really were that dumb. "I'm Starfleet," he said incredulously, glancing down at his yellow tunic in case he had somehow taken it off and forgotten about it.

"So what, you're not allowed to cut loose a little? You're on vacation."

Virgil scoffed and let the back of his head rest on the wall, marveling at the audacity of this strange human.

To buy himself time, he walked over to the sink and began to wash his hands. A plan was beginning to form in Virgil's head, neurons firing and making connections. He steeled himself and turned back to the stranger. "How much?"

--

"So, and just so I'm crystal clear on this," Remus said, stomping along beside Roman with his unstyled mohawk ruffled by the breeze, "our heroic plan to rescue Patton and Logan is to take the guided tour?"

"Oh, shut up." Roman backed away from the Help Desk and shoved the PADD at Remus. "Ugh, I don't understand maps at all. Where's Virgil when you need him?"

(Answer: Making a drug deal in the bathroom of the Tier III Lounge).

Remus studied the PADD. Roman had already set the translation to Romulan, but it was crude and hard to navigate. "Man of metals?" he asked, squinting.

"Oh, nevermind." Roman snatched the PADD back and began to walk. "It's the Founder's Statue. It's made of titanium and platinum. Get it?"

"Well, that's a terrible translation," Remus grumbled.

"Maybe you should learn Federation Standard," Roman nagged. This was far from the first argument they'd had about it and he already knew that Remus would refuse point-blank, masking his frustration and insecurity behind stubbornness. Remus had none of his brother's knack for languages, and while he was a talented engineer, he'd always struggled with his classes far more than Roman had.

"Maybe the Federation should start using Romulan," Remus shot back, and changed the subject before Roman could escalate the argument. "You never answered my question. What's the plan?"

"We need to catch up with either Patton and Logan or, uh… the Caitians."

"Shaa," Remus said with unnecessary smugness, pleased to have something on Roman, "and M'Birr."

"Sure."

They were both out of breath by the time they reached the Founder's Statue, both privately regretting the decision to wear heeled boots. The marginal boost to their height still left them the shortest members of the crew, a fact for which Janus loved to tease them.

"Onward to the next one," Roman said, looking around and seeing no one. He held up the PADD, and Remus peered over his shoulder.

"Rotation wheel," Remus read in Romulan. He looked up at the towering Ferris wheel in the near distance. "Well, that shouldn't be too hard to find."

"It's called a Ferris wheel," Roman complained. "It's a proper noun. Why would they try to translate that?"

Remus paused so he could stamp his foot. "Focus."

"Yeah, yeah." Roman tucked the PADD under his arm.

They caught sight of the two Caitians just after the Ferris wheel and pulled back to avoid being spotted.

"They have guns!" Remus said, a touch too loud even for his own liking. "Real guns! Not phasers!"

"Speaking of…" Roman sighed and touched his hip where his phaser and communicator would sit. Weapons were not allowed anywhere on Ya'Lotus and communication was restricted to their own official channels. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Vulcan nerve pinch?" Remus reached over and grabbed Roman's neck.

Roman stared at him, unamused. "Right, so we'll just try to stay out of a fight. Maybe if we can get around them, we can catch Logan and Patton and, uh… Well, get the Captain, I guess."

"Running off to get Daddy at the first sign of trouble," Remus sighed. "This is why I got promoted and you didn't."

"Yes, that's why. Not because you were the only one stupid enough to risk bleaching the Captain's eyebrows for him."

"Only chemical burned him one time!" Remus said proudly. "Where are we going, by the way?"

"Oh." Roman consulted the PADD. "Banana stand."

"What's a--"

"Walk and talk."

Remus shook Roman's hand off his shoulder. "What's that?"

"It's a kind of Earth fruit. I'm sure they have them here, since the founder of Ya'Lotus was human."

"Boring," said Remus. "Race you!" He took off running, moving awkwardly in his heeled boots. Roman sighed, looked around, and grabbed a tandem bike. It was not the most dignified form of transportation on the island, but it was one he happened to be familiar with. He and Remus both had a bit of a fascination with human history: Remus specializing in weaponry and warfare and Roman preferring to study courtship rituals. He mounted the bike with only a little difficulty, found his balance, and pedaled after Remus

"C'mon, get on."

"Oh!" said Remus happily, not even bothered by the direct order. "It's like a motorcycle with pedals!"

"How have you heard of a motorcycle but not a banana?"

"Will you focus?" Remus flicked Roman's shoulder blade. "You are now officially the Navigator and Helmsman of the Federation vessel Gemini."

"Subtle." Roman would have rolled his eyes, but between trying to steer and keep an eye on the PADD, didn't want to risk it. "What does that make you?"

"The Captain, obviously," Remus said. Roman put his head down as they pedaled by Shaa and M'Birr, but Remus whooped and flashed them a rude hand sign.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" Roman wheezed, a little winded from having to haul both his and Remus' weight. "Fucking pedal!"

"Don't talk to your captain like that," Remus said, giving the pedals a few half-hearted turns.

"Could you at least take this a little seriously? Our crewmates are in danger!"

"Oh," said Remus, kicking his feet out, "guns aren't that dangerous. Not compared to phasers."

Roman just huffed and didn't answer. He steered them to the banana stand without incident and, upon seeing Patton and Logan about to leave, dived off the bike to reach them. Ignoring Remus' annoyed cries behind him, he sprinted over to his wayward crewmates. "Hey!"

"Roman," said Logan, glancing over at Patton in surprise. "You appear to be in distress."

"We gotta get out of here," Roman said in Romulan. Despite the universal translator, he usually switched to Federation Standard out of politeness when speaking with Logan and their human crewmates (though Patton's native language was Welsh), but he was too stressed at the moment to try to switch gears.

Behind him, Remus cursed and examined his left palm, which he had thrown out to break his fall when the bike had tipped. "I'm gonna kill you."

"Kill me later!" Roman shouted back. "We gotta go!" He wrapped his arms around Patton and Logan's waists and started to steer them toward the crowded boardwalk. "Remus!"

"I'm bleeding!" Remus said, scampering to meet them.

"You are?" Patton stopped and turned, ignoring Roman's cursing. "Is it bad?"

"Kiss it better?" Remus asked, batting his lashes.

Roman dragged his hands down his face. "Do you want to get in a gunfight with-- Oh, don't answer that. Of course you do."

"Forgive me, Lieutenant, did you say gunfight?" Logan asked, extricating himself from Roman's slackening grip.

"We don't have time for this!" Roman stamped his foot to try to get Remus' attention, but he was too busy playing up his injury for Patton. He only had a few minor scrapes across his palm, a few dots of green blood here and there.

"Roman, I must insist that you explain," Logan said. "I understand that you are agitated, but if you simply explain the situation, I'm sure we can--"

"We don't have time!" Roman interrupted. "Is it not enough to know that we're in danger?" He turned to his brother, desperation shining in his eyes. "Back me up on this."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you tried to murder your superior officer," Remus said as Patton continued to pick bits of gravel out of his palm.

Along the path, Roman caught sight of the Caitians. Their pace was quick but not frantic as they scanned the horizon for their target, hands on their guns. Roman whispered an untranslatable swear word and made a decision.

Abandoning his crewmates, he straightened, crossed his arms behind his back, and strode forward to meet M'Birr and Shaa.

"Greetings" he said, trying not to let his voice tremble.

"You again?" said Shaa, crossing her arms. "Where's your partner?"

Roman swallowed. "After some discussion, we agreed it would be logical to interfere on your behalf."

"How so?" M'Birr asked. She frowned at Roman, her eyes scanning him.

"We acted under the belief that Starfleet officers would be more likely to trust other Starfleet officers. As you can see, we were correct. We have gained their trust and ascertained that they are not aware of the operation." Shaa tilted her head, and Roman felt compelled to add, "Vulcans do not lie."

"If you're really Vulcans," M'Birr said, still eyeing him with wide-pupiled green eyes. "And not, say, Romulans."

Roman forced his face to remain impassive. "That is an easy mistake to make, particularly if one is not familiar--"

"Oh, shut up." M'Birr drew her gun. "We can take care of all four of you."

Roman's pulse and breathing quickened, his vision narrowing to a very small spot, centering on the matte black of M'Birr's handgun. It was bulkier than a phaser and, he reminded himself, less deadly. He stared at the barrel, mind formulating and discarding half-formed plans for escape. Regardless of what Remus had said, he really didn't want to get shot.

What Roman did not see in his narrow-minded panic, was Remus abandoning Patton and flanking his brother and his assailants. He also did not see Patton flanking the other side, nor did he notice Logan appropriating a golf cart from a confused family of humans.

Remus flew into Roman's field of vision and tackled M'Birr, followed shortly by Patton who dropped Shaa with a sweeping kick to the knees. Adrenaline kicked in and Roman grabbed Remus by the wrist and hauled him up, spotted the golf cart, and dived for it. Patton beat them there and swung around to the passenger seat.

"Go, go, go!" they all shrieked, and Logan obediently stepped on the accelerator. The golf cart began to roll forward at a leisurely pace.

"Oh, are you kidding me?" Roman demanded.

"It's okay!" Remus said. He had turned so he could peer out the back, and was happy to see Shaa and M'Birr still struggling on the ground. "Dang, Patton, I think you broke Shaa's leg."

"Don't say that!" Patton wrapped his arms around himself and instead turned his attention to Roman. "What was that all about, anyway?"

Roman explained, punctuated by interjections from Remus. This concluded with Remus sitting back in his seat with a huff. "I can't believe nobody got shot."

"Should we have confiscated their guns?" Patton wondered out loud.

"Hopefully security will deal with them," Logan said. "Does anyone know where the Tier III Lounge is, by the way? I've been making evasive maneuvers, and now I am unsure--"

"So we're lost," Remus interrupted. "Possibly with more assassins after us, if the kitties called for backup."

Roman rested his forehead against the back of Patton's seat. "I hope the Captain is having a better day than we are."

--

Despite the lack of immediate danger, Janus was having a much worse day than the whole of his crew, save perhaps Virgil, who was still negotiating his drug deal in the bathroom.

"So you see," Sihok was saying, his drink nearly untouched, "an asymmetrical system is beautiful not only for those at the top, but for those at the bottom by instilling hope in them that they might someday reach the top."

"Capitalism," said Janus, bored. "You just described capitalism."

"Perhaps I did," Sihok said, and displayed the Vulcan equivalent of a guarded smile.

Janus masked his utter confusion behind raucous laughter. "Sihok, what exactly are you implying?"

"Nothing at all," said Sihok primly. "I was merely displaying my admiration for the artful execution of a certain style of economics."

That was when Virgil emerged from the bathroom clutching a roll of tablets, the drug known as 'kin.' It was identical to the one Sihok was holding, and the implications of this turned his stomach. Sihok was head of security for the whole of Ya'Lotus, and the way he had spoken to Janus had implied that he was after something, though Virgil had no idea what it could be.

Virgil hurried over to the table, heart racing in anticipation of what he was about to do. He had information that Janus might need and he couldn't speak it out loud. After hearing he had been assigned to the Foley, he had made a point to study the biology and abilities of Vulcans, though he had no idea what telepathic abilities Janus might have inherited as a human-Vulcan hybrid, and a genetic anomaly at that. Virgil was taking a risk, one that might draw the Captain's ire or make him look foolish, which was as dire a consequence to Virgil as death.

He approached the booth and, before Janus could get up, gently rested his hand on Janus' shoulder.

Janus froze. Sihok marked this, and Virgil noticed him notice. Dread trickled down his spine like cold water. "Excuse me, Captain," he said weakly.

"Bored already?" Janus asked. He directed an amused look at Sihok and said, "The human attention span," in a tone of patient exhaustion, then got up to let Virgil in.

Virgil was careful not to brush up against Sihok's legs, but he could tell that Sihok was staring as he scooted back up against the wall. Despite Janus' lack of reaction, he had a sneaking suspicion that his plan had worked too well and that not only Janus, but Sihok as well had picked up on the information he had transmitted.

They all lingered for a moment in a silent standoff. It was Janus who broke the silence, laughing again and rolling his eyes. "I have to say, Sihok, I'm a little disappointed. And offended, if I'm being honest." He took the roll of kin from Virgil and set it on the table. "You're pushing a capitalist drug empire on a pleasure planet. What was the master plan? To establish a capitalist regime within the Federation with you at the top? How un-Vulcan."

Sihok ignored the slight. "I had intended to offer you a partnership. Are you declining?"

"Was that not obvious?" Janus asked, abandoning the last of his pretense at Vulcan restraint. "Not only am I declining, I'm calling you an idiot. Sihok, you are an idiot and a disgrace to the planet Vulcan, and I don't mean that as a compliment. I suppose now you're going to kill us before we can report you to Starfleet?"

"Yes," said Sihok.

"How?" asked Janus. "We're sitting down. Do you want to arm wrestle us to death?" Sihok took a breath to speak and Janus cut him off, "Don't even think about your phaser. Sure, you could get one of us, at which point the other would disarm you."

"Well," said Sihok, "it seems we have reached an impasse."

Virgil took another risk. "May I?" he asked, nodding at Sihok's drink. "You haven't touched it and if I'm going down today, I'm going down drinking."

"Control your crewman," Sihok said to Janus, deadly serious.

Virgil took the drink. "Thanks." He held onto the tumbler, using the numbing ache of chilled glass against his palm to ground himself.

"So," said Janus, disregarding Virgil, "an impasse."

"About that," said Sihok. "Your Ensign is new to Starfleet; you said so earlier." He drew his phaser and aimed it at Janus. "I do not believe he has the capacity to disarm me, especially as he has been drinking and his reaction time will be slowed."

Thinking that now was as good a time as any, Virgil touched Janus' leg and splashed his drink in Sihok's face. They both scrambled out of the booth and sprinted out the door. They paused for a moment to get their bearings, and that was when a golf cart plowed into Virgil at a speed equivalent to 10 miles per hour.

Logan hit the brake and reversed so as not to run over Virgil's legs. "Forgive me, Ensign Salem. Are you alright?"

Roman, who hadn't picked his head up from the back of Patton's seat, began to lightly tap his forehead against the metal support bar. "Please tell me you didn't just kill our Helmsman when we need him most."

Virgil scrambled to his feet, too full of adrenaline to register any serious pain. "We gotta get out of here."

"You too, huh?" Remus said. He patted the seat next to him and addressed Janus. "Climb aboard."

Janus hopped on and was forced to sit on Remus' lap. Unruffled, he barked, "Ensign Salem, evasive maneuvers. Now."

Virgil hopped into the driver's seat, which Logan had recently vacated, waited for Logan to clamber onto the back of the golf cart, and slammed down the accelerator. "Where to?"

"Evasive maneuvers, Ensign Salem. Let's lose our pursuers before we worry about a destination."

"Yes, sir." Virgil pulled around the back of the Tier III Lounge just as a dripping-wet Sihok emerged, phaser drawn. The chase that ensued was unremarkable, as the golf cart began to pick up speed while emitting a worrisome whining noise.

"I made some adjustments to the engine while we were moving," Remus said proudly.

"That's impossible," Janus answered.

"I said that, too," Logan said.

Virgil continued to steer them in concentric circles around Lotus Island, self-assessing now that he was calmer. He could already feel the dull ache of impending bruises on his hip and elbow, but the damage seemed minimal.

"So," said Roman, "who are you evading?"

"Oh," said Janus, feigning boredom, "just a would-be capitalist drug lord Vulcan hellbent on murdering us. You?"

Roman put the pieces together. "Said Vulcan's lackeys, also hellbent on murdering us."

"Oh!" said Patton and Logan simultaneously, albeit for very different reasons: Patton to express dismay and concern, Logan realizing why he had smelled opioids earlier.

"You're welcome, by the way," Remus said, addressing Patton since he was easier to reach. "Those Caitians were after you and Logan."

"Thanks," Patton said weakly. "You know, I'm not feeling very relaxed."

Janus looked around and, seeing no trace of either murderous Caitians or murderous Vulcans, leaned forward to address Virgil. "Set a course for the Transporter Building, departures terminal. Let's get the Hell out of here."

--

After making some arrangements on the viewing deck, Janus arranged for Virgil and Patton to be summoned from their rooms, where they had both gone to decompress. Virgil and Remus had first been strongarmed into going to Sickbay, where Patton looked them over and pronounced them fit for duty.

Remus was showing off his bandaged hand to Janus and regaling him with a greatly embellished tale of how he had received the injury when the doors slid open and Virgil and Patton appeared.

Patton came in first, Virgil lingering behind him. "Aw!" he said, looking around at the array of alcohol and finger foods arranged picnic-style on the floor. "What's this?"

"It's your welcome party," Janus explained. "Since Ya'Lotus didn't quite work out. Come sit."

Patton sat down next to Logan, leaving Virgil to occupy the empty space next to Janus. Janus offered him half a smile. "You did well today, Virgil. You may even have saved my life." He paused, then added, "Although I probably still could have disarmed Sihok before he got the shot off. Regardless." He poured Virgil a glass of bourbon. "Thank you, Ensign Salem. You did well."

"Yay, Virgil!" Patton said happily.

After ensuring that everyone had drinks, Janus regained command of everyone's attention and raised his glass. "A toast to honor our new crewmates. Virgil Salem, Patton Kelsey." He looked at them in turn. "Welcome aboard the Foley."

[leahxx129]

Fun Fact (Steve Rogers X Reader)

Okay, this one’s for the lovely @waiting4inspiration​ ‘s #staysafestayhomechallenge, my prompt can be found in bold. This is my second fic ever posted on here, but I hope you enjoy it. :) 

Summary: Fun fact: when you’re dying, your life does flash before your eyes. Well, not all of it of course, just the snippets that actually made it worth living. For you this means four memories that portray different stages of your relationship with Steve Rogers.

Warnings: angst, a little bit of smut, character death

Word count: 3.567

When you arrived in the middle of the battle that was raging on in Wakanda, Natasha, Okoye and Wanda were struggling to fight Proxima Midnight. You hit her with a ball of blue fire to aid your friends, and she stumbled back hard.

“How dare you?!” she screamed.

Your only response was another ball, but this time it was a bigger one. It caught her with such force and velocity that she flew against a Thresher and got shredded to pieces.

“Steve’s in the forest with Thanos!” Natasha shouted knowingly.

You ran into the woods as fast as possible and the scene playing out in front your eyes was gut-wrenching. Steve had the upper hand, but he was undeniably struggling, and it was a matter of seconds before he’d lose his advance. A blue blast coming from you sent Thanos crashing into a nearby tree.

“Y/N!” Steve uttered your name, but you couldn’t be bothered.

You appeared in front of Thanos in just a fraction of time and disabled him with the fire. You could hear voices all around you, coming from various people – Thanos bellowing, Steve demanding you to stop, Bucky telling him to flee – but you ignored all of them and closed your eyes, feeling the blue fire rise.

Fun fact: when you’re dying, your life does flash before your eyes. Well, not all of it of course, just the snippets that actually made it worth living. For you this meant four memories.

You clearly envisioned the day you met Earth’s most exclusive redheaded spy alongside with the man who awakened feelings in you that you yourself didn’t even know you were capable of experiencing.

It was a humid hot day in July, your short-sleeved yellow uniform and red apron stuck to your body in all the wrong places, making you feel uncomfortable. You took in a sharp breath as your bandaged palms came in contact with the plates you were supposed to deliver to table 3 and put them down in an instant.

“Hey Mike! I am so sorry, but I just don’t think I can wait tables today… how ‘bout I take up all the orders and you bring them out?” you called out to your co-worker.

“What’s in it for me?” he furrowed his brows.

“I’ll buy you coffee.”

“So, it’s a date, right?” a grin formed on his freckled, yet handsome face.

“No, Mike. It’s coffee.”

“So, it’s a coffee date?”

“Nope, only coffee, Mike. No date. I’ll buy you one in the morning and just give it to you when I arrive.”

There was a moment of silence and his grin turned into a small smile.

“You know you’re lucky you’re hot and I’d do anything for you, free coffee or not.” he said picking up the plates and disappeared.

The diner was packed, a loud buzz filled the place as everybody was talking simultaneously. Having spotted a raised hand, you hurried over to get the order. Sure, your palms hurt holding a notepad and a pen, too, but remotely not as much as when you picked up those full plates.

“Welcome to Pop’s Diner, what can I get you?” you recited without even as much as sparing a glance at the consumers.

“A conversation would be nice.”

Your eyes immediately shot to the speaking man and his companion and widened in shock.

“Oh my God! You… you’re…” you felt the heat rise in your cheeks as you tried putting together a coherent sentence and failed.

“It’s okay, don’t be nervous.” the read headed woman smiled kindly. “I’m Agent Natasha Romanoff and this is Captain Steve Rogers. We’re here on behalf of Nick Fury.” she continued on, making you gasp loudly.

“We’d just like to talk, that’s all. Would you mind sitting down for a second?” Rogers chipped in.

You opened your mouth to protest since you were working after all, but promptly decided against it and sat down across them. When Captain America asks you to sit down, you sit down.

“May I… May I inquire what this conversation is in relation to?” you cleared your throat.

“Your palms.” Rogers stated calmly. He flashed you a smile what you assumed was supposed to be reassuring, but all he managed to do was make you even more flustered.  

“My palms…? Wha- what about them?”

“It seems like you had burned them pretty badly.”

“Uhm, yeah. I was cooking and I didn’t realize how hot the pot was until it was too late.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Agent Romanoff took out her phone and placed it in front of you on the table. A security camera footage started to play and after a few second there you were, making your way through the diner’s parking lot a day ago. When you got to your car, a man pressed you hard against its side. A short grapple ensued and two minutes in an intense light emerged from your palms, making the stranger fall to the concrete. He was weltering on the ground, touching his own face and you just stood there. Satisfied. After a while you got in your car and drove off. The video stopped.

“Wanna re-think that answer?” she asked.

You didn’t even realize that a couple of tears escaped until they made their way down your face. You wiped them away furiously with the back of your hand. You winced when she called you by your name since you didn’t remember introducing yourself, but you shouldn’t have been surprised – you were convinced that by then S.H.I.E.L.D probably even knew what your favorite color was.

“Look, we have no idea what we witnessed on that tape and that’s one thing we’d like to know-”

“Well then that makes three of us…” you cut in bitterly. “ ’Cause I don’t even know what that was… Just to be clear, I did not want to melt that man’s face off even though he attacked me. I just felt threatened, and when I get angry or feel like I’m in danger, this incredibly cold sensation swipes trough me and just... wants to surface. By the time it reaches my palms it’s so cold, it burns… It burns right through my skin and looks like blue fire.”

Agent Romanoff and Captain Rogers exchanged a quick glance and the latter started off to Pop’s office.

“Where’s he going?” you asked in panic.

“He’s handing your boss your resignation.”

“What??”

“Relax, душенька. I think you’re gonna like your new job better than this. But first, you’ve got a lot to learn.” she smirked in response.

The second scene playing before your eyes was about the night you and Steve kissed for the very first time.

You won the battle of New York. At a painstakingly high price paid in body-count, but you’ve won it, nevertheless. The city slowly started to revive again and tried getting back to the old routine, but deep down everybody knew that would never happen. The harsh reality that Earth wasn’t the only populated planet and that humans were not the only superior beings in the universe settled in every heart and mind and there was no way of changing that.

Stark of course felt like the victory was something to celebrate so he threw a rather extravagant party in the Stark Tower. You tried to enjoy it, you really did, but you didn’t succeed in doing so. The music struck as too loud and all the drunk people soon became annoying instead of entertaining. Consequently, you grabbed your half-empty glass of whiskey and headed up to the roof top to get a breath of fresh air. The cold gusts of wind felt wonderful against your skin.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on me like that, Rogers. I almost threw a blue fire ball in your face.” you said without turning back. He chuckled softly and strolled to your side.

“Sorry, I just had to get away from the crowd. Plus, Stark’s hammered and he insisted on teaching me how to dance. I don’t think I’m ready for that tonight. Or ever will be.”

You didn’t notice how captivated he was when a genuine laughter ripped out of you.

“And here I was, thinking you deliberately followed me up here to finally get me alone.” you looked him in the eyes, smiling.

“You wish, doll.” his expression mirrored yours.

Your heart began racing as his face started to inch closer to yours. Your lips almost touched when a loud noise made you jump apart – courtesy of a very drunk Tony Stark trying to open the exit door with an equally drunk bimbo on his side.

“Whoops…” he said, then went on “… what was I saying? Oh, yes, sweetie, you can totally see Asgard from here. You just have to squint a little, then concentrate real hard and-”

Steve cleared his throat to make your presence known before Tony did something neither of you wanted to see.

“Rogers! Y/N! What are you two doing here? Oh, wait- did he… did he confess to you already?” he asked, looking straight in your eyes.

“Confess what?”

“Stark. Please stop talking. Now.” Steve’s voice was laced with nervousness, but Tony being Tony, did not stop talking.

“That he’s got a thing for you, Darling.” he informed you, then turned to Steve “Ugh, for God’s sake, Rogers, just kiss her already! Because if you won’t, I will!”

“Hey!” the bimbo screamed, clearly offended and went back to the building. A second later when Tony realized what happened he rushed after her shouting he didn’t mean it; he was just trying to motivate a friend. Or maybe he meant it a little, but just a little. Then all the noise died out.

“Soooo… you have a thing for me?” you spoke up after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

“Yes. I do. Although I planned on presenting it to you a bit differently.” he admitted.

“I see. Since it’s confession time, can I tell you something, too?”

“Sure thing, doll.”

You closed the distance between the two of you and stood on your tiptoes.

“I’ve got a thing for you as well, Steve…” you whispered in his ear.

He cupped your face and crashed his lips against yours in response. He did not like booze at all, but if anyone asked what his favorite was, he said whisky, because that’s what he tasted on your tongue that night.

Another clip of your life you were seeing was about the first time Steve made love to you.

You entered your room after a mission gone a bit sideways, exhausted to an extent that’s impossible to describe and with bruises and cuts covering the majority of your body. Steve stormed in just seconds after and slammed the door shut so hard it almost broke off its hinges. His beautiful face was hardened by anger and those blue eyes that often reminded you of the peaceful sea promised storm.

“What the hell was that?!” he demanded in a raised tone.

You sat down in front of your boudoir table and started peeling of your shredded suite very carefully.

“Answer me!” he shouted when he realized you had no intention of getting into an argument with him.

“Well, Cap, we went on a mission that in the end required some prompt, unplanned decisions on our side and I made them. Mission turned out successful. End of story. Is oral summary sufficient or would you like me to hand it in in written format?”

“Don’t “Cap” me, doll. And the attitude won’t bring you any closer to the end of this conversation…” he warned a little bit calmer, but still with a shaking voice.

“I’m sorry, Steve, I just don’t see what your problem is.”

You finished getting out of the top part and stood up to get done with the bottom, visibly struggling. With a couple of quick steps Steve appeared in front of you and tore it apart. You wore nothing but your underwear.

He then grabbed your chin and forced you to look him in the eyes.

“My problem is every single bruise on your body that’s not supposed to be there. Every single cut. Every single wound. Just because you learned how to use the blue fire without getting burnt it doesn’t mean you should use it excessively. I saw the effect it had on you today, don’t think I didn’t. For a split second it appeared as if it was consuming you from the inside…”

“Steve, if I hadn’t overdriven myself a little today, some of our greatest agents would’ve died. And I could not take that risk.” you said with gritted teeth. Tears started to sting your eyes, but you held them back.

“Well, I could! You know what risk I cannot take?! Losing you, doll.”

“I’m sorry…” you said in a small voice without a beat. Apologizing was not your genre, but the realization of how much Steve cared for you just dawned upon you. A mix of emotions took over you – you felt immensely loved, but at the same time, you were scared. “I gotta go take a shower. Will be back in no time.”

You slipped out of his grasp and let the tears flow as you closed the bathroom door behind you. Having stripped your underwear, you stepped into the shower and started cleansing yourself. You hoped the hot water would wash away the shame and guilt you felt, not just the dried blood and dirt. You were so caught up in your own thoughts that you jumped a little when Steve opened the shower cabin door.

“Oh my God, you scared me!” but he didn’t say a word.

He pushed you against the cold shower wall and kissed you violently, while his hands explored every curve of your body. It took all your willpower to break the kiss.

“Steve, do you really want our first time to be shower sex?” you asked panting.

“It doesn’t matter where we are, doll. I love you and I want you.” he growled, kissing down your neck.

Every fiber in your body ached in protest, but you ignored them. You ran your nails down his back as he put his hands under your thighs and gently lifted you up. A moan escaped you mouth when he entered you and slowly started moving. Steve swore it was the most beautiful sound in the whole goddamn universe. It was not long before the tension started building up in your body and having noticed this, he picked up the pace. You’d never moaned anyone’s name during orgasm before, but Steve was the only exception. He reached his bliss second later.

“On second thought, shower sex was just great for a first time.” you said, and he chuckled. “Where did you, uh, where did you hear about it?”

“Uhm, do you remember the mission like eight months ago when Stark and I got stuck on a desert island for six days?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, turns out, Stark opens up quite easily about his sensual experiences…”

“Noo. No way!” you laughed as you stepped out of the shower and started drying your hair with a towel.

“Yes way.” Steve followed you and took over the towel to dry your hair. “I also heard about other stuff, but those require a bed.” he smirked suggestively.

“In that case it’s a good thing I happen to own one.” you kissed his lips and wished that day would never end.

The last memory could not have been any clearer and it was breaking your heart all over again.

It was no question who’s side you were on when the civil war between Tony and Steve broke out… You got used to the life being on the run with Steve, Natasha and Sam in no time, although you still missed the others as well. They were the closest thing to a family you’ve ever had, and the rupture pained you badly at times. When Steve decided to collect the rest to unite in the fight against the greatest threat that ever endangered the universe, you were glad. You never knew how this beginning would mean the end of your relationship.

The first avengers Steve decided to recruit were Wanda and Vision in Europe, and frankly, you got there just in time. There’s a chance that a couple of minutes later there would’ve been no one to recruit… Your heart skipped a beat when you realized who you were up against, but you couldn’t allow yourself to ponder – lives were on the line. You helped Natasha stab Glaive and when Proxima Midnight grabbed your shoulder and turned you in her direction to deliver a punch, her fist froze mid-air.

“Y/N?” she asked uncertainly, but you didn’t answer. Sam flew in and kicked her to Glaive’s side. “Your father will hear about this, I promise.” she threatened before vanishing in blue light.

Everybody was panting, the fight exhausted all of you. Other than that, no sound could be heard.

“What was she talking about, doll?” Steve spoke up finally, asking the question everyone was dying to hear the answer to.

You all boarded the Quinjet, but you and Steve went to a separate cabin to discuss matters first.

He didn’t shout. He didn’t hit you or try to kill you on spot, though you were absolutely certain you would’ve deserved it. He just sat there. Quietly. He didn’t utter a word while you were telling him that you, in fact, were not human. You were a member of a species called ‘Inhuman’, which was the result of mixing Kree genes with human ones, and this is the reason why you possess the blue fire. He didn’t say a thing while you were telling him that as a child, Thanos snatched you and brought you up as his own daughter alongside two other girls, Nebula and Gamora, and turned the three of you into the most feared assassins in the entire galaxy. His mouth stayed shut while you were telling him that coming to Earth was a mission ordered by Thanos to gain intel on what was going on here and you were deemed fit for it as you looked like humans.

“But I stopped delivering information years ago, Steve! Do you know why? Because I fell in love with you! And because I realized the error of my father’s ways! He lied to me throughout my entire life and manipulated me into believing his false ideology! Steve? Please, say something, Steve…”

“Leave.”

You were not sure if the word echoed in the room or was it just your own mind.

“What?”

“I said, leave.” he stood up. There was no sign of fury on his face. Only disappointment. You didn’t move, so he continued.

“You were the very first woman I loved after Peggie, which I thought would be impossible for a long-long time… I loved you, Y/N. You saved me in more than one way, and after the war I wanted to settle down with you. Start a family. But you know this damn well, for fuck’s sake… And now it turns out I never even knew you…”

“But Steve, you knew me, in fact, you know me!” you interrupted with a cracking voice.

“No, doll, I didn’t. And I don’t.”

You ran up to him and cupped his face, but he refused to look at you. Your palms were wet from the tears he shed. He peeled your hands off him slowly.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, I could never do that. But I want you to leave. I don’t care who’s side you’ll fight on in this war or if you decide to sit it out, just whatever you do, stay away from me. God, I can’t even look at you, Y/N.”

You couldn’t stop the sobs surfacing from your chest.

The flashback scenes stopped, and the blue fire was burning more than ever inside of you. Steve had been right all those years ago… if you overdrove yourself, it would consume you from the inside and everything else in your immediate proximity, too. But if this was the only way of defeating your father and saving the universe, so be it. Suddenly, numbness took the place of pain and you subjected to it.

A high number of people showed up to your funeral organized at Tony’s lake house. Everybody placed a white rose on top of your empty casket and expressed their condolences to Steve, but he wasn’t paying attention at all. He tried to, really hard, but he just couldn’t. Tony was the last person to go there and place his rose.

“You know Rogers, I’ve never been one to sugarcoat things and I’m not gonna lie this time, either.” he said, his words making Steve look him in the eyes. “From what I hear… If you had kept your mouth shut, she’d still be here… At least there’s a high chance for that. But there’s also a high chance that half of the fucking universe wouldn’t. Respect her choice... That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Respect your choice... These three words became Steve’s mantra – the first thing that came to his mind in the morning, and the last at night. They were the glue that kept the pieces of his heart together just enough to function as a human being.

[alarawriting]

Inktober #14: Overgrown

Not sure what I’m doing with 13: Ash yet, so here, have 14. This features a character from the Cold Light universe but not part of that book. He’s a Proxima, like Meg, but instead of becoming a hero or villain with his powers... he does something else.

Max looked over the yard. “Yikes.”

The executor nodded. “It looks like they didn’t do anything to take care of the yard for the past 10 years. When Walter died, the paramedics had to borrow a weed clipper from the wife to get the walkway wide enough that they could get the stretcher through.”

“My God,” Max said. “Is – was there any chance they could have saved his life otherwise?”

“Oh, no, I’m sure there wasn’t,” the executor said. “He was pronounced DOA. But Helen wants to sell the place and move to an assisted living community. Apparently Walter’d been telling her for ten years that he was having things taken care of – either he was doing the chores, or he was having a landscaper come by, or something – and with her being mostly bed-ridden, she took his word for it.”

“That poor woman. She really hasn’t left her house in ten years?”

“Aside from going outside to bring in grocery and package delivery, neither did Walter. We’ve found a few paths he made through the underbrush to get to the gate where they’d leave the packages, but they weren’t big enough to bring the stretcher through.” The executor shook his head. “The best we can figure, either he was a hoarder of garden vegetation, or he had the worst cast of procrastination anyone’s ever seen.” He gave the suburban jungle one last eyeing-over before turning to Max. “What can you do with this?”

“A lot,” Max said, “but too much of that growth is woody for me to just make it all disappear. When green-stem plants die, like flowers and tomatoes, they just collapse to the ground, but woody plants like trees and shrubs and some kinds of vine will still be there when they die… they won’t continue to grow, their roots will shrink and they’ll dry out and be easier to dig out or cut down, but it’s still going to take some work to remove them.” He pulled at a woody vine that had completely swallowed the white picket fence… at least he thought it was probably a white picket fence from the tiny bits of picket that showed through the vines.

“Well, any cost from landscapers coming in and cutting down whatever’s left after you do your job will be more than made up for by what Helen can get from selling the house, and it would cost a lot more to have them cut it all down while it’s alive.”

“Not to mention the rats.” Max looked at the executor. “You did know about the rats, didn’t you?”

“Uh… no. Helen didn’t mention rats.”

“Just for due diligence, she doesn’t have a family of pet possums or a colony of feral cats living on the property, does she?”

“She has two cats, they’re indoor cats and fixed.”

“And they’re not on the property anymore? It’s important that nothing she wants alive should be on the property at the moment.”

“I get that.” The executor’s smile was nervous. Max took a step away from the man, casually, as if he was inspecting the vines, and saw out of the corner of his eye the executor relax slightly. “She’s got her cats with her, I believe.”

“Staying with kids or something?”

“No, a friend’s house. Walter and Helen never had any kids.” The executor snorted. “If they had, I’d be having words with those kids now. Walter was obviously mentally ill or something, and Helen wasn’t physically capable of enforcing him dealing with the yard even if she knew there was a problem, but if they had kids, there would be no excuse for anyone letting their parents live like this.”

“There’s some smallish creatures in the house. Can we confirm she doesn’t have fish, or other terrarium pets she might have left behind?”

“Huh. She did go to her friend’s in a hurry; it’s not like she’s moved out yet. I’ll check.”

While the executor called the widow to confirm whether or not the lives Max was sensing in the house were wanted or not, Max walked along the fence. Most of the life he was going to have to deal with was deep inside, nowhere near the fence. It was a large property, and he wasn’t going to be able to do it by radiating an area of effect, since there were neighbors. He sighed. Dammit, he was going to have to get the hedge clippers himself, or a machete or something, just to get deep enough into the yard to be able to do his job.

“I don’t get paid to be a gardener,” he muttered.

Well, he didn’t get paid to be a plumber either, but there’d been that colony of mutant amphibious mice that he’d had to track through the pipes in that one house. And at least the homeowner was willing to make a clean sweep, none of “don’t touch my prize rosebushes but get everything else”.

Still, he made a mental note to quote the executor a 20% increase in his usual fee.

“Good news,” the executor said. “Nothing in the house is supposed to be alive.” A little nervously, he asked, “How do you know there’s living things in there? Can you tell what they are?”

“I can tell their approximate size, and, vaguely, about how high off the ground they are,” Max said. “What I’m seeing could be consistent with pet fish, or animals in terrariums… or it could be a few colonies of mice living in the walls. There’s also a lot of insect life, all over. Uh. I think maybe you’re gonna want to check for termite damage after I’m done.”

“Wait, there are termites?”

“Some kind of insect living in parts of the wall that I think might be studs,” Max said. “Could be something like powder post beetles if there’s wooden furniture up against the walls.”

“But you can take care of them?”

“Sure can, but I can’t fix the damage they might have done, so get the place inspected thoroughly before you put it on the market. I can certify that I treated the place for you, once I’m done; I’m licensed to certify state-approved no-toxin extermination was performed. There’s bedbugs, too. That’s weird for people who never leave the house.”

“I’ll just… have the mattresses burned.”

“No need, I can deal with those little suckers too, including the eggs. But the mattresses should be thrown out; there’s gonna be tiny little bloodstains all over them. Nothing bio-active, but people looking at it won’t be able to tell it’s been sanitized. Don’t burn them, the chemicals mattresses are made of turn toxic when you set them on fire.”

“Anything else?”

“Major flea infestation. Those poor cats. Let the friend know and get the homeowner have them professionally treated right away.”

“Is that something you could do?”

“Not without making the cats sick. I don’t do parasites on living creatures; I’m an exterminator. I kill stuff. People aren’t a big fan of exposing their pets to things that kill stuff.” It wasn’t impossible; he’d killed skin cancer once, and the person who’d had the melanoma was still alive, but it was delicate work and dangerous and he’d only done it because his friend hadn’t had insurance and he’d been terrified the thing would metastatize before his friend could raise the money for chemo. Also because chemo was probably worse for people overall than one exposure to a pinpoint death touch. Cats were more fragile than people anyway.

“Okay, I’ll let Helen and her friend know. If Helen’s cats infest her friend’s house with fleas, you’d be able to help with that, right?”

“Yep, with all the usual caveats. Get your pets out of the house for the day, that includes any fish, prized houseplants, and if you want me working on your garden you show me every plant you don’t want dead when I’m done, yadda yadda.”

“Sounds good. So when do you want to get started on Walter and Helen’s yard here?”

Max pulled out his phone, did some quick calculations, and presented the executor with the total. “You can give me a check now, or you can call my secretary and give her the credit card number over the phone.”

“We’ll do a check, that’s simplest.” The executor didn’t even blink at the price. Silently Max kicked himself for not raising the price even higher.

“And I’m gonna need those hedge clippers.”

“I figured as much.”

***

Half an hour later the executor was gone, driven off to get lunch or something, far more than a safe distance away. Max could sense as far as a city block, but he had no idea if he could actually drain life that far away, because he’d never tried.

Numerous supervillains had tried to recruit him since he’d discovered his powers around the age of 14, but Max thought that capes were, in general, ridiculous people. Well, the Peace Force were all right, as heroes went, and his doctor was great despite being a supervillain in her spare time, but why the hell would he ever want to work a job where the entire reason he was on board was to threaten to kill people, or actually do it? He still had nightmares about his grandfather’s death, and the man had been in his 60’s, old enough to die of a heart attack even if Max had had nothing to do with it. Max felt bad when he accidentally killed someone’s pet goldfish – which had happened, in the beginning of his career, because idiots heard “get your pets out of the house” and for some reason mentally tacked on “except for your fish, they aren’t really alive.” Why would he ever want to kill anything another person cared about, let alone a person themselves? Hell, the only mammals he was cool with killing were the rats and mice, and that was mainly because they carried disease and ate people’s food. He wouldn’t take on rural assignments, they kept wanting him to dispose of bunny rabbits and gophers. No thanks. And he didn’t do birds. Pigeons were beautiful creatures and geese were shitheads but mostly just because they weren’t scared of humans, and Max respected that.

His extermination business was certified by the state to be wholly organic and no-toxin, which was good for the environment and for the health of the people he helped. From Max’s perspective, he’d taken a power that terrified most people and kind of screamed “supervillain” to anyone who paid attention to capes, and used it to improve the life and health of people and their pets.

He started at the gate, where the paramedics had hacked a pathway to the house wide enough to get the stretcher through. The pathway was partly the actual original walkway, partly ground that had once been occupied by tall pokeweed plants. As Max walked along the path, he cast his awareness out as far as he could see, to the limit of the yard edge or his eyes’ vision, whichever came first. Life everywhere, from the bacteria and the worms in the dirt to the weedy jungle overrunning every square inch of the yard.

They’d have to replace the worms, when he was done. If Max was going to get all the seeds, he’d have to get everything within the top six inches of the soil. He could leave the bacteria alone – they were small enough that they couldn’t be anything else, and soil needed bacteria to rot the things he was going to kill – but worms were, unfortunately, indistinguishable from small plant shoots, and the garden wouldn’t do well once the worms were all dead.

He stood in the middle of the area he’d mentally bounded, and pulled life energy from it.

Most of the plants slumped immediately. The pokeweed, which wasn’t exactly woody but was easily the thickest non-woody stem Max was familiar with, stood up for a while even as its leaves shriveled, but eventually collapsed on itself. The woody vines and the overgrown shrubs lost their leaves, pulling the water out of any extremity they had in a doomed effort to save themselves. Plants interpreted the pulling of their life force as dehydration, probably because they weren’t evolved to experience this kind of death from any other force.

When he was done… there were still woody sticks and vines and leafless shrubbery everywhere, but everything green was gone, slumped to the ground.

With the clippers, he began cutting himself a path through some raspberry plants that had gotten way out of control, moving toward the side of the house. Once he was far in enough that he could see an area of the yard he hadn’t been able to see before, he did the same thing. Set the range, then pull the life.

It was very important to Max that he could physically see the area he was killing. He could sense life, and its approximate size, so things like the time some absolute shithead had left a child playing in the basement weren’t a real danger for him. He’d notice something as large as a child right away, and had,  that time. (He couldn’t prove that said shithead had wanted him to kill the kid so they could sue his insurance for wrongful death, but at the very least the act had been neglectful enough that he’d seen the kid taken away and given to a foster family, and he’d testified at the hearing that had terminated the asshole’s custody. The kid had deserved better.) But kittens, puppies, songbirds, other creatures like that… life came in sizes, for him, and he couldn’t tell the difference between a mouse and a hummingbird, aside from the fact that hummingbirds didn’t stay still as often as mice did and were usually found higher than mice (not always, though… mice climbed on things.) So outside, where most living things were just minding their own business and not bothering the humans, he wanted to be able to see what he was killing.

Back out of where he was, head up to the porch, over to its side where he could see the other side of the yard. Set the range, pull the life. He included part of the house itself in his sweep this time, killing infestations of insects and an absurdly high number of rats and mice. What the hell had been wrong with that guy, that he’d let his disabled wife live in this shithole without doing anything to maintain it or keep the pests under control? Max got the concept of procrastination – the dishes in his own sink hadn’t been done for a week, he just kept killing the fruit flies and mold rather than actually washing them because he hadn’t run out of dishes yet – but this was appalling. He really didn’t want to go in the house, and from what he could see through the windows of the piles of clutter everywhere, the house plainly didn’t want him to go in, either. Hopefully he’d be able to get the place fully sterilized without having to enter.

The whole job took two hours. It was easily the longest a yard this size had ever taken him. By the time he was done, he was twitching with restless energy. The life went somewhere when he took it – it went into him. Max was in his thirties, but physically looked and felt like a man barely out of college; he grew facial hair just so people would take him seriously as a business owner. He’d been sick exactly once since he’d developed his power, mainly because he’d been binge drinking a lot at the time, and apparently that suppressed his immune system no matter how much life force he was brimming with. Max used to know a guy whose power allowed him to siphon off the excess life energy, which he used to pay Max for since he could use it to help sick people for cash, but someone had shot the dude last year and Max hadn’t found anyone else with a similar power set yet.

So here was the part where he wound up the job and went to the gym, because he had to do something to get rid of the energy, and neither of the exactly two girlfriends he’d had in his life had been able to keep up with him in bed when he was like this, so he needed other outlets.

As he left the place, Max looked back at the disaster of a yard. It actually looked significantly worse now – instead of green overgrowth covering everything, now it was sparser, but winter-brown and dry, nothing but lifeless shrubs and the tracery of woody vines still twined around everything despite being leafless and dead. But at least now, the landscapers would have an easier time of it; there’d be no difficulty telling the difference between legitimate, desired plants and weeds when all of them were dead, and dead plants were significantly easier to cut or remove.

He pulled out his cell phone as he headed for his car. “Hey there,” he said to the executor’s voice mail. “I finished the job. Go ahead and send the landscapers in before rats move into the vacuum I just left.”

Max really needed to find someone else who could siphon his excess energy, he thought. The money he’d just made was good, but it’d be better if he could do two or three jobs this size in a day without having to have a few hours in the gym to burn it off before draining anything else. Although, on the plus side, at least now he was really, really buff. Too bad that didn’t help much on the dating scene after he told girls about his power, but it wasn’t like he was going to lie.

[mantra4ia]

My Top/Bottom “10″ Moments of Avengers: Endgame [Spoilers Ahead]

In no particular rank…

The Good and the Legendary Moments (I had a hard time limiting it to 10, clearly there are more)

Cap’s “don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone” and Bucky’s reprise “How can I? You’e taking all the stupid with you…I’m gonna miss you.” He knows his friend well enough through all the years that he understands and accepts (and in that second, we do too) that Cap’s not coming back the fast way, that he’s chosen the slow path to the end of the line.

Sam inheriting the Shield from Rogers with Bucky’s blessing, “go to him.” Because Bucky knows that, even though they are the best of friends and fellow supersoldiers, Sam has kept an eye on Steve while Bucky was MIA, and that puts him in a reasonable position to inherit the mantle.

Post-snap “5 years later” we see Steve taking up Sam’s role as a group counselor, our first hint at the transition of roles later to come, capped off with Sam emerging from the portal with a timely “on your left.”

Hawkeye’s opening: the very real, personal, character driven moment in which Clint is with his family, and shortly thereafter the snap is dragged out of retirement kicking and screaming.

Tony’s and Stark’s intellectual interactions which began as animosity and conlcuded as a kind of mutual admiration “is this the one we win? / if I tell you, it won’t happen (almost apologetically because Strange knows what is about to happen and is letting it go forward anyway),” culminating with “I am Iron Man” and thunderous applause.

EVERYTHING having to do with Tony’s daughter Morgan. From her interaction with Jon Favreau aka Happy about cheeseburgers, to finding her dad’s suit mask, to Stark calculating time-travel while doing the dishes, then swearing, then swearing Morgan to secrecy, and most heartrendingly “I love you 3000.” Tony’s father-daughter relationship is one of those key character pieces that elevates this whole film from a Marvel capstone to a best picture.

Steve’s moment watching Peggy even though he never interacts with her, in 70s at the Pymm/Stark research facility. It’s the most poignant foreshadow of his destination to come. He doesn’t make that mistake twice.

Natasha’s character development. Five years later, even as she falls apart spinning her wheels about deep sea tectonic quakes, and she still cuts her peanut butter sandwich corner to corner as if daring “Nick” Fury to unsnap himself and say “no, let me show you how it’s done.” Two great insights into the depth of their familial relationship courtesy of the Captain Marvel film. Also a shout-out Steve’s subsequent offer to cook Nat dinner. Steve and Nat always carry great character moments, all the way back to CA:WS when she was setting him up on dates.

The small moments of battlefield humor that were just enough not to break the moment: Steve calling out to Parker “Hey Queens,” Peter engaging the Spidey suit kill mode and then him curled up in the fetal position, Wong’s deadpan “were you expecting more?” Jesus, just give Wong an entire act in the next Doctor Strange movie and I will be happy. I adore him. PS: what a pleasant surprise the way the Russos put Tilda Swinton in as Sorcerer Supreme opposite Banner. That was just the right character for the exposition on the perils of altered reality.

The overarching theme of premonitions as it deals with crossing through the quantum realm into the past, and the ensuing parallels from what we’ve already seen in the Marvel past. Specifically the ‘premonitions’ that past-Nebula had when future Nebula past through time and how they could access each others memories, which puts the interesting and poetic possibility that Tony’s dreams/visions this whole time (ex: Infinity War’s “[Pepper] we had a kid, it was so real”) were never a direct result of Thanos, but rather his travel through time. The Time Travel element also relates to parallels where Howard Stark meets “Howard Potts” and the potshots at his questionable beard. Tony meets Stark Sr. at the exact right moment when Maria is expecting and they relate to the perils and joys of fatherhood: “there’s no manual for this/ there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this kid / you did your best”, which sets up Howard’s video journal to Tony and Tony’s post-battle video journal to Morgan as even more powerful together, in the context of each other, then when we saw the original Iron Man films. Endgame brings new depth / meaning to those historic moments.

Honorable mention to Thor who, after the “I aimed for the head” reprise, developed a sense of crippling anxiety and notable weight gain within his depressive reclusiveness, and still managed to suit up and be a hero anyway. While I didn’t necessarily like the fact that Thor dealt with his PTSD through hardcore gaming, I like the direction that the Russo’s steered him after subsequently calling him an “Angel Pirate” in Infinity War. The message, by contrast, that you don’t have to look a certain way, or step into the role that everyone expects of you (King of Asgard), or even have your shit together to be heroic - you just have to step your foot out of the door and face the day - is damn brilliant.

Honorable mention #2: Rocket’s speech to Thor “you’re not the only person to have ever lost someone.” Great BroTP, with tha dash of crossover Whovian.

Honorable trifecta: Steve Rogers wielding the Mjolnir and FINALLY. FIN-A-LLY “Avengers: Assemble!” What great standing ovation moments.

OVERALL: What this film misses in building the tension (it cycles down before it revs up), it makes up for by setting up the small, poignant character moments that show off the emotional talent of these actors in a way that I’ve never seen with this impact before: Infinity War, Black Panther, and Civil War being the runners up.

The Disappointing:

The “Smart Hulk” / Ant Man “little man” gag didn’t work for me. The autographs, the tacos, the test time travel run. It got stale very quickly.

Speaking of Ant Man, by contrast to Tony and Morgan, Scott Lang’s reunion with his daughter after 5 years didn’t hit the emotional note it was meant to. It make sense how they use Lang as perspective of “what’s going on / fish out of water” to drive the aftermath of the snap home and to introduce quantum science. But out of all the characters, I was probably least invested in him.

The female-led gauntlet scrimmage in the final act across the battlefield felt like more of a “set piece” rather than really earned emotion by comparison to Infinity War’s female tag team (Okoye, Nat, and Wanda) against Proxima, where Nat defends Wanda and says “she’s not alone.”

I didn’t like the script choice of killing the complex, Infinity War version of Thanos so quickly (while it was unexpected and paid off big time for a hot second when Thor’s said “I aimed for the head”) and taking on Past-Thanos. For me, it undermined and underdeveloped the villain. I would have wanted a deeper understanding of “The Garden” and flashbacks to Titan or young Gamora, or even more interaction between him and his daughter present-Nebula, before the war-torn Thanos gets the 1-2 chop, but I understand the choice given time constraints of a three hour film.

Hawkeye’s ronin montage: his revenge against criminals in the post-snap era, “why are you here, why did you get to survive and my family didn’t?” could have had the ability to be powerful, especially considering that Natasha has been keeping tabs on him and didn’t intervene until critical mass. But instead, I feel like it was mishandled, too thematic, it takes your out of the moment like a set piece.I loved Natasha’s bond with Clint up to and after the ronin sequence, it took two characters that I was on the fence with and got me emotionally invested in them as a team, I just hated the montage itself.

No Vision? What?! Hardly even a mention in this film except for Wanda’s wrath when she is resurrected and brings that house down on Thanos, but even then Thanos essentially said “who the heck are you and what did I do to make you mad?” completely taking the steam out of Vision’s fall. Hopefully Phase 4 addresses / fixes that.

No Loki resurrection? At the very least, no past-Loki dialogue?! Come on. I thought for a second, when Loki escaped STRIKE custody in the alternate timeline with the tessaract, that maybe the team had created a and untrimmed time branch (I still think they did, because if Rogers returned the Stone to 1970, it doesn’t fix the later botched attempt to steal it, so maybe there’s a branch reality where Loki is alive with witty trickster lines and I’ll cling to it). Then I was fooled again when Mjolnir went flying through the air I thought perhaps that Loki Odinson had returned and was worthy to wield it through his selfless sacrifice (I was only momentarily disappointed / awed to see it was Cap instead). Again, Phase 4, give me some help here!

The fact that Black Widow got no proper funeral sendoff, concluding Natasha’s long history of under-use throughout the entire Infinity Saga. Don’t get me wrong: I understand her soul stone sacrifice, and in a way I understand the people who say, “don’t take that away from her, it’s powerful.” It is. She comes from a manipulative, violent background that made her who she is and good at what she does. Throughout her history, she never had family, which she admits: “Red Skull knew my father’s name, that’s more than I ever did.” So it makes the choice more poignant that she built a family around herself and did whatever it took to keep them safe and united. That said, I wasn’t (until this film) necessarily invested in Black Widow like I am the other Avengers characters, but she’s had some great moments with Clint (I still want to see the Budapest mission, and the Iran extraction that Bucky compromised) and Rogers (Endgame: I’ve been telling everyone to move on, but not us. Winter Soldier: their getaway from Hydra-infested SHIELD) and Fury. Which is why I HATE that her only tribute was a bunch of men standing around lamenting over her (while simultaneously being oblivious to the Nebula swap, seemingly incapable of intelligent script development by McFeely and Markus around those two female characters). It would have at least been fitting if they had more regrets “why didn’t we know her better, we were supposed to be her family”, “why didn’t we appreciate her while we could” or her name added to an altered  “fallen” monument. There was no payoff to her chemistry with Bruce, and no final closure with un-dusted Fury to pay his respects, which would have been a small but vastly fitting gesture. WHAT A WASTE. 

Captain Marvel’s use in the film as essentially a ballistic, ship-destroying missile and her anticlimactic Thanos battle. Why use her at all in this film if it’s going to be as a plot device? She could have had potential opposite Thor, and I’ll argue that she should have been Banner’s tag-team person to bring him out of new-Asgard exile. But the Russos and writing team missed that opportunity as well. Danvers’ appearance felt hollow.

The pacing / cycle down of tension post-opening sequence was off-putting to me. I was revved up to level 10 ready to go to 11, but had to dial back down by half (ex: even though I love the montage of Tony and Nebula playing table football, it crawls by comparison to the expectations set right after Infinity War). The tonal shifts between the three acts of Endgame made me feel like I was watching two good films as opposed to the one great, legendary film I was expecting. Perhaps I came in to Endgame too pumped and needed to be more in the moment, because this displaced feeling was very strong on initial viewing, but faded the second time I saw the film.

Honorable mentions: Parts of the alternate reality “time travel” sequence really bothered me: ie the battle of New York (from A1). Hulk smash didn’t work for me, though Hulk “take the stairs” and Stark’s minor cardiac dysrhythmia corrected by Thor’s hammer were funny. Also Cap’s “I found Loki” was priceless. So I guess you have to absorb the disagreeable montages of time alterations to enjoy the good, like Banner and the Sorcerer Supreme, Howard and “Howard.”

Honorable mention #2: This movie did a hell of a job at all the couple / BroTP splitting, WTH! Steve and Sharon never stood a chance, Wanda and Vision, Banner and Natasha, Steve and Bucky, Steve and Sam, Thor and Loki, Gamora and Quill. Dammit, I hope Phase 4 at least patches up a few holes in these ships before sending in the speculated new ensemble of comics characters.

In SUMMARY: as my dislikes wane with time and my likes grow in retrospect with each saga part I rewatch, and each time I revisit A4 in theaters, I think that Avengers: Endgame, while not quite my favorite installment, will stick with me forever. What a decade! And my next great joy will be 10…15…20 years from now, when I get to meet a kid, let’s call her Morgan, who’s never seen an MCU film before and vicariously relive that first joy watching it with them. To the end of the line.

I can’t wait. 

[bluskai]

pain | l.o.

➤ pairing: loki X female reader

➤ warnings: Swearing, Angst, Pain, Heartache, Maybe make you wanna shoot someone and throw yourself off a cliff?

➤ notes: This is set in Infinity War, so feel the pain bitches. Brace yourself. Feedback is appreciated.

➤ more: masterlist | smut reblog blog 

Thanos held up his hand to reveal the Infinity Gauntlet, which hosted the beaming, violet-coloured Power Stone.

A visible shiver racked your body, from the cold or fear, you weren’t sure anymore. It was hard to discern much, as your vision got blurrier from the amount of blood loss you were suffering from. 

Thanos was holding Thor by his head, fist tightening around his skull dangerously. Crimson-red blood dripped from the god’s gaping mouth. 

Yet, Thor managed to spit out a few snarky words, “You talk too much.”

Thanos barely acknowledged him and turned to Loki, "The Tesseract, or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference.”

You gasped, but quickly placed a hand over your mouth, you were not in good shape to fight. So the best option was to draw as little attention to yourself as possible, at least until you thought of a plan to help the brothers. Shifting backwards, you dragged yourself further into the shadows.

The Black Order gripped their weapons and glanced at each other, faces carrying disgusting smirks.

Loki smirked, gesturing to Thor, “ Oh, I do. Kill away!”

You worried for a moment that Loki was serious, but you remembered that this was Loki, despite everything, he loved Thor. 

Also, it was Loki, your Loki, the love and light of your life. He had pulled you from the brink of self-destruction, and you would forever love him for that. He wasn’t as selfish as he liked to let on.

Thanos looked briefly surprised at Loki’s words, before he pressed the gauntlet to Thor's left temple. The Power Stone glowed brightly as Thor’s hoarse screams of anguish and pain filled the ship.

Loki’s facade cracked, his cool demeanour falling at watching Thor suffer. 

“ALL RIGHT, STOP!” Loki shouted, agony written plain and clear across his features.

Thor gasped out, “We don't have the Tesseract. It was destroyed on Asgard.”

Loki glanced at Thor, a look of guilt and regret plaguing his face. Like he knew something Thor didn't. Lifting his right hand into the air, Loki produced the Tesseract.

You gripped onto your wound tighter, preventing yourself from crying out from surprise, pain and worry. 

Thor heaved against his wounds, “You really are the worst brother.”

Loki moved toward Thanos, Tesseract in hand. The blue light glowing against his sharp features, you slowly inched forward, worrying about your dumb and impulsive god of a boyfriend.

Looking back at Thor, Loki had the ghost of a smile playing on his lips, “I assure you, brother... The sun will shine on us again.”

Thanos spoke, sharpness lacing his words, “Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian.”

Loki tipped his head, speaking out, “ Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian. And for another... We have a Hulk.”

Thanos looked to his right, just as a green and furious mass slammed into him. Loki dived for Thor, pulling both of them out of the way and you sighed with relief but remained on edge. The Tesseract skittered across the floor, momentarily forgotten. 

The Hulk charged at Thanos, growling and roaring with resentment. He pummelled into Thanos, forcing him backwards and shoving him into the wall of the ship. You wished that the Hulk would emerge victorious, but then you noticed Thanos’ right-hand man.

Ebony Maw grinned, and stopped Black Dwarf from interfering.

"Let him have his fun.”

Then you held your breath.

Thanos pried the Hulk's hands away with ease, and an expression of surprise and fear flittered across the Hulk’s face. After several hard blows, Thanos picked up the Hulk and slammed him into the deck, green and defeated. Just then, Thor slammed a metal bar across Thanos' back. But to no avail, he was kicked across the deck by Thanos and promptly bound in metal debris by Ebony Maw to keep him from interfering further.

Just several feet away, you noticed the severely injured Heimdall cast you a glance, as if reassuring you.

Praying, Heimdall said, “Allfathers… Let the dark magic flow through me one last... time.”

Heimdall summoned the Bifrost, spiriting the Hulk away. He threw you one more apologetic look, as if to say sorry for not being able to send you away as well. But you knew there was only a chance, and it could only be the Hulk. 

Heimdall met Thor’s gaze, an unreadable expression on his face.

Thanos gritted his teeth, “That was a mistake.”

Thanos grabbed Corvus's glaive and drove it into Heimdall, right through his heart, twisting the blade.

You screamed out Heimdall’s name, forgetting your cover. But it was irrelevant anyway. None of them paid you any mind. 

Thor cried out, “NO! You're going to die for that!”

Ebony Maw shut Thor's mouth with his telekinesis, grinning evilly, “Shhh...”

Ebony Maw kneeled before Thanos, offering up the Tesseract, “My humble personage… bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever had the might, nay the nobility, to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones. The universe lies within your grasp.”

You struggled to pull yourself to Heimdall, if you could touch him, maybe you could heal him. After all, that was the reason Fury had recruited you.

Thanos crushed the Tesseract, revealing the luminescent, blue Space Stone. He blew on it, blowing some of the fractals away, holding the Stone between his thumb and index, before placing it on the gauntlet, and was momentarily rocked by the surge of energy that pulsed through him.

Then he said, “There are two more Stones on Earth. Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan.”

Proxima Midnight knelt before him, “Father, we will not fail you.”

Loki suddenly emerged from behind the Black Order, and a wave of irritation rolled through you. What the hell was he doing?

“If I might interject… If you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena.” Lokie said cheerfully. 

Your jaw dropped, you couldn’t believe he was actually going to betray you.

Thanos looked unimpressed, “If you consider failure experience.”

Loki spoke and in his eyes, you saw a glimmer of something, “I consider experience, experience. Almighty Thanos, I... Loki... Prince of Asgard...” Loki paused, looking at Thor, “Odinson... The rightful King of Jotunheim... God of Mischief... do hereby pledge to you, my undying fidelity.”

A surge of pride filled you as Loki finally acknowledged his heritage without shame or hesitation. It took a lot for him to finally get here, and you were beyond proud of him. But then reality set in.

Thor squinted at Loki’s hand, and you noticed a dagger materialize in his hand. Loki braced himself, and thrusted upwards with lightning speed in an attempt to stab Thanos, but was frozen in place by the Space Stone's power before the point could strike home.

Your toes started aching and the ache spread to the tips of your fingers, it was becoming unbearable and though you refused to admit it, something bad was going to happen.

Thanos smirked, “Undying. You should choose your words more carefully.”

Thanos twisted the dagger out of Loki's hand, taking a hold of Loki's neck with the gauntlet and lifted him to eye level. Loki struggled, kicking, as his throat was being squeezed. Thanos made eye contact with Thor before he finished the deed.

You felt a scream building up in your throat as you tried to pull yourself to your feet. The pain from your wounds was near intolerable, but you needed to save him. But you just weren’t moving fast enough.

Loki looked at you briefly, conveying a million emotions in that brief second. The most important, was that he loved you. He was sorry, sorry for doing this and every other horrible thing he had ever done. He was sorry for being unable to save you. He was sorry for not being a better person for you. But you didn’t need his apologies, you just needed him. 

Then as you saw him give up on fighting against Thanos, you felt that last bit of yourself... leave you. 

“You will... never be... a god.” Loki croaked, as Thanos crushed Loki's neck, killing him.

Your scream was ear-splitting and the pain you felt was comparable to being burned alive a thousand times over. He was your whole reason for living at one point, and he gave you more to live for now. So you could kill Thanos yourself. Loki wasn’t all good, but really, who was? He was mischief, love and chaos, and you adored him for it. Now Loki was gone, blood pouring from every part of his face. His skin was turning purple and the life in his eyes was gone.

Thanos didn’t even look your way, and walked over to Thor, dropping Loki's body in front of him. 

“No resurrections this time.”

Thanos raised the gauntlet, sending violet-coloured Power fire through the remains of the Statesman, and used the Space Stone to teleport away with the Black Order.

Thor cried, “No… Loki…”

Thor was finally released from his bonds, and he crawled over to Loki's body and laid his head down on Loki's chest, shedding tears for all that he had lost. 

You dragged yourself over, hugging Thor tightly as you shed tears of your own.

Thor weeped, looking up at you.

“I’m sorry Y/N.”

Then, as more tears trickled from your eyes, your body sagged with the realisation that this is the end. The end of life as you know it, and of consciousness as you are aware of. In that day, you had lost more than you ever thought you were capable of handling. 

Hugging Thor over Loki’s body, you allowed yourself a moment to dream. A dream so sweet, your mouth filled with syrup, sticky and warm. Instead of an iron taste, hot and fluid. It was a dream where you had time, and love. 

But as the heat of the ship increased, and your skin prickled with pain, you knew that that was all it would ever be, a dream. Crumbling around you, metal against metal, scraping and falling pieces. The ship exploded, along with your dreams.

Then all you felt was pain. Then nothing.

[anotherramblingfangirl]

“Do you ever stop talking about getting paid?”

Proxima:

[yoi-fanficrecs]

Fanfic Writer’s Appreciation Day 2018!!!

I’m so thankful for all the fanfic writers in out there and especially the writer in the Yuri! on Ice Fandom. Here’s a list of some of the fics I’ve read this week & some of my favs all mixed together! (THIS IS BY NO MEANS A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF ALL THE FICS I THINK ROCK) 

Don’t forget if you’re a fic reader to go and leave an extra comment on your fav stories or drop an ask in the author’s tumblr about how much you appreciate the work that they do! Some of the authors in the fandom are FANTASTIC and I can’t believe that they aren’t paid, professional writers!

Much Ado About Something by @eternalsunshine13 &  Skowronek 

AO3 Summary: By day, Victor Nikiforov is the head of European operations for LearX, a company on the forefront of private space travel. By night, he is makka-baby on Tumblr, a prominent figure in the small but passionate poodle fandom.

By day, Yuuri Katsuki runs F.O.O.L., a subsidiary of Katsuki Enterprises, whose stated goal is to bring LearX down one lawsuit after another. By night, he’s oodlesofpoodles, an active member of the poodle fandom and possibly makka-baby’s biggest fan.

By day, they duke it out in court. By night, they become friends—and maybe something more—as they fall for each other one Tumblr message at a time.

Or: a romantic comedy starring two idiots in love, the Katsuki family, the mothers Nikiforov, the husbands Chulanont-Giacometti, two doggos, six hamsters, one Yurio, and many, many schemes to get our favorite lovebirds together.

I devoured this in one sitting. They were so frustratingly adorable!!!! This fic is a great enemies to lovers filled with poodles, matchmaking Chris & Phichit, and a futuristic Tumblr app that is still the worst. :P 

In Regards to Dynamics by ICanSeeClearlyNow, Oxytreza 

AO3 Summary: In a world where betas ruled, alphas and omegas were treated as less than human. After centuries of prejudice, they rebelled, commandeered a colony ship and left Earth for the Proxima Centauri system, vowing to create a new world where all people, regardless of gender, would be treated equally.

200 years later, a reformed Earth approaches Proxima asking to reestablish contact and to reconcile their worlds. Victor Nikiforov, a popular and successful politician on Proxima, is chosen to lead the mission to Earth and accompany a team from Earth back to Proxima for a scientific exchange.

The team from Earth consists of ordinary people descended from omegas and alphas who chose to remain on Earth. Yuuri Katsuki, a researcher into transporter technology and completely ordinary and unremarkable Earthling (a PhD and excellent service record don't count - shush Phichit!) is both thrilled and terrified at the prospect of meeting the handsome ambassador who has taken the Earth by storm.

I’m a sucker for ABO fics. The history and world-building in this fic fascinated me and gave our boys some interesting backstories. 

Cherry Blossom Winter by Ars_Matron

AO3 Summary: The war was over, and they had lost. The invading army covered Japan in a show of complete dominance. All bowed before them in hopes of being spared. And Hasetsu was no exception.They couldn't fight, there were no more battles to win, yet they were bound and determined to keep their omegas safe. All Yuuri and the others had to do was keep low until the soldiers were gone. Blend in. Never be caught alone.Yuuri hadn't meant to catch the attention of the blue eyed alpha.Viktor wasn't going to let him slip away.

ABO FICS FOR THE WIN!!!! This fic is an ABO version of another one of Ars_Matron’s stories Snow in Spring - so if you like the summary but not the A/B/O aspect hit that story up! I think the A/B/O aspect really raises the stakes for this story. Just from reading the summary you think it’s going to be a Dark Viktor, but Ars writes his POV as well so we get his thought process too! This is a great conquering Alpha! Viktor and dancer Omega! Yuuri that you’ve got to stop and read it! 

Hide and Seek by senshoo

AO3 Summary: Thankfully, the walk only took a few moments and soon, Yuuri was juggling both the child and the key while he shouldered his way into the apartment, set the kid down on his secondhand couch, and then sighed, sinking to the floor.

One deep breath.

Maybe two.

And then, it hit him.Holy shit.Did he just kidnap a child?--

Or: The one where Yuuri accidentally becomes a father at twenty three. Oh, and there's still skating.

EKKKKKK!!!!! I love baby Yurio and this fic warms my cold dead heart! Not to mention this fic is HILARIOUS! I’ve literally laughed out loud reading multiple chapters from this fic much to my embarrassment during professional development workshops. It’s just a cute pinning fic with a cute little Yurio and a dash of angst but mostly humor. <3 <3 <3 

Plus: the writer is a consistent updater! 

Can I have some of that, Please? by TheLittleSeven  

AO3 Summary: If there's anything he learned during his mate's pregnancy, it was to never, EVER question a craving of a pregnant person. Ever. Unless he wanted to deal with a crying fit that resulted from him asking the omega why he wanted mango ice cream with siracha and peas topped on it. Pregnant people usually have weird cravings during their pregnancy. Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov is no exception.

I stumbled upon this little one shot over the summer and absolutely love it! The writer says this is their first fic and it’s so cute! You’ve probably read the story somewhere on the internet and it fits our sweet boys so much! 

Dearly beloved by Sophia96

AO3 Summary:  This is the story about unconditional love between true mates. When they are destined to be together, there will be nothing standing in their way. Not even language barriers or great distances. As long as they have each other, they will never need anything else.

I couldn’t make a fanfic writer’s appreciation post without including my main writing KWEEN @sophialala1 !!! All of their fics are amazing! Long, fluffy, plot twists, little angsty Viktuuir goodness! Also, they are a dedicated writer and right now going on over a week of daily updates! I’m so thankful they are writing for this fandom and cannot express my gratitude enough! 

Between Sixes  by D_Toska

AO3 Summary:  When Yuri Katsuki is hired as a caretaker for an elite competitive stable owned by Viktor Nikiforov, he knows he's in for trouble with his stunningly handsome new boss. When he makes a major mistake on his first day, he learns just how far Viktor is willing to go to ease his guilty conscience.

HOT HOT HOT!!!! This story is spicy, flaming, sexy, and OMG! I’m pretty sure I have a perpetual nosebleed the ENTIRE chapter. There’s also a lot about horses, which is very lengthy and detailed so I’m sure the writer knows what they’re talking about, lol (bc I know nothing about horses). But I love the chemistry between the dom Vitkor & sub Yuuri and i am on this rollercoaster for good. 

Learning Life & Love (Work) by BellaBear13

AO3 Summary: Yuuri Katsuki gets admitted to the hospital for his anxiety and Viktor Nikiforov becomes his therapist. They fall for each other and develop a prohibited relationship, while dealing with problems and situations along the way. Yuuri befriends another patient, Yuri Plisetsky, where they find friendship in one another and open up about difficulties they have with their mental health and relationships.Together they all learn the meaning of life and love.

I was hesitant to start this fic only because I thought the power balance between Viktor & Yuuri would be skewed bc of the therapist/patient bit. I WAS SO WRONG!!! This fic is beautiful and heart-wrenchingly angsty and you know, a little pinning. The writer takes so good pace with their budding relationship && how they approach Yuuris (&&Viktors) mental illness. I really love this story and it updates consistently on Wednesday. Take a chance, and read this fic! 

Seven Years and Twenty-Four Hours (Work) by Glaucus_Atlanticus

AO3 Summary: A time-traveling shower transports 18 year old Yuuri into the body of his future self—and into the arms of his idol, Victor Nikiforov. Now Yuuri must pretend to be his older self until he can return to his own era. Which would be a lot easier if Victor weren't so attentive. Or so affectionate.But as time goes on, Yuuri finds himself torn between his old life, and a new one that would hand him everything he ever wanted...but at the cost of his real identity.

COMPLETED! So beautiful. The younger time-traveling Yuuri is so heartbreakingly anxious and Victor is just a sad sac without his time-appropriate Yuuri. This is an angsty fic, but such a great read.

P.S Sorry this turned into an A/B/O fic appreciation post, lol. (but not sorry)

[growinstablog]

How To Use Custom Instagram Font?

Are you ready for some unique knowledge? Read the article till the end to find out how to use the custom Instagram font!

Some years ago when an era of Instagram was at its dawn, it was just an app to post photos to make your friends see them, to demonstrate them your recently bought shoes or a car (even if it was not yours), to make your ex jealous showing your new best half or just to upload some pics of your today’s dinner. It was okay and nobody really cared about it. But today Instagram has managed to become a powerful platform to build brands and now I mean not also business brands but individual ones as well. Everyone who wants to promote his or her personal blog is building a brand which proves that the approaches in these both cases should be practically the same.

Earlier nobody really paid attention to all the details that today have become so crucial: what exactly to post, when to post, what to write under your post…Now if you want to succeed you need to bear in mind all these aspects.

In general, you can build your fully distinct brand on Instagram but there is one more detail that previously used to be ignored. It’s the font Instagram uses. Unfortunately, the choice is extremely limited as the platform offers just a single option for your bio, captions, and comments.

Instagram font: where to use and what for?

As you know today Instagram is not only about visual content. Texts and words play an important role as well. But how to make them special? Different fonts is an answer.

Let’s see what’s the aim of using various fonts in different sections.

The unusual font in bio will help you:

to make your page recognizable;

to make people remember it;

to make users notice your account.

The customized font in comments is needed:

to highlight your information/thoughts;

to ensure that people will pay attention to it.

The unique font in captions has a mission:

to put an accent on the most important details;

to facilitate people’s perception of the provided information.

If you can’t make up your mind what captions to add to your amazing photo, why not to check this article? There I’ve revealed some secrets of perfect Instagram captions.

Instagram font: How to make it?

“What font does Instagram use?” is one of the first questions you may ask if you have decided to customize your texts. For the majority of texts, the system uses Proxima Nova. Though it’s nice, it’s not enough to express yourself.

Nevertheless, don’t worry if you like an Instagram logo font or a simple Comic Sans, it won’t be a problem to use it. Especially if you know some convenient services like “Instagram Fonts”. It’s only one of the possible options. There are a lot of them (you are free to choose on your own) but they all have practically the same working principle.

And by the way, such services are free. That’s a great piece of news, isn’t it?

So, what do you need to do?

Type the word/phrase you wish to customize.

2. Opt for the most appealing variant.

3. Copy your beautiful text from the service and paste it into the relevant field.

Pay attention to the fact that not all fonts offered could be supported by your device. If something is wrong just choose another variant.

Tips to make your page popular?

So, now you have a very cool account as various Instagram fonts is a great solution to stand out from the crowd. But how is it now possible to let your audience know about it?

Ingramer is here to help you significantly expand your audience and make millions of users pay attention to your publications.

What will you get if you opt for Ingramer to help you?

Quick expansion of your followers base

Real active audience

Growth of activity on your page (likes/comments)

A lot of free time that you’ve previously used for your promotion

Absolute safety

Sales increase

Moreover, Ingramer is here to help you better understand how the entire Instagram ecosystem works. For example, have you ever thought about the best time to publish your beautiful photos with nice captions? Do you post them just when you want? Or do you try to follow some rules?

If you still haven’t had developed your own effective system for timing, you can get familiarized with the results of our in-depth analysis devoted to the questions around the most appropriate time to make posts.

But I want to encourage you not only to rely on the results obtained by us but also to study your audience on your own.

Don’t be afraid of elaborating your own schemes and testing them.

If your scheme doesn’t work, just apply a new one.

Be brave and stay open for innovations.

And remember: if you need our help, you are always welcome.

https://growinsta.xyz/how-to-use-custom-instagram-font/

[4muchmore]

About me.

1. You woke up naked next to the last person you texted, what would you say? Bom dia meu amor!

2. What’s going on between you and the last person you kissed? Não estamos mais nos falando :x

3. If your boyfriend or girlfriend was into drugs, would you care? Se essa pessoa ficar diferente em vários aspectos da vida, sim.

4. Is your last name longer than six letters? Não.

5. Was your last kiss drunk or sober? Sobria.

6. Have you ever wanted to have someone but you messed it up? Sim

7. What does your last received text say? Que minha irmã vai vir para minha formatura.

8. How many times have you kissed the last person you kissed? Muitas vezes...

9. Where was your last kiss at? Churrasco no club

10. When is the last time you saw your sister? Em janeiro. 

11. What do you drink in the morning? Café

12. Where did you sleep last night? Na minha cama.

13. Do you think relationships are hard? Depende.

14. If you could go back and change something in the past 5 months, would you? Acho que não, tinha que passar por tudo que passei!

15. You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, any problems? Sem problemas. Porém não queria que fosse c essa pessoa.

16. Would you rather it be sunny or rainy? Depende da ocasião

17. Do you know anyone with the same middle name as you? sim

18. Are you wearing jeans,sweatpants,or pajama pants? estou usando shorts de pijama

19. Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 years from now? se tudo der certo sim!

20. Does anyone like you? eu acho que sim, não posso ter certeza.

21. Have you ever kissed someone with a name that starts with an S? acho que não!

22. Is the last person you kissed gay? não

23. Is there a person you CANNOT stand? sim

24. Have you ever considered getting a tattoo? já pensei em ter, hoje em dia não quero mais

25. In the past week have you cried? sim :/

26. What breed was the last dog you saw? um schnauzer

27. Do you dry off in the shower or out of the shower? no chuveiro

28. Have you ever kissed a football player? não

29. Do you think you’re old? não

30. Do you like text messaging? eu amo

31. What type of day are you having? um dia angustiante

32. Have you ever thought about getting your nose pierced? não, não gosto

33. Do you prefer warm or cold weather? prefiro quente

34. Is there a person of the opposite sex who means a lot to you? sim, existe.

35. Would you prefer a relationship or a fling? um relacionamento, já deu de aventura

36. Are you a simple or complicated person? sou uma pessoa facil de conviver.

37. What song are you listening to? nenhuma agora.

38. When you say you’re sorry do you mean it? sim, com certeza.

39. Is there a girl that knows everything or almost everything about you? sim, quase tudo. 40. What made you start liking the person you like now? consigo ser completamente eu quando estou com ele. 41. When did you last receive a text message? pela manhã 42. What is wrong with you right now? quero que chegue o final do ano logo 43. How well do you know the last female you texted? sei muito sobre minha irmã 44. Does anyone disgust you? deve ter, não sei 45. Would you date someone right now if they asked? não, não estou afim 46. Are you in a good mood right now? estou mais para melhor do que para pior pelo menos 47. Who was the last person you talked to in person? minha mãe 48. What color shirt are you wearing? branca 49. Has someone recently told you something you didn’t want to hear? não. 50. Anyone you’re giving up on? já desisti de uma essa semana. 51. Do you hate the person you fell hardest for? odiar não, é uma palavra muito forte

52. Have you ever thought about giving up on someone but couldn’t? não 53. Do you like rain? sim, gosto 54. Do you care if your boyfriend/girlfriend drinks? não 55. Have you ever liked somebody and never told them? Já sim 56. Do you like to cuddle? amo!

57. Are you shy? + ou - 58. Do you get along with girls? sim 59. Have you dated the person you texted last? já sim 60. What do you carry with you at all times? Meu celular 61. If you were paid 1 million dollars to spend the night in a supposed haunted house, would you? acho que sim! 62. Do you think you can last in a relationship for five months? sim 63. Think back to October, were you in a relationship?  + ou -  64. The person you like kisses you on the forehead, do you find this cute? sim, acho fofo! 65. Did anything “cute” happen in the last week? sim (:

66. How old are the last three people you kissed? 27, 19 e 22

67. Would you rather pay to get your nails done or do them yourself?  eu mesma faço 68. Which do you like better- Zebra print or leopard print? estampa de zebra    69. Do you have any stickers on your car?     tenho! o brasão da medicina. 70. Would you rather listen to Luke Bryan or Lil Wayne?     não conheço o primeiro e não gosto do segundo :E 71. Blackberry, Anroid, or iPhone?     Iphone claro! 72. When’s the last time you had pizza from Pizza Hut?     foi em janeiro! 73. Do you like diet soda?     gosto, mas prefiro a normal 74. What color are the walls in your room?     brancas 75. Are you 16 or older?     mais velha, tenho 26 76. Do you watch Pretty Little Liars?     não, nunca assisti 77. Do you have a job?     ainda não   78. What are your initials?     DCS 79. Did you ever have braces?     já! na adolescencia 80. Are you from the south?   sim  

81. What does your last status on facebook say?     faz muito tempo que não posto algo que tenha escrito. 82. Do you still talk to the first person you ever kissed?   não, não tenho a minina ideia da onde esteja o menino   83. Are you closer to your mom or your dad? sim, muito proxima    84. Have you ever done cheerleading or gymnastics?     não :i 85. What’s the last movie you saw in theaters?     não lembro 86. Do you smoke?     não 87. Would you rather wear heels or flip flops?     prefiro chinelo 88. Is your phone touch screen?     claro 89. Do you normally wear your hair straight or curly?   ondulado!  90. Have you ever snuck out of your house?     não, nunca precisei 91. Would you rather swim in a river, lake, or pool?     piscina. 92. Have you ever made out in a car?     93. …Had sex in a car?     ainda não 94. Are you single or in a relationship?   solteira   95. What were you doing last night at midnight?   dormindo   96. When’s the last time you saw fireworks?     no ano novo 97. Do you like the camera on your phone?     gosto 98. Have you ever had a friend with benefits?     não 99. Have you ever passed out from drinking?     já! 100. Are you friends with people on facebook that you actually hate?   sim   101. Have you ever had a pregnancy scare?     não. menina previnida eu sou 102. Name your favorite Kesha song: não tenho     103. Do you have any tan lines right now?     sim tenho. 104. Would you ever wear cowboy boots with shorts? já sim!

[instarlightss]

Lady Proxima rose from her pool, looking more horrid than ever. The scrumrats had put a heavy tarp over the broken win­dow, but it didn’t block all sunlight, and Qi’ra had already seen what just a small exposure could do. Thus, Lady Proxima was only receiving guests at night now.

She still wore her bangles and armor. At first Qi’ra thought she was vain and hadn’t wanted to remove them, but then she noticed with horror that many of her rings had become embed­ded in the blistered skin. It had to be painful to have them there, but it would have been excruciating to remove them.

“Qi’ra. I had such hopes for you,” Lady Proxima said. “You are quick on your feet. You think fast. You plan better than any scrumrat in this place. I wish you could have stayed with me.”

“I serve only—” Qi’ra said, bowing her head.

“No more lies,” Lady Proxima screamed, startling Qi’ra. “You will not speak again. Not to apologize, not to sweet-talk me, not to get out of this. I should tear your tongue out for what you’ve done. But he wants your tongue intact.”

Qi’ra swallowed her fear, wondering whether to worry more about the tongue threat, or who “he” was. She nodded obedi­ently.

“I have sold you to a slave dealer,” Lady Proxima said, almost conversationally, and Qi’ra’s heart sank. “You did not fetch a good price; disobedience is considered a very bad quality for a slave. But your other attributes were enough to interest him. I have full confidence that he will scour the fight right out of you.”

He didn’t. But soon, Qi’ra was sold again to a different mas­ter: Dryden Vos.

The first year was hell, with numerous escape attempts and beatings. Nothing would break her spirit, nothing would stop her from trying to get free.

But one night everything changed. She had killed her guard and made it as far as an escape pod in Dryden Vos’s star yacht. She hadn’t expected Dryden to be there waiting for her, his face black with rage.

“My Qi’ra,” he said sadly, the red veins in his face slowly fad­ing. “We have reached an impasse. I paid a fair price for you, and you have cost me far more in guards, property, and sanity.”

Qi’ra cast around for a weapon or anything she could use as one.

“Please,” Vos said, making a face that indicated she was being ridiculous. “You wouldn’t last the length of a breath.”

He appraised her, looking her up and down. Qi’ra didn’t flinch. She was used to men looking at her like that; usually it gave her power, it made them underestimate her, but Dryden simply looked as if he were assessing meat at a market.

“What do you want, Qi’ra? What were you looking for when you were trying to leave Corellia?”

She nearly laughed in disbelief. Was he really asking that? “Why does any trapped animal run for an open door?” she asked. “Freedom.”

“Freedom,” he said, nodding. “But you will never be free. You will be with the Crimson Dawn—with me—or you will die. But you did gain something, or have you not noticed?” She frowned in confusion. “You made it off Corellia. You don’t have to cater to those disgusting sewer dwellers. You can have the finest things. You can work with me, Qi’ra, not just as my slave. There are opportunities here if you just open your eyes to them.”

Qi’ra narrowed her eyes. “Why?” she asked. “Why would you suddenly trust me? As you said, I’ve cost you quite a bit in guards and property. Why now?”

“The dead guard in your room is precisely why,” he said, step­ping toward her, flexing his fists. “Let’s talk about your poten­tial.”

--- Solo: A Star Wars Story by award-winning author Mur Lafferty.

[swipestream]

New Release Roundup, 25 August 2018: Science Fiction

Space marines, mecha knights, and keyboard VR warriors battle it out in this week’s roundup of the newest releases in science fiction.

Across the Galactic Pond (Far Beyond #0) – Christian Kallias

When young Kevin has a chance encounter with a dying alien, he discovers not only that humans aren’t alone in the universe, but that this encounter propels him into the middle of an intergalactic war.

Now at the frontlines of a massive, far far away war, he’s sent to the last remaining ship of the losing side. The crew of the ship? All dead.

His mission is simple: he must save the good guys from certain doom.

From College reject to War Master, Kevin learns he must adapt quickly or billions will die.

The Ancients (The Survivors #4) – Nathan Hystad

The threat of invaders is gone, and Earth has been bartered away as a price for peace.  Yet, the human world of New Spero is thriving and full of hope.

Joining the rank of the Gatekeepers, Dean and Mary set off to explore worlds connected by the mysterious portals. When they stumble upon a strange symbol, they are led to an ancient object, one that sets them on an unstoppable path.

The journey takes them through multiple worlds, before they can find what they’re searching for. Long ago, the ancient race called the Theos vanished without a trace, and have been next to forgotten for centuries. Do they still exist?

Dean intends to find out, but when he’s faced with the truth, he fears everything he loves will be lost.

Battle ARC (ARC Angels #2)- Toby Neighbors

Facing a horde of hostile aliens known as the Swarm is frightening. Being the only person who can stop them is even worse.

From the great domed cities of Mars, to the verdant fields of Neo Terra in the Tau Ceti system, humanity’s future is spread across the galaxy. The Colonial Space Fleet has struck a blow against the Swarm, but the aliens are far from defeated. Unless the CSF finds a way to win a decisive battle with the ever growing horde of insatiable aliens, all could be lost.

Junior officer Angela “Angel” Murphy can perform superhuman feats in the revolutionary Assisted Rapid Combat suit, but can she repeat her victory as the focal point of a Marine battalion? Can the Fleet produce more ARC suits and find suitable pilots to utilize the advanced technology? The Swarm is always evolving, adapting to its environment, and learning the tactics of its enemies. There’s a battle on the horizon, and the outcome is anyone’s guess.

The Colchis Job (The Four Horsemen Tales #3) – Kal Spriggs

Colonel Jason Azoros is having a bad year. Having taken over the Argonauts’ mercenary company when its previous owner was killed, he has arrived back at Karma to find that no one will deal with him. Blacklisted by his father, Jason is forced to do a job for him to clear his name.

The early days of humanity’s expansion into space was an exciting time, as the best of the race went to the stars. Unfortunately, some of the worst went, as well, and the Argonauts must hunt down and destroy the worst of the worst, Colchis Industries.

Colchis has powerful friends, though, and its coffers are overflowing with credits, allowing it to hire mercenaries and buy equipment beyond what the Argonauts can afford. They also meddle in genetics, and their creations range from…interesting…to unstoppable.

Outmanned and outgunned, Jason and his crew embark on their voyage short on equipment but long on attitude. One thing is for sure—win, lose, or draw, they’re going to go out in style!

Earth’s Fury (Obsidiar Fleet #4) – Anthony James

The human Confederation has provided unexpected resistance to the Vraxar invading forces, but now the price must be paid. The mighty enemy warship Ix-Gorghal has discovered the location of humanity’s populated worlds and its arrival in New Earth orbit promises death for the billions living there.

At first, it seems the invaders will have everything their own way. They send in troops and deploy a ring of satellites to isolate the planet from the main comms network. After that, it should all be plain sailing….

On the New Earth Tucson military base, there are personnel who will never accept defeat – men and women who will keep fighting even when the cause seems lost.

It won’t be easy. The Vraxar are a cruel and unpredictable foe, and at the first sign of a threat, they will surely destroy New Earth without hesitation.

Hidden Enemies (Empire of Bones #9) – Terry Mixon

Trapped between murderous xenophobes and calculating artificial intelligences, an interstellar war threatens to wash Princess Kelsey Bandar away in a tide of blood.

With her most powerful ship crippled, only a desperate mission to steal what she needs right out from under the noses of her enemies offers a way to get her people safely home.

As if that wasn’t hard enough, success requires her foes never learn of her existence and therein lies the problem. Few have ever accused Kelsey Bandar of subtlety.

If you love military science fiction and grand adventure on a galaxy-spanning scale, grab “Hidden Enemies” and the rest of The Empire of Bones Saga today!

The Last Aeon (Terran Armor Corps #5) – Richard Fox

War rages across the galaxy. And humanity is losing battle after battle.

The renegade Armor, Roland, seeks the key to victory against the enemy encroaching from all sides. An Aeon guards a secret which will tip the balance of power in the galaxy. But first, Roland, and the Ibarra Nation must defeat her guardians, the Cyrgal.

On another front and amid the tumultuous aftermath of Roland’s defection, Gideon leads a desperate attempt to assassinate a Kesaht general. He is the last hope to turn the tide of the battle, and save the world of Ouranos.

As the war against the Kesaht and their merciless allies grinds on, Gideon and Roland must summon faith and fury to survive.

Proxima Centauri (Aeon 14: Enfield Genesis #2) – Lisa Richman and M. D. Cooper

Though Jason and his team have taken down Victoria North and freed many of the kidnapped AIs, several are still missing, and it’s the team’s job to find them.

Even as they set things right, a small piece of technology procured from Norden’s crumbling criminal empire is enough to become the catalyst for an even worse catastrophe.

Jason, Terrance, and the Phantom Blade team grapple with this new threat, unaware that it is far closer to home than they ever imagined.

The struggle to bring about equality for AIs and make Alpha Centauri a home for all sentients balances on a knife’s edge. It will take everything Jason has to ensure the burgeoning civilization isn’t cut to ribbons.

Quantum Mortis #3: A Secret Love – Vox Day, Steve Rzasa, and Matvei Daniilovich

Chief Warrant Officer Graven Tower is a ruggedly handsome military policeman who hates aliens. Fortunately, as a member of His Grace’s Military Crimes Investigation Division – Xenocriminology and Alien Relations, he gets to arrest a lot of them. Sometimes he even gets to shoot them.

Chief Tower and Detector Derin Hildreth of the Trans Paradis Police Department are investigating the murder of the Crown Prince of Morchard, but they have not been able to determine a motive for the crime or identify any suspects. So when a royal assistant comes forward with information about the prince’s secret life, they don’t hesitate to pursue the lead into the heart of the wealthy interplanetary establishment.

Renegade Dawn (Renegade Star #7) – J. N. Chaney 

Welcome to the Old World.

Captain Jace Hughes and his crew have finally reached their destination: Earth, the mythical lost homeworld of Humanity. It was said to harbor great wonders, fertile land, and beauty beyond comparison, but the reality is far, far stranger than any story.

The Earth isn’t what they thought, and it must be rebuilt.

Using the newly acquired Galactic Dawn as a refitted transport vessel, Jace hopes to bring help from displaced worlds whose inhabitants can no longer sustain themselves. He’s going to need all the help he can get to jumpstart this new colony. That means farmers, workers, soldiers, and, perhaps most importantly, families, all of them working together to build a home they can call their own.

But the Earth harbors many dangerous secrets, each one more deadly than the last.

The Replicant War (Worlds at War #1) – Chris Kennedy

Billed as “the most realistic game ever,” Worlds at War was a video game unlike any other—one that promised a virtual reality experience that rivaled operating a giant mecha in combat. People flocked to the game in anticipation.

For some, the game lived up to and far exceeded their expectations—the level of graphics was indeed, “just like being there.” The game didn’t provide the experience many others had hoped for, though; for a large number of players, the game was “too real to be fun.”

For video game design majors Ryan Johnson and Noah Bowden, the game play was incredible. It made them feel like they actually were saving a foreign world from horrific enemies, and they rapidly moved up on the leaderboard of the game’s best players.

But then fatal accidents began happening to the gamers at the top of the leaderboard, including many at which men in black were seen. When Ryan sees those same men at his dorm, he realizes there is more going on in the shadows of Worlds at War than he has been led to believe…but can he determine what’s going on before a fatal accident happens to him, too?

REV: Rebirth (The REV Warriors #3) – T. R. Harris

For the past twenty years, Humanity–along with their ultimate weapons, the superhuman warriors known as REVs–have been at war with the more-powerful and technologically-advanced Antaere race. As latecomers to the galactic community, the Humans have beenplaying catch-up, proving that their innate skill at waging war can help skip a lot of steps on the way to galactic domination. That was until two years ago. Now nearly all the civilizations within the local Grid of colonized planets have turned against the Humans, resulting in the loss of nearly all the territory they once fought and died for.

But things are changing. Through recent revelations regarding the Antaere and their ultimate  plan for their alien followers, old allies are slowly returning and asking for Earth’s help in liberating their planets from the Antaere stranglehold. And the REVs are leading the way.

However, things are not always as they seem. The Antaere are diabolical in their strategy. And when a recent mission goes bust, Earth is left in an even worse position than before.

Lt. Zac Murphy and his super-REVs have their work cut out for them…if people will just let them do their job. After all, Zac is not only a new breed of REV…he’s a new breed of man….

Stand or Fall (The Four Horsemen: The Omega War #4) – Keven Ikenberry

Peacemakers. The Galactic Union’s most capable enforcers and resolute negotiators, their name alone elicits fear and awe among the Union’s citizenry.

While the occupation of Earth continues, MinSha mercenaries under the command of Major General Drehnayl have assaulted Human-held colonies in the outer rim, wiping them out completely. With the famed Four Horsemen nowhere to be found, the Mercenary Guild’s attempt to instill fear and subvert humanity is perilously close to reality. Tasked with finding the MinSha is Jessica Francis, Earth’s first Peacemaker, but the odds aren’t in her favor. Racing against time, Jessica realizes that finding Drehnayl’s forces isn’t enough—she must do something to stop their atrocities and end their reign of terror.

Upon locating the MinSha fleet, Jessica faces down Drehnayl’s armada with a band of heroes both hopelessly outmanned and under-equipped on the binary planet Victoria Bravo. Her decision made, and with MinSha Lieutenant Colonel Tirr and the near-AI Lucille at her side, Jessica charges into battle intent on stopping Drehnayl once and for all…or to die trying. A Peacemaker must set the terms, honor the threat, and know when to stand or fall. For Jessica and her friends, that time is now.

Soda Pop Soldier – Nick Cole

Gamer PerfectQuestion fights for ColaCorp in WarWorld, an online combat sport arena where mega-corporations field entire armies in the battle for real world global advertising-space dominance. Within the immense virtual battlefield, players and bots are high-tech grunts, using drop-ships and state-of-the-art weaponry to wipe each other out.

But times are tough and the rent is due, and when players need extra dough, there’s always the Black, an illegal open source tournament where the sick and twisted desires of the future are given free rein in the Wastehavens, a gothic dungeon fantasy world.

And all too soon, the real and virtual worlds collide when PerfectQuestion refuses to become the tool of a mad man intent on hacking the global economy for himself.

Tomorrow’s Spacemage (The Spacemage Chronicles #3) – Timothy Ellis

Thorn is back. He’s lost 1 civilization, and is still trying to fix 2 others.

But fixing when you don’t know how it broke, is never as simple as you thought it was.

The future is threatened by his own past, and to fix everything, he thinks he has to undo what he’s already done.

But what if what you did cannot be undone, and the future has more riding on it than anyone knows?

Yesterday’s Spacemage was the cause. Today’s Spacemage was the effect.

But can Tomorrow’s Spacemage save everyone?

Unification (Ghost Marines #2) – Jonathan P. Brazee

Human slavers attack. Despite trying to fight back, there is nothing the young Leefe can do to save his family and friends. But he doesn’t have to. The Imperial Marines arrive in the nick of time, and they hate slavers. Three tri-years later, when the new emperor issues a proclamation to integrate the imperial military with non-human citizens, Leefe is among the first to volunteer.

The Corps has been integrated by imperial decree—but that doesn’t mean everyone accepts the wyntonan Marines. Despite an impressive combat record as a grunt, Corporal Leif Hollow struggles to become an effective NCO and leader of Marines.

When then the trumpets of war sound, however, Marines forget about differences and come together to accomplish the mission. But when the odds are stacked against them, and the empire’s very existence is at stake, will that be enough?

War Mage (The Magitech Chronicles #4) – Chris Fox

The Krox have finally reached their end game, and the sector will never be the same. Their relentless fleet darkens the skies of New Texas, home of the fabled Ternus shipyards. Their only hope lies with their sworn allies, the Shayans. But the Shayans refuse to help.

Only Aran and his company can keep their leadership alive long enough for Voria to bring reinforcements and the fabled Spellship. If they fail, the entire world burns, and Ternus morale will collapse with it.

But the war is merely a smokescreen for something much more sinister. Teodros, Guardian of Krox, plans to use the distraction to resurrect his dark father. If he is not stopped, Krox will live again.

Behind it all Talifax schemes, and Nara will pay the price.

New Release Roundup, 25 August 2018: Science Fiction published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

[tonightontv]

[This story contains spoilers for Solo: A Star Wars Story]

There are some sure bets when sitting down to view LucasFilm-to-watchonline 's Solo: A Star Wars Story, some sure bets. Han Solo will meet Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian. He’ll get the Millennium Falcon, and he’ll certainly have some kind of feeling about something. What likely few saw coming was the question of equality for droids. Of whether the sentient machines that figure prominently into every Star Wars movie and a rather large chunk of its supplementary material (if not all of that, too) are being forced into labor against their will. Solo’s approach to the topic is what you might call “complicated.”

For the character who broaches the issue, of course, it’s not complicated at all. L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) is introduced as Lando’s (Donald Glover) outspoken co-pilot, a rather tall droid who responds with “equal rights” to the question of whether she wants anything from the bar. When she spots two other droids fighting in a cage for the entertainment of the dimly-lit establishment, she tells them that they don’t need to do this, that they should instead demand their freedom (the man overseeing the fight tells her to mind her own business). And when tasked with creating a distraction at a mining facility on the planet Kessel, her solution is quite appropriate: release all the slaves working there and spark a revolt.

As written above in a (mostly) neutral overview, it reads like pretty standard sci-fi stuff. The question of A.I. sentience and its moral implications, especially of keeping such beings in service to humans, is frequently explored, notably in the other Harrison Ford sci-fi movie you may have heard of, Blade Runner. Even the recent video game Detroit: Become Human, which shares a release date with Solo, is constructed entirely around addressing android sentience.

But where other media takes the topic seriously, and while the description of L3’s exploits makes them sound perfectly justified, the movie regards her as a joke. After a long line of quirky droid characters, the next is L3-37, whose quirk is her concern for droid rights. It is meant to fit neatly within her goofball intro, where after she makes a scene in the bar, the characters all but roll their eyes and drag her off in the direction of the plot. Minutes later, she saunters up to a fence and flips the cutting tool out of her body and tells everyone to look away because she can’t perform if they’re watching. And her rebellion on Kessel is considered a nuisance, an unnecessary complication. “What did you do?” the others demand as she goes on ecstatically about how glad she is that she came along because she has found her calling.

The comedy at L3’s expense depends on her appearance. Described as a self-made droid, her parts are noticeably mismatched with visible wires filling in the gaps like exposed muscle. She has a squashed, rounded head, with no apparent face save for the long, thin black screen where eyes might have been. Though her performance by Waller-Bridge is the single most lively characterization of a droid to ever grace these Film-to-watchonline s, it contrasts with the unmistakably mechanical image; it’s funny that she’s so alive when she is not. Solo makes this most apparent in how L3 discusses her relationship with Lando, insisting that he has an unrequited crush on her. We are meant to find humor at the absurdity of flesh-and-blood Lando having any sort of feelings for what has been presented to us as an object. To underscore the point, Emilia Clarke’s Qi’Ra asks how that relationship might work, in a physical sense.

The reason other media takes A.I. so seriously is because it’s doing what sci-fi does best: reflecting our current struggles and anxieties through speculative fiction, using advanced tech as a vehicle for commentary to reveal some larger truth about an issue. So while the oppression of robots does not have any real-world analog, it is meant more broadly to comment on the struggles of oppressed people throughout human history and the ugliest facets of human nature that go along with it. When sci-fi invokes a fight for equality, our own understanding of that concept, based as it is on the things we’re taught in school and the things we see on the news and perhaps the things we’ve experienced ourselves, comes with it.

This, in a sense, is new territory for Star Wars, even though droid sentience has never been ambiguous. From the very start of A New Hope, we understand C-3PO and R2-D2 to act of their own volition. They are given orders, but they also discuss things amongst themselves, they argue, and they make decisions about, say, whether it’s appropriate to show Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) the entirety of Princess Leia’s (Carrie Fisher) urgent holographic missive for old Ben (Alec Guiness). These are self-sustaining, complicated processes we can immediately recognize to exceed the bounds of the basic A.I. behavior that powers your Roomba. From there, the Film-to-watchonline s raise few questions about how droid sentience is viewed and treated within the larger Star Wars universe; it simply is, and droids simply are. Though we see plenty of other droids engaged in labor, we are not meant to consider whether they’ve chosen to be there or if they’re being paid for their services.

The source of intended comedy in Solo is L3’s sentience — she is independent enough to devise and earnestly believe in this cause. And if we’re meant to take that sentience as a point of fact, doesn’t that raise a lot of uncomfortable questions about the Film-to-watchonline ’s treatment of droid rights as a quirky joke? We are meant to believe that these are sentient creatures, and we are also meant to believe that their sentience doesn’t actually matter so that we may laugh about it — the notion of equality becomes a punchline, because of who (or is that “what”?) it’s applied to.

It's safe to say that the screenplay was not conceived with the messy implications of droids as a slave class in mind, so the question becomes: why not? The answer likely can be found in the portrayal of droids and artificial life in general in the Star Wars movies. In A New Hope, the Jawas fit droids with restraining bolts meant to inhibit them, and the Mos Eisley cantina owner grows quite irate at the prospect of serving “their kind.” These signifiers, rather obvious when laid out here, go largely ignored and fade easily into the background because beyond a handful of our chosen heroes like R2-D2 and C-3PO, the Film-to-watchonline s do not emphasize droid autonomy. They take care of the sick. They assist with flying. They fix stuff. They seem to exist in relation to their pre-determined functions, portrayed more like everyday devices than sentient beings with names and memories and histories.

Then there’s appearance. With something like Blade Runner, those themes of morality and mortality come in the face of androids that are easier to empathize with because they look just like we do. Droids, however, are distinctly mechanical — they come in odd shapes and they come covered in buttons and panels, much closer to the Roomba end of the spectrum. Even the ones with humanoid proportions remain faint facsimiles, either too tall or too stiff or too smooth and featureless to be mistaken for anything but a machine. Fiction doesn’t necessarily require the equivalent of a perfect human specimen to generate empathy, but for Star Wars, the droids have for nine Film-to-watchonline s been portrayed in ways that are consistent with their mechanized appearance, as comedic props or part of the scenery. Compared to the artificial beings of other media, it seems as though droids have literally not been designed for the usual questions of self-aware A.I. and the accompanying rights. Yet here those questions are anyway, treated perhaps the only way they ever could be when grafted into a franchise that never really seemed to give it much thought: as comedy.

It’s not that L3’s cause is out of step with the rest of the Film-to-watchonline . The thrust of it comes in one of Qi’Ra’s later lines, about how “everyone serves someone.” She grew up with Han in an Oliver Twist situation under the thumb of Fagin-type slug alien Lady Proxima (Linda Hunt), and she since graduated to the employ of a crime lord (Paul Bettany), who soon ensnares both Han and his semi-mentor (Woody Harrelson). The wookiees have largely been sold into slavery; we meet Chewbacca chained up belowground in an watchonline camp, and on Kessel he runs off to free his people in the mines. It all fits in neatly with the typical rebellion themes of Star Wars movies, except here we consider how it might apply to droids, who are defined as a class of exceptions disallowed from embodying those themes. The joke is that equality shouldn’t include everybody.

Instead, Solo expresses those themes through the familiar, and the one who rebels against servitude is the most familiar face of all: Han Solo, a white guy. Han Solo, who manages to escape the clutches of Lady Proxima and later devises the plan to rescue Chewie from bondage. Han Solo, who eventually delivers the means to combat the crime syndicates, the tyranny of which is troublingly demonstrated through an impoverished village of people of color with their tongues cut out. L3-37 dies. The characters mourn her, and though we are meant to mourn her as well, it’s not because we were made sympathetic to her cause; it’s because we lost the comic relief. Her consciousness is fused with the Millennium Falcon’s computer to take advantage of her peerless navigational abilities, the better to help Han Solo outrun the watchonline . Han Solo don’t serve nobody, kid.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

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'Avengers: Infinity War' Directors Explain 'Being Able to Introduce' Captain Marvel (Exclusive)

During a supersized press conference held over the weekend, Marvel Studios assembled 21 cast members from Avengers: Infinity War to field unanswerable questions about the movie. There was Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johnasson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Chris Hemsworth, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Tom Holland, Josh Brolin, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Winston Duke, Dave Bautista, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie and Pom Klementieff, as well as directors Anthony and Joe Russo and producer Kevin Feige.

As if those marquee names weren't enough, rumor has it that even more familiar faces from all corners of Marvel's behemoth cinematic universe will appear in the film, out Friday. I sat down with the Russo Brothers following the press conference and pressed them to name names. "A lot of universes intersect but not all of the universe's elements intersect," Joe told me, with a promise from the Russos that they haven't forgotten about Hawkeye and clarification over their telling ET that Brie Larson's Captain Marvel would be introduced in Infinity War.

ET: With the movie coming out this week, do you still feel like you have to be clamped down or are you starting to ease into sharing some information about the movie?

Joe: Oh no, we're clamped down. Especially clamped down!

Anthony: We're more clamped down than ever, because I feel like--

Joe: We put so much work into protecting the secrets of the movie.

Anthony: Those secrets are more rise-able now than ever, you know what I mean?

Joe: It was really from the fake scripts to not showing the movie to everyone, it's all paid off, because we haven't seen anything leak that's factual. So, it's been a good strategy. I think it's helping.

What percentage of the movie do you estimate has been teased in the trailers and clips?

Joe: It's like five minutes of footage, I think, that's been teased out there. And it's typically nothing-- I mean, I don't think anything dramatic has been teased in it. Just character interactions and I think that's the big selling point of this film, is that if you've been a fan for the last 10 years, this is it. This is the moment where you finally get to see all your favorite characters interacting. But as far as the big surprises that come with the story, none of those have been alluded to.

So, there are large swatches of this film that we don't have any idea about?

Joe: Huge. It's a big movie. There's a lot of stuff that hasn't been touched on in the footage at all.

With Marvel, we can't always trust that the trailers anymore, anyway.

Joe: That's right.

Stuff that's shown in the trailer ends up being different in the movie. I'm thinking of the Thor: Ragnarok trailer, which showed Thor with both eyes. And if I recall, in the Civil War trailer, Spider-Man was taken out of a group shot.

Joe: He was. We did, we alter the shots in order to protect secrets in the movie. We have shots that aren't in the film, that we put in the trailers as another way to provide footage to the fans. So, there may be shots that you love in the trailer that you're not going to see in this film.

Are there altered shots in the trailer?

Joe: There are always altered shots, yeah. It's impossible to take footage from the film, because there's so many little surprises and not alter it ahead of time. You have to!

What did you learn from making Civil War, which was such a massive crossover, that changed how you approached Infinity War?

Anthony: I don't know, to be honest with you. Civil War, for us, there was more continuity between Winter Soldier and Civil War than not. Because it was still a Captain America story. Winter Soldier was an ensemble film as well; it's just Civil War was a larger ensemble film. I think what we learned was that even though Winter Soldier was an ensemble film, Black Widow and Falcon very much lived in Cap's tone in that movie. The thing we got to do where we had a lot of fun in Civil War is, you know, the central narrative in that film is the Avengers are being torn apart and the relationship between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark is going to be destroyed. That's a really serious and tense narrative line, however we realized we can introduce characters midway through that movie who didn't have any relationship to that breakup and who didn't have the baggage, that tension, like Spider-Man and Ant-Man, and we can actually use those characters in different ways for different colors, different tonal colors. I think we really enjoyed that about that film, because we liked being able to balance that movie. Joe and I love really balanced films. We like movies that make you laugh, make you cry, make you think, scare you, etcetera.

Joe: You get more for your money.

Anthony: In order for us to balance that movie, we really had to use those characters who had less proximity to the central problem to be a little lighter and more fun. I think that is a tool that we brought forward into this film as well.

You've spoken about searching for "strange alchemy" when pairing characters together. Was there a pairing you hadn't planned for that surprised you because of how well the characters gelled or what that chemistry looked like?

Joe: Because Taika [Waititi] was re-toning Thor while we were shooting, I think that Thor [and] Star-Lord meeting each other was much more combustible and a lot funnier than we expected. A lot of that was just part of what was happening in the Thor universe at the time. Taika came down and sat with us and showed us scenes from the movie and explained to us the direction that he was working in -- because obviously it's a very unpredictable direction until you see the footage -- and then that opened our minds up to an interpretation of Thor that would allow for a more combustible relationship.

Anthony: It was almost more complementary to the Guardians' tone.

On top of having everybody who has ever been in a Marvel movie in this, you are introducing four new characters with Thanos' Black Order. [Corvus Glaive, Cull Obsidian, Ebony Maw and Proxima Midnight, who is played by Carrie Coon.] Did that feel like an immense undertaking, to have such a large cast already and then have to establish new players and make them pop?

Joe: It does, and you have to just make choices that are efficient for the storytelling. This isn't a movie about the Black Order. But it was helpful to have them in the film, because we have a lot of heroes and the heroes needed to conflict with someone. And Thanos can't be all places at all times.

Anthony: Even with the Stones. [Laughs]

Joe: You also want to reserve him for a climactic moment. So, we brought the Black Order in, which were favorite characters of ours from the [Jonathan] Hickman run, but they're not the same Black Order from the books. We're interpreting these for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not for the comic books. They have different power sets. They're not as all-powerful as they are in the books. They live more in the world of the Children of Thanos that include Nebula and Gamora. They're tough and they're powerful, but they're not Thanos.

"We turned to Downey halfway through the movie and said, 'Oh sh*t. Where's Renner?'"

I am going to name some of the people who are rumored to be in this in the hope that you will confirm who actually is and is not. Is Hawkeye in Infinity War?

Joe: Uhh, Hawkeye... We can't tell you, but I will say this about Hawkeye. We knew when we were working on Avengers 3 and 4 that we had a lot of story real-estate there. Especially with the original Avengers, we wanted to make sure that they each had satisfying stories, and we knew that we had both movies to do that in. So, it is more of a long play with Hawkeye than a short play.

Anthony: But it is grounded in his story moving forward from Civil War. There's a narrative, there's a reason, for his absence or not absence from this.

Joe: He was a fugitive at the end of that movie, so we have to answer that question.

Were you surprised by the reaction from fans, this outcry for Hawkeye when he wasn't in the trailers or on any of the posters?

Joe: We love it! Because it just shows you how passionate they are for all of these characters.

Anthony: It was really awesome -- exactly, like Joe said. I love those moments when you are reminded that every one of these characters has a very dedicated fan base. It's amazing. But certainly, it was surprising when it was assumed to be some kind of a mistake. [Laughs]

Like you just overlooked him.

Joe: We turned to Downey halfway through the movie and said, "Oh sh*t. Where's Renner?"

Anthony: "Wait a minute. Why isn't Renner here?"

What about Hawkeye's family, are they in this?

Joe: That we can't say either. But we will say that, you know, a guy who's a fugitive has to have a solution for being a fugitive, especially when he has a family. You'll find out in this movie what his solution was.

Valkyrie?

Joe: Valkyrie... Um. Can't say.

Anthony: We're going to give you the same answer! She's a great character.

Joe: Can't say, but, like, a lot of universes intersect but not all of the universe's elements intersect.

Ant-Man?

Joe: He's a fugitive as well. I think when you see the movie you'll understand the choice he made. Not dissimilar to Hawkeye.

The Wasp?

Joe: Same thing. It's like not all elements of every universe intersect.

There are rumors that Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) is in this.

Joe: You know, those are weird-- Let me just say those are weird rumors.

Nick Fury?

Joe: Can't say.

Anthony: Can't confirm.

Joe: Can't confirm or deny.

Either of the Howard Starks?

Joe: Cannot confirm or deny.

Anthony: [Laughs] And again, we have two movies worth of story telling. We're really only, at this point, where we're speaking to the first movie only.

When ET interviewed you on set last year, you said that Captain Marvel is in this and that you were -- I'm going to quote you -- "really, really proud of being able to introduce" her. Then we were told she's not in the movie.

Joe: Yes. What we were doing was, I think, we were speaking about -- because we were working on both movies at the same time -- we were speaking about both films, as if they were one film in our minds.

Anthony: We developed that habit internally, in the crew. We would just call them "the movie." I think that's where the miscommunication came from.

You were the first directors to work with Brie Larson within the Marvel universe.

Joe: That's right.

So, she's not in this one?

Anthony: [Laughs]

You've said that the genre of Infinity War is a smash and grab film inspired by heist movies of the '90s.

Joe:Out of Sight. 2 Days in the Valley, yeah.

What is the genre of Avengers 4?

Joe: I don't think that there's a particular genre for that movie. This film, because there are so many characters, required a very simple plot. And smash and grab heist films have a very simple plot. In Out of Sight, there's a bunch of diamonds in a fish tank and everybody wants the diamonds, you know? In this movie, Thanos wants the Infinity Stones. And that's the unifying element, that's the glue that pulls all the characters together is, "We gotta stop that guy from getting the Infinity Stones." That allows a lot more story real-estate for character interaction, for these people to have conflicts with each other, and they're not having to say exposition. And for the audience to be able to track all the characters, they don't have to also then track a very complicated plot.

Will the plot remain simple through Avengers 4 then?

Anthony: Here's the thing, we're really not talking about Avengers 4 for two reasons: Number one, this is the movie right now. But number two is we have another year left of work on that movie. That's a lot of work. We're not really ready to present what that movie is.

Joe: Which is why we're also hiding the title.

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