#also: working out guns for aliens is fun especially since i know nothing about guns

[pep-the-artemis]

How would I improve the latest Doctor Who episode the Star Beast.

I've been talking a lot of smack so here is how I'd improve the episode. I'll try to minimise the changes as much as possible. Note, I'm not really doing this as an attach on the writer Russel T Davids, he's a titan of the writing world even though I don't think this is his best work. I did this as a petty jab at my brother and also because it was a fun writing exersive and I feel I've learnt a lot and improved as a writer from attempting this challenge.

Spoilers Ahead

I'm going to start with character changes

The Meep should be mute and communicate through body language (telepathically in select scenes). Also I'd redesign them to look more like an animal like a lynx/panther with a scorpion-esque tail it can use like an arm/weapon. I think this should strike a good balance of making them feel real, alien, and emotive. Their movement should be slow and controlled with strong unbreaking eye contact to give the impression they're much smarter than they let on to be.

Rose should be much younger, around seven-ish. I feel this helps a lot with the story including,

How her family is constantly coddling and trying to protect her.

How she immediately trusted the Meep.

The stuffed animals foreshadowing with little adjustment I feel becomes much stronger and meld more naturally into the plot.

I also think it will greatly help the audience sympathise with her and younger trans representation is uncommon in the BBC especially when compared to how common teenage trans-girl are respectively.

The aliens hunting the Meep should just be replaced by the Judoon. Nothing more to say, they are just a worse version.

Hypnotised soldiers are such an overused trope, get rid of them entirely.

The sonic screwdriver can not break brick walls or create shields because that's dumb. It can keep the UI, didn't mind that change.

I’m giving the random kid more screen time.

Apart from these, no major character changes.

Synopsis

Although not perfect, I'm not changing anything up to Rose meeting Meep. The introduction of the Meep should be in darkness and not give a good view of it. The scene should put emphasis on the creature's size being rather large. Also, the conversation Rose had with the kid should be extended giving more spotlight to the kid. From the Doctor's perspective, this is when he introduces the dagger drive and its dangers.

At this point, six Judoon arrive teleporting around the spaceship causing a fight to break out between the soldiers and the Judoon. Soldiers are going to die here since Judoon don't use stun guns. At this point, there are real stakes with conflict and it's rewarding for fans who are going to piece together the plot.

Getting caught in the crossfire, the Doctor and Bingham, knowing the Judoon, will try to stop the fighting but fail due to being overruled by the arrogant captain. The loss of control is an innate human fear and only raises the stakes.

Finding cover in an empty room, the Doctor and Bingham work together that they need to find the convict to stop the Judoon so using sonic tech and Binghams laptop (I know she uses a phone in the episode but screw product placement) they find unusual anomalies from 2 different locations (ignoring the space ship), one being in the middle of a park and the second being Nobles home causing the Doctor frustration. They decide to part ways with the Doctor going to the Noble house knowing it's no coincidence leaving Bingham to check the other anomalies.

As the Doctor rushes off partially through the combat, the shot cuts to two of the Judoon further back talking revealing that they've come to the same revelation and are beginning their advancement spreading out their forces into pairs with one pair staying by the ship.

Seeing a taxi parked by the side, the Doctor rushes over stumbling upon Shaun again who tells them he's just finished for the day and about to head home but after some convincing and the Doctor telling him Donna might be in danger he drives them both there quickly.

Cut to a scene in a little girls room, different doctor who monster-esque plushies everywhere. As the door opens, Rose speaks "shhh, you've got to be quiet, my mum doesn't allow me to have friends in my room" or words to that effect followed by Rose sneaking into her room with the much larger Meep sneaking in behind. Meep is calm and composed, slowly walking around looking around the room before positioning themselves with the window (with curtains barely open) peering down at the street below while in the background Rose is rummaging around piling up objects to stand on so she can pull down a box from the top shelf.

Pulling out a colourful plaster, she kneels down by the Meep's paw and puts the plaster over the cut on its feet. Taken from a low angled upwards shot, the Meep responds by turning its eyes down to look at its paw and then the shot cuts to a downwards shot of Rose as the Meep moves its tail and strokes the girl's head causing her to giggle.

Suddenly, they hear Donna call out and start walking upstairs. Cut to Donna walking up still talking and entering Rose' room seeing Rose sitting there trying not to look inconspicous. Annoyed by the toys all lying around, Donna begins the classic mother speech about cleaning up after yourself while picking up and putting away the toys. As this happens, the camera occasionally cuts to overhead shots from the viewpoint of Meep focusing on Donna occasionally having close up shots of her nape.

Eventually, Donna leaves and the Meep drops down elegantly and turns their head slightly to face Rose before turning back and growling at something through the window. Rose moving over to look down saw her father has returned with a strange man (the Doctor).

Cut back to the doctor, rushing over to the door unlocking it with the sonic, and barging in, attracting the attention of Sylvia who is furious seeing the doctor, rushing over and hitting him before berating him badly for returning and telling him to leave. The Doctor just wanting to get past tries to de-escalate and get past but with no avail. Sylvia eventually brings up in some form that he doesn't care about Donna causing the Doctor to get mad and lash out at her devolving the encounter into a full on argument.

Surprised, Shaun tries to calm the two people down then Donna walks over confused by the commotion causing everyone to freeze in confusion. Suddenly the sound of something breaking is heard from upstairs and the Doctor quickly rushed past evading Sylvia trying to stop him.

Rushing into the room, the doctor finds the room empty, looking around he quickly finds a bored hole in the side leading into the house next door. While scanning the hole, the cast have an aggressive conversation between them. During the conversation, the Doctor see's two Judoon have arrived. After the conversation, the Doctor tells them to go as far away as possible, the Judoon are safe if you stay out of there way as he left chasing the Meep through the hole in the wall. Donna (being Donna) and concerned for her childs follows after the Doctor asking many questions while berating him. Sylvia follows behind trying to stop Donna.

Using the sonic screwdriver to highlight a bioluminescent blood trail, the Doctor tracks the Meep through the different buildings while Donna and Sylvia continue their shenanigans shortly behind. Soon, military noises and gunfire is heard signalling Captain [insert name] men have arrived.

Cut to Meep and Rose now some distance from the home, Rose out of breath with Meep sitting with her in a car park overlooking the city. Rose proceeds to ask the Meep many questions to which it is unresponsive until she asks the question of where they're going to which the Meep turns towards the distant smoke of where their ship landed. Rose understands and remarks that they must just want to go home.

While travelling down a narrow alley not far from the home, they stumble upon Rose's friend lying there limply. Heading over they find he has a massive cut along his chest and eyes have blackened. The Doctor explains the cut must’ve contained a neurotoxin which would’ve driven him mad before melting his brain. He mentions the Judoon usually carry a selection of antidotes for these kinds of injuries but it might be too late. Sad moment.

Cut back to the Doctor still on the chase. While travelling down the same narrow alley, the Doctor's phone rings. Picking it up its Bingham, she had two pieces of news for the doctor; the first being she's found the cause of the weird energy being a weird metal looking alien contraption she didn't recognise. The Doctor notes that, from the design of the ship, he believes they're most likely an escape pod. The Doctor warns the Judoon will soon be at her location. Then comes Binghams second news, the Judoon had apprehended her.

Seeing the blood trail has ended, the Doctor asks Bingham if she still has her laptop and if she can check the locations of the anomalies. Fortunately she can but is surprised to find there are now 4 anomalies, the space ship, the escape pod, one leading towards the shape ship, and the other in the exact location of the doctor.

This confuses the doctor who pauses for a moment before he tells Bingham to transfer his call over to Captain [insert name]. Once talking to him, the Doctor tries to warn him that the real threat is approaching quickly but the Captain brushes it off bringing up how they took out the two aliens guarding the ship already (to Judoon). This angers the doctor and they argue for a bit before being cut off by the sounds of gunfire and shouting.

After putting down the phone, another confused argument sparks between the three but the Doctor quickly silences them saying they need to hurry to the crash site and either of them have a car. Evading the gunfire between the Judoon and military, they make it to the car and with the Doctor driving, rush off to the crash site. (originally they used Shaun which worked neatly but I’ve removed Shaun from the narrative due to the excessive amount of active characters so instead it's going to be either Donna’s or Sylvia’s)

Along the way, not too far from the site, they are stopped by a massive earthquake causing a commotion blocking the path. Getting out of the car, the Doctor tells them to not follow him! Not listening, Donna follows. Here is where she first refers to the Doctor by his name, Sylvia won’t audibly respond to that since the audience has ears and don’t need to be spoon fed information.

 Entering the building, the lighting is dark with harsh red lighting, the Doctor finds the rocket whirling awake plunging its dagger into the ground with dead bodies lining the floor. The Doctor, using his screwdriver against his phone, sends a distress signal out to the Judoon while saying something like “at least they now know it's here”. Seeing the raised entrance, the Doctor begins climbing the steel works around to get closer. Walking along the metal path leading up the entrance of the door, he pulls out his sonic screwdriver and uses it to open the door but as he does this the Meep (whose fur looks like silvery in the lighting) drops down attacking the Doctors hand cutting it causing him to drop his screwdriver. Now seeing the Meep for the first time he comments on its beauty. 

Fight ensues as the Meep tries to strike the doctor with its venomous tail while the doctor evades. After a bit of fighting, the Meep gets the upper hand over the Doctor when its about to hit its killing strike but before it can, Donna hits it hard with a metal pipe distracting it giving the Doctor enough time to escape and get into the control room where he begins to try and manually shut down the space ship.

This is when Donna has a major speech after remembering everything and is completely furious. While the Doctor continues onwards, his vision temporarily goes blurry as he clasps his hand in pain realising he’s been poisoned. While this is going on, Rose looking out from the cockpit see’s what's going on. Not being deterred by the poison, the doctor continues. As he tries to deactivate the machine, his vision gets worse and the pain gets worse. He’s becoming more disorientated and begins slowing down and stumbling around. He hears the voice of the Meep in his mind.

“I’m impressed, you really has the resilience of a Gallifreyan“

“You should stop resisting, it is of no use”

And other sentences of similar effects

Eventually the Doctor, panting heavily, falls down unable to continue. Seeing this, Donna rushes away from the Meep into the control room taking over, still berating him briskly mentioning how there is not even much left to do. But handling the monster and control panel isn’t easy as Donna gets thrown around, the shot is an aerial one from the perspective of Rose.

More grounded shots of Donna trying hard to deactivate the ship now clearly cut and injured by the beast before the sounds of dials being moved from above surprising the Meep looking up to see Rose using the main control panel before saying something like “you’re not very nice!”. Soon the burr of the spaceship died down as it shuts down. Defeated, the Meep gives out a loud wail, then tries to escape but gets quickly apprehended by the Judoon who have just arrived. Drawn out shots of the three characters lying there until a fade to black.

Short time skip to the three sitting around with Judoon and military walking around in the background with Bingham and a caged Meep, the doctor is sitting with a blanket around him and sitting across him is Donna bandaged up with a wrapped up, sleeping Rose in her arms. Donna asks why isn’t she dead, the Doctor explains that part of the curse [for lack of better word currently] must’ve been passed down to Rose and how this will only delay the inevitable.

From here, the same conclusion from the original is adapted to this setting with the rest of the important cast arriving.

So this is the first draft, still not 100% happy with it and definitely needs a couple redrafts (haven’t even proofread it yet).

[tennesseetrekkie]

Stargate/Leverage Crossover Ideas

I’m surprised I never see more fics/ficlets/prompts/just plain posts about these two universes. They’re canonically connected! (There are Stargate symbols on the wall in Lattimer’s vault in “The Last Dam Job”, the producers confirm it too). It’s actually the main reason I started watching Leverage and my need for a crossover has only grown since. Here’s a few thoughts I’ve had:

I 100% believe that Eliot was a member of an SG team. When Aimee said “it’s like you dropped off the face of the earth”, well, he did. They only take the best of the best and that’s Eliot. He’s fully aware of the existence of the Stargate program and aliens, etc.

While serving there he got involved with Maybourne’s team, he thought it was in the best interest of his country. He was one of the very few who didn’t get caught. I like to think he still has a few souvenirs from his time off-world, several highly classified things he really shouldn’t have. I don’t believe he left the base empty-handed. It’d make sense if he had a Goa’uld healing device, but that would mean at some point he ended up with naquadah in his blood, which given all the crazy things that have happened to him in his life wouldn’t be too surprising, but that’s a whole different story...

Eliot never mentions any of this to the rest of the team, not only would this put them in danger but earth being at war with ancient, parasitical aliens is pretty heavy knowledge. This is a lot of fun when SG-1 shows up...

In a crossover with SG-1 and the OG Leverage for me it would have to consist of Cameron Mitchell (the timeline puts it after O’Neill was promoted), Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson, and Teal’c. I can’t figure out a scenario where Vala is included and doesn’t let it slip to the Leverage crew that aliens and spae travel are a thing.

There are two scenarios in which I can think of where these two would meet: First, the Leverage crew uncover something in a job that Eliot recognizes as alien (either an artifact, or maybe even a Goa’uld, that’d be fascinating if he did have naquadah and was able to spot the Goa’uld), he tries to deal with it without letting the team know but finally has to tell Nate they need to call the Air Force, it takes a lot of convincing especially since he can’t actually say why. Second, SG-1 shows up to a job the Leverage crew is already doing. Eliot recognizes them, they recognize him. Sam might even pull her gun. He gets them away from the Leverage crew to see what’s going on, meanwhile Hardison is running their faces through one of his ID programs and now everyone is wondering why Eliot is talking to “two USAF colonels, some loser who should be on Ancient Aliens, and some guy who... doesn’t exist?”. 

Whatever the case, it’s inevitable that these two have to work together. Only thing is, the Leverage crew can’t know SG-1 is here because aliens and SG-1 can't know that the Leverage crew is here because crime. The only one who can and does know everything is Eliot, who is the constant go-between for both of these teams, and also very tired. He definitely knows the Goa’uld language and uses it to talk to Daniel and Teal’c about the more... classified details of the job when the others are around. Yet again Hardison is confused when he tries to figure out what they’re speaking only to find out that it doesn’t exist.

Parker is strangely good at guessing things. She immediately 100% believes that Teal’c is an alien. Nate, Sophie, and Hardison assure her he can’t be, even though they’re not completely sure themselves, this whole thing is too weird. 

I can’t really figure out the rest of it, which is why I’m writing it this way instead of in an actual fic, but this is... something. Not sure what. This is really the most realistic version I’ve thought up. Headcannon where the Leverage crew actually do find out include (this is not any specific sequence or headcannon, just ideas):

The crew ends up on a small ship (maybe Eliot used rings to get them out of a dangerous situation or something) and Hardison and Sophie are visibly and audibly freaking out. Nate is trying to remain calm and failing, it’s not as intense as Hardison and Sophie, but he’s definitely freaked out. Eliot, of course, just rolls his eyes and yells at them to calm down as he goes to figure out the controls. Space ain’t nothing when you’ve been there hundreds of times. Then there’s Parker... Her reaction is basically to look out a window, smile, and call it “Cool!”. Everyone is a little taken aback by how she can just be okay with this?

Upon finding out about aliens and space travel Hardison is excited, terrified, and absolutely furious at Eliot for never telling him about it. There’s a headcannon I have of those two somehow getting transported to another planet and not knowing it at first and trying to figure out where they are. It takes Eliot a while to convince Hardison that they’re on another planet, because “yeah, it looks like Canada, that’s just what alien planets look like!”. 

Sophie trying to grift aliens... The game has changed and she is loving it! A whole new universe of challenges. Seeing that would be a thing of beauty.

All of it just causes Nate to drink more, unfortunately. It’s a lot to take in. But if Eliot had to tell just one member of the team about it (both to stop them from asking him to explain what’s going on and why can’t he tell them? and to convince them of the amount of danger they’re all in) it’d be Nate. He’d come away from that conversation very visibly shaken and tell the crew that Eliot’s right, they don’t need to know, at which point they accept it and back off.

Parker handles any strange situation well, so aliens are no big deal. I bet at one point someone (not Eliot) brings up Atlantis and she theorizes that “it’s probably actually a spaceship that flew off to another galaxy!”. Nate, Sophie, and Hardison just rolls their eyes or shoot her a weird look or something because what a stretch! But Eliot nearly chokes on his drink! He has to regain his cool really quickly because now everyone is looking at him, but how can she possibly know that?? He wonders if she ever stole classified material, but nope, Parker just made the most random guess possible and nailed it because Parker.

OH! And one more thing! One night in Nate’s apartment when they’re all getting ready for dinner Hardison has it on this weird cheesy scifi show and  is all like “look at this garbage!”, Eliot takes a look and is like “wait, what??” and sits down and starts watching. Dinner is now going to be late because this is hilarious! It gets canceled after one episode but he makes sure to catch the TV movie as soon as it airs. This is how Eliot Spencer became a “Wormhole X-Treme” fan and no one has a clue why.

If anyone else has a Stargate/Leverage headcannon, please, please, please share it!! Charater interactions, different senarios, ANYTHING! And let’s all hope that, even though Stargate hasn’t been around for a while, Leverage Redemption will throw us fathful fans a bone with some kind of reference!

[maeglinthebold]

Roswell, New Mexico D&D (5e) Character Sheets

Liz Ortecho, Human Wizard (Sage: Researcher)

Max Evans, High Elf Paladin (Soldier: Officer)

Maria DeLuca, Half-Elf Druid (Folk Hero)

Michael Guerin, High Elf Artificer (Criminal: Fence)

Alex Manes, Human Fighter (Soldier: Scout)

Rosa Ortecho, Human Barbarian (Criminal: Pickpocket)

Isobel Evans, High Elf Warlock (Noble)

Kyle Valenti, Human Cleric (Acolyte)

Day 2: Characters for @rnmweekendwarriors

Character sheets are built to level 1, ready to play and free to use (I call dibs on Kyle)!

Build thoughts and links below:

I tried to translate the 8 main characters’ personalities, skills, and tools using D&D 5e Rules. The only things I didn’t include were spell saves and spells/day for the magic users.

I tweaked minor things in favor of maintaining character integrity, but otherwise I stuck to the rules building them as 5e 1st level characters. Things I adjusted (though still within the rules) were moving around ability scores (1 to 1) from the standard array plus racial bonuses, and made some of them proficient in skills that were strictly outside of their classes/backgrounds. I also played with their equipment and starting gold as made sense for their characters.

Obviously this is a result of how I personally understand the characters. Some further discussion, explanations, and justifications below:

Races: I made the aliens High Elves so I could give them each a Cantrip (Max, lightning hands; Michael, telekinesis; Isobel, talking directly into your brain); thus part-alien Maria is a Half-elf. (Maria and Rosa by all rights should probably have bonus cantrips, too, but I stuck with the rules for balance.)

Magic: Kyle and Max are the healers, Max with his Lay on Hands and Kyle with his Cleric spells. Maria and Isobel have some overlapping spells due to their related ancestry (and similar mind powers). You would be right if you thought that Maria maybe should be a Bard based on her personality and occupation, but I went with Druid for her for the Divine spellset which works much more like Maria’s premonitory/divining powers, especially beyond level 1. I made Isobel a Warlock thinking about Noah as her otherworldly patron (which, ew!), so she’s in the market for a new one now that he’s gone. Liz and Michael have all the spells you want to watch out for.

Combat: Rosa is the heavy hitter as the barbarian, though Alex is no slouch, either: both of them can take a licking and keep kicking. I gave Isobel and Michael scimitars because it reminded me of Louise’s sword. Kyle has a breastplate to represent his bullet-proof vest. Crossbows are for the characters who we know own guns. I gave Maria a longbow because of Heather Hemmens’ Instagram and an axe because of the cornfield incident.

Disability: Though there are no official D&D rules for disabled characters, the game is all about balance, so I reduced Alex’s walking speed to 25 ft (compared to the standard 30ft; and actually oops there is a mistake because Rosa’s base speed should be faster as a barbarian) and gave him an extra Inspiration die. If I were the DM I would rule that Alex can have up to 2, while normally characters are limited to hanging onto 1. His “quarterstaff” functions as his crutch which he may or may not beat people with. I didn’t work out mechanics for Michael’s hand or Rosa’s addiction, but would be happy to chat with anyone who might want to work out the mechanics of how those would function in-game. 

Languages: I thought about assigning languages beyond Maria’s Druidic language, but the fantasy equivalent to “Spanish” that Liz, Rosa, and Kyle speak might vary by DM/setting. The “aliens” do not speak Elvish by design, since they know next to nothing about their heritage. 

Alignments: are bullshit, anyway. As written in the show, all the mains are effectively Neutral Good, I just played with the options for a bit of diversity.

Backgrounds: I had the most fun using the standard D&D “backgrounds” to choose Personality Traits, Goals, Bonds, and Flaws based on the options given in the rulebook that resonated with their canon selves. If they sound a little weird, it’s because I pulled them from the book as written. I really got to lean into Liz’s mad scientist vibe here.

Credits: D&D character sheets were downloaded from Wizards of the Coast. Images are from promotional material for Season 2 (Rosa) and Season 1 (everyone else) released by the CW and pulled from the Fandom Wiki. Overlays were done through Lunapic.com.

[lovecolibri]

Things that Spark Joy-3x06

HOW ARE WE DOING MALEX FAM?! This episode was so good and so much fun and it really felt like things were moving along! I’m so excited to flail over all the good stuff we got! As per usual, salt is over here, now, on to the good stuff!

I loved the opening starting with “nothing is ever as it seems” which tied into Tyler’s interview and into the theme of the episode.

Isobel continues to make alien jokes and it cracks me up every time. 🤣 Plus as much as I am over the vision plot, having the “spooky” scene and Isobel making a ouija board was fun. I also liked getting to see her and Rosa together again, as much as story wise it’s an odd choice, Amber and Lily work well together, and Isobel giving an “alien puberty” talk was hilarious. But we also got that great interaction of “I thought when I got sober life would get easier”, and “It never does, we just get stronger.” We also got a little closure on Noah which was nice.

Rosa’s little earmuffs!! She’s such a great character and I’m glad we’re getting to see so much of her this season. “I’m not the girl I was a year ago.” Girl, yes! We see that growth, and we love it! I’m so excited to see her working with Michael on controlling her powers which honestly should have happened last season, but I’m happy to be getting it now. And after 3x05 we know Vlamis and Amber can work so well together! I’m loving Rosa getting new and interesting powers too, and Mimi referring to her as an alien was interesting to say the least! Especially since there was no connection to her when Max was killing both Liz and Kyle. I’m enjoying the show giving us all this alien lore and I can’t wait to find out more!

Liz swearing at lab equipment is such a mood and one of the things I love about her character that makes her seems so real. We got a glimpse of Science Bros Liz and Mikey and I can’t wait for them to get the whole team (which includes Kyle) back together! I also loved that Liz was picking up on things not being quite right and how she can tell the “Max” is lying to her. Her figuring out it was Jones was so fun because WE knew (or were pretty darn sure) but it was still exciting to be proven right.

Speaking of, Nathan is kinda killing it with Jones! He is such a fascinating character! I was so disappointed we didn’t get any mistaken identity shenanigans when Jones was out the first time so I was thrilled to get a second shot that that. He also keeps getting the good lines! “Who are you?” “Now that’s a complicated question.” and “You say never bring a knife to a gun fight. We’ll see about that.” He’s just so much fun in an evil way and I’m loving this plotline and I’m happy that it’s finally starting to ramp up. I thought Jones was using Lucky to track down more bad men for him to drain with his power but he just killed them with the sword (not suspicious at all my dude) so I wonder if he can absorb the power through the sword or if he just wanted to kill some people. I can’t wait to get more alien info. Leaning into the sci-fi part of the show has been such a good choice and is really helping make this season fun, fresh, and interesting.

LUCKY!! I was so worried something had happened to him and I’m glad he’s okay but like...Maybe get him away from Jones? He shouldn’t have to see violence like that, he’s just a sweet little boy! 😭😭😭 You know who could use a dog? Alex. Or at the very least Michael. I’m sure the junkyard could use a pupper around!

SANDERS!! Grouchy old man, my beloved! I love that he called Michael out on his BS deflecting about Alex and he’s clearly been in the know for quite some time. We love to see it! Also the fact that he makes it clear it was obvious? Teasing Michael about his love life? Also being smart and helping Michael calm down and focus so he can get answers? Being a zoologist apparently? We have no choice but to stan.

 The Alex and Liz talk was SO GOOD! They definitely need to interact more and them taking the time to talk about how great Kyle is and how when they are struggling they turn to him for advice?! 😭😭😭 I’m hoping we get more of that dynamic because it’s been sorely lacking, but also, they really need a Kyle buffer to make sure they don’t both become evil geniuses and take over the world! 🤣 Liz imitating Kyle was hilarious too. I’m so happy she’s moving more to the forefront of the season (finally).

This episode gave us some great sassy and BAMF Alex moments as well and I am LOVING it! It’s a shame we had to wait so long to really kick off this Deep Sky plot but man did it kick off this episode! I caught that glimpse of the alien symbol from that sneak peek picture of Alex in a barn so I’m excited to see where that leads! Alex handling the lab tech was great, and his little “I hacked the medical database. And the Department of Defense” said with that cocky smirk?! We LOVE to see it! We are getting confident, sassy, bad ass hacker Alex back and I’m SO excited.

Also, the sheer number of delightful memes to come out of Eduardo asking Alex if he believes in aliens is *chef’s kiss*

NGL Ramos had me thinking he was a good guy with all his talk about wanting to start a conversation with aliens and not being afraid of the mysteries of the universe and telling Alex he’s not his father and not to lose faith in himself. I also think it’s fascinating that he mentions at this point that he joined for personal reasons, just like Alex. He could be talking about Jesse and the family legacy, but I’m sure he knows more about aliens than he’s telling just yet. Now we all saw the gun moment, but we also know he’s supposed to open up and share some info with Alex and with that big reveal (My notes here just say “UNCLE EDUARDO?!” 🤣 Poor Kyle, he has GOT to stop learning about relatives this way), I’m wondering if Eduardo is a good guy and is concerned Alex is more like Jesse and wants to hunt aliens, and once they get past that hurdle he won’t be so bad. I just want Alex to have ONE (1) good father figure in his life, is that too much to ask?!

Michael “Not a zoologist” Guerin my beloved!!! We got Soft!Michael, Sassy!Michael, Genius!Michael, Heart Eyes!Michael, Soft Sweater!Michael, Nerd!Michael, we got ALL of the Michaels this episode! I am honestly flabbergasted Alex was able to look at Michael being all nerdy and adorable and looking SO good, and making eyes at him without jumping his bones! He is so giddy and excited and working so hard to find answers and I just love him so much. Him lifting the pieces of the radio up and putting them back together with his mind?! Following the bat trail and finding Deep Sky all on his own?! Calling Alex just to gloat about being right?! I am loving what we are seeing for Michael this season and letting him be smart and use that brain is exactly what I’ve been wanting and this episode delivered. Also we got Michael being like, “Oh noooo! something vaguely related to technology? I’d better call Alex right away!” Girl, we all know you just want an excuse to call Alex, and that’s very valid of you.

This deserves it’s own bullet point because did you see Michael in that sweater?! His arms look so buff? And his hair is so wild and soft looking?! If him and Alex don’t get at least one hug when Michael is in a soft sweater I’m going to riot.

OKAY, now that everything else is out of the way, lets talk about MALEX!! I have some other thoughts about their scene that will be in the not-sparking-joy post but that’s (as always) down to the writing. But GOD did Vlamis and Tyler deliver as always! I love that we got to see Michael having to explain how radio waves work to Jones!Max, but Alex leads with that information and you can just feel the way Michael lights up at that.  We also got Michael reaching out, and then when Alex arrives asking directly and clearly for help. The growth we are seeing in that alone is so wonderful. And then poor Alex, thinking he killed all those bats messing around with the machine and thinking Michael will follow HIS trail instead of Kyle’s, only to realize that the two might be connected and the sheer panic that Michael is going to stumble on something dangerous. I am READY for them to be friends and to stop talking in circles (maybe a life or death situation will help things along next week?!), but I think we’re getting there. Slower than I think all of us would like, but it’s coming, I can feel it! Also, that phone call at the end was shot so well, with Michael leaving the message and switching to Alex listening to it and now I’m soooo excited to see what happens next week! 

[xenoblademisadventures]

Why the fuck does Mythras armor exist?! Here boobs are right there! they are wide open for attacks and getting hit in the chest hurts like hell!! 0/10 devs were horny and bad for combat

From a purely strategic mindset, I think the lack of leg or back armor is worse since that's a larger area to hit and is harder to defend against than a boob window. Besides that, I wouldn't consider it a huge deal that the person who wears a sundress into battle and is also a laser sword that shoots orbital missiles and is from a fantasy anime where sword beats gun doesn't have practical combat attire. Mainly because the setting and rules for how combat are allowed to work isn't realistic in the first place and embracing that lack of logic means you can lean more into other elements of a character's design. Trying to offset it could also put you more into the uncanny valley of the audience not know whether you're going for realism.

The larger issue with the boob window is that it makes her boobs way too overdesigned and draws attention from more important parts of her character design, such as her face and core crystal. That's also one of the two reasons why Smash Bros Mythra design looks really good while Xenoblade 2 Mythra looks horrible, they made the boobs slightly less overdesigned and redirected all of the attention the design draws to them upwards (towards her face). The leggings also really help the design because now there's a noticeable amount of dark colors to offset the light colors.

Smash bros did Mythra pleasant in a lot of ways. The fixed design is very good, but another favorite is how they made her sword activate and deactivate to punctuate her attacks. In Torna especially, her swordfighting looks really weird because her twinky arms are swinging a sword that's the size of her around like it's nothing, so it's really difficult to get a sense of weight. Having her turn the sword on and off lets her swing fast and look like a powerful blur. It emphasizes the movement really nicely. That definitely isn't the only way to fix the initial issue, but it definitely is an option that had a nice end result.

Besides that, there's the sexism angle. Zeke's open tiddies are there because it says something about his character. Both that he's a ridiculous funnyman and that he rejects Tantal. Mythra has a boob window because it's sexy. Zeke's boob window gets made fun of in a scene about how he's too stupid to freeze to death, Mythra's boob window gets made fun of in a scene where she mistakenly believes that Rex was trying to assault her. The boob windows are just not the same.

Xenoblade 2 is just very sexist in several ways and the character designs are one of those ways. I wouldn't consider factors like sexism and racism as a direct factor in how good or bad a character design is (like, the Makna Armor in Xenoblade 1 is some of the best designed armor sets in the game, that doesn't mean it isn't also blatantly racist), but it should still absolutely be a factor when discussing the design. Especially since stuff like sexism and racism is about trends rather than individual moments 99% of the time. Like, you're not going to get the game directly saying "women exist to support men" (at least in most modern games, I believe Xenogears directly said something along those lines in Disc 2). But you are going to get female characters being more likely to be put into support classes or fill supporting roles. In Xenoblade 2, a lot of the blades are women, is a healer, Morag is a tank. Those are both supports while Rex and Zeke are the damage dealers. When the protagonist is a dude, the story puts more focus on his personal story while when the protagonist is a girl, the story is more evenly spread between who gets the focus (Shulk, Rex, and Fei vs Shion, Elma, and Lora). And connecting this back to the character designs, Mythra's design wouldn't be sexist in a vacuum, but considering the overall trend of the female characters getting skimpy sexy gear while male characters get a lot more armor looking stuff that isn't about sex appeal, it does become sexist. I think Xenoblade X's alien armor sets illustrate the problem the most drastically out of any game in the series.

So, that's why I wouldn't consider the heavy sexism in Mythra's character design to be a reason that the design being bad, but it is definitely a bad thing that needs to be addressed when talking about it. I wanted to bring this up because people skirt around the issue a lot when talking about titty armor being bad and it is a legitimate reason to dislike the design.

Overall, Mythra's character design is difficult to work with because it has too many hanging parts that didn't need to be there, it doesn't say a lot about her personality, character designs don't follow the setting consistantly enough for Mythra's design to say anything about it, and the design draws a ton of attention to her boobs opposed to important stuff because sex appeal.

[crystal-moon-101]

Ben Gen 10 - Live Reaction Review

Right, so since I’ve finally got my hands on the new crossover episodes, and since my favourite show of all time is Generator Rex, I thought I’d watch it and write down things along the way. Mostly just reactions to things happening as they go, and then probably a simple review at the in another post of what I liked, didn’t like, and maybe what other ways this episode could have gone.

Spoilers! Kind of, for those who haven’t seen it yet! But onto the watching!

Should probably mention I haven’t seen a whole lot of the Reboot Ben 10. Not awful from what I’ve seen, some interesting and well-done aspect even, but certainly not my cup of tea. But I’m here for my boi Rex anyway so…

This is actually quite a cute theme song intro, not gonna lie

Ah, yes, a very American opening in a very American location.

Lol, of course they use Heatblast as the first alien in the episode, got the same voice actor as Rex, nice touch.

Evil...trees? Are these actually villains in the show?

Also, that little girl is precious.

Ben, are you trying to start a forest fire in the middle of the park?!

Ha, Gwen gets it!

Ah, yes, more American stuff.

“Don’t wreck the precious monuments” should have seen what you did to Mount Rushmore in your past, Ben.

Sup, Hex.

Music is evil, got it.

So Ben’s aliens are pretty famous already, at least being treated more like celebrities than monster sightings.

“Burn the flute!” A.K.A nearly burn Hex in the process.

And that’s why Ben never passed music class.

And why exactly do you want the world, Hex?

“Hopefully the last one of the summer” Don’t jinx it Max!

Time goes by so fast, doesn’t it Ben? Especially with aliens, villains and timetravel.

Max is secretly an EVO with that kind of growl.

Yes, because as we all know, villains will stop trying to take over the world once summer is over. They must hibernate for the winter.

Also, Max, did you steal those marshmallows?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…….Ben, you good there?....Did Hex do something to your brain?

Who thought this would be great to animate!?

We all have those existential crises and talk to smores.

Jesus, Rex, got ninja skills I see.

Some homeless kid and his monkey stole my food? Time to kick some ass!

My favourite alien, Canonballoon.

I’ve missed my boy and his chimp.

Awwwww they’re sharing! Also just….feel so bad for them already. Homeless and struggling for food, my poor boys.

So EVOs do exist here? Wonder how that will be explained.

Ben out here really trying to beat up some other kid, lol. What a great hero.

Bobo, you are great.

I feel like...Ben’s going through some issues.

Ah yaaaaaaaaaaa, bring on the EVO powers! BFS!

Look ma, no hands!

Rex 1, Ben 0

Ben really wants to commit murder or assault here, wow.

Overboard is the word I’d use, yes.

The life of a background character.

Nanites confirmed! And now they’re in the watch, that ain’t good.

Huh...not what I thought was gonna happen.

The little girl is still precious.

This would be fun to explain to Azmuth.

This ain’t good.

On the run from Providence I see.

Awww, poor Rex. Really doesn’t want to hurt anyone.

I can’t tell if these people are angry because of the DNA affect them, or they’re really just being angry in general.

See ya, Gwen and Max.

Interesting to see that the Providence aircraft looks straight out of the show.

Evening, Six.

Still a badass like normal.

He said Omega, he said the word!

Also, nice blame game there Ben. It’s not like you provoked Rex by, ya know, trying to crush him like a grape.

Um...Six...did you just….try to kill a kid? He didn’t know Ben had powers, that pillar could have easily crushed a normal human.

“This is how you try to convince me you’re not a threat?” Say the dude who just tried to murder a kid!!”

Oh no, he Naruto runs! 

Oh, hello Hex.

Also, what is Providence in this world? What are EVOs and Nanites in this world? None of this has been explained yet.

Ok, so that’s what Providence is...You’d think we would have seen them before based on all the aliens showing up who want to destroy the world.

EVO Generator....I wonder if that means that there aren’t very many EVOs, like maybe there is only a set group from the same lab, and Rex is considered the most dangerous because he can make EVOs.

Ben, do you even know what an EVO is?

Jeez, I know Six is like, the sixth deadliest man on the planet, but he just tackles alien Ben like it’s nothing. This guy should take on Vilgax.

Did he say nib libs?

My boi’s back!

I’m not liking this Six...very much not the character I’ve come to love. Who are you and what have you done with the real Six!

Lol, gotta make sure the kids at home know these aren’t real guns!

Using a net on one kid, and about to beat the crap out of the other, nice.

I do have to ask why Hex was picked to me the main villain, beyond whatever the hell Providence is doing. Why the magic dude and not a tech based villain? Someone who could be both interested in the watch and nanites.

What a covenant spell you have there, Hex.

Again, why do you want to take over the world?

“No, those are my aliens!” I think that’s the least of your concern there, Ben.

Bobo 1, Hex 0

Why is Bobo one of the best-written character’s here? Not that I hate Bobo, but just…

Lol, Rex did you just lay there, the entire time? What was that net made out of?

Ah, right. Let’s attack the children rather the magical manic who clearly stated he wanted to rule the world.

Those nets are fireproof apparently.

Ooof, ah….quite the sore spot there, Ben.

Just let me hug Rex, please…

Are there EVOs are are there not!?

I know this is supposed to connect with older fans, but most of this info would fly over the head of anyone who hasn’t watched Generator Rex. They act like everyone knows what EVOs and nanites are.

Still with the blame game are we, Ben?

Judging by that look, Rex’s parents are also dead in this world. Guess he’s not allowed nice things in this universe either.

That flashback was….so latching in the dramatic department. 

Now ya wanna help, Ben.

He’s so scared of himself, noooo!

Ya, but the different between you and him, Ben, is that he lost his parents, his home, got mutated, his memories became hazy, got locked up and called a monster, and now lives on the streets stealing smores. I think Rex has more of a reason to feel scared at being new with the hero business.

Bobo gets it.

Gotta love they added details on Gwen and Max’s alien forms to make them stick out from the rest. Don’t want to confuse anyone lol.

Thinking of a clever comeback on the spot is hard, not gonna lie.

Yes, Ben, drown him.

Again, with the American music, lol. It ruins the fight scene here.

What is this fight scene?

Original Providence agents would have died on screen rather than ditching the fight.

God, everyone’s made Rex feel like everything is his fault, poor guy.

Rock 1, Ben 0

This message and heartfelt moment falls flat, the build-up wasn’t there and it just...kind of happens. It lacks a lot of flavour and impact, and it doesn’t help with how most of these characters are written.

Old people jokes.

Now we shift the blame to Kevin.

Is Fourarms Gwen bigger? Because if so, nice touch, since we know female Tetramands are stronger/bigger than the men.

Ok, so attempted murder is fine when Six and Ben try to do it, but not Rex, got it.

Get in line Hex, you’re not the first who wants to ‘recruit’ Rex. You’ve got Providence, Van Kleiss, Quarry, Black Knight, that one band, and so on so fourth.

Why is this heartfelt moment suddenly happening now? This feels like it could have been placed back when Rex refused to fix the watch.

Ben…”I’ve already tried that!” Bruh, you tried beating him up, telling Six and Providence you saw him, basically acted like he wasn’t a good hero because he refuses to get over his trauma, and reached out your hand once because it benefited you....I get what they’re trying to do, but it just makes Ben look like a jerk. I get he’s ten, but still…

Just...slap him Bobo, please…

Why are we so nervous about Rex’s sword? Ben you have aliens that can burn, cut, smash and so on, and you barely care what you do. Remember how you nearly started that forest fire at the start?...

Yo, what!? What kind of logic is that, Providence? “Whelp, guess earth is screwed, might as well burn it”

Ya, remember that time when EVOs infected the whole world, and Providence decided to just burn everything down with lasers? 

Extendo blade.

Huh, so Six’s blades can break down Rex’s builds.

Salamander...don’t you mean...Skalamander?

One ship? What is Providence packing!?

Yasss, Punk Busters!

Rex is crying, how dare you!

Now we got Smack Hands, you’re in for it, Hex!

Ooooooooooooooonnnnn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttttttt!

Ah yes, the sixth most beautiful man on the planet.

Again...what is with the nuking?

Magical cloth fixing, just what I need.

Pure chaos with my boy.

Cracking his neck made me cringe.

Also why the sudden change in heart, Six? This feels out of character for the character who is out of character.

Look, Rex, you’re either gonna fix the watch, or you’re gonna start the self destruct countdown. Everything is going to hell, so might as well take that 50/50.

And it worked!

Ah ya, about that missile.

See’s missile inbound “I can handle it!”

Iron Giant vibes around here.

Screw ruling the world, I’m gonna murder this one child!

My cat’s the same.

REX, DID YOU JUST KICK A MISSILE!?

So that’s his full name?

I think you need to work on those vacation days with your boss, Six.

You are not Six, I will never accept you.

So the episode starts with Rex being alone, homeless and being chased by Providence, and ends with him being alone, homeless and being chased by Providence. What was the improvement here? Self Confident?

Ben even just lets him go, doesn’t even offer him to stay with his family.

Rex deserves better.

Another heartfelt moment that just...falls flat…

“Always be family and be there for you, Ben” Until you go to college without telling him before hand

So!...That was the crossover. Not...amazing sadly. I didn’t have high hopes to begin with, and mostly was just happy enough to have Gen Rex be acknowledged. But this Crossover missed a lot of points, and fumbles quite a bit. It reminds me a lot of the Secret Saturdays Crossover and what was wrong there. But I’m tired and will do a break down/proper review another day, if people are keen for that. Thanks for reading this if you did, it was a rollercoster!

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Mimicry.”

Trying to get back into more stories about how weird humans are in general. It is very difficult though, since I am short on ideas lol. Also, prepare for some world building! :) The rundi home planet was fun to design.

I hope you like it anyway. 

The engines of the GA transport ship kicked up a storm of blue dust as it descended towards the sandy desert plateau. Little creatures fled in earnest from the buffeting gusts of wind and the loud rumbling of the engines fleeing out into the dessert on many legs and stumpy wings. Twisted, yellow-barked bulb trees cracked and bent under the powerful gusts of wind swaying gently back and forth as the billowing blue dust cloud came to overtake them.

The GA shuttle landed lightly on the surface of the planet, three-pronged body burying it’s struts deep into the desert planet’s sandy skin. Dirt continued to swirl up and around the shuttle, until the engines were cut, and the power was stalled.

With a low whirring grumble, the ship whined into dormancy allowing the dust to settle and leaving nothing but the low mournful whistle of wind in the desert.

The shuttle door opened, and the Rundi scientists jogged out onto their home planet’s dusty surface, their feet padding softly against the sand. The dark greens and brown of their skin, while not exactly camouflage against the blue sand did help them to blend into some of the lower lying rock-shrubs on the horizon.

The air in the desert was bone dry and dusty blue. The horizon was a haze of wind blown sand against a green/yellow sky. 

The slow expansion of the rundi sun had turned their once, yellow star, red. It had been like that for many years now, and not even their most ancient texts remembered the days when the sky was blue.

Boots clattered on the ramp down onto the sand, and the human placed his hands on his hips wide eyes staring out at the strange alien planet’s surface.

“Everything alright, Jim.”

The human turned coming face to face with the GA ship’s pilot. He grinned, “Couldn’t be better.” Together the two of them walked down the ramp and onto a light dusting of blue sand. The human reached down scooping up a cup of the strange and beautiful sand, letting it trickle through his fingers.

“Thank you, commander, for offering to help.” he turned to look at the Rundi, “And thank you immeasurably for giving me this opportunity to help you. I never would have thought…. I mean I am a wildlife expert, but alien wildlife…. That's an entirely different story.”

The rundi bowed their heads as was their manor, though they weren’t entirely sure what the human had said. He had a strange accent that threw off cheaper translation models. While many of the older models COULD understand the multitude of human languages, deviations in accents was still nuanced and difficult to pick up for even the most expensive piece of equipment.

He turned to look at the commander, “Do you know what makes the sand blue. It is the most fascinating thing I think I have ever seen.” 

The commander picked up a handful of dirt and let it trail through his fingers, “I think it has to do with the extreme presence of copper in the soil, oxidized copper likes to turn blue, and with bacteria in the soil producing ammonia, i think you can get even darker shades than this.”

The human lifted his head smelling at the air, “it’s very dry, obviously this is a desert planet, or at least a dessert on a planet.” 

“A dessert planet.” The commander said, motioning to the group of rundi who stood out in the sand examining the plants for signs of wildlife, “Rundi are actually allergic to water, which is why they were making us wear gloves and masks.”

“Allergic to water? How do they survive then?”

“They can get moisture in other forms, I guess. Water being as scarce as it is on this planet, at least on the surface. There are vast underworld reservoirs and rivers, which feed the plants you see here. Their roots are extremely deep, deeper than any earth plant. Eating those plants provides the Rundi with everything they need.” He motioned onward, “The thoraxes act as a sort of fat deposit so they can go for months at a time without eating.”

“That’s quite amazing, Commander. You know about as much about other sentient species as I do about our more animal friends.”

The commander smiled the skin wrinkling up around his one remaining eye, “I have had plenty of time spent with them.”

“Ill bet.” All in one moment, he clapped his hands together, forcing the attention of the Rundi who turned to look at the strange human, in his boots, shorts, and shirt, probably the most under-dressed human they had ever seen.

“First things is first.” he turned around to look at another group of similarly dressed humans emerging from the inside of the shuttle, “We are here to catch, sedate, and transport the Strangit. We want to make sure that it stays as relaxed and as stress free as possible, which is why we will bate it, and then dart it from a distance.”

“How do we know our sedation will work?” one of the humans asked, raising a hand.

“We have done some non-invasive testing with the DNA sequences of these creatures and found that their structure is similar enough to accept the drug in the same way a Rino or a hippo might, so hopefully we won’t be proven wrong Also, if you find any other creatures during our tour, just use the little boxes on your hips to catch them, and secure them. We want to relocate as many of these critters as possible, but we want to do it in the nicest way we can.”

He turned to look at the Commander who stood to the side of the group, “Do you think you can help us out.”

The commander nodded, “Always willing to help. Just tell me what I need to do.”

He clapped his hands together. “Excellent, lets get to work.”

-

The following Rundi scientists were a little more than fascinated by the pack of humans, and especially their leader as they began a slow movement up through the sand sweeping back and forth for signs of the Strangit, last spotted in this area. They had heard that some humans were capable of tracking their prey over long distances by using nothing more than small changes left in the land by their prey, footprints, or clumps of hair, sometimes the very formation of the land itself.

Their feet were almost silent on the sand, and when they communicated, they did it in a low rumble. Sometimes, they didn’t even speak at all, simple motioning at each other, communicating silently over long distances. The lead human kept his eyes to the ground crouched low legs always moving zig-zagging from rock to rock until at one moment he stopped, and called the others in with a sharp piercing blast.

He had no equipment with which to make that sound, though humans were known for their ability.

“See these, right here. Looks like tracks. I’ll wager to say it passed by here not too long ago.” He motioned upwards at the blowing sand. And with the rate at which this sand is blowing, I would reduce the time even more than before. We should move silently from here.” The rundi held back, watching as the humans condensed down their group slowly moving around each other their eyes forward, their bodies focused on their hunting. The main human spent most of his time in a low crouch, sometimes dropping down to all fours so he could better see the dirt and the ground underneath.

None of the rundi could see what he was looking for, but he seemed sure they were close.

It was just then that a strange warbling chatter echoed up form the other side of a short sand dune.

The humans went very still, and the forward human held his finger to his lips motioning the other into position.

The human with the dart gun quietly padded up the side of the hill concealing himself against the bowl of a rock, cozied inside a divot created by the sand and the wind.

With a wave of his hand, the human motioned the others closer, including the Commander, who knelt in the soft sandy circle about him.

The rundi tried to stay quiet as they approached, ready to hear the plan.

“That first call.” he whispered, “Was the male, its a mating call, and the second one was a more distant female. Now the females tend to travel in herds, while the males are generally loners, so if we mimic, the sound of the female, and make it think that there is a larger group of us, we might be able to drawn him over and into our line of sight, without risking it getting startled or agitated.

The chattering sound started up again, receiving a response not a moment later.

He motioned the other humans away, who scurried off to hide themselves, creating a spot for ambush. 

Watching from a distance, it was rather unnerving, the way the humans seemed to know inherently how to behave, how to spread out, and how to hide themselves, creating an open break in their circular line for the creature to come.

It was even worse when the sounds came.

The lead human, in line of sight to the Rundi, cupped his hands around his mouth and began the warbling call of a female strangit. Off in the distance a male call answered, following that the other humans began to mimic the sound of the first. A human to their right added in soe of the related huffing noises, their chest raising and falling in shorts bursts.

They did whatever they could to create the noise they were hearing, using their hands, adjusting their tongues and tilting their heads back.

It was terrifying.

A few of the Rundi felt shivers run up their backs as they imagined their ancestors traveling in large groups and hearing a cry for help, running to hear that cry and being pounced upon by a group of humans mimicking their own voices.

Sand shuffled off on the other side of the hill.

Footsteps thudded against stone , and the Strangit crested the horizon, its massive back spikes jutting almost three feet up into the air. Its body was stocky with muscle, its feet were large, round and flat, and from a distance it was at least the same height as a tall Drev, though with much more mass.

A single giant tusk jutted out from the bottom of it’s chin nearly scraping the ground as it walked. 

As a male of the species, instead of being blue to match the sand, Like a female, they were a sort of ruddy yellow color with spots of green dappling it’s back.

When it moved, the sun reflected off those spots of green.

The creature lifted it’s head looking around for the female’s it was sure it had heard.

One of the humans made one last call, and the great beast turned to face the sound, seeming almost confused when it saw nothing.

The Rundi watched as the armed human gently slid into place on his side, using the sandy hill to steady his weapon.

There was a low pop, and the beast jumped bellowing at the sky before turning around and running in the opposite direction.

“We got him!” Someone yelled, and together the humans broke from their line of cover and went racing after the creature.

Like a pack of wolves they followed the creature at a distance as it galloped through the open sand leaving a  trail of dust behind it. The human’s feet kicked up dust, and they pulled to a slow stop as the creature slowed, wobbled and then tipped onto its side resting heavily in the sand. The rundi caught up as the humans were speaking with each other.

“Just give it a few minutes.”

While they waited the Rundi looked to the humans with concern, “Is it common…. For humans to mimic their prey.”

The humans laughed, “Not really, we record things instead. Most animals on our planet can tell the difference. However, we are generally pretty good at somewhat reproducing most noises.”

“Go on.” They asked 

Intrigued.

While the other humans walked off to inspect their prey, a few remained behind and seemed to be having fun demonstrating the different calls animals on their planet make.

One of the sounds a long, drawn out howl sent shivers up the Rundi’s backs. 

“You know, wolves are fun to mimic, but the one sound I think it might be impossible to make is a roar.” 

“I mean yes, but have you ever tried to make an Elk sound.”

“Oh, I can do an elk.”

“No way, lets see it.” 

What followed was a competition based on who could make the strangest animal noise. The elk was pretty terrifying and screeching repeating call that rose in octave until it was no more than a piercing note on the air repeated multiple times.

“Ok, ok, that is pretty.”

“Is it acceptable to use props.”

“Why.”

“Because if it is, I can accurately mimic a two strike dirt bike.” 

There was laughing from the other humans, “Ah yes, I forgot about that breed.”

“I have an uncle who owns a dirk bike farm.”

It took a moment for the rundi to realize that the humans were simply joking. As it would soon come to light, humans could also mimic the sound of non-organic objects.

Looking back and fourth at each other, they collectively decided it would be best if this was never mentioned to the humans.

IT seemed as if they had not evolved to hunt like this.

But if they knew.

If they knew the power of their own voices, the rest of the galaxy might be in serious danger.

Looking over at the Strangit, the Rundi shivered at the thought of hearing a familiar call in the distance just to show up, and be met with the sharp glistening teeth of a hungry, smiling human.

Poor creature. 

[icyspikes]

GMMTV 2022: Borderless

Borderless. I love this title. There is just something about it that makes me feel included. They really have a lot of international fans and they take that into consideration. I think they are hoping to reach a wider audience, well past the borders of Thailand.

Last night I watched one and a half hour of trailers ! Its crazy how they are growing? Each year they are coming out with more and more series. I appreciate it.

I have to say though that nothing particularly stood out to me out of all the trailers , but there were a few surprises ! First mind blown trailer was "You are my favorite". If ohm x nanon was something that I never imagined, Krist x Mike was something I never considered in a million years. I was so shocked. I never thought Krist will act in Y series again.

Nanon has quite a few appearances, I was glad to see. Especially in the Midnight Series- Dirty Laundry. I quite liked few of the Midnight Fantasy series in 2020. Dirty Laundry looked super chaotic and super fun. Nanon cross dressing !! Jennie x Foei in a fun setting !!! I'm all in for it. The movie. Well its set in school and it seriously gives the vibes of "You are the apple of my eye" taiwanese movie. I usually am fond of such kind of nostalgic setting. Not to mention ohm x nanon x chimon x neo !!

The other midnight series- Moonlight chicken First x Mix x Earth x Khaotung. Love square ?! Earth looks really mature in this one. Although I dont know if I am mature enough to handle this one.

Midnight series- Midnight motel. Jan's role here reminds me of Tonhon Chonlatee. It seems like a chaotic mess, but I am wondering if Off will make this a worthwhile watch. Also comedy x Murder.

Jitti Rain. GMMTV might as well hire her to be their script writer. 2019- Theory of love. 2020 - 2gether. 2021- Fish Upon the Sky. 2022- Vice Versa. The concept is very dystopian. I was gald to see ohm and nanon special appearance. (Well since bad buddy is ongoing.. and Friday is not here.. I'm just happy about any ohm x nanon..)

This year Gmmtv has pulled in some familiar faces from the mainstream lakorn side. Yes I am talking about none other than Min and Mai Davika. Starring opposite to Bright and Win. So Bright and Win have now got their own series. Unexpected surprise was Goy. I personally haven't seen her in gmmtv series. Astrophile a love triangle I'm not sure I want to invest in. Dear sister with lakorn vibes I'm not sure if I want to see all that exhausting hair pulling kind of drama.

Familiar Faces x Familiar Ships x Y series x Family Drama --- Never Let me go and Cupid's Last Wish. There are a lot of times when Gmmtv plays it safe. They build on what they already built. Sometimes its nice. For example OffGun - From Puppy honey to Theory of love to Not me. People love their ships too. There is nothing wrong with working on already established fandoms and already established ships. It can go either ways though.

New faces x High school/University x Y series - Yet another familiar trope. I have no qualms about giving new faces a chance, yet somehow I feel like I am past that stage where I want to see University setting. But a surprising face to see wasJoong from 2 moons 2.

My school President - Maybe if this was 3-4 years ago I might have been exicted for this one.

Sky and star - One of them again is school/University setting. But Mek !!! In BL !!! Never imagined. That village setting looks pretty relaxing so I may give it a shot. Also Arm x Mike x Mek. Seems like an interesting combination.

Some really Unusual themes and settings which I am looking forward to seeing are.... UMG ,Home School and Eclipse.

UMG looked really interesting. Alien invasion ? Lost Love ? Extraterrestrial life ? Dang. Namtan too !! I'm for sure going to see this one. Got a bit of goosebumps while seeing the trailer.

Home School. I have one word. Gun. I think gun is a great actor. He really should be given more chances to be honest. It looks pretty interesting. Also familiar Ajumma from lakorn-verse as the school teacher.

Eclipse !!! First x Khaotung damn.. It looks like it has a bit of black magic themes !! and just this dark forbidden vibes. If there is a BL I am looking forward to then its got to be only this one. Even if it is school, it a totally different setting. I just love the black jackets.....

Romance Centric x Guy x Girl x drama

You fight and I love. From the thumbnail I thought Victor will be the main protag. Its a very typical kind of a theme, thats been done many times. Brother's best friend. I will reserve it for one odd day when I feel like this kind of drama will help me pass my time. Although I don't know if such a day will come.

My dear donavan. I have to say that this is something I may give a chance on a day I have nothing to watch. The reason being I really love Namtan's style in this one. I always thought she was really pretty. But I like her character in this one. I don't think she had played something like this before. Also the other theme that makes me want to give this a chance is - Hidden Identity.

Oops! Mr. Superstar Hit On Me. To be honest I am not really such a great fan of jane. I did like her a lot in Teenage Mom though. I don't mind large age gap drama, but the trailer and story did not really appeal to me. This one might just be off my list.

PS. I Hate You. Toxic Friendship. Girl drama. Backstabbing. Pretty women. Forbidden relationships.This really depends on my mood. When I feel like I need something toxic to watch I might just give this a chance.

10 years ticket. This looks like an interesting plot. Small town. Hidden secrets. Murder. Guilt. Hate. Love. I might just give this a chance. ( But gmmtv why do you kill off poor pleum all the time...).

Good Old days. I like the concept of that antique shop. Remnants of the past and the price to pay for hanging on to it. Nostalgia and reminiscing is like a double edged sword. Need to be careful not to step in too deep.

The Wrap Effect. No impression. I am not sure if this is fantasy. I don't know what to make of it. I will probably just pass this one.

The three gentle bros. The concept is using love for getting out of moms grip and taking control of your own world. I may just see this for Tay Tawan. I know P'Tay likes to host shows more than tv series, still I hope to see him.

Overall there is a lot of choices. A huge collection. Many of the planned series for 2021 is yet to air. Although I know they havent given up on it. They are shooting many of them and we wil probably get them end of December-Jan. I just feel that they have really lined up a lot. Gmmtv is large with a lot of actors and lot of potential. I do hope they can still focus more on quality than quantity. I also hope that gmmtv can explore more unusual themes too.

I also want to say I am slightly disappointed that gunsmile did not get a bigger role in 2020. I can still hope that they plan something for Grandsons in 2022.

Having said that I am still looking forward to some of the series, at the same time also a bit disappointed. Although I hope that next year we get like the unusual type series first.. And the romcom/ lakorn styled ones later. This year we got the lakorn/romcom type stuff first.

[izlaria]

Someone you like (part 3)

This is the third chapter of my “Someone you like” inspired fic. It’s also available on AO3 in case you prefer that platform. Please hit me up to talk about Plance!

Summary: Lance finds a better friend in Pidge than he could have antecipated.

Also, Pidge pining hour.

17 and 15 years old

“I can’t believe we have a cow.” Lance stared in awe at the animal. It looked completely out-of-place in the middle of the highly technological castle-ship. “Where did that dude even get her from?” he exclaimed, waving an arm at it. Lance gasped, lowering his voice to a whisper, “Do you think she’s… a clone?”

Kaltenecker kept on chewing, indifferent to Lance’s fussy behavior.

“Most likely,” Pidge responded. She was looking down at a tablet that contained results from the scan they’d conducted on Kaltenecker. “She is carbon-based, which isn’t such a rarity out here, but is always good to know. The anatomy also checks out with normal cow biology. The only change I could find is that her diet is more adapted to what’s available in this quadrant.”

Lance scratched the top of his head. “Does that mean she can’t eat Earth food?”

“She probably can…” Pidge tapped the edge of the tablet in a considering manner. “We eat alien food and nothing has happened yet.”

“So we’re winging it? That doesn’t sound very scientific.” He didn’t like the idea of putting their cow in danger. “Can’t you figure something out for her to eat?”

“I’m not a biochemist, Lance.” Pidge took her eyes off Kaltenecker to glare at him. “Nor a geneticist. That’s more Coran’s area of expertise.”

“Easy!” Lance held up his hands. “We can talk to him, then. I was just asking a question…”

Pidge huffed out a breath, then let her shoulders drop. “I don’t know how you’re not annoyed right now. We spent the entire afternoon in a fountain to get a freaking video game, only to realize we have no way to turn it on!”

“I actually had fun.” Lance shrugged. He didn’t really see what bothered her so much. Sure, he wanted to play Killbot Phantasm, but even the fact that they’d found the game out in the universe was enough for him. “It felt like the sort of crazy I used to get to back home.”

She fidgeted with the tablet in her hands. “Going to the mall and causing a scene?”

Lance eyed Pidge curiously. Her brow was furrowed, but she looked more lost than irritated. “Sure,” he acquiesced. “This was hardly my first time fishing out coins from a fountain.”

“It was for me,” Pidge interrupted brusquely. “I had never done that before.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Really? You’re one of the biggest troublemakers I’ve met. I’m pretty sure you’re at least guilty of fraud after lying about your identity to get into the Garrison.”

For some reason, this seemed to startle her. It was almost ludicrous to think that Pidge had gone undercover without realizing the legal implications of her actions. It would be just like her, too, to get so caught up in the big picture that she simply bulldozed through every other detail.

“That was different, though.” She was pouting now, her cheeks comedically puffed out. “I was more of a homebody when younger.” Her gaze was lowered to her hands, distant. “I don’t have as many stories to tell as you and Hunk.”

“I seriously doubt that.” Lance scoffed. “Aren’t you always talking about the crazy experiments you and Matt did? I bet he will have a bunch of embarrassing shit about you that you never tell us. I can’t wait to get my hands on all that sweet, sweet blackmail!”

Lance wrung his hands menacingly, but when he looked down at Pidge the expression on her face caught him off guard. He expected her to be exasperated or at least displeased, so the tenderness in her eyes was unforeseen.

He’d been talking about her brother as if they would meet soon, Lance realized. Pidge mentioned him often, but not in detail, not in any capacity that didn’t serve to remind everyone of her mission to find her family. He guessed it felt too much like an open wound, like when Lance tried to talk about Marco or Rachel.

But maybe it did them some good, too.

“Besides, even if we never get to play Killbot Phantasm, we still did plenty today.” Lance began to count on his hand. “We stole money from a fountain so we could buy a vintage video game. We got a cow from a space mall. We were chased by an alien security guard who thought we were pirates! I couldn’t make this up if I tried!”

When he laughed, Pidge joined in. She tried to suppress it, but the air escaped through her nose and her lips quirked up in undeniable amusement. It always felt like a victory to make her laugh. Pidge didn’t let herself get distracted often.

“I don’t know,” she quipped, looking more relaxed. “You have the most convoluted stories of anyone I know.”

Although Pidge said it as if it was a bad thing, Lance could see the playfulness in the twist of her mouth. This was nice, too, because a year earlier he would have seen only the harshness in his teammate. On an impulse, he leaned down to hug her.

“W – What?!” Pidge thrashed against his arms. “Lance, let me go!”

“No can do, Pidgey.” He held on. Lance had crossed his arms behind her head, keeping her tight against his chest. “You can’t escape this friendship.”

“Yes, I can, you nitwit!” Pidge’s voice was muffled by his shirt and Lance simply pretended not to hear her. “You’re suffocating me!”

“We have Kaltenecker now, we’re her parents!” he stated happily, despite the sting of Pidge pinching his sides. “Stop, you don’t want her to see us fighting.”

Pidge let her arms fall, looking up at Lance. Her face was red and her hair stuck out from where he’d accidentally run his hands through it. “You’re ridiculous.”

There was a well-placed moo from Kaltenecker, as if the cow agreed.

Lance grinned and finally gave up his grip on her, taking a step back. Pidge immediately punched him in the stomach in retaliation.

“Ow!” he complained, though it was clear she hadn’t put any real force behind it. “We were having a moment!”

Pidge turned up her nose, but her complexion only grew more flustered. “Then you can forget all about it, like you did with Keith.”

“Fine, you win.” Lance crossed his arms, looking smugly down at her. “I did make you blush, though. I might be rusty, but old Lance still has an effect on the ladies!”

“Ugh!” Pidge moved so quickly that Lance had to hide behind Kaltenecker in order to evade her hits. When they stopped running, she kept her tablet at hand, brandishing it as if it was her bayard. “Never say that to me again!”

He stuck his tongue out at her, then had to duck when Pidge aimed the tablet at his head once more. “Jeez, you know I’m kidding!”

“Yeah.” Something in her voice made Lance shoot back up. She was staring right at him, looking more serious than he’d expected. “I know.”

Before he could ask what was wrong, Pidge walked away from where he stood and towards a panel in the back of the room. She deposited her tablet on one side, then started clicking away at a few keys.

“Coran mentioned we could reprogram the room to look like a field on Earth,” she explained once Lance had made his way over. “We could maybe get some vegetation from a planet in this quadrant and create an area for her to graze.”

“Yeah, that would be cool.” He felt almost dizzy from the ups and downs of Pidge’s humor. The coldness that surrounded her now made Lance want to apologize, but it also annoyed him. He thought they were having a good time earlier. “Introducing Kaltenecker to Earth food isn’t really the priority, huh?”

Pidge nodded, avoiding his eyes.

Despite the awkwardness, Lance didn’t want to leave. The idea of letting Pidge stay mad at him left a bitter taste in his mouth, especially after the day they’d had. She could be incessantly frustrating, but she had also grown on him.

Like a weed. A short, bad-tempered weed.

He watched in silence as she worked the panel. Her concentration was admirable, even when she used it as a way to push Lance away. It reminded him of their time in the Garrison, when it felt like every step he took in their friendship was met with two steps back from Pidge.

With the privilege of hindsight, Lance could guess how tiring the disguise must have been for her. Their studies had never been easy and Pidge had perfected her mediocrity like an art. Knowing her true genius now, Lance imagined she’d actually known it all but had chosen to keep herself under the radar.

“Are you just going to stand there?” Her tone struck a chord with him, bringing forth a familiarity that he hadn’t felt since Earth.

Lance put his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow at her. “I’m just waiting for you, Pidgeon.”

She turned back to the panel, then took a deep breath, as if calming herself.

“I have a lot to do here,” she said in warning. After a moment, her expression softened. “Why don’t you take the game up to your room? I’ll grab Hunk on my way there and we can try to adapt everything to the castle’s power source.”

Lance could recognize her words for the peace offering that they were. He aimed finger guns at her, earning himself a snicker.

“Don’t take too long or I’ll fall asleep!” he called out as he walked backwards, towards the exit.

“I’ll get Kaltenecker to lick your hair, if you do!” she replied, attention already back to the control panel.

Lance laughed, but he knew that was no empty threat.

--

He didn’t often spend his nights roaming the hallways of the castle. Lance was a big believer on the benefits of good sleep and an established routine. It helped him maintain his complexion blemish-free and it contributed to keeping him sane when his mind felt scrambled beyond repair.

There were times, however, when not even spa days and special hair masks could calm his thoughts, and then he was stuck like this, struggling to fall asleep.

He buried deeper into his jacket. It wasn’t his normal one, but a big, fleece-y thing that Hunk and Pidge had gotten for him in their last trip to the space mall. Lance loved it fiercely. The castle cooled during the night-cycle to ensure the machines didn’t overheat and Lance always suffered for it.

A blinking light on the doors to his right caught Lance’s attention. It signaled movement in the hangar, just one of many fail-safes devised by Coran and Pidge to ensure no one was trying to mess with the lions. The light wasn’t all that worrying on its own; it was just a way to know what rooms were currently in use.

Lance was too tired to think through his actions. He moved into the hangar, not even questioning who might be in there. He wanted to see Blue. Or Red. Or anyone, really.

He rubbed at his eyes, collecting the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks.

Sure enough, there was Pidge, curled around a set of tools and a big, wiry mess of parts. She had probably been propped up against the processing columns but ended up sliding down in her sleep.

The image filled Lance with so much affection that he found himself smiling. It was unusual to see their youngest member without her defenses put up. She was only second to Keith in her reserve, something that had initially displeased Lance about the two.

Pidge did have the habit of falling asleep while she worked, but Shiro and Hunk were the ones charged with checking on her. Lance thought she looked strangely cute like this, with her mouth a little open and her glasses askew. He’d forgotten how young she truly was, because of how smart and assertive Pidge could be. She didn’t want to be treated like a child and the whole team could respect her strength and maturity.

Even before they’d ended up light-years from Earth, Pidge had already carried more on her shoulders than anyone Lance had ever met. Despite knowing it was a vain hope, Lance wished he hadn’t made things harder for her back in the Garrison.

He crouched down and carefully pulled her glasses free. Strands of hair stuck to her cheeks and forehead, but without the too-big frames Lance could see her face more clearly.

Pidge already looked older than she had when they were students. After so many wormhole jumps, it was difficult to determine how long had passed since their discovery of the Blue Lion, but the passage of time made itself known in other ways.

She was pretty, but that didn’t surprise Lance. Pidge’s no-nonsense ways and sharp eyes had always been striking, even when he only pointed out these aspects of her as a joke.

Lance took off his jacket and balled it up, trying to slip it behind her head. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but it was an improvement to her current position.

“Lance?” Her eyes had fluttered open. From this close, he could see the fatigue that clouded them.

“Hey, Pidgey-Pidge,” he called out in a whisper.

“Hey, loverboy.” She giggled, lids opening and closing tiredly.

The nickname shot another wave of emotion through him. For some reason, Lance felt his eyes burn again.

“We should get you to bed,” he tried to say, though his voice sounded rougher than he intended.

Pidge didn’t immediately notice. She nodded a few times and sat up, stretching her arms over her head. She frowned at the pieces of tech still scattered around them, then focused her eyes back on him.

“Lance,” she sounded much more awake now, “why are you here?”

“Oh, you know,” he stalled. “Sometimes, in the middle of the night, a guy just needs to grab some food goo.” He flexed his now exposed arms. “I’m a growing boy, Pidge.”

Pidge raised a brow, looking supremely unimpressed. “Don’t lie to me.”

Lance winced a little at the terse tone she’d adopted. Even in her half-awake state, Pidge was still able to see through his bullshit.

“The kitchen is nowhere near the hangar,” she continued when he didn’t reply. Her voice was soft in a way Lance had never heard from Pidge. “And your eyes look red.”

He shifted his head to the side to escape her scrutiny. Lance half-expected Pidge to get angry at his stubbornness, so he couldn’t help the small, shocked sob that escaped him when her hand touched his chin, slowly lifting his gaze.

The worry in her face quickly changed into something understanding, an almost desperate ache that must have reflected his own expression. Without another word, Lance buried into her embrace, curved so that his forehead rested on Pidge’s shoulder.

“I c-can’t stop thinking about them,” he confessed amid his sobs. “What – What if they think I’m dead?”

Pidge murmured an “I know” into his hair. Despite their size difference, she wrapped herself around Lance so completely that he felt guarded by her arms.

“Come on,” she said once his whimpers had quieted down. “Your room is the closest.”

Lance let her move away. His knees hurt from the position he’d assumed on the floor and, now that he no longer had Pidge there, the cold of the hangar raised goosebumps across his arms.

“Put this back on.” Pidge draped the fleece jacket over his shoulders. Her hands lingered there for a moment, drawing a line in the fabric. “It’s a better coat than it could ever be a pillow.”

It wasn’t much of a joke, but Lance smiled at her. Crying made him exhausted, but not enough to ignore Pidge’s efforts to cheer him up. He stood up.

“Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it.”

They made their way to his room in silence. Pidge had to stop at the hangar doors to put in the security measures, but no more words were exchanged. Lance was just glad to have company.

They paused in front of his dorm. “Will you come in?”

Pidge studied him carefully. Lance didn’t think she could see much in the dark of the hallway, but the truth was that she’d already caught him in a breakdown, there was nothing else to hide.

“Do you want to be alone?” she finally vocalized her concern. Lance shook his head, feeling his chest constrict at the possibility that she might leave. “Then I’ll come in.”

He went straight to his bed and laid down. Pidge stood at the entrance, letting the door slide closed behind her. The awkwardness was palpable and Lance couldn’t blame her for it; Pidge was not the best at social cues.

“At least sit down with me. I promise I won’t start bawling again.” He didn’t mean to sound depreciative, but his self-consciousness must have shown, because Pidge narrowed her eyes at him.

“I don’t care if you cry, you doofus.” She marched up to the bed and sat down near the headboard. “Put your head in my lap.”

Her demanding tone didn’t fit in with the gentleness of her actions. Lance was amused by the incongruity. Pidge was rough around the edges and her earlier show off affection now made her bristle, almost as if she was afraid to reveal too much to him. Lance could understand the urge to put up a front, but he was too exhausted to be embarrassed.

He rolled on his side, fitting his shoulder under her thigh.

“My mom used to do this when I was upset.” Pidge ran a hand through his hair, pulling lightly at the knots until they were undone. “The rhythm of it always soothed me. That and her, really. Mom had – I mean, she has a calming influence.”

Lance didn’t comment on her slip up. The feeling of nails scraping against his scalp was pleasing. The personal closeness was something that they also did in his family and he had missed it. He was a naturally affectionate person and the team didn’t seem to appreciate his expansiveness all that much.

“I used to do this for Veronica and Rachel,” he breathed out. “Ronie is older and she would force me to braid their hair when I was younger. I complained about it non-stop, but now I miss it.”

Pidge traced his hairline, then down to his ear, neck, collarbone. She seemed absent-minded as she did it, mind caught somewhere else.

“Matt was the one who would call me Pidge. I used to hate that nickname. After he disappeared, it seemed only right to assume it as my new name. For him.”

Lance shifted a little, so that he could look up at her. “Your real name isn’t Pidge?”

This made her stop for a moment and look down at him in exasperation. Lance suppressed the urge to laugh, but his lips still twisted into a smile, despite his effort.

Pidge flicked him on the forehead.

“I thought you were being serious!” It was funny to see her like this. Pidge usually responded to him with either blankness or sarcasm, so it was satisfying to garner an actual reaction.

“I could have been!” Lance brought a hand up to rub his stinging forehead. “You do realize you never told Hunk and I your real name?”

“It’s Katie,” she said without preamble. The only sign of her unease was that, when Lance tried to sneak another look at her face, Pidge’s fingers held his head in place, before resuming movement in his hair.

“It’s nice to meet you, Katie.” He let out a soft snicker, which Pidge mirrored.

“Nice to meet you, Lance.”

Lance fell silent, letting her touch lull him into a torpor. The point of contact gave him something to concentrate outside of his thoughts of Earth, until the sensation and Pidge were all he could focus on.

“Did you fall asleep?” she asked after some time.

“No.” Lance slowly rose up from her lap. “I don’t know if I will be able to sleep tonight.”

Pidge frowned, looking down at her hands as Lance repositioned himself to sit at her side.

“You and I are more similar than I ever thought, I guess.”

“What, you also go crying around the castle at strange hours, hoping no one else will see?” She raised a brow at him in response. It wasn’t that much of a surprise, really. Lance had known how broken up she felt about her father and brother’s disappearance. “We will find them, Pidge. I won’t rest until we do.”

The emotion in her eyes shifted. He couldn’t really tell what Pidge was feeling, but the look on her face was both sad and warm, grateful even. Lance tried to think of a time when he or any of the others had tried to support her in her search. There might have been something said when she’d first revealed her identity, but nothing stood out since.

His chest tightened with the realization.

It was possible that Hunk or Allura had spoken to Pidge privately about it, and Lance would put good money on the odds that Shiro had comforted her more than once, but that was it. Keith was quiet and broody, too dedicated to their mission to consider what the rest of the team went through. And Lance…

Lance had been too self-involved to notice. He had wallowed in his own misfortune and it had blinded him to the fact that at least his family was safe in Cuba. Pidge’s father and brother were lost in the middle of an intergalactic war, taken prisoners. Her mother thought she was missing.

He didn’t feel like he deserved Pidge’s gratitude.

“Can you tell me something funny?” she asked out of the blue. “I don’t think talking about our families is gonna help either of us sleep tonight.”

Lance let out a shaky exhale. “You’re right. I’m all cried out.” He poked at the skin under his eyes. It felt sensitive and swollen. “All that investigating for good eye masks and the work was all for nothing!” He put his palm over his eyes, playfully turning his head to the side. “Don’t look at me! I’m a shadow of my former self!”

“You’re the resident beauty guru, I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” Pidge rolled her eyes at his theatrics. She pulled Lance’s hand away from his face. “And you owe me a story.”

“Hey, how do I owe you anything?” He pouted at her. “I just saved you from getting a crick on your neck!”

She pulled more harshly at his hand, making Lance yelp. “You woke me up and I even gave you a head massage!”

It was his turn to tug at her arm, but his smile betrayed that Lance was having fun. “Fine, but then we’re even!”

Pidge finally let go of him, looking smug. He closed his hand and pointed at her face in an act of mock aggravation.

“Is it okay if I lie down?” She looked around the room, as if searching for a hidden futon where she could stretch out.

“Sure, let me just…” He scooted down and to the side. Pidge maneuvered into the space he had created, stuck between him and the wall. “I don’t think these beds were made to be shared.” He laughed.

The position wasn’t the worst they could be in. Pidge was small enough that, with her back pressed to the wall, Lance had enough space in the mattress that he wouldn’t fall over.

“This feels like a sleepover.” Her face scrunched up at the words. He couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or just amused by the idea. “I never had one of those before.”

“Never?” he marveled.

“No need to look that surprised,” Pidge huffed. “I just didn’t have a lot of friends growing up. Not anyone close, at least.”

“Just Matt,” Lance blurted out without thinking. A shadow crossed Pidge’s eyes, but she didn’t seem upset.

“Yeah… You would like him. Matt can be as much of a goofball as you are.” She nuzzled quietly into the pillow. The lights had dimmed automatically when they laid down, so Lance couldn’t tell if Pidge was blushing or not. “It helps, you know? Having you here.”

Pidge refused to catch his eyes as she said this, which Lance understood. Being vulnerable could be scary, even when around your best friends. Still, he felt pride well up in him, glad that he had done something right towards her.

“You wanted a funny story, right?” he asked softly, the words only loud enough to be heard. Pidge’s gaze snapped to his, obviously relieved. “How about this: My first love was this little girl I met when I was fourteen. I never even knew her name.”

“That’s not funny, not really.” Pidge’s brows took a quizzical air. “How do you know it was love, then?”

“I just know. When I think about her, about that day… It felt like fate.” He saw the cynicism on her face before Pidge could even say anything. “I swear! I met her and everything changed. I don’t know if I would have met Hunk or got into the Garrison or even made it here without her.”

Pidge sighed against the pillow. “Honestly, that sounds like a lot of pressure to put on a first love.”

Lance watched as she drew patterns into the sheets between them. She wasn’t trying to be mean, he could tell.

“She doesn’t know, obviously. I didn’t even like her straight away. It’s just –” he paused, thinking it through. “It’s just funny, how much of a difference one person can make. When she talked to me, I was feeling sorry for myself. She cheered me up.”

That same day, he had met Hunk, who had later confessed that he’d only approached Lance because he’d appeared to be in a good humor. Without Hunk, his best friend, Lance might not have tried out for the Garrison. And, without the Garrison, he wouldn’t have been in Arizona to find the Blue Lion.

“Is she why you are so obsessed with fate and such?” Pidge teased. She was yawning every few seconds, but there was a smile on her face.

“You shouldn’t knock fate down.” Lance grinned, trying to bat her hand away from the sheets. They had bunched up a bit due to her movements. “It got us into space and closer to your family.”

Pidge made a face at him, then shrugged. They’d had this conversation before, about what had led the three out into Garrison grounds that night. Pidge argued that it was bound to happen, with how often she went out to search the radio frequencies, but even that fell back into Lance’s claim that they were all destined to become the new paladins of Voltron.

“I just think that love is about commitment,” she murmured, eyes already closed. “It’s about choosing one person and then falling in love with him, even when he’s obnoxious, even when he’s…” She trailed off, having fallen asleep.

Lance chuckled at her little speech. It was nice to think that someone would eventually choose to love him, forever. He felt comforted not only by the idea, but by Pidge's slow breathing, the heat of her hand so close to his chest. His own lids felt heavier and heavier. Lance closed his eyes.

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection 2020 Day 10: Enemies to Lovers

It's a Match! | @suckerfordeansfreckles

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 2015 Main Tags/Warnings: pining, online dating, getting together Summary: Dean has seen the guy a handful of times, mostly at Charlie’s parties or when out and about with her — it’s only been six times that Dean is aware of, actually. Not that he counted. Well. He did, maybe, count a little. But that’s only because the guy is seriously gorgeous, and also seems to seriously hate Dean. Like, frowns and dark stares and leaving the room when Dean enters it. And that is most definitely the only reason why Dean keeps track of their meetings. It has nothing to do with the fact that, for whatever stupid reason, Dean feels all fuzzy and happy and warm around this stupid, scruffy, handsome, dark-haired and blue-eyed Cas-guy. Something about him just… does things to Dean’s head.

In The Ballroom | @gii-heylittleangel

Rating: General Word Count: 2594 Main Tags/Warnings: lovers to enemies to lovers, broken relationship, getting back together, false mentions of cheating Summary: The high school dance was useless in Castiel's opinion; there was nothing to do, people were incredibly annoying, and he would be alone. But, having Charlie Bradbury as his best friend, he had no choice but to go; after all, there was a tiny chance he would get tacos after the party. Castiel did not get tacos but he got something a lot better.

Ring a Bell for the Righteous Man | @pray4jensen

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3003 Main Tags/Warnings: Enemies to Lovers, Royalty/Fantasy AU, Soul Bond, Marriage, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dubious Consent Summary: An hour passes and the prince doesn't bed him. Dean thinks that maybe the prince doesn't have any intention of doing it at all, and if that's the case, it'll be Dean who'll face the consequences. So, thumbing a finger down the length of Cas' wings, Dean taunts, ""I thought you promised Lord Alastair that I wouldn't be able to walk, your highness."" Dean pauses. ""Are you doubting yourself, my lord?""

Addicted | @verobatto-angelxhunter

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3671 Main Tags/Warnings: Season 4/5 canon divergent, Destiel, slow burn, Badass! Castiel, first kiss, first time, explicit sexual content, canon typical violence. Summary: Dean can't get Castiel out of his mind. Everytime the angel is in front of him, is hypnotizing. He needs to know what is going on with him. Why Castiel is so irresistible? And why he feels that empty everytime the angel isn't near him.

the light of falling stars | @procasdeanating

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 4980 Main Tags/Warnings: Alien!Cas, wing fic, inspired by a movie (enemy mine) Summary: … when Lieutenant Dean Winchester and the two ships under his command engaged in combat with a Seraph squadron. Two army ships were destroyed, while one fighter, presumably Lt. Winchester’s, made a forced landing on a nearby uninhabited class D planet after triggering the emergency protocol. The ongoing search has not produced conclusive results. Lt. Winchester is classified as missing in action…

First Impressions | @suckerfordeansfreckles

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 7254 Main Tags/Warnings: hospital AU, ftm trans Cas, top surgery, mentions of medical stuff, sharing a room Summary: When Cas wakes for the first time after his surgery, there’s sunlight tentatively streaming through the window to his right. It takes him a while of uncoordinated blinking and thinking until he realizes where he is, why he’s here. And then the giddiness comes, sudden and overwhelming, when he looks down at his chest and there is none. The reality is almost too much to grasp and his hands shake a little when he tries to raise them to touch. He's happy, and giddy, and so thankful. And then a nurse wheels in his new roommate, one very obnoxious and flirty Mr. Winchester. Cas just... cannot wait to watch all of this play out.

The Galaxy's Most Wanted | @saltnhalo

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 10160 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Space Pirates, Enemies to Lovers, Blow Jobs, Frottage, Angry Sex, Sexual Tension Summary: Dean had been the one always up to mischief, running around with his father’s broken laser pistol and constantly getting into places he shouldn’t have been. Sam, in comparison, always seemed to be the smart, studious one – until he reprogrammed the AI in their neighbours’ house to play ‘Happy Birthday’ at the loudest possible volume while keeping all the doors and windows firmly locked. It had taken two experts seven hours to undo the coding that Sam had managed to integrate into the house’s programming. So, yes. They had been exceptional even from the beginning. And when John Winchester crossed one too many people, his sons inherited his beloved ship, and took to the cosmos doing what they knew best: stealing. And they were damn good at it too. Almost unrivalled, across their own galaxy and even those neighbouring. Almost.

Love Thy Enemy | @gii-heylittleangel

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 11887 Main Tags/Warnings: revenge planning, use of guns, major characters injury Summary: After being betrayed by the Men of Letters, Dean makes the most stupid, idiotic, and best decision of his life: ask Castiel Novak, his long time enemy, for help.

The Quest for the Demon King's Heart | @cr-noble-writes

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 12500 Main Tags/Warnings: fantasy au, demon king!dean, wood elf!cas, enemies to lovers, mutual pining, minor character death, major character injury, angry sex, angst with a happy ending Summary: In a fantasy land, Dean, the Demon King, goes to a distant guild to take a break from evil, where he meets a young adventurer, Castiel, on a quest to slay the Demon King. For fun, Dean helps and protects the adventurer, and affection grows between them. Then, they arrive at the gates of his castle.

A Virgin to Redeem the Billionaire | @notfunnydean

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 16660 Main Tags/Warnings: Manipulation, Emotional Manipulation, blackmailing someone into a relationship, Mentions of drug selling (not Destiel), Mentions of cheating (not Destiel), virgin!cas Summary: When Castiel meets Dean Winchester, the other man seems to be a real asshole. So it doesn’t surprise him, when Dean shows up again and this time blackmails Castiel in a horrible way. Castiel agrees to be his boyfriend, only to protect his family, but along the way he actually falls for Dean.

The Bakery | @dates-with-cas

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 41075 Main Tags/Warnings: angst with a happy ending, offscreen character death, enemies to lovers, workplace sex, semi-public sex, attempted rape/non-con, mentions of past sexual abuse, alcohol as a coping mechanism, sex as a coping mechanism, sex in a kitchen, unresolved past trauma, top!Cas, bottom!Dean Summary: Dean Winchester loves his job, and he's thrilled to have his boss' brother coming in to work over the holidays, that is until he meets Castiel Novak for himself. The man is picky, grouchy, and absolutely fucking gorgeous.

The Path Between the Stars | zaphodsgirl (AO3)

Rating: Mature Word Count: 53111 Main Tags/Warnings: AU - Labyrinth Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Minor Character Death Summary: It's been almost fifteen years since Dean met the enigmatic goblin king, Castiel. After failing to complete the labyrinth with Sam to save baby Adam, Dean is forced to make a deal to secure their freedom. Five years ago he finally gave in to the feelings he’d been keeping at bay for some time, only for Castiel to disappear from his life completely without a word. When Dean relays the story of the labyrinth to Sam's girlfriend Eileen, an opportunity presents itself for him to get some answers...and maybe have a second chance at something he hadn't dared to believe was real.

Of Twists and Turns | @kitmistry

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 75080 Main Tags/Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Pirate AU, Implied Drug Use, Minor Character Death, Amputation, Sea Monsters, Hunter Dean Summary: When naval surgeon Castiel Novak is captured by the Black Impala pirates, he has no choice but to agree to their terms: He is to serve on their ship for a whole year before they release him. That doesn’t mean he is going to like it, though. Especially when their captain is the embodiment of everything Castiel despises. Determined to earn his freedom, Castiel settles into the life of an outlaw. When the pirates’ true goal is revealed, though, he can no longer deny that things are not as black and white as he thought they were. And he can’t deny how drawn he is to Captain Winchester either.

Sovereign | @pomegranatedaffodil

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 87974 Main Tags/Warnings: Arranged Marriage, Hate to Love, Fantasy AU, Royalty AU, Virgin Castiel, Switching, Slow Burn, Minor Injuries Summary: When his brother embarks on a risky venture, Prince Dean of Pellia’s only choice is to enter into a marriage with the king of Arxelle in order to save Sam’s life as well as his own. King Castiel is severe, aloof, and no more happy about their hasty wedding than Dean. Marital bliss is the last state either of them expects to reach, but as Dean spends more time in his new home, he and Castiel slowly begin to settle into a partnership that allows them to put the needs of their kingdom before their own feelings. The longer they spend together, though, the more those feelings develop, daring them both to wonder if they might ever be husbands in more than just name.

Shot Through The Heart | @peanutbutterjelly-pie

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 156327 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe, Men of Letters, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Humor, Case Fic, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Bottom Dean Summary: As a hunter Dean finds himself more often than not relying on the help of the Men of Letters. Most of the time that's not much of a problem - if it wasn't for Castiel, the smartass bookworm with the piercing blue eyes, the messy hair and the rude attitude. He's been an annoying thorn in Dean's side since day one - and the hunter doesn't see that change anytime soon.

[republiccommando1138]

Separatory Funnel

Here’s my 2020 Portal Secret Santa for @artistyutaki, she offered a few prompts but one that I thought was interesting was Chell and GLaDOS/PotatOS hiding from Wheatley in the later chapters of Portal 2. I thought I might as well tie it into some of Chell’s thoughts about the ordeal, while also showing what Wheatley’s up to. I also noticed she was interested in the idea of computer gore, with plates and cables all over the place, so I tried to incorporate a bit of that in as well. I also threw in a tiny nod to Mel and Blue Sky since she mentioned she’s a Blue Sky fan. So this ended up being longer than I thought, and it’s my first time writing a proper fanfic of sorts, but I really hope you like this! I had a great time making it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was not the best place to be in right now. 

Not that it ever was down here, but where Chell was at this exact moment was especially not great. She didn’t complain though, it could always get worse. Actually, it usually did get worse, especially right about when she would wonder if it ever could. Perhaps it was best not to ask that question right about now. Sure, she had just fallen from a deactivated funnel and landed in a dark office whose only door was blocked by overturned desks, monitors, and furniture, which happened to be heavy enough that it’d be a pain in the back to move but for whatever reason the Portal Gun didn’t want to pick up. On the bright side, at least she didn’t fall all the way back down to the 1950s again.

Realistically though, knowing Aperture, it was bound to get worse no matter what she did. If even superstition was anywhere near reliable at this point, it would have been an improvement compared to everything else in this insane complex that somehow had only gotten stranger and more… alien-like, almost, after its founder had died of moon rock poisoning. At least the idea of a set of metal underground spheres laced with asbestos and full of half finished test chambers, the brainchild of a man proudly named Cave, was somewhat navegable. There was an understanding that if one were to see some place and travel far enough in that direction, they would eventually get to that place. If that place moved downwards in freefall, it would be because of the design of the facility, not some sarcastic supercomputer trying to keep her testing while calling her fat.

This bundle of desks, chairs and monitors was somehow all tangled up, with the wires going all over the place. It looked like she would have to either pull the whole thing at once or remove each one separately.

The recordings she heard from Cave Johnson painted a general picture, though they didn’t get awfully specific. But seeing as ground up moon rocks were all the rage down here back in those days, and hearing Cave coughing while ranting about lemons for some reason, it wasn’t difficult for her to figure out exactly how they managed to finally bring down the founder of Aperture. The real surprise? That somehow every other employee at Aperture hadn’t inhaled the stuff and keeled over. It had to have been a possibility, as there was no way that anyone smart enough to work a portal gun would have taken it upon themselves to design any part of this place without being crazy enough to consider the idea. 

This table was a lot heavier than it looked. Hopefully she could fold it over. It wasn’t exactly easy to see the parts that let the table fold on itself when it was this dark.

Could she have been one of those scientists? Chell couldn’t remember anything about herself before waking up under Her testing course, however long ago that was, or whether she was actually adopted, like every personality construct in this place seemed to think was a big deal. Any attempt at figuring out how she got down here would have to be based on guesswork. She was a test subject, which made her a likely employee at some point, though if Her insults were anything to go by, she was only a part time employee. Not committed to this job, just doing it on the side to make ends meet.

She finally managed to fold the damn table, and began to drag it out of the way.

At least that meant she wasn’t some Olympian from the 60s who got tricked into going here. Or a homeless person that got plucked off the streets of some town in Upper Michigan all for the promises of $60 at the end. She wasn’t sure how much that would be in today’s money, but wasn’t about to get optimistic. The real downside to it all was that she never would be able to figure it out. She didn’t even know how long it had been other than that it was long enough to concern Wheatley about brain damage, and even if there were information available about her and why she was here to begin with, she didn’t want to go out of her way to find it. Her main goal was getting out of here as quickly as possible, so there was no time for expositional detours. 

At most, she could stumble upon her backstory without looking for it. Figuring out what happened to Caroline was enough for one day, or however long it had been since she had last gotten some sleep. Besides, it would probably be a huge letdown anyway. Maybe she really was adopted after her birth parents considered her completely unlikeable even as a baby. Maybe her last name was something boring, like Smith. Or Jones. Maybe her name wasn’t even Chell at all. But hey, at least it wasn’t Cave. Hopefully.

Of course, she could just ask the supercomputer turned potato battery where she came from. Yes, that would be a great idea, confiding in who up until recently was her own worst enemy about a detail that She had constantly made fun of. She definitely wouldn’t take advantage of that fact and tell her all about how little Miss Chell SmithJonesWhatever couldn’t hold a single job until she came here because everyone hated her. They seemed to be on good terms now, but she wasn’t going to risk jinxing herself. Besides, she had a rule. No talking in Aperture. Nothing that any AI said was ever worth a response. 

So the lights didn’t work in this room anymore. Phenomenal.

Regardless, even though it still didn’t explain whether she was one of the employees, part time, or otherwise, who might have almost inhaled ground up rocks that cost anywhere from a TV to a house - she wasn’t about to do the math to figure anything more precise than that - it was at least clear that she had made it into Aperture under vaguely legitimate pretenses, and that they considered her smart enough to get her hands on a machine that, in the right hands, could’ve solved the world’s climate crisis by generating free energy. It was damning with faint praise.

Which just so happened to summarize the remarks from her semi edible companion. Not directed at her, for once, rather the situation at hand. Neither one of them were the most frequent of talkers, but She was more willing to comment on the situation. Funny enough, once they happened to agree with each other, Chell could reasonably rely on her as somewhat of a spokesperson. 

“After seeing what he's done to my facility, after we take over again, is it alright if I kill him?” 

Chell looked over at the glowing yellow circle, the only part of Her she could actually make out in the darkness of the room, and could only shrug her shoulders. Do whatever you want, she would have said. Frankly, as much as the two had been getting along, Chell wasn’t about to act like this was some new found friendship between the two. As far as she was concerned, the facility deserved to explode in a mushroom cloud with a giant blast radius. The bigger the better. If she was lucky, it would kill Her, Wheatley, and every other personality construct. Just as long as she wasn’t there for it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since he was connected to the mainframe, Wheatley had been trying to figure out how to work this new body. Now that his only test subject was missing, admittedly due to a mistake on his part, he could explore further. There had to at least be some way to hack the solution euphoria program. But until then, the next order of business was to redesign his lair to his own liking. Not too bad a job She did, but it didn’t quite have the Wheatley style to it. Needed a bit more work. Namely, getting rid of that stalemate button. No way that could remain. 

“Right, so, asking the announcer... voice... guy... didn’t seem to do anything.” He said out loud, “Guess he didn’t quite understand what I was getting at. Hmm, wait a minute, maybe if I go and change this setting, then- Это программное обеспечение повреждено. Удалите его и обратитесь к администратору. Aaaand, nope, still there. Hasn’t even budged a little bit. Guess that didn’t work.”

He then remembered the complexities of hacking the neurotoxin emitters and thought he might start there. “Oh, um hello, Mister button, there.” He said in an accent beyond the rage of any human’s hearing, “I’m a representative of the mechanical parts… association, and we are inviting you to a… convention! Yes, a convention, with all sorts of members, cubes, turrets, even other buttons! And we’d like to invite you! Full expenses paid, shuttle bus straight there to the convention. And there’s going to be a whole panel on buttons! Who knows, they might even have you as a guest speaker! All you have to do is head straight down to the lowest part of the facility! That’s where the bus is! Just head on down there and you’re good to go!”

The button didn’t budge. 

“Not one for conventions I guess? Perhaps you’re more of an introverted sort of button. Doesn’t mind being pressed but also fine with staying where he is.”

Wheatley, being the genius he knew he was, figured he ought to look in the old tapes to see what Her old room looked like. Ever since She had been killed, the facility had been in some disarray, of that much Wheatley was well aware. The relaxation center had taken a hit, for sure, and it seemed the rest of the facility was none the better. Wheatley wondered how long it had been, and though he probably could have figured it out, this new interface wasn’t exactly what he would have considered user friendly. 

Come to think of it, he could figure out a few things at once by going through the recordings. For one, he could figure out what Her old room looked like and what She had done about this pesky little button. Or more interestingly, how her whole room got destroyed just from being shut down, that was always a mystery there. 

All he could find were tapes, and they didn’t seem too promising. Just video feeds of the room, none of which showed if the button was there at all or what she had done with it. Maybe skipping around a bit would work, perhaps it would show something. Nothing so far…

Wait a minute now, here were the tapes of when She was killed. Yes, this was definitely the same test subject all right. Silent as always, she was. Maybe her brain damage was pre-existing.

Well this was concerning. Neither neurotoxin nor the built in rocket turret defense station was enough to even faze her. All that nameless lunatic needed were a couple of seemingly easy portals and in less than the required six minutes She was dead. 

If that silent test subject was still alive, she could find any flaw in his lair design and it’d be bye bye Wheatley. 

First immediate order of business, no portal surfaces anywhere in the lair. That shouldn’t be too hard, just meant he would have to move some panels around. There, piece of cake, only a few panels detached and falling off. That was probably normal.

“Right, no portal surfaces anywhere. Check that off the list. Ding! Next we can- OW! Great, another panel just went and fell right out of the ceiling. Hit me right in the… to be honest I’m not sure what this part of me even is. Doesn’t really look like it does anything useful. Tell you what, how about I take this part off, don’t really need it do we? Won’t be hurting anymore, I imagine. Here we go, unscrewing… and done!”

The offending plate came off of his right side, pulling down several attached cables right out of their sockets, leaving them to dangle around and coil around the floor like snakes. Snakes that occasionally gave out electrical sparks. That probably existed somewhere in nature. Electric snakes. Maybe unicrons ate them. Wheatley made a mental note to look that up, right after learning how to play cards. 

“OK, wow that was actually pretty painful. Guess they don’t simulate any anaesthetic in this thing. Aaand now the lights are flickering on and off. Those are the lights, right? The flashlight doesn’t seem to be helping, so maybe I killed that too. That’s probably normal. Happens sometimes. That’ll probably fix itself.”

In the meantime, he at least had time to see what else was in Her old archives. Maybe there was a guide to fixing whatever was going on. Nope, nothing there. He did find an old security protocol system. Aperture Employee Guardian and Intrusion System, it was called. Interesting, that could help make sure she never got anywhere near his lair. Wait, no, that system was shut down locally. Before She went back online even. Odd, not clear who did that. What else was there… Oh, hang on a minute. The Cooperative Testing Initiative. That sounded useful. Wheatley kept reading. 

Yes, these two little bots seemed to be the fix for everything. As soon as he could he had one of each type assembled and sent straight up to his lair. 

“Hello! Right, so I understand you guys are built for testing, and what have you. So, I have selected you two to be my next testers. I need a few favors from you two though. See those cables down there? The ones that are kind of sparking there a bit? Those? Yeah, ever since I unhooked those, the lights have been flickering on and off.”

Blue looked at Orange, somewhat confused.

“You guys don’t see it? Wait, it just happened again real quick right there.”

Orange shook its head.

“So that might just be my optic sputtering out then. Yeah, that’s not great. Either way, I need you guys to try and get those back into me so I can see again. Now you might be wondering why I can’t just use those grabbers of mine and do it myself? Turns out, if I ever try to fix myself without someone else to help out, I’ll die. So you guys will have to do it for me.”

They both suddenly appeared nervous, and Blue slowly approached the bundle of wires. They sent out a spark and they both flinched. Upon reaching the wire, Blue picked up the first one, which went back in without a hitch. The second one was still going through the exterior plate that Wheatley had just unscrewed off. Pulling it as hard as possible didn’t work. Orange, annoyed, went up and pushed Blue out of the way, then slowly pulled out the cable and stuck it back in. By now the flickering was still happening, but only in randomly appearing colors.

“Great! OK now just one more to go! Home stretch!”

Orange was ready to pick up the last cable, but Blue, unrelenting, snatched it out of Orange’s grasp, and emphatically plugged it in. And then the flickering stopped.

“You did it! Bingo! Oh, man alive, that’s much better. Aaand now it seems you guys are knocking each other’s heads out of their… socket, things, whatever they’re called. Not really getting anything productive out of that, besides I kinda need you guys for something else.”

Neither Blue nor Orange were hearing it though. Once they had decided to play the classic game of Knock the Other Bot’s Head Off, there was little that could stop the competition. For personality constructs designed to get along, they did this a lot.

“Ahem, knock knock, anybody there?!”

It was getting heated. Now Blue was running around with Orange’s head, Orange’s body trying to chase after it but only managing to flail around miserably due to lack of eyes.

“ENOUGH!”

Wheatley hadn’t had an outburst like that in a while. It was a little easier when his only test subject and her potato weren’t driving him up the wall smashing his monitors and not giving him the relief when he wanted it. But the lack of test solution euphoria was starting to make its presence known once more, and it made him impatient as ever. Both bots stopped to look over, then Orange snatched its head and put it back on, glancing angrily at Blue.

“You know, there are bots in orphanages that don't even have heads to steal. Maybe think about how lucky you two are and stop fiddling around like that, yeah?”

They both looked at each other, shrugged the mechanical equivalent of their shoulders and gave each other a quick hug. Wheatley didn’t understand how they could forgive each other so quickly, but he wasn't about to object.

“Right, so, what I need you guys to do is see if we can find any neurotoxin reserves. Ever since I hacked the main factory, genius, I know; we haven’t had any neurotoxin to dispense. So I’m building you a testing course that should lead to where the neurotoxin facility was to see if you can find any clues. Alright, Go team!”

Several panels cleared out of the way to reveal two elevators facing each other, one blue and one orange. The bots looked at each other before taking off and heading to the disassembly machines. In less than a minute they had reached the first test, a simple introductory course with a laser and a redirection cube. And no test of Wheatley’s would be complete without his signature, the word TEST written in lights on the wall. 

These two were smart enough to have figured out how to solve it rather quickly, and Wheatley immediately felt the rush of solution euphoria. Whether it was the amount of time since he had last felt it or because he was testing new subjects, this felt much better than the last few tests he had gotten his other subject to try. Now he could focus on the text task, seeing if there was a trap he could build, just in case those two weren’t dead. Getting rid of the button would have to wait. Maybe if they found some turrets or explosives to keep anyone from reaching it, that could work as a solution. For a little while at least.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Having cleared out all the tables, chairs, and any other debris lying around in what was once an office, Chell could finally get through to the other side and out the door. And the potato on her gun had done a great job at keeping her company. 

“Oh good, now we can get going again. Maybe we can find a way out of here.”

Chell picked up the portal gun and made her way out of the office. To her disappointment, the walkway just led down to the entryway to another test.

“Great, it looks like we’ll need to keep testing a little while longer. And I’m not sure we have that much more time left. Look on the bright side though. Maybe we’ll get to see more of that moron’s inventions. Maybe he’s gotten so desperate he’ll have tried to fuse a turret with a redirection cube and give it laser eyes.”

Chell couldn’t help but smile a bit at that. She resented that Wheatley had become like this, and somewhat missed him in a way, but it was nice to occasionally poke fun at his less than amazing intelligence.

“If a defective turret and a pile of trash had a baby, he would make an excellent pet for that baby.”

Chell’s smile grew slightly bigger and she chuckled silently. It was kind of nice to hear Her jokes while not also being the recipient. The classic insults thrown her way, that she was fat, adopted, unlikeable; those didn’t work on her at all. But they were at least well crafted, almost stand-up quality, though she never would have admitted that. Despite being a murderous former supercomputer with zero conscience up until this point, she did have a bit of a knack for humor. Chell would at least miss that when she left this place.

This was the end of the walkway, and Chell jumped down; her testing break was over. It was going to get tough before she finally did make it out of here.

[apples-r-rubbish]

Institute (13th doctor x reader) Part 3

Summary:  The Doctor decides to drop in a few times to check up on you Word Count: 2.1k AN:  This is mainly filler, I need to edit part 4 and Because I feel nice (and to make up for this) it’s coming out within the next hour or so :) -L x Warnings: death mention Tags: @startrekkingaroundasgard @penguinwithitsarseonfire

(PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 4) (PART 5) (PART 6) (PART 7) (PART 8) MASTERLIST

It had been months since The Doctor had seen you. After having a particularly awful encounter with a dalek in late December, she decided she had to visit you, to give you some updated information. When she exited you were sitting in your chair, legs pulled up to your chest, silent tears slipping from your eyes.

“How do you manage to get it in the same spot every time? Is it something you’ve practiced or is it coincidence?” You asked, not giving her time to say hello. You were wearing jeans a crumpled t-shirt, you had clearly been here a while, and it was late, wine was on the desk a half drunk bottle on the desk

“My expert flight skills and mainly luck. What’s up? What’s wrong?” She asked anxiety clear in her face as she rushed to you, cautiously wrapping her arms around you

“My girlfriend and I split up. She’d been cheating on me,” You explained. A small pang of jealousy hit the doctor. 

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend- or well did- sorry timelines again,”

“Future you met her once, I mean it doesn’t really matter now. Where are we now?” You said stopping the conversation abruptly pulling out a notebook from your desk, “you’ve visited me after 40s India, and modern day Norway,” You frowned staring at your notes

“Done all that, got a few more on your end however, but you’ll soon find out. You keep notes?”

“Of course. River basically threw a notebook at me and told me it was best. If we’re out of sync we have to compare.” You replied scribbling down something. 

“What’s the date? I realise I never ask,” 

“New years eve, 2019 at quarter to midnight if you must know,” You frowned checking your watch “and I‘m sat in my office crying, wine drunk about a girl who really doesn’t care about me,”  You laughed bitterly taking another sip from the wine bottle. She frowned and snatched the bottle from your hands 

“That’s quite enough of that,” she remarked “It’s new years eve, you’re not sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. C’mon we’re watching fireworks,” she dragged you out of the chair by your hands to one of the many floor to ceiling windows in your office. Her hand was warm, not overly smooth but not rough either.  Most of London was visible from your windows

“Me liked the view, she liked London and she knew that she’d be handing the position to myself most of the time so, I was allowed to design the office,” you smiled at the memory 

“How long have you worked here?” she asked as if the question had been on her mind for months

“5 years, put straight in this position, Me found me, insisted I was necessary to the plan, important enough to be involved. We’re a skeleton staff, less than 100 people- 1 institute,” you explained 

“You are important. You’re important to me,” she insisted, remembering her hand was in yours “you’re my friend and I care about you and your feelings,” 

You laughed at that, “Why do you put up with us all? I never understand it,”

“I like you all, you’re kind and funny and passionate. You all want to achieve so much, you aspire to be better,” she looked away from you, her eyes lighting up as she spoke. As you opened your mouth to say something the ominous looking counter flashed up on big ben. You whispered the numbers, as the seconds drew nearer.  She pressed a hand against your face, “3...2…” you were cut off by the feeling of lips on yours. You stayed that way quietly for a moment, breathing heavily, as the celebratory fireworks went off behind you.

She pulled away, “Sorry if I crossed a line, I just know it’s a thing humans do,” She gave a small sweet smile, as if she’d known exactly what she’d done. 

“You didn’t cross a line it’s ok,” You said and then hesitated “But I know you, you do this, you’ll get in that blue box and fly away. But it means next time we might sync so can I get in that box with you.”

There was a comforting silence between you both, “we’re running in different directions, and at some point we might get on track,” You said,

She pecked your lips again, “Soon, I’m sorry.”

“I know, I’ll hold you to that,” You said with a wink as she backed into the TARDIS.

It had been a handful of weeks since the doctor had seen you, she was returning on an adventure with the fam “Sorry fam, got to drop that off at the institute,” referring to the alien tech, they’d taken from a recent adventure. 

“You want an excuse to see her don’t you? See if your timelines are aligned yet,” Yaz sighed at the doctor, she tried to deny it  but both Ryan and Graham nodded at the other woman, 

“Fine, i want to see her, especially after new years, just want to check in on her,” She explained with a slight annoyance to her voice. She flipped a few switches before landing, in your office as she usually did, same spot as always. You were laughing with your girlfriend, or in her timeline, former girlfriend. The other woman was sat on your desk, pressing a kiss to your lips when the doctor strolled out of her TARDIS, “So exciting thing, we found some alien tech that we think- sorry am I interrupting something-” She rambled turning her head, a edge to her voice that was unexpected, the others filled out the ship after her making similar awkward expressions. 

“Christ, can you give us a warning? Have you learnt to do that through our complex timeline?” You laughed, a heavy blush evident on your cheeks “This is my girlfriend. Babe, this is the Doctor,” You smiled, waving your hands between the two of them, she cringed at the nickname. Your girlfriend went to introduce herself, the doctor shot her a sharp glare remembering new years eve, before turning to you, “where are we up to?”

“Uh, you’ve just told me about 17th century witch trials,” You said trying to remember off the top of your head

“Good, that was a fun one,” She smiled at the memory, before, placing the alien tech in your hand, her hand lingering on yours for a bit too long, “Get one of the archive staff to lock that away, you might need it at some point. Maybe, depends, better to have it just incase, it’ll keep you safe, if I can’t be there,” 

“Ok thanks, we’ll get someone on that right now,” You replied, professionalism clear in your voice and face. You felt colder to her, she had forgotten what you were like in the early days. She nodded at you, before turning on her heel, restraining herself from wrapping her arms around you.  She extended a hand to your girlfriend, to which she accepted. The Doctor leant in and whispered “I know what you’re doing, cheaters get what’s coming to them,” She then plastered a fake smile before turning into the TARDIS after giving you a genuine smile. Team TARDIS followed behind her, giving small goodbyes and polite waves to you and your future ex partner. 

“Well that could have gone literally miles and miles better,” Graham frowned, after the ship had taken off

“Yeah, doc, you should have seen your face it was fun- wasn’t funny actually- Ow,” Ryan said between Yaz hitting him on the shoulder trying to help the situation

“Look, she doesn’t even know about new years because it hasn’t happened yet so it’s not like she can help it and saying that to her ex probably wasn’t the best route,” 

“She also kisses me when the institute gets attacked, which is about a month after new years, which is two months after this,” She turned to Yaz anger heavy in her voice “What would you have done in that situation? Hm? What would any of you have done? Exactly. Don’t criticise me when you have not been in situations like that, because it has happened to me far too many times for me to take advice from any of you!” she shouted her final words anger bubbling over the surface finally, as she scraped her hands down the console, in another attempt to knock something nonvital off of it. A pin could have dropped in the TARDIS and everyone would have heard it, “Look, I’m sorry, I keep thinking about her on that planet and I think it’s my fault, and I can’t stop it. I’m just worried, I care about her, and I don’t want to see her with anyone else and I don’t want to see whatever is coming, not on that planet especially,” 

“You never said, what planet it was,” Ryan said unexpectedly 

“It doesn’t matter, it isn’t important.” She frowned quickly “Look, new adventure, got a planet picked out and everything,” 

The familiar wheezes filled your office. You pulled out a handgun you kept in your desk drawer and pointed it at the doors unflinchingly, the doctor stepped out cautiously, “Tell me what I said to you, in this office when the cyberman attacked the institute!” You shouted at the woman

“(Y/N)-”

“Tell me!” You snarled locking the gun, not blinking

“You- You said you should keep wine in your desk, for when we synced again, and you said we should go on a date,” She stammered out. You lowered the gun and out it back on your desk

“Sorry, issues with the Zygons again. Bonnie and Oswald stepped up and helped though, helps to be cautious considering we didn’t have some of their new abilities on file. Gun was fake anyway before you shout at me, just needed to be sure,”  You said kicking your feet onto the desk

“What are we up to on your terms?” She asked avoiding your previous statements 

“The cyber incident was the last time I saw you and that was about 5 months ago. You?”

“Dropping tech off, saw your ex, a month ago for me,” She said taking the seat opposite 

“So we’re even then? Finally, nothing sneaky, just us in my office,” 

“I think so. Unless one of us is lying but we both know better than that,”

“Good,” You replied pulling out a bottle of wine from your desk drawer “5 months, that’s been in there, just incase,” 

“Yeah, well I’d prefer the date,” 

“Are you flirting?” 

“Maybe,” She smirked

“Watch it old man. Don’t want you having a heart attack trying to keep up,” You laughed,as you stood and grabbed your jacket, “I believe we promised each other a date.”

London was warm unsurprisingly, given the time of year. The bar was empty given the fact it was a Tuesday, you ordered a drink for yourself and some juice for the doctor, “I guessed and said apple because I figured you did not want alcohol,” you said taking a seat at the table she had picked. 

“I could love it, you never know,” She replied,  you proceeded to offer her your drink, she took a sip and made an odd face “Ok nevermind then, I take it back,”

“In my defence, your new face might have liked it, not my fault I didn’t know,”

“Definitely not for me,” She stuck her tongue out after her comment. You talked for hours despite the glares of the slightly annoyed bar staff, telling stories of space travel and times long gone, or the times yet to come

“I’ve never visited victorian england, I imagine it would be nice. Those were always assigned to someone else,” You said suddenly 

“We could go if you’d like, another date, sightsee and do a bunch of touristy things, meet the queen, I’m sure she wouldn’t recognise me with this face,”

“I feel like it’s somewhere I'd like to go to before I die, like I’d save it for a bucket list, a sort of time bucket list,” You rambled. That was a sobering reminder for the doctor, the way you looked at her, a bittersweet happiness in your eyes and a knowing smile, a different version of you compared to the one in front of her.

“Travel with me, please.” You gave her a look “I know what you said, but we’re finally synced up again, what’s the worst that could happen. I doubt they’d notice you gone, you essentially just sit in your office and try to avoid boredom all day, you might as well travel.” 

“Fine, you aren’t going to drop it until I agree so yes, I’ll travel with you,” You said finishing what was left of your drink, she had already stood up a giddy smile clear on her face. The Doctor pulled you to your feet, “c’mon, need to do some maintenance on the TARDIS and we’ll meet up with the others and go somewhere.”

[purplecatghostposts]

Roleswap AU ideas: if you want something big, you could maybe do when the gang first gets to Xen. Or if you want something more low key, could do right after the resonance cascade cuz I'm very curious about how you think Gordon would treat Benrey in that moment

You. *Grabs your face* You are a lifesaver.

Also halfway through brainstorming I went, “hey what if I COMBINED them” so get ready, I’m doing both. In chronological order of course

——

There’s a list of things Gordon expected to happen when he joined Black Mesa as the newest member of the Security Team.

(Ideally, he would’ve joined as a Scientist but Gordon needs more money to put him through college first so Security will have to do. Plus maybe if he does well, he can get a good reputation with Black Mesa and his chances of becoming a Scientist will get higher!)

A few of them come true. Gordon sees real, actual aliens, machines that can accomplish beyond what he’s dreamed, and only becomes entranced with the idea of becoming a Scientist and working with all of this.

A few of them don’t quite live up to his expectations. Namely, it’s hard to make friends. Too many of the Scientists are straight up dicks- especially Dr. Bubby, god, what Gordon would give to punch that man in the face- and the guards aren’t all that friendly either. They’re not quite prickly but most of them just want to get their jobs done, go home, and never talk with anyone they work with outside the workplace.

It’s frustrating but Gordon gets used to it. A few people make it bearable and he falls into a rhythm that’s comfortable enough.

(Years start to pass by. One- three- five now. Gordon has enough money but he hasn’t gone to college yet. His life isn’t perfect but... Can he really uproot it? Will becoming a theoretical physicist really make his life better? Is that really what he wants? Did he already miss his chance at the life he wanted by waiting?)

Everything changes in the blink on an eye. Because in all the things he thought would happen in his time in Black Mesa, a Resonance Cascade was not one of them.

His name is Benrey and he doesn’t have his passport. Gordon knows for a fact that Black Mesa sent an E-Mail and several follow ups a week in advance about this new policy. Everyone else had theirs but this guy- Benrey- claims he never heard of it.

Gordon pinches the bridge of his nose. Company policy dictates that he has to follow this guy around for the rest of the day to make sure he actually belongs here. And Gordon was hoping for an early lunch break that he’s not gonna get. Typical.

Gordon follow Benrey- even into the test chamber which Benrey says isn’t dangerous though Gordon takes one look at the machine buzzing to life and he isn’t so sure. But Gordon continues to stick around, even after the machine goes critical.

Everything goes green. Gordon wakes up in the dust of a ruined test chamber. Alarms blare in the distance, reminding him of the disaster they have on their hands. Benrey’s already up, staring at the remains of a machine with an faraway look in his eyes.

Gordon gets his attention as he stands. “Hey!” Benrey snaps to attention, eyes wide but he relaxes somewhat upon seeing Gordon. “What- what the hell was that?” Gordon gestures in the general direction of the machine.

Benrey’s mouth opens and closes before he eventually mumbles, “S-shit happens.”

Gordon gives him a hard look. “Shit happens.” Gordon repeats slowly. Is he really not taking this seriously? “That’s all you have to say? ‘Shit Happens’- that’s it?”

Benrey shifts in place. The laugh that leaves him sounds almost off but Gordon doesn’t know enough about Benrey to know for sure. “What... What else can I say? I mean, shit like this happens all the time, s’not new, right?”

“I- what?” Gordon sputters, looking Benrey up and down. “No! It doesn’t! Are you hearing those alarms? I’ve worked here for five and a half years and I’ve never seen anything like this happen! This is a Resonance Cascade, Benrey! This is a fucking disaster and you-!”

Benrey’s breath hitches and Gordon doesn’t finish. And you caused it, the thought rings in his ears but he doesn’t say it out loud.

There’s a look in Benrey’s eyes- an emotion that swallows him whole- but Gordon hasn’t the slightest what it is. Because next thing he knows, Benrey is laughing again and stuttering out a, “I have no idea what this is, dude. What’s a... Resident Cascade?”

“Resonance Cascade.” Gordon corrects with a huff. There’s a lopsided grin on Benrey’s face and Gordon doesn’t know how to deal with it. “Fucking- come on. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. We don’t know what damage y- what damage has been caused. Whatever it is, it’s dangerous.”

Benrey waves him off but quickly heads for the exit. “Psh, we can handle it.”

Gordon bites his lip and doesn’t comment on that. There’s a high chance he’s going to be stuck with Benrey for a while and he doesn’t like it.

—

Gordon has a good feeling what’s going to happen long before they enter the portal to Xen.

He knows now. That he’s not human- that he’s never been human. The portal to Xen calls to him like a twisted siren song that he doesn’t want to acknowledge even exists. It crackles with a power that physically feels good but leaves a sick feeling in his stomach.

Gordon knows how this is gonna go. He tries to talk Benrey out of going to Xen but, well...

Benrey hasn’t acted the same since Gordon got his hand cut off. He listens somewhat but Benrey subconsciously holds his gun-arm close to his chest whenever Gordon says a word to him. He no longer trusts him, that much is clear. Gordon doesn’t blame him. He wouldn’t either.

Gordon is the last one through the portal. Benrey is the first, leaping in without much hesitation with Bubby following close behind. Gordon almost doesn’t want to go but he hears the ringing in his ears. Xen has been calling to him for a while now and seeing the portal makes it impossible to ignore.

Gordon enters into Xen. He’s hit with a wave of energy he’s never felt before, even before he makes it to the other side.

It changes him. Gordon doesn’t mean to do it but his body gulps down the energy like it’s starving for it and Gordon grows. His body shifts and morphs and threatens to become inhuman but even if Gordon knows, he holds onto his human appearence. He wants to be human for a little longer. Though he can’t stop how tall he gets.

And Gordon knows now. Black Mesa has been looking for Xen’s main powerhouse for a long time- they told Benrey to search for him. To find their strongest alien and to take it out. Gordon enters Xen and suddenly, he remembers everything. He might’ve escaped Xen a long time ago but his connection to Xen never left. It’s him. Gordon’s what Black Mesa wants gone.

It’s almost funny. Gordon’s been working at Black Mess for years now- they could’ve dealt with him ages ago and would’ve been done with it. It’s a set up to a bad joke that Gordon wants to laugh hysterically at anyways because it’s so goddamn funny, isn’t it? His life has been a giant joke and it’s not even a good one.

Typical. Gordon never had good luck anyways.

It’s impossible to hide when Gordon arrives at Xen. He stands, far taller than any human could ever be and looms over the rest of the team. He stares down at them with tired eyes, knowing nothing is going to go his way. Everyone else backs up upon seeing him, looks of shock and terror on each of them, except for Benrey. Benrey doesn’t move, frozen and staring up at Gordon with wide, unblinking eyes.

Gordon knows the look on his face now. He’s seen it enough times that it makes him sick. In the testing chamber, a few times when they got attacked by soldiers and aliens, anytime they faced an alien far bigger than the rest, when Gordon left him at the mercy of the soldiers, when Gordon saw him again afterwards- Gordon knows that look like the back of his hand, even if he didn’t understand it the first time he saw it.

It’s fear. And Gordon caused it.

“It’s you...” Benrey’s voice shakes, staring up at him. He doesn’t have to elaborate, Gordon knows what he means.

“It’s me.” Gordon nods, resigned.

He doesn’t blame him when Benrey runs.

——

This was a veryyyy fun write, I’m not gonna lie. Thank you so much for the suggestion! If you got another one, feel free to send it! I hope y’all enjoy!

[aewriting]

Angsty Alien Brothers One-Shot

This was inspired by some of @ninswhimsy ‘s recent posts about soulmates - the good AND bad implications of that concept. 

If you prefer, here it is on AO3.

Warnings: angst, mentions of police.

***

It was meant to be fun.

Max had been miserable for months, doing the bare minimum at the Pony, sleeping too late, moping. Isobel had been the one to suggest Planet 7.

“No,” Michael had said quickly. He’d been doing well, avoiding Alex.  Avoiding Alex with Forrest, specifically.  No, no malice, no ill intent, nothing like that.  He just… just didn’t want to see it.  He keeps hoping it will run its course… but they seem to still be going strong. He sees them sometimes – it’s a small town, and his attention’s drawn to Alex in a way he can’t explain.  Magnetic.  Cosmic. All of that.

He sees them in the grocery store, late one night.  Sees them in the window booth at the Crashdown. Having breakfast. On a weekend. He tries not to imagine what they were doing before breakfast.  Sees them crossing the street, casually holding hands in the crosswalk.  And once, a few weeks back, there they were, leaving Planet 7.  Making out.  

So no, he doesn’t want to go to Planet 7.

“Let’s take a drive.  Up to Albuquerque.  One of the bars up there.  See some new sights, meet some new people.”

Isobel raises an eyebrow. “That could be fun.”  Her gaze slides to Max. “You in?”

Max just shrugs. “Whatever.”

***

Max is drinking too much tonight. This is a good bar – Michael’s actually been in here before.  Twice. Both times over the last few months, since Alex and Forrest… yeah.  He’s left with guys, both times.  He’s… he’s trying to figure some stuff out, with himself.  What he likes.  What he wants, outside of Alex.  Um, and hopefully, eventually, with Alex. It’s been… fine. Fun.  Light.  Uncomplicated.  Pretty much everything the rest of his life isn’t right now.

No one’s approaching them. He sees some flares of interest – directed at him and Max, but it’s usually short-lived, halted when the other person seems to notice Max’s whole… everything.

Isobel, though… Michael smiles a little at the sight of her, blissed out, leaning up against a strong-looking brunette.  She’s gonna get some tonight, Michael can tell.  Good for her.

Max, though…

He’s trying to get up, suddenly, head to the bar.

“Hey,” Michael says sharply, snaking out an arm and snagging Max around the elbow.  “Think… think you’ve had enough.”

Max scoffs a little.  “That’s my line.”

It actually relaxes something in Michael.  “Yeah, yeah it is.  Not tonight though.”

“Not lately,” Max adds.  

“No,” Michael agrees. He doesn’t go to the Pony very much these days. Just, just hurts still.  He tried, with Maria.  He really did.  Hurts that it wasn’t enough. “If you weren’t so drunk right now,” he says, trying to change the subject, “I’d be trying to get you laid.”

Max snorts a bit, sits back down in his chair with too much force. It creaks, makes a too-loud noise. Michael’s ready with the TK, if needed.

The chair holds, and Michael slumps back in his own seat, sips his beer.  Stops when he sees Max just… just staring at him.

“What?”

Max’s eyes are wide as he leans in.  “Has it ever worked, for you?”

Michael frowns.  “Has, has what worked?”

Max laughs a little. “This,” he says, gesturing vaguely around the bar.  “Drinking, fucking around?”

“You’re drunk, Max,” Michael says, voice a little hard.  

Max’s eyes go even wider. “I’m, I’m serious, Michael. I’m not trying to, like, call you out.”

“Aren’t you?” Michael asks. “Seem to remember plenty of call outs from you, through the years.  Usually with a badge and a gun, too.”

“Fuck,” Max mutters, running a hand through his hand.  “I… that was shitty of me.  I was worried, Michael.”

Fuck.  He knows they shouldn’t get into this now, here.  It’s public, Max is wasted, but… Michael blows out a breath.  “So you fucking talk to me.  You don’t… don’t just keep hauling my ass back to the drunk tank in cuffs.”

Max’s jaw tightens.  “That’s fair.  There were times I was hoping that if there were some actual, I dunno, teeth involved?  Consequences? That maybe you’d finally stop.  But there were other times that,” he shakes his head. “Dammit, Michael. You were good at pissing people off, you know? And, and I know what you can do.  Of course I fucking do.  There were times that you, you scared me, Michael.  You didn’t fight back.  It’s like you, you wanted to just, just take a beating, get your ass handed to you.” He sighs.  “Especially when Alex was overseas.”

Michael freezes.

Max shrugs.  “Am I wrong?”

Michael looks down quickly, sips his beer.  

“I’m not wrong,” Max asserts. “Which is how I know you know. What it’s like.  When they leave.”

Michael can’t deal with this. Shakes his head and tries to will Max to shut up.

Doesn’t work.

Max is looking at Isobel and the woman she’s with.  “I don’t think it’s happened yet, with Iz.  She’d know. She’d feel it the way we do.” Michael still hasn’t said anything, and Max finally seems to notice. “You had to have known this, right?” Max’s hands are out in front of him, upturned.  “Me and Liz, you and Alex.  And god, you two, like…” Max brings his hands together in a vague sort of way.  Michael can’t believe he’s seeing this.  “Back in high school, right?  God… I don’t know how you did it.  Being with Liz, actually having been with her, feeling her – “

“Max,” Michael says sharply, really not wanting to hear the intimate details.

“It’s so much worse now. Like, I always knew it was hopeless, but it’s worse now.” Max is just staring at Michael, half incredulous. “Michael… you do feel it, right? With Alex?”

“Don’t go there, Max,” Michael warns.  

“The connection?  The, the,” he pauses, “certainty that you’re meant to be together? That it’s bigger than just the two of you?” Max looks at Michael, searching for something, then pulls back. Looks worried.  “Michael,” he says, edge of fear toward his voice. “Please tell me you’ve felt that, too. I… all these years, I’ve just assumed it’s an, an us thing.” He pauses.  “Is, is it not? Like, it’s not just me, is it?”

Michael bites his lip, grips his glass tighter.  “It’s not just you,” he says, finally.  It’s one thing to think it.  Think it for years, late at night on his own, in stolen moments with Alex, while… while he’s in someone else’s bed. It’s another thing to discuss it, out in the open, with someone else that might actually verify the reality of it.

Some of the tension leaves Max as he blows out a breath.  “Thank you,” he whispers.  “Seriously, thank you.  I know we don’t… don’t talk about this.  All those years, should’ve known you were hurting like I was.  But you never wanted to talk about it, never wanted us to know. And after everything that happened…” Max hangs his head.  “I tried, you know?  With Jenna. Like, I wanted to feel things for her. I think you tried too, with – “

“Max,” Michael says, a warning.

Max gives him a look, shakes his head a bit. “I know you tried with her.  And remember,” he says, voice softer now, “I saw the two of you together. In Texas.” He raises an eyebrow.  “I know you two could have had something. If it wasn’t for Al – “

“Max!” Michael interrupts, raising his voice.  Cutting him off before he can finish, before he can make Michael acknowledge the fear… the fear and the hope he’s had all these years.

Max’s eyebrows are raised. “Really?  We’re really not gonna talk about him?”

“Do you want to sit around and talk about Liz?” Michael asks.

Max sniffs a bit. Looks around. “Fine,” he says, voice tight. “Fine,” he repeats. Swigs his whiskey. Winces.  “What do you want me to do, Michael?  Get laid?” he asks, throwing Michael’s earlier words back at him.  “Go have… have that guy blow me in the bathroom?”

Michael’s eyes widen and he whips around to see a younger guy eyeing Max.  Dark hair, slight build. “Whoa, Max, for real?”

Max shrugs.  “That surprise you?”

Michael laughs a little. “Well, yeah.  Guess it does.”

Max’s mouth twists a little. “Don’t know how to explain it.” He looks at Michael, then, a little sharper, a littler more with it.  “But… but I’m thinking maybe I don’t have to explain it to you.  How it’s… how it’s Liz, and everyone else.” He grimaces a little. “Well, not everyone else, obviously, but also, like, more people than you’d think.  If you catch my drift.”

Michael nods slowly.  “I do.  Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“All this time?”

Max sighs.  “Hard to say.  You know Roswell.” He shakes his head a little.  “Wasn’t about to try something there.  If I didn’t have to.”

“But you would?  Try something?” Max is quiet.  “Like, with, with a guy?”

Max shrugs again. “I mean, yeah, I guess?  But… but what’s the point?”  

Michael just stares at him.

“I’m serious, Michael, what’s the point?  Like, I’m asking you.  Has it ever helped, really?”

Michael worries his lip a little. Speaks carefully.  “I, I don’t think it’s, like, a bad thing.  To have fun, figure yourself out.”

“That what you were doing, all those years?” Michael tries to duck Max’s eyes.  Can’t. “Cause that, that didn’t look fun, Michael. That looked like you were hurting and trying to figure out the best way to forget.”

Michael sniffs a little. “That was about more than just him.”

“I know,” Max says.  “Part of me actually hoped maybe it would help you. With everything.  But, over time, your arrest record said otherwise, you know?” Max sighs a little. “And I’m not stupid, Michael.  I, I saw how you’d go underground for stretches, when he was home, then be, god, pissed at the world whenever he’d leave.”

It’s still too raw.  Still too close to the surface to really talk about. He doesn’t want to break down in the goddamn bar.

“You ever talk about this? With him?” Max asks.  

“Didn’t do much talking,” Michael mutters.

Max nods.  “Liz and I didn’t talk about it either.  Makes me wonder. Do they feel it the way we do?” He bites his lip.  “Sometimes I think, I think they couldn’t possibly, because if they did, if they did…”

He trails off and turns his head away.  “Fuck,” Michael mutters.  Max is crying.  Really crying.  Big, shuddery sobs.  Michael is on him quickly, wrapping an arm around him, trying to shield him from other people’s questioning looks.  “Hey,” he assures him. “Hey. Max.”

“She just left, Michael. She left.  This time it was her.  And I can’t blame anyone but myself.”

And shit… he’s right. There’s nothing Michael can really say to that. “Let’s go outside,” Michael says softly, throwing some money down and propping Max up as they take the closest exit.  They’re in the back alley, and there are a few couples there too, wrapped up in each other.  One of the bartenders taking a smoke break.  He ushers Max a little farther away. Lets him cry, lets him grab Michael while he does it.

Max pulls away after a while, face a mess.  “I’m sorry,” he gasps. “I’m sorry.  For this, and for all that time when you were just, just trying to be okay.”

Michael lets him cling to his jacket. Nods.  “You were right,” he says after a while.  “It, it didn’t help.  Not really. So I don’t know why I thought this, tonight would help you.”

“So what do we do?” Max asks, looking – god, so sad.  Lost.

Michael just looks upward, at the sky.  Tries to catch a glimpse at the stars, the moon, but it’s too cloudy, maybe, or the lights of the city are too bright.  It depresses him, and he looks back at Max. “We just do our best.  We live our lives.  Live them right.  And try to be better.  For them, yeah, but for us, too.” He shrugs.  “It’s what I’m trying to do. Now.  Only thing I can do, really.” He licks his lips, looks at Max.  “This time, let’s not try to do it alone, though, okay?”

Max looks up at him sharply. “You promise?”

And before Michael knows it, he’s hugging him. “I promise you, Max. I promise.”

[lennydaisy]

EPIPHANY SERIES // OUTER BANKS // CHAPTER FOUR.

(n.) a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand. or suddenly become conscious of something that is very important to you.

                  “Care to seize the day, my friend?”

Outer Banks                                                                                                                 Season 1-                                                                                                                      FEM OC! and ?

Warnings! This chapter does have mentions of violence and panic attacks.

Here’s the link to Chapter 3 in case you haven’t read it already <3 Check it out!!

The Outer Banks isn't exactly a big island. With a population of 50,000, what do you expect? Everybody knows everybody. Kooks know Kooks. Pogues know Pogues. And unfortunately, Kooks and Pogues know each other too.

They might have tried to divide the island, but they can't divide the people.

There are no secrets in the OBX and if there is, they get found out eventually. That's what tends to happen when you're at each other's throats constantly. Anything can happen, especially when someone's reputation is on the line. Also, when you live in a community where the only thing to do this work, fish, and then work some more, even the most unsuspecting people will begin to buzz with excitement at the chance of an interesting day. Even if what they're talking about isn't true at all.

I learned this first hand when my dad went missing. Anyone and everyone will jump at the chance to start rumours, wanting to be the first one to claim they know for a fact what happened. Shocker, but these people don't know shit.

"I heard he was abducted by aliens."

"No way. Did you not see his beard? He was obviously an addict."

"Maybe he followed the mom. With children like that, I'd jump at the chance to leave too."

"Maybe they did it."

It feels like history is repeating itself.

Irritation rips through my body as I tug off my shoes, hopping in an attempt to see the damage done to my heels. Grimacing at the blister that has found its home on the back of my ankle, blood spotting around the brim of my now white, stained socks.

Pushing forward through the streets of the cut, just wanting to get home, I keep my head ducked down, walking on the balls of my feet in hopes of dodging the small stones that litter the path. The summer sun now at its highest point in the sky, beating down on me overhead as it burns my scalp, leaving a painful tingle at the crown of my head.

It's the start of the sunny season. The best time of the year. Endless nights filled with drunken rushes and hearty emotions. You lose yourself in the blaze and are completely content with never finding your way out. Shopping cart races down the uneven streets. Dancing freely on the dim-lit porch. Getting attacked by an army of mosquitos. And watching the stars twinkle from the comfort of a scratchy hammock. That's summer.

Some residents of The Cut spend their summers fishing and having disorganised garden parties. Others still have the misfortune of having to work through this obnoxious heat and have to deal with even more obnoxious Kooks.

Believe it or not, it's not the teenagers that are the biggest hassle on the island. It the elderly. And we have plenty of them. During the winter they're like hermits, never leaving the comfort of their homes. Delivery services and the postman become their best friend for four months of the year.

When summer arrives it's game over, especially for those Touron families who just wanted to get away from the bustle of the in-country. Only to be welcomed by off-the-rails pensioners.

The cliché for Fireman is to save cats from trees, right? Not at the cut. A few summers ago I had to call the fire services to collect the 83-year-old lady who managed to get herself stuck in the tree just outside the Château.

It was a weird experience. All most cult-like. The old lady laughing her head off as a group of elders cheered her on. I did try to get her to come down, but I got told to 'live a little,' and got a shoe to the face courtesy of the lady in the tree.

Point proved. They're batshit. The tiniest bit of sun drives them insane after being hauled up inside for no one else's fault but their own. Someone should tell the poor dearies that winter in the Outer Banks isn't like the ice age.

That's why what I'm currently looking at is terrifying.

In a freshly mowed lawn, all seated in orderly rows beholds what appears to be the street's resident elderly. Perfectly placed garden tables covered with toppers, bottles of wine fully on display, even though they appear to be drinking out of teacups, and the mouth-watering smell of BBQ meat. It seems like the perfect way to spend the summer afternoon.

Diverting my confused gaze from surprisingly stable elderly, I pick up the pace, limping my way past the garden. Hoping that my grumbling belly doesn't sound as loud as I believe it too.

"Did you hear about Scooter Grubbs?"

"Oh yes. Poor soul. He didn't deserve to die, he was a good man."

"Good man!? If he's a good man then Peter here's a Godsend."

"Hey!"

"I caught him in a Grady White the other day, probably stole it."

Grady White?

"It's just a coincidence. It's just a coincidence. It's just a coincidence." I thought out loud, now practically run back to the Château. My brain working a mile a minute, the conversation that I heard playing on repeat.

'Scotter Grubbs.'

'Die.'

'Grady White.'

'It's just a coincidence!'

Slowing to a walk when I spot my house, lightly as possible I tiptoe down the dirt path, my feet hating me for every stone and stick that I seem to stand on. My hands swinging back and forward, the laces of my shoes slapping against my thighs as I voice my thoughts, "It just some freaky coincidence. Maybe I've been voodooed? Maybe I just heard wrong? Yeah! That's it, I should clean my ears, I'm hearing things wrong-"

My tangent of self-explanations ease to whispers as I catch sight of Pope, alone, at our small dock, appearing to be securing the 'HMS Pogue' from becoming adrift. About to call out to my friend, wanting to tell him about the crazy gossip that I heard on my walk home, but Pope sees me nearing the Château and makes a mad dash back into my house.

'It's just a coincidence?'

Brushing off the boy's odd action, I continue my walk to the front door, wanting nothing more than to just kick my aching feet up and chill.

"Deny, deny, deny."

Pushing open the sheer porch door, the room falls into an abrupt silence. Pope finding interest in his hands. JJ flicking his lighter. John B throwing an empty beer bottle from hand to hand. And Kiara finding interest in her shoes.

Not even standing in the house yet, the door still being held in my hand, I just gaze at my friends in amusement. Licking my dry lips, I toss my trashed shoe's beside the coach that is being occupied by Kie and Pope. Not even blinking an eye, I make my way over to the straw chair, next to the recliner that holds JJ.

The usually satisfying noise of the distressed straw under my weight echos around the room with an unsettling crunch. I wait. Picking my chipped nail posh off my nails, wincing as I place my feet on the small table in front of me.

I finally close my eyes, embracing the silence of the Château. The sound of distant crickets and the odd screaming of the gulls that roam the skies bring me to an oddly calm state. My body seems to sink into the surprisingly comfortable seat despite the uncomfortable looks that I can feel being sent my way.

"JJ stole a gun and money from Scotter Grubbs' motel room!"

There it is.

Pope finally cracking under the pressure of my laidbackness. Slowly opening my eye, I catch the glares been shot in Pope's direction. The boy has never been very good at keeping secrets, I don't know what they expected.

Turning to the blonde beside me, "You have a gun?" I ask warily. Not that I don't trust JJ, I just don't know how to feel about a firearm being in my house.

He doesn't answer me. No one did.

Placing my feet back on the ground with a painful wince, I look bored at my friends, "Is no one going to talk to me? You're going to keep me in the dark?"

I still get no answer, not even a look in my direction. The air suddenly becoming too heavy for my liking, I push myself up from my chair and make my way through the house. I can read the room and clearly whatever happened they don't want me to know so, that's that.

My room hasn't changed since I was four years old. My once pink curtains now faded with the constant sun shining against them. My lopsided wardrobe that is hanging onto its hinges for dear life, overflowing with the unnecessary amount of clothes I have. My oak bedside table stained with coffee cup rings and the head of my bed that is taken over by the herd of stuffed animals that I have accumulated over the years.

Everything in this room has a memory.

Like the glow in the dark stars that I stuck to the ceiling above my bed. JJ and I had a fun time that day. Bouncing on the bed in hopes of getting at least one to stick. From time to time the odd one will fall off and slap me in the face during my slumber, but that's expected when you're roof has been leaking since you were born.

Or the name that is carved onto the windowsill. That was a long time ago. It was a different time back then. I was a different Mason back then. Over the years I've tried to convince myself to cover it up, but I can never follow through. Despite how much I hate the way it stares at me in the dead of the night, they once used to be the reason the sun would always rise the next day.

The stuffy air seeming to follow me into my haven, I push open the window inviting the sound of the rustling trees and subtle waves in my room. Taped to the window is the many memories that I have captured in time.

There's me and John B on our third birthday, with obnoxious party hats with even more obnoxious tassels. Birthday badges that are bigger than our heads, and party horns in our mouths. Our eye sparkled with nothing but innocence back then. Those two had no idea what they'd grow to be. I hope they'd be proud if they saw.

There's one from the day I met Kie. My dad took it without us knowing, both of us to busy squealing and flailing away from the lobster we had just caught. It's not my best picture, my hair blowing in every direction as I wore wellingtons that were two sizes too big. I made a life long friend that day.

My favourite photo, against my better judgment, is one taken from the day of the boat race. My friend and I holding onto each like our lives depended on it. The sides of our faces smushed together with a laughable look of discomfort in our eyes at the idea of being forced to take a picture in front of the honourable boatmen.

I've never moved house. I was born in the Château and I'll probably die in the Château. My point is, I know this house inside out. Like, to get the hot water in the shower to have to tap the back of the showerhead three times. Or how if you want to sneak out and not get caught, there a loud floorboard right in front of the door. I never snuck out though so, I wouldn't know, I've just heard about it.

I know this place like the back of my hand, from every corner to every inch. And also every sound. When the all too familiar scream of the door breaks the beckon of silence I wished upon myself, I make my way to my bed. Getting comfy, my legs in a basket, my back pressed against the headboard as I stare out the window with my floppy elephant teddy placed in between my hands.

The patter of feet entre my room. My bed dipping with the newly added weight. The windowsill humming as it's used as a seat. The subtle strumming of my guitar. And the turning of my rusty, swirly, desk chair. They're all here.

I just frown my eyebrows at each of them, refusing to be the first one to talk. I don't know what happened, that's up to them to explain it to me.

"What do you know about Scooter Grubbs?" John B, being the first to speak up, asks.

"His uh- married to Mrs Grubbs?" I guess, but it has proven that I don't know how to read a room either, my joke falling short, "I've had to kick him out of Save-A-Lot a couple of times. He was creeping out Mrs Adams after she caught him shaking the charity boxes."

Letting my serious reply linger in the air, I ask the question that I need to know the answer to, "What happened to Scooter Grubbs?" What I heard couldn't be true, I had just seen him last week, perfectly healthy.

"His body was found in the marsh this morning," Kie whispers, her fingers still gently plucking the strings of my guitar as she refused to look anywhere else.

Shit.

"It was his boat we found this morning, wasn't it?" My words echoing through the silent room. Everyone minds seeming to be running with the news. What do we do?

"It just doesn't make sense. How does a marine rat get a Grady White?" John B throws the question that everyone is thinking out. It's true, Scooter Grubbs was never seen with more than $40 in his pocket and now he's cruising around with a boat cut out for a Kook. It's odd.

"Prostitution," Pope inhales sharply, not missing a beat to voice his opinion. I click my fingers nodding at the boy who is sitting comfortably beside me on the bed, "Or a sugar daddy?" I reason but then grimace at the thought of Grubbs being a sugar baby.

"Square groupers," John B states like its obvious. Turning to Pope who pretends to understand what John B is talking about, I nudge his shoulder, "I liked ours better."

"What does that mean? JJ?" My brother points at the blonde boy who has occupied himself with my jar of shells, inspecting them closely, "Straight smugglin'," he says, placing the jar back in its place, his attention now on the conversation.

"And I guarantee there's a serious amount of contraband in that wreck," John B promises. It makes sense. Who goes out for a boat ride during a hurricane? Someone who knows that there is no aerial surveillance and they could just fly right under the radar. It's a smart plan, but too smart for someone whose smugglin'.

"For the record," Pope starts, pulling out a wad of 100 bills that I can't help but gape at with large eyes. Scooter Grubbs had that kind of money but acted like he was homeless? Each to their own, I guess?

"If that is a smuggling ship, with illegal contraband on the inside of it... It probably belongs to someone else," Pope speaks the truth, waving the money around like its nothing to have this much cash in your hand.

'How much is there?' I thought. Deciding to find out, I snatch the wad from Pope's hand and begin to count it, "I'm glad you're here Pope," I muse, now at $2,000, "You guys have clearly never dealt with smugglers before. They're dirty pigs. Once they find out that..." finishing my counting, I place the notes on my bed, "$10,000 is missing there stash... Sorry to break it to you, but we'll be the prostitutes after that."

The four pairs of eyes on me causes me to shrink back slightly, "What?" I blink, "Did you guys forget about the Komodo Dragons? I can't get caught by smugglers, I'm probably already on a hit list."

"Minor details," Kie chips in, brushing off the hit list comment. "Taking it would be catastrophically stupid," Pope argues, siding with me, not being fond of the idea of being on a smuggler's radar with the way his body shakes at the thought.

"Right. Well, stupid things have good outcomes all the time," speaking of catastrophically stupid, JJ throws his pennies worth on the table, reaching forward for the cash, "All we need to do is figure out a way to get into the cargo hold of that wreck."

I can't believe we're even considering this. Stealing from a man who was just found dead not even a few hours ago. When did we stoop that low?

"Until then, we just lay low," JJ suggests, sitting comfortably against the windowpane with this dirty boats resting on the foot of my bed,  "Just act normal."

Having enough of the discomfort, I shove his feet off my bed and look him straight in the eye, "As normal as we can with a gun, right?" I ask, referring to the firearm that is just casually hanging out his back pocket.

Nodding my head at the boy, "Promise me you'll use it responsibly?" Smiling tightly at JJ as I hold out my pinky. He just laughs out a breath, looking around for any help from the other three in the room. Each just giving him the eye, all agreeing with what I had asked.

I don't think he understands. He has a gun. A firearm. They're dangerous and it's not that I don't trust JJ, it just makes me uncomfortable and scared that one slip up with that thing and JJ's future could be uncertain. All our futures could be on the line if he doesn't handle it like an adult.

Locking his pinky with mine gently, he looks me dead in the eye, straight-faced, "I promise."

Satisfied with this, I nod my head, getting comfortable on my bed again, "Oh, and before I forget," I start, making sure every one of them is paying close attention to what I have to say, "Don't leave me in the dark again. Do not trust me?"

Jumping up at my question, "No. No, it's not that," John B, now sitting in front of me, quickly shooting down my assumptions, "It's just... we know you'd want us to do the right thing," he spills gently as the other three just nod at what the boy said, heads down in thought.

"At least we acknowledge that we're doing the wrong thing," I laugh lightly at the irony of the situation. It's true, I want us to do the right thing. I was hoping that they would report the wreck to the coast guard and we'd get a finder fee. Fair, it wouldn't have been as much as they found in that motel room, but it would have still been more than we had before.

At the word 'we' their eyes snap in my direction and I can't help the small smile that is creeping its way across my face, "Yes, I said we," I confirm, "I'm not letting you guys take all the glory for our downfall.

Little laughs being shared, seeming content with our resolve. Pope is the first to speak up, "So, what do we do?"

Exchanging glances with Kie, both having the same thought in mind, "Kegger!" we cheer with happiness. Sensing no objection against the idea, especially after the conversation we just had.

Besides, what's the worst that could happen?

The Boneyard. Misleading name because as far as I know there are no bones in the Boneyard. I think everyone on the island has heard about the boy who broke his jaw because he fell after attempting to climb the dead trees that litter the beach. It's similar to that story your teacher tells you about the boy who swung on his chair and split his head open.

Keggers at the Boneyard are a summer must. Something about an aluminium keg filled with cheap beer is very appealing when you're under the blazing sun and being swept away with the winds of the waves. Chugging away your worries as you dance with someone who you'll most likely never see again.  

You can't fully understand the Outer Banks without understanding the Boneyard, its like a right of passage. If you're in, you're in, and if you're not, well, see you later.

It's like a three-layered burrito. There are me and my friends, the working class who put their blood, sweat, and tears into this island. There's the trust fund babies, the Kooks, who have never seen a hard days work in their life. Mostly likely just been dropped off in their stepdads range after a tough day at a 5-star boarding school.

Lastly, there are the Tourons. Or airheads, if we're being realistic. They come here for a week's vacation with their families and all of a sudden they claim that they want to spend the rest of their lives in the OBX. They're the chum for the sharks, fresh meat that everyone seems to throw themselves at.

"It's kinda weird when on T.V, we see people die, and they just sitting there," I overhear Pope attempting to flirt with a cute, blonde Touron, "but in actuality, they would be shitting and farting up a storm."

My nose begins to burn with the beer that just shot up it, as I hunch over myself coughing up a lung. The Touron boy who I was just casually talking too before, is now patting me on the back, asking if I'm okay, "I'm fine," I croak, my throat stinging as I swallow the rest of my beer.

"If you'll excuse me," I apologise to the boy, still cough as I speed walk over to my friend who fails to see the look of discomfort that is smeared across the girl's face.

Tapping Pope in the shoulder, interrupt his tangent about unrealistic standards of dying in movies, "Can I steal him for a minute, I'm so sorry," I excuse, as the girl nods her head rapidly, running at the chance to getting out of the conversation with Pope.

"What are you doing?" Pope whines, tugging free his arm from my grip that pulled him away from the blonde girl.

"No offence Pope, but we have to teach you how to flirt," I sympathise at the boy's failed attempt to impress the girl. "What's wrong with my flirting?"

Does he really want me to tell him why talking about people shitting after they die is not the best conversation starter? The boy looked genuinely looked confused, his doe eyes not seeing the picture. It's kinda cute.

"Absolutely nothing Pope," I pat him on the shoulder, not having the heart to tell him, so I won't, but I know someone who must definitely will, "Why don't you go talk to Kie about how great of an Aquarius she is?" I suggest, not giving him time to reply, pushing him in the direction of our friend, who too, just scared of a Touron. Fitting.

Empty cup in hand, I make my way over to the keg. Stepping over those lounging on the cold sand and bumping into those who drunkenly dance with their spirits high. Saying the odd 'Hey' and 'How's it going' here and there to the wasted teens that crowd the beach.

Standing patiently behind the person who is filling up their cup, I look around the beach spotting John B and JJ chugging their beers with a small circle cheering them on. I grin at the sight of JJ smashing his cup on the sand in victory, whilst Kie slaps him on the arm, probably ordering him to pick it up.

Turn back to the keg, I see the person just standing there, raising their cup to their mouth as they gaze out at the ocean. Clearing my throat, hoping they would move out the way, but they didn't. So, I try again. Nothing.  

"Excuse me," I say, now standing beside the figure as I grab the streamer that they refuse to move from blocking. Looking up expectingly at the person, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest who it is. Shaking my head, I keep my attention on my cup.

"Good turn out," Topper comments, still not even glancing in my direction as he observes the beach. 

Frowning, not understand why he is trying to even make conversation with me. I just shake my head, "Yeah," my voice laced with uncertainty, spinning around wanting to get away from the boy.

"Hey Mason," he calls out before I could leave, he attention now on me, "I want you to stay away from Sarah, alright?"

Tilting my head, not understanding why he's asking me this, "What?", but then it hit me, "Oh," I can't help but laugh. Toppers face twisting with irritation, jaw locked, as I try to compose myself after my drink spills on my hand.

"You don't have to worry Topper. I don't swing that way," still giggling as I reassure the boy that I don't want in on his 'territory', "Not fully anyway," I shrug, gulping my drink with raised eyebrows.

"I'm serious, Macy," he huffs, moving closer to me as I take a little step back halting his actions. About to question the boy's intentions, I spot the islands princess clad in a flowy summer dress, climbing onto the washed-up buoy.

"And I'm serious when I say you should probably get your girlfriend before she hurts herself," pointing him in the direction of the girl before waltzing past him, not wanting to be in his presence any longer than I need too.

"What did he want?" JJ asks, not even giving me the chance to sit down first, ahead of him spitting his distaste towards the Kook. "Nothing," I say, sliding in next to him on the dead tree, "Just Topper being Topper," my response being enough to ease his mind as he goes back to his beer.

The first Kegger of the summer was going smoothly. Everybody was having a good time, just drinking and getting to know each other. We had many beer chugging competitions, all of which triggered my acid reflux. We played limbo, which Pope surprisingly was an expert at. We even had a bootleg karaoke machine, where everyone had the pleasure of listening to me sing Céline Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On'.

The warm, long, summer day just as quickly turned to night. The shining sun saying 'Goodbye' as the full moon said 'Hello', illuminating us with its white light. People were calling it a night, exhausted after a day worth of drinking. The others, however, just seemed to come more alive. The magic of the moonlight fuelling their desires to dance all night long.

"Your hair," I giggle as JJ fills up three cups, his hair sticking out in every direction as the cold breeze blows his mane over his forehead, "What's wrong with my hair?"

The alcohol now running wildly through our bloodstream. JJ has had to practically hold me up after nearly falling at least five times in the last two minutes. I don't care. I was having fun with my friends. I'm letting loose. I deserve it. Not sure my dad would be too happy with the underage drinking, but I know he's glad that I'm having fun.

"Can you at least fix it for me?" JJ asks with the gleam of the moon reflecting in his dilated eyes. Nodding, I reach my free hand up, hesitantly, but gently, beginning to brush my fingers through his knotted hair. The blonde seeming to be closer than before, causing my hand to slow to a stop. I can't help but just take a moment to wonder, 'when did his eyes get so blue?'

My cheeks tinting pink at my thoughts. I blink away from his steady eyes that seemed to call for mine like a two magnets call for each other. Hoping he didn't feel the sudden change that I notice lingering in the cool air, I attempt to act normal as I erratically rub my fingers through his locks, making them messy again, before darting off laughing as I hear him call for me, "Get back here, May!"

Swaying, just like the liquids in my cup, I, not so steadily, making my way over to John B, who had found fascination in staring out at the tides. "Johnny B," I squeal, using his body as a shield from JJ.

The blonde had easily caught up to me, pulling me away from behind my brother, he tucks his arms under mine, spinning us around quickly. My legs flying around wildly as my beer splashes onto the sand, "JJ!" I beg, but can't help the rumble of giggles that pass my lips.

Stumbling as my feet are placed gently back on the sand, I watch as JJ snatches the half-empty cup from my hand, "What is in this?" he grins, pulling an unsure face as he takes a whiff of my drink, going to pass it to John B, "Hey bro, your sisters drinking this shit."

Missing my buzz, I try to grab the cup out of his hand. JJ just moves out of my staggering reach, his eyes seeming to be elsewhere, "Oh, wait. Hey, hey. Hey, Sarah!"

What is he doing?

I watch as JJ calls out to the Kook girl who was trying to walk past us, hand-in-hand with her boyfriend. The girl smiles slightly at the obviously drunk boy, "Hi," she greets and continues to walk away.

JJ is very persistent. It's one of his many traits. Now, when you mix his persistence with a bit of alcohol,  you either end up agreeing to things you usually never would, courtesy of his constant need for adventure and thrill. Or he'll push too far, not knowing to stop when it comes to certain people.

"Sarah, can I interest you in a tasty Milwaukee beverage?" he pitches like a salesman, holding the cup like it's a rare and expensive delicacy. When in reality, it’s just a mix of vodka and sprite that some Touron mixed for me.

"No, thanks," she declines politely, not really for a conversation, noticing herself that the boy was drunk. 'That's probably why he was talking to her,' I reason.

Drunk JJ is unpredictable. It can go one of two ways; He's either extremely attached or extremely disattached. He'll either want to hold you or you have to hold him. It's either you crying or him. There is no in-between when it comes to JJ. He's either on one side of the scale or the other. Even when sober, his emotions still run high, but give him a little bit of happy juice and you've just signed up for a foggy night.

"Is it not fancy enough for you?" he asks, now slightly pushing it as John B subconsciously eggs him on with drunken chuckles. I can't help, but just watch, as Sarah reaches back her hand for Topper to take. The boy has just been standing with his chest puffed up at the fellow blonde who is addressing his girlfriend.

"Hey, you know what? I'll take it," Topper suggests, his voice sounding deeper as the stumbles slightly, placing a friendly hand on JJ's shoulder, "Thank you, man. I appreciate it," he slurs, trying to grab the cup from JJ's hand.

"That's nice of you, Topper, but I didn't ask you," he points out laughing, moving the drink from Toppers reach as he points at him accusingly, "If you said pretty please, maybe?" he pretends like such simple words would change his mind.

"Oh, pretty please?" Topper laughs along, his jaw clenching at the joke.

I can tell Topper is drunk. Topper's a weird drunk. Kinda like JJ, but also completely the opposite. When Topper drinks he gets angry at everything, thinking that everyone wants to pick a fight with him. I don't know if its a guy thing? but it's definitely a Topper thing. He can't handle alcohol, I've told him this before. His emotions won't allow him to just drink and that's it. He always has something to prove when he's drunk, and it frankly ticks me off.

"Sarah," JJ tries again, holding the drink out for the girl to take, "You can have it," completely ignoring her red-faced boyfriend. It’s no surprise that JJ is proud of himself, he struck a nerve in Topper. Pissing off Kooks is what he was born to do and frankly, he does it well.

I've never told JJ this, but Kooks are scared of him. It easy to see. Every fight JJ has had, I've always had to clean up the mess. He always jokes that 'you should see the other guy', but I don't have to. JJ can hold his own and is willing to throw it down anywhere if anyone disrespects him or the people he cares about. They're always unfair though, 4 on 1, 6 on 1, it doesn't matter, because JJ always wins in the end, despite coming out looking the worst sometimes.

Right now Topper is the perfect example of that. Having enough of JJ's persistence, he shoves the cup back making me gasp was the cold liquids splash over my shirt and sticks to my hair. That was enough for JJ. Clenching his fist tightly on the front of Topper shirt, lifting him off the ground slightly with clouded eyes and a set jaw.

John B, Sarah, and I were all watching the scene unfold between the two blondes, being quick to jump in when it gets physical. Placing a firm hand on JJ's shoulder I push him back with John B, who blocks his vision from Topper, who too, is being dragged away by Sarah.

"You're so funny, man" JJ shouts over to Topper. John B trying to calm him down, snapping him out of it.

The tide had made its way closer to land, meaning we're all in close quarters with each other, all seated at the same part of the beach. It was no surprise when the small inconvenience caught the eyes of the party-goers. Pope is one of them, as he quickly rushes over to his friends.

"Diry Pogues!" Topper insults, breaking free from Sarah's grip, just to spit in our faces. John B wastes no time, shoving him harshly away from us, earning more attention.

I didn't see it coming, and I assume neither did John B. Topper marches his way over to my brother, swinging his fist at his face. 

Choking on the cold breeze, I go running for my brother who fell into the waves at the force. Pope being busy holding back the thrashing JJ, Kie quickly jumps in, wrapping her arms around me tightly from behind, stopping me from moving closer.

"We're supposed to be incognito, remember?" I think that plan went straight out the window when we decided to have a kegger and openly allowed our sworn enemies to join. There is nothing incognito about anything that is happening right now.

'Fight!'

I wriggle in Kie's arms as I helplessly watch Topper kick John B in the gut, pushing him into the ice-cold water again.

'Fight!'

The crowd around us seems to be getting bigger and bigger. My ears ringing at the excessive chanting.

'Fight!'

John B tumbles around the waves, trying to get up to his feet again, but Topper won't let him. Kicking him again whilst he's still down.

"Hey, John B, don't make me drown you like your old man, alright?"

'Fight!'

Call it blind rage or whatever the hell you want, but I cannot describe to you the way that Topper's words stopped my heart. It felt like I was stabbed. My constant thrashing caused Kie's arms to give in with tiredness.

Maniacally, my wild eyes search the mob as a preditor would their prey. I spot it, grasped between the fingers of a stranger. Pulling the bottle harshly from their hands, my breathing becoming erratic as I stumble my way down to the oceanfront. My sight set on my target.

"Mason!"

"No! Macy stop,"

"May!"

The calling of my name went in one ear and out the other. The only sound I could hear was the smashing of the bottle as it collided with Topper's head. The beach seemed to fall into silence. For a moment all I could hear was my blooding pumping through my veins. I can feel my heart in my throat.

I feel frozen in time. Unable to move as I watch the shards of glass dance under the yellow moonlight. The water rushing past my ankles. My feet sinking into the wet sand. My breath is uneven. The sharp bottle top that I was clutching tightly, slips through my fingers, getting washed away by the tide.

Topper, after a few seconds of blank staring, feels the crown of his head. Turning around, fingers stained red. His dead, black eyes piercing into mine, filled with unwavering bewilderment.

I want to blame the alcohol, or the cold, for the way my knees are chittering, but after seeing my brother get punched, I became stone-cold sober. I refuse to blink, not wanting to look away from the boy that is making his way slowly over to me.

My voice seems to be gone, holding my hands out pathetically, not wanting him to come any closer. My cheeks flushed red at the cold whipping winds. My eyes stinging with moisture as I wait for him to react.

The crashing of the waves and the chanting of the crowd become audible to my ears again. My face being pushed into someone's chest, pulling me away before John B could tackle a distracted Topper to the ground.

Fists smashing with flesh. Grunts, groans, and drunken cheers polluting the air. It was too much.

My lungs struggling to grasp a sliver of air, all in a state of panic. My ear pressed firmly against the person's chest, listening to the drumming of their heartbeat. My hands tucked tightly around the fabric of their shirt, just wanting to feel something.

My vision blurred as I watch Topper push my brothers face into the water, "He's drowning him," I swallow the lump in my throat, whispering in horror, watching my twin thrash around helplessly. It doesn't feel real.

A shiver dances it way up my spine, barely registering that it was JJ that was holding me before he passes my quivering figure over to an accepting Kie.

"Yeah, you know what that is," I hear JJ say, but I had enough for the night. Hiding my face in the crook of Kie's neck, forcing my eyes shut, not wanting to see anymore. But I didn't have to see it. I heard it. The gentle click of the safety seemed to echo across the silent beach, "Your move, broski."

'He's got a gun.'

The sound of pounding footsteps falls into rhythm with my erratic heartbeat. I could hear the blood rushing to my ears. My whole body feels like its on fire. My chest feels like it's going to explode. I can't breathe.

'Don't make me drown you like your old man.'

Something's wrong with me.

I can feel it welling up inside me.

It won't go away.

I didn't realise I was standing on my own again until my knees gave in. My head pounding on beat with the gunshots.

"John B!"

"May!"

Chapter Four: FIN!

A bit of a long chapeter, but I didn’t want to split it.

This was fun to write. Clearly Mason has some insecurities when it comes to being left out, or thinking that people don’t trust her. And this with be explored the further we go. There is a reason behind this fear.

I really struggled to write the fight scene, but I hope I got the general point across.

What did you think?

The next chapter will be the end of episode one. I feel like I’ve been writing for ages, but we still have another 9 episodes to go...

I hope you enjoyed that chapter <3

Also. if anyone would like to be tagged in future chapters just let me know and I will for sure do that!

*TAGLIST*

@xshinytrashcanx​ @prejudic3​ @annoylinglyaries​ @obxlife​ @bananasfromtarget​

[brittie-frog]

Riverdale 5x10

I'm really bored so I'm reacting to the latest riverdale episode. For explanation I haven't watched riverdale since the beginning of season 4 and all I know is that it's gone even more to shit with introduction of Mothmen. So let's see if I have a fun time.

- what are these new relationships?? Also Duran Duran - if you're gonna use it at least use it for longer than 30 secs for an awkward kiss.

- of course Veronica is dating a Chad.

- Nana being homophobic with the gay not allowed to be happy - it's literally in the label.

- Jughead works at Pop's, is he allowed/trained to be near children and teach?? Are any off them trained to do their jobs (other than Betty) or is Riverdale just that isolated that they'll hire anyone??

- Archie has survived a bear attack and a war zone where majority died - does he have plot armour?? Also he's meant to be an army recruiter when I thought he couldn't get worse.

- Jughead's me when I try to write to draw, just looking at a blank screen and no inspiration.

- why is his last name GEKKO??

- okay maybe Archie isn't that bad standing up and saying they shouldn't just follow orders coming from an authority figure if you believe its the wrong call.

- how old are the twins that they get a two tier cake each?? How big was the time skip??

- MAPLE MUSHROOMS?? Is that how episodes are written now? Can I try some to get over my writer's block??

- you can't access trauma - don't do drugs, go to therapy!!

- so bad thoughts manifest now?? That's so stupid, that's how you get stuck in an abusive relationship you guilt yourself into believe you caused the issues

- we love the gender norms of Juniper getting a pink bowl and Dagwood getting a blue bowl.

- already violent I see. Maybe being thrown in fire as babies and being part of a cult was harmful to them or is the fact that their entire family is fucking insane.

- Cheryl why do you still dress like a bitchy high-school cheerleader??

- that's fucked that he's writing a paper on her family without their permission?? And then trying to blackmail her? Who the fuck is this guy??

- why is Uncle Frank in jail and who is he??

- what were the photos of - her kissing someone else?

- I want to try a psychedelic burger now.

- a tour of the London dungeons would be the way to woo me, sounds like great date night to me.

- I'm 20 minutes into a 40 minute episode and I already just want to skip through to just see Jughead's high then leave

- why are you getting nostalgic and tipsy with the man you're getting a divorce from when he was so against it literal days ago??

- why is the general on the school tour like he wasn't wondering around the school that day.

- also you live in a town notorious for crime and you're going to let your - what 6/7 year olds - answer the door at night??

- they just escaped prison where'd they get the guns??

- also Charles is gay and wants to marry the maniac guy that pretended to be him

- these comical sound effects from like cartoon fights just made this more entertaining in a split second

- also why did a bunch of prisoners break into the school right after escaping?? That seems counter productive especially when the FBI are in town. Also where did the machete come from??

- completely understandable that the entire family family are like what the fuck when Glen arrives but like Chick no you don't count you aren't blood related.

- okay the enemy is always hiram Lodge can someone please just shoot him in the head to get it over and done with??

- general this isn't a war zone it's a town and you are holed up in the place that is going to be attacked by the majority of prisoners - you need to leave or you'll all die

- they're 9?? And also there isn't hope they already almost murdered a kid and they didn't have much to say about it

- you seriously still give a shit about Glen??

- Jughead's just living his best life in this bunker - or not, what the fuck is this nightmare?

- what the fuck was that thing and the comical man screaming at the end underneath the sound of the train blaring

- did none of them seriously not see the Grove burning to ground out of the window

- the look Cheryl and her mother exchanged when Nana suggested killing Cheryl's girlfriend? - absolutely comical the compete contentness with KILLING HER GIRLFRIEND!!

- then her girlfriend runs and she'd like wait as if you didn't just give her look that was like you are completely okay with murdering her for your fortune.

- also just that day you basically said the curse was bullshit and that praying was useless and now you're on board because Mumzie said so??

- the praying works - is that not an absolutely insane weather phenomenon that the entire town would be talking about especially cause that's got to be a strong wind to put out a forest fire??

- how did he actually manage to escape the handcuffs?? and the aliens are back I'm guessing

- who is this other guy living with Archie and why is he so chill with letting a former inmate live in the house??

- I assume that Hiram still wants to own all of Riverdale to do whatever it is he wants to do with it but the school, with inmates trashing it, does nothing but deprive teens of their education. What is he doing about the nurseries and Middle schools or does no-one but the Cooper family and that one other family have children under the age of 14??

- I'm sorry the prison hospital (I assume??) Is called Shankshaw??

- get justice how?? By driving around in a truck looking like the next highway killer??

- Oh he seriously injured himself to get out then left in an alien ship - good going Jughead.