#commander krill

[tailorvizsla]

The Diplomatic Incident

My brand new Orville fic! It is waiting for editing and then that's it :D Here is a snippet:

Cataloging was generally regarded as the worst possible duty a crew could be assigned.

Ed was in full agreement. Patrol duty was generally boring, but at least there was a chance of something interesting happening. Unfortunately, while cataloging, their orders were to catalog, and to call in anything that looked interesting so another ship could investigate. So they would not neglect their duties. Sometimes, these cataloging duties took a few weeks, and sometimes they took several months. They were stuck with the latter, which made him wonder if someone back at HQ had a vendetta against him.

Ed reclined in his seat, crossing one ankle over the other knee. He took a moment to observe his crew. Everyone was busy at their station, and no one looked like they needed his help, so he went back to his boredom. For the past three weeks, the Orville had been cataloging nebulas in this particular region of space. His crew were all professionals at work, but he could sense that even the nerds in cartography were getting bored, too.

For the past twenty-one days, there had not been a single blip. No errant artifacts causing time travel. No distress signals that originated from beyond the edge of known space. Not even the tiniest hiccup of an anomaly. Hell, he would settle for second contact if it meant doing something else.

He exhaled quietly and tried to remain positive. At least they had not been assigned to cataloging asteroids like the poor bastards on the Kilauea.

[yandere-sins]

The Orcas' Tale - Chapter II

Right choice, baby! And we get some alone and exploration time with Krill, isn't that lovely? Hope you guys will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it ♥ Krill's reference is getting drawn up just as I post this chapter, so it's double as exciting for me to see my descriptions come to life!

Fandom: Original Content   Pairings: Yandere!Orca Mermen x GN!Reader   Warnings: Yandere, Monsters, Manhandling, Threats, Dub-consensual touches, Animalistic behavior, Mention of claws/sharp teeth, Hinting at death, Long post

"Fine, then…" 

Taking a deep breath, you looked between the three expectant pairs of eyes before locking onto Krill's. None of them created a feeling of safety, but of all of them, Krill was the one you had interacted with the most. Gulping, you nodded at him, not needing to speak his name out loud before a smug grin parted his lips, showcasing the rows of sharp teeth behind them. 

"Everyone else, out," he ordered, his voice an assertive command as he lifted his body further out of the water, slowly clawing his way over to you. Lyr let out the longest, most disappointed sigh you had ever heard someone make, its high tone reminding you of the sharp whistle of a teapot. Still, he slipped into the pool with a taunting, "I've got something better to do anyway."

Nerrocan said nothing. When you pried your eyes from Krill's, you saw his upper body slumping, but the next second he jumped into the pool head-first and was gone. You had no idea if he was disappointed or relieved as he made his exit as fast as possible. And yet, you wished he would have stayed for some reason. Maybe just so you wouldn't have to face this giant predator, stalking towards you on his hands and arms, alone. Have someone be the voice of reason since the differences between you two were just too big to find common ground. 

With a surprised squeak, you were ambushed by Krill, his arms wrapping around you before he turned you both around, squeezing and pressing you against his chest. With a loud "Uff!" you fell to your butt, only to realize the ground you were sitting on was wet and slick, making you shoot out your hands to find hold. However, it wasn't ground you were sitting on. It was a body. 

It explained the weird sensation and friction against your wet suit, and you were always on the brink of slipping off as you realized in horror that Krill had pulled you on top of him while lying under you. A throaty laugh escaped the merman as he grabbed you by the forearms, having watched your struggles for a bit before steading you on top of him and placing your hands on his pecs. You bit your own lip as a moment of curiosity overcame you, seeing the sheer difference in size; the sensation of your teeth against your lips tearing you out of it. 

You wanted to pull your hands away, but all you could do was release a gasp as Krill pressed his claws to your skin, a quiet warning. Finally, you looked up, puncturing red orbs watching your every move with a drilling intensity. Not even the blue light could make his eyes any less piercing and brilliant, almost as if they were made from rubies. 

"Relax," he purred, the sound rumbling through his whole body and transferring onto yours. It didn't help you calm down, but you forced yourself to listen and focus, not letting the surprise and panic overtake you and upset him. Krill watched as you straightened your back, pulling your legs a bit higher so you'd find some hold on his massive body, your toes barely able to touch the ground when fully stretched anyway. You felt like a child on top of a way too big horse, legs barely able to go around his midriff, but the chortles and chuckles coming from him seemed to indicate Krill didn't mind as you tried to get more comfortable.

Sensing your newly acquired balance, he dropped his hands from your arms, one to capture your wrist, lifting it up so he could see. Krill had settled on what you assumed before was a bed, on top of the soft seal fur, slightly leaning against the back wall. A look over your shoulder revealed that his tail fin was still splashing in the pool, confirming your assumption that there wouldn't be enough space for their whole bodies inside this cave.

Flicking your wrist back and forth between his thumb and pointer, Krill hummed thoughtfully—a sound you'd come to hear more often as he explored onwards. First, his hands went to your legs, wet palms, webbing, and claws driving over your wetsuit, the fabric getting stuck on the gold rings he wore, briefly squeezing your thighs before he focused his attention on your right foot, scooping it up in his palm and demanding it closer to his face so he could watch you wiggle your toes. With bated breath, you put on the greatest show for him, making all five of your toes rise simultaneously and in turns as best as you could. Your effort paid off as Krill chuckled again, helping you back into your position on top of him by placing your foot where you had settled it before.

"You're really freakin' soft," he mumbled under his breath as his hands wrapped around your waist, squeezing the air out of your lungs but never pressing longer than necessary. It made you realize that he wasn't out to hurt you. In fact, he might actually be as curious about you as you were about him. "I noticed it before, but that's just…"

The feeling of his claws softly digging into your back made you arch. The tight muscles beneath you rubbed against your privates, the wet suit not giving as much coverage as you would have liked at that moment. Involuntarily, you let out a gasp, immediately burning up from embarrassment and averting your eyes while Krill's inquisitive hands drove beneath your arms, wrapping around your chest. He probed at your joints, pushing your shoulders back, your soft skin so very different from the hard surface his body created. You wondered if someone more built and muscular than you could even come close to the firmness of Krill. Inhaling deeply, you dared to look up at him again, noticing how his eyes shot up to meet yours, his grin widening as he pulled you a bit higher on top of his chest. "What about you? Aren't you curious?"

You gulped. 

Yes, you were terribly curious about these creatures. No, you couldn't let this get the best of you. But, God. You wanted to learn more about them. Everything you could find, you wanted to know, preserving your knowledge in a thorough report forever. These creatures were dangerous and too sentient while also harboring animalistic traits to be comfortable with. But so were countless other creatures on this planet. And you just had a chance to research them thoroughly. 

"Can I?" you asked, holding your breath as you wondered if you were testing your luck. This may have been a test. Maybe Krill would refuse, leading you on because he could tell your curiosity from the sparkle in your eyes. "Be my guest," he suddenly interrupted your thoughts, wrapping his palms around your arms to guide them forward. You were back to touching him, your hand barely enough to capture any part of him, but it guided your attention to really look at what you were dealing with. 

His muscles should not have awed you as much as they did, looking almost the exact same as a human bodybuilder's who was dehydrated before a show. You weren't sure if he could even dehydrate as a mermaid, but since his skin was so taut, maybe he merely lacked fat in these regions. However, what made you wonder the most was the jewelry he wore. At least they looked like jewelry.

You leaned forward, one of his hands instinctively reaching up, supporting your lower body as you went for the sharp teeth dangling from a leathery necklace. "Are those… sharks?" you asked absentmindedly, knowing the answer without even needing one from him. "Yup!" Krill replied, pride swinging in his voice as he lifted one up in his hand as well. "One for every bastard I killed."

You hummed in acknowledgment, aware that real orcas and sharks didn't get along well, either. Still, with the words of the voice you heard before nagging in the back of your mind, another question arose. "Are they real sharks, or are they…" Swallowing the rest of the sentence, you let go of the tooth, gesturing at Krill instead. 

"Oh, they're like me, alright."

He immediately understood your question, grinning from ear to ear as your eyes widened. You took in the size of the teeth dangling from his neck again and realized that these shark mermaids must have been giant as well. "Isn't it dangerous?" you whispered, fear crawling through your bones again, making your body prickle. However, instead of an answer, Krill suddenly picked you up, lifting you into the air as he twisted his body to the left side, placing you next to him and propping his head on his hand.

"Hm, for you? Maybe. Us? Not so much. You have an alright head on your shoulders. You should know who wins these kinds of fights."

Tapping his pointer finger claw to your forehead, you instinctively closed your eyes, only for him to chuckle at your reaction. "Orcas," you guessed, knowing very well that the real animals put up a good fight, but a shark had no chance against a group of orcas.

"Clever," Krill chuckled, the arm he used to hold himself up wrapping around you from behind, pulling you closer while he used his free right arm to direct your hand back to his body. Forcing your palm to smooth over his tail, you could have almost mistaken him enjoying your exploration more than even you did, but you wouldn't wait for him to ask again to take advantage. Kneeling, you were high enough to look over him, giving you the advantage of height to see. The patterns on his body were remarkably close to an orca, and you realized that until now, you still somewhat had doubts about their heritage. Doubts that were slowly dissolving.

Scars littered his skin, paling the black ever so often. Scars that were long and must have been deep to remain on his otherwise taut and strong body. You could only guess his age, but you didn't think Krill was too old to heal from wounds, so these must have been from fights, the marks looking like scratches that gave away who he must have fought with. The space between his hips and tail was covered by a leathery, brown belt, the fabric wrapping around him completely. There was even a small sachet dangling from it, and what surprised you more: a dagger. Sheathed in the same leather, the silver metal grip still had a remarkable resemblance to a human sword, but it was nowhere near your hand size. An authentic mermaid relict and you were dying of curiosity from it. However, you doubted Krill would give it to you, given the questionable captivity you were in. You were almost too scared to ask him, but the question resolved in a matter of seconds.

"Not there," Krill snapped suddenly as you lowered your hand to the top of his tail, on the inside between his human body and the fish one. 

"Sorry!" you squeaked, taken aback by the sudden refusal and jumping away with your hands raised defensively. Krill grumbled a little, then suddenly decided to roll over onto his stomach. You got to your feet just in time to not be caught underneath his body, and Krill let out a satisfied sigh as he laid flatly on top of the ledge. But when you looked up at him, his head resting on his arms, you were met with his gaze, as intense and burning as ever. 

"Continue," he ordered, fortifying your belief he might actually be enjoying this. You gulped, now feeling a bit more hesitant after the sudden outburst just now. Being unable to talk about the dagger you saw was disappointing, but you decided to stay on his good graces for now. 

Stepping closer, the first thing that caught your attention came as a surprise. "A dorsal fin," you muttered, looking at the triangle on top of his fish half. You hadn't noticed it before, but you realized it must have been uncomfortable to lay on it. Even so, Krill didn't complain, nor did he when you placed your hands on it, even squeezing tentatively into the tissue, realizing it was almost the same as the ones you had studied before. That, admittedly, did get you a bit excited. 

"Sorry," you whispered again as Krill's tail flinched from your touch, and he grumbled a little. But to your surprise, you found his eyes close as you searched for his face. It was both honorable that he seemed to be relaxing, as well as a bit offensive. You posed no threat to him. He had no reason to watch you. Leaving his dorsal fin, you continued upwards, your gentle touch tracing up the spine of his tail to where it connected to his upper body. You were almost scared to press, but you did so anyway, finding his tail to be a bit more tender than his human parts. Unfortunately, you couldn't feel his spine beneath it. But you found something else that piqued your interest.

"Are those from sharks, too?" you asked, tracing the scars on his body with your fingers. 

"Sharks and others. I don't keep count of what bit and scratched me, just of the things I killed for trying."

"So there are many different species of your kind down here, huh?"

"Guess so. Too many to count or even remember. All that matters is protecting the pod and making sure we have enough to eat. Oh, and having fun while at it, of course."

You could hear the grin on his face as he added the last sentence. The cruelty of orcas was not something you were unaware of. Apparently, this merfolk had the same definition of "fun" as their animal counterparts. It wasn't a surprise, but somehow it felt like a disappointment as you had credited them for being better than that. Scary, nonetheless. 

"Oh, but this one-" Reaching his hand back, Krill found yours, guiding it to a big scratch on his back, just above his tail. "-Mom was so angry when I got this one. I went out on my own to hunt for food for her since she was pregnant with Lyr. It was the first time I hunted alone, and I got ambushed by sharks. One of them got me good. They wanted my head just because they hate us."

Rightfully so, you thought but kept it to yourself. Given how Krill had admitted to being just as cruel as other orcas, you could only imagine the severity of hate between these two species. Krill raised his body briefly, revealing that the scar wrapped around to the front.

"Somehow, Mom must have realized where I was, and she came barging in with all the others to save me. But I will never forget the scolding I received while I got treated for my injuries. My aunts kept telling her to calm down because she was pregnant and I was in pain, but she shut them all down. She's the leader; her word goes above everyone else. And now, well... I blame that day for Lyr not being right in his head."

There was no bite to his words, only fond memories and a chuckle at the end about the joke he made. "Haven't talked about that in a while," he noted after a moment of silence. His eyes opened, but he stared off into the distance, unfocused. "I wonder if it's my fault…"

"What is? What do you mean Lyr's not right in his head?" The questions spilled out before you could stop yourself. Curiosity would kill you one day, but you couldn't help it. You had long settled by his side, innocently listening to his words and, unbeknownst to you, relaxed while Krill spoke, his voice even and melodic, and the conversation comfortable. But when he curled his body so he could look at you, the red of his eyes made you tense up immediately, never letting you forget that you were in no position to ask your questions.

Krill eyed you, perhaps suspiciously for the first time. As if he was wondering whether the information he could tell would give you a chance to hurt him. Him or anyone else. However, you weren't a threat, and you lowered your eyes apologetically for daring to overstep. 

But to your surprise, he only ever reached out, pulling you from your place next to his tail forward until he could wrap the arm around you, forcing you to sit right next to his head. Unexpectedly, he collected your legs before heaving his head on top of them, resting the side of his face on you. He was heavier than anyone before who used you as a lap pillow, that much was sure, but since you could lean into his arms around you, it wasn't as uncomfortable as you feared. 

His hair was shorter than Nerrocan's, short in the front, longer in the back, like a mullet. One side was cut down into a sidecut, and most of it was a dark white instead of Nerrocan's long, black hair. An odd choice for a hairstyle for such a fearsome creature you found, but it fit his daring attitude. He certainly had the aura of a leader, which made more sense now that you knew about his mother. And with him taking the time to talk to you and make deals, never showing fear or hesitations in this kind of situation, he definitely acted that way. You couldn't help but play with the strands, soft and wet from the water, shining black on top.

Scanning his features, an odd thought crossed your mind. Krill was quite handsome. 

You had felt the same when you looked at Nerrocan, both embodying beauty standards in different ways. At least until the fish parts. Strangely, you didn't have this feeling for Lyr, though you had to admit you didn't really have the time to look at him either. Combing your fingers through his hair, you felt emboldened by having the apparent trust of this creature, deciding to prod a little more. 

"Why did you say that about Lyr?" you whispered softly, not wanting to upset the giant in your lap. Krill's eyes fluttered open, his gaze shifting briefly to you before he let out a deep sigh, the sound echoing through the cave. 

"Something happened to him. He… changed. Refused to hunt for the pod one day, despite being one of the best, and never went back to it. He ignores Mom and orders from me or her, and does whatever he wants instead. Sometimes he disappears for days before returning like nothing happened, with a few fresh scars and a grin on his face as if he's going mad. Also, he lost a lot of weight. Maybe he's sick? His fin collapsed, and we could help him if he'd let us, but he's stubborn, that prick."

Letting out another frustrated puff, the gills on his neck flaring, Krill lifted his head before plunging it face down into your lap, creating friction with your wetsuit. If you didn't know better, you'd say he liked the sensation against his skin, but he stopped before long, placing his head sidewards and looking up at you from the corner of his eye.

"Lyr has problems, and Nerrocan has ideas. I know they are their own orcas, but they could come to me, and we'd talk about whatever is going on. I taught them everything, you know? I've been with them since they were wee calves. You'd think that would mean something in this family."

With that, Krill lifted himself upwards, supporting himself on his arms and looking down at you, his brows furrowing as the mood turned serious. "Don't tell them what I said, understood? I shouldn't have said anything, but you're… easy… to talk to. You wouldn't dare to go against me—we both know that."

Slowly, Krill moved backwards, his body sinking back into the pool. "Besides, you owe me."

"Do I?" you questioned, his choice of words ticking you off. One second, it felt like you were building a connection between you two; the next, he pushed you away. Verbally and with physical distance. You could see the relief on his expression as he sank into the water, making you realize that a prolonged stay out of it was probably not comfortable. But then, his eyes snapped open, an authoritarian air emitting from the previously gentle giant in your lap. 

"Of course you do. You would have died up there, and you know it. I rescued you, opened my home to you, and made sure you wouldn't be killed by the others in my pod. Our females would not have taken kindly to you had they found you first."

"Someone would have come for me, I know it! I didn't have to rely on you–"

"Oh, please," he snorted, running a wet hand through his hair, moisturizing his scalp and face. "You were lost out there. The sounds of that metal thing had long disappeared from the waters, and with your flimsy… legs, they're called, right? You wouldn't have come far on your own. You do owe me, and the same for the others who kept you a secret from the rest of the pod. You should be a bit more grateful."

"Excuse me–!" you tried to argue when he suddenly snapped his teeth at you, making you flinch away. 

"No more," he hissed. "They're coming back, and I don't want to hear a word of what we said. Just be grateful and return our kindness. Amuse us, or I don't see why we should keep you with us."

With almost no delay, the water parted on either side of Krill, revealing the familiar heads of your other two 'saviors'. Lyr perked up at the sight of you, and if he noticed your hesitations, he pretended not to see. You glanced back at Krill, who held your gaze with a commanding aura, and you didn't dare to say anything, even though you hated that you had to bend to Krill. You knew he was right, and the anxious part of your brain tended towards thankfulness for the orcas for saving you. But it still didn't feel right. It was a reminder that you weren't their equal and they had no respect for you. With your differences, you had doubts that they'd see you as anything but a lesser lifeform, given how they felt superior over you. And you knew that they were, even if you wanted to disagree with their views. 

"We're not sure, but the older females think you humans like to make yourself pretty, right? The pod's been collecting these, but we don't really have any use for them. Do you want them?" 

Lyr's voice caught you off-guard, and you flinched, causing Krill to let out a curt warning growl that didn't go unnoticed by the others. They didn't question their leader. Turning towards Lyr, you scanned over the things he held in his palm: an ivory comb, a small plastic bottle of hand sanitizer, and a delicate-looking tube of… lipstick? You didn't even want to think about how long these things had been in the water, all of them looking worn down, with the plastic bottle being the newest addition. You couldn't see yourself using any of these items besides the comb. Even if just to regain some sanity from the familiarity of combing through your hair. But sticking to it were algae, and the material looked crusty, like it had been down here for a while. Not very hygienic. 

"That isn't even close to what a human needs," Nerrocan suddenly spoke up. When he got out of the water, he didn't waste time presenting what he brought back, throwing a massive slab of meat in front of your feet. Not meat. Fish. And not just any fish, a gigantic one, the piece as big as your whole body. It lacked a head and fins, making it unrecognizable, but with the meat cut open, you could see the typical fish flesh. You were too scared to ask what it was as you realized you couldn't make it out on your own. Part of you wanted to think it would be edible, but a much more horrific thought crossed your mind. 

What if it was another mermaid?

Your stomach betrayed you with a growl, and your mind unwillingly drifted off to freshly made sushi, a luxury you were sure wouldn't be served down here. But could you bring yourself to actually eat whatever they were serving you? You glanced back at the comb and its sharp edges, the crusts on top of it. It might cut your scalp and infect it, too, if you weren't careful. But by the look Krill gave you, you knew you had to make a decision soon. He wanted to see your appreciation for their efforts, no matter how much this made you feel sick to the stomach. 

"What do you want?" Krill asked, voicing your racing thoughts in your head. Your eyes bounced from the strange food to the comb and back to Krill, everything screaming inside you to refuse either option and ask to be finally brought home after indulging him. But would that even work? Would they let you go this easily? As you thought about it, you were faced with three apparent choices.

[eventiderookery]

thinking again about how truly ancient those hive commanders we fought during seraph were. scourges of the helium drinkers and the ammonites. they must have had tithe lines nearly as powerful as those feeding the gods themselves just by age alone, like incomprehensibly old, and the plain fact they must have been some of the original krill to become hive. we talk about how the books of sorrow are a biased view of what happened back on fundament and how savathûn would twist the story if she ever told it, but how would that history look from those commanders perspectives? would they match that of xivu arath's, since they are under her liege, or would we get a clearer picture of what exactly life was like for them both before and after the royal family's pact with the worms? would they even remember it? and then the guardian comes in and wipes them out like it's absolutely nothing. these hive that have exterminated entire worlds. these hive that are some of the closest to xivu arath that we've seen. these hive that are billions of years old and seen the rise and fall of uncountable civilizations. snuffed out like a candle in the wind. i feel ridiculous for wanting to cry about it, but here we are; overly emotional about some omnicidal space bugs at 1 in the morning

[ghostbunny-mars]

I was thinking about how similar Ogata and his father ended up being, but I realized he takes so much from his mother too. Ogata is the worst of both his father and mother.

The son of a wildcat is a wildcat as well. Tome was a character who wasn't very developed because it wasn't necessary. But you do know she was a geisha, someone who's job revolved around giving a performance others would enjoy. But she ends up giving all of her love to Koujirou, while he abandoned her and his son. She remained loving him though in a constant state of yearning, lying to herself and ignoring anyone else for the sake of living in a delusional world where he lived her. It meant her son was raised in an emotionally empty environment. It meant her son grew up without a reference for love, only her deluded obsession. But Ogata has that same yearning, and the same delusional world they made up to cope with the fact they were unloved and ignoring anyone who said otherwise. They both ended up absolutely lost to the true world. But when Ogata actually received love, it broke the illusion he'd created about the existence of love so he destroyed it. It is a push pull to love, this being one side and the other that refuses love seeming a lot like his father.

Koujirou received unconditional love from Tome, but of course it meant nothing to him. All that seemed to matter to him was his glory. He comes from a long line of military men, a line Ogata also comes from. Ogata would become like the man his mother loved, and the brother everyone loved, and he'd prove they weren't so much better then him. He tried to become leader of the 7th, therefore following in his father's footsteps and ambition. Ambition being very important in this side as it doesn't seem to be able to coexist with love with these two. Koujirou doesn't really seem to care about his legitimate son, but less his mistress and her child. He only cared for his glory, was willing to send his only son to the front lines fresh out of military college because what an honor it is to be a flag bearer. And how good it would look for Koujirou. Yuusaku absolutely ate this up but that's for a different ramble. Even when his wife tried everything in her power to get Yuusaku to not go to war he made sure his son fought. The fields Yuusaku died in were the same fields Koujirou ordered men under his command on attacks with very high mortality for no reason other than glory in a full frontal assault actually working. Ogata shows the same kind of unapologetic ambition, and in hurting people who love them. He shows it with Yuusaku and later Asirpa in more personal ways. Using people to get what he wants only to abandon and hurt them is a behavior that his father also showed, specifically with Tome. This all leads to similar ends though.

I see people bring up how he died poisoned, cut up, and finally a bullet from his rifle to the head, and how each represents a different family member and how he killed them. But I'm specifically thinking about how both him and his father committed suicide. I mean Koujirou actually didn't but everyone though he did. People thought the guilt of the deaths he had ordered, including his son, was to much for him and he committed. Of course it was actually staged, and Ogata killed him. But that was what made the most sense, why wouldn't a father feel guilty for that? Koujirou didn't feel guilty for his son's death, at least not enough to actually show it or krill himself. Ogata actually did suicide, and he did it because he actually did feel guilty, specifically for Yuusaku. The cover he used for his father's death was what actually made him take himself out. Ogata was different in that he did feel guilty, Koujirou did not.

At the end of the day they both his parents and himself died alone. Ogata took down his entire family and their memories down with him. It was all useless and that makes me wanna blow up.

[redsinistra]

Sky: CotL | Wanderer / Straggler Reference Sheet

Public upload of the Wanderer / Straggler Reference sheet!! I added:

Ancient / Red-robe Wayfarer form with custom patterns. Little detail on the staff with two colored ribbons (one red for him, other white for Minstrel.

Sky Form with a slight variation on his cape. Yeah, with krill horn and a corrupted crab familiar included.

Corrupted Sky Form: Overtaken by darkness/Krill 🦐 form based on the ultimate gift from Season of Shattering :) (yeah i couldnt get it *screeech in agony*. But my character certainly can)

Lore-wise is the same as before, more or less.

♦️ Wanderer (Wander): Known as a messenger and envoy before, now roams the Golden Wastelands alone, keeping people at bay from a "very peculiar ruins". The dark crown on his forehead allows him to "blend in" with the dark creatures. Also, it gives him the ability to communicate, even command, the dark krills that are patrolling certain areas. My skyblog 🌄[SkyMinstrel]

[battlekilt]

Last line!

RULES: The last nine lines written or drawn of any WIP or content. Fanfic, meta, sketch.

@razzbberry, thank you for the tag.

This isn't quite my last new line, but it is the last line I edited, along with the lines before and after that brings it up to the required amount... +1, but it just was wrong not to include it.

From the aft end of the catafalque* barge, Captain Rex stood at his self-assigned post in good company. Without any witnesses to bear their indiscretions, the three officers ignored military propriety and decorum… Or at least, one of them ignored convention, and the other two… allowed it. Jedi General Skywalker stood on the Captain’s left, and Marshal Commander Cody stood on his right. “May the flame of those who pass before us, light our way,” Cody beseeched the sea. Added to the wind with his throat tightened, “Good-bye, [REDACTED1]. You were a good soldier. [REDACTED2], the [REDACTED1]’s in charge,” then sighed the vice in his chest, and added with empty lungs, "Until we meet again, troopers." He swayed on his feet, and knocked shoulders with Rex. Together, the three men stood in eulogic vigilance, with the mechanical drone of the barge’s many industrial pumps that spewed its sanguineous silage into the currents. It churned in the ship’s wake, spread ribbons of pinky foam behind the graceless barge. Deposited across the area, the bioremnant** batch enriched the environment—specifically, the swarm of tiny krill eager for the food, and encouraged by the (warmer) season. Where krill massed, the herring came, and eventually… It was grim what became of a soldier in death. It was pitiful how small a soldier became. And it was certainly grotesque the final fate of a soldier. Yet, somehow, Rex still found it… almost perfect. At last, the rain came. A promise made, a promise fulfilled. The sky started with the smallest droplets scattered about. And Kamino… cried its sacrament for its fallen sons. Finally, at last, it was… perfect.

*Catafalque: a decorated platform or framework on which a coffin rests in state during a funeral.

**Bioremnant: biological material. (my word)

NOTE #1. Yes. this is a funeral. A funeral at sea.

tag: @s0ftand0nly @isaakandreyevs @sillyzombiedelusion @mamuzzy @insertmeaningfulusername @arianeemorythethird @liaonyxrayne @sunbit3 @marvelstars

Even just sharing this is making me emotional again.

This is such a cathartic moment for the three men.

(This is all meta and characterization within my own world-building.)

Cody receives shipments of troop troops, he sends into battle. If they stay with him it is because they've survived. He trains them up, and divides most of the seasoned 212thers into his specialty units, like the 501st and the 104th. Cody gets to keep very few veterans for himself.

The Commander also ships the others back home... in body bags. He's never had a chance to witness the after of their receipt. But, it just isn't there way. Worry not for the dead, but for the living. The Clones don't dwell on the physical remnants after death; they are far too much like their makers in this.

Anakin's struggled because there's been a good-bye. The brutal, utilitarian relationship the Clones have with the dead reminds him too much of how Slavers regarded deceased slaves; bodies are worthless if they cannot work, so it is unceremoniously tossed aside.

And Rex? He has a promise made, and a promise to keep.

NOTE #2: Clones find complicated funeral rites, grieving rituals, and any preoccupation with physical remains morbid, and an abomination.

[celestial-blight]

Just finished season 3 episode 9 of the Orville, and can I just say, thank fucking god that Charly died.

I feel like she was a terrible addition to the show. Her only contribution was xenophobic one liners, stealing screentime from the rest of the cast, and dying so she can't return in another season.

She's not really a character honestly... She's just this entity that everyone on the bridge crew has to tolerate so she can remind everyone that the Kaylon are bad.

She was an ENSIGN who CONSTANTLY talked out of line, CONSTANTLY mocked and insulted a SUICIDAL MEMBER OF THE CREW, and NOBODY called her out on it!!

I don't hate complicated characters, I would have loved someone who was traumatized by the Kaylon attack, but this show treated her like the second in command of the whole fucking ship! She took over command one episode, has archeological expertise, she's the only person in the universe capable of seeing in the chess dimension, she was one of the first Union members on Krill, and she made the MURDER KAYLON bomb! Why was she an ensign!? She was in front of KAYLON PRIMARY and making SNIDE REMARKS while the Union was trying to make peace with them! That is unacceptable for an ENSIGN to be doing! She should have either been a captain to justify her outbursts, given less responsibility, or just... transferred off the ONE SHIP with a Kaylon on it!

Like... I really don't think I can overstate that Isaac is SUICIDAL and Charly kept HARASSING him with zero repercussions! And maybe I don't remember the episode that well, but did Isaac personally do anything that bad?

Her character resolution is her deciding in the last 10 minutes of the episode to stop being a fucking bigot advocating for GENOCIDE and sacrifice herself so she gets to join her dead girlfriend.

I'm not going to pretend there aren't weird takes about her on the internet (because, you know, scifi nerds have a history of hating women...), but her character was genuinely awful.

(Enterprise spoilers ahead!!!) Star Trek Enterprise is the best series in Trek canon. When the Xindi took out millions of people during their attack on Florida, the entire Enterprise crew was out for blood. Over the course of the season, the Enterprise crew learned more and more about the Xindi, about their motivations, their ideologies, their history, who they are as a people... And towards the end, the Xindi join with the Enterprise crew to tackle a bigger threat. Even Tripp, the guy who had his sister murdered at the hands of the Xindi, lost his rage and gained an understanding of them. It wasn't easy, this wasn't a quick transition, the Enterprise crew and the Xindi themselves had to work towards mutual understanding... Peace takes work, but it's worth it, and even your enemies will become your friends in time. You know, the point of Star Trek, and kinda what the Orville was going for with the Kaylon plotline...

Charly spends 9 episodes refusing to grow or change, then dies. The end. Maybe if the show actually took the time to have gradual growth for the character I wouldn't be complaining, but they didn't, and that sucks! She had ONE moment in a previous episode of coming to understand the Kaylon, then went right back to harassing her suicidal crewmate.

I'm not criticizing anyone for liking her, obviously. Your opinions are your own! This was a pretty darn good season! It has some of the highest highs of the show... but, y'know, some of the lowest lows... Looking at YOU, Isaac becomes neurotypical episode... I know some people hearing me criticize a woman character might immediately go on the defensive, but I promise you, I'm not mad that she's a woman, I'm mad they gave her a poor character! I want women in media to be well written!

ALSO PEOPLE COMPARE HER TO WESLEY CRUSHER!? Wesley, was a child??? Charly is an ADULT???

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

The Devil Inside

Apologies if the Spanish is wrong. I had to use a translator again :(

https://www.patreon.com/empyreaniris?fan_landing=true

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/182501791735/master-post

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jzEIdDAB4omdO2JcQVMObfrhLJ5kX4ONmSsLypM1ks0/edit?usp=sharing

Ramirez’s finger twitched.

But it wasn’t enough to depress the trigger. His hand shook once, tightened, and then released. He couldn’t do it, even if that wasn’t Maverick, even if  this creature was something else just wearing her face, he couldn’t pull the trigger.

Renegade grinned, and the expression she made wasn’t an expression he had ever seen on her face before. Maverick had been blunt , but Renegade was sharp, and it showed in her face. Her eyes were more gaunt, her cheeks thinner, and her eyebrows pulled down at a sharper angle than Maverick’s had.

She leaned in, close enough now that he could sense the heat of her breath. She wore no scents or perfumes, but he could smell the hint of something burnt, and something metallic on her body. Her platinum hair coiled around her head in a mismanaged mop.

Her eyes were cold.

“I didn’t think so.” She said 

“Ramirez….. Ramirez, get away from her.” It was Adam’s voice from the other end of the room. Turning his head slightly, he saw Adam, Sunny, celex and Krill waiting by the open hallway. Just off to their right Celex had blasted down another pile of the red velvet curtains and covered a struggling Everett to buy them time to escape.

Maverick smirked at him, “That’s not how this works, Impetus.  You surrender, and I don’t put my hand through this Marine’s chest. All at once Maverick grabbed his gun by the barrel and jerked him forward. He lost his balance and stumbled right into her arms. Before he knew it she had him around the neck, and her hands pressed up against his back in a threatening manner. His gun dropped from his hands where it hung from his tac sling.

The others dropped into rapid defensive postures, but there was nothing they could do.

She had him around the neck, and at her mercy.

It hurt.

A lot.

Not her hand, or the arm she had around his neck so much as the fact that this was Maverick. The maverick he had gone to bootcamp with, the maverick who had encouraged him not to drop ice skating entirely, the maverick who had come home with him almost every holiday to spend time with his family, the maverick who had learned spanish behind his back as a birthday present so they could dish on other people, hopefully, without being understood.

They had been inseparable for the better part of a decade and now this bitch had gone and taken over her body like it was free real estate.

He clenched his jaw.

“Let's not do anything rash.” Adam said.

Maverick laughed, her muscular forearm tightening around his neck, causing him to choke lightly as she did, “I know exactly what I am doing Impetus.  So you either come with me, and I deliver you to Kazna alive, or you come with me unwillingly, but you will be dead.”

Adam shook his head. The pained expression on his face said it all.

He missed the old maverick too.

Resenting the thing that had taken over her body.

“Maverick, he’s your friend, your best friend. You know you can’t do this. 

Orange light flared from the space just behind Ramirez’s head, and her voice began to warp dangerously. Ramirez gasped and gripped at her arm as the choke hold intensified, “That is not my name!” she snarled, “I am not your soldier to command, I am not your friend.”

This must be what it felt like to get a dagger to the chest. 

It hurt so much.

Like someone had taken an ice cream scoop and removed a sizable chunk in his chest to leave him both empty and in pain.

“My name is Renegade, I am the first soldier of the architect. I am older than time itself, more powerful than the collapsing of galaxies.”

Ramirez closed his eyes.

“Then why are you working for Kazna.” Adam said, voice in earnest, “She doesn’t appreciate what you are. If she did you would be a general leading the army and not stuck here going after us like her errand dog.”

Renegade hissed, “I am not here to be manipulated by you, boy.”

“But-”

“You speak too much, and now the marine dies.”

The pressure on his throat rapidly increased, something hard pressed against his back causing his bones to pop with pressure. He let out a strangled yelp of quiet pain through her crushing arms. At his back, he could feel her muscles beginning to contract, ready to crush the life out of him

Before she could completely cut off his air supply his mouth opened unbidden, for the first time since he had seen her.

“Por Favor.”

His voice was choked, strangled and quiet, but when he did speak, he thought he felt her pause slightly ,her arms slackening just enough for him to take in another gasp of air.

Maybe there was a chance.

Maybe a part of the old maverick was still there. At this point most of his hoped had faded that she would ever return to normal, his delusion no more than a pretty lie he told himself, but still he hoped that maybe, somewhere in there, there was a good part of her still left over.

He tried again 

“Por favor Maverick, si todavía estás ahí.....”  Please, if you are still there. His voice cracked slightly, stopping and halting over the words. He didn’t know what he wanted to say, he didn’t know how to say them. He wasn’t a hostage negotiator, and he had certainly never practiced to negotiate out of his own imminent death, but still it felt like he had to say something…. He had to have one last word with Maverick, FOR maverick so that she would know.

What would he want to hear if he was her? 

He didn’t know why he said what he said next, wasn’t sure what gave him the right to hand it out, but still he knew the words felt right when they passed between his lips and out into the open air, “ Yo- yo - te perdono.”

He didn’t know why he suddenly had the right to give forgiveness, or even why he suspected she would want it, but he gave it anyway.

He wasn’t mad at her.

He couldn’t be.

It wasn’t Maverick’s fault her past self had been an egomaniacal bitch.

In the next few moments Ramirez expected her hand to come sprouting out of his chest like the xenomorph movie that Adam had made them watch, But as the words left his lips something strange happened.

Her body went stiff.

He could feel it through the pressing mussels of her arms and chest.

What….

And then she began to shake, violently. It was like she was having her own personal earthquake.

Had he made her angry.

He turned his head slightly, finally able to adjust in her Maker enhanced grip, just far enough to be able to see her face, and watch in horror as she cycled through a mixture of emotions.

Rage.

Hate

Frustration 

determination , and so on.

With every moment, the structure of her face seemed to change ever so slightly, flipping back and forth like the channels on a TV. her body continued to shake, the muscles in her arms twitching violently against his skin, and then.

She snarled, but then her face flipped completely.

Her eyes widened a bit, her jaw locked in determination  and past her mop of grown out and unruly hair, she caught his eyes, and the face he saw behind all of it was a familiar one.

Maverick was here, for the first time since this had all begun.

They looked at each other for only a moment, but a certain sort of recognition passed between them.

And then she said.

“Run.”

Before he could speak, her arm withdrew from his throat, and she shoved him violently away from her. Ramirez staggered, and almost lost his footing again, but this time celex grabbed him by the arm and hauled him upright. He staggered to his feet and turned just in time to see Maverick turn and attempt to sprint towards the door.

He held out a hand after her, but Celex grabbed him and hauled him along, “No, we can’t help her.”

He disagreed, but he was in too much shock to process.

Just as she was about to exit the door, Maverick jerked to a halt like a marionette with her strings cut. Her body twitched, violent and distorted  as she staggered from one side to the other. She reached her hands up towards her head, gripping her skull in either hand.

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!” It was Rebel’s voice.

She twitched again, falling to one knee.

“Go to hell!”

And that time it was maverick.

He tried to walk towards her again, to help her, but Celex grabbed him around the chest and hauled him backwards, “We can’t help her!” he insisted. Ramirez struggled against him but it was no use.

Celex was far stronger.

He continued to drag Ramirez back, and finally out of sight, his last image of her was maverick, bent down to one knee, crushed under the pressure of her fight, panting heavily.

“I will not let you hurt them.” 

[oimoi-op]

Rewatching The Orville rn (I'm on "Mad Idolatry"), and I know this has been talked about with media many times, but it's annoying how many sci-fi series create entire planets that have only one culture and/or religion. I understand that's it's simpler from a writing standpoint, and there's some logic behind the idea that worlds capable of space travel would be less culturally diverse due to the sheer amount of energy they'd have to produce, but every single world having one planet-wide culture just seems unlikely, especially when humans are often portrayed as still having different cultures that just adhere to some "universal" societal norms.

With Kandar 1 in "Mad Idolatry," this isn't too much of an issue in my opinion as the themes being explored require a singular planet-wide culture, but the series' depiction of alien worlds and cultures overall isn't too different: all Krill follow the Ankhana and believe in Avis, all (male) Moclans are run by the same patriarchal government and uphold the same cultural norms, etc., whereas humans still have different cultures (as implied in "Command Performance," when John makes a joke about how white guys "can go to Compton long as the black guy says it's cool" that Alara, being Xeleyan, doesn't get). There are still intra-planetary cultural conflicts, like female Moclan activists vs. the male Moclan society and like the Reformers vs. the followers of the Dorahl religion in "If the Stars Should Appear," but these are still very black-and-white struggles with only two well-established sides that you don't often find in the real world (there are many different subsets of feminism, the Protestants had split into many different groups shortly after the Reformation, etc.).

I don't think every alien world should just be a re-skinned Earth, obviously, but I think this trend weakens the writing's effectiveness. The Krill don't stand out as much (outside of being very religious) when they're just as culturally homogenous as almost every other major alien species in the series. The show still has hints of diverse cultures on a single planet (e.g. Talla's entire family is said to pursue military careers while Alara's family looks down on that career path, showing not all Xeleyans fall into the latter mindset), but these are few and far in between.

I just think it would be more interesting and compelling if these alien cultures were depicted as more diverse within their own planet's norms. Like, what if the Krill had other religions? What if there was active ideological conflict between adherents of Avis? The series in general is critical of organized religion (totally fine creative choice, especially for a Star Trek homage—Roddenberry himself wanted TOS to be more critical of religion), but all depictions of religion are portrayed as homogenous and comparable to Roman Catholicism's imperialistic history specically, such as when Admiral Ozawa literally uses the term "holy crusade" when talking about the Krill's religion. The criticisms, then, feel somewhat hollow as there aren't diverse depictions of religion whereas in the real world there are countless different faiths and belief systems even within the same religions.

Again, I get that part of this trend comes from a desire to keep the writing simpler so that it doesn't become convoluted, but the flaws are hard for me to ignore. Hopefully the show gets renewed and that, in future seasons, the writers explore this more.

[chysgoda]

Matches

A traditional story

Set between 6.0 and 6.1

Art’imis tried to remember why she thought trying to find Hilda while she was on duty was a good idea. A snowflake landed on the tip of her nose and the warm weight of the bag on her shoulder reminded her. Hilda took the evening shift on Starlight Eve to give as many of her people time with their families as possible. The bag on her shoulder held fire crystals and a couple of sealed mugs of Haurchefant’s hot coco. She smiled briefly thinking of the knight and how he would have more than likely to have encouraged this little clandestine adventure, but insisted that he either carry the bag or her. 

The list of people who would scold her for walking this much in the cold while carrying anything was extremely long, but Art’imis was getting restless in her convalescing.  she’d fought battles on fresh injuries, a quick walk with a bag containing a pair of mugs was not going to kill her. Resolutely she ignored the imaginings of Y’shtola’s and Krille’s unimpressed looks, as well as X’rhun’s and Eddmont’s disappointed looks. She was going to be just fine.

The sound of boots crunching in fresh snow turned her head in time to see Hilda Ware turn a corner. The watchwoman cocked an unimpressed eyebrow at the smaller Raen woman. Art’imis abruptly realized that Aymeric and Edmont had probably spread the word that the Savior of Ishgard was NOT to be engaging in physically strenuous shenanigans. Honestly, it was like they expected her to fall apart. 

“So,” Hilda grinned as she sauntered up to the Raen woman. “I’ve got permission from the Lord Commander to drag you to the congregation’s cells by your horns if you‘re doing anything that might reopen any wounds.”

Art’imis scowled at Hilda which just made her grin broaden. She made sure to keep eye contact with the younger woman as she slid the bag off her shoulder and brought out one of the mugs to offer it to her. “After I went to all the effort to track you down for this?”

Hilda took the mug and removed the lid. When the smell of chocolate wafted up with the steam her eyes widened. “Is this Haurchefant’s recipe?” 

Art’imis smirked and lifted her hands in mock innocence. “Didn’t you know he gave me the recipe?”

Hilda moved to smack the back of  her friend’s head and Art dodged absently, only to hiss when the movement pulled on a set of stitches that were not ready to come out. The watch commander scowled and plucked the bag from Art’s loosening fingers. “Your daughter stays down when the healers tell her to ya know.”

Art scowled though she knew there was a petulant element to it. The hound smirked at her before taking a slow sip of the hot chocolate. They both stepped towards a building in the lee of the wind where Hilda leaned back against the wall and looked up to the clear sky. Art’imis followed suit the starry sky made her remember the image Urianger had painted for Y’shtola when night had returned to the Great Wood…

“It’ll be a killing night,” Hilda’s blunt tone drew Art’imis out of her memories. The watchwoman rolled the mug between her hands. Looking down into the creamy brown drink. “We’ll be finding bodies in the morning of the ones who had no place to get out of the cold.”

Art’imis pressed her lips together in a thin line remembering Ul’dah’s killing suns in high summer, a similar situation even if it was the opposite element. She took a breath but her jaw snapped shut when she heard something rustle in the alley right next to them. The paladin pushed off the wall and peered into the alley. The was the distinct scratch of a match head and a sharp pain accompanied the hiss of a new flame. Art’imis pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead but the vision already had her. 

A little hyur girl peaked into the cafe window. She had to peer through her reflection of cheeks that were rosy with chill rather than health. Beyond her reflection she saw a family sitting at a table near a giant fireplace that heated the entire cafe. A father had pulled his two children into a hug tilting their chairs dangerously close to over turning. On the other side of the table the mother covered her mouth with a napkin to hide her laughter-

The vision released her and Art’imis snapped a hand out to catch the corner of the building and steady herself. She blinked realizing she had not been swaying at all because Hilda had a hold of her other elbow. The watch woman motioned to the grip of her gun but Art’imis shook her head. She took careful steps into the alley. Not silent, she didn’t want to panic the child, her gut insisted that the little girl in the vision was who the memory belonged to. She caught sight of a pale hand scraping the head of another match along the brick wall. The flame burst into light with a high pitch pop and heralded another sharp pain behind her eyes. 

She’d found two whole apples and a few scraps of ham. The apples were going a bit soft and the ham was probably within a day of turning, but that didn’t matter because it would be a little feast tonight for her and Nana. She scrambled up, down, and around the debris that still littered most of the Brume.  There was a little hollow in a pile of debris just big enough for her and Nana to sleep curled up together. It kept them safe from snow and wind, Nana gave thanks to the Fury every night for the little bit of shelter that kept them dry. She came around to the entrance of her home. 

Nana wasn’t there. 

There was a thin elezan man who glared at her when she began to stammer. “Wh-Where is my Nana?” 

“The old bitch? Dead and the watch probably already took her to the butchers that call themselves doctors for practice.” The man kicked a foot out and caught her shoulder. Her feast scattered as she tumbled to the ground. The man grinned, “Leave the food or you’ll get another kick.” 

The little girl reached for one of the apples-

Art’imis felt Hilda steady her again as she blinked the vision out of her eyes. She took a deep breath and looked down into mousy brown hair and pale brown eyes. A small voice spoke before she could,“Are you Halone’s angels?”

“She might be,” Hilda jerked a thumb at Art’imis with a grin which only got bigger when she saw the side eye the Raen woman gave her, “I’m just another mongrel.” 

“Oh,” the child said dully. 

Art’imis crouched down so she could look the little girl in the eye. “Can I see your hands please?”

“If you’re one of Halone’s angels you won’t hurt me right?” The child pulled her hands close to her chest. 

Art’imis kept her smile soft even as her heart broke a little bit. She rested one of her hands above her heart. “I swear on the Fury’s grace I will not harm or allow harm to come to you.”

The girl’s eyes went round and slowly she offered her hands to Art’imis. Long years of maintaining her composure for the sake of others kept the Paladin from flinching. If they were lucky she might be able to use magic to keep the child from losing the tips of her fingers. A quick glance down showed that the child didn’t have shoes either. “I would like to use a healing spell but it will sting a bit. Is that okay?” 

The girl nodded looking back and forth between the two women in awe. With slow and steady movements Art’imis cupped the girl’s small hands between her own and blew out a breath as she focused. She tugged gently on the elements around her and wove them into a spell. Between Art’imis’s hands a pale blue light began to glow. She channeled just enough to make sure that the fingers and toes were safe. In the back of her mind she could hear E-Sumi-Yan explaining how healing magic could go awry if the underlying problem was not addressed first. 

“What’s your name?” Hilda asked to distract the girl from any pain from Art’imis’s spell. 

The girl swallowed hard and looked up at Hilda, “Felicity.”

“There’s a pretty name,” Hilda smiled. “Mine’s Hilda, and our angel friend here is Art’imis.”

The woman in question huffed when she let go of her spell. “That will do until we can get you properly warmed up, and I’m no more an angel than you or Hilda.” 

“My Nana said real angels won’t admit to being angels.” Felicity stated solemnly. 

Art’imis sighed, Hilda’s grin told her that she wasn’t going to get rid of this particular title anytime soon. “Well I don’t think you should be walking on those frozen feet. So I’ll carry-“

“No, I'll carry her.” Hilda said glaring at the other woman. “If you tear those stitches on my watch your man will singe my hair. I’ll take her to my place tonight and you are going home to the Fortemps where you’ve probably got a warm body to cuddle up against.”

Again, Art’imis knew her frown was petulant but there wasn’t much she could do when Hilda swooped down and picked the girl up. The Raen woman sighed and stood up doing her best to ignore how her knees ached. She began to pull her coat off but hissed when the movement pulled on her stitches. Art’imis scowled at nothing, it hadn’t hurt to get the damn thing on. Pointedly she ignored how Hilda was whispering to the girl that angels could be absolute fools and shucked off her gloves to pull them over Felicity's feet. “It looks silly, but those will at least keep your toes warm.”

The little girl waggled her feet and giggled when the empty fingers flapped. Both women smiled in relief, a bit of life meant that Felicity’s spirit had not been crushed by the street. Hilda readjusted her hold and looked at Art’imis, “my place is closest, I’ll take her home for the night and get her warmed up and fed.”

“I’ll come by tomorrow-“

“Afternoon.” Hilda interrupted firmly. “Go spend Starlight with your family Art. We’ll be just fine, it’s not my first time dealing with frostbite, it probably won’t be my last.”

Art’imis held up her hands in defeat. “Alright, alright, be careful with her right shoulder. She took a nasty kick there. And there’s a rumor we need to talk about later.”

Felicity’s eyes went wide with shock. Hilda nodded, “Echo?”

“Sometimes it’s good for something,” Art’imis shrugged, “I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

Turning around the Raen woman waved as she began walking towards the aetheryte shard.  

“I think she just doesn’t know she’s one of Halone’s angels,” Felicity said decisively. Hilda laughed when she heard Art’imis’s aggrieved sigh. 

—-

Felicity sat on the floor near the iron stove. The warmth was almost painful after being so long without it. Hilda had draped a wool blanket over her and ordered her to stay put for a moment. Behind the grill of the pot belly stove the red light was a soft, constant, red glow rather than the flickering yellow of a fire. It was a simple puzzle that was easier to deal with than everything else that had happened that night. Actual angels had found her when she had been sure she would die huddled in that ally. They denied that they were angels, which Felicity felt was right and proper, but they acted like she thought angels should. 

Felicity looked up when she heard Hilda come back into the living room. “What can hurt an angel?”

“Most anything I’d figure,” Hilda set down a tray in front of her that had bowls of stew, a pile of rolls, and mugs with steaming drinks. The woman then sat down right next to Felicity and wrapped them both in another blanket. “You start with that mug of broth and a roll. Take it slow like and if that doesn’t upset your stomach then you can have the stew.”

Felicity reached for the mug slowly half expecting it to vanish and find the dream over when she woke up in that frozen ally. The heat of the mug stung but didn’t burn when she wrapped her hands around it. She took a small sip and her eyes went wide. Broth was salted water as far as she understood it. This tasted of chicken and savory vegetables. Felicity gulped her next drink only to splutter and cough when too much hot liquid hit her throat. She felt Hilda’s calloused hand rub gentle circles on her back until she could breathe. 

“I told you to take it slow.” The watchwoman’s amused tone made Felicity stare in bewilderment. She wanted to say it reminded her of her father, but in truth she couldn’t remember either of her parents that well. Felicity looked at the food that was more flavorful than any she’d had. She looked at the well kept iron stove and up into Hilda’s red eyes that held a bone deep understanding that Felicity had not expected in such a noble lady or an angel. Hilda gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “It’s okay to be overwhelmed, lass. It’s been a lot for you.”

Felicity hiccuped as a whimpering sob broke out. She leaned into Hilda who plucked the mug from her hand before it could fall to the floor and then pulled the waif into her lap. Felicity pressed her face into Hilda’s shoulder and sobbed, unable to pull the emotion back in. She sobbed as bits of memory poured through her in bits and shards. Her grandmother’s wind worn lips on her forehead. The gold edged scales on a face that bore the small tell tale scars of a fighter but with compassion etched sharply in the small wrinkles around her eyes. The sharp pain as a man’s boot crushed into her shoulder to add another injury to finding out her grandmother was dead and missing. Soft and hard memories thundered through her until she was empty. When she stopped hiccuping and her breathing evened out, Hilda pressed the mug back into her hands. 

——

“Are you still planning on coming home for a bit tomorrow?” 

Lucia blinked at how her lady love started the link pearl call. “I will be on the supply ship that leaves tonight. Maxima, Jullus and the twins should be able to handle anything that comes up here.”

“Wonderful. I found a youngling I’d like you to meet before I get adoption papers.”

Lucia had years and training and decades of experience controlling her expressions. All of which failed her. “Come again?”

“Not right now, the kid’s on the couch.” 

Lucia pinched the bridge of her nose and ignored the concerned looks from Maxima and Alphinaud. “This is not how adoption works, Hilda.”

“It worked for Art.”

“Art’imis Chysgoda is a good role model for absolutely nothing and you know it.” 

“Felicity is an angel you’ll adore her. See you when you get home love.”

Lucia ignored the amused looks she was getting and very carefully placed her link pearl in her belt pouch. What in all seven hells she didn’t believe in had Hilda done while she was gone?

[tailorvizsla]

A small intro to my current fic.

Title: The Diplomatic Incident Rating: M Universe: The Orville Pairings: Human f!OC x Krill m!OC Note: tfw when there is no more Orville so you decide to write a 150k+ fic so you can have a hot Krill husband

Under the cut for length. :D

The door swished open, startling her from her reverie. She managed to not drop her tea.

"Morning, Ensign," Captain Mercer said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Uh, not really," she admitted. "You?"

"Not at all," he said with a shrug. He looked down at the coffee. "You are a lifesaver." 

He grabbed one of the mugs and sat down before drinking it down. Once he appeared properly caffeinated, he spoke again. 

"Your report?"

Nia swallowed anxiously as she forwarded it to him. Captain Mercer picked up his pad and started skimming through it.

"I have read over Ambassador Crovrel's notes, and everything seems okay," Nia said. "I genuinely cannot tell what she could be doing that would be causing offense to the Za'ari. However, body language is quite important, so there may be subtle cues that she's missing or weird vibes that she's giving off, so to speak - "

"Captain, we will be rendezvousing with the Sarakev in eight minutes," came a voice over comms.

"How are we an hour early?" Captain Mercer asked.

Her stomach dropped through her feet. She hadn't even gotten through the first paragraph. She had no idea if her plans were even acceptable. What if she had made a mistake? Nia felt her heart starting to race.

"We have not altered course. The Sarakev has chosen to meet us here. They must attend to another incident."

"I see," Captain Mercer said. He gave her a look. "Well, let's go meet our guests, then."

Nia nodded in silence. She followed after him obediently, her stomach twisting tighter with each step. Commander Grayson came to join them about halfway there. She had a frown on her face, and her lips were set in a thin line. Nia noticed that her mug of coffee was much larger.

"Did you get a chance to review everything?"

"Nope," Captain Mercer said. "It should be fine."

Nia gave him a look of horror as she trotted along behind them. Commander Grayson sighed and finished the last of her coffee.

"Ensign Hreevan, could you do me a favor?" she asked. "Can you throw this into the recycler?"

"Of course, Commander," Ensign Hreevan said, giving them a curious look.

All too soon, they came to the shuttle bay, where a Krill vessel had just landed. The back ramp dropped, and a group of four Krill stepped off. A few more unloaded some boxes and crates behind them. They exchanged a few words. 

Just as quickly, the shuttle left, leaving the four individuals and a pile of crates behind. Captain Mercer stepped forward. Nia shuffled forward a step, trying her best to hide behind Captain Mercer and Commander Grayson without actually looking like she was trying to hide.

"Hello," Captain Mercer said, putting on his most welcoming smile. "Welcome aboard the Orville, gentlemen."

"Captain Mercer," said the Krill who looked like he was in charge. "My colleagues and I thank you for assisting us in our diplomatic mission."

Oh my God. The holographic videos had not done his voice justice, Nia thought to herself.

"It is our pleasure to help," he said. "Please allow me to make introductions. This is Commander Grayson, my second in command." Captain Mercer seemed less than impressed when he realized she was trying to hide behind him. "This," he said, shuffling her forward, "is Ensign Bridges, our resident expert on Za'ar and her people."

Nia suddenly felt tiny as they scrutinized her. She swallowed and tried to give them a welcoming smile. 

"Hi," she managed to say.

Their eyes met, and she suddenly felt like she could not breathe, an odd electric feeling starting at her toes and working its way up. He tilted his head in acknowledgement and diverted attention from her. Her heart thudded wildly in her chest. Her hands and knees felt oddly shaky after that brief encounter.

[marine-indie-gal]

Figure that I'd give the Bikini Bottom more Rulers, this time adding in More Water Deities from Foreign Mythologies of Different Cultures in a Group of Seven Sea Gods ruling over Each of The Seven Seas. From Left to Right; Poseidon (from Greek Mythology), Neptune (from Roman Mythology), Ryūjin (from Japanese Mythology), Mac Lir (from Celtic Mythology), Varuna (from Hindu Mythology), Sobek (from Egypt Mythology), and Njǫrd (from Norse Mythology). We pretty much already know much about Poseidon/Neptune behind Greco-Roman Mythology. Greek/Roman God of the Seas, Son of Cronus/Saturn and Rhea/Ops, brother of Zeus/Jupiter and Hades/Pluto, Husband of Amphitrite/Salacia, yada, yada, yada, ect. pretty much you Greco-Roman Mythologists out there who have watched SpongeBob and seen Sponge on The Run would defiantly would know who Poseidon/Neptune is. But what about the Water Deities from Different Mythologies? Who are they? Well, here are some personalities for our new guys. Ryūjin (Japanese Water Deity and Third Ruler of The Seas) The Master of the Serpents and King of a Sea Dragon. Ryūjin has the ability to take both in Three Forms; A Dragon (his Actual Species), An Anthro Fish (to civilize Fish People like from the Bikini Bottom), and Human (Only for the Surface Land). Ryūjin is a Cunning Wise-Cracking Dragon who's often to take hold of his responsibilities of being King and as well as creating fun for his own. He enjoys to have a slice of life such as eating some Krill or Plankton, he even has the power to make Gemstones glow. Whenever he gets furious or angry, storms would usually come in out of nowhere as he also controls waves to make them very big and crazy like a hurricane. Voice Actor: John de Lancie (Discord from "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic") Mac Lir (Celtic Water Deity and Fourth Ruler of The Seas) A Wise, Kind, and Noble Deity. Mac Lir is also known as "Manannán", he was a Brave Warrior of a Deity who fights in Wars and is also part of Another Deity Tribe, "Tuatha Dé Danann". Mac Lir is not really all that fearsome of a God but he's often very nice as he protects to those who had a rough life as he is willing to give anyone who deserved something much better a chance. He often rides on Sea Horses throughout the Seas and claims that All Sea Creatures are very good-natured animals. Voice Actor: Christian Bale Varuna (Hindu Water Deity and Fifth Ruler of The Seas) Basically the Hippie Type out of the Group. Varuna is Very Peaceful, Laid-Back, and Enlightened. He is mostly rather Chill but outside of being a Water God, he's also a Ruler of the Sky Realm and even upholder of the Cosmics, known for being a Chief of the Adityas. He can tell and predict the future with his highest knowledge with great power behind a thousand eyes. He sometimes enjoys to visit Parties such as visiting a Festival with the Gods and is very respected by the Fish who he is welcomed to. Voice Actor: Khary Payton (Rafiki from "The Lion Guard") Sobek (Egyptian Water Deity and Sixth Ruler of The Seas) A Lord of Crocodiles and even God of the River Niles. Sobek has the ability to control Waters as well as being in command with a pack of his own Crocodiles. Like Poseidon, he is very Vain and Self-Centered but unlike Neptune's Greek Counterpart, he isn't lazy and is often busy doing his Job protecting the Nile. He can allow his Crocodiles to not eat People for those who fear death unless if you pray for him to make Crocs get out of the Water. He is also able to protect anyone who obeys him from Evil and hate if anyone would dare try to screw his Job of being a King of the Nile Rivers, usually he gets pissed at that when someone tries to mess things up around him. Voice Actor: Kevin Hart Njǫrd (Norse Water Deity and Seventh Ruler of The Seas) Njord is very stoic at nature. Like Neptune, he is very regal to control both the Waters and is able to give people who obey him the riches with Great Wealth. Needless to say, he is often very mature and tends to focus on his responsibilities of being King such as doing the Royal Stuff, he is soft-spoken and gentle. He would punish others who are Evil such as the Monsters around from the Sea. He doesn't necessary like people who are greedy or selfish as he is willing to pay them with Karma such as an Important Moral Lesson; If they want great wealth, they must learn to be a better and respectful person without being selfish and Greed at heart, only use Charity at Heart. He is very faithful and respectful towards anyone, even to those like his Wife, Skadi (The Goddess of Winter). Voice Actor: Billy Zane (John Rolfe from "Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World") I made each of the Men-like Water Gods (except for Ryūjin and Sobek) into Merman like how the show does with Neptune and Poseidon because since some Gods have Titles of being in charge of Waters, wouldn't they also be depicted as Merman too? Also, I should be such further noticed that I don't really consider the Other Neptune from the First Movie part of the Rulers of the Seven Seas. In my AU, he's just a King of Merpeople, not a God since Most Gods don't generally wear Royal Medieval Outfits. Also, for the Backgrounds that I used behind these versions of the Other Foreign Gods, I just googled up each Foreign Waterland/Ocean/Sea to resemble what Country that they are from. I do NOT own these backgrounds, credit goes to each of the Backgrounds that I have found for Google. SpongeBob SquarePants (c) Stephen Hillenburg Water Deities (c) Mythology

[mceproductions]

Best of 2022 TV Shows #1: The Orville: New Horizons (Hulu)

For Seth Macfarlane his little show that could somehow managed to do the unthinkable.

Be the best show of the year.

All it took was a new network partner, upgrades in effects, story and quality to bring us some very compelling sci-fi.

With the timeline reset the Orville crew pick up the pieces and strained relationships in the process.

While not showing it, hurting most is the Kaylon Issac having burned all his bridges with the crew including newbie Charly who directly lost someone based on the attack.

But what this actually does is gives a real reason to root for the unthinkable.

Like Issac and Claire going the distance.

A peace summit between the Union and Krill that unfortunately dove into real world issues resulting in a coup.

Bortus going through the wringer of fatherhood with Topa and identity issues with his race and mate.

Kelly with mentoring an asylum seeker in the ways of the galaxy.

Lamar seeking advancement in command and love with his and Tallas unexpected connection.

Even Gordon who is given TVs single best episode this year as he unexpectedly makes a life for himself in 2025 Pasadena.

Pure wonder is brought within these 10 episodes.

11 if you count the Audible novella.

But if this is the last time we get to see the crew, we might as well take Gordon Malloys advice from his James Taylor Cover.

“Since we’re on our way down, might as Well Enjoy the ride.”

Oh, we enjoyed it Seth we certainly did.

SUM 22: Hulu gives New Horizons to the Crew of the Orville and delivers this years best show for it.

[phthalology]

Report From Neomuna Mission to First Ghost Immaru

(for @wonderwafles)

Report from Sesneth and Fox, to First Ghost Immaru:

My coven set down on Neptune at night. The city glowed with dead fire. The silence worried us, made us crowd close until Notoph shouted us back in line. Despite this, we caught three humans and hung them upside down and notched runes into their skin. They told us Cloud Striders would rescue them. 

Cloud Striders, the captives said, are filled with nanomachines. These spread throughout their bodies. This transformation is mechanical, like the SIVA virus, not biological like our worms or paracausal like the Traveler’s Ghosts. Eventually, the nanomachines kill the Cloud Strider, and a new one takes its place. 

The Cloud Striders live short lives, a reverse of both the Guardians’ and the Hive’s pacts. Are their shortened human lifespans still longer than that of the krill? What proportion of loss would have made each trade worth it? 

(What is “worth”? The Wizard Sesneth thinks, stilling her stylus. Fox spins his flanges around the perimeter of her small tower in the outer wall of what used to be the Witch-Queen’s palace. Green shadows fall against ribbed white walls. Sesneth will not include her question in the report. Immaru would scoff at it. It is a question that would have been inconceivable to the Hive before the Lucent Brood. 

Inside the Brood, Ghosts bring questions like this. They do not intend it. They bring assumptions, questions. They bring Entaoxuanna and call it good. 

Besides, such a question isn’t tactically useful at all. Thoughts go skittering off like cave crickets. The Wizard Sesneth gnaws on her stylus. How long is a Neptune year? Do the Cloud Striders live half their year? Less? She does not know. How long is a Fundament year? She reaches the limits of her mathematics and moves the stylus again.) 

We cannot be sure the captives did not tell us several lies.

(Some of the Hive have no interest in the krill at all, Sesneth thought. They resist the Entaoxuanna, whether easily or with great effort. Not all think the legends matter. Sesneth does. The legends help her sleep and help her wake up.)

We killed two captives, stored another in crystal. We saw a Cloud Strider from a distance, but did not challenge it yet, as you, First Ghost Immaru, commanded us to “quit that racket.” We returned to the Throne World. 

(The Wizard Sesneth hissed at her stylus. She began to revise her report line by line, adding more specifics, adding more colloquialisms to appeal to Immaru, adding some numbers supplied by Fox. Finally, she scratched out the part about krill lifespans. It wasn’t useful to the war, and besides, removing it gave her a small thrill. Wizards should have some secrets, she thought. They were fat for her to chew on later. 

The day was growing long, though, her mandibles too tired for chewing. She tapped her stylus against her chin and turned to Fox. “Do you think we’ll eat them?” She asked.

“The Cloud Striders?”

“Yes.”

“No,” said Fox. “We don’t need nanomachines.” 

Sesneth nodded. “You are wise.”

“I know,” said Fox.

Letter written, they sat and thought together. Sesneth thought about the lengths of years. 

[redsinistra]

Before finishing this year I want to upload this here. May I present my not-so-roginal sky OCs, mostly based on the Season of Shattering, my first season in the game :D

The Wanderer (Wander): Known as a messenger and envoy before, now roams the Golden Wastelands alone, keeping people at bay from a "very peculiar ruins". The dark crown on his forehead allows him to "blend in" with the dark creatures. Also, it gives him the ability to communicate, even command, the dark krills that are patrolling certain areas. Spikes: Stone crab minion of Wander. A "familiar" of some sort, half-corrupted by darkness. Besides that, he's very grumpy and screeches a lot.

The Minstrel (Min) Known as "singer" in another time, she's a drifting soul that woke with faint memories of her past. Found herself on an unfamiliar place, and thankfully, was guided by Ember. The two grow close to each other, in some kind of "sisters" relationship. She has a natural affinity with light creatures, specially mantas and the little stone crabs. One even started to follow the cheerful pair, Pebbles, a small crab that just was curious at first. Got adopted.

Ember: Youngest of the group. A native Skid from the Light Realms of Sky. She met Minstrel for the first time in the Isle of Dawn. A little mischievous ray of sunshine. Seems to be more familiar with the Light Realms and serves as a guide to Minstrel, even she herself cannot remember "her past".

[a-sweeter-solarsystem]

Finally can start putting faces to names while I work on developing backstories more :0 !! Quick bios about all of em below the cut for those who are curious

Riley

they/them / half human half awoken / hunter Ghost: Wallie (They/it) The official leader of fireteam carnation.  Sarcastic and sassy, but tends to be particular about how missions should be run.  Their ghost often disproves of their ideas for being too outlandish/risky.

Simón 

she/her / human / titan Ghost: Krill (she/her) Considered often to be the second in command.  Lost her ghost while trying to protect Reaper-7.  She still continues to participate on missions even with the risk of true death.

Repaer-7

he/it / exo / warlock Ghost: Sky (She/her) Fiercely loyal to his fireteam, but quick to anger.  Cold at first but lets out more playfulness/teasing as he grows more comfortable around others.  Was assigned as Cal’s unofficial mentor until Cal got a better grasp on things.  Blames Cal for the loss of Krill.   

Calgrach (”Cal”)

he/him / awoken / hunter Ghost: Lester (he/him) Newest member of the fireteam.  Fully deaf and uses assistive technology to communicate with his team while on missions (His ghost also assists with translating between sign language and spoken words).  Is often teased for being newer/not as good as the rest of the team amongst other things.