#homeworld emergence

[ridl]

little critters docking with their funny little paws :)

[gaykarstaagforever]

They apparently made a spinoff Homeworld game in 2000 about a virus that infects spaceships and melts all the people inside and turns them into nerves to run the spaceship like a living creature, which then goes out to infect other ships. And only some downtrodden group of space miners with crappy ships can stop this thing from eating the entire universe. It is apparently a really dark and atmospheric horror game, impressive considering it is literally just ships.

I didn't even know this was a thing until today. The hell.

It was originally called Homeworld: Cataclysm, but somehow Activision copyrighted that AFTER other people had already used it on games (?, explain this, lawyers), so now GOG is selling it as Homeworld: Emergence.

It isn't a remastered version, like the big Homeworld pack release they did 8 years ago or whenever. This is just as-was because it wasn't made by Relic.

I mean fine by me, the remaster used the Homeworld 2 engine for everything and I prefer the original, with all its lo-D jank. Plus that engine inexplicably still works on Windows, sometimes. If you're lucky.

Here is Mandalore talking about it, because no one but me is interested in actually playing this in 2023:

GOG link

[artmeyk]

Homeworld Fans who played DOK (Deserts of Kharak) or dwelled in to the lore. (or played Homeworld 2 and Cataclysm) (THIS DOES NOT COUNT COALITION AS A KIITH DUE TO IT JUST FACTION OF KIITHID)

[garbean]

May I offer Steven universe!au stobotnik yuri in these trying times

[who-do-i-know-this-man]

⚠️Vote for whomever YOU DO NOT KNOW⚠️‼️

[tacitgadget]

Hey guys, Tacit here!

Go play Homeworld Cataclysm Emergence.

It's $10 ($0.99 on sale) on GOG

It's a RTS Horror game set after Homeworld

This is some of the best writing in an RTS game I've ever experienced

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Is Amethyst jealous of Steven for having mind controlling powers or no?

I wouldn't say 'jealous' is the correct word....

Amethyst is the 'ideal' of Do Whatever You Want gem that Rose wanted to raise. She operates on a basis of 'I do what I WANT to do' and 'I only feel how I WANNA feel.' Her main source of comfort are self-actualization, not control over others. In fact, she cares little about what others think - sometimes to the detriment of her relationships. (At the same time--or maybe because!--she still harbors self-conscious fears about not being good enough, due to her origins and the way she connects her emergence to the homeworld system - the system which her family despises.)

So I hope it's pretty clear why she's so affected, more so than the others, by what Steven does to Jasper. Jasper represents something Amethyst fears and craves in equal part - a quartz soldier who, to her knowledge, HAD a place in the Homeworld system. Something SHE could have been if she hadn't come out late. Jasper is a dark, enticing mirror.

And seeing Steven so easily subduing Jasper, taking away her ability to act freely, freaks Amethyst the FUCK out. Logically she understands why Steven did what he did. But emotionally, she cannot get over the idea that Steven (someone she thought was like her - a small and late-blooming gem that came from something bad) eventually turned out to be the Super Special Diamond Boy (something she cannot ever be)

[whereserpentswalk]

Every starship always has a few ice people on board. It's just standard safety protocol. The minimum number is three, one ice person for defense, one ice person for repairs, and one ice person for medical.

Ice people are people who are put into suspended animation for the duration of a trip, only to be taken out in emergencies. They're useful because a ship won't have to deal with another passenger just for something that won't useally happen. It also makes it so that the ice person is the least likely to be harmed in emergencies. They used to use robots for these sorts of things but now that the robots have unionized biological life is cheaper for that kind of labor.

It's a pretty nice job. Nine times out of ten it's falling asleep and waking up a few months later. Doing it once or twice can pay off your college debts pretty quickly. Compared to the other jobs you'll get with that kind of skillset it's a pretty good deal. Most medical students are encouraged to take it as their first job to pay off their student loans.

Of course, there is a weirdness to it, not existing for such a long time. Even a few months will make the way things change weird. You'll come back to your home planet and things will be diffrent. A freind will have gotten married. A child that you're used to being a baby will be a toddler. Someone will have moved away. It's not all bad, hype for movies or video games, arguments that need time to calm down, skipping out on a bad time in politics. But still, it always makes you a bit separate from everything else.

Of course, there is always the fear suspended animation won't work as intended, and your mind will be trapped dreaming, or worse, conscious, during the entire affair. Perhaps things will that lurk in hyperspace will begin to speak to you. Or worse you'll just be alone, with nothing but your thoughts, and no way to cry out.

But that's not the worst of it, at least not for most people. For most people it's the much more mundane reality of needing to be an ice person for more than just one or two trips. You'll fall asleep and wake up months later, ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred times. And you'll find yourself only seeing the world through snapshots, really only having your other ice people to relate to. You'll be from a diffrent time as everyone the same age as you. It's better pay then any alternative, but there is a greater cost. Soon enough you'll be walking through your homeworld and it'll be alien to you, decades in the future from what you were raised to be in, you'll be wearing a diffrent eras clothing, speaking in a dead dialect, like a ghost from the past.

There was a young engineer who recently returned from being an ice person. Poor thing, she was sent out on an ambassador ship to an alien system thinking it would be about six months, but it turned out she was gone for decades as a war between that ship's nation and the alien homeworld broke out. When she came back all three of her spouses had died of old age, and her son who was an infant when she left was older than her when she returned, and her grandchildren she had never met were her peers.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Fear

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

During the height of 2549 there was no species more feared in the cosmos than that of the Fedichi.

They were not physically strong and their technology was nothing to boast of. Their domain was only their home system with no external colonies or outposts making them one of the smallest powers in the universe. Yet a single vessel of theirs was enough to send an entire system into panic and hide behind planetary shields or flee on what ships were available.

 Fedichi had a unique method of collective telepathy that allows them to project a species fear. They would induce this form of psychosis into their victims as a means to feed upon them as their diet primarily consisted of the bodily chemicals produced when a subject is afraid. Upon finishing consumption of said chemicals their prey would either be deceased or be reduced to a vegetative state.

Alone a single Fedichi was enough to feast on a single victim, ten Fedichi enough for a large ballroom, a hundred for a large city; but when combined in their thousands an entire planet could be induced into psychosis and then fed upon at leisure.  

For hundreds of years the Fedichi would leave their star system when the urge to feast became strongest and descend upon unsuspecting worlds for a nightmarish harvest. Typical feedings could last anywhere from a week to ten years before the Fedichi had their fill and returned to their home system.

Attempts were made of course to seal off the Fedichi from the rest of the universe. Robotic sentries, minefields, deep space scanning stations; even a planetary containment field was once deployed around the entire Fedichi homeworld to keep them isolated. For a time they procedures seemed to work, but time was always an ally of the Fedichi as they would simply wait out their jailer’s in hibernation. The costs alone of such methods would ever increase over the years as repair costs and personnel ate away at whichever governing body held the reigns of their imprisonment until finally they would abandon the measure entirely believing the Fedichi to be once and for all dealt with.

It would be at this point the Fedichi would emerge and seek vengeance against their former captors and in some cases wipe out the entire species before returning home for their next sleep cycle.

This process went on and on for centuries until finally the Fedichi chose to descend upon the newly space faring species called “Humanity”.

It would be their undoing.

Up until then the victims of the Fedichi had been more or less, unimaginative, to say the least with what scared them. Their societies had condensed into societal structures that did not encourage different ways of thinking or forms of expression so naturally their fears were also more or less shared universally amongst them.

The Vakbar lived on isolated islands and were naturally afraid of their homes being swallowed up by an uncaring sea, the Hashval were a nomadic spacer society and lived in constant fear of hull breaches, the Sal’nuks were in a state of constant war with the wildlife of their world and dreaded the day wild Chunl raptors would gorge themselves on their bodies; but this was not the case with humans.

When the Fedichi used their collective abilities to induce the psychosis on humanity as they had done so countless times before they quickly realized that humanity did not share a single overriding fear. To those that were terrified of moving fast others sought it out as enjoyment, when others feared speaking in public others would be terrified to be alone, were some dreaded poisons others took them as exhilarations needed to feel alive.

Worse yet was when they began to manifest these fears it only worked on a far smaller scale than they were used to. The mixtures of fears ensured that the humans were not ever entirely crippled and would instead come to the aid of those that were terrified. Some offered words of comfort, while others laughed at the absurdity of what some found fearful which made the fearful only angry and dispelling the fear entirely to be replaced with outright anger.

Unable to feed off the humans the Fedichi began to turn on each other. Each waking cycle they had just enough energy to travel to a new species but they needed to feed to replenish that energy or else they would starve. The lack of sustenance provided by humans bled what little energy they had left and in their hunger driven desperation they began to feed on their own kind to stay alive.

Their collective unity fell apart as a frantic feeding frenzy was set off amongst their fleet. Whatever unity the Fedichi had once had collapsed giving way to an insatiable hunger. This madness was in turn broadcasted to the humans below who interpreted the unintelligible screeches to be a sign of aggression and promptly deployed their war fleet.

Without their ability to harness fear the Fedichi ships were defenseless against the combined firepower of the human fleet and ground based defense installations. A full three fourths of their armada was destroyed while those that remained fled out of system. Yet without the needed energy they would be unable to neither return home nor reach another star system to feast upon. They were left stranded in the blackness between stars and starved, a new found testament to the new greatest fear of the universe……

[v-albion]

OK SO

Disclaimer. Steven Universe AU lore. I’m just gonna lore drop about my boys and some basic infos. You gotta wait for the others if they even wanna post it.

DO NOT PRESSURE AND BOTHER THEM

With that out of the way, here’s a timeline

@dianagj-art @intotheelliwoods @less-depresso-more-espresso @tangledinink @bluesgras @teaableu @3lectricinsomnia

So basic info, instead of the Diamonds working together like in SU, here they’re divided into 4 clans/court

Diamond Authority:

Foot Clan —-Red Diamond, Oroku Saki, Lord

Big Mama —- Purple Diamond, Big Mama, Mother, Mama

Draxum —- Pink Diamond, Father, Boss, Commander

Hamatos —- Green Diamond, Splinter, Lou Jitsu (fake form ala rose quartz), Father

Gems call their diamonds Father/Mother or Commander

The timeline is divided into 3 (maybe 4 now) era: Before, During, and After the Gem War, the fourth one is after the invasion and homeworl shenanigans

Kinda s1 big bad is Draxum and s2 big bad is Big Mama

Gem War is when the Red Court (the Foot Clan) led by Oroku Saki attacked the Green Court (the Hamatos). Nearing the end of the War, Oroku Saki gets shattered on Earth. The other Diamonds, (Big Mama and Draxum) corruption beamed the Earth to get rid of the mess, and left Earth to rot. The War ended. The rest of the Foot Clan scattered, some staying in the Homeworld and integrated into the other courts and some snuck away to try and revive Saki. (Guess whats the Shredder gonna be). The Hamatos remnant are roaming the earth in their corrupted forms. Life continued on, Big Mama and Draxums influence grew and took over Hamato and Foot Clan territories

So Cerulean:

● Lee was created on the reef as part of Big Mama’s court. His batch came out really high quality. All of them are distributed to high ranking army commanders.

● Lee was given to a Demantoid Garnet Commander and joined the ship’s crew. There, he learnt about battle strategy and planning, how to distribute armies, how to expand the empire, how to fight and how to defend.

● The Demantoid Commander was shattered by someone Earth. Lee was devastated because said commander was kind enough to him, and even taught him a lot. He kept a few of the Commander’s shards

● Since some of their army still alive, Lee included, they’re all brought back to Homeworld. Most lower ranks were culled. While the higher ranking ones were repurposed.

● Lee was supposed to be shattered too, but he managed to curry favour with one of the higher rank gems (maybe Frida), that gives him a chance to prove himself to BM. He did manage to earn her curiosity.

● Lee became BM’s personal pearl, now basically doubling as her secretary and negotiator. Got preferential treatment most of the time.

Angelo:

● Angelo emerged early post war, perfect in cut and colour ala Jasper in SU.

● After oneion is dicovered as a spy and was rejuvenated by 1D, Angelo took over his spot as a commander while Oneion was bubbled and kept away somewhere.

● During his off time not out conquering planets for the glory of the empire, he frequents the Battle Nexus, now turned to a punishment zone instead of just an entertainment sport. Saying hi to the geminis while they enact their punishment to the traitors

● He also visits and hangs out with Father’s personal weapon maker, a hidden gem called Ronin and his bodyguard Red. Sometimes One even joins them

Getting sent to Earth (listen this lore is developed a few hours ago lmao)

2D was given a chance to redeem himself by Draxum, so he was sent to Earth to check on the remaining corrupted Hamato gems. Lee was sent along to monitor him as a gesture of friendship from Big Mama. 2D and Lee do not get along at all. Their ship malfunctioned (or did it?) and they crashlanded on Earth. After roaming around for a bit, bitching all the while, they were found by Oneion, who was sent to rescue them. Oneion took them to the Avocado Temple, where they met One, Poptart, and Sprout…. Who looked… familiar. Wait. This is Lee’s commander’s shatterer. Lee pulled his weapon out and swung. A fight broke out.

One day Ronin and the now halfway corrupted 1D stumbled into the temple. Ronin snuck out by ship from homeworld and 1D was playing around with a corrupted gem shard so he got infected, they met in the wilderness somewhere

Even if Lee hates Sprouts guts they gotta stay together cause there’s corrupted gems outside and Lee doesnt wanna get shattered. Days passed, and Lee noticed Oneion keeps sneaking out of camp when no one noticed. He followed him and saw that surprise, surprise, Oneion’s reporting to Draxum. There’s a gem in his ship that has a direct line to the Diamonds. The next day Lee asked what did Oneion report and Oneion have no idea what Lee is talking about. Turned out the gold rim around one and oneions gems have a nefarious purpose. Lee called BM from the gem line, and with Draxum there with her during a Diamond meeting, told them everything.

Running away Ronin, theres still some uncorrupted remnants of Hamatos, Oneions betrayal and Sprout shattering his commander, so boom Draxum decided to come to Earth himself

There’s still a ton of other lore for each characters like I said, 10 pages or more now, of combined lore lmao. I might draw the sprout confrontation and the diamond call later, who knows

Thanks for the asks ✨

@thankchaosforspellcheck @theoneandonlyjambalia @exhaustedwriterartist

[silverryuan]

Grim with a Blue Diamond! Yuu from Steven Universe

Warnings: Angst to Comfort

Blue Diamond, or Blue for short, is a Homeworld Gem and a member of the Great Diamond Authority that formerly ruled over the Gem race. She is a character from Rebecca Sugar's Steven Universe.

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"Fnyahahah!~"

• Grim laughed as he jumped in a meadow full of tuna cans. The sun was shining just right, the flowers gave fragrance, and of course, the tuna cans were delicious! A little bit of rolling around the grass, Grim dived into a mountain of tuna cans. The feline opened a can and sighed to himself in satisfaction.

"Fnyagh~ Now this is the cat's meow! Me and my hundreds of canned tunas alone and not a single pesky human to keep us from... Fnyagh...?"

• Before he can eat the tuna, he turned his head to a flicker of pink. He squinted his eyes to a direction and see a pink rose with its sharpened thorns slithering.

• Why are the roses moving? On top of that, why are they moving towards him?! Grim immediately sat on top of his tuna can mountain to stand his ground and shouted.

"Fnyaagh! This is creepy! H-Hey, stop that! Get your own tuna! Get outta here!"

• But the roses kept walking to him.

• That gave his instincts a go sign to burn them.

"Well ya asked for this!"

• The monster cat blew walls upon walls of flames enough to incinerate the grass around him.

"Fnyahah! How d'ya like... Nooo! My precious tunaaa!"

• He stopped after he noticed the now scorched lids of the cans. His ears drooped back and his movements panicked.

• He grabbed as many tuna cans he can carry to run for it but a prickly vine slithered itself onto his neck stopping him midair.

"OUCH!! LET GO! LET GO!"

• The sun was now crowded by clouds, the wind became strong enough to turn into a tornado, and the greenery were swallowed up by the roses. Everything looked red now. The flames he caused earlier did nothing to burn the roses who are now building themselves a wall around a struggling Grim.

"FNYAAAGH! D-DON'T COME NEAR ME! STAY BACK! FNYAGH!"

• A giant rose emerged from the others. Its petals blossomed wider to reveal a mouth layered with sharp teeth, like a shark about to bite into its prey. The frightened and crying cat was lifted to the giant rose's mouth. Grim, who was expecting his doom, braced for the pain of the bite.

• But the bite never came, instead the rose appeared to be saying something. Something muffled that he couldn't quite hear.... The wind howled stronger and rose petals began to tornado themselves around Grim, the vines pulling him down to the widened maws of the roses below.

��� The monster didn't know what was going on. His tuna cans are gone. His magic didn't work.

• His Henchman is not here. Where are you?

• He desperately screamed your name until he suffocated from the petals.

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And then he woke up.

{Ramshackle – Bedroom}

• Grim jolted awake from his sleep, screaming and gasping for air. He's still in Ramshackle, lying down on your bed.

"F-Fnaygh?..... N-nightmare?"

• He soon realized that he was supposed to be asleep. He leaned back on the bed but you weren't there. Grim looked at the clock on your night stand and see that it was 3 AM. That's weird, you're never awake this late. Even when that Hornton guy visits.

• He waited for you until the clock hits 3:30 AM. He got impatient, hurriedly getting up from the covers to find you.

• Grim went downstairs to the lounge, but you weren't there. He went to the bathroom, still not there. He searched the whole dorm but not a single tall silhouette of yours he sees. Grim eventually got hungry searching for you and went to the kitchen only to be greeted by one of the Ramshackle Ghosts.

"Heeheehee! Well I'll be! Never thought I'd see lil' Grimmy awake so early in the morning for the first time! Hahahaha!"

"Fnyagh... It ain't funny!"

"I know, I'm just messing with you. Good morning, by the way."

"Mornin'... Have you seen my henchman? They aren't in bed."

"Oh, I saw them go outside."

"What're they doing outside? This ain't Savanaclaw! Guess I'll look for 'em... But not until I get my tuna!"

"You sure love your tuna, huh?"

• Grim huffed in response to the ghost. His paws opening the fridge to grab his "breakfast" and rushed outside of the dorm.

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{Ramshackle – Pink's Shrine}

• It was still dark outside. He looked for you behind Ramshackle and there you are... Tall figure kneeling and hunched over with a hooded cloak layering your clothes. Grim approached slowly, making little sound as to observe what you are doing...

• You are mourning again.

• He learned about your strange habit of mourning for the loss of a certain loved one but surely it's impossible for one to mourn this long. Their death probably made a large impact on you to be depressed enough to distance yourself from others.

• Often seeking for Pink's guidance and offering bouquets of roses and things she'd like. Mourning eventually became a weekly routine.

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• He stopped when he heard your melancholic voice.

"It's... a bit unexpected, isn't it Pink?"

• Tears started welling up in Grim's eyes. He hates it when you do that. That overwhelmingly strong magic of yours that can make even dorm leaders cry. Forcing their depressing memories and negative thoughts to resurface in their mind as pure torture. It would leave the cat both amazed and sad at the same time.

"This... World you talked about to me... Is everything like you've said so but also... Not how you described it to be."

"Very colorful. Very charming. Very lively. Very... Good. It's unlike Homeworld. I can see why you wanted to save it. Yet I cannot understand why..."

• He's also noticed how different you are to other humans. You are no beastman, merfolk or fae either. That comment from the Dark Mirror about you being from another planet or world could be true.

"... Why you kept coming here. Despite the joy you found in this world, there is still pain... There are highly privileged people that are not satisfied how the world treats them... It's fascinating how they let their organic emotions out in a life threatening way that risks others."

"I don't know if Yellow or White would understand either. They want to seize it but I disagree. This was your planet, after all."

• Grim remembered about the seldom topics about your family. You looked sad every time he brought it up but then again, Grim doesn't want to talk about his. He doesn't remember them. The only thing he has close to a family is you.

"I still can't see the point in preserving everything. This world is not perfect at all. The inhabitants are imperfect. I don't know what else you saw in these creatures aside from potential."

"They are very weak. Very shallow. Very undisciplined. Very... Flawed. Every single one of them. I should have guessed considering they are completely different species from Gems."

• The flaming feline never understood your hatred toward humanity for some reason. Much like Sebek, you would always point out their flaws and their weaknesses. Yet you yourself is also not perfect. You'd still reach out to your friends' outstretched hands to help them.

"If... If I could at least tolerate these horrid organisms... I would rather have you teach me how... Even if I was upset with you, I'd spare this planet and still let you enjoy every moment here..."

"One last chance. I may not understand... but I will preserve the last of your legacy. I will try my best to save it for you. This is what you would have wanted...

"Right?"

..............

• Ever since he met you, he's been living his days either in playful bliss or sad boredom. Whether you're in a good mood, you'll playfully join him in his shenanigans. Or when you're in a bad mood, you'll isolate yourself from others to avoid hurting them. The ADeuce would get the memo to leave you alone or else they'll cry until you'll feel better.

• You're the most emotionally unstable person he has ever met his entire life. That's one thing about you he'll never forget. It's an unhealthy friendship but he doesn't want to leave you...

"...sniffle... sniffle..."

"...Grim? What are you doing up so early?"

".... Y-You weren't there in bed so I followed you. Not that I want to be with you or anything! I'm just looking out for my henchman, of course!"

"... Thank you, Grim."

"Fnyaghh... yeah, yeah."

• You noticed him after hearing his sniffling behind you. It appears that he followed you to the shrine, he didn't leave even if unintentionally you made him cry. He must've been so scared waking up all by himself.

• He moved beside you as if to mourn with you. Grim didn't like the silence but with your presence, it brought him comfort.

"I couldn't sleep. I had a pretty bad nightmare."

"Oh? You did?"

"Yeah. I was having a feast with all my precious premium tuna. Mountains of them! They looked so delicious! It felt like a dream come true!"

"Really? That sounds... Good."

"Yeah, really! And then... and then this big scary flower with huge fangs started to grab me and wanted to bite a chunk of my tail!"

"That does sound scary."

"Yeah... A-and when I woke up... you weren't there..."

"......... I'm sorry."

• You're always by his side, through thick and thin. Throughout all of those Overblots, you two are never separated from each other.

"... You too... Why're you mourning so early?"

"... I needed some... Comfort. I do not want to disturb your sleep."

• Sadly enough, the only thing that cheers you up nowadays can only bring you painful memories of nostalgia. Most of them are the time you spent with your family. Most of them are Pink's. Whether it was trinkets, food, or parties, a sad smile would grace your features and you'd say:

"Oh, how beautiful. This reminds me of Pink..."

"This is quite enjoyable. If only Pink was here..."

"I never played this game before. Pink would've loved this..."

• It's always about Pink. Grim didn't know enough about you other than your tendencies of being emotional and authoritative.

• Rarely you were angered, only snapped when Riddle insulted you, when Leona dared to bare his fangs at you, and when Azul threatened to take away your shrine. Even when Grim called you Henchman! But soon you brushed it off and thought of it as a funny little nickname he's given you.

"You know... I always thought of you as a rowdy, lazy, and obnoxious pest but..."

"Hey!"

"Haha, I'm sorry... but I'm beginning to see that you... are not so bad after all..."

"... Why's that?"

"... You're always here for me... Whenever I push everybody else... Made them cry... You'd stay behind..."

• You also rarely expressed joy. You smiled during your nightly walks with Hornton but went back to being lonely when he went away. You laughed during the Unbirthday Parties but immediately push those emotions down to avoid the situation resulting in you being overly sensitive.

"Because you're my henchman! We should always stick together, right? If you cry, I'll cry! If you laugh, then I'll laugh! That's the way I want it to be!"

"Hahahahaha! Thank you, Grim."

• These are one of the moments that Grim loved. For you to freely smile without your reputation holding you back. Your droopy eyes finally glinting with happiness and your tear stained face grinning with laughter. That gives him enough motivation to keep going until he can be a great mage one day.

"Now wipe those tears! We got classes to attend to!"

"That's right. You should eat breakfast first."

"Nah, you can have this."

• Grim shows a small can of tuna between his paws, making a gesture of offering it to you. You figured that it was the last can in the fridge.

"Why, that's very kind you but I'd rather enjoy seeing you eat it, Grim."

"Fnyagh? Ya sure?"

"Yes. I can't eat, remember? It brings me more satisfaction to watch you eat to your heart's content. After all, A mage must always eat on time and be healthy is what Vargas said so."

"Welp, if you say so!"

• You opened the can to assist in feeding him. Grim gobbled up all the tuna inside, licking all the remaining flakes on the sides of his mouth.

• The sky was lightening up as the first rays of the sun shined through the trees. You stood up from your kneeling position, glancing at the shrine one last time before heading inside Ramshackle with Grim.

"Well, we must ready ourselves for school... See you next time, Pink."

"See ya!"

"Did you remember to do your assignment last night?"

"Fnyagh! Crap, I forgot!"

"Sigh... Oh, Grim."

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• A small pink rose bud bloomed among the others in the bouquet. The morning sun shined on the shrine and it's light bounced on its petals.

[ridl]

this frigate could be an aquatic animal. look at those fins

[thatfinewine]

THE RICK AND MORTY SEASON 8 FIRST LOOK JUST DROPPED!

( twitter, youtube )

Typed up and added the script to this post just because. :D

- - - - - - - - - - - ✂

(The scene opens with Rick and Morty listening to a true crime podcast in their spaceship.)

Podcaster voice: You're about to learn the horrible fate of the Oak Point High lacrosse team, whose annual retreat took a bloody turn... But this podcast isn't about autopsies or graphic reports or their fascinating murders. We're not here to do that--

(Both look annoyed. Rick turns off the podcast.)

Rick: Too bad, someone else will.

Morty: It's a big market, man.

(The ship gives an alert and shows a model of a large spacecraft.)

Ship: Cryo-Ship detected.

Rick: Ooh, power's still online! (Burps.) What do you think, Morty? A bunch of sleeping beauties? Wanna go tap on some glass?

Morty: That could be fun! We- we haven't done one of those in a while. Think they have a basketball court?

Rick: Basketball court, huh?

Morty: Ball is life!

(They fly to and land inside the cryo-ship. Rick turns on the lights and whistles. They start walking around, looking at the cryo-pods with aliens placed into cryo-sleep inside of them.)

Rick: Holy shit! Look at this place! Damn, Morty! It ain't just your run-of-the-mill arc ship. This thing is gold-plated!

(Morty knocks on the glass of one of the cryo-pods.)

Morty: Wow. Where do you think they're going? Colonizing a new planet?

(Rick accesses the ship's computer and laughs at what he sees.)

Rick: Heh, looks like these guys flung themselves into space after wrecking their homeworld. This'll be like taking candy from a baby... if that baby was in a coma!

Morty: Oh! We're- we're robbing them?

(Rick gestures to the computer screen.)

Rick: They robbed their planet first, Morty.

(The two find a giant sealed vault door and run up to it.)

Rick: Whoa, mama! You see this, Morty? This thing is fancy! Computer said it's got super-rare hyper-coal inside. The planet they left is a husk, Morty! They sucked their marble dry!

(Rick attempts to get inside by pressing a button on the vault computer. The vault computer denies him entry.)

Cryo-ship computer voice: Access denied.

Rick: ...Huh.

(Rick frowns and removes a device from his labcoat and puts it on top of the vault's computer, trying to hack his way in. The vault computer beeps twice, showing he is still denied access.)

Rick: Alright, on second thought, let's just blow a hole in the ship and drag the vault home.

Morty: WHAT?!

(Rick ignores him and pulls out a bag from his labcoat.)

Rick: Help me with these charges.

Morty: Rick, I'm fine with taking candy from a baby, but I draw the line at blowing up the stroller!

(Morty grabs the bag of explosives. He and Rick start fighting over it.)

Rick: What the hell, Morty! We're not LITERALLY robbing babies!

(The bag tears and Morty falls backward. The explosives in the bag fly across the floor. One hits the floor and activates.)

Rick: Goddamnit, Morty! Look what you did!

(Rick activates a forcefield to shield them from the blast as the device explodes. An alarm from the cryo-ship's speakers begins blaring as fire spreads from the explosion. Sprinklers from the ceiling turn on and begin raining water down to try to put out the fire.)

Cryo-ship computer voice: Fire detected. Emergency cryo-wake commencing in 30 seconds…

(Morty starts running up the stairs back to the main area of the cryo-ship, and Rick follows behind him.)

Rick: You little shit! You woke 'em up!

Morty: Fine! Let's get out of here!

(Rick grabs the collar of Morty's shirt and yanks him back. Rick types something into the cryo-ship computer.)

Rick: Fuck you! I'm not leaving without that hyper-coal!

(The ship shows a red X over two of the cryo-pods, both on separate levels of the ship. Rick starts pulling his own ears into points to make himself look like the aliens inside of the cryo-pods.)

Rick: Now go find that other pod with a dead guy in it!

(Rick pulls Morty's ears into points as Morty yelps like it hurts.)

Morty: Hey!

(Rick continues talking over him.)

Rick: Sub-bay 18!

Morty: What dead guy?!

(Rick begins removing his own clothes so he's naked like the aliens in the other cryo-pods.)

Rick: Just get in the pod with the bones! Or don't and get thrown out an airlock!

(Rick grabs the skeleton from the open pod and puts it into a box. He puts the box inside of a small chamber, closing the door and hiding the box. Rick climbs inside of the now empty cryo-pod.)

Cryo-ship computer voice: Cryo-wake in 10 seconds…

Morty: RICK!

Rick: You did this to yourself, Morty! Your dumb-ass moral compass has really fucked things up!

(Rick slams the cryo-pod closed. Morty screams in panic and starts running to find the other cryo-pod to hide in.)

Morty: Oh God! Oh jeez!

(Rick and Morty title card.)

[yoiurboi]

GEMLLION! BOOM! 💥💥

Finally finished it! The lil guy. And by lil I mean huge and by guy I mean crystalline alien freak made of solidified light.

Some more context for this AU - instead of the regular Diamonds we have Blue Moon Diamond and Red Sun Diamond (names might change). Their two courts were pretty at odds, and this only got worse when they both disappeared mysteriously 10,000 years ago, leaving the aristocrats of their courts an opening to take control of gem society.

Just after their disappearance, one of Blue Moon's sapphire's prophesied that a perfect Quartz would emerge from one of their colonies in the future and unite Gem society under one Diamond's court.

Gillion, also known as Ocean Jasper Facet 1 Cut 7DR, emerged nearly 2,300 years ago! And he fit the bill of a "perfect Quartz" to a tee, so the Elders, BM's former advisors, began his training. He was pretty lonely most of the time, only kept company by his trusty robonoid PR3T-ZL and the Quartz who emerged below him. But he stayed loyal to the Elders. Well, until the Incident, that is. Let's just say a certain diplomatic meeting involving a certain Vice Admiral didn't go so well.

He got bubbled for a bit, but a certain someone freed him. And now he's found himself on Earth, a colony that had been abandoned after a gang of rebels known as the Black Rose pushed Homeworld off of it. There, he meets a peculiar defective Andesine, who claims to be from said group, and a Rhyolite soldier whose pretty good with her bow. He has his reservations about these two, after all the Elders always told him to be wary of Red Court Gems. But they're stuck together, so I guess he'll just have to roll with it. :)

Who should I do next? Chip or Jay?

[cauliflowercounty]

Knives Dance (Part II)

Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x fem!Reader

Summary: You and your father address your people to quell the seeds of unrest on Youra.  Realizing the resolute dedication of your people, Baron Vladimir begins to conspire against you and your homeworld, something you and Feyd will not take lying down when you put a plan of your own in motion.

Warnings: visceral imagery, more death, reader goes a little mental 

Word Count: 6.0k

Part I | Part II | Part III

Breaking your kiss reluctantly, Feyd looks around at the twenty some odd soldiers you’ve both just killed, exhilaration and admiration for you still coursing through his veins.   “I’m sorry to do this, but I must ask something of you, Feyd,” you say, looking down at both of your garments saturated in blood. 

“Anything,” he responds without a second thought. He knows he means it.  

“You must not let anyone know what I showed you or that I was fighting alongside you tonight.” You walk over and pick up your second blade that Feyd tossed away, strapping it back to your thigh along with the other one.  Next, you collect Ozran’s knife and hand it to Feyd. It’s light and flimsy in his grasp compared to your daggers, truly a laughable excuse for a murder weapon.  An animal being killed for supper deserves to be killed by a better blade than this. You fasten your cloak back onto your person, and it consumes your body again, making it seem as if you hadn’t just butchered half the dead around you. “These are my best kept secrets. You must say that it was you who killed all of our attackers.”

“Of course,” he replies, and you press a soft kiss on his lips in thanks.  As soon as he leans in to kiss you back, approaching footsteps become audible.  It’s your father, the baron, and a fleet of Youran guards with their weapons drawn.

“Let’s give them a little show, shall we?” you whisper against his lips. As soon as they come into view, Feyd feels you fall into his arms, spotting delicate tears collecting on lower lashes. He brings his arms around you, cradling your figure as you sink to the ground and begin quaking in his embrace, which makes his heart twinge. 

Your father calls out to you, aghast as he spots the dead bodies surrounding you and Feyd.  The look on your father’s face is as if he’s worried you might turn to dust. He kneels beside you, taking you out of Feyd’s arms and into his own. “We heard commotion from the castle and came as quickly as we could. Are you injured, my darling child?  What happened?” 

“F-Father, I am alright, ” you quiver, breath shaky as you lean into him.  “It was so scary, though! Na-Baron and I were on a nighttime stroll, and suddenly a poisoned dart flew out of nowhere and nearly hit me.  When we looked over to see where it came from, Ozran was approaching us with a wild look in his eyes.” You’re sobbing into your Father’s chest at this point, tear stains soaking into your father’s clothes, and Feyd cannot help but be impressed by your theatrics.  “Ozran said he was unhappy with our dealings with House Harkonnen. He meant to kill us to make a point, but Na-Baron courageously disarmed Ozran and struck him down. As soon as that happened, Ozran’s loyalists began to strike, but they were no match for Na-Baron.”

Hearing those words, Feyd sees his uncle lift his chin up in pride, delighting in the thought of Feyd emerging victorious over twenty, killing in cold blood. Your father lets out a sigh of relief, pulling you closer in his arms as he holds the back of your head.  “It’s alright, y/n. You are still alive, and Ozran cannot hurt you any longer,” he whispers before looking up to Feyd.  “Na-Baron Feyd-Rautha. I am most grateful. Thank you for saving my daughter from those criminals.  I am in your debt.”

Feyd sees his Uncle’s eyes glimmer with excitement.  Your father shouldn’t have said that.  His uncle never passed up an opportunity to prey on those indebted to the Harkonnens. Before, Feyd also enjoyed the manipulation of other peoples, but now that his uncle has his sights set on you, a growing sense of unease begins to build, and he can’t bring himself to look at his uncle. 

“It was my honor to fight for your daughter tonight,” Feyd replies. “I am glad I was here to protect her life, and I would do the same again.”

Your father brings you to your feet, your cloak still concealing your stained battle gear underneath.  You bring the back of your hand up to wipe away your tears, letting out a meek sniffle.  Feyd keeps trying to remind himself that what you’re doing is just and act, a way of protecting your secrets from his devious uncle, but Feyd’s chest continues to ache seeing you cry. If he had his way, nothing would make you shed a tear ever again.

“If there were this many attackers tonight, that means we have unrest on our hands. There are sure to be more of them.”  your father says, turning to one of the soldiers. “Call the citizens to the castle, and prepare the thrones.”  

“Yes, My Lord,” the guard says, turning on his heel and hurrying away, and Feyd watches as he disappears.

“I do hope this does not mean the marriage will be called off,” Baron Vladimir interjects with a leading stare at your father.  Your father shakes his head straight away. 

“Of course not, Baron.  I value our alliance.  We will handle our people. I assure you, the marriage will happen on Giedi Prime,” your father says as the sound of a horn reverberates across the island nation.  “Would you be present for the address tonight?”

His uncle obliges, and the guards guide everyone through the winding hallways.  After a few minutes, they exit the fortress through another set of doors, and the group emerges onto an enormous stone platform overlooking an open basin lined with towering columns. Two grand thrones stand in the middle of the platform: one for you and one for your father.  Instead of stone like their surroundings, they’re made of thick, twisty branches of a rich, dark wood that have grown into the shape of chairs.  It’s almost as if these chairs were borne out of the very nature on the island.

Feyd looks down to the land below the platform.  People are quickly gathering below at a remarkable rate.  He sees citizens emerging from all directions from the surrounding mountain range.  Multiple cable cars whose lines stretch from inside the forest to the basin approach. Light shines outward from the compartments, and Feyd sees they’re positively filled with people. When the cars meet the ground, the stained glass doors open and people flow out and into the crowd while others run across the wooden bridges out from under the trees. 

Your father beckons all of you forward once the crowd has amassed.  When you and your father come into the people’s view, there is a roar of cheers.  Feyd sees people start to raise their hands and clap for you as the crowd begins a melodic chanting of “House Ronen!  House Ronen!”  The way they rally for their leaders is earnest and true, a sight to behold. 

You take a seat at your throne as your father does.  You gesture to Feyd to come stand behind your chair and the baron floats beside your father’s throne.  When the crowd spots the Harkonnens, some of the cheers turn to murmurs, which rumble through the group as more people begin to whisper to one another.  Your father raises his palm to the people, and they fall silent.

“Thank you, my dear friends, for coming at this hour.  I would not have called you if I didn’t think it was important,” your father’s voice booms.  “We have something very important to tell you tonight."

He gestures over to you and you rise from your seat and step forward, once again holding your cape closed.  The armed guards advance on the sidelines, holding their weapons at their sides to protect you.  You pause and gaze out at your people before centering yourself, holding your head high with poise appropriate for a lady of your stature. 

“I would like to echo my father’s thanks for your time and presence,” you begin, your voice collected and commanding.  “Not an hour ago, there was an attempt at my life at the Pools of Ashora.” A wave of disbelief propagates through the crowd.  Some cup their hand to their mouths and others begin to whisper to their neighbors. A few let out roars of anger, but Feyd swears he sees a few snigger at the news.

 “Twenty men led by researcher Ozran Neyru ambushed me and Na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen tonight.  As you can see, the endeavor to end my life was unsuccessful. During the attack, Ozran told me he and the others were motivated because of my upcoming marriage to Na-Baron Harkonnen, that their belief is I am betraying our ideals by allowing the House of Harkonnen into our circle.  I do not doubt there are others that feel the same as him, and I have come to offer you an explanation, which I feel you all deserve.”

There are nods through the crowd.  Some seem undeniably compelled with your speech while others cross their arms with skepticism. You glance over to your father, gestures with his hand for you to proceed. 

“I have lived on Youra all of my life.  It is my homeland, and a place I care deeply for. When I was seven, I drank from the sacred pool on top of our great mountain, and when I was sixteen, I had my own Rite like each of you.  I know what being Youran is because I have lived it from the moment I took my first breath. I’ve grown up knowing our stories and our traditions, and I love the society we’ve been able to build.

“Looking out upon you tonight under the glow of the lanterns, I think of the tale of Zeyred, who was the first to release lanterns at nighttime to guide the souls of our departed to their final destination amongst the stars after he mistook a shooting star for the soul of his dead mother.  Zeyred used what he thought was the truth and created a wonderful tradition in order to help loved ones on their final journey.  Since then, we have left behind the notion that souls go to the stars once life is over, but we still release lanterns every night to pay our respect for him and the Yourans of his time.  It reminds ourselves of where we come from.” 

Feyd sees an air of nostalgia wash over the crowd and a few clutch their hearts, admiration growing in their eyes as you recount the traditional Youran folktale. 

“This practice of using truth for the betterment of others is ancient, but it still remains the lifeblood of Youra today. By seeking truth in our collective research, we’ve developed elixirs that have eliminated diseases that have historically killed many. We’ve found ways to protect our crops from failure. We’ve made advances in engineering to improve our ships and travel around our planet and beyond, broadening our quest for knowledge. By following truth, our quality of life on Youra has improved because of the choices our predecessors have made more than any of us alive today will ever know or appreciate.  We’ve found countless ways of providing for and protecting others.”  Mumbles of agreement echo from below. Some nod their heads to one another. The citizenry is certainly taking to your argument, and Feyd is in awe of your eloquence and composure. 

“Tonight, I have witnessed an undeniable truth: the prowess of House Harkonnen. I have seen strength, valor, and loyalty in Na-Baron Feyd-Rautha, without whom I would not be standing here in front of you. As a woman of Youra, I put my faith in what is real, which is why I am putting my faith in the House of Harkonnen.

“This union is not a departure from our ideals.  If anything, it is a commitment to them. It is my way of protecting you.  It will strengthen our society by putting us under the wing of the greatest major house and those we care for is simply getting a little larger. I have made this decision for the betterment of all of us. I ask you to join me in the celebration of this union when I depart for Giedi Prime.” 

The crowd erupts in cheers as you let out gasp in amazement at the overwhelming support by your people. Even the soldiers around you raise their weapons to the sky in support. You bow to your nation, thanking them for their time.  Some of the people in the crowd begin to chant Feyd’s name, thanking him for saving their beloved Lady, which catches him by surprise. Your father claps at your address, and Feyd joins him in applause, commending your efforts.

The people are dismissed and the Youran soldiers guide Feyd and the others back into the castle. As the group is safely indoors, you grasp one of Feyd’s hands on your own and press a kiss on his closest cheek and lean in to whisper “Thank you, Feyd.”  

As you pull back, you and your father bow to the Harkonnens before you return to your quarters, still encircled by guards.  Watching you disappear behind a corridor, Feyd notices his heart longing for your company. He thinks of the way you two moved in perfect sync during your fight.  The fiery look in your eyes during the battle was thrilling to behold. His mind lingers on you as he reminisces about the feeling he had of bolts of lightning shooting through his veins when you kissed him.  Just as soon as he's entranced, he’s ripped out of his fantasy by his uncle’s fingers clenched around his shoulder.

“Come,” his uncle orders, and Feyd follows as they return to the guest wing of the fortress.  The walk to the guest wing is eerily silent.  All that can be heard is footsteps and the gentle whirring and occasional clicks that come from his uncle’s medical contraptions.  His uncle beckons him into his own quarters after the guards bid them goodnight.  The baron floats into the room while instructing Feyd to close the door behind him.

This guest suite is an exact replica of the one Feyd is staying in. The walls are covered in painstakingly crafted tapestries and the furniture is made of a red-brown wood with a bold grain that looks like billows of smoke. An entire wall is a floor to ceiling window that leads to a balcony which overlooks the ocean.  The soft reflection of the moonlight from the water’s surface streams through the window, illuminating half of the baron’s face in a stark white light while the other is cast in a sinister shadow. His uncle calls Feyd closer, and he obeys. 

“Well done, Feyd,” is the first thing his uncle says to him in a low voice.  “The Yourans may still be outside, so we must be quiet.” Feyd nods to his uncle in understanding as he notices his uncle’s unbridled grin, the one he only has when he’s plotted something truly heinous.  “The Yourans are weaker than I ever imagined.  I knew they were a society of wisdom, but I never expected them to leave themselves so… vulnerable.” The baron’s eyes are now ablaze with savagery. Saying the words out loud has lit the flames of cruelty that burns in his soul. “The fact that you killed twenty of them in the time between us hearing the attack and arriving in the courtyard single handedly is a true testament to their sheer mediocrity.  I shall reward you when we are back on Giedi Prime.  How about another mistress this time? I will ensure she’s properly broken for you.”

I don’t want your praise. I don’t want your gifts, Old Man, Feyd thinks, resisting the urge to grab ahold of his uncle’s neck, strangle him, and feel his trachea shatter under his thumbs.

“I was originally frustrated at you, Feyd.  I wondered why you simply didn’t allow them to kill her, but you’ve done well, despite your lack of foresight. We will not have to take the planet by force. Now we have a way to win over the people of Youra, and they will soon be ours. Lady Ronen is foolish.  She thinks their principles will keep them safe, but their dedication to their values will be their downfall.”

Feyd conceals his clenched fist from his uncle’s view as he collects himself.  He must not be rash.  Instead, he suppresses his emotions, and he asks his uncle “What are you proposing?” 

“We take her to Giedi Prime, and once the marriage is sealed, I want you to kill her.”  Those words make Feyd’s blood run cold. Kill you?  After everything that’s happened? After the fear of losing you had already struck his heart once today? Feyd will not allow it.  “We shall tell them it was natural.” The Baron continues with a venomous tone. “…and that it was her dying wish for her people to honor our alliance.” The baron grins, bearing his inky, black teeth.  Frightening images of your dead body crumpled on the glossy black floors of Giedi Prime flash in Feyd’s mind with your beautiful eyes blank and unseeing, which makes his head begin to spin. “You saw how they rallied around her tonight. They are so dedicated to her that they will honor her wishes even in death. The planet Youra will be ours, Feyd. We will take the bounty of their work to Arrakis where we will kill Muad'dib, and the House of Harkonnen will emerge victorious.”

With that, the baron shoos his nephew out of the room.  On the other side of the door, Feyd balls his fists and clenches his teeth so tightly it’s a wonder they haven’t cracked under the pressure.  Instead of returning to his quarters, he walks through the corridors of the palace straight to yours, trying to hold his breath steady as the bile within him threatens to pour over.  Outside of your room, there are armed guards keeping watch over the entrance.  One knocks at the door when he requests to see you and slips inside once you permit the guard entrance. 

Moments later, you emerge at the door. You’ve cleaned up since he last saw you and you’re no longer in your cloak and battle gear.  Instead, you wear a light, flowy nightdress that hugs your waist and reflects the moonlight exquisitely. You reach out to Feyd and bring his hands together near your chest.  Feyd’s heart skips and you raise yourself up on your toes to kiss him in earnest.  He sighs into the softness of your lips. Having you so close and being graced by your touch is one of the greatest privileges he has ever received. As you break away, there’s a look of concern on your face.

“Would you like to come inside?” you ask him softly and he nods.  As soon as he enters, you close the door and lock it behind you.  He lets out a frustrated hiss, finally able to express his frustration as he sits down in an armchair chair and rests his elbows on his thighs. He his head in his hands in frustration. “What’s wrong, Feyd?”

“My uncle is plotting.  He wishes for me to murder you after we wed. He thinks you weak and your people impressionable,” Feyd seethes, closing his eyes and running his hands along the back of his neck.  “I couldn’t ever bring myself to do that to you, but I know my uncle.  If I don’t do it, he will have someone who doesn't care for you like I do carry out the deed instead. He plans to take control of your planet and your people when you are gone.”

For the first time in years, Feyd feels like he’s on the verge of tears, something that the baron had him beaten for until his bones shattered when Feyd was a child.  He has only just found you.  You’ve begun to heal his heart and put the light back in his eyes.  You’ve shown him unwarranted kindness and let him bask in your affections.  You’ve given him someone to fight for, and just as soon as he’s found his salvation in you, it’s about to be taken from him.  Bringing your thumb up to his cheek, you wipe the small droplet that threatens to spill over away.

“Do not worry, my love,” you whisper to him, taking the opportunity to gently nuzzle his neck, and he sinks into your embrace.  “Please dry your eyes.”

“We have to get rid of him. We need a plan,” Feyd says with conviction, and you nod. As he looks up at you, his worries seem to fade when he senses your fortitude.  You support his cheek with your delicate touch and stare into his eyes.  Behind your irises he sees a glint of devilishness. 

“I know of a way, Feyd.  We’ll silence Baron Vladimir, and in the end, we will install you as the ruler of Giedi Prime. You will be Feyd-Rautha, Baron of the House of Harkonnen.”

–

The people of Youra come to see you off in droves as you depart for the wedding. Everyone is dressed in their very best as they watch you precess toward the Harkonnen vessel accompanied by your father, the baron, and your bodyguards.  Some parents have brought their children to catch a glimpse of you as you depart, the young Yourans perched on their parents’ shoulders to get a better view of you.  You wave to them, and the children smile excitedly when you acknowledge them. Feyd marvels at your people's continued love and affection for you as he offers his arm to you. The Baron glances over to Feyd as the citizens cheer for you, nearly drooling at the prospect of dominating this society. Feyd looks away from his uncle as you take his arm, his determination rising. He will not permit his uncle’s scheme to go to fruition.

Under Giedi Prime’s black sun, the wedding proceeds as planned by Baron Vladimir.  The entirety of Giedi Prime’s populace gathers to watch the union of Na-Baron Feyd-Rautha and the Lady of House Ronen. You wed each other in front of the crowd for all to see, wearing Harkonnen garb next to the baron and your father. Feyd cannot look away from you.  You are beautiful in every way.  The dress seems to hang delightfully on every curve of your physique. The long sleeves that extend just beyond your wrists conform to the shape of your arms perfectly. The rectangular cutout filled with sheer mesh placed perfectly over your breastbone is something Feyd cannot help but stare at.  The splendor is so befitting of your stature, and all he can think of is him and his Baroness ruling Giedi Prime together one day. 

You and Feyd each receive a necklace of dark stone plates from his uncle, marking your marriage.  Feyd grasps your body firmly as he kisses you, his mind consumed with you and you alone as he cups your waist. You are finally his to have and to hold, and how wonderful that is to him. The crowd chants for Feyd when he raises your intertwined fingers for the crowd to see.  The people exalt him, and the baron smiles from the sidelines as the alliance is sealed. 

During the celebratory banquet, you and Feyd make careful effort to keep you away from the baron, lest he has other plans for you.  The night goes on, the fireworks inky in the air and Harkonnen music playing to the late hours.  As the lights fade and the diplomats go home, you bid your father goodbye, promising you will return to Youra soon. As his ship disappears into the night, Feyd comes to stand next to you. It’s almost time. You’ve been summoned to the baron’s personal chambers. You and Feyd walk in silence to the baron’s room through the empty halls.  Outside the door that separates the two of you and the baron, there are no guards. 

“It’s a trap,” you mouth to Feyd, careful to not make any noise.  He gives you the smallest nod in agreement.  Luring his victims into a false sense of security is something the baron always loved to do.  Once they thought they were safe, the baron would turn their relief into agony and despair, relishing the emotional differential, torturing them until they begged for death after which he would oblige. Luckily, you and Feyd both know better, and you’ve come prepared.

Together, you both press one of your palms on one of the double doors and push them open. The room is inky black inside, only lit by horizontal strips of lighting.  In the center sits the baron in a tub of viscous black sludge. Proceeding slowly, Feyd sees you mark every object in the room, creating a mental log for yourself.  Nobody else is in the room.  It’s just the baron in his tub. 

“Welcome Feyd and Na-Baroness,” the baron says, taking a puff from his pipe as he leans backward in his tub. You both approach him, but are careful to distance yourself from the tub. “I wanted to congratulate you both on your marriage.  Our people seem quite enthralled with you, na-Baroness,” the baron comments before clicking his tongue and taking another huff. “I- We wanted to present you with a gift to welcome you to our House.”

The Baron gestures for Feyd to come closer, and he obeys as the baron extends his arm to gesture at a black box that sits near the edge of his tub. The Baron raps his fingers on the box once as his eyes maliciously dart between it and Feyd. Feyd knows what this box is.  Inside are his poisoned knives.  As Feyd looks at the box, he can hear his uncle’s voice from the night on Youra in his mind: “Kill her!”  

Looking back toward the doorway, two Harkonnen soldiers, armed with the barbs they use to subdue slaves in gladiatorial fights, have silently entered the room with their weapons drawn.  Their stances are wide.  When they step, they shift side to side, using the outside edge of their feet to make their footsteps barely audible. They approach you from behind, but Feyd knows you’ve already sensed them when your eyes narrow and your spine straightens as you moderate your breathing.

“Now!” the baron bellows to the soldiers, who throw their hooks at you, aiming for your shoulders.  With the greatest of ease, you duck downward, allowing the prongs to soar over your head and clatter on the floor at the base of the tub.  You grasp the lines the soldiers are holding in your hands.  Standing back up, you twirl and swing one of your legs up and around the lines attached to the barbs. Using your foot as a hook, you force the lines downward and towards yourself, and the men topple over in their place as the lines are tugged toward you. They yell out in shock.

Feyd sees his uncle’s face contort in horror as he is frozen and at a loss for words. Clearly none of the three were expecting any resistance from you to be successful. You yank the ends of the barbs toward you and wrap your hands around the long rods. Dashing toward the entrance of the room, you make contact with one of them, killing them with a single blow before they have a chance to react.  The other one whimpers in fear, watching his comrade fall before attempting to scramble back to the entrance on his hands and knees.  

“FEYD, DO SOMETHING!” the baron hisses as you strike down the other who only makes it a few feet before your weapon collides with the back of his neck.  The second barbman falls to the ground, motionless. Feyd opens up the case and takes his knives out, holding them steady at his side.  As he approaches you, Feyd’s eyes flicker to the side toward where the baron lays in his vat of ooze, directing you to bring the fight closer to his uncle.  Your gaze intensifies, and you lower your stance, using the sharp edge of each barb to cut the lines away.

“Let’s dance, my dear husband,” you coo at him as you raise your weapons and rush at each other. The shrill sound of metal clashing fills the air.  You both know each other’s moves now.  As one attacks, the other easily parries, neither one of you coming close to inflicting real harm. Feyd feels the tingling of excitement in his soul.  Fighting with you before was exhilarating on Youra, but this is something else. He can finally see your beauty in all its glory.  The way your body contorts like an acrobat as you dodge and counter flawlessly. How your brow furrows when you take on one of his blows with impeccable form is a sight to behold. You are nothing short of a miracle. 

From the tub, the baron bellows, “Kill her, NOW!”  You and Feyd continue, circling around the tub so that you come closer to the baron.  With a signal to Feyd and one swift move, you knock baron’s hand closest to his control panel away, preventing him from calling for help.  The Baron gasps in surprise. You couldn’t have known that’s where the controls are unless you were told. The realization dawns on him too late; he feels the sting of Feyd’s blade on his neck. He looks up at his nephew in horror.  

Feyd drops his other knife and uses his free hand to force his uncle’s mouth open. The Baron chokes and gasps as the nephew he has groomed into a ruthless monster turns on him. The Baron tries to tell Feyd to unhand him as a desperate last effort as he struggles in the tub, but Feyd’s grip on his uncle is unwavering and only gets rougher. Feyd’s mind is ablaze.  This is his revenge for plotting to kill you and for a lifetime of abuse at his hand. 

In the past, Feyd revered his uncle, admired his iron grip on Giedi Prime, and thought that the baron was what he should aspire to be, but Feyd sees the truth now, looking down at his uncle writing in his grasp to no avail.  His uncle is and always has been pathetic.  It takes all the strength Feyd has in himself not to crack his Uncle’s neck right there. Feyd quells his impulsiveness. The plan must proceed as you arranged.

You approach from behind and stick two fingers in the baron’s mouth, stretching his cheek out as far as it will go.  The baron whimpers as he spies something stirring under your sleeves.  It circles down your arms and out from under the black fabric.  It’s a black centipede with thick, glossy armor.  It must be half the length of your arm, and the baron’s eyes quiver as it crawls onto the back of your hand and into his gaping maw. He chokes as the legs scuttle and scratch at his tongue.  The creature forces itself down his esophagus. The baron feels the creature thrash, and he can almost hear the chitin armor clicking against itself from within him as he chokes on it.

“Don’t move,” you tell the baron with a dark smile.  The baron’s fear is thick and palatable in the air.  “She won’t like it if her host moves too much.” You remove your fingers from his mouth and recoil at his saliva. “What shall I have her do first?  Maybe I’ll have her paralyze your vocal chords so you don’t go blabbing to anyone?” Your victim looks at you in desperation, but you tisk at him before letting out a rhythmic series of clicks through your teeth. The Baron feels the head of the creature wriggle inside of him back up into his throat.  The Baron coughs.  Gasping out in pain, he feels a searing pinch. Then the inside of his throat begins to burn. The centipede has clenched its jagged pincers around the inside of his throat. “Isn’t she so well trained, Baron?”

You lean down to the baron and hold his head in your hands so that you’re looking directly into his eyes, which are bloodshot and tearful.  “You pitiful man, you thought you could kill me?” you whisper to him as he tries to call for help, but no comprehensible sound comes out. “Let me tell you a secret: I am more than the damsel in distress you think I am. I fought alongside Feyd that night.  I even killed half of them. You shouldn’t have underestimated me or my people.  We may be caretakers, but once those we love are threatened, we will not rest until we have our revenge.  Now, you shall die a slow, painful, unceremonious death alone in a hot vat of black slime for your arrogance.”

You and Feyd release the baron from your grip. Allowing his body to sink against the edge of the tub.  The baron sputters, as he begins to convulse.  The venom is beginning to take hold.  Soon it will affect his whole nervous system and shut down his body entirely.  You and Feyd leave him there to rot as you deal with the bodies of the barbmen.  In the early morning before anyone is awake, you collect the centipede from the baron in his tub. His body is twitching ever so slightly, but there is no hope for him.  You hide the creature in your dress again, whispering small praises for a job well done and leave the room. 

By midday, the Harkonnen attendants are growing concerned that they have not heard from the baron, a servant opens up the doors to the baron’s chambers, finding him lifeless in his tub with empty eyes staring up at the ceiling with a single tear stain on his cheek.  The top doctors on Giedi Prime are brought in to perform an autopsy. They say he died of natural causes, unable to identify any trace of the centipede's presence.

The news spreads quickly about the baron’s passing, and you and Feyd put on a brave face for House Harkonnen.  The funeral procession is quickly organized. The people of Giedi Prime hang their heads, mourning the sudden loss of their dear leader as you and Feyd precess through the city alongside the coffin to put the baron in his final resting place. Feyd makes a speech, praising his uncle for his leadership, secretly relishing his death.

You put up large flags with the baron’s face on it throughout the land, shrouding the architecture in even more dark fabrics, hang a portrait of him next to the other past Harkonnen leaders in the hallway, and order a monument to be built in his honor. Nobody suspects a thing.

A month after the death of Vladimir Harkonnen, you and Feyd stand in front of the citizens of Giedi Prime in your best clothes again as one of the Harkonnen advisors announce your new titles: Baron and Baroness Harkonnen. The crowd chants for the both of you with zeal, grateful to have leaders again.  

The next morning, Feyd smiles as he opens his eyes and sees you sleeping peacefully, your head resting on his chest as you unconsciously run your fingers over his muscles.  He hopes you’re dreaming of him because you were most certainly the subject of all of his fantasies last night.  He tilts his head down, pressing a soft kiss on the top of your head.  He knows his next job is dealing with the Fremen attacks on Arrakis now that he is Baron Harkonnen.  Instead of concerning himself with that, he chooses to close his eyes again and pulls you in closer. That job can wait. For now, all his thoughts are consumed by you as they should be. 

--

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Part III OUT NOW!

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