#instead of literally running into a warship

[i-mean-technically]

@transingthoseformers

There are a LOT of strong feelings all around, but we're going to focus on Black Arachnia for this post :3

Her feelings were so strong that she joined the Decepticons.

So she sees Sentinel and Optimus, idk how or where or why yet, but she does. She seems them and at first doesn't notice the details.

All she sees is the bots who left her to die.

She seems them alive and happy, Optimus has a teasing smile on his face and Sentinel is shoving him, they're at that point in their semi-mended relationship.

Black Arachnia is filled with terror and fear. Bc she thought she was over her trauma. She moved past it.

But trauma has that funny thing of coming back at the least expected opportunity, at thw worst times, and in different ways. First thing she does is hide for a while. Then she stalks them. Forcing herself past her terror and straight into rage.

They left her to die. They didn't come back for her.

Somehow they manage to talk civilly about it. Sorta. Sentinel is probably non-verbal from his trauma response and Optimus uses his learned unhealthy methods of pushing past it all.

Reconciliation between all three is not going to be pretty, or happen quickly bc both Black Arachnia and Sentinel are prickly and full of self loathing (along with Optimus but he keeps his internal at All Times And Then He Will Die) and but heads.

But i think BA is smart enough in the beginning, after she tries to kill them or get revenge or some thing, to see that lofe hasn't been so great for them either. They left the relative safety of the Autobots and the comforts of Cybertron. Their paint is scratched and faded, there's some almost hidden crappy welds scattered from when Optimus couldn't leave well enough alone and started fights. They probably haven't been getting enough energon.

She finds that she... Almost pities them. At least she has a cause, a group to retreat to even if they also wouldn't come after her if she needed help.

But she's clean and healthy with access to resources. And she's not their friend.

Meaning she would absolutely sell them out to Megatron if and when she finds out about the Allspark.

[grimm-the-tiger]

I made this post a little while ago listing some facts about shipwrecks that probably only I find interesting, so now I’m back to talk about some of them. Specifically, the Olympic. The Olympic was the namesake of the Olympic-class liners, whose most notable member was the Titanic. Out of the three Olympic-class ships - Titanic, Olympic, and Britannic - only one of them was actually unsinkable, and that was the Olympic. 

Over the more than 20 years of its existence, the Olympic was never once in real danger. The Olympic was the danger. On its fifth voyage in September 1911, Olympic was running parallel to the HMS Hawke, a British warship designed specifically for ramming things. Olympic suddenly turned to starboard (right side of the ship if you were facing towards its front), catching Hawke’s commanding officer off-guard; he wasn’t able to avoid the collision and ended up ramming the other ship. Olympic was left with a substantial hole beneath the water line (although flooding was for the most part averted due to its bulkheads actually working properly, *cough* Titanic *cough*) and a slightly less substantial hole above it. Hawke, meanwhile, had its entire bow caved in. Olympic made it back to port just fine under her own power, while Hawke almost capsized. Somehow, no one was seriously hurt or killed. 

Three fun facts about this situation: Violet Jessop, a woman famous for surviving the sinkings of both of the Olympic’s sister ships, was onboard the Olympic when this happened. This incident also reinforced the idea that the Olympic-class was unsinkable. The famous postponement of the Titanic’s maiden voyage also occurred because of this incident; a propeller shaft was damaged in the collision, they needed a new one ASAP, and, well, the Titanic was right there... 

Four years later, WWI broke out. The Olympic was requisitioned as a troop ship, given 6-inch naval guns, and sent on its way. In 1918, while travelling to France with a literal boatload of American soldiers, Olympic spotted U-103, a German U-boat chilling on the surface of the ocean. Olympic opened fire on U-103, which immediately crash dived to keep from dying, then turned to ram the U-boat. Olympic hit U-103′s conning tower and tore open the hull with its propellers. U-103′s crew decided “fuck this” and abandoned ship; Olympic didn’t bother to stop to pick them up, so a nearby American warship did instead. It was later found that U-103 was preparing to torpedo Olympic when they’d been spotted, but they couldn’t flood the torpedo tubes in time. Olympic remains the only merchant vessel in WWI recorded to have sunk an enemy vessel (which would become a more common occurrence during WWII, to the extent that the Nazis apparently tried and hanged at least one captured British merchant captain for ramming one of their U-boats. The Nazis were ones to talk, considering they rehired the man who sank the Carpathia and was notorious for war crimes that included things like “drowning surrendered enemy crews by forcing them to strip and stand on the roof of his submarine, then diving the submarine” and “attacking designated hospital ships that made it very obvious they were hospital ships”). 

Following WWI, while Olympic was being refit for civilian service, a sizeable dent was discovered below the waterline. It was later concluded to have been caused by a faulty torpedo, most likely fired by U-53 while the Olympic was travelling through the English Channel. 

Olympic collided with another, smaller ship, Fort St. George, in New York Harbor on March 22, 1924. There’s not much information on how badly Olympic fucked Fort St. George up, just that Olympic apparently fucked around a little too much and found out, because the collision broke its sternpost (support post in the back of the ship; think of it like a central pillar in a structure), forcing the entire stern frame to be replaced. 

On November 18, 1929, Olympic was cruising not far from the Titanic’s wreck site when the whole thing began shaking for two minutes. This was later found to have been caused by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Newfoundland. 

The Olympic’s last hurrah (and casualty) was on May 15, 1934, when it collided with the lightship LV-117. Olympic had known the lightship was in the area, but didn’t know where exactly it was until they were right on top of it. Olympic’s captain immediately ordered a hard turn and the engines slowed, so Olympic wasn’t moving particularly fast when it did hit LV-117 (about 3 and a half miles per hour), but Olympic was fucking huge, and the people onboard barely noticed when they practically crushed the lightship under them. Only four of the eleven crew aboard LV-117 survived; four went down with the ship and three died in Olympic’s hospital (yes, these things had hospitals; I told you there were fucking huge). 

Olympic was fully scrapped in 1937, forever going down in history as both the only Olympic-class ship that was actually unsinkable and the one with the longest reign of terror. Good God, man. I understand sinking the U-boat, but you didn’t need to bring like four other ships down with you. 

[animentality]

I once saw a bsg fan bemoan the lack of a bsg fandom on Tumblr but I can tell you why that fandom is dead in the water.

it's because Battlestar Galactica utterly failed at creating a world you'd want to return to.

look at deep space nine, a 25 year old TV show that still has a wildly active fandom here and even on Twitter.

and why is that?

because ds9 was edgy too, but underneath that, there was a world that you could miss. there were characters who grew and changed like real people. they felt like your family, they were each other's family, and who doesn't visit their found family/friends at least occasionally?

re watching ds9 is like seeing old friends you haven't spoken to in a while, but when you hang out, it's like no time has passed. it's like returning to the house you grew up in, and smiling as you see the old photographs and the lines where your parents scratched your height into the wall.

but bsg? christ.

it's like returning to an abandoned meth lab.

it spent literally its entire run trying to SHOCK you.

instead of world building or creating any form of culture aboard the fleet, it upped the ante every week, and never gave you time to breathe.

worse than that, it would zoom through some of its more interesting ideas in favor of trying to get your blood pumping with some new shit immediately.

it never let you dwell on characters, or let them have genuine growth, because the next week, they'd want to do something even CRAZIER, and then that character would have to act a certain way, to make sure the melodrama keeps people engaged.

shows like that never last, because when you re watch them, there's like... nothing.

the world was destroyed- ok, then why don't we see the culture of the surviving humans?

everyone lives on different ships!! you could've shown us those ships developing their own cultures???

but no, we're stuck on the warship, full of officers, except we don't even get episodes dedicated to just, daily life on Battlestar.

it's just, oh baltar gets away with yet another war crime. how interesting.

it's also not remembered that well because...

mass murder and gang rape and endless torture of all the characters- oh it's so exciting... that you don't really want to go back to the stress.

you get tired of it, man. you can't throw high octane plots at people every day for five years... and then expect them to even remember half of that shit when they return to it, years later.

why would you even want to?

it's not like any of it was planned either.

it's not like, a show where it's exciting all the time, yes, but it's worth re watching to pick up on all the hints of the later story.

those kinds of shows last. you know. where the creators knew the ending and the hints were always there and you love the melodrama because you know where it's going, and it's still interesting to consider, years later. to really chew on deep and insightful characters, and think about their entire stories.

but bsg?

nothing was fucking planned.

you re watch bsg and you see just how much of it NEVER PAYS OFF.

they ram so many plots down your throat, and 90% of them get retconned out or totally re written.

And that's also why people don't remember bsg that well.

So much shit happens that they just don't know what the hell happened.

the pacing is awful, the world building is non existent, it's a melodrama so dedicated to melodrama that it totally ignores what it was doing with the characters the week before...

and that's why it's dead in the water.

the characters were the best part about it and they get so butchered by the end, they hardly matter.

[walks-the-ages]

Jasmine Sherman (they/them) has their official campaign website claiming that they have Ballot Access in 48 states.

Tiktok user @ arrdubs has done multiple deep dives into how Jasmine Sherman's claims are false, and why the claims of 48 states cannot be verified on any official state websites they claim to have Ballot Access in.

This is their shorter, original video, which the above longer one is a sequel to, and if you look in the comments of this video, you'll see people from Arizona, New Mexico, Tennessee, and more who have confirmed Jasmine Sherman is not on their state's ballot despite the claims to the contrary on the official campaign website:

https://www.tiktok.com/@arrrdubs/video/7376416978921131306?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc I literally less than 24 hours ago heard about this candidate and wanted to vote for them based on the surface-level information I'd heard about them, but it was pointed out to me that the "48 state ballot access" claim could not be verified, it only took a few hours to find swathes of websites that refute the claims on their official website, including the two different sites that Jasmine Sherman's own website recommends.

Jasmine Sherman's website, as of July 29th 2024, explicitly states for all states except Alaska and Georgia:

Jasmine is on the ballot under the Unicorn Party.

On the applicable states that allow write-ins, there's this little note:

Write-ins are also allowed for all candidates, so you can write in Jasmine's name if you don't see them on the ballot.

This is, in my mind, a planned cop out, for when Election Day rolls around and inevitably, thousands of people discover the candidate who's been promising them they're on their state's ballots for months actually isn't.

So now, "Unicorn Party". if you try to find any official state websites (or otherwise) with "Unicorn Party" on the Ballot, what do you find?

Zip. Zilch. Nothing.

The "Unicorn Party" is not on the ballot for any of the 50 states.

Every single Third-Party Ballot Access tracker out there shows all the other popular Third Party candidates, including ones I've never heard of til now..... except for the candidate who claims to have 48 states with ballot access?

Jasmine Sherman, officially, is literally still part of the Green Party when it comes to Ballot Access in the states -- but they claim to have more than double the amount of Ballot Access that Dr. Jill Stein has??

If you click on their big bold Palestine, Congo, and Sudan flags on their home page, are you expecting to go to a piece written by the candidate who's website we're on where they're running for President?

Well, instead of anything that makes sense like that, Jasmine Sherman's website just links to random news articles that don't even mention Jasmine Sherman in any capacity??

This is what comes up when you click on their "stance on Palestine":

Here's their "stance on Congo"

and here's their "stance on Sudan":

Literally none of the above were written by or affiliated with Jasmine Sherman in any way shape or form.

plain text: Literally none of the above were written by or affiliated with Jasmine Sherman in any way shape or form.

The link for Sudan is from May 2023 and is a single paragraph that says

May 14, 2023, 10:00 AM In mid-2019, after the ouster of Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir, political analysts hoped that Washington might be able to help Sudan chart a path to democracy. That hope was short-lived. In late 2021, Sudan’s generals staged a coup, and after 18 months of controversial U.S. policies attempting to revive the country’s democratic transition, armed conflict erupted again in Khartoum last month.

That's it. That's the official link for "Jasmine Sherman's Stance on a Free Congo".

The link for Palestine is just an overview of what kinds of weapons had been sent to Israel as of February 2024, with an off-hand comment about (an unnamed) Aaron Bushnell.

It literally looks like for the Official Jasmine Sherman Campaign Website , they just did a quick google search in the first few months of 2024 and pasted whatever random article sounded promising, and literally have not given any actual writing by themselves on their official campaign website.

And this is someone who is running for President of the United States, who is literally copying and pasting random news articles onto some flags hoping no one will click on them to seem legitimate instead of actually writing out clear and concise statements on their own website??

Don't forget, they're so modern and quirky and in-touch with young people!

That's why they want, instead of banning guns from being owned by every other random person in the USA, the country with the highest rate of mass shootings in the world, that instead, every single child in the United States should learn how to handle and aim a gun from before Kindergarten age upward and make it as easy to own a gun as getting your driver's license:

They also claim they want to Abolish the Police, but they also support the Death Penalty, specifically and explicitly by Firing Squad or Morphine Overdose:

They've got a footnote above this policy, saying how they've "evolved" passed this........ but they haven't actually updated their policy to reflect what that "evolution" has turn into. Do they want to Abolish The Death Penalty now? Do they support different methods of executing human beings? Do they accept having more than their stated single year for due process? Who knows!

It's had this footnote about "evolution" since at least May 2nd 2024, because that's as far back as the Wayback Machine goes.

They've also had literally zero writing on their "policy" for Landback, because it's been "currently being drafted" since April 2024 at least. Not even a basic statement to be had on the policy page, just "being drafted".

If you've been seeing posts about Jasmine Sherman and want to vote for them, read up on all their policies, then check with your local State governments and check to see if they're actually on your Ballot like their website claims.

I've now seen multiple people from multiple states confirm they contacted their respective state offices and Jasmine Sherman is not on their ballot, including in areas that the deadline has already passed.

[rodrigobera04]

Water type list. Countdown, nine types left to finish the lists.

WATER pure

Tilapia with healing scales, keeps the fry in its mouth.

Military-themed seahorse, holds its soldier babies in its belly.

Piscinoid elemental with wave fins.

Luminous microorganisms that make water glow.

Turtle with a shell shaped like a canoe.

Giant tadpole that evolves into a tiny frog.

Water spirit possessing a spinning water wheel.

Fishing bat that now uses its wings as flippers.

Fish jumping out of the water with its tail, like in a sack race.

WATER/GROUND

Land whale releasing a geyser from its blowhole.

Bipedal lungfish, using its long fins as tentacles.

Predatory midkipper swimming in the mud like a shark.

Marsh rat camouflaged with mud and marsh plants.

Bobbit worm that now attacks beaches as well as the seabed.

Duck made of clay that swims through the mud.

Dogfish that runs across the land like a dog would run.

Manatee creating underwater sandstorms while pulling up plants to eat.

Desert frog that appears when it rains, being filled with stored water.

WATER/GRASS

Carnivorous plant ultricularia, similar to a voracious fish.

Aquatic mushroom floating on its "floating hat".

Salamander with symbiosis with algae, having a tail made of algae leaf.

Marimo grouped forming a giant vegetable monster.

Pitcher plant that spits water to catch insects instead of waiting.

Mangrove animal, its roots form long legs to walk in the water.

Aquatic snake covered in vegetation, looking like a hairy monster.

Water lettuce looking like a jellyfish floating on the surface of the water.

Vegetable kappa made from a gourd with water inside that gives it energy.

WATER/ELECTRIC

"Mermaid" created by shower water, creates electrical sound waves.

Bird with electrical powers and that manipulates rain.

Sea pig with a plug nose and that glows in the dark.

A neon-glowing discus fish with electric fins.

Luminous siphonophore resembling a chandelier.

Guitar fish vibrating the water with its electric sound.

Lantern fish guiding people on dark nights.

Electric seahorse in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Pikaclone water rat drawing energy from hydroelectric power.

WATER/ICE

Swordfish creating an ice sword with its snout.

Flying fish with crystalline, icy and fractal wings.

Fish trapped in a block of ice, as if they were in a can of sardines.

Water elemental, capable of changing to a solid state and freezing the opponent.

Caribou capable of freezing water with their hooves.

Snowman melting and dripping due to heat.

Fractal starfish, similar to a snowflake.

Fish gathering frozen water that forms a protective body of ice.

Snail blowing explosive frozen bubbles.

WATER/FLYING

Literal kite frog flying out of water.

Gliding starfish, flying through the wind like a shuriken.

Wind creature carrying wet clothes off a clothesline.

Sinister squid with fins resembling the wings of a bat.

Ribbon moray eel flying out of the water with Olympic acrobatics.

Predatory cloud that takes the form of sharks and orcas.

Oreole adapted to water, its feathers look like scales.

Scallop emerging from the water, with its shell serving as wings.

Sea moth with colorful wings that reflect light.

WATER/STEEL

Grouper looking like an armored submarine.

Water tap looking like a bird.

Gladiator retiarum using fishing skills to catch prey.

Megalopine squid looking like the warships of the worlds.

Mollusk using bivalve shells as claws or scissors.

Octopus living in a submerged trash can, collecting trash from the sea.

Lancet fish with bladed fins for cutting prey.

Tuna looking like an underwater missile.

Sailor struggling with anchors and underwater mines.

WATER/FIGHTING

Batfish walking with its muscular fins.

Sea lion looking like a powerful coliseum animal.

Damselfish attacking other fish that invade its algae garden.

Jellyfish striking with their tentacles like boxing gloves.

Elemental creature with muscular arms of water, the literal force of water.

Basilisk racing across the surface of the water.

Diving bird that does synchronized swimming.

Inflatable muscle lifeguard, also blows air in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Firefighter Dalmatian, with a long hose neck, rival of fire type pokémon.

WATER/ROCK

Trio of lumpsuckers stuck together by their suction cups.

Stone angel, like those that decorate fountains, holding a jug of water.

Marine iguana that is also a gargoyle that blows water.

Huge stonefish imitating a cave.

Gillman using a column from a sunken city as a weapon.

Winged stalactite that combines water attacks and its spiky body.

Laundress that uses stone and water in its attacks.

Rocky placo, able to "clean" the HP of plant types.

Elephant-like sea monster based on rock formations.

WATER/FIRE

Pipefish blowing smoke.

Fish blowing will-o'-the-wisp from its mouth.

Otter with explosive powers, throwing bombs at fish.

Frog releasing hot steam from its body through its holes on its back.

Gunard pistol blowing fire bubbles, his wings change color when attacking.

Volcanic crab with a crust of hardened lava over its body.

Whale blowing smoke from its blowhole, burning fat to keep warm from the cold.

Penguin in warm habitats, roasting the fish it catches.

Oyster hunting birds using a tasty and warm scent to catch them.

THE LEGENDARY:

Water/grass whale based on Noah's ark that sheltered many Pokémon in a flood.

We're done with the water type, see you next time.

[blackjackkent]

Ethel's new lair is a rather intense multilevel affair and I can only imagine it smells absolutely atrocious.

She's waiting for Hector as he wanders in.

"Oh, the big tough hero finally showed up! I told you, petal - you can't hurt me without killing little Vanra. I have you beat, so do the heroic thing. DIE!"

No, Hector will not be doing that, thank you very much.

Boss fight report!

Ethel has all her old tricks - she can split into clones that we have to suss out before we can attack her, and she resummoned all of the masked people from the previous room with full health, so maybe leaving them alive was a bad idea.

There are also several healing mushrooms around the room, which we heard about from one of the books Mayrina had; we need to destroy them with fire. (Literally.)

Our most important initial goal here is to locate the real Ethel among the clones, and then hit her with the Hag's Bane potion we got from Mayrina. Once that effect is on her, she should puke up Vanra at low health, and then we can kill her (Ethel) safely.

The interesting thing about this is that it makes Team Juggernaut's high damage output actually a potential liability. However, locating the real Ethel didn't turn out to be much of a problem, as the other three clones are invisible and she isn't, and she is the only one of the four that has the "Hag Pregnancy" effect on her.

Hector yeets the Hag's Bane potion on her and...

"What did you-- hurk. Stay down, Vanra. URRRGH..."

"That's it. Cough her up, hag."

"No-- stay down--"

"BLEUUUUGH..."

Gross. Vanra comes popping out and immediately (and understandably) runs off screaming for her mother, and Ethel is NOT happy about it.

"ARGH! YOU COST ME A FRESH YOUNG HAG! I'M GOING TO PAINT THE WALLS WITH YOUR GUTS, YOU LITTLE SHITSTAIN!"

At this point we no longer have to worry about doing damage to Ethel, so I have Hector chug a cloud giant potion and go to town on her. She's only around 100 HP, so his first flurry of blows pretty much almost obliterates her.

I have Minsc come up and finish her off, but she gets a "Fungal Resurrection" condition indicating that she'll come back at the start of her next turn if we don't get rid of the healing mushrooms. They have a lot of health so this is probably not going to happen.

I leave Hector on Ethel-punching duty and load everyone else up with fire arrows and alchemist's fire. The latter, somewhat counterintuitively, don't really do anything to the mushrooms, but the arrows work great!

Ethel respawns with more clones. Her masked friends start attacking at this point as well. One of them can do Fist of the Unbroken Air and I start becoming uncomfortably aware of all the chasms around this arena.

Everyone manages to stay un-yeeted and mostly undamaged however (minus a few rays of sickness from the clones), and once all the mushrooms are dealt with, Karlach can go in for the killing blow.

Hell yeah.

I think this means Ethel is finally gone for good. And hey, now I'm glad again that we non-lethal'd her masked folks before, because they're all alive!

And we even get some acknowledgement for taking the non-lethal route, which is nice. :)

"I've raided warships. Fought every beastie the sea can throw at you and I've never flinched, not once. But Ethel... Umberlee's tits, she snapped her fingers and had me. I would have died for her. *Wanted* to. Then you showed up, armed to the teeth. You could have killed me - been right to. But you didn't. You have an old captain's thanks."

"I'm glad you're all right."

"You're welcome in the 'Maid any time. The old girl is as much your home as she is mine. And I'll gut anyone who says otherwise!"

Aw. :) Wonder if this means we could have gotten our camp in the 'Maid instead of the Elfsong if we'd come here first.

[legacyofacat]

[6] Where Your Core Rests (Kongō x Reader)

Can also be found on Ao3 (completed), Wattpad and DA.

First Next Last

Staircase-kun is my best wingmate

Through some blessed miracle or another, Kongō had, during some smalltalk, allowed Luigi and his human companion on board – no less because Luigi had started to cuddle up to the blonde.

He would get some extra good snacks next time.

"Do the seagulls belong with you?", the human said, looking up at the flock of birds accompanying the fast battleship.

"I suppose", Kongō looked at them too, petting the purring cat in her arms, "they always follow me."

They looked at her: "They just do that? Since always??"

Weren't seagulls just absolute assholes? Were they allowed to be nice?

"Yes?", Kongō answered, eyebrow raised as if asking 'what about it?'.

"Huh. Never thought I would see nice seagulls."

As if having heard those words, one just then decided to dive done, making them splutter in shock and run to the side a few metres.

Luigi looked on with calm eyes, zero hunting instincts in view.

Nagara, moving alongside them, beeped something in between pity and amusement.

"She laughed at me, didn't she?"

"Of course."

The human slumped down, whining in protest: "What do you mean 'of course'? Maybe she could just grieve my misfortune~?"

Kongō smiled, amused, and then just turned around to sit on the piano bench, facing the open sea and tilting Luigi's head up towards her, squishing his cheeks softly.

The idiot just purred even louder.

"You really just let people do to you what they want, huh?", his owner said, joining them beside the instrument, but not on the bench itself.

They were a bit surprised to see a piano on the weather deck of a warship instead of somewhere inside, but it did somehow fit Kongō's entire vibe.

(She was so cool, holy fuck!)

Kongō stroked the fur she had aggravated back down, unaware of the human's fangirling, and then looked up at them: "You can sit down if you want."

A dumb smile moved in on their face: "Don't worry! I don't mind standing!"

That was a blatant lie, but if they ended up accidentally touching the Mental Model they might just combust right then and there.

In fact, that they were highly aware of essentially constantly touching a part of Kongō when aboard already fucked them up harder than anything until now.

"Where are we heading, to the poor bastard I tried to rob?"

A nod confirmed that: "It's the only hint we have."

Which was true. It was unlikely that whoever lived there now had been aware of Nagara's presence in the old sailing ship model – if they were, then they wouldn't have stored her up in the attic when they could just have sold her for high money on the black market or to some research facility.

"What are we gonna do once we're there? Walk in through the front door?"

They really just did straight up walk in through the front door.

As they had discovered, the once overly rich man had apparently decided to go down in flames (or well, a party way too pompous for these trying times) and decided that it was a prime opportunity to turn the joke from before into reality.

The two had done a quick research of adequate clothing and behaviour rules and then literally walked up and through the front door unbothered.

Kongō and her new companion donned fine outfits, arms linked and acted as if they weren't running around like fake money.

Their first stop was the snacks and drinks table, where they took a look at the food, deciding that it was most likely best to choose something as alibi for not talking to people.

"Alright, what do we choose?", they looked over at Kongō and then halted, "...Ojō-sama?"

She looked more than critical down at the snacks – as if they had personally attacked her – and pressed out: "As long as it isn't bitter…"

"You don't like bitter food?"

Her look turned even more finster and she looked them right in the eyes: "No."

That one bite of green bell pepper had been enough for a lifetime.

The human grinned: "Kay. Take one of these then", they motioned a cycle around some definitely not bitter foodies and put two on the fast battleship's plate, "this one is sweet and that one is more salty – no bitterness in sight!"

"...Thank you", she still didn't seem to trust it fully.

They patted Kongō's back mentally, not daring to do so in reality: "Do you want to drink something?"

Kongō looked at the drinks, all of them alcoholic: "Isn't alcohol bitter too?"

"No idea, I don't drink."

Both of them moved away from the long tables and repositioned to a calmer corner.

"Where is the room you found Nagara in?", Kongō whispered, hidden behind a (still very suspicious) bite of food.

"Attic, facing the front of the house", they took a bite as well, humming slightly at the taste, "don't know how to get there, though."

The sound attracted Kongō's attention for a moment, before she refocused on the task at hand: "I do", she had scanned the entire building before they entered it, "through that door."

She nodded towards a dark wooden door right from across them.

"I see. Best way to get there is…?"

Kongō tugged them forwards along a most likely pre-calculated path, somehow keeping them away from prying eyes and slipping through the aforementioned door undetected, setting the now-empty plates to the side and then looking at the fast battleship‘s screens together.

It was essentially like a 3D blueprint of the manor, a red trail marking the way they would need to go to reach the attic and a dot signalling what must’ve been the duo.

With a look, they moved forwards.

„Ojō-sama? What kind of traces are we looking for?“

„Most likely Nanomaterial particles“, but something else interested her far more, „why are you calling me that?“

„Ojō-sama, you mean? Well, it means „Young Lady“, right?“, that was close enough of a translation, „and you are what I assume to be a Lady, so…“, they made a hand motion.

„I see“, was all she said.

Kongō had never been described as „Lady“ in any kind of way before, so a small part of her felt flustered, while another was concentrating really badly on how their grip had changed to holding hands.

The sensation burned brightly inside her mind.

It was an unusual feeling she had never felt before, a bit frightening but also nothing she wanted to lose yet.

She tried to push it aside for now and opened the door to the attic, the wood so rarely cared for that it was a bit stuck and in need of a strong tuck, which resulted in an unholy loud sound in the silence of the hall, making both partners look at each other with more or less widened eyes.

They got over their shock and moved inside.

Dust still covered everything and the white cloths were still covering all the furniture, picture frames on the ground with only their backs left to be viewed still made a pitiful sight and even the ship model was still lying on the ground as the human had left it – broken in half with a few details broken clean off.

“Over there”, they whispered and then followed their companion, careful not to accidentally knock anything over or trip over a floor board.

Kongō kneeled down to take the model in her hands, only to hesitate oddly once she realised that she would have to let go of the human’s hand.

She looked at their united hands, only now noticing that she had dragged the other down with her, leading to them both kneeling on the ground beside each other, their legs touching partially.

Now, that last part didn’t mean anything to the fast battleship, but the human’s cheeks bloomed in a slight red.

Finally, Kongō untangled their hands, the appendages sharing a last fleeting touch as she finally moved to hold the little ship and analyse its components.

“And?”, the human asked after a while.

“Nothing unusual”, she looked inside the hollow wreck, “not even traces of Nagara.”

“Is that normal?”, after all, Nagara had been inside there for a while and also heavily damaged! Shouldn’t Nanomaterial traces or something be left on the inside at the very least? 

But, Kongō nodded her head: “Her Union Core wasn’t damaged, it would be stranger if there were.”

Well, from that point of view, that was logical. If Nagara’s Core hadn’t been damaged, then, since the light cruiser had lost 100% of her ship body, there wouldn’t be any silver sand left and therefore no traces.

“It’s unusual for a model ship like this to be empty, though.”

The human held up a finger: “That’s not true, actually. When the Fog invaded, complete ship models became something really extravagant in the right circles, so many medium rich people started making hollow models to impress their peers.”

It had happened with all kinds of models, really: planes, cars, trains, tanks, rockets, you name it. In the end though, they were fragile substitutes – well made, but still only “fakes”.

Then it’s not that unusual, Kongō thought and looked up at the bed, “Did it fall from there?”

They followed her gaze, scratching their head at the memory of bumping into it: “I guess.”

The fast battleship rose to uncover the bed, accidentally creating a massive cloud of dust while doing so.

Oh no, thought her friend, turning away and trying to stop as much of the particles from entering their nose as possible to prevent a cacophony of sneezing.

“Apologies”, Kongō said, covering her own nose and mouth with a sleeve, “are you alright?”

Not thinking about something like that wasn’t like her, at all. She furrowed her brows.

“Ugh, yeah”, they sounded as if they had silently sneezed a few times already.

Kongō confirmed their status with a short once-over, then scanned the things cluttering the bed both with her eyes and systems, leaning forwards and supporting a knee on the bed’s edge to rummage through the knick-knacks shortly afterwards.

The human tried not to be too jealous of the scraps she was leaning over and especially not too jealous of the ones she was inevitably touching while doing so.

You’re so mad…, they thought to themself. 

It took Kongō a while to get to whatever she was reaching for since she had to be silent, but she came back eventually and held a grey-ish shard of metal up to be inspected, deactivated Nanomaterial fluttering down from it.

“American steel”, she stated, concentrating more on the rests of paint lingering on it.

“Like Fog or?”

Kongō gave them a blank stare.

They threw up their hands in mock-surrender: “You never know!”

A sarcastic “sure” slipped from the warships blue painted lips before she got serious again: “It’s from an American Fleet of Fog ship”, she said as if the human was a complete and utter fool, “most likely a battleship or extremely heavy cruiser, but I can’t say that for sure with how much is already rotting away.”

Honestly, it was a miracle that she could filter so much from it to begin with.

“You can’t identify her then?”

“Impossible”, she seemed to sigh and stared at the wall dejectedly, “at least for me.”

“Yeah that doesn’t sound too happy.”

Kongō gave a long-suffering look.

They decided that, yes, Kongō legit wasn’t happy about the help they would have to get and took the initiative of leading them out of the room (re-covering the bed before doing so), closing the door (an absolute unit of a silent act) and leading them down the next staircase.

It was in the exact moment they had taken the lead in also stepping down the last staircase when they suddenly heard a door being opened with force, leading to the human to jolt and thus slip on the polished wood, grasping whatever body part of Kongō’s they could and bringing her tumbling down the stairs as well.

Luckily, Kongō had a far better reaction time than any human could ever have and protected her relatively fragile date for the night throughout the fall.

The person who had stepped through the door was a skinny old maid and stared at them with a surprised face, before it turned smug and all-knowing: “Oh my, you young people these days!”

What? , both others thought.

“Sneaking away from a boring dinner to”, and here she turned even smugger, “enjoy each other’s company, my husband and I did that too once!”

“Enjoy each other’s…”, the human suddenly realised their position and snapped their head around to look up at Kongō, big eyes meeting confused red ones.

They were gripping the blonde’s shoulders in a death grip, one of the sleeves having been tugged down when the human readjusted their grip at some time during the fall, one of Kongō’s legs between theirs and all in all pretty dishelved because they, well, just fell down a fucking staircase.

(Also, one of their thumbs was pressing into Kongō’s chest, due to the latter having shifted weight to protect their neck, but they didn’t realise that at the time.)

They were also suddenly extremely aware of the way Kongō’s arm underneath their neck made it bulge up as if asking for a bite and also the supporting other arm underneath their lower back tilting it up in all the wrong ways.

A blush shot across their cheeks and down to their chest when realisation dawned on Kongō’s features.

[litcityblues]

'Look To Windward' --A Review

I don't know if The Culture is one of those series where the order you read them really matters, but I have not been reading these books in order. I tackled Consider Phlebas around ten years ago now and then tacked on Use of Weapons in 2019 and if there is one thing Iain M. Banks was an absolute genius at is his endings. I've read three now and each book's ending has been different from the others but lands in just an absolutely breathtaking powerful way-- but each in its own unique way.

The ending of Consider Phlebas sat with me for days. The end of Use of Weapons quite literally made me drop my Kindle in shock and the end of Look To Windward was quietly haunting and yet no less impactful than the other two.

Look to Windward is set eight hundred years after Consider Phlebas. In the last days of the Culture-Idriian War, the Idriians, in desperation, set two stars to go supernova and now the light from those long-distant, long-past stars is set to reach one of the Culture's massive orbital habitats, Masaq' where the great and the good have gathered to pay tribute and remember.

Composing a special symphony for the occasion is the renowned Chelgrian composer Mahrai Ziller, who has abandoned his society's caste system and lives in self-imposed exile away from his homeworld of Chel. The Chelgrians are a centaur-like race of cat aliens with three hind limbs and a catlike torso and their society is in a state of tumult following a brutal civil war sparked by the interference of The Culture.

One of the survivors is Major Quilan, who lost his wife, Worosei in the conflict- and her soul keeper, designed to act as a backup for personality/mind if her body was destroyed is gone as well, meaning that she is well and truly dead and Quilan, already traumatized by the war wishes for nothing more than to follow her. Instead, he is recruited by a high-ranking Priest to strike back at The Culture for the damage it has done to Chel and sends him on a suicide mission to Masaq'.

Ostensibly, his mission is to persuade Ziller to end his exile and return home, but he's also equipped with the personality of a long-dead admiral, Huyler who acts as his backup. The catch of Quilan's mission is that his memory is carefully blanked out to prevent the Culture's Minds from catching onto his true purpose, which is to plant two micro-wormholes into the Orbital's hub that will eventually lead to its destruction.

But too late, Quilan finds out that despite his successful transplantation of the wormholes, the Orbital's Mind was made aware of him and had stopped the plot thanks to someone who tipped him off-- the Mind then reveals that it has spent eight hundred years trying to heal from the traumatic memories of its experience in the Culture-Idrian War, when it was a warship and has had enough, planning to end it's higher functions and essentially commit suicide and offers to take Quilan with it. Quilan agrees and they both die at the climax of Ziller's second symphony.

Who started the plot is something of an open question-- the Mind itself speculates that dissident Culture Minds, concerned about The Culture's growing decadence and complacency might have prompted the rogue Chelgrian factions to do it. One Culture ethologist Uagen Ziepe is presumed to have successfully warned the Culture of the plot, but as the end of the book reveals, he was unsuccessful and the true turncoat is someone unexpected.

Overall: he's done it again, damn it. These books just sit with you and they're so intelligent. The book's dedication reads 'For the Gulf War Veterans' and there's a running theme of trauma that is present throughout the book. The trauma of soldiers who fought in a war. The trauma of those who fought and can't live with it. The trauma of those who lost a loved one. The trauma of those in exile from their homeworlds. It's large and small but really this book deals with the pains that haunt- whether it's for individuals or for galactic-spanning societies like The Culture. My Grade: **** out of ****

[autobots-and-their-crazy-kids]

Possibly Transformers Animated Biggest Weakpoint...

…is how it pins all the blame on Optimus Prime for the Archa 7 Event! 💔🕷🕸 

For those that need a quick reminder on what the Archa 7 Event is:

*Sentinel had an idea to go to a forbidden planet that has a Decepticon Warship full of energon and wants to bring Elita and Optimus with him on this mission. 

*Elita agreed cause she was curious about the warship’s history and how it works. 

*Optimus was reluctant, but gave into peer pressure and also because he wanted to protect his ‘friends’. 

*Giant hostile alien spiders attacked them underground. 

*Optimus got lost, but found the energon. 

*Elita found Optimus. 

*Optimus told Elita to help him use the explosive energon as a weapon against the spiders. 

*It works, but all the underground caverns were starting to explode. 

*Optimus and Elita tried to escape, but Elita’s download of Optimus’ grappling ability expired and she fell. 

*Optimus tried to use his other grappling hook to reach her, but he failed. 

*Sentinel runs in in time to see Elita fall and he tries to save her, but Optimus stops Sentinel and forces them both to leave the caverns before the final explosion consumes them both.

*Elita watches this while fighting the spiders. 

*Elita downloads the spiders’ organic venom (despite Optimus’ warning) and becomes the techno-organic, Blackarachnia. 

*Optimus and Sentinel couldn’t find her on the spark radar, cause of her recently created organic half. 

*Sentinel blames everything on Optimus, like a jerk. 

*Blackarachnia blames Optimus and Sentinel, ignoring her own part in her organic spider corruption. 

*And even Optimus blames everything on Optimus. 

*Optimus says that he was the leader of the mission during his and Sentinel’s trial and takes full responsibility for what happened. 

*Ultra Magnus expels Optimus from the academy. (Although, Ultra Magnus should’ve been smart enough to figure out that it wasn’t ‘goody-two-shows’ Optimus’ idea at all and he’s clearly covering for Sentinel...)

*Optimus meets the other main characters and then later the story of TFA happens... 

Frist, let’s talk about Optimus Prime’s PTSD and depression: 

*Despite his name, Optimus rarely seems to smile or be happy in general; he’s stoic and usually hides his true emotions. 

*After Archa 7, he gains a messed up case of arachnophobia that’s so bad, even fake spider toys can trigger his PSTD memories and either startle him or cause him to attack in self-defense. 

*He’s also clearly suffering from Survivor’s Guilt, considering that he completely blames himself for what happened to Elita. 

Now, let’s talk more about how Blackarachnia and Sentinel basically gaslight Optimus: 

Sentinel Prime: 

*It was all Sentinel’s idea, but Sentinel lets Optimus take the blame for everything, including Elita’s fate. 

*Sentinel ignores his own responsibility over what happened on Archa 7 and he only says that he’s sorry that they ever went to that spider planet, after encountering Blackarachnia; Sentinel conveniently forgets to mention that they only went to Archa 7 because of him. 

*Sentinel also doesn’t seem to really care about Elita all that much anymore (even before he knew about her turning into Blackarachnia) and he was also willing to let Optimus join the Elita Guard Autobots, if Optimus makes Sentinel look good in front of Ultra Magnus... I honestly have no sympathy for this dude what so ever... he deserves worse then what he got in the end. 

Blackarachnia/Elita One:

*Yes, her being left behind is tragic and unfair, but in the end... Blackarachnia has honestly nobody to blame except for herself for her permanent transformation. 

*It may have been Sentinel’s idea, but Elita was almost just as willing to go to Archa 7. 

*Optimus warns her not to use her download ability on the organic spiders, but she does it anyway later on... Why? Why did she do that? Why the frag did she think it was a good idea to absorb spider venom?! 

*Both Elita and Blackarachnia are shown to be kinda reckless and selfish. 

*Blackarachnia also doesn’t care about the possible lives she ruins/destroys/betrays in her attempts to cure herself or experiment with science, even if they’re people that haven’t even wronged her. (Like Sari, the Dinobots, Wasp and all of Detroit...) 

*Despite this, Optimus tries offering her chances to redeem herself and even helping her find a cure, but she keeps rejecting his offers and continues to be a jerk. 

*She blames Optimus and Sentinel for everything that happened to her, but she refuses to accept her own responsibility on the Archa 7 Event. 

*Blackarachnia doesn’t truly have to forgive them, but she should at least be aware that her becoming Blackarachnia is technically her own fault. 

*She’s like the personification of that saying: “I suffered, why shouldn't they?”

Optimus Prime: 

*Now I’m gonna be honest, Optimus isn’t completely blameless; he could’ve told Ultra Magnus or one of the teachers what Elita and Sentinel were planning to do, before they did it. 

*But instead he went along with it anyway, cause he was somewhat of a pushover back then. 

*He also should’ve at least tried to find Elita’s body to give a proper funeral. 

*But other then that, he’s the one least responsible for what happened compared to the other two. 

*He told them that they shouldn’t go to the forbidden planet and he warned Elita not to use her download ability... but do either of them actually listen to him? Nope! 

*And yes, Optimus did leave Elita behind while saving Sentinel from the final energon explosion, which was a messed up thing to do... But I understand why Optimus did it; the explosion was quickly approaching and there was no way that they would’ve been able to save Elita in time... If Optimus and Sentinel went down there with Elita, all 3 of them would’ve died in the explosion (at least that’s what Optimus believes, considering that Elita does survive)... Optimus knew this and was forced to make a choice that he wasn’t happy with making... When Optimus grabbed Sentinel and forced him to leave Elita behind to save themselves, it was honestly the most realistically heroic option... 

*And yet it sometimes it feels like the show itself views Optimus as the one who was 90% in the wrong during that whole situation! 

Don’t think Ultra Magnus is free from some blame: 

*The guy is supposed to be the ruler of Cybertron and/or the ruler of the Autobots and yet he’s so stupid sometimes... 

*He made Sentinel his literal second-in-command; no smart nor sane person would do this. 

*Optimus is usually a goody-two-shoes, a rule follower (unless he feels that he needs to take action) and has the best grades in the academy and Sentinel was probably some kind of troublemaker... yet Ultra Magnus believes Optimus, when the younger Autobot lies that it was his idea to go to Archa 7?... Megatron treated Optimus with more respect then Ultra Magnus ever did, and Megatron was trying to kill Optimus! 

And so, I end this post with one last little saying: 

[gehayi]

It's possible that Tom Riddle seduced Merope Gaunt & later on she lied to get him to marry her or more likely she had symptoms of a false pregnancy & believed she was pregnant which led her to tell him she's with child. Given the social pressures of the time he left with her & the 2 likely eloped with Merope becoming pregnant later on but when Tom learned of this it lead him to abandon her anyways. What is your view on what really happened between Merope Gaunt & Tom Riddle Senior?

It’s possible, sure, that Merope could have lied about being pregnant or could have read the symptoms of false pregnancy wrong . But...well, I’ve been to school with rich privileged kids, and I find it more believable that Tom Sr. found the silent adoration of the ugly daughter of the local hermit amusing enough to exploit. 

I could see him having a bet with his friends about how far he could push this and for how long. I could even see one of his friends dressing up like a minister and Tom going through a mockery of a marriage both to reassure her and to make fun of her. She thinks that it’s strange, of course, but what does she know about how Muggles do things? And meanwhile, Tom Sr. is looking oh-so-serious and he wants this and he wants her and for once in her life, it seems like she has what matters.

Meanwhile, Tom’s friends are stifling their laughter and trying not to meet each other’s eyes for fear that they’ll lose it.

After the fake marriage--who knows how long?--Tom convinces Merope to come with him to London--in April 1926 at the latest. He drives them there, or they take a train. Either way, he arranges the transportation and pays for a hotel room. Maybe he tells her that this is going to be their honeymoon. Maybe he says that they’re going to set up their own house in London. It doesn’t matter to him, as long as the lie works.

Merope isn’t familiar with Muggle cities, Muggle tech of the 1920s, or Muggle money. (She may not even be fully literate; we know that she never went to school and that her father taught her and her brother nothing.)  London is an incomprehensible maze to her. And the hotel room is clean and warm and has soft carpets and pictures on the wall. There’s a box that produces music and stories and news. Lights come on with the touch of a button. And she doesn’t have to cook or clean anything. It’s luxury that she’s never dreamt of. 

To quote the very wise Ursula Vernon, “Relief feels like happiness, if you don’t know the difference.” 

Tom is pleased that she’s so easily satisfied; he doesn’t have to explain to anyone he knows why he’s with this ugly woman. He pays for clothes for her, but he doesn’t take her anywhere. When he’s bored with Merope, he tells her that he has to go out and then parties with his friends. She doesn’t question him. She doesn’t even consider doing so.

In May 1926, there’s a general strike. 

Roads all across Britain become impassible.  Buses have to barricade their windows. The strikers derail the train the Flying Scotsman in Northumberland. The government declares martial law. It even sends a warship to Newcastle. The world has turned upside down.

Merope hears about all this on the radio; it’s her main form of entertainment. She starts peppering him with questions. Why is the strike happening? Why is everyone so angry?

Tom is shaking and tense and can scarcely think coherently. How can these creatures, these underlings, rebel against the orderly system he’s been part of since birth?  And how can this--this daughter of a mere tramp question him?

He yells at her to shut up. He apologizes afterward, and Merope accepts his apology. But the bloom is off the rose now. She knows now that he can be pointlessly cruel, just like her father and brother.

She tries very hard not to know this.

The general strike ends after nine days. Martial law, however, drags on and on. So do transportation problems. And 1.7 million strikers are now out of work. This is not the bright, fun city Tom wanted to visit. 

June arrives. By now Merope’s adoration isn’t as intriguing to Tom, and her pregnancy is starting to show as well.  Like many men and boys of privileged backgrounds, Tom thinks of pregnancy as something that only happens if the woman wills it. He is sickened and outraged that Merope has gotten pregnant--to trap him, he’s sure--and he chews her out for this.

Merope, though, was painfully isolated while growing up. She knew only her father and brother. Her father warned her repeatedly  not to let a Muggle touch her...but he didn’t provide any clarifying details. She had no mother, no sisters, no female friends. She had no education to speak of. Porn was not conveniently available. And she could not read. 

So, faced with Tom’s rage, Merope is at sea, for nothing he says is making sense. She doesn’t know how menstruation, conception and pregnancy work. The world hasn’t bothered to tell her.

Also...partying would have eaten into Tom’s money anyway, but the general strike and its disruption of transportation has made goods like food much more expensive. Though Tom doesn’t want to admit it, his funds are running frighteningly low. He needs the good will of his parents to acquire more cash, and quickly He also needs to square matters with the  rich, upper-class, utterly suitable young woman he’s actually going to marry while assuring her that the Merope situation is no fault of his. 

Arguments begin breaking out daily, then hourly. Tom starts them, taunting Merope’s wall-eyes and ignorance. She despairs when she hears this--after all, mockery and derision are all she’d ever heard from her father and brother.   She loves Tom desperately, but he doesn’t love her.

She doesn’t yell, because she’s been trained since childhood not to. Instead, she begs him frantically, frenziedly not to leave her, because he's the one who knows how to handle this incomprehensible city.  But her panic repels Tom, who sees it as clingy manipulation. It’s only London, after all. There’s nothing to fear.

So one day he returns home--without telling Merope. She's escorted out of the hotel room shortly after that.  He didn’t stiff her with the bill, but not out of kindness. He simply doesn’t want anything, even a bill, tying him to her.

Merope is now alone and adrift in London.  No money. No marketable skills. No transportation beyond her own feet--she has no way of paying for buses or cabs, and she may not even know the Underground exists. And no home.  It’s August, maybe September of 1926.  A rainy August, a mild September.  She’s five or six months along.  And winter is coming.

It comes in October, with freezing cold for most of the month and a snowstorm on the 28th.

She’s been living rough for a month or two. The clothes she’d worn earlier that year aren’t warm enough for October, and the cold has begun to gnaw at her bones. She's starving, too, and by now she knows that countless Muggles, all more qualified for any job than she is, are also out of work, thanks to May’s general strike.

She doesn’t ask anyone else for help. She should, but Tom was the only Muggle she ever really knew--and he betrayed her. She can’t bring herself to  trust another.

And oh, she doesn’t dare go home. Even if she knew where it was and how to get there, her father would beat her to death for polluting the pure line of Gaunt with a Muggle’s get. And her brother Morfin would join in. Happily.

She begs--for food, mostly, though sometimes people give her money. Sometimes, too, they give her advice--to go to a church or a shelter or some government office. Merope nods and smiles and ignores the advice. She’s not going to trust the Muggle government after this past May, and she won’t shelter with dozens of Muggles. That would be suicide.

November 1926 is one of the wettest on record in the UK. Merope falls ill halfway through the month. She’s starting to have trouble breathing, and she’s tired and achy all the time. 

December is filled with bitter, Arctic chill. 

Merope has little strength left. She’s not getting enough air, somehow, and she’s constantly shaking with heat or cold, she doesn’t know which. Her vision is blurry, and even when she can obtain food, it’s hard to keep it down.

You’re dying, a voice says deep inside, and she knows the voice is right.

One day, she spots a building with lots of people caring for babies and children. She asks meekly, and someone--whoever tossed her a sixpence? another beggar?--tells her it’s an orphanage. Merope doesn’t know what that is, but she knows her baby would be better off inside the building than outside it. 

December 31, 1926 is a mild, sunny day. Merope thinks of it as a good omen...until the pains start.

Merope doesn’t know anything about childbirth; she simply feels as if she’s being ripped apart from the inside out. She screams, not even caring if the Muggles hear. 

Somehow, somehow, she manages to limp and crawl to the orphanage. She knocks on the door, which is the bravest thing she’s ever done. But her baby can’t survive a winter on the street. Maybe the Muggles will take care of him if they don’t know his mother was a witch.

She doesn’t even notice that she’s thinking of herself in the past tense.

A woman named Mrs. Cole answers the door and bustles her into a spare bedroom. It’s still unbearably cold, so cold that Merope thinks that her bones will shatter from shaking so hard, but there’s light and color and oh, it reminds her of the hotel room before everything went wrong. And Mrs. Cole is speaking to her in a kind, soothing tone and letting Merope grip her arms when the pains are bad. For the first time since Tom, Merope feels valued. Safe.

Her son is born at a minute to midnight, a scrawny scrap of humanity. Small wonder. Merope’s had little enough to eat for months. He has good strong lungs, though, which pleases her in a dim way. The world seems to be fading away, but that’s all right. She just wants to sleep.

She hears Mrs. Cole asking her something. Not her name--she told Mrs. Cole that before. Oh! The baby’s name.

There’s only one name she could give him--the one Muggle name that means anything to her. 

“Tom,” she murmurs. “Tom...Riddle...Jun--”

And a soothing darkness claims her.

[cienie-isengardu]

K, O, P?

Thank you for the lovely ask, it was fun to write! :D

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

Hard to pick the one character, even more since the best of character development I love so much are not tied to one arc but happens through the whole story. But since I’m on OP kick lately, Roronoa Zoro gets all the honor. 

I love how at first he promised to follow Luffy as long as the rubber-man didn't get in the way of his goal (and threatened him with death otherwise) but took his commitment very seriously from day one. And somehow through the relatively short journey, Zoro literally threw away his ambitions, pride, life, everything for Luffy’s sake. And not only for Luffy, but for the crew as a whole, because  Roronoa is always ready to stay behind, to be left behind, to protect nakama at all cost. And the best part of this development is that, Zoro’s priorities changed from carrying the burden of promise and shared ambition with a dead friend being the best to giving everything to Luffy, while it does not change what Zoro is at the core. It doesn’t make him a better man in the sense of an improved attitude or outlook on life. Hell, I would say it makes him more workaholic with the need to get stronger, pushing himself harder than before once he gets to know the wider world better, but Zoro is ruthless and rude as he was. He is born killer and monster in human form that don’t give a fuck about the world, politics, what society thinks while his own moral sense does not budge at all. He was and is willing to kill, he enjoys fighting and drinking, has this ambitious as hell goal of being the best. The development does not change who Zoro is, but what matters to him the most and this growing loyalty and trust can be seen through the whole story and I don’t know what would need to happen for such dedication falter even for a bit.

And like I said, this is not something that happened in one arc, but was happening through the whole story, from earlier little occasional clashes with Luffy to being of one mind with his captain while always ready to carry the burden when Luffy can’t do it, ready to stay behind and protect nakama. What makes the final of Thriller Bark one of the coolest pledge of loyalty but not the best development arc itself, really, because Zoro’s character develops in that direction from day one and the decision made in Thriller Bark is just a result of all the previous adventures.

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

I’m going to cheat with that and instead of a random song, I will give you two I have on loop already for several days: Broken Crown and I gave you all by Mumford & Sons, because both suit Donquixote Brothers so well and could tell the same events from two different perspectives. In advance sorry for ranting but these two songs kill me emotionally so much, I must talk in length about them!

Broken Crown is all about Rosi rejecting the “crown” given to him by brother (“I'll never be your chosen one”) and yet… still caring and sadly, knowing it too well he wouldn’t pull the trigger (“but oh my heart, was flawed I knew my weakness. So hold my hand consign me not to darkness“) and the final lines, gosh:

So crawl on my belly 'til the sun goes down

I'll never wear your broken crown 

I took the road and I fucked it all away 

Now in this twilight, how dare you speak of grace 

So crawl on my belly 'til the sun goes down 

I'll never wear your broken crown 

I can take the road and I can fuck it all away 

But in this twilight, our choices seal our fate

And then, I gave you all is just so Doffy about Rosinante, it hurts. Seriously. Like, I really believe he never meant to hurt his brother (and maybe never understood he did), and the whole last lines are just so on spot:

But I gave you all 

But you rip it from my hands 

And you swear it's all gone 

And you rip out all I have

Just to say that you've won 

Well now you've won

It’s just so, so about Rosi stealing Law and Opi Opi no Mi even though Doffy already “gave [him] all” what he could. And the most ironic thing? When people usually think about their last meeting, we remember that Doffy killed his younger brother, but in fact, Rosi DID WIN in the long run. He cured Law and saved him from Doffy, he stole Opi Opi no Mi and took away from brother a chance for immortality, even if just for a while. Which is like three main victories in one strike and he did sort of say it to Doffy’s face (“[Law] is already free!!”). 

Just… so many feelings from two songs that fit well two brothers so different from each other. And the regrets and hate, and lack of understanding and spite. Seriously, it makes me think about their last meeting so much :(

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

I have three major growing ideas, but since I’m in a good mood, I will share the happiest AU in which Donquixote Rosinante never played the role of spy and confronted Doflamingo in the open sea as a Marine Officer. 

Or more like: Doffy found out his bro is alive but part of Marine, so of course he couldn’t leave him in peace and like the maniac he is, chased after Rosinante across all the sea to recruit him into the Family - to no avail. So Doffy’s main reason to become Shichibukai was just so he could jump on Rosi’s warship and annoy the fuck of him, like an older brother should. And Rosi can’t kick him overboat, since as a Warlord Doflamingo is untouchable by Marines. Or at least in theory, because Rosi serves under Garp’s command*, and the old Vice-Admiral does not mind to punch some sense into Doffy (and Rosi) with fist of love, cause no punk like Doffy will tell Monkey D. Garp  what he should or shouldn’t do on his own ship and if bros are lucky, Tsuru may save them from this madman… or not). Despite that causing ruckus between sailors is much better than boredom, and Doffy seeks out his younger brother under all excuses and more often than not, visits just to rant about all annoying people and bitching on Kaido or Sengoku or Nobles or really, everything and maybe for a drink or two and napping between one and another business meeting, because there is no better nap than under Rosi’s silencing powers. It is worth, no matter that more often than not Garp is kicking his ass, even when in fact he acts as a good boy should. And maybe, just maybe Doffy is so bored with all his underground business going well that he is actually doing “government dog” work of hunting down random pirates. Or more likely, slaughtering every asshole who dare insult his clumsy brother.

Because no matter what, Rosi is his baby bro and he belongs to Doffy even if the dumbass stubbornly refuses to join the Family. Which is fine, one day Doflamingo will find a way to change his brother's mind and until that day comes, he will mess with Marines as much as he can. Which is all fair, because Rosi too does mess with Doffy’s underground business whenever he has a chance and the klutz set on fire accidentally himself AND so many Doffy’s stuff one may wonder if he really is that clumsy or does he do that on purpose. Trebol thinks the latter, cause somehow Rosi always drops things on him by stumbling or spilt hot tea in his face. Doffy finds that amusing as hell, even more when his little bro uses his devil fruit powers to mute half of the Family just to piss them off. At least, as long as Rosi remembers to unmute them before leaving (sometimes the lil shit does not unmute them on purpose and Doffy is forced to chase him around the sea to undo the damage. Younger brothers can be a really pain in the ass).

So Doffy & Rosi kinda have this I-hate-you-but-I-love-you-dumbass relationship over the years until Law comes into picture and of course, Law stab the younger Donquixote and of course, Rosinante kidnap the kid to find a cure and maybe, just maybe, kidnap his brother along the way, and drag Law and Doffy on forced family vacation that involves burning a few dozens of hospitals, a lot screaming at each other and some terapeutic honest talks that no one really wants but everyone needs. Law gets the Ope Ope Mi, Doffy and Rosi kinda explain to each other all the traumatic shit from childhood and made sort of peace.

So, in the end, Doffy does not take over Dressrosa but is still doing his shady business and just being himself, just with better mental stability (cause Rosi keeps muting Trebol and all his shitty talk about what king can or cannot do on every occasion). Rosi has a brother that is not complete monster but not the good man either, but he isn’t ordered to kill him or lie to, and even though they are on opposite side, Rosinante can always call Doffy on den den mushi and shout at him for hours for all the stupid shit he pulled without any regrets or fear (and sometimes, Doffy does listen). Law is saved but still decides to sail and causing havoc as pirate captain while both Donquixote brothers are doting on him and of course, allying himself with Monkey D. Luffy, while the poor Sengoku just gets constant migraine for dealing with all the nonsense of Monkey D. and Donquixote family drama (but secretly feeling relieved that his son is finally doing fine). Garp on other hand, find it hilarious as hell. The World Government does not find it hilarious at all.

 *Sengoku doesn’t like putting his precious Rosinante under Garp’s command because the Hero of Marines of course drags the poor kid into all possible troubles and chaos, but since Rosi is brother of Doflamingo and Doffy is hated by Nobles, Garp is the best protector for younger Donquixote. He will punch everyone who would dare to hurt the kid of his closest friend, including World Nobles and their armies. The side effect is that Rosi is looking after Ace and Luffy, once they set sails, because they are uncle Garp’s grandkids and he will happily save Ace’s ass before Blackbeard get his hand on him and be even kind enough to give the kid a choice: either he comes back to Whitebeard or Rosi takes him straight to grandpa Garp and so Ace ends safe under pop’s watchful eyes once and for good.

Here, a happy Donquixote Bros AU. You’re welcome!

ask meme

[timeandspacelord]

Fandom does not talk enough about how much shit Annabeth went through by the time she was 17.

Toxic family throughout her childhood led to her running away at age 7, fully intending to live on her own until she happened to meet Thalia and Luke, who she instantly bonded with. They go through their share of terrifying events until Grover finds them and as they're on their way to CHB at which point part of Annabeth's found family is ripped away from her and turns into a tree. And Annabeth is 7. She then spends the next 5 years working her ass off to prove herself to literally everyone around her. Then Percy shows up and she finally gets to go on a quest and nearly die only to find out that Luke, the other part of her found family, has betrayed her. So she's very broken up over that, but she still goes with Percy in SoM, she almost dies a lot, and it culminates with Thalia getting resurrected, which is a mixed bag because "yay found family" but also "this was a Plot by the bad guy who's also the last part of this found family". So you know, fun terrible times. And then she gets kidnapped and is forced to hold up the sky, and that ends with her kind of losing Thalia again, this time to the Hunters (and this all happens by the time she's 13). The Labyrinth happens and she thinks Percy died, but then he's okay, but then they're in the middle of an all-out, big scary war. At this point she's only 15 and still very conflicted over Luke. Then she spends a full year doing war strategizing and suchlike and the Summer To End All Summers kicks off with her thinking, yet again, that Percy died. Then all the war stuff happens, Percy becomes immortal, she almost dies for him, and she ultimately has to watch - and kind of implement - Luke's death. She's 16.

So she and Percy get together and hope they'll have time to have a relationship, but nope, they get about 2 months before Percy goes missing, which, considering all she's been through and the past 2 times she fully believed Percy was dead, is terrifying to her. So she spends months scouring the earth for him, but finds some randos instead, one of whom happens to be a sort of linchpin in a new Grand Scheme of the gods because there's a new Huge Danger, and he's also Thalia's brother. And so she helps them build a warship and come up with a plan to deal with this new Great Prophecy, and 8 months after Percy went missing, she can finally meet up with him again. Only to spend like, a couple weeks (?) with him before she has to embark, alone, on a highly dangerous, yet absolutely crucial sidequest that forces her to face her biggest fear ever and ends in both her and Percy falling into Tartarus. And then they go through Tartarus, which is literally hell and bundled with a bunch of trauma, and they've barely even gotten out when they have to hurry up and leave to go Boss Fight mother nature. So they do that, but it's pointless and they have to get yeeted all the way back to New York to fight Boss Fight 2: Electric Boogaloo against mother nature and some angry/mislead Romans. And finally that is done, and Annabeth has experienced loss and death and unimaginable pain and trauma, and she's still only 16 (maybe 17, I can't remember when exactly BoO ends).

But she's still not done, oh no! Some time after that (I think in the late fall?), she gets a call that her cousin on her father's side, from whom they'd been estranged due to Family Things, is dead. So she goes to attend his funeral or whatever only to find out that he's not actually dead. Well, he is, but only sort of, because it turns out he's a ghost (kinda) and his dad is also a god, just of the Norse variety, and he's living it up in the viking afterlife waiting for the end of the world. So now Annabeth knows she's blood related to two different pantheons of gods (and that there's a third one just chilling in Brooklyn), and her family is even more crazy and weird and messed up. And she's 17. And attending college.

I am 19 and if I'd experienced even a fraction of that in my lifetime, I would spontaneously combust due to the sheer damage to my psyche. Also, I'm struggling enough with uni with just my baggage and mental health stuff, I cannot imagine how she's juggling school work, really bad dyslexia, ADHD, training and/or likely monster attacks, and all the serious trauma she absolutely has to be dealing with after all of that.

[jeanjauthor]

(Made up bit heavily inspired by bit with much much better women’s rights) In England late mediveal or early renaissance time, how would I put a bridge on a very large and wide river that large ships like cogs and big carraks can get under? I’d like to keep to that time period as closely as possible (but with different women’s rights) but I realised I need big carraks and cogs to go up a river I need many bridges on. Would swing bridges do? What would those be made of in those times? Stone?Wood?

eGood to know! Presuming a world without magic...if it's late medieval / early renaissance, just use drawbridges.

Understand that your boats will have to be smaller than most seagoing vessels. However,that doesn't mean they cannot be quite useful, and it doesn't mean they cannot be sailboats; they can! They just need to be more slender and shorter--not just to navigate between the central support pillars for said drawbridges, but also simply to navigate the twists and turns of any river.

This particular scene from the BBC's Edwardian Farm series has an example of just such a boat: https://youtu.be/obIWqJlxniY?t=1030 You should watch it, even though they're actually just discussing using quicklime to neutralize the acidity of the local soils, and how they're importing coal for use in burning in the lime kilns.

The most important feature of the scene for our discussion is how it shows the size of cargo ship that would sail up a slow, calm river. The various boats that sailed up and down the Yangtze River, the Nile, Hudson River, the Mississippi, the gazillion waterways of the Amazon and more, all of these had a lot of river-based commerce. Even the canals of Angkor Wat had a great deal of commerce via boat.

In some cases, such as at Angkor Wat, they would have had stevedores (dockworkers) standing by at bridge causeways that boats couldn't cross. These workers would literally offload cargo from one canal boat, carry it a few yards across the street to the next canal's boat, load it there, and send it on its way along a different canal system. (You'd have to see how the roads and canals at Angkor Wat were built to understand this system.) In other locations, they would have boat-pontoons serving as a floating bridge that could be unlashed and moved out of the way so that cargo ships could cross, and there would often be regular times for these switchups to occur.

But if you're dealing with late medieval / renaissance levels of ingenuity, then winches, gears, capistans, etc, would all be a part of their canal system, with broad, stoutly made drawbridges being drawn up and lowered down at regular points in the day.

Some of these pulley systems could be animal-powered (horse, mule, oxen, whatever), or it could be a wheel that a man would walk along, kind of like a hamster wheel, such as the kind found here: https://youtu.be/s46qP1l39V8?t=628 Though it's a long zoom in, you can see toward the end there are actual humans inside thos wheels, walking slowly to raise and lower whatever needs to get up to the building site. A drawbridge system would be no different.

You can also use folding masts. Since you're not dealing with a specific real-world place-and-time, you can borrow from other eras and traditions, including ancient historical methods, such as the bipod mast: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipod_mast These were used as far back as the 3rd millenium BCE to sail up and down the Nile...which admittedly didn't have bridges to sail under, but the stability of the bipod mast made it easy to lay it down without overbalancing the ship.

With some clever hinges and pulleys and gears, a Renaissance shipmaster could make a system that would allow the sails to be quickly brought down...though to maintain forward motion when going upstream, they'd probably have to pay a lining service a fee to line the ship upstream. Here's an example of how to line a canoe upstream along a river from Far North Bushcraft And Survival: https://youtu.be/ZQ7940-M5mM

This is literally the same system used to maneuver canal barges upstream (and down!), powered by horsepower, literal horses, donkeys, mules, oxen, etc. This particular scene from the Victorian Farm series shows one such canal barge being used to deliver a load of coal, as they would've done in the Victorian era: https://youtu.be/Ccjyt7BQEVU?t=1374 In the scene, they talk about how it's "...a fly boat, going day and night; they change out the horses..." to indicate that these were in constant use. You can see how there's a path built under the bridge for the horse to walk along.

The barge would be manned and steered in most cases, since that's easier than doing it manually by the two-line method, but they'd still probably have two lines on the boat in most instances, in case the helmsman fell asleep, or there was a change in the current, etc. There would also be strict "lanes" for upstream versus downstream traffic, ideally with walkways on each side so as to keep the lines from tangling--this would be in use in areas with really flat slow/sluggish water, not enough room to use galley oars, not enough room to set sails, yet you still want your cargo to head downstream at more than a snail's pace with the natural current (ideal for big cities).

Small barges could also be poled like the gondolae of Venice, but again, that's small barges, since there's only so much effort poling can manage before it becomes nigh impossible not only to get up to speed, but also to slow down to make a turn, to stop, etc. So consider if your river is slow, if it's a series of canals, how many bridges there are, what sort of workforce there might be for loading & unloading, and for portaging.

To portage is to go around an obstacle that a boat (of whatever size) cannot safely manage. The most famous portages were done by the voyageurs of the fur trade in Canada, where they'd come upon a stretch of rapids too dangerous to traverse or have to leave the river they're on to go in the direction they need to get to the next river or lake system, etc. At that point, the fur trappers/canoers would get out, offload their cargo, and carry it and their canoes--sometimes for miles!--to the next navigable stretch of water...and most cases they'd have to set up camp when they got there, then go back for everything that got left behind, and haul all of that to the new spot.

In many cases in the wilderness, they'd leave 1-2 behind to guard said provisions, etc, either at the offloading site or the final destination site. But if you're dealing with a civilized/settled area, they wouldn't necessarily have to do that, but might instead arrange passage with wagoners / caravaners, the people who got paid to transport river-shipped goods between two points overland.

There are also the possibilities for canal locks (the ancient Romans had a precursor to the system we know of today) as well, but it honestly depends on how much that region has decided to put in the effort to dig and construct and manage them. If it's wealthy, has a history of innovation, and/or relies heavily upon river commerce, then it's quite possible. But most likely, drawbridges and folding masts are going to be ideal.

Just remember that those ships and masts are not going to be designed to withstand open-ocean travel or hurricane force winds, nor to carry hundreds of tons. River ships are not going to be the same as ocean or sea going vessels. For example:

"During the time of King Philip II's reign (1556-98), the Spanish galleon increased in size and capacity. For example, while the earlier galleons had capacities for 120 toneladas (Spanish tons), the post-1560 galleons tended to cross thresholds of 330 toneladas." (https://www.realmofhistory.com/2019/06/07/galleon-spanish-warship-facts/ )

Or: "...a typical American barge measures 195 by 35 feet (59.4 m × 10.7 m), and can carry up to about 1,500 short tons (1,400 t) of cargo." (from the entry on Barges, Wikipedia)

These might seem like good resources, but those galleons are oceanic vessels far too large and/or deeply drafted for river navigation, and those barges are modern ones meant for the lower Mississippi River. The latter are also powered by engines, not by wind, oar, or musclepower (animals or humans lining the boat along the riverbank).

Unless your river is huge--at which point ferries will be your ideal method of crossing, rather than bridges--your river-running ships will be small, sleek, relatively shallow drafted, will most likely have collapsing sails, oars for windless days, ropes for lining (even if their own crew has to do it), so on and so forth.

...You can still have bridges without drawbridges, if your river runs through a canyon deep enough that the bridge will clear the masts naturally, or your engineers invest in long, long, long ramps leading up to and over the central arch spanning the deepest part of the river...and invest in lots of riprap (rocks specifically placed for lining the banks of the river to prevent erosion, etc). Unfortunately, most rivers flowing through canyons flow too fast and hard to make good safe transportation routes...and really tall bridges exhaust humans and animals alike in passing over them, so...it's not very likely.

One last consideration: the river itself. Here is a snippet of a video I took when I had the opportunity to go on a Rhein River Cruise (Viking Cruiseline). The cruisehip is docked. It is not moving.

The Rhein really does flow this fast (up near Switzerland, iirc, but all throughout the trip as well), and it only slowed down somewhat at certain points. The banks in the city zones (and even much of the countryside) are lined with riprap (stones fitted and cemented into place to control the river flow and prevent erosion), and yes, there were a few canal locks along the route. A lot of that riprap was laid in earlier centuries, some of it late renaissance (and much of it repaired since then).

We were warned that if there was a lot of rain during our trip (this trip took place in May) causing a lot of runoff to flow into the river, there was a bridge downstream (near the Netherlands) where we might actually have to disembark from this ship literally cross the street for that bridge, and get onto another cruise ship on the downstream side of the bridge. Why? Because if the river level rose too much, this ship would not be able to cross under that bridge.

Now, the ship's top deck was disassembled to pass under other bridges. It literally had awnings and roofs on hinges that could be lowered to as flat as possible...and yet there was still a bridge they knew they couldn't pass under if the river level rose too high. Even with modern tech, etc, there will be obstacles like this.

So consider that for your rivers and your commerce. In spring and autumn, the water might run too high, perhaps even too wild, for safe & easy river travel. Portaging might be the answer. Or your characters might be crossing over the bridge which has an angry river crew arguing with the city guard about why they can't take their ship under the bridge (because it could damage the bridge, it's the wrong season, etc).

...You can also have droughts (oftentimes in high summer) which could cause the river to become too shallow for boats to pass in certain sections, or they'll have to lighten their cargo to avoid getting mired in the mud, etc.

And if your story is set in a region with cold winters, snow, ice, etc...the river might freeze. This poses a whole host of transportation problems, but then transport wasn't often done in the depths of winter, save maybe for foods brought from the storage barns of local farms. If the rivers don't freeze over, water travel is still possible, though hypothermia is still a danger.

If they freeze only a little bit, still possible...but once the ice gets thick along the edges, it becomes dangerous to try to "cut" through the ice with a boat of any size. This can include ice that is too thick to get the boat close enough to shore to exchange cargo and/or passengers, but also the possibility of ice actually damaging a ship's hull.

And of course merely walking on the ice is sheer danger, unless you know exactly what to look for, how deep it needs to be, etc, to be crossed safely--the idyllic picture of the Dutch ice skating along their canals doesn't cover the fact that many people fell through the ice because they hit a stretch that was too thin to support their weight. Certainly history doesn't tell us exactly how many perished, though logic assures us that many surely did--either idiots who didn't check the ice depth, or who were young and recklessly brave enough to be foolhardy, an unexpected warming of the water coming downstream thinning out the ice in a specific spot in the channel, etc, etc, etc.

River boat crews would be aware of such potential dangers, and would not want to travel in icy conditions if it was at all avoidable. Which brings us to living on a riverboat, and how to keep warm in winter when the hull is literally in constant contact with icy cold water...but that's another discussion entirely. If the canals are in constant use, the water "might not" freeze over because it'd be constantly disturbed by the passage of all those boats...but it also could, especially if a bad winter storm shut down travel for a few days.

Mostly, river boats would be lifted out of the water if at all possible before the river iced over (which the locals would know about). Why? Because ice expands, and it would expand horizontally into those hulls, cracking them. Water and ice are incredibly powerful forces that we often underestimate. This means that winter is the time when boats would be brought ashore, tipped onto their sides, the hulls scraped free of river mussels and barnacles and whatnot, sections would be repaired, the hulls re-tarred, and other maintenance issues tended to.

If river commerce slows or stops in the winter due to ice issues, then you'll have wagons and/or sleighs, etc, bringing in the goods...but again, your horses or other draft animals will have a harder time working in cold weather. Your cities will therefore want most of their goods brought into the city's storehouses before winter falls, if it's an area with harsh winters.

If they're just rainy and wet and miserable for the most part (*cough* the greater Seattle region (*cough*)...then flooding will be your biggest concern. If it's a region with seasonal droughts & monsoons...you could have a whole host of problems, but you'd also probably want retention ponds and lakes to help keep the river flowing--fill them up in the stormy season and let out some of that water in the dry season to keep the river at a hopefully passable depth.

Bridges (and drawbridges), boats, and rivers are all part and parcel with the equation.

One more thing, if your local region is building a bridge in the story (a common occurrence in the renaissance in many towns), it doesn't have to be a part of the story directly, but can be mentioned second-hand, like one of your characters can say, "avoid the Baker's Bridge--remember, they're doing repairwork on it."

If this is a thing you want to toss into the story (it makes your town feel alive, a growing and changing thing, without having to go into exhaustive detail), then remember that the architects will have hopefully taken all the shipping and transportation needs into account...but that section of the river or canal will be blocked by scaffolding, requiring everyone to portage around it. If it is a river split in two by an island, or it's a canal shooting off from or paralleling the main river, you'll still be able to have commerce up and down the river, but it will cause that river travel to be thicker and more prone to clogs, blockages, accidents, arguments, etc.

These are little details you can put into your story to give your world more depth without having to go into exhaustive detail.

Good luck, and I hope at least some of that helped!

[johannesviii]

So I guess I have thoughts on The Timeless Children

If you’re expecting some well-organised meta this isn’t a good post for that, you should probably leave now

I probably forgot half the things I wanted to say because I waited 2 days to write this

Ok so first I have to say I’m disappointed that the horrible bullshit from the WW2 sequence of Spyfall part 2 wasn’t addressed at all. It means it was not part of some big plan and that Thirteen doing some horrible shit wasn’t foreshadowing, but just insensitive writing. Fine. Ok. I don’t like it at all but it, unfortunately, happens. Every single New Who showrunner so far has made a big mistake at some point or another so that doesn’t mean Chibnall is worse than Moffat or RTD, who also had their own qualities and flaws and some occasional horrible writing. It sucks, and it’s gonna taint Thirteen’s character for me. But I’ll live.

HOWEVER

THIS FINALE

Oh my god ok so uh first, Cybermen? again? But like? It was still interesting?? The designs were varied, and the Lone Cyberman had this whole Hellraiser-lite aesthetic going on, and that abandoned warship was straight out of Sword of Orion and I really enjoyed all of that. It’s a shame the Lone Cyberman was defeated so quickly, because he was a much more interesting “final boss” than the one from the previous season in my opinion.

The regenerating Cybermen were 100% ridiculous but it was the good kind of ridiculous and I loved it

I have to say something about the fam now but I don’t have a lot of thoughts about them specifically. I liked it when Ryan threw that explosive thingie and actually managed to hit the cybermen and was super hyped about that, though

OK SO

Look. I loved Missy. I adored her semi-redemption arc, and her self-doubt, and her ultimate decision to be good, just to be killed by her past self as a result, even though the Doctor wasn’t there to witness it. That was brilliant.

But.

This new Master. I already thought he was pretty great, but the way he’s been recontextualised in this finale? I?? Holy s h i t

I’ve said it already but the actor is doing a fantastic job

I wasn’t even planning to put pictures in this post but this shot is so incredibly good

So in my Spyfall post I pointed out that he was very aggressive and very performative in his evil actions, to the point where he looked like he wasn’t enjoying himself. He was, like, doing it to prove a point.

Turns out it was because the best way to make a new evil version of the Master after Missy’s semi-redemption arc was to base this new Master on INTENSE, DEVASTATING, SUICIDAL SELF-LOATHING

AND IT WORKS SO WELL??

AND I LOVE IT??

IT’S ALSO VERY UNCOMFORTABLE BUT LIKE? IN A GOOD, INTERESTING WAY??

The part where he gives Thirteen the key to stop him. And he doesn’t dare her to press that button. He’s begging her to press that button. He knows she will do it because she did it once before and he’s like go on. Kill me now. God

If you’ve ever been suicidal or even just self-destructive yourself, even if you’re, like, a nice person and not... well.... an intergalactic criminal like the Master is, seeing him being like “go on. Press that button. End me. Do it. NOW” is... extremely relatable not gonna lie

Thinking “oh mood” about the Master during one of his scenes is... not something I was expecting but here we are

Also I absolutely adore how all of his world-destroying rage against the Time Lords was basically fueled by “they hurt my best friend and only I have the right to hurt my best friend” that’s so in-character

SPEAKING OF WHICH

You already know I’m very in favor of fluidity in the DW canon. One of my absolute favorite DW stories I’ve read so far was Unnatural History, which basically said “the Doctor is an idea that exists across the entire multiverse and every origin story is true and every version is true and nothing is canon because everything is canon”

But I wasn’t very fond of one specific version of the Doctor’s origin story which is super popular in the Extended Universe crowd of fans, and that’s the Cartmel Masterplan. I won’t bore you with my full thoughts on it but I’m not fond of the idea of the Doctor being some sort of rebirthed god now on the other hand the idea that all Time Lords are eldritch beings and that the Doctor or the Master is Nyarlathotep-

But this isn’t what this finale is doing

So far the Doctor’s origin story in the tv series was basically saying “look. This character that grew up in a privileged and pretentious part of their planet’s society just had enough of that one day (for a reason or another or even several reasons) and decided to leave, and by traveling and making friends, they realised being kind was important, and they decided to help people instead of watching bad stuff from afar without doing anything.” And now this finale basically added: “That society of pretentious assholes? Yeah they actually adopted that character as a kid and exploited them like a convenient source of power, and at the root of their power there’s literal child abuse, and they had to erase that child’s memories so that the kid could be assimilated in the society built on their own pain“.

It didn’t change that many things about the Doctor as a character ; it DEFINITELY changed stuff about the Time Lords, but they have always been this kind of background menace, with evil founders and shady shit, so I think it’s very appropriate.

So yeah. If you ask me to pick one between “plot twist the Doctor is a god” and “plot twist the Doctor is a lost child with the ability to regenerate”, I pick the second one, definitely

The best part is, it doesn’t contradict anything really important. The Doctor didn’t remember any of this. At all. Their desire to run away, their eventual hatred of Time Lord society, their choice to be kind and to try to help where they can? This didn’t come from that completely forgotten past. They still grew up in a life of privilege after their memories were erased, and they still decided to run away. It’s still their choice.

It doesn’t even diminish later things, like Ten being afraid of dying, or River giving away her regenerations to Eleven. Because, again, the Doctor didn’t know any of that origin story. Just like Gallifrey being hidden in a pocket universe doesn’t erase or diminish Nine being completely destroyed by what he thought he had done. It’s still as good as before.

It does put that scene from Time of the Doctor in a different light, though! This wasn’t a new regenerative cycle being given to Eleven in the end, just unlocking a dormant potential.

I saw someone saying this episode was bad because it was saying nature was more important than nurture? But... the episode literally states the opposite very explicitly, with Ruth saying ”have you ever been limited by who you were before?”.

I also saw someone on twitter saying that the diversity in the past incarnations we briefly saw “felt forced” and. like. It’s 2020. Can we not do this again please

I have such a thing for identity crisis tropes and stories and adding a bunch of lives in the Doctor’s past is certainly that and it’s like opening a giant sandbox. Imagine all the things that are actually possible now. The stories you can tell in that nebulous past! And I’m so glad the Morbius Doctors were briefly seen too!

Hell, there’s even an open door right there if you didn’t like this origin story, built in the scenario, and I’m certain it’s on purpose: the Matrix projection didn’t tell us the child was the Doctor. The Master told us the child was the Doctor. You’re free to believe him or not. It’s not set in stone. And that’s even better in my opinion.

So yeah it was all very very Unnatural History and the only thing I disliked was how it was a bit too much “telling” instead of “showing”, but that’s a minor complaint.

If you disliked this story, you aren’t a “fake fan”

If you liked this story, you aren’t a “fake fan” either

If you like some parts of the show you’re a fan, and you’re free to dislike some other parts ; god knows I don’t like some other things in Doctor Who

The only fake fans are the people bullying other fans about what they should like or dislike

I can’t wait to see what the fandom is going to make with this new sandbox and I’m so glad to be enthusiastic about the tv series again

Have a nice day

[vengfulfate]

Both of Them, and Only Them, Final Chapter

Story Summary -   Melanie and Miltiades Malachite have trouble with love. They share everything, and this has either scared people away or made them think their relationship was more open than the twins would wish. Then along came Ruby Rose… could she be the one the sisters have searched for?

Chapters: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven

---

The Malachite twins couldn’t believe their eyes. First Yang breaks some kid’s leg, swearing up and down that he attacked her. And now Penny… one of Ruby’s closest friends lay in literal pieces on the arena floor. They could only stare along with everyone else as the horror filled the arena. The screens turned bright red with the image of a black queen chess piece.

“This was not an accident…”

As the speech droned on, the twins didn’t know what to think. The words made sense, but… they knew Yang. And Penny. And Pyrrha too, to some extent. Something was just off about all of this.

“Ruby.”

Neither twin knew who spoke first, but the one word grounded them both. Ruby had left before the match about wanting to ‘check something out’. Now Penny was gone, and the voice on the screen was inciting people’s fear and anger. As the Grimm began to attack, Melanie and Miltiades bolted from their seats to begin a frantic search for their girlfriend.

---

A lot had happened in what felt like a very short amount of time. Since Penny’s…. Since… Penny’s…

Ruby chocked back another sob at the thoughts she didn’t want or need right now.

Since Penny, Grimm had invaded the school, a giant nevermore had been destroyed, and Ruby had launched herself onto Ironwood’s flagship, sent Neopolitan flying, and watched Roman Torchwick get eaten alive by a Griffon. She dispatched the Griffon quickly, accidently sending it through the airship’s drive core. The warship began to fall from the sky, and Ruby had to escape the wreck quickly. Using Crescent Rose’s intense recoil, it was easy to safely fall to the ground.

Ruby may have escaped the crashing warship, but it seemed she didn’t escape her own bad luck. She finally landed on the fairground right in the middle of a pack of Beowolves. The dark beasts all turned to look at the human that had appeared between them. Ruby readied herself for combat. The three weakest – and most impatient – lashed out immediately. Ruby was ready, swinging her scythe in wide, powerful arcs, slicing clean through each beast and destroying them in single strikes.

The next few Beowolves were older and subsequently stronger. One charged forward, and Ruby dealt two heavy cleaves across its chest. It swung it’s claw in retaliation. Ruby anticipated this and fired Crescent Rose to empower her counter, severing the attacking claw. The red reaper spun her scythe around her to bring the blade quickly around the Beowolf’s neck, aimed at another Beowolf behind them. With a single pull of the trigger, she decapitated the first while blowing a hole in the second’s head.

One Beowolf was left, the oldest of the bunch. Not quite an Alpha, but certainly no slouch. Ruby prepared for its charge. She began swinging her scythe as it neared, pulling the trigger halfway through the swing. The tip of her scythe embedded itself in the monster’s side… and stuck there. Ruby panicked, realizing quickly why Crescent Rose didn’t slice right through. Her scythe didn’t get its extra propulsion because her magazine had already been spent. She had forgotten about the bullets she spent slowing her descent from Ironwood’s warship.

She was out of ammo.

She tried to wrench her weapon free, but the beast was faster. The back of its hand came down and knocked Crescent Rose away. The same claw used that motion to rear back and attack Ruby, sending the girl across the field. Ruby found she could only watch as the Beowolf charged her one last time…

Shlick

Shinnk

Thud

Two blurs of color and a flash of silver, and suddenly the beast was bisected at Ruby’s feet. The Beowolf dissolved away, and Ruby turned her eyes to her saviors. “Girls?”

“Ruby!” Miltiades rushed forward, throwing herself down and wrapping her arms tightly around the redhead. “We’ve been looking all over for you! Ever since Penny… Ever since Pyrrha…”

“Ever since the match ended,” Melanie took over tactfully. She kneeled down next to her sister, drawing them both into her own arms. “Are you okay?”

At those simple words, Ruby wanted nothing more than to break down and weep into her girlfriends’ arms. Instead she steeled herself, pushing them away so she could stand. “I’m not okay. But I can’t be not okay here, or it will just draw more Grimm,” she explained. “We need to get to the airship pads.”

“We’re with you, Gem.”

“Always.”

“Thank you, girls…” Ruby wiped the small hint of tears from her eyes before she could break. “Let’s go.”

It didn’t take long for the trio to reach the airship pads. Zwei saw them first, his barking inciting Weiss to turn. “Ruby! Melanie, Miltia!” the heiress ran forward to meet them. “Are you all okay?”

“We’re fine,” Ruby told her. She didn’t miss the look of sorrow in her partner’s eyes. “What is it? What’s going on?”

Rather than answer with words, Weiss simply stepped to the sided. Behind her Ruby saw Blake sprawled out with heavy bandages around her gut. She also saw Yang, unconscious and missing an arm. “Yang…” Ruby reached out feebly, not knowing what to do.

Sun stepped forward to assure them, “hey, she's gonna be okay. The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale.”

“But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!” Nora argued.

Ruby’s attention snapped away from her sister’s injury. “What!?”

“Look, guys, that giant Grimm is circling the school!” Sun shouted. “Even the White Fang are pulling out! We all have to go, now!”

“We're not leaving!” Ren tried to stand valiantly but succumbed to his own injury and collapsed.

Ruby’s scan told her one thing above all. No one was in a position to go running off after the missing pair. No one… except her. “I'll find them. I'll find them, and I'll bring them back.”

“No,” Weiss stood at her partner’s side, “we will find them.” She turned to the larger group, “look after each other. We’ll be back.”

Ruby and Weiss started to run back toward Beacon. They were interrupted when a hand gripped Ruby’s wrist. The redhead looked back, right into worries emerald eyes. “Take us with you,” Miltiades insisted.

Ruby frowned, “I can’t.”

“We’re not just letting you go!” Melanie argued.

Ruby took a deep breath, placing her free hand over the hand grabbing her. “I love you girls. And I appreciate you coming to help earlier. But right now, you’re civilians and I’m a huntress in training. You don’t have the training I do for this, and I will have my partner. I won’t be going alone. You two need to evacuate into Vale. Please.”

As hard as it was to accept, the pair knew Ruby was right. Melanie looked to Weiss. “You better keep her safe.”

“If you think I’ll be keeping her safe, you really don’t know how strong she is,” Weiss smirked. Her teasing smile fell as the moment passed, “regardless, I’ll do my best.”

Letting go of Ruby’s wrist was the hardest thing Miltiades had ever done. The huntresses-in-training ran into the fray and were quickly swallowed by the chaos. The twins filed into line for the airships, taking several minutes to reach the front. As they were about to step on, they took one last look toward Beacon tower. Just in time to see a massive silver light explode across the sky…

---

Two weeks later

Ruby stood shaking across the street from Junior’s Club. Her fingers gripped the straps of her backpack tightly. She was nervous about what was next.

Jaune stepped up beside her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure about this?”

Ruby took a deep breath a relaxed her grip. She was nervous about what was next. But she knew it had to be done. “Yeah.”

“Alright,” Jaune accepted, retreated back to Ren and Nora’s side behind her.

Ruby took those tentative steps across the street, approaching the man guarding the door. “Lil’ Red! You’re awake!”

“Hey, Javier,” Ruby smiled. “Are the girls in?”

“Yeah, I’ll go get them,” the bouncer offered. “They’ll be happy to see you. They’ve been worried sick.”

“Yeah…” Ruby muttered to herself, her hands fidgeting. “I’ll bet they have…”

She was nervous about what was next. She knew it had to be done. But that didn’t make it any easier to do.

“Ruby!” The twins called in unison. Before the redhead could respond, she was cocooned by four arms wrapping themselves tightly around her. “We were so worried! We kept every ear out for news of you!” Miltiades explained.

“We even visited Patch after you were recovered,” Melanie informed her. “You were still asleep, though, and we could only stay so long…” The white-dressed twin finally spotted Ruby’s friends across the street, along with the bags they all wore. “What’s going on?”

Ruby lightly pushed the girl’s off, avoiding their eyes while she explained. “Atlas didn’t attack Beacon. We all know that, but the rest of the world doesn’t and they’re not looking for other assailants. I do know who attacked Beacon, though… and their trail leads to Haven. I think they want to do to Haven what they did to Beacon. And no one else is trying to stop them. No one else even knows…”

“You’re going to Mistral, then?” Melanie crossed her arms. “And this… is a goodbye?”

“I’m sorry,” Ruby pleaded. “But I have to do this. Not just as a huntress, but as Ruby Rose. What happened on top of Beacon Tower… my eyes did something. I’m not sure what it is, but I know I can help. So, I have to go help. Whatever is going on… it’s bigger than all of us.”

“So… there’s no way we can talk you out of this?” Miltiades asked.

Ruby’s only response was to repeat, “I’m sorry.”

Melanie and Miltiades looked to each other, having another of their legendary silent conversations. Ruby had seen enough that sometimes she could follow along. This, however, was not one of those times. Miltiades turned around without a word and nearly ran back into the Club.

“Miltia!” Ruby cried out, not wanting to see the girl in pain.

“Don’t worry about her,” Melanie told Ruby.

Ruby frowned at the implication.

“She’ll be right back down with our bags.”

Ruby blinked. “Uhh… What?”

Melanie turned up her smirk, aiming it right at the young leader. “You didn’t really think we were just going to let you go, do you?”

“But… it’ll be dangerous,” Ruby reminded them.

“Exactly,” Melanie shrugged. “And with Cross-Continental Communication down, you can’t call us. How are we supposed to know you’re okay if we don’t come with?”

“You guys don’t have the training we do to last in the wilds,” Ruby argued.

“So teach us,” Melanie countered easily.

“T-teach you?” Ruby’s confusion climbed ever higher. “I-I don’t…”

“Ruby,” Melanie captured her girlfriend’s attention with a genuine smile. “We love you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to us. And because of that, we refuse to let you leave without us. We’re not just going to sit back and worry about you while you go to war half a world away.”

Ruby didn’t know what to think. “If you come with us, there might not be any turning back.”

“We’ll follow you to the end of the world,” Melanie assured. “We love you, and we’re not letting you go.”

Miltiades emerged from the club with two backpacks and a large envelope in her hand. She approached her sister and her girlfriend with a serious look on her face. “What’s the verdict?”

“I think she’s coming to terms with it,” Melanie answered her sister.

“Good,” Miltiades turned to Ruby with a smirk, “because you don’t get a choice this time, Gem.”

As her mind came around to the twins thinking, Ruby couldn’t help but chuckle. “I love you two so much.”

“We love you, too, Gem,” the twins replied in unison. The trio walked across the street to the others waiting for them. Nora’s smile was getting bigger and bigger.

“I TOLD YOU!” She suddenly cried once they were all grouped up. “I knew they would come with! Pay up, Ren!”

“Nora, no one took that bet,” Ren reminded her.

Nora huffed. “Well, I should get something for calling it!”

“How about new gear?” Miltiades offered. She held up the envelope, “Junior gave us our final pay along with what he called a ‘good-fucking-luck bonus’. We’ll all need traveling clothes at the very least.”

Nora’s eyes went wide. “I knew I liked you two for a reason! Let’s go!”

“Nora!” Ren tried calling after the hyper girl, but she was already halfway down the street. He turned to the twins, “I apologize pre-emptively for whatever Nora may do. Welcome aboard.”

“Yeah,” Jaune smiled, “we’re all glad to have you. Maybe not as much as Ruby, but glad nonetheless.”

“Jaune!” Ruby blushed. The twins laughed.

The group made their way to Vale’s market for their new gear, with Ruby, Melanie, and Miltiades trailing slightly behind. “As worried as I am, I’m glad you two are coming,” Ruby spoke up. “Thank you.”

The twins smiled.

“Thank you, Ruby,”

“For everything you’ve done for us.”

None of them knew what the future held. But all of them were all the more confident now that they would be facing that future together.

---

The main reason this is ending now is because anything beyond this would just be a re-telling of canon with the twins shoehorned in at every opportunity. There may still be unique scenes worth exploring in this world, but if I do so they will be self-contained one-shots. This is the official end of Both of Them, and Only Them as a story.

I would like to take this moment to shout out @malachite-isms. While I never had a conscious thought to drop this story, I almost never finished chapter three because I thought no one was reading it. Malachite-isms started a swell of support, and their love for my story has been one of my main motivations to keep writing it. Just wanted to let them know I appreciate their support.

I hope you all have enjoyed this work, and I hope you consider checking out my other stories on Fanficiton and Archive of Our Own!

- Vengfulfate

[edgymegatronus]

Vehicons on the Nemesis

I had some Headcannons and such about Vehicon life ( they are so cute and so much more could’ve been done with them ) in Transformers Prime, so heres a disjointed drabble about it - 

The cold and vacant halls of the Nemesis were inhabited by many hot, Cybertronain bodies. The majority of the populous being Decepticon cannon fodder in the form of Vehicons. Treated as one body by their uppers, save for a couple more lenient Decepticon elites. Though each one has their own story and background and personality. Things they love and hate and believe in. Those whom they relish and those who they despise – all amongst their ranks. Each Vehicon’s has a numerical designation, but these are scarcely used amongst themselves. Instead, meaningful nicknames are given. Based on personality traits, things they like, or the memories they’ve shared. None of these self-given titles were especially intricate and they had to be careful not to use them in front of their uppers.

One of the most popular Vehicons, who often delivered information back to his brothers-in-arms from Breakdown was given the nickname Kingston and was well respected. Another, a clumsy mech who had been shot so many times in the field but had somehow never been killed had taken the name ‘Respawn’. These were just a couple in a sea names given by friends and lovers. Flippers, Specks, Jon, Hot Wheels, Afty, Bonkers, Legs, Tosser – All mechs with separate identities and sparks that had been transplanted into identical bodies. During the war, there were two main routes to becoming a Vehicon. The more digestible one being the origin of ‘Runners’ on Cybertron as the war progressed. As the planet began to fall into dormancy, or die – only a few ‘Hot Spots’ were left. These patches of heat on the planets’ surface brought forth some of the last life Primus ever birthed. Sparks would appear in these vast areas, and it was a race. Decepticon and Autobot runners alike would race across the miles to be the first to collect the spark and bring it back to their respective base, where it would be crafted into whatever they wanted.

Which was at most times, for a regular spark, a Vehicon mode. One could say that the Vehicons weren’t the most agile, or best at aiming – because they were more than literally in the wrong bodies. But it suited the Decepticon cause just fine, and that was all they ever knew, so they carried on. The other method was much more uncomfortable.

The majority of Vehicons got along well. They had to, living and working in such close proximity to each other. The separate groups mostly stuck to themselves, divided by alt modes or job descriptions. Flyers or ‘Eradicons’ were the most prestigious in the hierarchy, as flight superiority was valued the most – a ghost of prospect from a dead culture of Cybertron. This ran all the way down to the servant-class mining mechs, who drilled for energon beneath the crust of the earth. They seemed mostly contented to stay out of the way, glad that they didn’t come in contact with the likes of Starscream and Megatron all too often, much to the laughability of those who lived aboard the Nemesis.

Life aboard the floating husk of dormant metal was unforgiving. Although many Decepticons had first supported Megatron of Tarn because of his words and great speeches of equality and revolution, the eons had given way to sickening irony. It was glaringly obvious that not all aboard the Nemesis were equal, or even valued. Vehicons that perished to the light of Autobot cannons were mourned only between their subsections of soldiers. Never again to be mentioned by their leaders. The promise of a perfect Cybertron had been strayed so far from it was a common belief between them that it would never occur. Deceived by their own cause. Now they clung to a lifeless ultimatum of war because it was all they knew, and harboured their life’s service. Besides, if any committed treason in a trifling attempt to leave the Cause or abandon their post, the immediate punishment was the death penalty. It made sense, of course. One couldn’t just leave. They could be captured by Autobots and leak sensitive information or turn on the cause, later on, causing a multitude of issues. No, it was far more efficient that they perish. It was loyalty to the ghost of a great movement or an early meeting with the Allspark. Discontent was an ill-fitting word, but the Vehicons filled the holes with self-made methods.

Deep in mining wells, or in forgotten rooms aboard the warship, over commlinks they met. They met and they complained and they schemed and they wished. More importantly, they humoured each other and reminded one another that they were not alone. They held moments of silence for their lost comrades. They spoke about the direction of the cause, and gossip between who was in and out of Megatron’s favour at the precise moment, and predicted who would be in the future. Starscream was always mentioned. Together they shared smuggled high-grade and energon snacks and assured each other that soon, they could remove their visors.

However, the most thrilling meeting came once a week, at the permission of Megatron. The Nemesis was equipped with more than one towering hall, the smallest of which had been converted into something similar to what many troops may have known on Cybertron. It shared many commonalities with drinking bars and taverns that were littered across the less esteemed parts of most Cybertronain cities. As a joke, the tavern-like hall had been dubbed ‘The Prime’s Head’. It was open once an earth week and supplied the majority of the motivation the troops needed to keep going. Megatron was also acutely aware that it kept his armies placid, having one outlet was enough to stop short of an uprising. Though it was rumoured to him that during his time in space, Starscream allowed two of these openings a week, a ploy to win favour obviously – but an effective one.

The system was simple enough. Each Vehicon has two high-grade tokens. This restricted any drunkenness or hooliganism that might occur had they been overcharged. They can spend these at the bar, which was run by five Vehicons according to a rota. There was a small selection of different drinks. All mixed expertly by mechs that perhaps would’ve done the same back on Cybertron. The lights in the tavern where dimmed, but it was alight with chatter. Reminiscing about old times, idle gossip, the passing of secret information. Occasionally there was music, but never too much or too loud. It was a humble gathering that kept sparks alight from week to week, and the Vehicons ravished every opportunity for the life they got aboard that dead metal ship. For it was almost assured that some of them would not be present at the next tavern opening.