#luckily the tornado didn't make it to us

[thelastspeecher]

eregyrn-falls replied to your post: “I've been watching a lot of tornado related...”

tornadoes are something that terrified me as a little kid, no doubt due to television. (i can remember a nightmare from early childhood about a tornado.) i grew up in eastern PA, where at the time we didn't have any. so it was the IDEA of them that terrified me. honestly, it still does. i would very very VERY much prefer never to live in a place that gets them with any regularity.

​i realize they're old hat for you, and that's true for anyone who lives with a natural phenomenon. you come to respect it, rather than be terrified of it. but for me, i can't get past the suddenness of them. the fact that they can strike in the middle of the night when you might have almost no warning at all. while they aren't completely unpredictable (obviously there are observable weather fronts and stuff), to me, they feel that way.

the natural disasters that i can deal with are hurricanes, and blizzards. both of those are things you see coming for DAYS. you can get out ahead of them. you can take steps to protect your house and your pets and yourself. (i mean, both of those in theory, assuming you have the means and the financial situation.) earthquakes and tornadoes are too sudden for me and that's why they scare me.

oh you're not the only one who's had a tornado nightmare! one of the worst nightmares I've had in my entire life was a tornado nightmare!

I think that what allows me to continue living in a tornado-prone area despite my general anxiety over like, idk, life, is two things: 1) tornado predictions give a crazy amount of warning nowadays, and 2) I live in a tornado-prone area, I've had a few close calls, but it's not like I live in Moore, Oklahoma lmao.

most tornado warnings aren't even that a tornado has been spotted by someone or confirmed by radar. most of them are "radar indicated rotation", meaning that a thunderstorm with a rotating cloud has been detected on radar. which doesn't mean tornado. it does mean a storm capable of a tornado and more likely to produce one, but it doesn't mean a tornado. or even a funnel cloud!

very VERY rarely are people caught off guard by a tornado anymore. FEMA says the average amount of time between a tornado warning being issued and the tornado or storm striking the area is 10 to 15 minutes. plenty of time to grab your emergency kit and go to your safe place. we have tornado watches if the weather is favorable and often know days in advance whether we'll be hit by weather conducive for tornadogenesis.

and even when we don't know in advance, like I said, we still have plenty of warning! about a week ago, I woke up to sirens, then ten minutes later, heard them again. which I knew likely meant a tornado warning had been issued (the first time, I checked my phone and saw it was severe thunderstorm and just rolled over to sleep some more lol). and before I could check, my phone went off, blaring the same alarm as an Amber Alert. which I knew 100% meant tornado warning. and it was. my roommate and I had time to use the bathroom, grab the dogs and emergency bag, and even take the dogs outside really quick to pee before the storm hit us! and we didn't have a tornado watch in effect. there weren't supposed to be conditions for tornadoes that morning.

and like I said, I don't live in Moore. if I did, I wouldn't even DREAM of living somewhere without a basement. as it is, I fucking hate that my best option is a hallway on the first floor. we've gotten tornadoes before. some have gotten close to me. one literally lifted over a building I was in. but thankfully, we're not as prone as other locations in my state; the storms tend to lose some steam by the time they reach here. and the tornadoes that do spawn tend to be lower level, again, because of the storms losing steam by the time they get here.

I know a lot about the science of tornadoes and grew up in Tornado Alley (or adjacent, depending on what graphic you use), so I know that our current methods are so flipping good at protecting us. we DO have warning. not as much as for a hurricane, but generally speaking, enough to, like I said, use the bathroom and grab the pets. earthquakes...yeah those don't typically give much warning, but that's something scientists are working on. buildings in earthquake-prone areas are built to withstand them (much like many buildings in tornado-prone areas are built to withstand severe storms), and people grow up learning what to do in an earthquake. (which is find a table to hide under, essentially, btw.)

no, what scares ME the most are wildfires.

you're flat-out fucked over by those.

[allthingsfangirl101]

My Archenemy – Tyler Owens

All anyone can talk about is Tyler Owens. My students are obsessed with his videos. They idolize him.

I, on the other hand, would love to go a day without someone bringing him up. After high school, I stayed in town and went to the nearby college. I remained here and ended up teaching science at my old high school. Tyler only reappeared when tornados came to town.

I tried not to think about him. I didn't want to. We were childhood archenemies. Tyler and I were constantly competing. From spelling tests to reading competitions to science fairs. I was better at biology. Tyler was better at environmental science. We were always going head-to-head.

Whenever one of us won something, the other jumped up and won at the next thing. It got tiresome for me, but Tyler loved the competition.

After a long day at work, I stopped at the grocery store on my way home. I roamed the aisles, grabbing things here and there. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that there was still one box of my favorite granola bars left. I went to grab it but someone had the same idea.

"Oh. I'm sorry. . . I was just. . . Tyler Owens?"

"Well, I'll be," he chuckled, instantly smirking his famous smirk. "If it isn't little Y/F/N Y/L/N."

"I'm surprised to see you back in town," I said, resisting the urge to look him up and down.

"Did you miss me?" He smirked.

"No," I didn't hesitate. "But now I miss the peace that was here when you weren't."

I started to reach for the box of granola bars, but Tyler snatched it. "Really?" I mumbled under my breath.

"I seem to remember you always had several of these in your backpack in high school," he chuckled as he pretended to read the nutritional facts. He smirked at me before dropping it into his handbasket.

"And something tells me you're not going to give me the last box," I scoffed, grabbed my shopping cart, and started walking the other way.

"We could make an exchange," Tyler said after he jogged to catch up with me.

"You have nothing I would want," I scoffed.

"Not even in exchange for the only food I've ever seen you eat?" He chuckled.

"Nope," I said, grabbing some cereal.

"You're no fun," he pouted.

"Yep."

"You haven't changed, have you, Y/L/N?"

"You shouldn't change perfection, Owens."

* * * * *

After my weird run-in with Tyler, I went home and instantly ordered my favorite granola bars on Amazon. I then used a bottle of wine to help me forget about our town's hero.

When I went to work the next day, the students were all buzzed. I had no idea why until I heard a certain conversation.

"Can you believe he's here?" One of my female students giggled.

"Isn't he from here?" Her friend asked.

"He is!" Another one of their friends added. He did a video a few years ago, and they talked about how he grew up here and even went to this school!"

"Wait," the first girl said, "didn't Ms. Y/L/N go to this school when she was our age?"

I kept my focus on my computer, hoping they wouldn't do what I thought they were about to do.

They did.

"Ms. Y/L/N, we have a question."

"What's up, girls?" I asked.

"Is it true that you went to school here?" They started with a warm-up question. They did this all the time.

"I did," I nodded, leaning back in my chair and embracing myself for the question they really wanted to ask me.

"Is it true that Tyler Owens, the Tornado Wrangler, went to school with you?"

"He did," I sighed. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes when they squealed.

"We know he's gorgeous, but what was he like in person?"

"Is he sweet?"

"Is he funny?"

"Was he always the 'risk his life to save others' type?"

"He is basically the town's hero! Did he ever save you?"

"Girls," I cut them off, "I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."

"Sure!"

"Have you finished your assignment?" I smirked when they looked at each other. I almost laughed when they sighed and walked back to their desks. Luckily, the bell rang before they could come back and ask me those questions.

At the end of the day, I finished a few things before heading out. By then, it was raining. I pulled my jacket over my head and ran to my car. As I got in, I debated whether driving home in this weather could be unsafe, but there was no sign of it letting up.

My need for comfy clothes and a glass of wine convinced me to risk it. I carefully pulled out of the staff parking lot and headed home. I got to a red light and looked at the clouds, wondering if this would turn into a Tyler Owen's Worthy Storm. When the light turned green, I didn't hesitate to go.

I should've hesitated.

Right as I went through the intersection, another car ran the red light. I didn't have time to react before they hit my back tire. My car started spinning but there was nothing I could do to get out of it. Suddenly, I heard a large bang and my car stopped spinning.

I looked around but nothing made sense. I couldn't recognize any landmarks. I couldn't even remember what light I was at when I got hit.

"Y/N?!"

I couldn't respond. My head was spinning too much. I reached up, gasping in pain when I touched something wet.

"Y/N, are you alright?"

When I brought my hand back down, there was blood on my fingers. I leaned my head against the headrest, waiting for the spinning to stop.

"Shit, you're bleeding," the voice said. "Y/N, unlock the door."

I could feel my hand shaking as I hit the unlock button. As soon as I did, the door swung open. Someone knelt next to me, gently putting their wet hand on my knee. I could feel the rain hitting my face.

"Y/N," they said, their voice softer this time. "Look at me. Please?"

When I did, it took a second before I realized who it was. "Tyler?" I stuttered.

"Oh good," he joked. "You didn't hit your head so hard that you forgot about me."

"I wish I had," I mumbled as I looked away.

"You wanna know something, Y/L/N?" He chuckled. "I don't think you actually hate me. I think you pretend to hate me so I don't find out that you have a crush on me."

"You wanna know something, Owens?" I repeated his question, slowly lifting my head and looking at him. "I would. . ."

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the headrest when it got too painful to try and focus on his face.

"We can bicker later," he said lightly. "Right now, let's get you some help. He grabbed my hand as he stayed squatting down but called 911.

Tyler stayed with me the whole time. He was right by my side, getting soaked in the rain, as we waited for the ambulance. Even as they put me in the back and took me to the hospital, Tyler stayed in the rain, watching.

* * * * *

I was only in the hospital for a night. I called the school and let them know what happened. They didn't hesitate to cover my classes for me and reassure me that they could handle things until I was better.

When I got home, I instantly collapsed on the couch. I put on a show I was binging before the accident and soon fell asleep on the couch. I woke up about an hour later to someone knocking.

"Tyler," I gasped when I opened the door. I subconsciously wrapped my cardigan tighter around me. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you were released from the hospital earlier this morning and I wanted to see how you were feeling," he said, shoving his hands into his back pockets.

"I'm fine," I sighed.

"Are you sure? It was a bad accident," he shrugged. Something in his eyes changed. "Your car spun out and you ended up hitting. . ."

"I know," I cut him off, looking away from his weirdly soft eyes. "It was just a concussion."

"But it must've been scary," he said softly. I looked back at him, my heart feeling like it was in my throat.

"I don't remember it much," I mumbled.

"You don't?" He asked, taking a small step toward me.

"I remember my car spinning out," I recalled slowly. "And trying to turn out of it. Then. . . nothing."

"Y/N," he said softly.

"What are you doing?" I snapped, breaking this weird tension.

"What do you mean?" He chuckled.

"This," I said, gesturing between him and me. "You coming and checking on me. Being sweet. Saving me."

"Y/N," he gently cut me off. "Do you really think I'm the kind of guy who'd watch you get in a car accident and not help you?"

"You did it in high school," I said, dropping my voice.

As I stared at him, I remembered the day in high school when I got rear-ended on my way home from school. I still remember being on the phone, waiting for my dad to answer, and seeing Tyler drive by in his truck.

"Y/N. . ." He stuttered.

"Thank you for checking on me," I said, clearing my throat, "but I'm fine. In fact, I should probably get some rest."

Before he could say anything else, I shut the door.

* * * * *

A few hours later, I sighed when there was a knock on the door. I stood up but had to stop because I felt dizzy. When it passed, I slowly made my way to the door.

"Tyler," I stuttered. "What are you doing here? Again?"

"I wanted to apologize," he said. "I know we had our weird back-and-forth growing up, but I want you to know that I didn't hate you when we were younger. I've never hated you, Y/N."

I smirked as I folded my arms and leaned against the doorframe. "So the time you stole my science notes and spilled soda all over them? Or the time you wrote swear words on my notecard for our biology exam? Or the time you almost tripped me at graduation?"

"Don't you notice flirting when you see it?"

"Bullshit," I scoffed a little too soon.

I saw the look on his face drop. Only for a second though. He quickly recovered his annoying smirk. My heart jumped into my throat when he took a step closer, instantly feeling like he was towering over me.

"Clearly, I need to take a more direct approach."

"Direct approach?" I repeated. "Tyler, what are you. . ."

He cut me off by grabbing my face and pressing his lips to mine. I wasn't sure what to do. My mind was racing and all I could focus on, besides Tyler's surprisingly soft hands holding my face, was the feeling of his lips on mine. Sooner than I would've liked, he broke the kiss.

"I may not have stayed," he whispered, "but I called the police."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, matching his tone.

"That day," he continued, dropping his hands from my face, "in high school. When you got into your crash, I froze. I kept driving because I didn't know what to do. When I got home, I instantly called the cops. I didn't even tell my mom until after I had gotten off the phone."

"Why are you telling me this?" My voice was now under my breath.

"Because when I saw your accident yesterday, I didn't freeze," he said gently. "I knew I had to do something. And fast. I couldn't drive away again."

"I shouldn't have brought that up," I stuttered.

"No, it's okay," he cut me off. "I was wrong not to do anything in high school. I should've stayed around. I should've helped you."

"You did tonight," I said, my voice dropping again. I couldn't help but smile when I thought about the girls in my class the other day.

"What?" He asked, his playful smirk returning.

"It's something my students said the day of the accident."

Tyler smiled as he reached up and moved some hair out of my face, his hand lingering on my face. "What did they say, Ms. Y/L/N?" He lightly teased.

"You really are this town's hero."

Tyler laughed, slightly shaking his head. "I only care about being one person's hero," he said, slowly leaning in.

"Who's?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Yours."

He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. I ignored all the doubts that flooded my brain as our lips started moving in sync. I grabbed the front of his flannel, pulling him closer to me. He responded by wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Oh!" He broke the kiss suddenly. "I almost forgot."

Confusion flooded me as Tyler stepped slightly out my front door and grabbed something from the ground. When he turned back toward me, he was holding a box of my favorite granola bars.

"I believe I owe you these."

[annisassintchaska]

Jude Bellingham x Black!Reader: HIDDEN LOVE

WARNING: Just letting you know that this is simply an imagine, no hate towards Ashlyn as I do admire her beauty as I think she's really beautiful.

Y/N POV

I sigh, getting out of the car and walking a few feet behind, blending in with the crowd as I watch them. My partner, Jude, holding hands with an Instagram influencer, Ashlyn Castro. Since he is out of the next two matches, he decides to come to the games. We all walk up into the VIP box, him and Ashlyn sitting together with his mother Denise who knows me as only a friend of his while I sit in the row behind, out of sight.

I sit and focus on the game, though distracted by the act in front of me. I watch from time to time as they hug, laugh and chatter together like an original family, Ashlyn filling my space perfectly, almost as if I never existed. His mother Denise, turns and smiles at me from time to time, speaking to me briefly before her attention is back on them.

I sit with a tightly perfected smile, willing the wetness in my eyes to go away. During the halftime, I stand up and excuse myself to the bathroom, and upon arrival lock myself into a stall and let the tears pool over. after a few minutes, I gather myself and retreat to my seat.

JUDE'S POV

Looking back at my partner, I see her eyes. The dark brown eyes like a calm tornado, look to be freshly wet and I immediately know why. It's not my fault, out of my control really, and I'm extremely glad that she understands. I skilfully reach my hand back and tug at my shirt as a signal to her. Feeling Y/N take the hint and hold onto my shirt, I briefly hold and squeeze her hand before fully focusing back on the game, my heart partially at ease.

After the game ends, I escort Ashlyn to the bathroom. " I enjoyed today, maybe we should make this an official, thing? we actually date?" I hear her say, I am about to respond when I spot my love looking on from a few metres away as she waits with my mother for our return. Her eyes no longer hiding the tsunami as I see the glossiness and her slightly trembling hands under her jacket. "Ashlyn, can we speak about this later" I say rather than ask and lead her to where the others are standing. "Please give us a moment" I say softly, pulling Y/N away from my mother and Ashlyn to a secluded corner.

Hugging her small form to my chest, I hear the muffled sobs in my chest and my heart breaks all over again. "I know honey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry love... I wish I didn't have to, but I've got no choice." I try to console her. "I'm not coming" I hear her mumble. "I'm not coming to the restaurant. I wanna go home." I sigh softly into her freshly silk pressed hair, completely understanding. "Thats okay, I'll have Ryan drive you home and I'll see you when I get back yeah?" I watch as she nods in agreement, and I wipe her teary eyes before having her look up at me. My 6'2 frame towering her as she stands at 5'2.

Y/N POV

Looking up at him, I stay still, allowing him to wipe the tears away from my eyes. "You know I love you, right?" he asks, and I can only nod my head yes. "Good, because I need you know and always remember that. No matter what happens, I will always be yours, I will always come home to you" he says softly. I sigh leaning into his chest for a minute until my head is lifted and our lips meet, reverent, unhurried, testimonial even as his emotions are poured into it.

Pulling back out of breath, I hug him for the last time, and we return to the spot. He explains that I will not be joining them for the dinner and that he'll meet them in the car as he then leads me to the Mercedes at the back. I enter the backseat and greet Ryan softly, giving Jude one last kiss, he closes the door, and Ryan drives off the home I share with Jude (that everyone thinks we're roommates).

Arriving home, I shower and eat something before laying down. a few hours go by, and I begin to scroll through social media, seeing all the comments about them at the match, luckily no one notices the bare stolen moments between us. Spotting one particular video, I contemplate whether or not to watch but press play anyways. seeing that it's a fan video which caught Jude with his hand over Ashlyn's shower, walking casually after dinner, I stop it and turn off my phone completely, deciding to get some rest.

JUDE'S POV

I arrive back home at 10. I quickly shower and pull on just a pair of boxers before getting into bed. I pull Y/N into me and strangely feel her stiffen for a moment. "Babe" I slightly shake her in case she is sleeping. I wait for few, yet I get no response, her body completely relaxed in slumber.

I take the moment to admire her, her pretty 4chair which is now 24 inches due to its silk pressed state, her cute nose which wiggles when she laughs, her pretty lips that speaks life into everyone and anything.

I feel myself drifting off to sleep, the replay of our memories bright behind my eyelids as I succumb to a well needed rest.

[animesmolbean]

Try Defying Gravity

A Twisters fanfiction

Author's Note: I'm back!!!

I'm so, so sorry for the hiatus and long wait for this chapter! I got super busy with school, then right after I got out, I went on vacation, then basically unwinded for all of May. Then, I started summer classes in early June. Luckily, since I'm ahead of things in class, I have a grace period.

Additionally, I have been writing drafts for other stories I want to create. I have two of them in mind. One I've mentioned before, and the other is a new one. The new one is based on a Netflix show I thought I would never watch, but somehow ended up watching and liking how messy and chaotic it is. And that show is XO, Kitty. I honestly thought I would thoroughly hate this show, based on what people say about it. While the arguments about it are very well founded, I can't help but be entertained by this chaotic show. And also because Minho is so damn hot! 😍♥️

So, I'm writing a draft for that. I already have a story I'm going to write up.

Back to this story. This was a very hard chapter to write. Not because I couldn't choose a scenario like for Chapter 4, but because I was too busy to write anything. But, here it is! Luckily, the next two chapters should be pretty easy to write! I can't wait to share them when they're done!

Hope you enjoy the chapter! ♥️

Chapter 5: Twins

The next morning, (Your Name) woke up a little earlier than she expected and got ready. She slipped on a dark gray button-up, soft, black wide legged dress pants, and her fancy combat boots. She brushed her hair and pulled it into a ponytail. After applying a bit of makeup; neutral eyeshadow, and some tinted lip balm, she grabbed a cross bag she used to carry anything for work and left her room.

She saw that everyone, StormPAR and Tyler's crew, were setting up to leave. She approached the StormPAR van, taking glances at Tyler's team as she did and stopped, standing by Javi and Tyler.

“I'm ready to go.” She spoke up.

Scott turned to look at her and he gave her a smile, saying sarcastically. “Good. Glad to see you're listening to your superiors today.”

That smile. That tone of voice. It made (Your Name) want to punch him in the face.

Resisting that urge, she walked closer to Javi. She also got a glimpse of Kate, instantly making her feel better.

“Ready to go?” Javi asked.

(Your Name) replied with a nod, and a smile.

🌀🌪🍃

They arrived at the same designation they were at yesterday.

Everyone was working separately on their own thing. StormPAR doing their thing, and Tyler's team doing their own thing.

Meanwhile, (Your Name) was sitting in the passenger seat. She tried to ask around the team, wanting to help them with anything, but they either politely declined or brushed her off.

She thought about what Tyler told her last night. ‘Are they really that self-centered? Could they be?’ She knew Kate wasn't like that at all. Javi seemed like a nice guy, but considering his deal with StormPAR, not to mention what Kate had told her about what she saw earlier. She remembered that Kate told her that she saw Javi talking with some guy named Riggs about home improvement or something around the area where tornadoes have struck.

(Your Name) thought it sounded odd, considering what StormPAR normally focuses on. But she kept it in the back of her mind for later.

Then, she heard Kate and Javi's voices, and the driver door opened, and Javi sat in the seat. “Ready to go? Kate found a storm!”

With those words, (Your Name) nodded and immediately maneuvered herself into the backseat of the van so Kate could get in. Kate protested that she didn't have to do that, but (Your Name) told her she didn't mind.

Javi stepped on the gas and started to drive down the road, heading in the direction of the storm Kate found. As they drove, Kate and (Your Name) looked up at the clouds; they were starting to darken and form. “It already has a nice structure. Moisture levels are just right, and there is lots of CAPE.” (Your Name) spoke up first, leaning forward from the backseat.

Kate hummed, looking at the darkening clouds. “Flow is clean. Pulling tons of warm, moist air from the south. Here's the mystery, though.” Kate spoke too, not knowing that a certain dirty blonde male was telling his crew the same information at the exact same time as the two girls.

“We actually don't know how a tornado forms. We see the hook on the radar, but-” Kate trailed off, pointing at the screen sitting in front of them. (Your Name) jumped back in, “What are the invisible factors coming together? Every little detail that has to be perfect…. It's pretty incredible actually.”

Kate looked at (Your Name) as she spoke freely. Seeing her friend sharing her thoughts and expressing them openly was nice to see. A big reason why they became friends was because they both thought similarly and seemed to know what the other was thinking. Kate smiled softly and wrapped her arm around (Your Name)’s shoulders. The action made the (Hair Color) haired girl smile back and return the favor.

Javi smiled at the sight, but it went back to a serious expression when the spiraling clouds started going down, forming a tiny funnel. “Come on, come on, come.” He muttered hopefully. Just then, the tiny funnel got longer and touched the ground. “There it is. Yeah, baby!”

The two girls broke away from their embrace and gazed in amazement at the sight of not one but two tornadoes rotating around each other.

“Go faster.” Kate told Javi, patting his arm. Javi whooped as he did.

“You ready?” Javi asked Kate.

“Let's get our data.” The two do their friendship handshake.

Tyler's truck pulled up from the side to the trio’s vehicle. From behind his window, he gave a charming smile to the trio before winking at (Your Name) before speeding off. (Your Name) shook her head in amusement at Tyler.

“Come on Javi.” Kate told him.

“All right, guys, stop playing these games. Let's cut these guys off.” Javi sped up and managed to get around Tyler. As the two vehicles drove beside each other, Kate and (Your Name) both twirled their fingers like how Tyler does on his channel. For (Your Name), she added a cheeky smile to the mix before Javi sped up, making them miss Tyler's playful smirk at the (Hair Color) haired girl.

Kate and (Your Name) whooped.

“Alright, which one is going to stay?”

“Let's go to the right.” Kate replied. (Your Name) hummed in agreement, nodding.

But as they looked out the window to gauge the storms, Kate and (Your Name) suddenly felt a shift. They saw wheat swaying in the opposite direction of the wind that hit the plant gently. At the same time, they exclaimed, “Go left!”

“What?”

“Take a left!” The two exclaimed again.

Quickly following their instructions, Javi quickly turned left. As Javi and Kate watched the road, (Your Name) took a look out the window. She saw Tyler's crew going to the right. She looked at the twister in the direction and saw it was slowly disappearing. Excited, she patted Javi on the back of his shoulder.

“Javi! Look!”

Hearing (Your Name), Javi looked at where she was pointing through his side mirror. Kate decided to look, too. Just then, the twister to the right disappears.

The three laughed and cheered as it did.

“That was amazing, you two! How did you know?” Javi exclaimed with excitement.

“See the wheat? Winds move the right. It's just what this one needed.” Kate replied.

The trio stopped their car right by the tornado. Javi gave (Your Name) some goggles, and the three got out of the car. The wind blew hard as the trio quickly set up the equipment. While Javi finished up, (Your Name) took a short glance at the twister. Seeing it was quickly approaching, she quickly patted Javi's back, “You ready?!” “Yes!” Javi finished, and the three of them backed away as the twister neared them and got into the truck. Javi backed up the truck. Suddenly, the radar was lifted into the twister.

“Javi! It's turning fast!”

Javi tried to get in contact with the rest of the team, but (Your Name) didn't hear him. Her rapid heartbeat drowned out any sound that wasn't the twister.

Javi drove backward, looking behind him so he could see where he was going. (Your Name) watched the tornado rip through the field. She started to breathe heavily and gripped the car seat. She wanted to grab onto the harness on her body but quickly realized that she wasn't in Tyler's truck. She wished she was in this situation.

Suddenly, she heard something smashing into the back of the truck, making her yell in surprise.

“What was that?” Kate asked.

Javi replied, “I think I just killed some chickens.”

The tornado got closer and closer, picking up speed and seemingly getting bigger. (Your Name) felt her anxiety rise up to the surface and she started to panic, breathing shakily and heavily.

Suddenly, Javi purposely drove into a ditch. The twister roared right over them. Kate and Javi covered their ears and ducked their heads. (Your Name) covered her ears too and curled up into a ball, her breathing heavy as her body shook, the howling wind drowned out her whimpers of fear.

This is it. She was going to die. She was going to die this time.

But just as it was there, the tornado was gone. The trio uncovered themselves and looked around. Kate turned to (Your Name) who was now hugging herself.

“You okay, (Your Name)?” She asked, placing a hand on the girl's knee comfortingly.

(Your Name) only nodded before swallowing and sighed shakily.

As Kate turned her attention back to Javi, (Your Name) looked out the windows to survey the area. The field was torn up. Tree branches, big and small everywhere, power lines were knocked over, and she saw a carved out path where the tornado was.

She leaned against the back of the car seat and placed a hand on her chest, feeling her heartbeat. It was thankfully calming down. The pounding in her ears disappeared, allowing her to hear properly again. Just in time to hear Kate and Javi talking about driving somewhere.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“A town's been hit. We're heading over.” Kate told her.

At those words, (Your Name) wondered how bad it was.

🌀🌪🍃

Turns out, it was very bad.

Worse than she thought.

When they arrived at the site, the truck stopped and and the trio got out. Everything was in ruin. Houses demolished; the pieces of homes, whether wood or metal, were thrown all over the place. The familiar carved path left by the tornado was there, too. People were out and about, looking through the wreckage for anything salvaged by the horrible storm.

The sight of the destruction made (Your Name) freeze and started to breathe heavily, gripping her shirt. The area began to blur and look like that day.

That day five years ago.

Everything in her sight melded into a different scene entirely. She saw it all. The torn up field, branches and other scraps of material scattered all over, and the broken car, lightly splattered in her friends’ blood.

Her breathing became more rapid and she felt her heartbeat in her ears, her anxiety slowly taking over her body.

She shook her head, swallowing hard, and started to take deep breaths to try to ground herself. She closed her eyes, trying to rid the past memory she was remembering.

When she opened her eyes again, the torn up field was gone. It was back to being the sight it was before.

She let out a shaky sigh and sniffled. She heard Kate and Javi talking as she started to walk away from the car and into the destruction site, trying to stay as calm and collected as she could. Looking around to see if anyone needed help, she noticed some of Tyler's crew, specifically Dani, Dexter and Lilly, having a stand set up and were giving out something she couldn't quite make out from where she was standing.

She looked the other way and saw Boone and Tyler looking through the wreckage, searching for something. Deciding to approach them, she walked towards them. The two must've heard her coming because they turned around and saw her approaching them. Boone spoke up first, “(Your Name)! There you are. Been wondering about you.” (Your Name) chuckled. “Nice you didn't forget about me, Boone.”

Tyler approached her, too. He noticed her slightly panicked state. He went to ask, but Boone was faster, “You alright there? You look a little pale.”

(Your Name) shook her head. “Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a run-in with one of the twin twisters before coming here.” She replied.

Concerned, Tyler spoke up, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I'm fine. Thank you.” (Your Name) replied to Tyler with a close mouthed smile. ‘Definitely not.’ She thought to herself. She shook her head before asking, “What are you two doing?”

Tyler, still concerned but deciding to answer, “Someone lost their dog in the chaos.”

(Your Name) frowned a bit. “Oh.” She looked around before looking back at Tyler, “May I… help you look?” She asked shyly.

Tyler smiled gently. “Of course you can. The more help, the better.”

(Your Name) nodded and started to look through the wreckage with Tyler and Boone searching for the missing dog. She carefully treaded through the wreckage as she whistled, hoping the dog could hear it.

As she continued to search with Tyler and Boone, she saw Kate approach them. She hears her and Tyler talking and decides to resume searching. However, she heard the dormant tension beginning to rise in the conversation and decided to listen in. She heard Tyler comment on StormPAR again about their ways of helping. She turned behind herself to see Javi and Scott talking to some guy in a suit.

‘Is that the Riggs guy Kate mentioned? Why are Scott and Javi talking to him?’ She thought to herself.

She got up and slowly approached Kate and Tyler. As she did, she heard the conversation more.

“Didn't know StormPAR was in the business of helping.” Tyler said, his tone rising seemingly by the second.

Kate made a face and snapped her head towards him. “Excuse me, from what I can see, they're trying to make a difference.” She argued on behalf of Javi, not to the other two men.

“That's one way of putting it.” Tyler retorted bluntly, making Kate confused. “Do you even know what you're chasing for? How much more do these people got to lose,” his tone was more angry now than before, “Before y’all are done making a difference?”

“Says the guy setting up shop, selling T-shirts and mugs after a storm hits!” Kate exclaimed.

‘So that's what they were selling over there? Why are they doing that?’ (Your Name) wondered. But remembering what Tyler told her last night, maybe it was a good cause.

But sensing the tension getting higher between her friend and the cowboy, she stepped in, “Whoa! Hey, hey, hey. Let's not get at each other's throats.” She said, trying her best to diffuse the situation. “This argument isn't important,” she looked around at their surroundings, “Helping these people is what matters right now.”

Saying that managed to bring the tension down significantly, but there was still some in the air.

Luckily, Ben strolled in with a smile and asked with a pen and notebook in his hands, “Tyler! You have a minute for some questions?”

He was blissfully unaware of the air of tension between Kate and Tyler and (Your Name) trying to make sure the two don't rip each other's heads off.

The cowboy looked at Tyler and responded. “I got a dog to find. Talk to Kate.” His words drifted as he walked away, seemingly still upset, “She seems to have all the answers, apparently.”

(Your Name) watched Tyler leave. She couldn't help but feel bad for Tyler. He seemed genuinely upset by Kate's accusations. Not in the sense of being caught but because of misunderstanding.

She saw Kate walk away and heard Ben speak, “Well… how about you, (Your Name)? Can you answer some questions?”

The (Hair Color) haired girl turned her attention to Ben. She let out a sigh. “Sorry, Ben. Not right now. But, I'll answer any questions you have later.” She gave the reporter a smile before walking away, going after Kate.

She found Kate by the truck, seemingly upset about the fight with Tyler. She spoke up, “Hey. You okay?” She asked gently.

Kate looked up and saw (Your Name) standing right next to her, a concerned look on her face. She sighed. “Yeah. Just pissed off. How could Tyler do this when people are suffering right now?”

“Maybe, this is a misunderstanding.” (Your Name) said.

Kate only sighed. “Highly doubt that.”

With a sigh, (Your Name) got closer to Kate and wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulder in comfort. Kate didn't respond but didn't push her friend off.

“Kate! (Your Name), hey!”

A voice that (Your Name) recognized rang out. She looked up and saw Lilly running up to them, holding something. “Hey, Lilly. What's up?”

Lilly handed the girls some water bottles and a small box of snacks. “Here, take some food.”

(Your Name) was touched by the offer, however, “Aww. I'm sorry, Lilly. I don't have money on me. Nor does Kate.”

“Nah, it's free. That's why we're always selling those T-shirts.” Lilly explained.

The explanation made (Your Name) pause. ‘That's why they sell the merch?’ She thought to herself. ‘That's… very… thoughtful.’

Meanwhile, Kate felt like the biggest jerk. She looked down in silence, feeling a wave of shame wash over her.

(Your Name) spoke up again, after getting over the initial shock, “In that case, save it. In case you run low.” She gave Lilly a small smile.

“I see why Tyler likes you so much, girlie.” Lilly smirked teasingly, before adding, tone no longer teasing, “Well, at least take some water. I'd rather you two have that than nothing.”

(Your Name) grabbed the two water bottles from Lilly, thanking her. Lilly smiled and walked back over the rest of Tyler's crew, who were still by their makeshift stand. The (Hair Color) haired girl turned to Kate and frowned, seeing her friend looking down in shame. She handed Kate one of the water bottles, silently telling her to take one.

Kate looked up and saw her friend offering her a water bottle. She took it tentatively, “Thanks,” She muttered.

(Your Name) hummed and looked out to the disaster site again. She spotted Javi and Scott still talking to that Riggs guy. She tilted her head to the side, a curious and incredulous look on her face.

[earthscaled]

An excerpt from my fic: A Navigator's Star.

Jetfire | Skyfire & Original human character

You can find the full fic on ao3 here

Now the human stands alone in his cockpit. Mainly sized for a minibot to comfortably inhabit, they have more than enough room. Standing feet firmly planted in the center of the room they look out through the glass and point a sure finger into the storm.

“to the left there, where the two hurricanes twist around in a spiral. It's not exactly visible from this angle but there's a point where an opening big enough to slip through will form at regular intervals. Do you see it?”

For a moment Jetfire isn't sure what they're talking about, the wind coming from all sides throwing any senses he has into disarray. But then. There! He spots it, where the pillar of wind first looked like a muddled mess he can now see where it seems to split and weave on itself. Like a strand of organic dna. He zooms in on where the human indicated, sure enough. There's a spot where the twin pillars seem to twirl further apart then elsewhere.

He flicks a light on in its direction to indicate he's seen it. The human nods, a small smile on their lips. “Good, now get in position, keep your speed low and wait for my count. On go you gun it”.

“3”

Jetfire pushes forward to the tornados, engines mostly off to keep an even glide.

“2”

He braces himself, systems humming in tune with the howling wind.

“1”

He activates his atmospheric engines, pushing them to their full strength. He can feel Avila gripping the pilot’s chair bracing themselves.

“GO!”

And Jetfire dives.

—------

In all his time flying this might be one of the more dangerously reckless things Jetfire has ever done, icey trips non withstanding. Generally he considers himself to be a reasonably cautious mech, though his curious nature can admittedly get the better of him. He prefers not to take unnecessary risks when he can. That said it often vanishes when helping others. Like say, navigating a tornado storm from the pit.

The twin forces on either side threaten to sweep him away, but just as the human said it would, the brief gap created affords him enough space. Clearing it just as it closes behind him. Random debris picked up by the winds ping harmlessly of his thick shielding, he pays it no mind.

Past the wall of wind the great whirling columns continue, forming a corridor around him. As he weaves, dives and rises the human calls out one snap direction after the other. Finding safe gaps he didn't even think of. Everytime an obstalance appears they find a way around it. Sometimes it feels like they know how the wind moves without even having to see it.

Shots start to join the other obstacles he's dodging. Jetfire is honestly a little surprised it took the decepticons this long to notice them. Then again the chaos around them seemed to keep them more than a little occupied. Whatever is causing this phenomena is scrambling any energon signal detection as well.

Jetfire is getting sense that the decepticons have been just as caught by surprise as the autobots. From what little he got to scan in between frantic tornado dodging, the ground below is littered with stray equipment and what he swears is a large mounted laser used for mining. Were they trying to break the artifact open?

Luckily for him there's no way the seekers are flying in this, if a shuttle is in danger of being blown away a jet stands no chance.

A moment of reprieve is granted when the twister he just dove by decides to do an abrupt turn. Heading in the direction of the gathered cons, sending every mech running to get out of the way and ceasing any firing.

The human gives a whoop of celebration from his cockpit. There's a wide grin stretched across their face as they return to their previous spot in the center.

“Brilliantly executed! You're a great flier Jetfire!”

His spark warms unbidden at the compliment, and a sudden sense of bashfulness makes him search for any distractions. Flying is just what's expected of him, people rarely pay much attention to it. Competency is just a given, right?

“It's nothing really, I'm just following your directions”. For some reason that seems to disquiet the human. They drift into a pensive silence.

A stray shot forces him to sharply bank to the side, a spike of worry shoots through him as he realizes the human had been standing without anything to hold onto to keep them from being thrown off their feet. Yet a quick frantic check of his internal cameras confirm they impossibly kept their balance somehow. For every turn he does it is like they are anticipating the movement and leaning into them, shifting their minute weight to catch the momentum of the forces upon them.

Unfortunately as Jetfire sails past the last column of wind he senses something rapidly approaching from his other side. One of the decepticons must have finally managed to get the laser working. The shot is too close for him to dodge in time without sending himself and subsequently everyone on board spiraling into the physics defying tornados.

He has no choice but to pull his plating tight and hope nothing vital gets hit. He readies himself for the incoming pain and allows for a moment to switch his full attention to his inward sensors rather than outward.

Something searing makes contact with his fuselage and then… dissipates?

Startled he flicks numerous outside cameras and sensors around, just in time to catch the beam as it sails off in a different direction, exploding a rock tossed by a nearby tornado.

Wh- how?! It was a direct hit! There's no way it had just glanced by him! It's as if the moment the plasma made contact with his plating instead of punching through it had bounced straight off in another direction.

Reflected.

“Are you okay there? Jetfire?” A soft hand on his inner hull snaps him out of his spiraling processor. The human has a proper frown of concern on their face since the first time he ever saw them. They are looking straight into one of his interior cameras.

…How did they know where to look without being told?

For a nano-klik he could swear he caught a feeling of something tense and strained from them. Seperate from their weak em field.

Then their expression lifts and they step away from the wall, a spot of warmth lingers from where their hand had been.

His speakers crackle as he attempts to process what to even answer in this situation.

“I- yeah, i'm alright, the shot must have just missed me, thank you for the concern, but there's no need to worry”. The autobots in his hold never caught what was supposed to have happened. Jetfire sees no need to worry anyone else.

[echoingbirdsofprey]

Lightning On My Lips (Every Time You Kiss Me)

15 - Don't Wanna Wind Up Missin' You

Pairing: Tyler Owens x OFC Georgia Tennley

Rating: Explicit (MDNI!)

Warnings: mentions of pregnancy and heavy emotions for both Ty and Gee

A/N: The puppies!!!!!

Playlist

The hum of the diesel engine was a welcome sound as Tyler, Georgia, and Boone drove toward his home in Arkansas. He was going to drop Boone off in Little Rock where, with the paycheck Tyler provided him for the season, the ex-rodeo-clown was going to buy himself a truck. That truck was going to get turned into something similar to Tyler’s for next season so over the off-season they had a lot of work to do. 

And Tyler had a conversation he had to have with Georgia. He waited until he knew Boone was fast asleep. Luckily, and unluckily, Boone was the heaviest sleeper Tyler had ever met. On the seat next to him, were the three puppies, Grits, Waffles, and Pancake, all curled together, soaking in the warmth from Boone's sleeping form. Tyler reached over the center console for Georgia’s hand.

“Hey.” He said softly, gaining her attention. She took his hand and squeezed, smiling wide. He brought her hand up to his lips, softly brushing over the back. His tone was low so as not to wake the puppies more so than Boone. “I'm gonna talk to your momma about the house.”

“Okay.” Georgia said flatly and Tyler raised a brow.

“Just okay?” He asked and Georgia’s stare turned hard.

“I just don't want to piss Emmaleigh off anymore than she already is...” She said and he intertwined his fingers in between hers and squeezed reassuringly. 

“You don't worry about that. I'll go to war, figuratively of course, to get what I need to provide for you and my...sorry...our kid.” He murmured and Georgia felt tears well for a second. 

“I just don't wanna lose her too...” She said and Tyler understood what she meant.

“If your sister doesn't want to be involved with you because you took the house off her hands that she didn't want in the first place so that she could get exactly what she wants...she's not gonna be supportive of anything else that you and I do. How do you think she's gonna react to you bein’ pregnant? Especially since it's my kid? You know she hates me anyway. So make it be all my fault. I'm okay with that.” Tyler explained and Georgia stayed quiet for a few moments while she digested his thoughts. He made a good point. Emmaleigh never liked Tyler, so she certainly wouldn't be happy to hear that he was having a kid with her sister, let alone anything to do with the house. And he was right about the house. Eleanor, their mother was constantly texting Georgia saying, ‘guess what your sister is complaining about today’ and rattling off issues about the house. She was definitely getting tired of it, and she wished her mother were still in state. 

“Y’know, Ty, every time you’re around, nothin’ can be normal. I mean...in a little over two weeks, we got back together, I’m probably pregnant, you just bought three puppies, Boone is basically living with us at the moment, we’re driving to fuckin’ Arkansas, after we just survived a giant fuckin’ tornado, and fixed your truck in less than a day and...jesus...” Georgia rattled off everything that had happened and Tyler just chuckled. He could tell she wasn't complaining because she had a huge grin on her face as she said everything and she laughed at the end of the list.

“No, no, no, not ‘normal’. The word you’re lookin’ for is ‘boring’. Boring is not a problem for me. Ever. And...” Tyler’s smirk was wide as Georgia interrupted him. 

“Oh and you asked me to marry you too. That was the most unexpected part of all of this. Like, the tornado wasn’t even that wild.” She said with a smile.

“I did that, yes...wait, did you think I was just gonna getcha pregnant and not put a ring on your finger? You should know by now I ain’t that kinda guy, Gee.” Tyler mused as he kissed her hand again, this time taking his eyes off the road fully and looking at her through lascivious sage orbs.

“No, I just wasn’t expecting you to ask so soon, I guess.” She shrank in her seat a little under his gaze, feeling like she needed to hide from the intensity of his stare, but not out of fear. It was out of arousal. She felt a fire stoked low in her belly and that was a first for her. Sure, she’d been horny before, but this felt different, Something she couldn’t quite describe. He grinned, seeing her squeeze her thighs together, and the road drew his gaze where it should be.

“So soon? C’mon, we’ve known each other for so long.” He said and Georgia straightened up, leaning closer to him over the center console. Her eyes flicked to the back seat, noticing one of the puppies shifting position to get more comfortable. Boone was still very much down for the count.

“Tyler we really haven’t.” She said, tilting her head, her gaze piercing, but he was largely unfazed. 

“Look, Gee, what we had before, it all just felt right and now we’re back together and it just feels like that again. At least to me, it does.” His voice became unsteady. His breath quickened, panic filling his chest. She thought for a moment and then responded.

“This doesn’t feel like that to me, Tyler.” She said and he glanced over, a solemn expression, before she spoke again. “This is so much better.”

Tyler smiled and his expression softened. He wanted to stop the truck and jump over the center console and make out with her, but they weren’t too far from Little Rock, where they’d be dropping Boone off so he had to reel in his feelings for a little while longer. 

🌪️ ⛈️ 🌪️

When they arrived in Little Rock, Tyler had to shake Boone and let the puppies crawl on him to get him to wake up. He awoke to puppy kisses and Tyler yelling, “Boone getchur ass outta my truck!” Boone yawned and stretched, then hopped out of the truck. Tyler helped the puppies down so that they could go to the bathroom before they headed back out on the road. They’d stopped at a gas station with a restaurant so Georgia headed to the bathroom as well. She hugged Boone before she did that and let him and Tyler say their goodbyes as well. Their plan was to have Boone meet them back in Stillwater at Georgia’s house. They had to be there in about a week to take care of her horses while her sister headed out to a horse show. 

When Georgia exited the bathroom, she took a quick stroll through the gas station shelves and noticed a couple of pregnancy tests. She thought about grabbing one, but she decided not to. She wanted to know of course, but she also didn’t want to know at the same time. She knew Tyler wanted this to happen more than anything, but Georgia was still feeling like she was in limbo. It felt like she was waiting for something to happen to give her a greater purpose. She felt empty since leaving the rodeo circuit and while the thrill of chasing a tornado down a back road was exciting, it just hadn't hit the spot like rodeo had. Then again, she had an empty feeling inside her chest since she left Tyler, so maybe it wasn’t even the rodeo. Maybe it was Tyler. It didn’t matter what that greater purpose was though, as long as she was with Tyler while trying to achieve it.

Once they were all settled back in the truck, Georgia felt sleepy. She didn’t understand why, as soon as she got in his truck, she could just fall asleep so easily. Maybe it was how comfortable the bucket leather seats were, or maybe it was the smell of his cologne that always lingered faintly in the cab, or maybe it was the low rumble of the Cummins diesel as he drove. Maybe it was the way he drove, so steady and calm, but only when he wasn’t chasing a tornado. Whatever the reason, Tyler noticed and he reached over to place a hand on her thighs and rub for a few moments before speaking. 

“Hey, there's one more stop I wanna make before we get to my parents' house, if that's okay?” His voice was low and quiet and Georgia nodded, then drifted off to a dreamless sleep once again. She awoke easily when she felt the truck roll to a stop. She opened her eyes and gazed out over a beautiful view of the setting sun. Tyler had stepped out and come around to her side and opened the door. “C'mon, wanna show you somethin’.”

Georgia took his hand and he helped her out of the truck. He kept a hold of her hand and led her a few minutes of a walk to a spot overlooking a river and a wide expanse of trees. He'd locked the truck with the still sleeping pups inside.

“Over to the west is where my parents live, to the east a ways is where Jake and I used to go muddin’ and do other stupid shit with our trucks as teenagers, and then right about through the middle here leads directly to the center of my hometown. We're standing on Dardanelle Rock right now and there's an old Native American story about a Cherokee by the name of Dardanelle, who waited for his lover, a Choctaw woman named Leonietta. They were gonna meet and run away together but when she didn't show after he waited for days, he figured she wasn't comin’ so instead of live another day without her, he jumped to his death. So the rock was named after him.” Tyler explained and Georgia’s brows furrowed as he took her hands in his.

‘That's sad.” She said and he nodded, as he gazed down into her pretty blue eyes. "It's always been a spot for lovers to meet though." She held his stare as he took her waist in one hand and one of her hands in his other. She placed her other hand on his bicep and he pulled her close. He paused for a moment, reaching for his phone. He pressed play and put it in his back pocket, turning the volume up just enough so they could hear the beginning guitar chords to “Wind Up Missin’ You” by Tucker Wetmore. Tyler took the lead and guided her into a steady rhythm as the words flowed through his phone speaker and over the soft rustle of the leaves that were just beginning to get some color other than green.

I know I might look like another ballcap on a barstool underneath a PBR light, saying everything under the moon to get you in my arms tonight. 

Georgia’s eyes locked on Tyler's, and she tilted her head with an easy smile as she allowed him to set the pace. This was one of her favorite things about Tyler. Sometimes, when he didn't feel like using his words, he would just pull her into his arms and dance, always taking the initiative. 

You probably heard it all a thousand times but it ain't what it looks like. Girl let me tell you what it looks like. 

Tyler never had a problem articulating what he was feeling, except in the case of Georgia. The words would get stuck in his throat and he couldn't bring himself to say exactly what he was feeling because it would turn into a five minute monologue. He could pour his heart out for her and it still never felt like he could express exactly how much he loved her.

And you look like waves on a sunset, and you can crash on me all night, and you look like wine on a truck bed, and a little what I'm doin’ for the rest of my life.

He could bare his soul and that still wouldn't express his feelings in those moments, when he felt so much love pass between them. He placed her hand across his heart, his much larger one covering hers, and touched his forehead to hers as he continued swaying back and forth, letting the song say everything for him. 

You look like I'm done lookin’, but girl the hard truth is, if this night don't turn into two, you look like I'm gonna wind up missin’ you.

In those moments, Georgia knew to listen, to let the words and the music soak in. To let it wash over her and try to absorb what Tyler was trying to show her.

I've gotta tell you baby, I've been the kinda boy your daddy never wanted you to go and fall in love with. The kind of boys you're probably done with their dumb shit, yeah.

Georgia felt tears sting her eyes at the thought of her father, and how Tyler would never get to meet him. Sure, maybe Tyler was a bit of a bad boy, but Georgia felt like that line might be wrong. Tyler was exactly the type of man her father would've wanted her to be with.

I bet you've heard the stories, can't say I'm proud of that, but I've turned the page on the old me and now I ain't lookin’ back cause

Tyler noticed a tear roll down her cheek and he reached up to wipe it away before stopping their little dance. He leaned down and kissed her as the chorus flowed to their ears again. 

You look like waves on a sunset and you can crash on me all night, and you look like wine on a truck bed, and little what I'm doin’ for the rest of my life. 

When they parted, the sage green of Tyler's eyes had softened to catch her brilliant blue in the fading sunlight. She placed her head against his chest and listened to his heart beat, and he sang along softly. Another thing she loved about him was when he sang to her, because he thought he was a bad singer when he actually wasn't.

You look like I'm done lookin’ but girl the hard truth is, is this night don't turn into two, you look like I'm gonna wind up missin’ you.

She felt the words rumble in his chest as he spoke, one of the most comforting feelings in the world that she'd never get enough of. 

“I know nothin’ is guaranteed, and I know that what we've been through so far has been fuckin’ insane, but if you can make me one promise, Gee, no matter how hard things get...don't ever leave me again...’cause I don't ever wanna miss you again. I don't ever wanna be on this earth without you again. I can handle a lot, but that's the one damn thing I just can't handle. I can't ever miss you again.” Tyler explained and Georgia heard unsteadiness in his voice. She heard the cracking of his composure. She heard the brave and unshakeable Tyler Owens, rattled to his core with the thought of her ever leaving again and that was when it really hit Georgia what she had done. Of course he had forgiven her because that's the kind of man he was, but in that moment Georgia vowed she would do whatever she could to love Tyler and never leave him, ever again. She'd built a fear in him and it was her job, no one else's, to rebuild trust. Like a naughty colt who'd had a difficult go of things, Georgia still had to convince him that everything would be okay. 

“I don't ever wanna miss you again either, Ty. I feel too empty without you...too incomplete.” She whimpered, moving to touch her lips to his. “I swear to God, Tyler Owens, I can't ever be without you again either.”

[alterrune]

Previously, on Ninjago...

-----

AtO: The Spinjitsu Whip - EPISODE 1: FIRE AND WATER RISE

----

(We arrive in a swampy marsh. When everyone tries to leave the entrance, Wu uses his staff to bar some folks back. He said that this is for me and Alter to awaken our potentials as water and fire, respectively. As such, Nya, Kai, Alter and I are the only ones who are going forward on this.)

So...wait. Garmadon is Lloyd's DAD?

Yeah. One of many reasons why we initially didn't want him on our team. Before he was the Green Ninja, he was a troublemaker.

But eventually he got older. Well, actually, he was forced to when the others got younger. Don't ask, it's a very long story.

(Suddenly, I hear rustling from the bushes.)

GUYS, LOOK OUT!

(A large, golden staff comes out of nowhere and hits Kai and Nya in the head. Luckily, me and Alter avoid it by jumping out of the way.)

Alright, wise guy. Who are you?

(A large snake appears from the bushes. He's bleached white, but has purple markings all over his body. He has a long neck and a long snake tail, and above all else, he doesn't look friendly.)

My name issss Pythor. The lasssst of the Anacondra tribe.

And I assume those guys behind you are your minions?

No. Not minionssss, you foolissssh twitssss. Leaderssss of their own tribessss.

Don't bother giving names. Take this!

(Alter tries to fire off the candy-red Alter Rune powers...but nothing comes out.)

Wait, hold on. Time out for a second.

(I try to bring out Storyteller, but it doesn't come out.)

Wait...so it wasn't just something Wu did? We don't have our powers when we're here?!

We're fucked.

(As they approach me, I suddenly seem to become hyperaware of my surroundings. I think I know what I have to do.)

NINJA-GO!

(I twirl around, and a watery Spinjitsu forms around me.)

Wait, Kyle, you did it?! How?!

I just suddenly had a moment of clarity or something, and got hyperfocused. So I tried spinning around and this happened. Alter, you try!

(Alter suddenly smirks.)

I think I got it now. NINJAAAA-GOOOO!

(Alter begins twirling himself, and a red tornado of fire appears around him. We begin sucking up all the snakes before having an idea.)

Let's see what happens when you cross fire with water!

(We combine our Spinjitsus together and a bigger one appears, with both fire and water working in unison. As we move around, every enemy in our path is knocked to the ground completely knocked out.)

Oh my goodnesssss...

(We eventually stop spinning, and appear right next to Pythor.)

Yo, sun-bleach. Your "fellow tribe leaders" are gone.

Take our advice and get outta here before we make your Anacondra tribe FULLY extinct.

You two brutessss make a very valid point. I sssshall concede for now, but know thissss. I ssssurvived being in the belly of the Great Devoureror. You cannot get rid of me that eassssily. I will be back and I will---

(We fire bursts of fire and water close to him, which he instinctively jumps away from with a yelp.)

Ditch the monolouge, please. We're on the clock here.

I will be back. That issss all you musssst keep in mind. Goodbye for now, Ninja.

(Pythor then slinks into the shadows. We grab Kai and Nya and take them back into the Destiny's Bounty.)

-----

Santa...?

Is that you...?

Oh, great. They got posioned by snake venom.

I may be able to help with that, actually. Lily, would you mind handing me my chemicals?

Sure thing, Laurence. Here you go.

(Lily provides Laurence with a breifcase with vials containing a bunch of chemicals that he has used in the past. The one that he grabs is labelled "Universal Anti-Venom".)

Uh...we won't have to inject them, will we?

No, Jay. Those snakes spray their venom, right? Well, allow me to do the same.

(Lily hands Laurence a spray bottle, carefully pours a bit of the chemical into it, and spritzes it into Kai and Nya's eyes. The green haze in their eyes fades as they begin rubbing their eyes in pain.)

...Ow! That really stung, guys. But at least we're not hallucinating anymore.

Yeah, the pain should go away on it's own, though.

(Laurence puts the chemical vial back into the briefcase.)

Laurence. Statistics show that had a 0.01 percent chance of working. How in Ninjago did you---

Because he made the chemical, Zane.

(Everyone on the CSB side jumps back in surprise, but the Njnjago side isn't phased at all. A lady robot with a metallic ponytail wearing a purple dress appears as a hologram, being projected by Zane's eyes.)

Hello, everyone. My name is P.I.X.A.L., and I am Zane's assistant. My original body was destroyed, so Zane uploaded my databanks into his mainframe.

Jeez, I thought O.R.C.A. was weird, but this is even weirder.

O.R.C.A.? Who is that?

Another robotic assistant we encountered on a previous adventure. Don't worry, it's nothing you need to be concerned about, P.I.X.A.L..

(ahem) May I talk, please?

Sorry, Sensei. My bad.

(Sensei looks at the big computer screen.)

Pythor will inevitably be back, but he will not be a problem for now. Our next assignment will allow Violet to reach her potential as the Master of Lightning. We will be heading to New Ninjago City to take care of a Nindroid problem.

I get it. Electric based enemies for electric based powers. I've got this.

Hey, Wu, before we start prepping, can we PLEASE make an adjustment to these garbs? Specifically the hood wrap. They are HOT, and we don't do the whole "hiding our identity" thing. Think we could do something like a bandana around our face instead?

I believe I can make that possible. NINJA-GO!

(Another golden Spinjitsu surrounds us, and when it finishes, our headwraps are replaced with some slick-looking bandanas, covering only our mouths.)

Niice. This is more our style.

Hey, wait. What are these?

Golden weapons. I forged them for you. Alter, you have the Crossbow of Flames. Kyle, you have the Gauntlets of Whirlpools.

So Alter has the closest thing to a gun you guys can give us, and I have some metal gloves, huh? Yeah, we can work with these. Thanks, Lloyd!

I'm up next! Can't wait to see what I get!

-----

END OF EPISODE ONE

P.I.X.A.L. IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR ASKS

TO BE CONTINUED...

-----

[multifictionx]

Bulnoriya - OT8

Chapter One

The Crash

"No! Damnit, right now?!"

The beeping red light blinds me as the alarm blares in my ears. And I listen as the ship rumbles, watching as the gray smoke clouds erupt from the raggity old piece of garbage, through the side mirror. But that's not even the most frustrating coincidence about this whole ordeal. Because faintly through the thick smoke, I catch sight of an all to familiar ship. The big ship is hot on my trail, and just when I thought this night couldn't possibly get any worse. "Come on Y/n..your just making it harder on yourself." The old man's annoying voice suddenly can be heard through the intercoms. "You and I both know if i don't catch you, the Nicrim will -" He pauses as if thinking for a moment before he continues. "I'd be fucking rich if i catch you though. Ha- "

"Damn- you just love the sound of your own voice, don't you, old man? I don't give a damn about some bounty.. Do you know even who I am?"

I cut the dirty old bastard off, already having zero patience. If I didn't have to abandon my real ship for this cheap piece of shit this wouldn't be happening. "Always so sassy, ha! You will never change-- Anyway, we can do this the easy way... or the hard way.." The man's voice no longer feigning playfulness. "Fuck you old man..I'd love to stay and beat your ass but my time is precious."

I cut the intercoms off before the man could continue speaking any longer. Soon after I feel the power of the ships shots firing near my ship. Luckily they haven't hit me yet. "Shit what do I do? What do I do?! Okay--"? I take a deep breath in and out.. before proceeding to pull up navigation. Deciding I'm going to use the last bit of life this ship has to warp to the closest planet. But pulling up the navigation I'm hit with a beam making me accidentally hit the warp button before I could see what planet it was.

The old ship is hit with the most ruthless turbulence upon entry of this planet. And I wonder how it still miraculously has stayed in one piece. The planet rumbles with the sound of a horrible storm, and as I look out the front window. Im horrified to see a storm of total chaos... one like I've never seen before... the ship moves sporadically, and I feel as though I've been caught in a tornado of some sort. And it takes one particularly harsh jerk of the ship for me to hit my head so hard on the side of the chair, losing unconsciousness.

...

"Arggh" the abrupt sound of some very loud thunder stirs me awake. And as I try to open my eyes, a pounding unparalleled to any I've experienced forces a wince out of me. It feels like every nerve in my body has been set a flame. The smoke in my lungs barely leaves room for air. Wheezing is all I can manage, and even then, it hurts like hell. The way the ship crashed has my seat sideways, so unbuckling my seat belt makes me drop like dead weight.

"Fuck.."

I curse upon impact with the hard ship, and I'm hoping the cracks I heard weren't my ribs, but the pain is screaming otherwise. Regardless of the tremendous struggle and pain It took me, just to make it to the ships door. I pulled through and made it out of the ship.

"Holy shit..."

It's barely lit outside with the sun setting. The rain doesn't help me to see in the slightest, and it's quite heavy on this planet. It practically feels like the metaphor 'raining cats and dogs' is an understatement. When my eyes adjust from the rain and dullness, I'm alarmed to find..the remains of multiple ships..like some kind of ship graveyard.

Some planets have a serious reputation, but there's only one planet I know this many ships have traversed to, only to never be seen again. That planet is Bulnoriya...

 

Before the Crash

Seriously how the fuck did they find me?! The big armored men ravage my ship in rage. As I watch from slightly afar, my anger grows, watching them tear my baby apart. They are clearly bat shit crazy if they think they're going to walk away from this alive..

Scoping the area, I smirk, when I spot the old piece of junk there riding in. Occupied by their, apparently lousy driver, sleep in his chair. I creep over sneaking on the ship so gracefully I had to chuckle quietly. Preceeding to strike the already unconscious man in a pressure point that will keep him unconscious. Then, I decided not to kill him by keeping him hostage just to let him out in space to suffer a horrific death. But to instead drag him out the ship and tie him up somewhere for at least one of his buddies to find him. After I beat their asses to a pulp. Once I've successfully secured my escape, I made my way back towards the bastards destroying my ship. "Where is she!" The Reptilian man hisses out in rage. "I'm not sure. Who you looking for?" I interrupted with an unamused tone while occupying myself with my cuticles. "Wha-" before the big buffoon could speak, I lunged at him, punching him clean in the throat. He starts choking, and his members start noticing me as well. "That's her! Get that bitch!" Another Reptilian hisses out, and you see one thing about me.. I don't like being called a bitch. "Ya momma," I glared at the ugly ass before throwing a hand knife so fast he had no time to react. The knife sits right in his voice box now. "Aww, look at you.." I cup a hand around my ear, pretending to try and listen. "what was that? Sorry I can't hear you over the gurgling." I coo out sarcastically as the last member looks at me terrified. I buck at him suddenly. "Ah, sorry!" He is running away back their ship like a bitch. I cackle loudly before grabbing my handknife out of his members' throat. Quickly making work of the other member, stabbing him right in the skull, before chasing after him. "Where do you think you're going! The fun was just getting started!" I snicker out, right on his tail. Before he could get too far, my knife pierced his right shoulder as I jumped on his back. Successfully pinning the Reptilian to the ground as he cries out in pain. I lift his head to whisper in his ear, "Should've left my ship alone... you're lucky I'm going to leave you alive. Now, don't follow me. Your ship is mine now." I drop his head hard, getting up off his back. To then take my time walking towards the ship. I start the ship without a hassle before taking off because obviously I can't hide out here anymore.

Present

I'm starting to think that possibly I am meant to die because of all places.. Bulnoriya?! My mind is going haywire, and I start to feel myself begin to panic for the first time in forever. I hold my ribs in pain as I slowly walk away from the ship reluctantly, out of fear it might explode anytime now. The smoke is still leaving my lungs as I cough up smoke. Groaning at the immense pain, it causes to shoot through my body. Ignoring the pain as much as possible, I proceed to search my surroundings for anything to take shelter in. I spot the beginning of a forest near by, the trees are the biggest I've ever seen. And even though I'm terrified to be on this planet right now.. it's breathtakingly beautiful. I slowly drag my feet in the direction of said forest. In hopes that maybe I can find somewhere safe to rest. I continuously cough up smoke as I walk. The pain of walking along with coughing is almost unbearable, but I keep telling myself I've been through worse. But those words prove to be inaccurate because I'm so close to the forest. Yet I feel my body rapidly weakening, and my eyelids grow heavy. Then the dragging becomes staggering, and I feel my breaths becoming shallow. Then everything goes dark..

...

I awake to the feeling of motion, and my head is still pounding. Though, when I go to reach for my head. I find myself not able to move. My eyes shoot open as I struggle against the bonds. In my panic, I observe where I am. I'm being dragged on a giant leaf of some sort, by 6 foot tall..humans? "Mmph" fuck even my mouth is taped.. My sudden noise gets the attention of all three of the men. But they only look at me for a split second, continuing to drag me. What the hell have I gotten myself into?! My heart starts to race uncontrollably beginning to pass out again.

...

Waking up for the third time in such a short period of time. Proves to have taken a toll on my body. Here I am, my mind awake before my body. I can hear everything but no matter how hard I try I can't move. The sound of someone shuffling around by me is all I hear. Then I can feel hands start to touch me, but I have no clue what they're doing. Literally not even a few moments pass when I jolt awake. Only to instantly regret it with a cry of pain. "Fuck!.." I curse out whilst frantically inspecting my surroundings. "Hey! Lay back! You'll mess up the bandage I just did!" The unfamiliar man raises his voice in clear annoyance. "I don't have much of a choice do I?" I snap back with a glare, proceeding to do as the man says with an attitude. "Who are you? Where the hell am I?" I don't really ask it's more like I demand answers. "I'm not obligated to tell you that ma'am. Just sit back and relax while the serum heals your wound." The man grunts out, occupied by some other task. "The hell do you mean 'not obligated'? The last thing I remember I was being dragged by 6 foot giants and I can't even atleast know where I've been taken?" I argue desperately to get some kind of answer. Speaking of giants.. why are all these motherfuckers so tall?  I start to think to myself after noticing the height of the man infront of me. "You heard me. Now relax I'll be back in a while." The man states simply before leaving the room. I curse in anger at the man as he leaves. Now what the fuck am I supposed to do..?  Now that I actually stop and look where I am. I notice this place looks expensive.. Like royalty expensive. There is gold everywhere, lining the walls, paintings, flower vases, even the tools on this man's surgical table are made of gold. Holy shit.. This place is nice. I can't help but think to myself. But before I can continue to gawk at the place. I'm screaming in agony. The pain from my ribs suddenly grows unbearable. The man from earlier comes rushing back in and puts something in my month to clench down on. "Calm down. You'll feel so much better in just a moment. The serum is fixing your ribs." I can't help the tears that flow down my cheeks. Along with the strong grasp I've got on the mans forearm, as I sob in pain. "Shush.. shush.." The man gently brushes my hair, trying his best to calm me down.  And I look at him through wet lashes and blurry vision before.. it's gone. The pain is completely gone. Loosening my grip, I shut my eyes in relief, and my labored breathing starts to slowly stabilize. "How are you feeling now?" The man asks sweetly whilst removing the thing from my mouth. "So much better.." I stretch my jaw as I speak, gazing at the man with gratitude. "Good because the kings demand your presence. You are to explain to them why you've landed on our planet. If you lie, they will know if they don't like your answer.. well, both outcomes lead to death." The man's sweet tone is gone replaced with professionalism. My eyes widen, and I have so many questions just at the tip of my tongue. Yet they go left unsaid, as two guards make their way inside. They don't speak as they each take an arm, practically dragging me away. I don't panic in the slightest, as I really could care less what happens to me at this point. I let them drag me through, seemingly never-ending halls. Till we arrive in front of a set of grand doors. The guards give a knock, and the doors slowly open on their own. The room is huge, with a carpet leading to eight throwns. I start to panic now, not giving a fuck is not working anymore. The guards drop me, forcing me to bow before their kings.

"You may leave." I hear a voice speak before, but I don't raise my head to see who. Hearing their steps dissipate is agonizing, and I feel my pulse spike once I hear the giant doors close. "Who are you? Why have you come here?" A deep voice is heard after a brief silence. "Y/n-Raise your head when spoken to!" The same deep voice cuts me off, and I wince at the booming volume. Slowly, I raise my head only to gasp quietly. The men before me are... beautiful yet look so fierce. "My name is Y/n, and I didn't land here by choice. I crash-landed here by mistake." I state simply feeling no need to further my explanation. My tone is emotionless. "What were you running from to crash land here by mistake?" A different voice speaks up. "The Nicrim." Another simple reply. "What do the Nicrim want a simple girl for?" I ponder briefly on how I should explain that I am no simple girl. "Because I was once the Commander and Cheif of their army. They want me back to do their dirty work." I tilt my head with the slightest bit of attitude. "Commander and Cheif? A little girl like you. Mm, how interesting." My face scrunched in distaste. "This girl may be little, but I could take out your whole army." I spit back as I stand to my feet, no longer in a pliant mood. "I truly doubt that, but you've got grit though I'll give that." The man in the middle says with lifted eyebrows, amusement clear in his timbre. "It doesn't matter if you doubt me. My reputation proceeds me." I challenge already bored with this whole interaction. "And our reputation proceeds us. What makes you think you're any different?" They are pretty much laughing in my face at this point. My aggravation is reaching a boiling point. "How about let's make a deal then.." I start to smile menacingly, with the plan in mind. "We're listening." It's seems to me I'm amusing them too much. It's really pissing me off. "Ten of your best warriors vs me, if I get them to the floor, I win, you give me a ship, and I leave. If they can get me to the floor they win, and you choose my fate." My eyebrows raise in question as they ponder upon the choices I've laid on the table.

"Deal," the man in the middle finally says a devilish smirk gracing his features. Silence falls upon us, and I become confused.

"Are you going to call-," I don't get to finish before the grand doors are opened once more. The men enter forming a wide circle, ten in total. How tf? They didn't even say anything.. "Well, are you going to do anything? You've been staring off into space for like five minutes already." There they go laughing at me again. My anger has peaked, and I don't reply. Advancing towards the circle. They look just as fierce as their kings. "Well, let's put on a real show, shall we." I chuckle at the men. I assume they take that as me saying I'm ready. Because two men charge me at once. The one on the right is closer, so I wait for him to get just a little closer. As soon as that moment comes, I drop like dead weight. Sliding through the mans open legs, I manage to swipe his feet from under him. The other man is hot on his trail, my eyes turn gold, and I use my power of vibration to launch myself in the air. Going right through the mans arms to which he tries to grab me in his surprised state. Wrapping my legs around the man's neck, I forcefully fall back with all my power. Flipping the man whilst landing on my feet, the man's head between my legs. By this time, three others pounce at me. I maneuver to the side last minute. Using my sound vibrations I fly around them, taking them both out as I dropped landing on their heads.  Sending them tumbling to the ground, now standing on their heads. The third one tried to sneak me from behind. Didn't work out for him, though. Doing a windmill backflip my foot connects with his jaw. Making him fall back with a painful groan. Taunting the last five, with a feigned pout before I begin to cackle loudly. I'm having too much fun. "You all should probably come at me all together.. you at least won't get your asses beat too bad." Who's laughing now bitches. Using my a series of complex vibrations, I am able to form a staff. "Let's see what you've got."

...

In the end, I stand victorious. The men are either on the ground or waiting for further instruction, it seems. That is until they all get up, leaving simultaneously. "Looks like I've won." I grin as I draw near the kings. They don't seem upset, but they don't seem happy either for some unknown reason. "Seems so..though we don't intend on letting you go." The man in the middle has an unreadable expression. "What!? The fuck do you mean, we had a deal!" My attitude does a whole 360. Rage coursing through my veins. "That's was until you showed us your unique powers.. I now see why the Nicrim wants you so bad. You're their only hope of overthrowing us and taking our planet for their own. You see, the Nicrim has been trying for decades to overtake Bulnoriya. The only time they were somewhat close was under the lead of someone named The Viperous... We've heard a lot about you, Viperous." This was a setup..fuck! My eyes start to glow, and I begin to levitate, immediately making a break for the ginormous window panel. I almost made it before a harsh pull immobilized me mid-air. What the fuck? My body begins to turn up right, and I'm forced to turn around to face the kings once more. The one in the middle now stands, a purple glow now replaces his once brown eyes. And his hand is engulfed in the same purple glow. He sports the same devilish smirk from just before the fight. Oh, how I wish to smack it off his annoyingly handsome face right about now. "Where do you think you're going, little one?" He asks smugly but I don't get to say anything in return. A sharp pinch in my neck is all I feel. "You bastards.." Then my vision goes blurry as I begin to lose consciousness.

[ladala99]

One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - February 2025 - High Caves

Intro/Rules

Previous Level

Next Level

It is time to explore the High Caves!

Entrance

We are given a choice. Do we want to go into the cave, or up the spiral mountain? It's been a while since we've had something so nonlinear!

But, I can't help but notice neither of these particularly looks like a portal arch. The cave entrance, kind of? But not exactly. Weird difference to have right here.

Anyway, this is the High Caves, so let's go into the caves!

Spider Caves

The caves contain large armored spiders with big beetle pincers. Neither charging nor flaming affects these guys. Our only choice is to stealth our way through the section.

Ajax

Once we scrape our way through, we meet our first dragon of the level - Ajax! He tells us that Supercharge makes us invincible to potentially deal with the bugs. And there's a convenient Supercharge ramp right behind him!

The Caves

But first it is time to explore several treasure-filled caves past the bridge. There's even an egg chase!

The Fairies

There are several parts of the High Caves where you just can't get back. Luckily, there's a trio of fairies that wait next to the void to rescue Spyro and take him back to the top of the Supercharge ramp. How convenient!

Cedric

Cedric hangs out near the exit portal. He tells us to combine Supercharge with jumping and gliding to "really explore the High Caves!"

Doing so leads us to more treasure, and a little platform with a thief chase.

Back to the Spider Caves

We finally take Ajax's advice and Supercharge the spiders in the cave. I usually don't go this way first, so I didn't realize the spiders continue to try to chase you, so they are all lined up for an easy kill when you Supercharge back.

But there is a staircase that Supercharge can't climb. So time to run past a couple more spiders and kill the druids that block the exits, and reach. . .

The Superflame fairy! She kisses Spyro and now we can breath a hotter flame, ready to kill those spiders!

The Spiral Mountain

There's still many gems left, so our next stop is to climb the wizard-infested mountain. Those tornado wizards are unique to this level, and make the climb dangerous.

Cyrus

Up top, we rescue Cyrus! He complains about the green druids, which just ahead are moving some platforms.

And, once we're past them, we just get a little more treasure and loop back around to the caves. We reach 46% - an entire 6% more than last time! Only two eggs remain in the entire game, though we're nowhere close to the true end.

Lore Talk

I don't think the entrance we got here through is the original entrance. There's a hole in the ceiling and a portal-shaped archway at the top of the Supercharge ramp. I think that is the original entrance. Versus the area with nothing particularly portal arch-like nearby, where we actually landed.

Meta-wise, they probably decided they wanted to make you encounter the spiders before getting a way to deal with them. Or maybe it was too confusing where to go for playtesters.

In-universe, I guess the wizards fighting made it too dangerous to go any further into the level, so Spyro just landed where he could. It's probably those tornado wizards.

As far as the purpose of this land in the larger worldbuilding of Magic Crafter's, I suspect this is a treasure hoard for the dragons here. There are several caves that have nothing but treasure. Even Gnasty's magic couldn't penetrate the main cliffside area - there are no enemies there. Just dragons, and aside from a lookout at the top of the mountain, they're all in the cliffside.

I'm sticking to the wizards being Gnasty's minions for this area, but I'm iffy on the spiders. They'd make a great deterrent for any would-be thieves.

The fairies either live here normally or heard Spyro was coming and knew there was no way he'd make some of these jumps/deal with the spiders alone. I'm going to say the latter, as it would mean Spyro isn't going at this alone. Others are trying to look out for him.

Next Stop

The next portal we see is Crystal Flight, so let's take some more flying lessons!

[chickenpeep77kirbyau]

Au Kirby

I call their homeworld Popopo, after Kirby's original name, and they are known as Popopons. The world's atmosphere and gravity are just right to allow them to be able to do that floaty thing. Popopo is a moon orbiting a gas giant. Kirby's species has large air sacks like a bird does. His species has no ribs. Just thick rubbery skin and a layer of ossicles. These layers expand to accommodate the expanding air sacks. They have four openings near the back end that can expel the held air to jet around. They aren't the most graceful fliers, so luckily their outer layers also act as cushioning. The lowest leg segment is entirely composed of long toes that can be stretched outwards to create a larger surface area for boosts in both thick air and water. They can make a noise similar to purring; less like a cat's and more like a chicken. A portion of their diet is 'sky plankton' and other small airborne critters that they vacuum from the dense air.

They have two wind pipes, and a voice box for both of them. This means that Kirby's species can speak in two pitches at once if they choose to. Kirby's lower jaw can separate a bit in order to have a wider gape for feeding on the aero plankton. The two wind pipes open higher on the throat than ours. Each has an extra mobile epiglottis fringed with a mesh of hairs that can cover the windpipe openings while suction feeding to prevent the small prey from entering there.

They also eat fruits and other plant matter. In the games, Kirby and friends are able to share food by kissing. I've interpreted that to mean that this is normal for his species to do this, and feed their babies the same way that penguins do.

Abilities work differently in my universe. There aren't any exactly. Popopo's magic levels are relatively high, allowing widespread use of magic. They can do many forms of magic, but individuals usually tend to gravitate towards one area of magic, determined mainly by genetics. The most common ones correspond to simpler, elemental based abilities: fire, water, stone, tornado (I'd rather call it wind), ice, esp, and spark. The more basal, average members of his species has colorations of mottled purples, mauves, browns and greys, but since they began civilization other colors like pink are appearing more.

Now I will tell you the story of how Kirby got where he was at the beginning of the anime. Kirby was a seemingly normal child at first, but his destiny was super important. (I'm undecided whether he was born into a fire or stone ability lineage.) He was kidnapped, by himself from the future. You may know this character as Galacta Knight. In the far off future, he becomes very powerful, because he's soul bonded to a higher being. Basically there is an entity from the magic dimension living in his mind layer.

The magic dimension is inhabited by the most powerful gods, that have transitioned to having magic matter bodies. They are generally more distanced from the physical plane at this point. Then one day something occurred. Someone finds a way to attack them directly. A fragment of one is torn off and pulled into the physical plane, where magic matter is too unstable to exist. This discovery was influenced by a dark god. The interlopers were destroyed by their actions (getting blown up by the transformation and escape of their lab animal), but the knowledge might be found again. Something had to be done. One of the powerful gods was sent to the mental plane to soul bond with the consciousness of a physical being. That physical being is Kirby. He gained the ability to pull in magic from the magic dimension whenever and so didn't need to find a naturally occurring rift to recharge. He is made capable of using any type of magical skill. He has technical knowledge of many things he hasn't learned himself. Kirby's purpose is to do pest control and exterminate as many powerful dark gods as he can to prevent their becoming actual threats to the higher gods. How do you slay a dark god beyond a need for a physical form? Like the dark god has done to its accumulated collective, you shred its very soul.

Abilities are not always copied by swallowing things. Things can be absorbed into him. Or he can just touch and focus on a thing to copy a skill. He seems strangely more amorphous than the typical popopon. He is able use a vast variety of abilities his people could only dream of mastering so many. But it will not be till a long time later that he discovers all that he is capable of. Anyways, Kirby is taken by an unknown party, placed in stasis and sent far away from home. He awakes from stasis at the beginning of the anime, and the rest is history. (Though my universe's Dedede isn't that mean.)

Meta Knight is a Popopon with wind based magic that was altered by NME before escaping. The alteration that gave him wings also made puffing up uncomfortable. He was made stronger. And the alterations stunted his growth so he's shorter than the average member of his species.

His sword Galaxia is a magic sword with a consciousness. The blade only manifests when they (Meta and Galaxia) want it to. Its hilt can then be kept in a small satchel. The Dimensional Cape contains the entrance to a pocket dimension where he can keep things. When wrapped around himself fully, he can hide in the pocket dimension while his cape, compressed into a smaller shape, can be directed to fly swiftly to a nearby area, letting him appear to teleport.

[suleikashideaway]

Despite some intense insomnia I had many wild dreams last night omg

One sticks out.

I was on a cruise ship (never been on one before, never intend to) with my dog (??) and kids. This was some kind of ultra fun cruise, though, because you could also take in-person college courses while you were on board (??) so naturally I did that. No idea what my dog and kids were up to while I fucked off to class. I was PISSED in the class because a bunch of young kids had also enrolled and were acting like, well, children, and making it difficult. At one point I was sitting beside some young kids and I started going off on them like "You can't even READ what are you DOING HERE" lmaoooo

Most memorable was when some sirens started going off and we look out the window of the classroom and there's a huge fucking tornado headed for the ship. Remember I have no idea where my kids are but the ship is huge and there is no way I can reasonably search for them. My dog, though, my sweet boy, finds me and we shelter together in a room that looks identical to a room in my real life house. But I'm freaking out because I can't remember the difference between sheltering for a tornado and a hurricane. I compromise and do the tornado position I remember learning in elementary school, covering my dog with my body to try to save him. Doing this in the corner of the closet that is the designated Hurricane Closet in my house, of course. Pretty much accepting death at this point and hoping my dog and kids survive it. Wild.

Luckily (yes this keeps going) it was a very near miss with the tornado so the ship just tilts on it's side while I get a quasi-inception moment in a hallway as I run to find my children.

Turns out they were with my parents and husband who were also on the cruise but we didn't know it (???). And then the tornado turned around, heading straight for us again. And we were like, hundreds of miles off course from where we were supposed to be docking in order to escape it.

All hope seemed lost and then

My alarm went off lol

[allthingsfangirl101]

Not Impressed – Tyler Owens

"Explain to me why we drove forty minutes to see a group of storm chasers?" I asked as we finally got out of the car. I instantly stretched, trying to get any relief for my back.

"Only because they are the best!" My friend, Lily, giggled.

"You mean, the hottest," I corrected, sending her a knowing look.

"Tyler Owens is GORGEOUS!" Mandy sighed dramatically.

"Yeah," I scoffed. "And will most likely die, chasing a damn weather report."

"I know how you feel about. . ."

"Don't," I cut off Jess. "You pestered me for days to come here. I'm here. That doesn't mean I have to hop on the same hopeless bandwagon and goo and gaw over these guys."

"You can at least enjoy how sexy Tyler looks," Mandy smirked.

"For the time being," I mumbled under my breath.

Luckily, I was saved by the over-the-top truck and RV pulling into the rest stop/gas station. I honestly had no idea how my friends knew that the YouTube-famous Tornado Wranglers would stop here. These guys may be good at tracking national disasters, but my friends were good at tracking people.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes as my friends started screaming and excitedly jumping up and down. I could only handle their fangirling for so long. To save myself from second-hand embarrassment, I turned on my heel and headed into the gas station.

I absent-mindedly roamed around, grabbing a few snacks and drinks. I checked out and let out a disappointed sigh when I saw my friends still shamelessly flirting with the Tornado Wranglers.

I walked over to the picnic tables and slowly ate some of the snacks. A lot more time passed. I finished the snacks, but stayed at the picnic table. I knew my friends would come and find me when they were ready to leave.

"Hiya, darling."

I looked up from my phone to see the head storm chaser smirking at me. I smiled politely at him before turning my attention back to my phone.

"I'm Tyler," he introduced himself.

"I know," I shrugged, not looking up from my phone.

"Would you like a picture?" He asked, clearly fishing. "Or a signature? Or a shirt?"

I looked up at him with no amusement on my face. "What makes you think I'm here for you?"

"Well. . . You're here and. . ."

"My friends wanted to see you," I clarified as I stood up and threw my trash away in a nearby trash can. "I, unfortunately, was dragged along."

"Unfortunately," he repeated, clearly surprised. "So you're not. . ."

"Impressed that you chase after tornadoes instead of doing something worthwhile with your life?" I taunted. "No, not at all."

* * * * *

I walked out of the motel office and sighed when I saw that tornado chaser and his friends talking in the parking lot. I quickened my step, hoping to go unnoticed.

It didn't work.

"Well, if it isn't Ms. Not Impressed."

"If it isn't Mr. Trying To Kill Himself," I shot back as I kept walking.

"Whoa," he stuttered. "That seems a bit harsh."

I was hoping he'd give up as I jogged up the stairs, but he didn't. "At least tell me your name!" He called after me.

I stopped walking and crossed my arms over my chest. "Why?"

"So I don't have to keep calling you boring nicknames," he tried to flirt. He tried to pout to get me to give in, but it didn't work. What did work was me realizing that he would probably follow me to my room if I didn't tell him.

"Y/N," I said before walking away.

"Now, was that so hard?" He asked as he chased after me.

"It was painful," I mumbled. He started walking with me and kept looking at me as he got closer.

"I'm Tyler," he reminded me.

"Congratulations," I scoffed.

"What's with you?"

I stopped walking and turned toward him. He cleared his throat as he apologized. "I'm sorry. I just. . . I'm not used to women not fawning all over me."

"Hopefully, you've learned something from it."

"Why aren't you swooning?" He asked.

"Seriously?" I scoffed. "Does it matter?"

"Actually," he said, slightly clearing his throat, "it does."

"It's simple," I sighed. "I'm not into your type."

"My type?"

"Adreneline junkies."

"I wouldn't consider myself an adrenenline junkie," he stuttered.

"Adreneline junkies only care about one thing," I scoffed. "The next big chase or jump or whatever. They don't care about the people in their lives. They would happily die chasing the next big thing, not giving a damn about the person they leave behind."

I turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait!" He yelled, chasing after me.

"No," I spun toward him, catching him by surprise. "I will not wait. You know something, Tornado Wrangler, I've been here before. I used to be in love with an adrenaline junkie just like you. And guess what? The adrenaline won. And I had to bury him."

"Oh," he said under his breath. "Y/N. . . I'm sorry. Maybe we could. . ."

"No," I cut him off. "You seem like a decent guy, but I am not getting my heart broken by another adrenaline junkie."

Part 2 Coming Soon

[alinalioness]

The Nutcracker Balan and his soldiers Chapter 4: Salvation

Alina, with toys in her backpack, wandered around the city following the footsteps of mice and her friends. The snow was falling slowly, which is good.

Dusk Butterfly: And your friends are like us, only in a different way.

Alina: Yes. They are honestly not just friends, but the best. Because when I was behaving inappropriately before. I thought adequacy was seriousness, knowledge, and calm behavior. But I also liked to have fun, but not at school or in serious places.

Tornado Wolf: It was hard to keep the anger out of it.

Alina: Yes. I didn't think that inadequacy was still a curse word and a person who wouldn't let another person be themselves. I have nothing but thoughts about being myself, or along the way, who forces me to do this. When I got there, Lance used to be mean, but that's because people mistreated him.

Air Cat: Oh my.

Aero Acrobat: But then you and the others saved him?

Alina: Yes, when I noticed it and told my friends. Before that, I and the inhabitants were turned into monsters. Because our hearts were unstable. Luckily Leo and Emma saved us. And thanks to my friends, I calmed down and continued to live as I like, don't be too serious. Although sometimes intelligence and knowledge are needed in life, they are not given to everyone.

Olivia: That's right.

Emoji: They're like real heroes.

Alina: Yes. It's just that Balan is a very positive maestro. Lance is a calm soul. Leo is a caring boy. Emma a kind girl. Jose is a polite and kind farmer. Fiona is a cheerful diver. Yuri is a calm, cute, kind girl. Haoyu is playful, but relaxed and caring. Sana is a friendly bird lover. Cass a cute and kind girl with her kitten. Cal is a polite and intelligent chess player. Iben a kind woman with her family. Attilio a funny and cheerful clown. Lucy is a talented and kind artist. Eis is a brave firefighter. And Bruce kind and calm old man. The others aren't bad either.

Sicily: You are very good friends.

Invisible Man: Caution!

Alina noticed the people and hid behind a bush. Later, Paula noticed something and got off the Backpack with a meow.

Alina: Paula? (She has marked the tracks that lead to the cemetery) The mice led them to the cemetery. Forward.

She put Paula in her backpack and headed to the cemetery. Since the cemetery was locked, she climbed over the fence. She follows the tracks of the mice that led her near a small, enclosed building.

Alina: They're there.

Quad Canon: We need to sneak in unnoticed, otherwise they will hear.

Tornado Wolf: Idea. We'll get the toys up there ourselves, since there's a window there. Alina, let's jump in there and check it out.

Alina:(Nod) Good.

She found the boxes near the building and carefully climbed in. The toys came out of the backpack and climbed to the top.

Dusk Butterfly: Here they are.

There were mice and the Mouse King inside the building. Balan the Nutcracker and his soldier friends were tied up with ribbons and under guard.

Mouse King:(The middle head) Well, tell me. (The left head) We won't kill you. (The right head) If you agree.

Balan: Say what you want, we won't say anything.

Lance: We will not let you steal the jewels.

Mouse King:(The middle head) Maybe their human friends will say something? (Leo, Emma, Max, Irina and the inhabitants shook their heads) Exactly? (They shook their heads again) Well, if you don't want the good way, (Both of you) then the bad way. Fire.

The mice lit a match and headed towards the soldiers, so that they step back.

Balan: Don't panic, we'll figure something out.

On the roof.

Frost Fairy: We have to figure something out, otherwise they will burn out.

Water Blaster: If it wasn't winter, I could put out the fire with water.

Aero Acrobat: We can use the snow to put out the fire. Emoji you carefully cut a hole with a knife.

The lioness robot turned red and carefully makes a hole with a knife.

Tornado Wolf: We won't make it.

Happy Blaster: Hey, I can distract them.

When he jumped off, the sound jar started to sound like a clown laughing. From this, the mice heard, including the king.

Mouse King:(Both) We have guests. Check it out!

Half of the mice go outside to check. Alina noticed this and decided to cover them with snow, while the Emoji made a hole on the glass, which Ink Blaster removed with her long arms. Later, the toys on the roof dropped snow on the mouse with a match and the fire on the match went out.

Mouse King:(Both) What is it? (He saw a hole in the glass) Yeah. (The middle head) But nothing, and check.

Outside.

Alina: We still need to distract them so that they can take them away.

She knocks softly on the door and the mice look at the door. The toys on the roof immediately understood and the Octopus toy got Balan and his soldiers with his hands.

Balan and his soldiers:(Whisper) Ink blaster.

Lucy:(Whisper) How did you manage?

Ink Blaster: My friends, Alina, and I followed the tracks of the mice. Alina distracted me from them.

When she put them on the roof, the Emoji used a knife to untie Balan and his soldier friends.

Balan: Thank you for your help.

Olivia: All the guys are here.

Alina: Get into my backpack and leave the cemetery before anyone notices.

The toys jumped into her backpack and the lioness girl immediately left the cemetery. Inside the building, the mouse king noticed that Balan the Nutcracker and his friends were not there.

Mouse King:(Both furious) They've escaped!

One of the mice on the street, after coming out of the snow, noticed Alina's traces.

Mouse: The girl took them!

Mouse King:(Both) Catch up immediately!

Meanwhile, with heroes.

Alina hid in the basketball court in the main street and took out her backpack to talk to the toys.

Alina: We need a plan to stop them before it's too late.

Balan: That's right. There must be some way.

Alina:(There was an idea) I have idea.

To be continued...

[steezywrites]

CROWN OF THE MORALLY GREY

Draco X Y/n Snape

Part 7:

It’s taken entirely too long to update this, my apologies. I’ve been chasing around my toddler while adjusting to having a newborn at home too! Hope you enjoy, it’s kinda short.

————————————————————————

Draco hadn't talked to her in days. He wasn't necessarily avoiding her, but he stayed silent, either emptily staring at nothing or looking pissed off.  She heard him talking to Blaise, Theo, Crabbe and Goyle,; his usual group, but he'd go silent whenever she entered the room. The other boys had begun to notice and kept asking her what was going on, but she couldn't give them an answer. Usually, if she did something that upset Draco, he was loud about it. He'd seek her out to tell her how wrong she was, sometimes even causing a scene over it. His silence towards her was something unfamiliar, and it was driving her mad.

    Y/n had been known to have an angry outburst every now and then, but these past few days it'd gotten worse. Snarky comments and venom had been spit over virtually nothing. Pansy had been too loud one morning, something that Y/n had never cared about before, and she had lashed out. Blaise had reminded her they had double potions with the gryffindors, and she had "let him know" Pansy would never fuck him. Theo had asked how she was doing, and she put a leg locker jinx on him.

     Everyone was expecting her to lash out whenever she saw Draco at that point, but she hadn't. She'd stay quiet, staring at him and hoping he would at least fucking look at her. She'd gone over the previous days and couldn't think of anything she could have done to make him so mad at her. Surely Draco didn't care that she injured Potter, but that'd been the same night he had gone silent. She wasn't able to say a word to him at the beginning of the year ceremony, Pansy had taken up all of her hearing capabilities before Dumbledore had dragged her off. They hadn't fought enough during the summer to be it, and Draco had already stated whatever issue he had with her during that time anyway. Everything about him had changed after he said goodbye to his mother but she didn't know how that would effect how he felt about her.

      Her dorm looked like a tornado had gone through. All of her books thrown about the room, her pillows flattened by her fist,  her trunk had been emptied and turned upside down. Y/n hair was a mess as well, her strands going in all kinds of directions from her hands running through it and tugging in anger. Luckily her dorm mates had taken note of her mood and had stayed away from the dorm, besides Pansy.

    "Bloody Hell, Snape. Whatd you do to our room?"

    "I didn't touch your things."

    "I appreciate that but..."

    "Just leave me alone Parkinson."

    "No thanks."

    "I wasn't asking." Y/n growled, staring at the mirror she kept on the wall beside her bed.

    "Neither was I."

    Pansy moved to sit on Y/N's bed. After sleeping in the same Dorm as Y/n for years and slowly building a something close to a friendship, she'd gotten quite used to her anger, but the look on Y/N's face was different.

    Y/n didn't normally cry when she was mad but now her eyes were red, a bit of mascara smudged beneath them. Pansy had noticed the circles under Y/N's eyes on the train, but they were darker now.

    "This is so fucking stupid. I don't even know why he's mad at me." Y/n nearly laughed, her eyes not leaving her reflection.

    "He hasn't said anything?"

    "Nothing. Normally when he's mad at me, he tells me how I fucked up, but he isn't saying shit. It's been days Pansy." Her voice was returning to something Pansy recognized, pure anger with a laugh laced in.

     "It shouldn't bother me so much. It's like I'm having fucking-"

     "Withdrawals." Pansy finished. Y/n nodded.

    "It's so fucking stupid. He's just a boy. It's just fucking Malfoy. Pathetic fucking Malfoy."

    "You know he isn't just a boy."

    "That's even more pathetic."

    They stayed quiet for a moment. Pansy wasn't sure how to help and Y/n was attempting to calm herself down but it wasn't working. She kept picturing Draco which made her hands shake. Merlin she was so angry. The amount of control Draco had over her was disgusting. She kept glancing at her Soul Ring, where she felt a steady heartbeat. The same heartbeat she'd felt for days, steady. Did he not care? There hadn't been a single time the heartbeat had spiked, if he was angry surely it would. She could I only imagine his ring had been beating rapidly since Dumbledore pulled her into his office, and Draco didn't seem to care.

    How could he be effecting her this much? Everything felt hollow until someone spoke or breathed too loud or she was left alone for too long, then she felt as if everything was so small and weak and irritating compared to her. Her anger felt violent and as if it imbued her with some kind of superiority. As destructive as it was, it was a high she hadn't felt before.  It made her feel powerful, everything besides her was fragile. Anger and Y/n were childhood friends, and it was slowly becoming a bad influence.

      She smiled as she looked in the mirror, eyes and nose red, hair a mess, a small chuckle escaping her lips.

    She punched the mirror.

    The sting in her knuckles was almost comforting, and she flexed her fingers a few times, eyes narrowing at the ring that still was beating steadily.

   Pansy sat in silence. She had flinched when Y/n punched the mirror, but wasn't entirely phased. If anyone was going to loose their shit, it didn't surprise her that it was Y/n.

     "You know, there's been a few new additions into my life recently. Questions mostly, and a lot of I don't fully understand." Y/n wiped her nose with the back of her hand, leaving a streak of blood across her face.

    "I fucking hate not knowing. But I thought, I thought I didn't have to questions anything to do with Draco." A chuckle resurfaced again.

    "I swore my life away, for him. My entire future is fucked, for him. And my father hasn't spoken to me in weeks."

    Pansy offered a hand at this point.

    "Talk to me about it."

   Y/n thought about it for a moment. Pansy should be someone safe to confess to. Pansy never hid the fact that she would be a Deatheater one day. She'd been as cruel to muggleborns in their early years as Draco had. Pansy had calmed the bullying back a bit in the past couple of years, but Y/n knew it still lurked in there. Y/n overheard her whispering about Deatheater boys and even defending them on occasion. Pansy wouldn't judge her, and could even become an allay if Y/n so wished. Despite how angry she was at him, Y/n wouldn't tell Pansy about Draco's involvement. She'd have to spin the truth a little, but Pansy would believe her wholeheartedly. Pansy seemed to see something in Y/n that some didn't, and held her on a pillar. No other girl could get away with spending so much time with Draco without Pansy hexing them like Y/n could. Pansy would even set up girls nights where all they did was giggle about was if Draco was flirting with Y/n or not. Pansy had never done anything harmful to Y/n, if anything she practically begged for them to be best friends.

Y/n looked at Pansy, searching her face and only finding that Pansy was genuine in her offer.

    "It's pretty dark, Panz."

    "I think I can handle it."

     "I have to kill Dumbledore."

     "You fucking WHAT?"

   Y/n explained as much as she could to Pansy. She'd told her that she had gotten assigned by Voldemort to kill Dumbledore, and that Voldemort had threatened that he'd have Draco killed if she failed. The beginning of which was a lie. She told her Narcissa had heard and was worried so she had made A Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa that she wouldn't fail so Draco would be safe. Another partial lie. Leaving out the part about her father being a double agent, she simply said Severus knew about the Vow and hadn't spoken to her since and that Dumbledore had somehow known about all of it.

    Pansy had stayed quiet and listened, her eyes widening sometimes. When Pansy shut up, she could be an awful good listener. Y/n had picked up her room as she talked, making note of the necklace she had previously emptied from her trunk and made sure not to touch it and only it's wrappings as she stashed it underneath everything else. When she had finished talking, Pansy breathed heavily, offered a smile and marched out of the dorm. Y/n followed, curious but ready to hex Pansy if a single word of their conversation slipped out of her mouth.

   Pansy had stormed down the stairs and into the common room where Draco was sitting in the chair he always sat, raising his head as Pansy entered and lowered it again when he saw Y/n. Pansy smacked him across the face.

     Draco's face contorted between stunned and anger. Y/n ring began to beat quickly.

    So Pansy gets a reaction, what a plague of a thought to crawl into Y/N's mind.

      "Who the fuck-"

      "Stop being a mopey, pathetic git and talk to Y/n." There was demand in Pansy's voice that Y/n hadn't heard before, especially not when addressing Draco.

      "It's none of your business, Parkinson." Draco hissed, standing.

      "Actually it is. She's my friend and in case you haven't noticed, she's been losing her mind the past few days since you haven't even looked at her. Talk to her."

    Y/n simply watched, slightly amused and increasing grateful for Pansy.

    "Or what?" Draco scoffed as he folded his arms across his chest, clearing trying to come off as intimidating. Pansy smiled at him.

    "I'll ask her to be my girlfriend."

    Draco's eyes hardened even more than they already were, glaring down at Pansy.

     "As if I care."

    "We both know perfectly well you do, Malfoy."

     Y/n had remembered all the times Draco had conveniently showed up to scare away any one who showed interest in her, once resulting in a Ravenclaw boy being sent to the hospital wing covered in boils after he had asked Y/n to the Yule Ball. Y/n would have said yes and Draco had known it. Cedric Diggory had avoided her for weeks once after they had gotten Butterbeers together. Y/n wasn't entirely sure why, but she had a theory Draco had been behind it.

    Draco looked at Y/n, something he hasn't done since they got off the Hogwarts Express. His eyes were narrow, but Y/n felt her gaze soften. In order to glare at her it meant he was looking at her.

    "You're ridiculous Parkinson. Y/n wouldn't say yes to being your girlfriend." His stare returned to Pansy who smiled.

    "You never know. After the chat we just had all alone in our dorm, I think she might."

    Draco didn't respond and instead walked over to Y/n and roughly grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the common room and into the halls.

    He stayed silent, his hand had loosened its grip to a more comfortable pressure as he dragged her through the halls. Y/n hadn't a clue as to where they were going, her eyes too locked into his figure to pay attention. His shoulders were tense, his pace faster than usual and his hair while still styled, was less sleek than usual, the ends of it curling just a bit. The ring on her finger hadn't stopped beating quickly, a feeling she wasn't used to. In the hand he held, she could feel the quick heartbeat that was radiating from the ring he wore. Knowing Draco could feel her heartbeat in this moment would have been embarrassing if she wasn't too focused on him to think.

    Draco had pulled her up the astronomy tower and let go of her hand once they had reached the room inside it. It was twilight, the moon was encompassed by a slowly deepening lavender, the lighting outside turned Draco's hair the most delicate purple she'd ever seen. His skin was nearly glowing, he looked angelic again, Her Lucifer. He sighed heavily and clenched his jaw. Y/n was trying to grasp that this wasn't a dream.

If it weren't for the past few days, this could have almost been romantic. The way the setting sun highlighted the edges of the stone walls and turned the sky shades of peach and lavender could put someone in a trance. It was so quiet, far too quiet with the only sound being the muffled voices of students who were heading to dinner.

Draco still wouldn't looked at her.

[trippingontheescalator]

So, I -- a cis woman -- work in a library in an area that occasionally gets tornados during the summer. Because our library is basically designed like a fishbowl, the only room that has zero windows is the women's restroom. That is our designated shelter-in-place area and it has a little sign and everything.

Well, one rainy summer day we hear the tornado sirens and an alert comes across our phones. We decide to go ahead and get all the patrons into the women's bathroom to shelter. Luckily, we only had three patrons because it was an icky, rainy day, otherwise I wasn't sure how we would get everyone in there.

So, I go to our patrons -- two of whom are men who were 50-60 years old, one was a woman who was about 45 -- and make the announcement. They all gather up their stuff to follow me until I told them we would be sheltering in the women's bathroom. The men flat-out refused. I was baffled. Befuddled even. I explained it was the only room in the library that didn't have windows. They still refused. I explained nobody was going to be peeing in there, we were just going to hang around until we got the all-clear. They still refused. I was then getting irritated and told them that I couldn't let them hang around in a giant glass fishbowl in the middle of a tornado while the rest of us were safe in the bathroom, that was a liability issue waiting to happen, and if they didn't join us in the bathroom then they would have to leave, thinking that would finally push them into joining us. Instead, I watched them walk out into the pouring rain, the window violently whipping the trees around us, and drive off.

These men were so terrified of entering the women's bathroom that they risked getting sucked up by a tornado, and I'm not sure if that was because they were afraid of being accused of anything or what. But me, the other patron, and my coworker Jon, all hung around inside the women's restroom watching youtube videos on his phone for about an hour.

vent post. There are two stories i was told in my teenage years that even before i had a real concept of trans issues made me uninterested in discussing the supposed sacredness and safety of separated sex-based spaces.

First, when i was like 13 or 14 my PE teacher told us about a time she went to a women's public restroom, some guy was hanging out outside the bathrooms, she didn't think anything of it, went to the bathroom, and he walked in after her and like, creeped on her over the top of the stall. She was ok, she wasn't telling us this to scare us, just telling us what to do in situations like that (and iirc she was telling the whole co-ed class this, not just girls, bc it's useful for everyone), but this taught me immediately and forever that there's nothing actually keeping these spaces separate really, that anyone can be a creep in any space, and that establishing a space like that as for women only isn't actually particularly useful for safety.

Second, when i was 16 i was at an anime convention, a friendly acquaintance of mine and i ended up in conversation outside, and he showed me his bare wrist and told me he'd been kicked out. A female friend of his had stepped in dog poop outside, and between that and the stress of the convention she'd had a bit of an emotional breakdown, so being her friend, he started comforting her and ushered her into the women's restroom so they could wash the poop off her shoe together. And because he was a man who went into the women's bathroom, he got kicked out, no matter that he was doing something that was actually beneficial to a woman. Punishing a woman's friend for supporting her was supposed to... protect her somehow? This made it clear to me that a no-exceptions rule separating the sexes like that wasn't actually inherently good for everyone.

And this isn't even getting into me as a child needing to accompany my younger sister to the restroom when we were out with just my dad because she had certain support needs past the age he felt comfortable bringing her into the men's room with him. And what if I'd been born a boy, or she'd been the first born? Who's helping her then?

And of course even putting all this aside, we should always prioritize compassion and support anyway. But i never even needed to meet a trans person to know that "keeping men out of women's bathrooms" is silly nonsense. But trans people also need to pee anyway and as humans they have that right, so leave them the fuck alone. your precious women's restroom is just a fucking room with a door, holy shit give it a fucking rest, if someone is attacking you in the bathroom that's bad and if someone is in there to pee that's good and it doesn't fucking matter what their junk is or was when they were born.

a woman could have done the exact same thing to my PE teacher and it would have also been bad no matter how "supposed" to be in the restroom she was, and no one should ever be punished for helping a crying friend wash their shoe.

Anyway i know I'm speaking to like-minded folks here, i just think about those two stories literally every time bathroom gender shit comes up and it pisses me off.

[bladeofthenighthunters]

June 18th and 19th 2025

Hello! I missed yesterdays post due to the influx of summer work that has come into our company and just being swamped all week. How was your day yesterday? I had a test drive planned for yesterday but it ended up storming really bad around 5ish and the drive was scheduled for 5:30 so I had to postpone that. We were on tornado watch for about 4 hours but luckily nothing made contact!

The weekend is almost upon us once again! It seems like the weekdays fly by, but at the same time they're the longest they've ever been for me. As for my plans for this weekend, We are going over to my brothers house to binge watch some movies! My wife wants to binge the 28 days later movies before we all go and watch the new 28 Years later movie. I think I only ever watched the second one but it was good nonetheless! It's been a while since i've seen a good zombie movie. I think the last good zombie movie (to me at least) that I watched in theaters was World War Z. Other than that, I plan on editing and playing again this weekend. My wife just posted her first youtube video a few days ago! It obviously didn't garner too much attention but she was happy with the small traction it did get :). I think the video turned out good, the quality tanked halfway through the video though and I still haven't found out why it did. Maybe just a bug with the software I'm using? I'm currently using Davinci Resolve to edit videos, which I learned is one of the harder programs to learn....and it was the first one I used to ever edit anything lol. I can run it pretty ok now, there's times where I still have to look stuff up but aside from that it's not too difficult anymore. My biggest issue when it comes to editing, is not knowing what to insert? like I don't like leaving long periods of the video with no sound effects or music or noise, so when I try to liven up that specific portion of the video, my mind just goes blank lol. I guess it's just a learning curve i'm going to need to hurdle.

I have to edit another video tonight so It can be ready by Saturday! She finally got around to playing Date Everything and she told me she had a lot of fun with it! Again, I don't *really* know how i'm going to edit it, whether that be with a lot of cut aways, funny moments etc. or if I should edit it like I did her last video; where, since it was a long play, I mostly just stuck to cutting the boring parts out and sticking to a more minimalistic style of editing. Again, i'm still figuring stuff out!

I've still be grinding Expedition 33 like no ones business! I was playing last night and ended up joining a discord call with a few of our friends, and I ended up streaming to them. All but one of our friends have played the game and only one of them has fully completed it. It was fun, but they had a bad tendency to back seat game which did annoy me a bit. but oh well, I know they didn't mean no harm. I also noted before in one of these posts where, I get easily sucked into rougelike games and a rogue like i've been getting back into is Pokerogue! It combines 2 of my favorite things, Pokemon and Roguelikes! I'm not going to go into too much detail of what it is, but its in the name! It's been so fun lately, whenever I don't have anything to do at work I boot up the game and play for a bit :). There's an event going on right now that centers around Pride Month and they've doubled the shiny rates for pokemon which makes me want to play even more!

I think that's all for now! Hopefully I don't forget to post tomorrow, I have a bad habit of picking stuff up and missing a day and completely forgetting it lol. Anyways, stay safe, stay healthy! Bye!!****