#next time you see me is when the carnage of round 2 begins

[orv-quotes-tournament]

I find it really funny when you reblog something by accident in this blog, because (although I cannot see it because you delete it later) I always am preparing myself mentally for another painful quote before realizing there were no new polls

KJDSHFGKDFHGKJDFHG I THOUGHT I WAS BEING SLICK DELETING MY ACCIDENTAL REBLOGS SO FAST

this made me laugh so much 😭 ive never used a side blog before so i keep tripping up but i'm crying at the idea that i'm making people brace themselves for more angst

[dearlazerbunny]

Let it Go (Ch. 1 of ?)

Pairings: platonic avengers team x reader, potential background loki x reader

Words: 1800

Genre/Ratings: -WARNINGS- there will be an (unsuccessful) suicide attempt by reader- chapter will be explicitly marked in advance. Drug (pills) and alcohol abuse, lots of negativity and self loathing. There will be an arc, but said arc is going to start in the eleventh circle of hell and inch up from there.

Summary: *not far enough into this one to give an accurate summary, so this’ll have to be updated eventually. enjoy for now!*

If I see another ad for Frozen, I might go homicidal.

I pass at least five of them as I work through rush-hour Manhattan at a snail’s pace. Smash Hit! Instant Classic! #1 Movie in the World! Awesome. Fantastic. Happy for you, Disney. Now please, dear god, get it the fuck out of my face.

I jerk away from narrowly shoulder-checking a businessman hustling down the sidewalk, speaking rapid-fire into the phone glued to his ear. It’s like a very, very fucked up dream; everyone in the world is in on the joke, and I just didn’t get the invite. Maybe they were spying on me. Sure, it could’ve been inspired by a fairytale, but who knows? I could sue. Demand fifty percent of the profits for copyright infringement. That’d be more than enough to set me up with a cabin in Alaska, somewhere all I’d have to worry about is making friends with the polar bears.

On the subway, I notice someone has Let it Go blaring from their earbuds. No less than three little girls are wearing something blue and covered in glitter. One has a cheap blonde plait clipped into her hair, accented by a snowflake charm dangling from the end. I suppress the urge to rip it off her head.

It isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, I want to say. It’s not Disney-dreamy like the mouse has made it out to be, living in a palace and making magical snowmen and singing power ballads about self-acceptance and overcoming your demons. In the real world, you quell those demons with a fistful of benzodiazepines, because if you don’t, something like a car alarm or a slammed door will make spikes of ice splinter through the floor around you. It’s constantly wearing three hoodies at a time, so that way if a stranger on the seat next to you brushes your arm, they don’t immediately get third-degree frostbite. It’s getting a papercut and watching the blood freeze on the tip of your finger, then melt back to liquid when you break it off and toss it away. It’s getting hospitalized when an inner-city charity doctor takes your temperature before you can object and your body temperature is barely higher than freezing, so they pump you full of warm saline and cover you in foil blankets and all that heat makes you sick, so you have to rip the IV out of your arm and walk yourself back to your apartment in your hospital gown while dodging orderlies and strange looks from passerby at 2 AM.

The kid and her parents get off at the next stop. The subway clicks along. I try to make myself smaller as the car fills up with more people.  

Maybe if they’d had Xanax in Arendelle, Elsa wouldn’t have had to deal with all that “conceal, don’t feel” bullshit. She wouldn’t be able to feel anything with all the pills and booze she’d be mainlining. Take it from me, babe, it’s a lot easier to drug those demons away. Much more effective than a song.

Something in me feels a weird flare of pride for handling this… whatever the hell it is better than a fictional cartoon princess. Then I want to laugh, because goddamn, my life is pathetic.

My meeting spot is in a back alley near Bryant Park. Some NYU kid is pawning his Klonopin for party cash, I guess. I think if you’re rich enough to be a frat boy at NYU you probably don’t need the extra fifty from your prescriptions, but whatever. I don’t have a ton of other avenues at this point.

I scan the neon bottle, then shake it open and count the pills inside. “These are only a half milligram? Fifteen.”

“Dude, we said forty.”

“Yeah, for a milligram pill. These will barely last me a week.”

“Twenty.”

“Fine.”

I don’t think the universe agrees with my choices.

The sky splits open with a shriek that balances the world on the edge of a knife. One heartbeat. Two. He and I both look up at the clear blue, unsure. Between the skyline, I see something- somethings- begin pouring from a split in the universe, ugly and black and hungry.

I wrench the bottle from the kid’s hands and run.

Run, run, run, don’t look up, don’t look back, oh jesus what the FUCK IS THIS- Midtown is a nightmare. Not from Friday traffic this time. People are scrambling, screaming and crying, trying to flee the scene. An entire side of a building gets shaved off and falls to the ground like an iceberg. A gas line broke somewhere because everything is hazy with fumes and starts shimmering rainbow colors. I round a corner, cursing and trying to keep my ratty converse on my feet as I dodge rubble and ash- don’t look up don’t look up don’t look up. I can see my breath starting to crystallize around me as my anxiety spikes, and I try to force it down. Don’t think about it. Now is so not the time for that.

In the middle of the street, six brightly clad superheroes stand with grim but determined looks on their faces. There’s Tony Stark in his mechanical suit, Captain America brandishing his shield. The star stands out like a beacon in the smoke. Cool, coolcoolcool, they’ve got this, right? They’ve totally got this. Everything is going to be fine. Everything is going to befineohholyshitthat’sabigalien-

I try to use an overturned car as cover. Dart to one, breathe, press my back to steel and try to shake my body back from shock, wait for a moment of silence between the chaos- run to the next pile of rubble. My footprints are outlined in frost on the cracked pavement, clean white against the ash raining from the sky. As I slam myself up against another car, heaving, I have a prime few of Captain-freaking-America bashing three ugly aliens in the face with his shield, battering them to the ground. He stops for a moment to flex his fingers, wipe some of the grime from his face.

He doesn’t see the alien rushing him from behind, mouth open and yawning in some sort of hideous grin, poised to shove a glowing blue gun against the Captain’s muscly back.

I don’t think. My feet move without my telling them to. I can taste the ash as I dart to the middle of the street, as close as I dare. The air around me is impossibly frigid. I’m not controlling anything at this point, but I can deal with that later. Hopefully.

“DUCK!” I scream as loud as I possibly can over the sound of metal and roaring monsters.

His eyes snap up to meet mine. He heard me, somehow, and then he actually heeds a random girl standing amidst the carnage and hits the deck so fast I can hear the whiplash. It’s hot enough to make my skin boil, but if I stretch my hand out and pull, I can feel something begin to crystallize in my waiting palm-

Fissures crack open in the concrete beneath me. In my hand, a thin lance of ice extends to a deadly point, too weighty for its slim frame, and while I should have all the grace and skill of an alcoholic drug addict, my aim is good enough that the alien now has an unforgiving pole of ice sticking through its breastbone. Frost creeps from the hole in its chest, discoloring its sickly black armor to a grey tint. For a moment, it's suspended in time, unmoving- then gravity takes hold and with one last nightmarish shriek it crumples to the ground in a heap.

Huh. Whaddya know. I flex my fingers, breathing hard. Take that, Elsa. Screw the power of love, I just single-handedly saved a national icon.

Said icon is picking himself up off the ground, a new layer of dust coating the front of his uniform. He looks behind him, at the ugly corpse and the ice that inexplicably hasn’t started to melt in the city’s heat. Then his eyes are on me, hard and curious.

Oh. Fuck.

Instinctively, I pull my hood up further over my head, hopefully obscuring more of my face than before. What did he see? Could he memorize my face? He knows I’m a freak show, that’s for sure. Fuck. My brain kicks in and I run, skidding over broken pavement and letting the sheer terror of a crumbling New York fuel my steps. Either we’ll all be dead by the end of this, or the strange girl with ice coming from her hands will be little more than a hazy memory after all this is said and done. I hope. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it- cold prickles on the back of my neck and pushes me back towards being just another face in the crowd.

  There are over a dozen police blockades to try and control the battlefield, and between them and the rubble raining from the heavens, it takes me what feels like hours to crawl back to my underside of the city. It’s punctuated by the grinding of metal and shattering of glass and sickening cracks of lightning from Midtown, making me flinch and wring my hands deep into my sweatshirts to keep them busy with something other than frosting the ground over. Don’t think about it.

I shove my shoulder into the door, forcing it open, then close it the same way from the opposite side. I flick the locks closed, secure the ball and chains. Each one is encased in frost by the time I’m done, and the doorjamb is clogged with ice. I’m suddenly irrationally thankful that there’s only one window in the apartment. It’s a stupid comfort- those things were leveling skyscrapers, a ratty building like this would be flattened in an instant-

I wrench open the nearest drawer, sending the contents rolling. Bottles clack against each other; pills rattling against the plastic. It’s the most comforting thing I’ve heard all day. I pull one out at random, pop the lid, down it dry. In the back of my mind, the large green monster roars. I shudder and swallow another, this time chasing it with swigs from the obscenely large bottle of booze on the desk. It burns all the way down in the best way, chasing the little orange tablets and promising the sweet release of nothing.  

That should last a day. Maybe more. I fall into the bed, already feeling the combo tug at my system, making me heavy and slow. Maybe Manhattan will still be standing when I wake up. Or better yet, Manhattan will still be standing, but I won’t. I’ve never been that lucky, but it never hurts to hope.

[tradeway2]

Session 2 17 Jul 2021

Ed and Matthew are being haylords (literally - they are baling hay), so we start a little late. Also Sophie is away, so someone else will be taking Hilda for her.

Mina has been building Gundams…

We make Nature checks to see if anyone of us remember what we are. Hilda does not make a check as she is still at 0HP. Ren, Marcus and Milo remember that ‘zombies’ are made with weird food; but we can’t be zombies because we know our names. We’re amnesiacs; we’re like characters from Neighbours. Not zombies. Pshhh.

Matthew has bestowed upon us some XP for the last fight, plus some extra for entertaining him so beautifully.

Cora thinks we should try to find a way to preserve our food a bit longer. From the feet up from now on?

We make Investigation checks. Milo notices that although the surrounding area contains weapons and spoiled food (mostly what we made), etc., there isn’t much in the way of bodies. He wants to know what size the food is; he thinks they must be from the same litter. They’re all about the same size; medium. (It goes: small, regular, large, goliath, god.) He looks at his friends; we look wounded, but there are no organs or anything hanging out. Some bandages wouldn’t hurt.

After the fight, we discovered our food was carrying some money. Between us, we scrabbled together 13 gp. We remember that money is useful, so we keep it. (Ren decides to invest his in cryptocurrency.) Hilda is the strongest, so we pile to money on her still unconscious form. We also find 7 gems, and 5 bottles, and a sphere.

Bingo asks if we mind him hanging around; he gets very excited when we tell him he’s welcome to chill with us. He’s excited to get to the horde as well. “Everyone’s friends there, it’s brilliant!” Cora decides it’s a bit like Burning Man. Leslie looks us all over; he does that old people thing when they nod along with the young folk. Let young folk be young folk.

Ed joins us, yay!

It turns out that Leslie has never been to Burning Man. Or the horde. I think? He doesn’t like being around big crowds; he prefers to spend time alone. Somewhere a bit greener. Does he mean over there? (Pointing). No, it turns out he arrived by boat. Hmm. Pilfer gets a sense of salt on the air, and the movement of a ship - for a fraction of a second, and then disappeared. He burps something disgusting; this is not strange to any of us.

Leslie comes from a place what is different to the place what we are standin’ on. ‘E’d love to go ‘ome. (For the sake of argument, and the fact that he can’t keep the accent straight from one week to the next, it’s decided that Leslie doesn’t keep his own accent but takes the one from whatever body he’s inhabiting. He’s gone from West Country to Brizzle. Or it might be the Chezzy Massive.)

This sphere that we found has a smooth surface, and weighs about a pound. Ren rolls a 17 Investigation. (Matthew asks me to roll a d4; “No reason.” Uh oh. I roll a 4. That’s either really good or really bad.) The sphere is made of glass.

Pilfer: “It’s a snow globe!”

DM: “… It’s opaque.”

Pilfer: “It’s not a snow globe!”

Ren blurts out, ‘Driftglobe!” It will light up as if the Daylight spell is cast. He can speak the command word in Friends and it will light up. It works once per day and recharges at dawn. It can also float.

Milo hears some food shout, a sort of sad, whiny sound, but then it’s gone.

What’s in the bottles? They’re glass, reasonably ornate, long necked, with a rich red fluid in them. Not sauce. Ren opens one and gives it a sniff. It smells like the best food in the world. Leslie advises against drinking it, however. Marcus asks him if he knows what it is; it’s a healing potion. Two seem to be in fancier bottles than the rest. We decide to give Hilda one of the fancy ones. (We now have two remaining RHPs.)

We distribute and take various potions, and then set about deciding what to do. Bingo panics when he realises he doesn’t actually know how to find the horde; Cora manages to calm him down, and earns herself Inspiration.

Leslie seems to have more of an idea of what to do and where he’s going, so we decide to go with him and work in a visit to the horde as and when we can. Bingo thinks we might be starting our own horde. Trendsetters!

Matthew does a sound effect and drowns himself out. “Who’s playing Metallica?” “You are!”

We carry on: The battlefield scenery continues for the better portion of the day. Does it bother us that we’re walking on a carpet of the dead? Well - that’s the thing. There’s not many bodies. Sometimes flying food comes and pecks at it, but when we grab at it, it nips out the way real quick. (We know what birds are, but we are aware that these aren’t birds. These are flying food. There’s a difference.) There are weapons on the ground, but not whole corpses. There are bits, sure, and we can hear friends shouting in the distance.

“I’m Bingo!”

“Can I be Bingo too?”

“Sure!”

(Interesting note - they are all Bingo, but they are all aware which Bingo is which.)

The sky begins to clear. The carnage appears to be thinning. There are fewer weapons, less spoiled food. We snack on what bits of food are still dragging themselves along the ground. Ren: “Mmm, trail mix.”

Cora asks Pilfer if he needs his parasol - he belatedly fumbles around for it. (Also DM has added a sketch book to Ren’s inventory for his lyrics and drawings. He knows it’s his, but he doesn’t know why he’s done all those hieroglyph, squiggly weirdness in between the pictures.)

Something hoves into view as the scenery improves:

Bingo: “I know why they do it - it’s for the freshness!”

Pilfer: “Has anyone got a tin opener?”

Ren: “It’s got its own tin opener strapped to the back of it, look.”

We see the canned food shake its head and draw its can opener as it approaches us. And we roll initiative…

The food goes first; it steps forward and prepares itself to be opened. (It holds an action.)

Milo goes next. He moves forward and tries the first of his two can openers, for a dirty 20 with his javelin. Yeah! He pierces the protective container; we will have to eat this meal today, it won’t keep now. The food pulls Milo's opener out of itself, and there is sauce on the end of it. Milo is delighted.

Cora moves forward, and holds an action, as do Hilda and Marcus. (Marcus makes an INT check to see if he’s noticed he has a quarterstaff yet; he has not.) Ren shambles forward as well, and does the same, holding up his second spear. "Kebab."

Pilfer hucks some cutlery at the food, once he’s within range. 19 to hit with his dagger-spoon. Spork? Ed: “I reckon you could do some serious damage with a spork.”

Leslie shambles up and holds back for now, but Bingo can’t contain himself. He uses all of his movement to get right up to the food, and its tin opener. This is not going to go well for Bingo, as he’s now the only one in range of the food. The food now attacks Bingo.

Ren: “Poor Bingo.”

Cora: “Bingo is about to get a lot shorter.”

Matthew finds the right button and hits Bingo with a 21 and a 22, for 11 slashing damage.

Pilfer: “… Bye, Bingo.”

Luckily the food misses its second attack, and Bingo is still up. He’s only cleaved a bit in twain; he’ll probably walk it off.

Cora has a go at tenderising the suit. She swings her mace, but misses. Milo moves up and uses another can opener - but 15 misses. “This food is tricksy.”

Hilda flings her hand axe but it bounces off the can. Marcus runs up and does a Slam but misses. Ren walks up to the food for an attack as well; he pokes it with his spear, two handed. 15 misses.

You know, food can sometimes be quite dangerous. We should have a rule where we can horde up and all attack together (as in, we can flank for advantage.)

Pilfer, having run out of cutlery, hucks a ‘smol hammer’ at the food as an improvised weapon. 21 hits! Right in the noggin! 1 point of damage, awww.

Leslie stays on the outskirts a bit, but he’s making his way round. Bingo’ll have a go. “He’s so excited!” 9 misses, though. He paws ineffectually at the can, frustrated. The food has a go back, but misses Bingo. The second one hits for 7 damage.

Matthew, clicking buttons: “ Poor… old… Bingo.”

We hear Bingo say, “Ow!” He looks poorly now.

Cora is up. Open this can! She has a try at grappling the food to the floor; she makes a STR check for 14. She does not grapple the food. Milo moves up to flank it with Marcus, and does a bite by making a Slam attack with his teeth. 4 Bludgeoning damage!

Hilda moves up but can’t get near the food, so she elbows Marcus and Ren in the back of the knees. Marcus attacks, now that he’s flanking with Milo, and manages a Slam for 6 bludgeoning damage. Yeah!

Ren shuffles around so he’s flanking with Cora, and has a stabby at the unprotected side - but sadly, even with advantage, he misses. His spear skitters across the surface of the can. Pilfer wishes to Slam him. “Slam to your heart’s content.” Sadly he’s so excited he slams the floor instead.

This is standard Friend tactics - surround and overwhelm - we don’t need to change a thing. Leslie has a go as well now. He misses.

Stuff is leaking from Bingo, but he’s still up and for the first time in his career with this new horde, he scores a 20 to hit for 2 bludgeoning damage. We all cheer.

Canned food does some sword work at Bingo, hits him, and Bingo goes down.

“NO BINGO NO!!!!!”

Bingo is not dead, because he’s significant enough to have a name, we are assured. Hooray! The food takes aim at Milo, but only rolls a nine. Phew!

It’s Cora’s turn. The canned food smells worried. She has another go at grappling it, but rolls a 7 - she uses her Inspiration and grapples it.

Milo has a dim memory of catching something like this that had pinchers, so he pokes between the plates with his javelin to get at the good stuff - and gets a Critical Poke! DM: “I’m not gonna lie to you guys, you needed that.”

Does Milo get any nice chewy bits out? He’s pushed his javelin right through the knee joint; he’s separated the bones in there, and it’s all just connected by meat now. If the food survives this, it will never be knight again. He now has a long career as a meme to look forward to.

This food is now much closer to being prepared now. Milo even gets Inspiration for such a wonderfully timed Nat 20. Hilda takes aim at his other knee, cackling all the while, and hits with a 24 for 6 bludgeoning.

Marcus aims a Slam at its head with 23 to hit for 7 damage; canned food is struggling but not down. The only thing holding it up is Cora’s grapple and the fact that we’re standing all around it. (Like when you pass out at a gig.)

Ren remembers food on a stick (hazy memories) and has another poke - and misses. He realises he’s been using the wrong end of his spear, so he turns it around for next time. DM, through tears of laughter, awards Inspiration.

Pilfer takes a swing and a miss.

Duncan, OOC: “Don’t stop me now…”

Ren realises he’s humming under his breath.

This food is smelling pretty ready now. Not perfect! But close. Bingo makes an Undeath save. a 19! Canned food struggles against Cora’s grapple, but fails. DM: “It is weary, and ready for eats.” Cora wants to start sucking the juice out of the eye holes. She makes an attack but a 14 misses; she used her Inspiration last round.

Milo takes aim at the armpit. DM: “Horrible little man! I love it!” He rolls two 8s, sadly.

Hilda has been cackling since last round, and takes aim at the same spot as last time. 21 hits, for 4 bludgeoning damage and with that the meal cracks open. Underneath the can is lots and lots of lovely freshly prepared food!

Pilfer retrieves his hammer and knife, and Hilda picks up her axe. Marcus stops shovelling food into his mouth for long enough to give Bingo a potion.

Milo wants to bend some metal into a sort of cup shape, and try saving some of the food for later. He can add “Some food in home made can” to his character sheet. Matthew adds that he must note: “Not airtight.”

We all get some treats! 116XP! As we consume our meal we find 8 more gp, some more gems. Marcus asks to keep the can's can opener, as he doesn’t have a weapon; Leslie nudges him and says he might have something on his back. Marcus turns around.

We also find two more RHPs, some fancy boots. We don’t know what they are, but Leslie suggests they might be worth taking along. Pilfer claims them, and the food’s hat. The head falls out; Ren starts digging around behind the jaw for the good bits. We also find a fancy stick! Milo knows what it is - and now he has Proficiency in Investigation rolls. He and Ren both know it’s a magic stick. Not just a stick, either - a staff. It’s got a snake’s head on it. He doesn’t know the exact nature of it, due to his own nature. Marcus picks up the tin opener/greatsword.

We have a nice sit down meal. Bingo is so delighted with us and our micro-horde, he’s starting to forget about looking for the main one.

We decide to devote another week to this, as we started late. We finish with a dream for Cora:

She knows she’s asleep. She is in a pretty setting of rolling meadows; she feels at peace. She knows that she knows more now, but can’t grasp what exactly that is. It is the height of summer. A bright red comet races across the sky, and it starts to rain. The sky grows dark, and she feels a sense of melancholy. The rain grows heavier. At a table in the middle of the meadow is an old man, gorging himself on food from silver plates. His eyes turn black, and he smiles. (A midget talks backwards and is gone.) The old man becomes a figure holding a sword and speaking gibberish. A mountain crumbles to dust. The figure advances. It grasps Cora by the throat -

And she wakes up.

[orokinarchives]

Operation: Hostile Mergers

(Jovian Concord hype image)

Operation

On Wednesday (22 May 2019), the event began with the release of Update 25.0 and was set to run until 03 June. Upon logging in, a new mission was available on Jupiter, labelled "Operation: Hostile Mergers Mission 1". This update also contained the Jupiter Gas City tileset rework, and the Amalgam enemies found within.

Mechanics and Missions

The new node on Jupiter, Operation: Hostile Mergers Mission 1, was a Disruption mission on the remastered Gas City tileset. The Tenno had to complete one round of Disruption, and then were given the opportunity to extract. Upon completing the mission, a second node was unlocked on Jupiter, where the Tenno had to complete two rounds of Disruption. Completing the second mission unlocked a third mission with three rounds of Disruption. Completing the third mission unlocked a final node, labelled "Operation: Hostile Mergers Endurance", where the Tenno participated in Disruption for as long as they could.

During Disruption missions, the Tenno would drop into the Gas City and have to hack a door to proceed. Ordis and Alad V would send transmissions throughout the mission. Some of Alad V's transmissions were distinct from his usual ones, spoken in a lower tone of voice and with a darker camera view, and a camera angle high above his head. These transmissions were mostly addressed to an individual called CT, and not intended for the Tenno.

Ordis: "Ordis is detecting Sentient waveforms, Operator. Strange interlink. Splattered in Corpus crosstalk. Bypass that console so we might get a better understanding…."

Alad V: "Oh no! You've caught me! Me and my little partnership! Where's that Lotus when you need her? Now, sniff-sniff, Betrayers. See if you can find the cheese."

(upon hacking door) Ordis: "Outgoing communications cipher…. Not much of a trick for Ordis, is it? Oh, how scandalous! Alad's system has a back door! Shall we… listen in?"

Alad V (to CT): "Ah, more test subjects have arrived. Right on schedule. CT, prepare my Amalgams for further… evolution. I've baited the traps."

Ordis: "These conduits are the source of those Sentient waveforms. This may be worthwhile if we can find the key component… but it does seem a tad convenient, doesn't it?"

Beyond the door, the Tenno could find four terminals of Sentient design. Vapos Corpus enemies would begin to spawn in high numbers, accompanied by occasional Amalgams. Upon death, these Amalgams dropped keys that would activate the terminals.

(upon picking up first key, variant) Alad V: "Almost there, you clever vermin! But what to do next? Can you feel that coming rush? That cocktail of unflinching violence and pseudo-random rewards? Mm, good for business."

(upon picking up first key, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Showtime, CT. Inform our Partners another trial has begun. Prep interference routines. Bait and wait… it's time for Alad V to get back on the corporate map, yes!"

Inserting the keys into the conduit terminals would trigger a 2-minute countdown, and trigger either a boon or a hazard for the Tenno, which would last for the duration of the conduit activation. In addition, a Demolyst would spawn somewhere on the map, and immediately head towards the active conduit. This Demolyst was essentially an improved Amalgam unit that periodically pulsed a nullifier field. If it was able to reach the conduit, it would charge up for roughly 3 seconds before detonating, destroying itself and the conduit. If it was killed before it could detonate, the conduit would be considered safe and the countdown would end.

If the conduit was projecting a hazard and was destroyed, the hazard would persist for the rest of the round. If the conduit was projecting a boon and was defended, the boon would persist for the rest of the round. In all other outcomes, the condition ended once the conduit was no longer active.

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V: "In battle, advantage goes to the one most willing to die. And my Demolysts, Tenno? Well, they aren't just willing… they want it."

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V: "As a man with everything to lose, I make a point of employing the opposite. Release the Demolyst!"

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V: "Feeling a bit… out of sorts, Tenno? Noticing any… performance problems with that metal seashell of yours?"

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V: "I've taken my knocks in the past, but, Tenno, you seem a bit sluggish, a bit spent. Are you sure you want to continue?"

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V: "Disciples, remember your vows. Increase profits, and decrease… Tenno!"

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V: "Demolyst! Target the Conduit… and claim your glory!"

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V: "Demolyst! Light your fuse!

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V (to CT): "CT, time for a Demolyst."

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V (to CT): "CT… they've accessed a Conduit. [sigh] Deploy a Demolyst!"

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Conduit activated! CT, send in a Demolyst."

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V (to CT): "They're preoccupied! Now, CT, the Demolyst!"

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Relentless, even when they're spinning on the spit. CT, signal the supply decks. We're going to need additional 'volunteers' for conversion."

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V (to CT): "This has gone far enough. CT, cycle the interference routines. We need to knock these freaks down a notch."

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V (to CT): "CT, permute the next interference routines. They had better work this time."

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Bait followed by battery followed by bait. I'm getting bored. CT, let's salt our interference routines and dispatch the next Amalgams, yes."

(upon activating conduit, variant) Alad V (to CT): "I need to cut my losses, quick. CT, dispatch updated interference routines… and, uh… lower the room temperature, could you?"

(upon activating conduit with a boon, variant) Alad V (to CT): "What… what if we make the Tenno more of a threat… really see what these Amalgams can do?"

(upon activating conduit with a boon, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Let's flip the script, and see what these Amalgams can do."

(upon activating conduit with a boon, variant) Alad V (to CT): "CT, invert the algorithm. Give them a little false hope."

(upon activating conduit with a boon, variant) Alad V (to CT): "CT, the model is getting a bit predictable. A little morale boost might be good for conditioning, yes."

(upon activating conduit with a boon, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Let the Betrayers have a little fun while we crunch the numbers."

(upon activating conduit with a boon, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Give the Betrayers a little hope, and we'll sink the hook deeper."

(when a conduit is destroyed, variant) Alad V: "Don't be discouraged! Failure has made you what you are… a failure."

(when a conduit is destroyed, variant) Alad V: "Betrayers, frustrated yet? Get used to it."

(when a conduit is destroyed, variant) Alad V: "Will you try again? Will you give me another reason to laugh?"

(when a conduit is destroyed, variant) Alad V: "A pity… you could have used that. Hmm, but I'm bad at sharing, you know."

(when a conduit is destroyed, variant) Alad V: "This week on Nightwave: Tenno lose big, give up on life! Details at the next cycle."

(when a conduit is destroyed, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Finally. Some investments take longer to earn out."

(when a conduit is destroyed, variant) Alad V (to CT): "These disciples finally show some merit. Credit where credit is due: I am an excellent leader."

(when a conduit is destroyed, variant) Alad V (to CT): "CT, fast-track these disciples for promotion… I mean, conversion, of course."

(upon defending conduit) Ordis: "Scans indicate these conduits are connected to a massive stockpile of resources. Just how long is the Operator planning to fight for?"

(upon defending conduit) Ordis: "Operator, the stockpile of tech and resources connected to these conduits seems beyond Alad's means. Where did he get all this?"

(upon defending conduit) Alad V: "Good! Keep it up. Every single bit-stream of this carnage only makes me richer."

(upon defending conduit) Alad V: "Thank you for your generous brutality and violence! My Amalgams have never been better!"

(upon defending conduit) Alad V: "The smart move would be walk away while you still can. Consequences aren't your strong suit, are they?"

(upon defending conduit) Alad V: "Ready for more, Betrayers? I have to admire your greed! Sure! Let's go again!"

(upon defending conduit) Alad V: "Oh, are you still floating there? Like a twit tetrapod, oblivious to the rising heat."

(upon defending conduit) Alad V (to CT): "Steady… steady now, follow the plan. Trials make data, data is sold, Amalgams evolve… Tenno die. And I won't have to beg for mercy from the Partners."

(upon defending conduit) Alad V (to CT): "Useless disciples! CT, is it so hard to get good help these days? The sooner they're all Amalgams, the better."

(upon defending conduit) Alad V (to CT): "CT, rescan the comm channels. I can't shake the feeling that someone's listening in. The Board? Our Partners? I don't know."

Hidden in an out-of-the-way room could be found a datamass. This datamass could be inserted into an active conduit that was projecting a hazard in order to cancel the hazard.

(upon finding conduit failsafe) Ordis: "Some kind of failsafe? If placed in a conduit, it will cancel the running interference routines. Use it wisely, Operator; there's only one!"

After all four conduits had either been defended or destroyed, the round was completed and another round would begin shortly (unless all four terminals were destroyed, whereupon the mission promptly failed).

(during a round, variant) Alad V (to CT): "The data's good, at least. Worth more than a few trinkets to our business partners, yes."

(during a round, variant) Alad V (to CT): "CT, integrate this for the next generational cycle. We need to recoup… aggressively."

(during a round, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Unfortunately. But this is how evolution works. One generation closer to an Amalgam they just can't kill."

(during a round, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Wasteful, but failure teaches faster. Our Partners will be pleased."

(during a round, variant) Alad V (to CT): "I thought you were better than this! You're making me look bad in front of my new business associates."

(during a round, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Another weakness revealed and removed. Who knew these violent prongs would be so good at science!

(during a round, variant) Alad V (to CT): "I don't like this. Inventory as bait was a mistake. What do I do now?"

(during a round, variant) Alad V (to CT): "This is getting out of hand."

(upon completing a round) Alad V: "Take your trinkets. A small price to pay for a superior product."

(upon completing a round) Ordis: "Impressive! Ordis is just fluttering with anticipation! What will the Operator—murder—find next?"

(upon completing a round) Ordis: "Ordis thinks Alad will miss this."

(upon completing a round) Alad V (to CT): "More losses. More debt. How am I going to explain this to that… that thing?"

(upon completing a round) Ordis: "Excellent find. Might the Operator now consider returning to the warm embrace of the Orbiter?"

(upon completing a round) Ordis: "For how much longer will the Operator play along with Alad's twisted game?"

(upon completing a round) Alad V (to CT): "What did they get? This is spiralling on us. I'm hemorrhaging inventory."

(upon completing a round) Ordis: "Ordis will add this to the pile."

(upon completing a round) Ordis: "May Ordis suggest extraction? Nothing Alad has is worth your life."

(upon completing a round) Ordis: "Ordis knows the Operator has the wisdom to choose comfort and safety over material gain. Ordis… is right, is he not?"

(upon completing a round) Alad V (to CT): "CT, transfer more disciples and begin conversion at once. We're deep in the red now."

(waiting for next round, variant) Alad V: "Is that all you're good for?"

(waiting for next round, variant) Alad V: "Stay awhile… stay… forever!"

(waiting for next round, variant) Alad V: "We're just getting reacquainted. Don't leave the party just yet!"

(waiting for next round, variant) Alad V: "Smell that? Newly evolved Amalgams, fresh from the oven! Want a taste?"

(waiting for next round, variant) Alad V: "You could have so much more…."

(waiting for next round, variant) Alad V: "You're greedy, Tenno, very greedy. It's an inspiration to us all."

(waiting for next round, variant) Alad V: "Don't leave, Betrayer! Think of all the science we could be doing…."

(waiting for next round, variant) Alad V: "Impressive performance, Betrayer. But, if you don't mind, we're going to change things up."

(waiting for next round, variant) Alad V: "Keep testing me, Betrayers. And I'll keep testing you."

(when next round starts, variant) Alad V: "The next Amalgam cycle will show you what it means to be on the bleeding edge."

(when next round starts, variant) Alad V: "Destroy them, my Amalgams!"

(when next round starts, variant) Alad V: "We have unfinished business. Shall we?"

(when next round starts, variant) Alad V: "So… feeling better, Tenno? I can fix that."

(when next round starts, variant) Alad V: "Another roll, Betrayers? I think your number's bound to come up."

(when next round starts, variant) Alad V: "I told my Partners you were insatiable… but even I'm impressed!"

(when next round starts, variant) Alad V: "Let's see if that shiny Tenno luck holds."

(when next round starts, variant) Alad V: "I see. Another round? Good to see my greed wearing off on you!"

(when extracting, variant) Alad V (to CT): "It's not an ideal outcome. I just hope it's enough to appease that flying freak [sigh]."

(when extracting, variant) Alad V (to CT): "They'll be back. And my Amalgams will be waiting."

(when extracting, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Costly. CT, send combat results to our Partners, but… omit our losses.

(upon failing, variant) Alad V (to CT): "This… this is how we do it. CT, prepare the revised Amalgam routines for the next production cycle."

(upon failing, variant) Alad V (to CT): "That should keep the Partners happy. Or, at least, less… un-happy. [sigh]"

(upon failing, variant) Alad V (to CT): "Disciples performing well. Perhaps I should start a profit-sharing program? [snickers] No."

(upon failing, variant) Alad V: "Game over! You lose… but take comfort in what that means: that I win! [laughs]"

(upon failing, variant) Alad V: "You got greedy, Tenno. Best leave that to a professional."

(upon failing, variant) Alad V: "Thank you, Tenno. By your thick-headed violent demonstration, my new Partner Amalgams are ready for full production!"

Rewards

After completing the first mission, the Tenno received an inbox message from the Lotus containing an Operation: Hostile Mergers badge.

Inbox message: Success!

You went above and beyond the call of duty today, Tenno. The skill you displayed will inspire your fellow warriors.

—The Lotus

After completing the second and third missions, the Tenno received identical inbox messages containing an Operation: Hostile Mergers sigil and an Aura Forma, respectively.

If the Tenno achieved a score of 1000 on the Endurance mission, they would receive an inbox message from the Lotus containing a Spectra Vandal. If the Tenno achieved a score of 4000 on the Endurance mission, they would receive an inbox message from the Lotus containing a Glaxion Vandal. These inbox messages were identical to the messages received before. Both Endurance goals could be completed on the same run.

The founding warlord of each clan received an inbox message from Ordis with a trophy based on the clan's level of participation in the event.

Inbox message: HOSTILE MERGERS: Maximum Disruption

Operators,

[clan] inflicted maximum disruption to Alad V's Amalgam laboratory. In doing so, you robbed him of resources and strained relations with his Sentient partners.

Ordis has taken the liberty of commissioning this statue. Surely it will become the focal point of whatever room you place it in.

Your loyal Cephalon, Ordis

[Navigation: Hub → Events → Operation: Hostile Mergers]

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of DC: Week of June 19th, 2019

Best of this Week: Teen Titans #31 - Adam Glass, Bernard Chang, Marcelo Maiolo and Rob Leigh

Lobo came to bring the pain.

Starting off with a bang, Lobo completes a contract on a Dhorian at the behest of Kanjar Ro, blowing up the disguised alien’s bodega before shooting him right in the face for his cash. After completing the contract, he receives a job from The Other to take down the Teen Titans. After an initial rebuff of the job, his interest is piqued after he's shown an image of Crush, the only other living Czarnian. (not counting Twink Lobo that should still be trapped by Larfleeze)

Cutting back to the ending from the last issue, Lobo confirms that Crush indeed her daughter and proceeds to absolutely DESTROY the Titans. All of my love comes for this book comes from just how amazingly dominant Bernard Chang makes Lobo look and how terrifying Glass scripts him.

All of the Titans rush the Main Man with Roundhouse being the first to face his wrath. Lobo takes Roundhouse, who has taken the form of a ball, and uses him to BEAT THE OTHERS. He slaps Kid Flash with his best friend, he smacks Red Arrow upside her head, Robin dodges, but his cape is used against him as he’s crushed between Roundhouse and Lobo’s hands. Kid Flash tries to come back with a flurry of punches, but Lobo has none of it and decks the Kid in his face.

Djinn teleports him into Crush’s room and he sees her wall of pictures and articles about her dad. Djinn tries to bind him with magic, but he uses a mirror to turn it against her and just as he’s about to kill her, Crush saves her in the nick of time, suplexing him out of the Titan’s hideout. Lobo, unaffected, uses her as a basketball, throwing her into the backboard before using his hoop as a bat and hitting a home run with her as the ball. Throughout the carnage he has nothing but a smug grin, like he’s playing with these kids; because he is.

Lobo has killed a lot of things, including his own children, so killing the Titans would be nothing to him. At the very least, he’s jovial and having a fun time beating their asses. Chang draws him as being kinda relaxed and casual about his violence. He’s still rippling with muscle and almost appears to be showing off a little, it’s really charming in a sick way.

Catching up to Crush, he shows no restraint against her. He breaks her ankle to test if she has his healing factor, grabs her by the hair and smashes her into a train. The impact is hard and brutal with the train crumpling as Crush’s face kisses it. Back at the hideout, Djinn has the idea to loose Crush’s chain, Obelus, as it might be the only thing that can save her. Crush, however, is not a fan of the idea because the chain came from Lobo and may not obey her. In her anger, she crushes her communicator and LOBO CRUSHES HER WITH A TRAIN.

This splash page made me lose it. Lobo just leans on the train car as Crush is pinned underneath, reaching out in pain and the bottom is EXPLODING in a hail of debris and fire with a deep red and some blood spatter effect acting as the background to the insanity. Lobo taunts her, saying she was lucky that he wasn’t around to mess her up for all of her years, but that there was still time for him to let her down. The absolute CHAD hasn’t been in her life at all, comes back and IMMEDIATELY threatens to ruin it, absolutely. I can’t believe how callous and brutal it is.

Crush spits blood in his face and just as Lobo is about to deliver his coup de gras by smashing her head into a fine red past on the ground, Kid Flash swoops in and saves her, setting up Round 2 for the next issue.

This issue was absolutely insane thanks to The Main Man. Lobo just brings out the crazy in everything that he’s in and introduced the Titans to a WORLD OF PAIN. Crush was absolutely an overpowered member of the team because almost nothing could hurt her and to see her absolutely dominated like this was astounding. One thing that truly stood out was her anger when seeing Djinn in danger because of her, pun intended, crush on the young Genie. She had a burst of rage and actually slightly overpowered Lobo, but of course he continued the beating.

Lobo’s ferocity stood out in a way that we haven’t seen in any of his fights with Superman or his time in the Justice League of America. He wasn’t angry at all, but was having fun. While he could have swatted any of the kids into dust, he played with them, dragging out their pain. His fight with Crush was hard to read/watch at times with his banter. It was almost scary how ready he was to straight up murder her to keep his rep as the last Czarnian, (again, not counting the pretty boy) but at the same time he was weirdly fatherly in his own murderous way.

Honestly, this issue was just a ton of fun. I love Lobo and any chance that I get to see him act like a madman, I enjoy. Adam Glass wrote him so very well that it kind of feels like a callback to Giffen and DeMatteis’ series and Change makes him look like an imposing freak of nature that eats nothing but protein and drinks rage. Seeing Crush express even a little bit of fear was fun because all we’ve gotten out of her is anger and snark. I can’t wait for the next issue and her eventual win just to see what she’ll be capable of. High recommend.

---------------------------------------------------

Runner Up: Superman: Year One #1 - Frank Miller, John Romita Jr., Danny Miki, Alex Sinclair and John Workman

That's the approach visionary writer and sometimes crazy person, Frank Miller, took when writing the great, but flawed, Superman: Year One. The book is a masterwork on the slow burn that builds excitement and tension for a character that has all the potential to be exciting, especially as a young child.

Beginning with the destruction of Krypton from the toddler Kal-El's point of view, the boy is rocketed from his dying home. He watches as his parents get further and further away, engulfed by the fire and explosions of the dying Krypton, scared and alone until he reaches his new home; Earth.

TW: Attempted Sexual Assault

Slow and steady wins the race.

This presentation feels a lot more personal through his eyes. Though his inner monologue is a bit jarring for a toddler, it speaks volumes that he doesn't know what's happening. He's terrified that his parents are leaving him alone, that he may never see home again. His hands press against the glass in fear.

Pa Kent just happens to pass by, noticing the rocketship land with this strange child in it. The baby Kal exhibits a strange telepathic suggestion ability and makes Pa Kent think that taking him home is all his idea. Ma Kent is introduced as the ideal small town mother and the majority of this book expands on Kal-El's life in Smallville.

This comic acts as the absolute ideal in what Superman's life as a kid could have been. It's hokey in a way that the Kents are just simple farmers and the perfect parents with Clark learning the values of how to be a good person. He defends his nerd/outcast friends from bullies and gains the love from the always awesome Lana Lang.

The books flaws, however, are as awful as the entire thing is good. Things get a bit jarring as the bullies go from simple name calling and egging to physical violence and attempted rape after Lana takes pictures of their actions. If anything should have been cut, it should have been this gross depiction of near violence against a teenager.

This and the fact that there's no real comeuppance after the fact, aside from Clark just beating their asses, and leaves a bad taste in my mouth and the plot is dropped from there. It shifts to his relationship with Lana Lang after he reveals his powers to her and gradually makes up his mind about his future. In his late teens, instead of going to college or to Metropolis for his common origin of becoming a reporter, he decides to join the US Navy.

I am a little biased because his experience was much like my own from people questioning the decision, to telling my girlfriend at the time that I'd come back and what not and the teary goodbyes. Of course everyone who joins may have the same story. It just felt very personal to me and stood out as the most glaring change to how Clark Kent becomes Superman. I felt kinship and traumatic flashbacks when seeing John Romita Jrs. representation of RTC Great Lakes.

Speaking of the amazing artist, his art for the book is absolutely stellar. Capturing the vibe of the dry heat of the American Midwest, Romita Jr pulls you into every scene. The sense of scope is grand in space, it feels home-y in Smallville and the road to Illinois feels desolate and empty and yet full of hope and joy.

The line between adult and children's faces, however is very thin. Clark's faces run the gamut of emotions from joy, to surprise to near rage, but between each time jump, it's hard to tell just how old he actually is. Ma and Pa Kent age with the subtle graying of hair and maybe a few wrinkles, but Clark is forever having the face of his three year old self.

Despite covering ground that's been trodden millions of times, Frank Miller's found a way to inject a bit of interest into a familiar origin story. I love the new angle of Clark Kent becoming a Sailor and fighting for America, not exactly knowing what kind of person that it will change him into. Though I hope we get a more focused and less Crazy Frank Miller in the next issue. Attempted rape is disgusting as a simple storytelling device and depending on what kind of accounts he's gotten from Sailors on boot camp, things could go either way.

I am excited for the future of this series, however, and can't wait for the next one. High recommend!

[bbaba-yagaa]

Love and Vengeance (pt2)

A/N: This is part 2 and it picks up mid NSFW. Enjoy!

Characters/Pairings: M!MC x Estela, Jake x Quinn

Summary: A reimagining of the ending of Endless Summer: book 1, chapter 14 and the beginning of chapter 15.

Rating: 18+, violence, sexual content, language

Word Count: 3,000ish

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they belong to Pixelberry. By reading this disclaimer, you aware that there is mature material within.

*******

The thrusting becomes savagely aggressive as they moan and yell not caring who hears them, until she places a hand on his chest, signaling him to stop.

“What is it Quinn?”

“Here, let's try this.” Her hand moves between them, adjusting his position.

“Are you sure you want to go th-" using her hips she presses against him slowly while moaning in approval.

“Yes Jake! Do it!”

“Oh god Quinn, yes!”

Slowly they build their momentum back up, rocking together, shouting in pleasure and ecstasy, thoroughly enjoying what could be their first and last time together.

***

Estela and I are staring at each other in wide eyed shock as we listen to the carnage unfolding down the hall. Quinn. Innocent little Quinn of all people, is down the hall with Jake and it sounds like she's giving him a run for his money. No longer able to contain myself I burst into laughter and Estela joins soon after.

“Oh man! It sounds like she's killing him! Should we go save him?

“No, cupcakes got himself into that situation, he can get himself out. It sounds like they have a lot of frustration to work out anyway.” She loses control of herself and descends into another fit of laughter, collapsing onto the bed, dropping her bra, which still hadn't been refastened.

“I don't know, I feel like if this keeps up much longer we may have to break it u-"

I'm interrupted by the sound of the window shattering behind me and debris raining down into the room followed by the thud of feet landing among the chaos. Ducking out of reflex, I turn to the source of the commotion and standing there like a harbinger of doom is the watcher who had previously been wearing the lion mask.

Fumbling with her bra, fighting the tangle of sheets and blankets, all while trying to get out of bed to confront our unwelcome visitor Estela yells to me, “Taylor, get out of here!”

Calling upon everything that she and Jake had me taught during our sparring session on the beach, I spring forward without hesitation meeting the intruder head on. Striking hard and fast the watcher comes at me, advancing relentlessly. I evade and parry all of his blows, utilizing the defensive technique taught by Estela, barely keeping pace with my foe. After narrowly avoiding a right cross that would have definitely felled me, I see an opening. Summoning all of my strength, I swing, striking the watcher in the ribs, causing him to recoil slightly. Before I can strike again, he kicks me square in the chest, sending me sailing backward into a dresser that crumples under the force of my impact. Pain shoots through my body as pieces of broken furniture fall down on top of me.

“Do not resist. You must come with us. You cannot escape your destiny.”

The watcher's words echo in my head as I struggle to pull myself out of the debris and get back on my feet. Finally succeeding, I square up with my opponent once again just as he lashes out with inhuman speed. He lands a few glancing blows, backing me toward a corner and before I can make a move to avoid being trapped, she's on him. In a flurry of kicks and punches Estela joins the fray, drawing his attention away from me.

“Taylor I told you to get out of here!”

“Are you crazy?! I'm not leaving you!”

Together we unleash a barrage of attacks and just when it seems our opponent is cornered, he sidesteps one of my punches, using my momentum to flip me through the air, slamming me down on a table that collapses under the impact. The wind is instantly knocked out of me. My breath comes in ragged gasps as I lay there watching helplessly as the fight rages on. The watcher attempts to beat Estela into submission but she is relentless, whittling down her opponent with impressive speed and several well placed punches while driving him back toward the broken window. As they grow closer to the edge of safety and certain death, she lunges attempting to throw the invader out but he sweeps low, casting her legs out from beneath her and she crashes down on her back amid the wreckage. Rolling away just as the watcher attempts brings his foot down upon her, she scoops up a large piece of broken glass and springs back toward him again. The watcher evades her as she advances punching, kicking and swiping at him until he is slashed across the chest by his assailant. When she attacks again he catches her wrist, redirects the weapon back to its wielder and thrusts an open palm against her forearm, driving the large piece of glass deep into her abdomen. Stopping dead in her tracks she slowly looks down at the shard protruding from her body. Her gaze falls on me before she collapses, barely missing a chair on her way down.

“Estela, no!”

The watcher stands over her, a somewhat surprised look on his face. He stands sentinel as I rush to her side, not making a move to confront me. Blood is pooling up on the carpet beneath her. I take her hand in mine which is already cold to the touch. Tears begin to well up in my eyes as I struggle to speak.

“Estela… I failed you, I'm sorry…”

She breathes in ragged gasps, tears running down her face as she squeezes my hand.

“No… this was my doing Taylor… don't you dare put this on yourself. He learned and adapted to our fighting technique… try cupcake’s t-"

She bursts into a wheezing fit as I try to steady her in my arms.

“Estela hang in there, don't leave me.”

A weak smile crosses her face and she gently runs a hand across my cheek.

“There are so many things that I never got to do…. but at least.... I got to spend one night with…..”

She trails off, the hand that had run across my cheek drops and the other goes limp in mine as her last breath escapes her lips in a ragged wheeze. I'm unable to hold back: I burst into tears, burying my face in her neck. Not now. Not like this.

“She refused to back down. It was not meant to end like this for her. But this changes nothing, you must come with me.”

As the watcher's words echo through my head I realize what Estela was trying to tell me. He adapted to her style of fighting and used it against us. She was urging me to switch it up. Try Cupcake’s technique. Jake's words play back in my mind: Throw everything you've got at them as fast and hard as you can. Don't give them time to recollect themselves.

When a strong hand falls upon my shoulder, the overwhelming sadness in my chest boils into white hot rage. Driven by my fury, I grab the nearby chair by the legs and whirling around with all my might I bring it down on his head. It explodes in a flurry of splinters and chunks of wood, leaving the two legs in my hands as jagged weapons. Perfect. I flip the business ends downward in my palms and close white knuckled fists around them. While my foe is still reeling from my surprise attack, I begin to savagely beat him, punching kicking and jabbing, backing him toward the shattered window once again. When he runs out of room to retreat he strikes out at me desperately, successfully knocking one of my weapons away just as I sink the second one into his chest. His eyes widen in surprise and he looks down at my hand still gripping the stake.

“This is exactly how I was hoping it would end for you.”

After snarling these words through gritted teeth I push the stake deeper, causing a cry of pain to escape his lips and without a second thought, I shove him out the window. Leaning slightly over the edge as the cool sea breeze blows through my hair, I watch triumphantly as the watcher lands face down several stories below.

“Burn in hell you piece of shit…”

My anger quickly melts away when I realize there are several dozen watchers scaling the side of the Celestial, heading in my direction at an alarming rate. I turn away from the window and my heart drops when my eyes fall upon her. Estela… Suddenly nothing else matters. Collapsing next to her I begin to sob uncontrollably. I'd give anything to be back in bed with her ten minutes ago. To hear her laugh; see her smile. Then I notice something is burning my hand. Confused, I lift it to my face. The watchers necklace. I must have grabbed it when I threw him out the window. It's gem is glowing brightly, radiating heat as if it's alive. Suddenly, I'm blinded by it's iridescent blue light and when it fades away, I find myself back in bed.

“...But then I met you and as I got to know you, it awakened something within me. A yearning… one that I have never felt before and now I feel as though I've been missing out on a big part of living. Is it always this good, kissing I mean?”

It's not possible. When I'm finally able to refocus, I realize that Estela is next to me. Alive. Unharmed, and apparently I'm staring at her with my mouth agape.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You think I'm weird don't you?” Her face falls into a frown, her eyes shimmering with sadness.

Was it a vision? A dream? I look to my hand, Estela's eyes follow mine. The necklace is still in my grasp, the gem now a dull grey color.

“Where the hell did that come from Taylor?”

It was real. All of it. Without thinking, I pull her into my arms, squeezing just a bit too hard.

“Taylor… I can't breathe... What's gotten into you?”

“Do you trust me Estela?”

“I mean at this point I think that's obvious.” She flashes me that big, beautiful smile of hers.

“Here, come with me.” Quickly, I lead her out of bed and into the closet, closing the door behind us.

“Round two already? How do you want me?” She begins to run her hands down my chest in an alluring manner.

“Wait what? Oh man. Ssh. Listen for Jake and Quinn, you'll hear them in just a moment.”

“Why would we hear th-"

Like clockwork, the banging, yells and moans from down the hall start up. Estela giggles for a moment but catches herself.

“Wait, how did you know about that? Will you please tell me what's going on?” Genuine concern is now growing in her voice.

“The leader of the watchers is about to break in. I'm not exactly sure how he found us but he can speak to me through telepathy so who's to say I can't also be tracked the same way. If he finds us I need you to get out of here as fast as you can and warn the others.”

“Um Taylor… I think you've lost your mind if you really believe I'd ju-”

“Estela please! I can't watch you die again...”

Moonlight coming through the slats in the door illuminates a stricken look that forms on her face. She begins to respond, but the sound of the window shattering silences her. The intruder lands inside once again. Estela feels around for my hand but only finds a clenched fist, trembling with rage. The watcher searches the room, scouring every possible hiding spot. Suddenly he stops. Estela squeezes my arm anxiously as he turns toward our hiding spot. It almost seems as if he's being drawn to us. In a silent frenzy, my companion tugs at my arm but I'm frozen in place by anger, awaiting the inevitable conflict. But before the invader can cross the room and discover our hiding spot, Estela places her hands on either side of my face and pulls me into a deep, passionate kiss. Instantly, my rage dissipates. Keeping my eyes on the watcher as our lips are pressed together, I notice him… grin? He quickly moves away from the closet, and exits into the hallway, closing the door behind him. A huge smile crosses my savior's face as she pulls away.

“I figured he couldn't search for your thoughts if you couldn't think at all. Now will you please tell me how you knew all of this would happen?”

I take a deep breath, and I begin to recount the events that never happened.

“You told me everything. Why you're here. What Rourke did to your mom. All of it. Then we heard Jake and Quinn wreaking havoc down the hall but as we were laughing the watcher broke in and we tried to fight him off. After overpowering me he turned your own weapon against you and you died in my arms but not before you advised me to switch it up. In a blind rage was able to beat him back, stab him in the heart and throw him out the window. I guess I ripped this off him as he fell.”

I hold up the strange trinket, verifying my claim.

“Damn Taylor…”

“All I wanted was to be back in bed with you… and the necklace made it happen somehow. I killed him Estela. But it didn't bring you back. Hell, this didn't even bring you back. It brought me back. Giving me a chance to make things right…”

Tears begin to blur my vision as I finish my sentence and Estela pulls me into a tight yet gentle hug.

“It's ok Taylor… I'm here and safe now. Thanks to you. Now come on, we have to warn the others.”

After exiting the closet we get dressed quickly. When we are finished we step cautiously out into the hallway and Estela urges me to stay close to the wall as she peaks around the corner.

“We have more company. They must be climbing up to the windows without emergency shutters. The timing is shit I know but we need to split up if we are going to warn the others in time. You go warn Jake and Quinn, I'll find the others.”

“I really don't want to split up but you are right, It's our best chance…”

She casts a longing glance at me before pulling me in for a kiss.

“Be careful Taylor, don't do anything I wouldn't do.”

“You make sure to watch out for yourself as well Estela.”

She nods before turning and quietly jogging down the hall. I take a few deep breaths and try to shake out my jitters as adrenaline begins to pump through my veins before quickly making my way to Jake's room. I hope he and Quinn are decent. Seeing Jake butt ass naked is definitely not what I need right now.

[ussarchangel]

He Came From The Other Place

USS Archangel Fanfiction Exchange

The recipient for this story is @theladyfangs

The prompts that I was given were as follows

1) Prime Lorca is in the MU

2) Prime Lorca discovers MU Lorca’s relationship with MU Burnham.

3) Prime Lorca gets to PU and wants to find the woman himself.

I have used them all as it felt like each was a progression for the story. That’s why it is so long. I apologise

This is set after the events of the final episode of the first season of Discovery.

A/N Prime Lorca’s reaction is emotional but I felt that he would feel that way after what he had been through. Also I have based Michael’s reaction to him on the way that she reacted to Ash. I hope that this isn’t OC for the good Lady.

Gabriel woke up and tried to get his bearings. The last time he had felt this strange, he’s found himself on the other side. As he lay there, his mind began to drift.

He found himself back on the Buran in the heat of battle. Suddenly, everything went black. The next thing he knew he was coming to in a battle-scarred shuttle craft. Some of the consoles were sparking, wisps of smoke drifting through the cabin. Something didn’t feel right. Gingerly, Gabriel pulled himself to his feet. As he reached for the med kit, he glanced out of the window. Gabriel was looking at the stars, but he was damned if he could recognise any of them.

“Computer.” Gabriel asked, more in hope than anything else. “What is out current location?”

There was a moment of silence before the reply came. “Current location unknown.”

Gabriel sighed. On the plus side, he was alive. On the downside, he had no idea where he was and he was in need of help. The only thing he could do was send a distress signal and hope that whoever came was friendly.

Grabbing the med kit, he moved to the front of the shuttle and send the signal. He sat back in the seat and began to tend his wounds. He fell in to an uneasy sleep.

This was broken by a burst of a mixture of a message of static. He managed to respond and eventually a ship came to his aid. Eventually, and with some difficulty, he managed to land the shuttle on the planet.

It was at this point that things really began to get strange. As he looked around him, he saw species and races that, in his world, would never had worked together. Vulcans and Klingons. There were other races he didn’t recognise. The atmosphere was distinctly icy. It suddenly got a lot colder as he heard the noise of weapons being drawn behind him. Gabriel had no doubt that they were all being aimed at him.

He watched as a figure walked towards him. It looked like it was Sarek but he couldn’t be sure. Even if it was, he had no guarantee what his attitude towards him would be.

The Vulcan looked at him, his expression unreadable.

“Lorca, how interesting that we have come across you. Now the question is, what should we do with you. The logical answer would be to hand you over to the Emperor. However, there would be no guarantee that we would be safe.”

The being sat next to the Klingon looked at Gabriel sneered and said, “Why don’t we just kill him here and now? That’s what’s going to happen to him if the Emperor gets hold of him. Besides, he’s one of them. They don’t deserve to live.” The creature looked at him in contempt as he drew out his dagger and laid it on the table. “Lorca deserves to die for what he and his disgusting followers have done to us.”

A creature behind him emitted a noise that was halfway between a laugh and a growl. Gabriel turned around in time to see a Klingon with his gun raised, lazily aimed at him. It was obvious from the look on his face that, if he made any false moves, his death was imminent.

Gabriel stood up and braced his hand on the back of his chair. “I don’t know who you think I am but I don’t belong here. I have no idea who the Emperor is. I certainly haven’t hurt anyone here, nor do I have any intention of doing so.” The one he had recognised as Sarek looked at him thoughtfully. “I come from another place where Klingons are at war with us. I’m Captain of a ship called the Buran. At least, I was when I left. I ended up on the shuttle that you found me on. I have no other ship. As CO of the Buran we attacked no ship that didn’t engage us in combat.”

The Klingon looked at him, curiosity in his eyes. “Did you give mercy to any vessel or crew?”

Gabriel looked at him and shook his head gently. “In my world, Klingons neither grant or ask for mercy. However, those under my command would not be allowed to kill for pleasure.” He glared at the one who had spoken. “I can assure you of that!”

Sarek walked over to him and laid his hand on Gabriel’s arm. “I wish to do a mind meld with you. Will you permit me to do so?”

Gabriel nodded. Sarek began the ritual, establishing the mind meld. Eventually the meld was broken.

Slowly he turned to the beings in the room. “While I have to confess that I have no idea how this may have happened, he is telling the truth. This may be Gabriel Lorca but he is not our Lorca.”

The room was filled with the sound of murmuring. This was enough to get him accepted, even if it was unwillingly.

As time went on Gabriel round out more about the universe he was in. It turned out that in this universe it was the humans that were evil. The Emperor was a woman name Philippa Gerogiou. She had a reputation of being an evil woman who showed no mercy. No-one stood in her way and if you did you wouldn’t be there for long. This shocked him, as the only person of that name that he had heard of had been the Captain of the Shenzou. In Gabriel’s world, she had been a person of outstanding character. She was well liked and for a lot of cadets, getting to serve under her captaincy was seen as an honour. He couldn’t imagine her being evil. Of course that was in his universe.

As time went on he managed to find out why the Lorca of this universe was so hated by the Emperor. It appeared that she had a daughter called Michael Burnham. From what he could gather, Georgiou was grooming her to be the next Emperor when the time came. Then she met the Lorca from this universe. This appeared to be the Emperor’s undoing. Although the exact reasons for what she did were unknown, there was something about him that made Michael turn her back on the woman who had looked after and leave with the man. Of course, this didn’t go down well with the Emperor and as result he became her sworn enemy. Gabriel wasn’t sure what the Lorca of this universe felt about Georgiou but he imagined that it wouldn’t be that good.

As the days, weeks and months went by Gabriel began to give up hope of ever making it home. He found himself thinking of Michael Burnham. He wondered what she was like. What was it that Lorca had seen in her? He knew that the Michael in his universe wouldn’t be the same but he found himself wanting to meet her. He wondered if she would have an effect on him.

Gabriel smiled as he thought, ‘After all, it’s been a while!’

Even though Gabriel was certain that he would never get home, he decided that if he did, he would make it his job to find her. (No matter how far fetched it seemed to him, it gave him something to striver for. And right now, he needed that more than ever.)

After that he found a place for himself among those who were standing against the empire. It wasn’t at all easy. Often he was sent of to scavenge for information, supplies and to see if he could find anyone who would be willing to join them. Mostly he flew as part of a team using the ships that the renegades still had working. During that time, what passed as their team of engineers managed to get his shuttle working. Gabriel knew that it would never be the same as it was when it left the Buran, but to him it didn’t matter. It was his ship and not only that, it at least meant that, hopefully, he would be able to lead sorties.

The day came when he was able to take a test flight. When he came back from the flight he knew that something was wrong. As Gabriel flew in to the atmosphere he could see the evidence of the carnage. Everything had gone. He had no doubt that this had been the work of the Emperor. Again he was lost, homeless and his life had lost what little meaning it had in this universe. Taking his ship up in to space, he was so lost in thought that he barely noticed the fact that he had been spotted by unknown vessels. He wasn’t sure if they were friendly or not, but he sure as hell wasn’t planning to stick around to find out.

This was when all hell broke loose. He was surrounded by weapons fire and he thought that he about to die. Suddenly there was a bright light. Gabriel was thrown around the ship and there was nothing that he could do about it. The ship was creaking and he thought it was going to break up. As suddenly as it started everything calmed down. As this point he lost consciousness.

Gabriel came back to the here and now and looked around him. Although he had no idea what he’d been through, he knew that he’d survived it. He tried to move and it hurt. While he was sure that the ship was still airtight, he knew that he didn’t have much in the way of supplies and rations. He knew that the only thing he could do was to send out a distress signal. Either he was going to find help or he was going to die.

‘Great. You’ve really done it this time Lorca.’ He thought as he managed to pull himself up in to the seat and managed to send the message.

The bridge of the Discovery seemed really quiet now that the war with the Klingons was over. Michael stood at her post and looked down at the uniform and her rank insignia and felt strange. It was odd to her that she had been at the beginning of the war as well as at the beginning of the end of it. She still couldn’t get used to that fact that Captain Gabriel Lorca had been a person from another universe who was hell bent on taking power from the Emperor of that universe who turned out to be their version of Philippa Georgiou. Michael also knew that she had been blinded by her feelings about her Captain Georgiou and that fact that she caused her death, that she’d believed that there was some good in the woman. As a result she had brought her through to this world. Given that she’d nearly blown up Qo-nos and was now free to roam this universe she could only hope that hadn’t been a mistake.

“Captain, We’re getting a weak signal.” The officer looked towards the Captain. “It’s a distress signal from an unknown source.”

Suru acknowledged him. “Open a communication channel.” The officer nodded to him.

“This is Captain Suru of the Federation vessel Discovery. Please identify yourself.”

The bridge once again fell silent as they awaited the reply.

The signal was crackly and the voice sounded weak. “My name is … from the Buran. …. lost .. Need help urgently.”

The Officer’s fingers flew over the screens in attempt to get the message through clearer. “I’ve done what I can to clear up the channel. It will be clearer but I’m not sure how much.”

“Thank you.” Suru looked at the screen and tried again. “This is Captain Suru of the Federation vessel Discovery. Could you please repeat the message.”

The response was still full of static, but this time the words were clear enough to be heard and understood.

“My name is Gabriel Lorca, Captain of the Buran. I have been lost for some time. I need help urgently.”

Suru wasn’t sure of what he was hearing. “Could you please repeat message.”

The voice came over the bridge speakers. The response was exactly same. The bridge crew looked at each other in shock. Paul rubbed the place on his arm where the spore drive mechanism was and looked over at Michael, surprise evident on his face. She looked back at him with a confused look on hers. She’d assumed that Captain Lorca from this universe had been destroyed with the Buran and the rest of its crew. Apparently not, and right now she had no idea how she felt about it.

Captain Suru made arrangement for Gabriel ‘s shuttle to be brought on board the discovery. The shuttle was met by a medical team and one security guard.

As the medical team worked on him, Gabriel thought about Michael Burnham and his wish to find her.

Even though his voice was horse, he managed to speak. “I’m looking for Michael Burnham. I wonder if you’ve heard of her.”

The two medical staff looked at each other. One of them spoke. “Never mind that for now. We need to get you to sickbay.” Gabriel started to struggle. “Now now. Just relax. Everything will be okay”

“But I … I have to find her.” The nurse gave him an injection and slowly he drifted in to an uneasy sleep.

The security guard looked over at her. “Did he ask to speak to Commander Burnham?” The nurse nodded. “Okay. I’ll let her know.”

Michael was sitting in the canteen having a drink. Right now she felt so confused. She’d watched Gabriel Lorca die. At the time she had felt no remorse. He had hurt her and the crew. He had lied to them to get the Discovery to the mirror universe. That lie had nearly cost Paul Stamets his life. And in her heart she believed that he had also played a part in Hugh Culber’s death too. Not only that, she’d believed in the man and, for reasons that she couldn’t fathom, that had hurt her most of all. Of course this wasn’t that Lorca but the fact that he sounded like him brought it all back.

The thing that confused her most was the way that she’d felt about the man that she’d known as Ash Tyler. It shouldn’t have happened. At least not to her. But it did. After all, she’d been brought up as a Vulcan. That meant that she was supposed to be able to submerge her feelings and yet, Ash had managed to get under her skin. She realised that she had fallen for him. That was why when she found out that, underneath it all, he was the Klingon Voq, it felt like that ultimate betrayal.

“At least I was able to make peace with him before he left with L’Rell.” She thought, as she took another sip of her drink.

It was at this point that Michael became aware of the person heading towards her. “Hello Lieutenant, “She could see how uncomfortable he looked. “Is something wrong?”

David swallowed hard as he prepared to answer her. “The man in the shuttle, the one who says he Gabriel Lorca.” He paused for a moment as Michael looked at him intently. “He asked if you were aboard the ship. I think he wants to speak with you”

Michael looked at him in surprise.

“No one told him that you were here. The nurses managed to deflect his question easily. If you wished it I’m sure that we could make sure he doesn’t find out who you are”

She looked at him and smiled. “No that’s alright. I’d like to meet the man. It …. it would be interesting. He’s in sickbay?”

The Lieutenant nodded. With a last swig of her drink she made her way to sickbay. She was interested in seeing this man. There was a part of her wanted to see how different he was to the man that had betrayed the crew of the Discovery and, given the fact that he had been the only one to survive from the Buran, there was a distinct chance he’d betrayed them too.

Gabriel lay on a bio-bed in sickbay. He was dressed in the clothes that they had given him. Michael walked over, stood by the bed and looked at him. Even though he was resting, there seemed to be a sadness about him. She wondered what had happened to him. Had he seen the horrors that she had seen or had his time in the mirror universe been worse? Without thinking, she ran a finger down his cheek, feeling the stubble that was on his face.

“So you are Michael Burnham. I can see why he fell for her, especially if she looked like you.” Michael listened. His voice sounded like the Gabriel Lorca that she had known, and yet, there was something different about it.

“I’m sorry. Where are my manners? I am Gabriel Lorca former Captain of the Buran. I ended up in a different universe and found my way back again.” Michael couldn’t help looking at him as he continued. “While I was on the other side I heard about the Lorca that was there and one of the reasons that the Emperor didn’t like him. Your name was mentioned. So I promised myself that if I made it back I would find you.”

Michael looked surprised. “I’m not her.”

“Guess what I’m not him,” Gabriel smiled and his eyes seemed to light up. Then something seemed to cross his mind. “Do you know what happened to my ship?”

Michael looked at him, sorrow showing on her face. “I’m sorry. The Buran was destroyed. He was the only survivor. I … “Her voice died in her throat.

She didn’t voice the rest of the thought as Gabriel tried to school his features. As he lay there it suddenly struck him that he’d been a victim of the other Lorca too. What was worse, was the fact that he had lost his ship and entire crew because he was the other Locator’s twin.

“God … I … I … they all died because of me?” The question hung in the air.

“No. No Gabriel. They died because of him. They died because he wanted this ship. He said that he wanted to fight the Klingons. I thought he meant he wanted to fight them here. I was wrong. We were all wrong. He wanted the ship so he could pursue his own evil plans.” She took his hand in hers.

She knew that this was the Lorca from this world. It was obvious that he cared about the ship and crew that he had lost. Not like the other one. He was cold and ruthless. He would do anything to get what he wanted. He’d proved that when he’d managed to persuade Paul to do all those jumps. He’d managed to fool them all.

As she looked at the man lying on the bed beside her. His blue eyes were sad. Any sparkle that had been there had gone. Without thinking, she leant down and gave him a gentle kiss on his lips. He responded immediately, deepening the kiss. Eventually, the need for breath meant that they had to break apart. As they did so, Gabriel managed to stand up. Placing one hand around Michael’s waist, he cupped her face with the other. He gazed at her adoringly.

Michael returned his gaze. After the other Lorca and Ash, she knew this was different. The man that stood before her, the man who called himself Gabriel Lorca was real. The kiss was real. She could feel it. This was better than anything she’d experienced before.

Michael spoke before she could change her mind. “Kiss me again Gabriel. Please.”

Gabriel didn’t need to be asked twice. He held her closer as he closed the gap between their faces and began to kiss her. At first it was gentle kisses. Then the kisses deepened and became more urgent. Gabriel licked her lips seeking entry. Michael opened her mouth to let him in. His tongue traced the inside of her mouth as if he was mapping every contour. When they broke this kiss it was obvious to the two of them that something had happened.

For the first time since she’d met him, Michael saw him look truly happy.

“I’m glad that I found you Michael Burnham You are a beautiful woman.” Gabriel couldn’t help smiling as he held her close.

Michael returned his smile as she snuggled in to his embrace. “I’m glad you found me too Gabriel.”

Gabriel knew that this might not last forever. Hell, it might only be this one moment. But he didn’t care. Right now he felt safe and secure. He had found his Michael. And right now that was all that mattered

END.

[a-home-for-stray-stories]

Just Imagine - Elias Samson Pt. 2

So, this part is extra long. Would y’all rather one long part or two separate parts? I’m not really dialed into tumbler “etiquette” so I’m not really sure where all the lines are. I’m pretty sure this is not considered an imagine at this point, but honestly, I don’t really care. There is one more part coming!

Warning: Smut

Tags: @romanempire19

Both of your bodies froze as the last m&m skidded to a stop. You knew who the voice belonged to, but you still prayed it wasn’t him when you came out into the hallway. Rounding the corner you found not only him, Mr. McMahon, but Kurt Angle, Finn, and Elias. And there you and Nia were. Still in sweaty ring gear and surrounded by candy. Vince beamed at you once you emerged,

“Ah, there you are. Good, I wanted to talk to all four of you.” He made his way between you and Nia, placing a hand on each of your shoulders. Embarrassment popped through your chest when you heard an m&m explode underneath his foot, but he just kept going. “You all did a great job tonight. The fans are going nuts over it, especially that ending.” He gave you shoulder a squeeze before beginning to leave. “I can’t wait to see what you all have planned for the big match next week.” He called out just before ducking into another hallway.

Kurt stayed between Finn and Elias and didn’t give any of you time to speak up,

“I know that ending wasn’t exactly what was planned, but Vince and the fans don’t and they ate that up. So, it sounds like you four have some re-planning to do. Whatever you do, don’t ignore it, that’ll just piss people off.”

Kurt tried to walk away, but had to scoot some m&ms out of his way, “Really?”

Finn was the first to pipe up when Kurt was out of sight.

“Any thoughts?”

You fiddled around with the remaining m&ms in your hand, keeping your gaze down, not knowing what to offer, but Nia had no problems.

“I had a couple of thoughts but miss ‘has an excuse for everything’ over there shut them all down.” She threw a pointer finger at you along with a teasing grin. “Ask her about turning heel. Her head will implode.”

Seriously? Your mouth dropped open and those last m&ms grew heavy in your hand. At this close range, her face was an easy target. Elias was quick to grab your wrist as he and Finn got between the two of you. Using his grip on your arm, he pulled you close to him, forcing you to look up at him, and he calmly told you to stop. Your mouth went dry realizing you were now in the same position that caused all of this. Only this time, you weren’t in character and he was touching you. At least he had a shirt on. Well, an extremely loosely fitting tank. This time you did a better job keeping you eyes on his, but that only fueled the fog forming in your mind. Through that fog, you tried to defend yourself, but it came out it in sputters. Elias let a small smile creep up as your mouth open and shut in attempts to come up with something. But Nia had to cut in,

“Ya, Stop throwing shit, Y/n.”

She loved getting a rise out of you and knew that last m&m pelted at you would do it. That sting against your shoulder almost hurt as much as not having anymore ammo to throw back.

“Ow!” Definitely, said that louder than necessary. “She- you literally started it!”

You glared at her, trying to pull your wrist from Elias. You heard him say,

“Alright...”

But you were too focused on Nia to noticed what he was doing, until you were bent over his shoulder. You let out a surprised,

“Shit! What are you doing?”

Finn and Nia laughed and Elias turned slightly to address them,

“Before we can all make a plan, the two of us need to talk.”

He kept a one-handed grip on the backs of your knees and shut the door without giving them a chance to respond. You gave him a light punch in the small of his back,

“Ok, put me down.”

Ignoring you, he continued to the couch before pausing to take in the carnage.

“What’s the deal with the m&ms?

You let out a frustrated groan, “Elias...put me down first.”

Before you knew it, he had sat down on the couch and manipulated you to where you were straddling his lap. You never thought about how little of your body your ring gear actually covered until your knees were spread on either side of his hips. His calloused fingertips resting on your bare skin sent goosebumps racing along your body. The heat of his hands permeated through the small of your back and you felt the solidness of his shoulders as your hands held onto them for stability. He was just under eye level and acted like this was a normal position for the two of you to be in.

“Now, why are there m&m’s everywhere?”

You shut your eyes trying to focus on his question and not his rock solid body underneath you.

“Uh, she- she dumped the bag on my head.”

He let out a laugh and shifted, bringing you closer to him. One of his hands shifted up your back and you had to move your hand onto his chest to keep from knocking heads with him.

“Why would she do that?”

A warmth began to rise through your chest as you dropped your gaze down to where your fingers were lightly toying with his shirt. You let out a sigh before answering him,

“I was making up excuses.”

“We’ve known each other for a while and I know when you start making excuses, it’s because you want something you think you can’t have.”

Well, damn. Your eyes shot back up to his. How in the hell did he figure that out before you did? Your mind clamored at some kind of response, but he didn’t give you a chance to. He brought his forehead to yours and his voice dropped, sending vibrations down to your core.

“Also, you know me. You trust me enough to know if you tell me to stop, I’ll stop and not be upset, right?”

You couldn’t hold yourself back anymore. Your hand slid up from his chest, around the back of his neck.

“I know. Just, don’t.”

You almost whispered the last word, before pressing your lips against his. The soft kiss soon turned desperate as one of his hands weaved through your hair and his other arm locked around your back. You rolled your hips against him, hoping to relive some of the pressure building, and what you got was a deep groan rocking through his chest. Satisfied with yourself, you smirked and let your fingers slide down his jaw and into his beard. His fingers gripped onto your hips, lifting you up, then placing you back down on his thigh. You gasped when the new friction forced your stomach into tight coils. The course hair of his beard added to the intensity as his lips attacked your neck. His hands guided your hips up and down his leg, perfectly working you up. You body fought to move faster, but he kept you at a steady pace, forcing you grind harder. One of your hands wrapped in his shirt and the other laced through his hair. He lifted his lips to you ear to whisper encouragements.

“That’s it, baby. I know you’re close. Cum for me.”

That was enough to push you over the edge. Pleasure washed over you as you whimpered out his name. He didn’t give you much time to recover when he twisted you around and laid you down on the couch. Your lips were back on each other, hungry and needy. He placed a hand on your ass, pulling your sensitive clit along the rigid outline of his hard dick. You took in a sharp breath and let your fingers sneak under the hem of his shirt.  Elias took the opportunity to sit up and take his shirt off. You whined slightly at the loss of contact, but shamelessly let your eyes rake over his body. He got his belt undone before he noticed you staring.

“It was staring at me like that, that nearly got you pinned against the ring tonight.”

A full smile bloomed across your face and you sat up to start working on getting your own outfit off,

“You should have.”

By the time you had your top off, he was back on top of you, pushing you backing onto the couch. Starting at your lips, he left a trail of kisses down your neck, into your chest, and down your stomach. When he got to your shorts, he gave them a good tug, getting them off. He locked eyes with you as he aligned himself with your entrance. Your eyes fluttered shut as he eased in. He ran his hands down your legs waiting for you to let him know you were ready. Once your muscles relaxed around him, you opened your eyes and rolled your hips. What started out as slow, deliberate movements turned into hard, fast thrusts with your legs wrapped around his. He laced his fingers with yours and pinned both of your hands above your head. A few more hard thrusts and you were losing yourself over the edge and he wasn’t far behind you.

You both sat on the couch for a few minutes, catching your breath. You were still laying on your back, and he was sitting with your legs draped in his lap. His arm was resting on your stomach while you casually toyed with his fingers. He tugged on your hand, getting you to look up at him.

“You know, you’ve always had me. I’ve been yours since the day we met.”

You laced your fingers with his and smiled,

“Well, we’re done with the excuses now.”

He gave your hand a squeeze and nodded as you sat up.

“I’ve had an idea.”

Elias cocked an eyebrow,

“About the match next week?”

“Yeah.”

“How big of a change is it?”

“Oh, it blows the original plan out of the water.”

[kazjaurelia]

Joy Buzzer: Part Three

So, this took me a while to write(whoops), mostly because I was trying to figure out how to do a fight scene. I’m still trying to figure that kind of thing out, but hey, it’s my first time. So, sorry, it’s not the best. I tried. Enjoy, y’all. I might write a part 4. eventually.

Word count: 1520

Tags: Lance whump, Langst?, violence, Lance gets beat up, like bad, Keith cares.

Part 1 (x) Part 2 (x)

Lance runs as he watches as the cannon power up, the light pulsing a glowing pink. The energy expands and dashes forward, reminding Lance of a scene from an old movie about space he had watched with his family when he was younger. As the light grows and begins to cover Lance’s field of vision, the hairs on his arms prick up.

The world is spinning. It feels like an old ride from a carnival his family went to when he was younger. A ride that spun round and round, glueing him to the wall. Small pieces of detritus ram into his body as he’s tossed and thrown. Lance feels the wind blasting against his face as well as chunks of dirt before he crashes into what he thinks is one of the buildings on the perimeter of the square. The remains of the razed building seem to blow inwards with him and everything stills as it falls to the ground.

His body is throbbing stronger now. The waves of pain beginning in his chest and rolling outwards through his limbs. The cacophony of pain is felt through every individual injury, sharp as a whip. The ringing in his ears fades away to coughing and moaning through the wrecked square.

Static blares in his ear as Keith’s voice filters in right next to him. “Lance? Lance! I need you to answer me.” Oh, when did Keith get here? He’s pulling a beam off of Lance and tossing it to the side before rushing in to help.

He manages to roll over into his hands and knees, the pain peaking momentarily before dulling, slightly. Keith is right there, crouching down, waiting to help if needed. The tumble of rubble sounds out as the debris settles around him.

“I think I’m good.” Lance is almost shocked at how rough his voice sounds. It’s rough like he ate a cinder block. “Just a little banged up.” That is, if ‘just a little banged up’ was code for ‘my limbs feel kind of tingly, my head is spinning, and I feel like an elephant decided I was its chair’.

“Lance.” It’s said tersely, in a way of Keith warning Lance to stay down for now. But, he just simply ignores it.

“I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

Lance manages to brush off the rest of the rubble, with Keith’s help, to peer around the smoking remains of the Jiang square. It looks as if some of the officials were hit by pieces of flying debris, as they lay scattered around intemingled with the broken remnants of the buildings. Allura seems to have escaped the carnage. She supports one of the diplomats, the village chief, he thinks, as she struggles to get to her feet. Their eyes meet across the square as she walks towards them, seeming to ask the same question without the need for words. “Are you okay?”

“You’ve got more ships headed towards you.” Shiro calls over the coms. Great. “We’re on our way to help, but it’s going to be a few dobashes.”

“Then, we’ll just have knock ‘em out ourselves,” Lance quips. Shouldn’t be too hard. Right? All they had to do was keep the attention on them and protect Allura and the villagers. “How long until they get here?”

“Thirty ticks at most.”

Huffing out a breath of air, Lance stumbles to his feet. All the while, trying his best to avoid the looks he’s getting from Keith. They need to focus on the mission. He hands Allura the relic and sends her back to the other villagers to do the ceremony before turning to Keith, to silence his protests. “Keith, I’m fine. We need to focus on the mission and keep people safe. Let’s get back to our Lions and stop the next wave.”

They barely get their Lions up in the air by the time the first fighter can be seen. They fly out to meet the ship away from the village, to prevent any further damage. Lance and Keith set to work, taking down the ships speedily. Lance can feel the tingling getting worse. I guess being blown through a wall will have that effect. His mind is running on autopilot, with major support from Blue keeping him present enough to press a few buttons here and there, but it’s getting harder to concentrate. The waves of pain are back now, radiating from his chest to his finger tips and toes, up to his head. With every jolting blast near Blue, the pain spikes before returning to the level before.

Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge are here now. Lance only registers flashes of Green, Yellow, and Black across his vision, intermingled with blasts and explosions. Waves of concern are coming from Blue, as well as a calm feeling that brings a moment of clarity to Lance’s swirling head. A moment to see a stray plane headed back towards the village. A stray plane, almost like the one with the canon. No one else seems to have noticed it. Lance turns Blue towards the village, speeding after the lone fighter plane.

Lance shoots from the tail laser, pinpointing the plane, yet only chipping it. The plane spiral before crashing just short of the village. The pilot crawls out of the cockpit right as Lance gets there with Blue.

“Lance, where are you? We’re almost done with the fleet of fighters,” Hunk asks as Lance begins to exit Blue. He draws out his bayard as he nears the fallen pilot, aiming the barrel of the gun at him.

“I went after a ship that was headed towards the village. I’ve got it covered, you guys clean up.” He tries to hide the roughness and pain of his voice, and, when no one pushes to comment on it, assumes the attempt was at least partly successful.

As he nears, the grounded pilot is rising to his feet, wiping blood from a cut above his eye. It’s not even a tick before the fighter lets out a growl and lurches forward to tackle Lance. His bayard goes off, firing a shot into the sky before Lance’s body smacks into the ground, head first. A fist plows into Lance’s face.He can feel the bruise forming on his cheekbone. Lance raises the gun enough to smack it back into the head of the Galran, knocking him off of Lance and to the side. The Galran rams back into Lance, reaching for the bayard. He grabs a hold of the gun in an attempt to pull it from Lance’s grasp. He the fighter brings it back down, right into his left eye.  A hand flies up on instinct to cover the eye, allowing the Galran to tug the bayard out of his grasp. The fighter rises, keeping a foot on Lance’s chest to keep him down. Lance is staring down the barrel of the gun. Bringing a leg up, Lance wraps it up and around the pilot’s hips, pushing back. The effect is instantaneous as him and the gun fall backwards.  Effectively tossing his bayard far out of reach. Lance jumps forward, attempting to hold his foe down. Both roll on the ground, grappling to be on top. To be in control of the fight. But, they roll apart.

It’s only a moment before both fighters are back on their feet, jumping into fighting stances. His head is starting to throb. His limbs are tingling again. All he has to do, is take down this guy. Then, he can get in a healing pod. He knows that he’s tilting slightly. He knows that his opponent has probably also noticed it.

Taking advantage of Lance’s injured state, the Galran moves forward, bringing a leg up in a roundhouse kick. He doesn’t even feel the impact of the blow. He feels the hard dirt underneath his body.

The world is swirling around him as he looks at the sky. Sound fades in and out as his vision comes in and out of focus. He hears a grunt of pain above him, and a thud as a body hits the ground.

“Lance?” Is that Keith? “Shiro, Lance is down.”

A blurry form enters his vision, which he thinks is Keith, judging by the outline of the mullet. He looks worried. He arms around his back and under his legs, and then the ground is gone.

“Hang in, Lance. We’re going to get you to a pod.” The sky disappears and is replaced by a glowing red. What happened to the sky? Maybe it’s night time. Time to sleep. He’s so sleepy.

He opens his eyes. The world is shaking. Why is it shaking? “Lance, you need to stay awake. You did a good job, but we’re not done yet.” Keith sounds so serious and worried. That means he must be pouting. He can see it. The pouty eyes, downturned lips, and mullet to tie it together. The angsty combo. He doesn’t like that look on Keith.

“Hmm, w’did a g’d job,” he slurs. “W’r a good team.” He feels himself go limp as the darkness creeps in.

[jollyviscreal666]

The New World(entry no.2)

It’s been 4 months since my last entry. I have been through a lot since then. Nothing short from my last adventure I there to described. I have been to two survival sanctuaries. Supposedly designed for safety. As well as the welfare of our planet and it’s newfound stats.

There is one thing prior to me of which I’m certain. The new world along with its events not only gives my life purpose as I have previously perceived, but rendered me a seemingly infinitely jubilant soul. That’s the only way I can put it. Whereas to others it does the opposite based on what I’ve experienced. Fortunately, I’ve met people at the third sanctuary, counting the first where I was left for dead, that have similar feelings. I am going to recount my experience at the scientific institute in which I was a potential resident.

Honestly, I fell like this sanctuary held more sentimental feelings of dread then the previous events that followed up to it. I refer to the base. I didn’t kill nearly as many infected, yet the only thing that feels infected is my tolerance. I’m struggling to find out what about it is. Perhaps the near un perceivable amount of carnage left me baffled in a brutal way. Watching people I know along with friends I made turn into delicacies for the endorsed maniacal infected denizens. This was the real deal. This institute. You supposedly get used to the carnage. But I’m this infected world, getting used to constant carnage is like getting punched in the nuts when you’re the toughest guy on the planet. And it only gets worse.

I did make one ally before I arrived to the next sanctuary. The pilot I rendered under my command to do as I said. He goes by Don. He made his living in this new world by offering his skills in the form of services in exchange for supplies and a shelter. We left the armored vehicle in a spot we considered to be decent as we flew over the supposed mine field. I had my sniper ready and I told Don to be on high alert. Then after we landed and as we were scanning the place, we established a friendship after a 20 minute conversation. I was happy I found someone to relate to. The last person I could relate to was Bryce Reyes and I have no idea where he was. I still don’t.

We were getting ready to turn back. Then we spotted an SOS smoke marker. The white smoke drifted into the air with a steady pace. We decided to make our way to it. We were heavily armed one could say. Me with a suppressed glock and him with a suppressed beretta. We also carried a primary weapon. Me with an SIG Saur sniper rifle, and Don with an G 46 assault rifle. Near the bolt operation mechanism near the top, was a stamped imprint labeled: SiG Sauer SSG 2000. It was a pretty handy weapon. It was my first time using it. I had used my glock to eliminate nearby infected who we stumbled upon. We agreed more than likely it signifies that there’s got to be a pack of them somewhere nearby. So we proceeded with caution. Soon we reached the source of the signal. Although there seemed to be no sign of survivors. I thought maybe it was too late.

It was a house. Like a fancy residence building. Something you’d expect a mayor of a town to live in.

We were right about the pack. They were lingering about, in and out, and through the two story house. As usual with defected bodies with cut open parts and blood dripping. They were too focused on something to draw attention to us. Although I was sure one of them gave a glance to our presence. I picked off about 30 if them, leaving me with 1 more clip. I placed about 10 more clips nearby discreetly. I equipped two, leaving me with 15 rounds, plus my suppressed glock. I was confident it was all I needed to clear the area. Then again, there could be more packs waiting inside. I told Don to retrieve the armored vehicle and the copter so we could escape when necessary. I also told him, I was going to explore the area by myself. He questioned it. But I shrugged it off and told him his role was more important. He took off.

As I advanced towards the estate, I realized the smoke was coming from inside the house. I reached the door. I opened it. I lied my eyes upon 3 strangely figured infected individuals. Their faces were caved in and had a strange bone crest on their forehead. They made some kind of hissing sound. Their spine seemingly protruded from their backs, but not hard enough to brake their rotten skin layers. Two of them were feasting on featureless corpses who’s first two layers of flesh had been completely removed. The one closest to the door I just opened, opened it’s mouth slightly and some colorless saliva type liquid dropped on the corpses featureless face. I looked closely to see the skinless corpses face meat layer slowly deteriorate. But only very mildly so. Then the skinless corpse slightly moved a limb. It’s forearms as well. A third skinless corpse was missing its lower torso. On the left side of its face all the meat layers have been removed revealing its skull eye socket. It barely moved as well. Its rib cage hung out and some normal infected feasted on the remaining origins of that deceased individual. Blood was smeared all over the floor.

These corpses they were feasting on looked fresh. As if it only recently occurred. The crest headed infected closest to me then threw his head in haste at me and snarled. Mouth dripping with the strange liquid. I aimed at its head and fired. It’s crest prevented the slug from entering its brain. It charged at me. I dodged its ram as it hit the wall. It then surprisingly backed up and began gargling. The other standard infected individuals took after it in a sense of leadership. I could tell it was going to projectile that liquid my direction. I hastily boosted my body for cover. I used a standard room door detached from its hinges. Thankfully the knob was still on it. I held onto it. The liquid seemed to have eaten through the wood as termites wound do. But only 8 minutes after. 4 seconds after the liquid hit the door, I rammed it as hard as I could. Which wasn’t very hard cause of the weight.

The crest heads moved significantly faster than the standard infected. Still not as fast as runners though. The crest head fought to reach me from the other side. I decided to blind the fucker and destroy its jaw. The 3 standard infected followed shortly behind. I also took its fingers off disabling its slash attacking ability. I carefully counted my last 3 rounds in my glock as the standard infected individual increasingly advanced. It had no sight , no jaw, and no fingers. Still it somehow sensed I was close to reaching a dead end in the hallway. It thrashed about. I dropped the antsy standard dead head behind him accurately. Then I realized the only way to kill it or destroy it was to remove the head from its body. Right then and there I knew I needed my Sauer rifle to do so. I detached the suppressor of the Sauer rifle. I didn’t want to take any chances. I needed to fire fast and efficiently. Not accurately. Not then. It was harder than I had previously perceived. It took 3 shots to create a crater in its neck near the Adam’s apple, knocking it out with other fleshy parts all over the place. The 3rd shot definitely slowed it down. It was beginning to get weaker due to the near slight detachment of its neck. But it kept itself moving. I had 2 more rounds left. I apparently got lucky because the first shot I landed dislocated the remaining flesh tendons from its deep cratered neck. It’s head hung from meat tendons. Some with fresh dead flesh on them. I landed a final shot. And believe it or not it was a lucky shot as well going through its sternum to its head after exiting the back of the sternum. The last standard zombie approached in a curious manner only to have a bullet plummet through its skull. The last remaining in the living room of the house was a crest head. He was chewing on the corpse of the skinless corpse before. Only now it was only a drenched skeleton with pieces of meat hanging off of it. I’m almost glad they’re that stupid. I would appreciate more of a challenge but every scruff I get into with these dead heads, I risk my life. Technically I do anyway. I put a slug in its upper side of its head.

For a moment I thought it was over. Then I heard a scream. My combat sessions with the undead seemingly attracted a lot of infected. They more than likely followed the flare signal marker smoke then smelled the trapped individual upstairs. I looked to split, but the entrance was getting blocked off by dead heads. I inserted the last clip I had for my glock handgun. I was very careful to land perfect headshots as I progressed to find a way out. I equipped my combat knife at the ready as well for personal close encounters. I thought I was done for. There were too many and they kept poring in. Then Don arrived in the armored vehicle and mowed them down with a SAW light machine gun. I was very grateful. I owed him one. I got in the armored vehicle with him and we sped off. We drove back to the helicopter. Don flew the helicopter of course. Me, driving, we stayed in contact via radio connection by an external input where it was compatible with our vehicles.

After about an hour of searching, we finally came upon what looked like to be a standard amateur survival camp. Needless to say, it’s members were not present at the time. Then we stumbled upon a trail. It seemed like these survivors have relocated. We followed the trail briefly just to be safe. Guns at the ready. To our surprise, there was an open field. It had been covered in trees until someone cut them all down. It’s anyone’s guess as to why. Before we advanced, a human figure zoomed out at us with wit and skill. Me and Don fired a couple of rounds and missed. He put his hands up. He had a crossbow on his back.

“Don’t shoot, I’m here to help”! He blurted out. We kept our guns on him.

“My names Zach and I can help”?

“What do you mean? What are you doing out here”? I questioned.

“Just surveying the neighboring grounds is all” Zach replied. He removed the crossbow from his back and put it on the ground humbly.

“What happened to the folks of those camps”? I asked.

“Some rabid gangs have been trying to take over these parts for awhile now. Many groups tried to fight back and it became a bloodbath. It’s under control now. We took care of it”.

“Whose we”? I asked.

“Wait, How come you showed up just before we were about to go on that field”? Asked Don suspiciously.

“I was just about to get to that”, stated Zach.

“It’s a fucking mine field. Product of all that stuff I just told you. I tried to save you”.

“Thanks”, I said plainly.

“Where’s your base”? I asked him.

“I’m not really supposed to tell survivors about it”, he said. Before he could continue, I spoke.

“Hold that thought”. I went to grab our trusty armored vehicle that has pulled us through for a good while. I showed him our weapons and explained how we could be of use. He generously agreed to introduce us to his base. I asked him how far it was. He said with our vehicle it would take no longer than 8 minutes.

The base turned out to be a cdc scientist institute. According to Zach, it was once a hospital. Then after the breakout it became a safe haven for survivors, doctors, and scientists alike. The leaders of the institute had made many reconfigurations to the place prior to the breakout. Especially after things settled down and the first wave of survivors attempted to reach salvation, I’d imagine. They called it the Obin institute. Not sure why, though. The institute is at least a couple of kilometers more wide than the first base and had a bigger antenna sticking out of the top. Some state of the art shit, I imagined. Definitely larger and seemingly more advanced than the last bases antenna. And for an hour after we arrived once I’d seen it, I had hope this would be our salvation. Needless to say, it wasn’t even close.

Like the last base, the institute had its own security military type style personnel. There were actually 3 branches in the institute. The first one, or the main priority rather, were the doctors and scientists who did the research prior to the outbreak and continue to do so. The second, were the security personnel, armed to the teeth. No different than last base. Although this one had more guards. The place was bigger and seemed to deem some sort of importance. We would find out soon. The dress code for the security forces were different than the previous. They were a darker shade of blue. Some wore hazmat type light plastic wear, and some just leather dark blue. Sometimes they even wore hazmat masks when guarding closed to survivors section or other secret studies. This caught my attention. Most bothered not to give a care.

That day, at the lunch table, we met two remarkable individuals.

“What do you think the deal is with the freaky cdc type masks the security are wearing”? I asked Don quietly. Don looked over to them guarding the entrance. There were two sets of them. One guarding the back exit, and one the sections of the institute entrance. Specifically, the scientist doctors headquarters.

“It’s probably part of the agreement. You know how this new world makes people act”, stated Don.

“I hope this place isn’t locked down on policy personnel procedures”, I said.

“I’m more worried about what they put into this food! I mean...who do you know who cooks something like this”?! Exclaimed Don.

“I’m about to launch a complaint file to the kitchen zone so they can get their shit together”, he continued. Then a friendly female voice spoke seemingly out of nowhere.

“You’ll eat what they give you, period. There’s not many options to getting your ways here at this place. I’m Anne”. Next to her was a fairly built male.

“This is Jerry, you must be new”, she said.

“I’m Josh and this is my friend slash pilot Don”, I said. We got acquainted. She and Jerry explained the physical layout of the institution. There were 6 sections of the whole institute. The first was the main HQ. Then came the work stations of the survival personnel including education sessions for young ones about the outbreak, the infected and whatnot. Then there was the security HQ. Next comes the vital Research labs stations filled with doctors and scientists for their work. Then the waste and trash compartments where the sewer pipes lead and where infected remains were disposed of, as we learned. The last two are vital as well with one of them being secret kept by the main scientist doctor organizers of the institute. The secret one was where they kept the genetically altered infected we learned later. Their goal was not just to solely find a cure but to explore the genetics and possibilities of the infected due to research and study. Implying that they had a group of hyper intelligent infected in there somewhere. Locked up. Kept secret from most of the personnel of the institute. Only few doctors knew of it. The last one was the last resort plan which consisted of a self destruct room with all kinds of explosives. Not just the shrapnel kind. There were rumors of nuclear warheads. This was top secret info. Me and Don figured it out prior to the institute outbreak before Jerry and Anne..... well we’ll get to that.

Apparently survivors were called in for monthly check ups. This made me feel uneasy in a place as organized and strict as this. It didn’t feel right. There were rules and rewards for those who ace their check ups. More privileges were attained. More freedom and whatnot. About 68 percent of the time in the institute was idly social. The rest was work and eating(also partly social). Jobs and assignments were based upon what the scientists and doctors needed for their current research. For the good of the survivors, the institute, mankind and whatnot. You were required to work and assist the institute if you wanted to stay there. It was fairly paced and gave survivors free social time. It went well for most and seemed to be a good fit. Except for the check ups. After awhile, the four of us started noticing that every now and then someone would not return from their check up. The institute was very sly about this. They did their best to keep the survivors distracted and lied to them. Then they promoted the suspicious ones and whatnot. We even fell victim to this a couple of times. Then we decided to do something about it. In the course of a month, we became acquainted with a devastated individual by the name of Dean. We were very sympathetic towards him. His little brother had been gone for almost two months. He was distraught. We came up with a plan. It needed to happen sooner or later. Because we knew whatever they were doing was in favor of the research this facility was conducting. And boy were we right.

We took a huge step. If was a huge risk. Very dangerous if we got caught. We eventually made it to the depletion of dangerous chemicals department. You didn’t need special clearance to get in. Also implying no electronically locked door was in the way. This proved to be their downfall. However, they never expected anyone to rebel such as we did. We ran into the remains of his brother and several other survivors we were acquainted and even befriended by. One by the name of James was diced up from his knees to his upper chest, most of his body missing. Dean and two other friends were distraught. Dean couldn’t help but to release a mild outburst. Whatever he hit, he activated the mini mechanical machine like tubes connected to the clean un operated head of the dead one called James. The head made an unearthly screeching sound and it’s eyes rolled to the back of its head. It vibrated. The diced meat and organs of James in a blender type compacter, began turning the diced pieces into liquid. Blood spat out of the heads mouth. Then strained out the ears, nose, and eyes with intense flow.

“Turn it off!”, screamed Dean. I spun to the crew and told them now is the chance to escape and start a battle to fight for our lives against the institutes personnel. They gave it all they had. Right after the incoming security were ambushed and killed by us. We took their weapons and got ready for the next wave. We apparently forgot to double tap one of the corpses from the first wave. Unbeknownst to us ,the viral infected didn’t attack us. It knew. It just wanted to feed. So it messed around the blender compacter as we massacred the second wave. Eventually it got the lid open and detached it. It went to town and drank from it like a smoothie from heaven. How did I know? Well I could hear it. I was just too busy killing assholes to pay attention to our unwanted guest. Eventually the greedy fucker took a chunk out of Gabe right before vomiting a single series of its smoothie and head right on us. Then we blew its head off, obviously.

We made it to the announcement room baring only 4 casualties counting Gabe. We had a defector in the kitchen slash HQ. He set the area on fire, metaphorically speaking. Soon all hell broke loose. Me and Don were lucky enough to retrieve our vehicles as they were confiscated and defected by the institute. It was a huge battle. Very savage and violent. Survivors versus security personnel. Luckily, the institute wasn’t prepared for the onslaught, meaning however many survivors died, we breached the scientist doctor HQ research experimentation area. Many of the survivors, knowing what the doctors were responsible for, lead them to their horrible deaths. Such as drowning in the blood, guts, and remains of infected, slow brain frying, quartering procedures designed for infected and so much more. It seemed we were triumphant. A lot of it was because of me and Dons defense play I’ll admit. With my infamous armored vehicle and it’s weapons. Especially cause we found a cannon that fits onto the vehicle. We killed many. However, as the threat of the security died down, there was the evident threat of the oncoming infected attracted by the battle. Thousands at the gate to the institute.

It wasn’t long until someone discovered the secret room. I never got to see what it looked like and part of me is glad I didn’t. However the intelligent infected became loose. There were 4 of them. Two looked to be of African descent. One bald the other with a Bob Marley hairstyle. Their mouths were covered in blood. The haired ones jaw was hung ajar. But it’s hand flesh and muscle were chewed off until the end of the forearm. The fleshed out bone wasn’t a hand but more of a fingerless implant of some sort of sharpened chain piece it seemed. The other two were American militarily generals it seemed. Right after the infected made their way in, me and Don were mowing down wages of oncoming infected. Anne and Jerry were with us at first but realized they needed to prevent the outside infected from finding other ways to breach the institute. They always do. As usual we had the unfortunate luxury of witnessing their deaths. Jerry mowed down the two military generals who had managed to kill and mutilate 8 survivors. Almost killing Anne as well. Then he was decapitated by the zooming smart infected with the chain piece. Anne attempted to mow it down. It apparently made a circle where it met up with the other one. They each stabbed their limbs(hands with arms)into both of her sides. They ripped her in two staring from the middle. The middle of her body as well as her chest became separated, creating a hole in her body in which the hole spread as a tear to her neck and downwards to her groin as well. Until she was separated completely in two. Her blood and insides of her body lost their gravity the instant it happened. I then also witnessed a guy get his heart ripped out and eaten by them almost as fast as when they killed Anne. He was alive and watched them eat it. It was time for an endgame to get the hell out of this place. Unfortunately, there was still more to witness before we were free. Infected just being themselves. And people used to think that was a good thing.

We realized more deadheads were becoming apparent because the two smart infected have cracked some infected attracting tech of which I am familiar with. Although I wasn’t surprised they had it here. So we attempted to locate the source. We attempted a shortcut we believed to be plausable. It just lead to another infected hellhole. Although this time there was plenty to see. This is all I recall: a torsoless rotter with intestines dangling out the side of its ribcage was feasting on a dead security mans torn open thorax, slowly. Then an obese infected with its giant stomach layer flaps open. It’s ribcage was visible and it held its intestines as did two other legless infected. It stared at me viciously. It put its intestine in its mouth. I observed all this very quickly. Then I looked up. It only got worse. There were dozens of blood covered infected seemingly taking other more rotten infected apart to either connect more limbs to already limbed infected for fun, or attempt to put the disassembled rotten infected back together. They used intestines to tie the body parts in place. Many intestines. It was as it appeared. Whether they were successful or not is something we’ll never know and I pray you never will. That’s all you need to know. We hauled ass out of there. The smart one eventually caught up to us. The other ‘artists’ reaching out to him slowly. Him zooming by without regards. We stayed in the vehicle. It ran from one side of the vehicle to the other, tirelessly. A helicopter came by. We were lucky to find a un designated route out of the compound. We thought we got luckier. Nope. It was a high ranking doctor who did business with the institute. He almost killed Don, but I got him in time. Knowing how many trackers were in the copter, we blew it up. We took off. The dead, arriving like vultures. Nothing really changes anymore once you think about it. We’ve been searching for gas for awhile now.

[alwaysaprille]

Anyway...

As one can assume based on my username I spend a lot of time thinking about Bellamy, who he is and what makes him who he is. My most recent round of thinking circled around to JRoth and his statements about Madi potentially causing issues between Bellamy and Clarke (because Clarke will do things for Madi that may not align with what’s best for their people), which made me think about what Bellamy’s relationships with children specifically over the course of the last four Seasons have said about his story arc, so let’s delve into this:

In Season 1, Bellamy’s connection to a child is Charlotte (who is 12). Through his relationship with her, we get our first real glimpse into who Bellamy actually is. Charlotte is only in two episodes (1x03 and 1x04) but her impact in Bellamy resonates across the Season.

Charlotte has a relationship with both Clarke and Bellamy and it’s one of the ways the show gives us a visualization of the differences between Bellamy and Clarke. We’re first introduced to Charlotte when she has a nightmare and Clarke attempts to comfort her:

Clarke: “Hey, wake up. It's okay. It's okay. It's just a dream. You're Charlotte, right? I'm Clarke. It's okay to be scared. Do you want to talk about it?”

Charlotte: “It's… my parents. They were floated and they… and I see it in my dreams and I just…”

Clarke: “I understand. My dad was floated, too. So, how did you end up here?”

Charlotte: “Well… we were taking my parents' things to the redistribution center and… I kind of lost it. They said I assaulted a guard.”

Clarke: “I can't say I blame you. See that bright star up there? That's The Ark orbiting above us. I think whatever happened up there, you know, the pain… maybe we can move past that now. Maybe being on the ground is our second chance.”

The next time we see Charlotte she’s followed Bellamy and the hunting party because she can’t deal with the sound of Jasper’s pain, unfortunately before they can make it back to camp the acid fog rolls in and we find Bellamy and Charlotte trapped in a cave.  Again, Charlotte is sleeping and has a nightmare, a parallel to her first interaction with Clarke, but they differ in how they handle the situation with Charlotte:

Charlotte: “No!”

Bellamy: “Charlotte, wake up. Charlotte: I'm sorry.”

Bellamy: “Does it happen often? What are you scared of? You know what? It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what you do about it.”

Charlotte: “But… I'm asleep.”

Bellamy: “Fears are fears. Slay your demons when you're awake, they won't be there to get you when you sleep.”

Charlotte: “Yeah, but… How?”

Bellamy: “You can't afford to be weak. Down here, weakness is death, fear is death. Let me see that knife I gave you. Now, when you feel afraid, you hold tight to that knife and you say, ‘Screw you. I'm not afraid.'”

Charlotte: Screw you. I'm not afraid. Screw you. I'm not afraid.”

Bellamy: “Slay your demons, kid. Then you'll be able to sleep.”

We see the difference in Bellamy and Clarke’s handling of the situation from the get go, while Clarke tries to get Charlotte to embrace the fear and learn from it, Bellamy encourages her to run from that fear, to pretend that she’s not afraid, to slay her demons. And we know she does this with disastrous effect when she kills Wells.

Bellamy is shaken by Charlotte’s actions, because they were influenced by his words, but “Weakness is death, fear is death” is still a statement that Bellamy embraces for the rest of the Season, in fact the only reason we actually see him admit to being afraid is when he thinks he’s dying (in a moment of weakness).

They deleted a scene where Bellamy gives a rousing speech to the Delinquents, but here’s what he says:

“Everybody, listen up. I know you’re afraid, but how you choose to handle that fear is up to you. You can let it break you down or you can use it to make you stronger. Are we just a bunch of kids from the Ark who weren’t strong enough to survive? Because if we lose today, if we let the fear win, that is what they’ll say about us. But I say screw fear: I’m telling my own damn story!”

Bellamy’s rejection of fear is the first sign that he’s anything other than the asshole that the show originally attempted to paint him as and also sets up his defining arc (”Screw fear.”) for Season 1.

Bellamy’s Season 2 kid is Lovejoy’s son and he’s introduced in Episode 2x11 (not as early as Charlotte) but he is a defining moment for Bellamy:

Lovejoy’s Son: “Mister... Are you on a ground unit? My dad is training for a ground unit.”

Bellamy: “It's pretty cool up there. I hope he makes it. They're just kids.”

Maya: “What did you expect you'd find here?”

And Maya’s question is an accurate assessment of Bellamy’s thought process until the moment he sees Lovejoy’s kid. He really did believe that the Mountain was full of monsters (and why shouldn’t he have?). Seeing Lovejoy’s kid forces him to reconsider the plan of attack and that’s when he almost begs Clarke for another:

“She helped me escape. If not for her, I'd be dead. And, Clarke, there are kids in here. We need a plan that doesn't kill everyone. Please tell me we have one.”

Because Bellamy can handle killing monsters. That’s just slaying your demons, but kids? That’s a violation of everything he believes and it’s being forced to help make the decision that ultimately kills 26 children (along with the men and women) that is responsible for contributing to Bellamy breaking after his actions in the Mountain. 

Because for the first time slaying demons meant killing innocents as well. 

His Season 3 Kid? Adria, the girl who Luna loves. 

Again, this child is introduced late into the Season and they don’t actually interact much, but it is the first time that Bellamy actually sees with his own eyes the carnage that the Chipped!individuals can wreak on unsuspecting towns and its then that he fully realizes that the Chipped! aren’t enemies in the traditional sense. 

His interactions with Adria (and the others on Niylah’s rig) help lay the groundwork for Bellamy’s refusal to invade other Grounder villages the very next episode and, later, his insistence that the Chipped! are not killed only temporarily incapacitated until Clarke could shut down the CoL. 

Because this time, they are going to find a plan that saves everyone, unlike the ultimate resolution for Season 2. 

And last but not least, we have his Season 4 Kid: The Grounder Slave girl he saves in 4x02, When he saves her (and the other slaves), it’s a continuation of the journey he’s been on since Season 2 and Lovejoy’s kid:

Bellamy: “We didn't get the machine.”

Clarke: “It didn't survive landing?”

Bellamy: “No. It did, but I had a choice... bring the machine home or use it to save them.”

Raven: “Oh, we are so screwed.”

Bellamy: “We have time, but I am not sacrificing any more innocent lives.”

Clarke: “You just did.”

Bellamy: “I made the call, and I'll live with that.”

Raven: “Yeah. You're not the only one who has to live with your call, as usual.”

Bellamy: “Well, go tell them. Go tell Riley I should've left them to die.” Bellamy has been forever changed by his actions over the course of the Seasons, but this is the first time we see him directly reference the loses he’s had to inflict in order to save his people. This is the beginning of Bellamy’s “We save who we can save today” arc. 

We see this arc come to final fruition when Bellamy has to make the decision to close the door on Clarke and blast off. The arc that we see begin for him in 4x02, saving those who can be saved, even if it ultimately means that others will die in that episode, is what preps him to be able to make the decision to close the door on Clarke in 4x13. 

It wasn’t just Clarke’s speech about using his head (although we do see him reference her with “It’s what she would have wanted”), it was the fact that he’d already made a decision just like this. Choosing to stay behind to wait for Clarke would have meant the death of the others on the rocket and while Bellamy might have been willing to make the sacrifice if it was just him (”I left her behind. I left her behind and we all die anyway”), he could not justify making the decision for everyone else, so he saved who he could save today. 

Basically....I wrote all of this out to say we should be paying close attention to Bellamy’s initial interactions with Madi (who will likely be one of the first children he meets) in Season 5, because they obviously plant lots of little seeds for Bellamy’s overarching Season journey in his relationships with children. 

[spoldhamauthor]

Rewriting ‘Remember, Remember the 5th of November’ and An Open Letter on Fireworks

An old post but worth repeating I feel. The dates have changed but not much else has, unfortunately.

Right, I am sure this is going to make me very unpopular in certain quarters, but given that it is like a war zone in many areas at the moment (hasn't been too bad here compared to last year) and given that I am a writer, I couldn't resist attempting a modern rewrite of the famous 17th century poem 'Remember, Remember.' Mine is called, 'Surrender, Surrender.'

Surrender, surrender, the fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot. There’s very good reason Why gunpowder treason Should these days be forgot!

Every year, without lament We make occasion of a man’s intent Far worse has been done since, we know We don’t ‘celebrate’ those things, do we now?

Out of mercy for animals, both wild and pets For the emergency services, hospitals and vets Forgo the fireworks, but let the bells ring That was all that was called for, in the beginning.

And what shall we do with him? Let him rest!

S P Oldham

The original is here, if you are interested: http://www.bonfirenight.net/remember.php

My ranty letter is below. Please scroll down.

So, have at me then. But I feel very strongly about this!

(By the way, the punishment for treason was true horror. Take a look at this paragraph, taken from BBC History - The Gunpowder Plot by Bruce Robinson.

"the traditional punishment for traitors: hanging, drawing and quartering. They would be hanged until half-dead, upon which their genitals would be cut off and burned in front of them. Still alive, their bowels and heart would be removed. Finally they would be decapitated and dismembered; their body parts would be publicly displayed, eaten by the birds as they decomposed."

Guy Fawkes escaped this latter part, though he was subjected to torture. As he stepped up to the gallows he threw himself sideways, falling and breaking his neck. A mercy for him, undoubtedly.)

An Open Letter

I put off writing this letter for some time, taking the view that others have made similar points and that in amongst the wealth of opinions and conversations out there in the ether my voice would likely go unheard. However, I finally got round to writing it because I need to vent as much as anything! That said, I think my points are valid. Some of the reference links may be a little dated now, but I bet it wouldn't take you long to search for similar incidents that are current, should you wish to.

My letter takes on two points:

1.) Why fireworks should be at the very least NOT AVAILABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC and at best, banned completely

2.) Why we should not be celebrating Bonfire Night, at least not in the way that we currently do, any more.

This is the point where I know a lot of you will say “miserable old cow wants to spoil everyone’s fun, bet she watched fireworks as a kid” or similar, and stop reading. Well that’s up to you, but if you can stick with me, I believe my reasons are valid.

Idiotic behaviour by irresponsible people, in a nutshell, Historical reports have shown the dangerous activities certain individuals have undertaken with fireworks, including throwing them at people. In my own area I can confirm that people have set off fireworks in the neighbourhood, on the fields, in local garages and even throwing them into bins outside houses, for at least 6 weeks BEFORE Bonfire Night! (NB the date is 19th October 2018. As I edit this to bring it up to date, someone was just letting off fireworks on the street outside!) I don’t for one minute believe this is just an issue in South Wales. Please, please comment below with your experiences in your area. Link to historical report as an example: 2 year old had fireworks thrown at him, Manchester

‘Grade’ of Firework available – police are concerned that the grade and strength if you will, of fireworks being used by the public is too powerful and capable of causing immense damage. It is only a matter of time before someone is killed. For the sake of a minute or two of supposed ‘fun.’ The hard part about this of course, is that they also think these fireworks are being bought online. Commercial grade fireworks used in incident

Lots of kids don’t like fireworks! Not every child sees Bonfire Night as fun. It can be a night of fear and nervousness for them too, not to mention the weeks either side of the night itself when people are STILL setting them off! 'Utter Madness'

Pets – why should our poor animals go through this distress every year? They have no understanding of what is happening and for some of them it is a time of utter fear and misery. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just on November 5th but as I have stated above, it isn’t! Many of them run away out of fear, some are never seen again – as a consequence of ‘fun.’ I can't bring myself to talk about the sick people who deliberately abuse and harm animals with fireworks, which is obviously an outright illegal act, Our pets on Bonfire Night As for wildlife, all I can say is poor things!

Emergency Services – aren’t our poor, beleaguered Emergency Services up against it enough with endless cutbacks and understaffing, without adding the workload of unfortunate accidents and/or stupid, malicious incidents on and around Bonfire Night to their list of things to do? It has been reported historically that some Ambulance Services have even had to temporarily relocate their vehicles and HQ to avoid being deliberately attacked by fireworks. One ex-services paramedic likened it to being under fire in an operational situation! Totally unacceptable! Not to mention the financial cost of these services having to attend when there is an accident – or a deliberate incident. Just one example...

Environmental Hazard – when we are all constantly being told via the media, the government etc. that we should be more and more environmentally aware, how is it that no one seems to be looking into the negative effects of numerous fireworks and their debris upon the environment? I am no expert but I can’t believe for one minute that it is anything but damaging. Can anyone enlighten me on this? Apparently it's not good...

Burning an Effigy – in 2016? Really? Quite justifiably so, there was outrage, shock and horror when a poor Jordanian pilot was burned alive by Isis in 2015. Yet every year we encourage CHILDREN to mock up a human being and then burn it on what is essentially a pyre! If that is not hypocrisy, I don’t know what is! And we call it a celebration! Should we really be celebrating the horrific, painful death of Guy Fawkes,(who was not even burned incidentally, so it is not even historically correct) who, whatever else he was, was a real human being? I am a lover of history and I believe our children need to know the facts, as gruesome as they may have been. But there must be a better way to mark the occasion than this. Just to add, there are numerous jokes on the internet about how Guy Fawkes was the last person to enter parliament with honest intentions. That being the case, WHY do we celebrate his death every year? Is that not just another hypocrisy? How Guy Fawkes died  

Hedgehogs – some experts reckon that hedgehogs may be extinct in the next 20 years or so. I am not for one minute suggesting not lighting bonfires on November 5th will turn this around, but it has got to help surely? How many of these poor creatures have burned to death because someone has forgotten to check the bonfire, or not had time to do it? How many other animals too I wonder? Poor old hedgehogs...

Now you would be right to call me a hypocrite based on what I have done in the past. We attended bonfires when the kids were little. Not so much the fireworks as my oldest was none too keen on them when he was small. We bought the odd packet of sparklers for sharing in the garden too – and there are stories of awful accidents involving them. It’s a fair cop guv- I am not denying it. However, since then I have grown, matured and become more aware. Were my kids still little now I am not at all sure I would bother with Bonfire Night. More and more it presses on my conscience that we shouldn’t be doing this. In an age when we are supposed to be tolerant, fair-minded, environmentally minded and so on, that we keep inflicting this carnage on our own society year in year out makes less and less sense to me.

There must be a better way to mark the day. Something productive rather than destructive. Something that can help rather than hinder. Something that we can be proud of, rather than having to watch or read awful news reports about things that happened because of this so-called ‘celebration.’ Something like, I don’t know – community planting of trees or something, with a barbecue afterwards. Child-friendly events like storytelling in the woods by lamplight with a toffee apple to munch on the way home. Ok, they are a bit lame and off the top of my head – if you can do better (and I am sure you can,) comment below!

Anyway, that’s my tu’pennorth on the subject. Feel free to add your thoughts below but can we do it like adults please? No lowering ourselves to childish name-calling, insults and threats. We can disagree without all that rubbish. Topics like this really need a grown-up approach.

Thank you.

[seigyokus]

5.3 - A Call from Nagi

Idolish Seven - Part 3, Chapter 5.3 For more Part 3 translations, click here!

Translation below the cut!

Yuki: Momo, what is this about? Momo: Uh.... We're talking about a game! One that we've been super into lately! Tsukumo Ryou: He's helping me expose Chiba Salon in order to protect your future position in the industry. To be more specific, I'm having him sell Nikaidou Yamato to me piece by piece. Momo: ......You didn't have to tell Yuki that! Tsukumo Ryou: Oh, but I just want to see you two fight. Yuki: ....... Is this true, Momo....... Momo: ......Sorry I kept quiet about this! But please understand! This is for your sake! Yuki: ...Momo.... My arm hurts. Momo: We want things to go well, right? And there are times where if you can't beat 'em, then you just gotta join 'em! I'm begging you, please don't look at me like that! Yuki: ....... Yuki: Don't touch me! *slap* Momo: Y-Yuki....... Tsukumo Ryou: Wow! This is amazing! It's a shame that I'm the only one here to witness Re:vale fight right before my eyes! What a waste. Momo: ......! Get out! Tsukumo Ryou: Aw, but it's just getting started. Momo: Shut up! Get out......! *slam* Yuki: ....... Yuki: ......Are you okay? Momo: Shh. Wait. Yuki: Huh......? Momo: --I'm so sorry! Forgive me! Please don't throw me away, Yuki! Waaah, ahh, ahh.... Momo: Waaaah, ahhh.... Yuki: Um....... Momo: This should be good. It's okay now. Yuki: When you grabbed me earlier, you whispered to me, "Hit me." Is that correct? Momo: That man's a bully, after all. I just figured he wouldn't leave until he saw some carnage. Momo: I'm really sorry about that. I made you do something so awful, even though you're a gentleman.... Yuki: I'm the one who should be apologizing. It hurt, didn't it? So what were you talking about earlier? You weren't serious about exposing Yamato-kun, were you? Momo: No way! As if I could sell off those kids. Ban-san loves them! But it is true that there's people moving to expose it. Momo: It's not gonna stop at the weekly tabloids. Apparently there's some big names in the industry that are a part of this, so I'm trying to find out who those people are. Momo: The reason why they wanna expose this scandal is because of a grudge, out of righteous anger, or for money. If I get the names of everyone involved, then it'd be possible beat him to the punch and talk them out of it. Yuki: Any guesses so far? Momo: There's a lot of people.... And one of them is a really big name in the industry. Momo: ......Who? Momo: Top actress Asamiya Tomoe-san. Shizuo-san's wife. *click* Tsukumo Ryou: Right! I just remembered something.... Yuki: --I'll fucking kill you! Momo: Forgive me! Please, please forgive me! Tsukumo Ryou: I do apologize for bothering you while you're preoccupied, but Yuki. You may be close to Hoshikage, but I'll instantly know if you squeal to him. Tsukumo Ryou: You see, I've planted a spy in Hoshikage. With that, ding-ding-ding-ding! Let round two begin. *slam* Yuki: ......There's a spy in Hoshikage? Momo: God, he pisses me off! The gong only sounds once at the beginning of a new round! It only sounds four times at the end......! Yuki: I can't believe you put up with that man.... Like I said, don't get involved with weirdos. Momo: That's my line! Shizuo-san works you to the bone! You went to wash his car and shovel snow for him before, right? Yuki: Those were just excuses for him to give me pocket money. Shizuo-san is really good at taking care of people-- Momo: What part of that is good!? It was to the point where I was just like, "If the world's beloved Chiba keeps sending Yuki off on pointless errands, then I guess I'm gonna have to destroy the world!" (1) Yuki: It's better than some overly gaudy man who's insane! Even I knew that he was dangerous from the the instant I saw him. More importantly, why didn't you tell me about this sooner? Momo: You were busy with filming and composing, so I didn't wanna bother you about this.... I was gonna tell you once I figured out who the people doing the exposing were. Yuki: ......I genuinely thought you got corrupted by him and were fully on-board with his plan. Momo: That I'd sell Yamato for your sake? Yuki: Yeah.... Because you tend to worry and brood, Momo. Momo: You wouldn't have doubted it if it were Ban-san though, right? Yuki: I guess so. Ban's really dry, and nothing holds him down. (2) Momo: ......So that's how it is, huh!! I guess I'm sopping wet then!!! (3) Yuki: ......I never said anything about that. Look. Wet wipes are more valuable for cleaning, right? Good job. Momo: Being compared to cleaning goods doesn't make me happy! Even if it's praise! I'll soak you! I'm gonna drench you with condensation! Yuki: Sorry, sorry. Momo: *sob*.... I wanna be a man befitting of fresh laundry like Ban-san....... Yuki: It's fine. It'll just freeze on Mount Everest, after all. Momo: Mount Everest? Yuki: You were the first person to make me work my hardest, Momo. Not Ban. Momo: ......? What are you talking about? Yuki: ....... It's nothing. I finished the demo. You wanna listen to it, right? Momo: You finished!? Even though you were so busy with filming!? That's incredible! I thought you were gonna need more time! Momo: This is great! I super duper can't wait to listen! I knew it, Yuki's a genius......! Yuki: Haha.... I guess so. Momo: Somebody looks happy! I bet you're proud of this one! Yuki: Now I'm proud of it.

Nikaidou Yamato: Hah....... My pulse is racing so fast my heart hurts....... Nikaidou Yamato: ......But I have to go back....... *click* Rokuya Nagi: Hello! Nikaidou Yamato: Ah....... Rokuya Nagi: ....... Nikaidou Yamato: I.... I'm home.... Rokuya Nagi: Welcome back. We've been waiting for you to return. Nikaidou Yamato: Yeah.... Ah.... What happened to the entryway? Is it me or did the security got a lot stricter while I was gone......? Rokuya Nagi: That's not of great importance. Look at me, Yamato. Nikaidou Yamato: But, like.... The windows look kinda grim too....... Rokuya Nagi: Rather than talking about the windows, why don't you talk about yourself? We'll hear all about it tonight. Right, Yamato? Nikaidou Yamato: ....... Yeah, that's what I was gonna do. Rokuya Nagi: OK. Do you know how I feel.... Rokuya Nagi: After urging you, over and over and over again to answer my question.... For you to find that answer at someone else's house, someone who isn't even a member...... Nikaidou Yamato: Huh? Rokuya Nagi: Fine. Bring it on. Nikaidou Yamato: Uh.... Are you mad......? Rokuya Nagi: No, no, no! Do you mind if I inform everyone that you've returned? I'm sure they'll be very, very delighted to hear that. Nikaidou Yamato: ...Sure, but.... Hm? Who are you calling? Rokuya Nagi: .......

Rokuya Nagi: Hello, President! Tonight's going to be Round 1 of Yamato's Confessions! If you have time, please do stop by! Nikaidou Yamato: ......Hey! Just who are you inviting!? Rokuya Nagi: OH! You have something planned? No worries. Thanks. Next-- Hello, Yaotome-shi! Nikaidou Yamato: Hey! Let's keep it to just the members! Hey, are you mad at me? If you are then just tell me, please! Rokuya Nagi: Hello! Mister Yuki. What are you plans for tonight? Nikaidou Yamato: Stop!!! That man's already given me hell! Rokuya Nagi: Hello, Kujou-shi! Nikaidou Yamato: Are you kidding me? Come on......! *click* Nanase Riku: Welcome back, Yamato-san! I'm really glad you're back! Osaka Sougo: --I heard from Nagi-kun, so I rushed back! Yotsuba Tamaki: Is it true you're doing a confession session? I mean, we've done a lot up ‘til now, but this is the first time it's gotten a legit name! (4) Yotsuba Tamaki: That's our leader! You're so on point! Nikaidou Yamato: Noooooooo......!

*click* Kujou Ten: Good evening. So I heard you guys fought, IDOLiSH7. Is everything alright? Yaotome Gaku: What was the important thing you wanted to talk about? Wait-- No way. Are you getting married, Nikaidou? Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Wait, really!? Oh no, I came here empty-handed! But, I see.... Today's a lucky day, after all! Nikaidou Yamato: Are you shitting me, even TRIGGER came!? No way, give me a break...! Onii-san can't do this, it's impossible......! *click* Momo・Yuki: Good evening! We're Re:vale! Nikaidou Yamato: Ahhhhhhhhhh.... *click* Izumi Iori: We have returned. Izumi Mitsuki: Sorry we're late! Nagi told me that Yamato-san's gonna tell us everything tonight.... Yaotome Gaku・Kujou Ten・Tsunashi Ryuunosuke・Momo・Yuki: Pardon the intrusion. Izumi Mitsuki: ....... Izumi Mitsuki: ......Damn, you've really steeled yourself. Are you giving a presentation or something? Nikaidou Yamato: Oh no. No. Definitely not.... Let's go to a bar, just the two of us.... How about we quietly reconcile there, yeah...? Izumi Mitsuki: Wow, in tears already?

To be continued....

TL Notes/comments:

THANK U @kuriiii FOR PROOFREADING AS USUAL!!

(1) tl’d it at face value but this may or may not be a reference to Sonny Chiba??? not 100% sure 

(2) begin headache: yuki uses an onomatopoeic word for crisp/dry, but it can also mean someone who doesn't get bogged down/is refreshing. casually inserts both meanings 4 emphasis/representation i guess. BUT THE MOMO PLAYS OFF OF THE "DRY" meaning and............. 

(3) idk how the word 'wet' ended up as 'wetty' in Japanese but im dying this metaphor thing runs into ch 5.4 too

(4) PLEASE BEAR W/ MY CREATIVE LIBERTIes,

As usual, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, please message me!

Thank you for reading!!

[black-strike-otp]

part 2

time to shitpost becuz it’s hard to sleep with loud assholes about lmao

Of course, the heroin of this story cannot die because what fun would that be and how would otp be a thing (unless- ghost au. But let's not)? So a wee little gullible Novastrike managed to survive being in Decepticon territory. She’s very cautious and takes a slow, tedious trek with little risk as possible as she tries heading back to familiar Autobot territory. It takes weeks, but it’s worth it in the end when she manages to rejoin a fellow group of Autobots.

Quickly identified, Novastrike is immediately court-martialed by an Autobot officer. She is found guilty of some of the accusations against her; and is offered minor penalties more or less. Apparently news had reached Optimus Prime himself and although not thrilled with an escaped Decepticon commanding officer, he realizes that from reports, the ideals of Autobots were indeed not being followed by her team and gave the femme some slack.

With a ‘slap on the wrist’ punishment more or less, Nova is eventually allowed to be placed back in service. She is moved to a less-popular location for work and given the duty clean up crew, ie, doing the lackey chores around base, cleaning up after others, aiding in the disposal of bodies (”who was this, sir?” “Don’t ask questions, femme, just do your job.” “.... Yes sir.”).

Nova sees no battle, does nothing of particular value, and spends her spare time training despite the occasional mocking comment that there’s no way she’s ever going to see combat again. Undeterred; perhaps just stubborn or convinced she will see combat one way or another (of her choosing or not), she continues on training.

It pays off.

A Decepticon raid takes the Autobots off guard in the area. The entry of the base becomes overrun. Novastrike ends up joining those defending the area, and helps to hold the line until reinforcements.

She’s praised for her bravery, and it’s pointed out her combat skills are rough and sloppy, but she lived. Minor injures, but she was a good shot- but with a stun gun? Most say that was a ludicrous choice in weaponry, and Nova just shrugs it off and states there’s no weapons around for her size besides the training weapons.

Honest. There’s a small voice in the back of Novastrike’s head though. A flutter in the pit of her tanks. A jumping pulse momentarily in her spark.

The young femme has never killed before. The idea unnerves her, greatly.

With the pressure of the war mounting on even their unimportant locations doorstep, the commanding officer commissions new weapons be made. And he even takes into account Novastrike, under the high regard of some other Bots.

Slowly, the duties of others on base shift to allow everyone more training hours as well as give the responsibility of cleaning up the base. With more free time, Nova can train with more bots. It’s slow work, very slow, but she starts to progress in dealing with various size bots and smaller bots, and minicons, help advise her and encourage her the most.

A nearby base radios across Autobot channels one day they are under enemy fire and recover backup. The commanding Autobot of Nova’s base assembles a team. He’s hesitant to call up upon Novastrike but does so- trusting she will bring her recently assembled weapons.

What a foolish child, this little femme. She swallows her fear best she can, and at the last possible moment, switches out her new shiny guns for her training stun guns. Primus, she didn’t want to offline anyone.

It’s a massacre. Inbound, and they can see bodies litter the ground. Aboard the airship they’re dropped close to the ground and their air support takes off to aid from above. Novastrike can’t even take it all in. She’s never seen so many dead Cybertronian. Energon is everywhere, faces frozen even in death with horror and pain.

Her knees nearly buckle. This senseless violence, this carnage and death, and all for what? Couldn’t there be another way, was there no other alternative than to kill those who didn’t agree with you? The Council that had controlled Cybertron was scattered and most dead, could they not just work on a new government, could they not just work together?

There is yelling and blood and everyone is charging. Nova is caught up in the fray; stumbling over corpses with a shudder and soft apology. The deceased deserve better than to be trampled on in death.

“Primus bless your Sparks, I am sorry.”

Novastrike quickly tries to avoid confrontation as they charge head-on into the Decepticon forces. Spark pounding she follows the edges of battle towards the Autobot base, perhaps hoping to help others out there.

A femme blocks her way. She grins wildly; but she doesn’t see Nova. Her eyes are fixed on someone else in the throng of battle.

Spotting the Decepticon insignia on the femme’s shoulder, Novastrike stops. She raises her pistol shakily and fires, several times.

The stun rounds hit the femme and she shrieks wildly. She turns but it’s too late; too many stun rounds hit her and she stumbles awkwardly and falls.

Shuddering, Novastrike darts around the femme’s limp form and hurries along.

A weak plea for help catches her attention. Nova follows it, crawling over some deceased bodies to spot a Decepticon lying in a twisted heap of metal, his torso all but frayed in two.

An overwhelming sense of sympathy and an urgent need to do something sends Novastrike scrambling down to the mech’s side. He offers his servo, and she doesn’t even hesitate to grasp his digit gently.

“Please help... please help me.”

“What can I do?” Nova asks. She’s clueless. She’s no medic. She can’t help this mech. Her optics well with tears.

The mech continues to mutter weakly, his words turning to a slur. Novastrike grips his digit tightly. “I’m sorry,” she whispers while watching the mech slowly die. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

The light of his optics flicker and slowly fade. A gray hue begins to slowly creep over the mech’s frame as his mouth falls slack.

Novastrike places a servo against her mouth and bows her head. With a quiet prayer in her thoughts, she stands respectfully silent for the mech.

A shudder ripples through the ground. Novastrike looks up and hears the crack of an enormous weapon; energy rippling in the air.

An explosion nearly atop of her causes the front of the Autobot base to become a field of shrapnel and fire. Novastrike releases the mech’s digit and runs. It’s all she can hope to do as searing hot metal comes flying; searing and shooting straight through her limbs as she awkwardly dives over bodies.

The explosion forces Nova right in the midst of the fighting. Beads of energon dot her frame where twisted metal hit her, cut through her with ease. She’s shaking, sizzling circuits crackling, optics wide and side somewhat scorched.

Pedes are slamming all around her and Nova dodges wildly, not knowing who is who, where her allies are. She leaps away from the spray of weapon and splatter of others. A mech takes notice of her, and fires off an array of bullets. Nova dances back, trips, and manages to fall into the chassis of a dead bot of some kind.

With a squeal of fright she tries clammering out. The mech is momentarily distracted with firing at someone else, but spots her getting up and begins to shift his weapon towards her.

Unwilling to wait for another spray of fire, Nova half sags back into the cover of the torn up dead Cybertronian and raises her stun gun and fires it wildly at the mech.

He goes down.

With a breath of relief, Novastrike climbs out of the carcass’s holey body. She feels a stir in her, a small determination.

Before the feeling can leave her she charges into the fight.

There’s no good thing about war. But there is good. Novastrike proves relentless, not in killing, but in delaying. If knocking someone out, or down, saves a life, that is what she will do. And that is what she does.

She backflips out of the way of an energy-based shot and fires at the next mech. Rolls from a femme and shoots at her legs until she’s spasming and falling down. Paralyzing another Con’s arm so he retreats with a shocked and irritated expression.

Twisting and jumping out of the reach of a mech’s sword, Nova catches a tall shadow out of the corner of her optic. She shoots the mech attacking her but he still sluggishly advances.

She’s sidetracked though. Just a second, just a moment’s too long glance.

It’s that General. And he is pointedly looking at her. His gaze almost seems... amused?

Nova fumes. She considers the Fucking Giant, and is surprised as she’s knocked roughly aside by a weak swing by the mech’s sword as the flat side hits her.

Bouncing once, Nova skirts along the ground a moment and flops down. She sits up quickly to see the growling Decepticon advancing again.

She fires at him. He tries blocking her with his sword, and manages a few times, but not enough. Slowly, he falls to his knees, and collapses.

Venting a sigh, Novastrike flicks her optics to where she saw Satan at last. The mech was nearly out of range of her stun pistols already, but maybe-

She raises her gun, and fires.

Click. Click. Click.

“Frag,” Novastrike mutters. The damn things needed a recharge.

The small femme watches, witnessing mechs and femmes being cut down with ease by the Large Monster. He raises his cannon and fires. It’s massive; and cuts through a mech’s armor with fair ease.

Novastrike shudders. Was that what had caused the explosion at the entrance...?

Blackout turns slightly, blowing a hole clean through another Autobot who had tried to leap onto the big fragger when he was distracted.

Slipping her pistols away, Novastrike curls her tail close to her body. She looks around, and spots with some grateful cowardice some Autobots retreating off t oher far left.

Taking a final, swift glance back at the beastly mech tearing the entrails out of a femme who had managed to get close and attack the mech from the side, Novastike shuddered and took off after the other Autobots.

As she ran, she could hear a horrifying metallic noise from behind. She never dared turn back, but something, something came out from behind the retreating Autobots and whatever it was, the last thing she wanted to do was stop or slow down.

A few good Autobots were left behind by the cowards like Novastrike who continued to flee. Their screams echoing in the femme’s thoughts long past the time they had escaped and into the sleepless night-cycles to come.

[ofstormsandwolves]

Voice Mail

Five times Jackie Tyler left a message on Rose's phone, and one time she didn't.

Teen

Third section dialogue taken from the Big Finish 10th Doctor Adventures volume 2 Audio Trailer

Read on AO3 (account needed) | Whofic 

Ring, ring.

Ring, ring.

Ring, ring.

“Hi! You’ve reached Rose’s phone! I can’t speak right now-”

Jackie Tyler sighed, and braced herself to speak with her daughter’s answer phone rather than her daughter herself. As Rose’s cheerful message ended and the beep sounded, Jackie plastered on a strained smile and spoke.

“Hi, sweetheart. Just wanted to see how you are. I know you didn’t leave that long ago, only a couple of days. But it’s been quiet round here without you.” She paused. “Not had any more aliens in my kitchen, so I’ll take that as a good sign. An’ I hope that alien of yours is treatin’ you right. He is feeding you, isn’t he? Nothing alien? ‘Cause if he is, you can always come home. There’s always room for you here, love.” She paused. “Phone me later, sweetheart. Love you. Bye.”

As she ended the call, Jackie bit her lip. It had been just days since Rose had returned, after no contact for an entire year, and within twenty-four hours she’d been gone again. Vanished, once more, with that bloke with the leather jacket. The Doctor, Jackie knew he was called now. The Doctor. She wasn’t sure about him.

Rose seemed infatuated.

Well, she must be if she forgot to phone. In all her years, Rose had never forgot to contact Jackie if she was staying out late. Even if it was a quick text or a drunken phone call as she slurred out an “‘m stayin’ at Mickey’s, Mum. See ya tomorrow!” She had always let her know.

Even when she’d started dating Jimmy Stone, she’d called after gigs, half-giggling in a taxi back to Jimmy’s place, hurriedly ending the call when he got a bit too frisky and she a bit too giggly. There’d been a brief period of time, when she’d lived with Jimmy, when Rose and Jackie hadn’t been in contact. But that hadn’t been due to a lack of remembering, it had been due to the row.

She’d been far too young to move out, just sixteen, but Rose had been adamant. Of course, by seventeen Rose was talking to her again, and by eighteen Rose had moved back home. Jimmy hadn’t been as great as he’d promised, and had dumped Rose for someone else, left her in debt, moved on with his life.

Jackie had seen it coming, of course. Rose had told her over half-whispered phone conversations late at night about how Jimmy seemed distant, how there were secret texts and phone calls he didn’t think she knew about. How he was hardly ever at their flat anymore, and whenever he was he mostly ignored her.

But despite all that, despite Rose’s perilous teenage years, and the arguments, and the late nights Rose had spent clubbing with Shareen and Keisha, there had always been contact.

That was, of course, until the Doctor.

~0~0~

Jackie glanced at her mobile as it lay on the kitchen worktop. She shouldn’t. She really shouldn’t.

The kettle had finished boiling, and she distracted herself for a minute or so as she made her tea. But as she returned the milk to the fridge, the phone once more caught her eye. She glanced towards the kitchen door, almost like a child worried at being caught by their mother- and wasn’t there irony there, Jackie realised- before snatching up the phone and thumbing through the contacts. The phone on the other end began to ring.

She balanced the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she fished the teabag out of her mug. She was half-watching the clock out of the corner of her eye, knowing she shouldn’t panic, but unable to help it.

Ever since they’d used that tow truck to rip open the TARDIS, ever since Rose- and that damned blue box- had disappeared from her life, Jackie had been in a state of perpetual half-panic.

Had Rose truly been telling the truth about meeting Pete? It had taken Jackie some time to get her head around it, to accept that Rose wouldn’t make something like that up, but for her to be the person to hold his hand while she was dying? Jackie Tyler was beginning to suspect she didn’t know half of what Rose experienced travelling with the Doctor, and frankly, she didn’t think she wanted to know.

What sort of life was that for a nineteen year old? To meet her Dad and hold his hand while he died? To have to walk away from him, leave him, already knowing his fate, even before the ambulance arrived? To have to live with that, for the rest of her life, knowing how her Dad died, seeing her Dad die in front of her?

Couldn’t the Doctor have done something?

Rose always said he was impressive. If he was that impressive, couldn’t he have spared Rose that pain? Had she asked to see her father die? Surely not. Jackie was adamant at that. Not her little girl. Not Rose.

She didn’t want her daughter to have gone through that.

Surely the Doctor could have saved him?

“Hi, you’ve reached Rose. I can’t answer the phone right now, but- Doctor, stop it! Doctor!-”

Jackie rolled her eyes at the giggly message of her daughter’s voice mail, and instead began to leave a message.

“Hiya love, just ringing up to see how you are! And himself, I suppose. Don’t suppose you know when you’ll be back next? Not long till Christmas, you know, an’ I wanted to know how much food to get...” She trailed off, smile fading. There was no one to see it, anyway. “Anyway, just give me a ring when you’re free. Love you.” Almost as a last thought, she added: “Be safe.”

She hung up then, sagging against the kitchen counter, phone still in hand and a drawn expression on her face. She should have expected it, really. There’d been no word, not in the eight days since the TARDIS had vanished. No word from either the Doctor or Rose.

But they were both alright.

Weren’t they?

~0~0~

Jackie Tyler bit her lip, tapped her foot, stared out the window. The phone against her ear rang and rang and rang.

The grounds outside were deserted, the stretch of grass that was usually covered with children playing, teenagers smoking, people walking their dog, was entirely empty. The estate didn’t look great at the best of times, but now, when it was so devoid of human life, it looked downright terrifying.

The phone was still ringing. Oh, of course her daughter wouldn’t answer her phone. Of course not. If there was one thing that would distract Rose enough to not answer her phone it was that damn Time Lord. Even more so since he’d changed his face.

“Hello! You’ve reached Rose’s phone!”

Jackie frowned at the voice. Instead of her daughter’s, it was the Doctor’s. Cheerful and exuberant, she could practically hear the grin in his voice.

“She can’t answer the phone right now, but leave a message after the beep and she’ll probably ring you back. We-ell, I say probably. Maybe. She’ll maybe ring you back. At some point-”

She rolled her eyes. Only the Doctor could babble in an answer phone message. But then there was the beep and she was hurrying to leave her message.

“Hello Rose, it’s your Mum,” Jackie announced, and she sounded cheerier than she felt. She surveyed the skies beyond her window a little warily as she spoke, fiddling with her necklace with her free hand. “Sorry to call. I know you’re busy fighting evil lobsters, or something, but when you get this, if you can pop round to Marge’s, in Norwich. You know, Karen’s mum. I’d really appreciate that. We’ve sort of been... We’ve sort of been invaded.” She took a deep breath at that, before once more forcing a cheery tone. “Alright, great! Love you! Speak soon. Bye!”

And as Jackie Tyler ended the call, she glanced worriedly through the window as the alien creatures swept across the Powell Estate.

~0~0~  

Once she’d returned to the flat, calmed down a little, and recovered from the absolute humiliation that Elton hadn’t been interested in her-

and why would he be, the little voice at the back of her mind said. Why would he be interested in you? Look at you. Of course he was only after the Doctor and Rose. Why would anyone show an interest in you?

-Jackie Tyler knew what she had to do. This man was after the Doctor. He’d had a photo of Rose in his pocket, Jackie had let him into the flat, he’d seen photos of Rose when she was little, postcards she’d brought back from trips with the Doctor, gifts from right across the universe. He wasn’t to be trusted, that much Jackie was sure of, and so she was absolutely certain that what she had to do was call the Doctor and Rose.

But oh god, what if he’d bugged the flat, like in one of those spy movies? What if he was like James Bond with all those weird little gadgets and hidden cameras and stuff? Did he have a bloke with a computer watching Jackie’s every move? Tapping her phone? Jackie blanched. He hadn’t put a camera in the bathroom, had he? Pervert.

A hurried search of the small bathroom revealed no hidden cameras or microphones, but Jackie did recover two old hair bobbles and some hair clips from down the back of the toilet. God knew how long they’d been there; Jackie was fairly certain they were Rose’s from when she was about fifteen.

But the bathroom checked and the fear of hidden cameras and microphones still fresh in her mind, Jackie Tyler made her way through her flat. Her room- and Rose’s room- seemed to be clean; as did the hallway cupboard (you could never be too careful; she’d seen James Bond. She’d seen the weird gadgets those people had). The kitchen, again, didn’t throw up anything suspicious, although Jackie eyed her washing machine warily. Had he bugged it? Was there a microphone? A tracker?

She couldn’t move the washing machine to check behind it, though, try as she might, so she decided to hope for the best and assume Elton hadn’t bugged the washing machine. When, finally, she’d pulled every cushion off the sofa and chair too, Jackie finally began to accept that maybe Elton wasn’t a spy.

And then she took in the carnage. The flat was a mess. Things tossed haphazardly everywhere. The mantelpiece cleared of photos and trinkets to check the backs of frames for cameras and microphones, the sofa and chair shoved out of their usual spots to check beneath them. Things from the hallway cupboard in piles up the hallway.

Jackie let out a shuddering breath and sank into the armchair. Before she really knew what she was doing, the phone was in her hand, grabbed from where she’d left it before Elton had gone for takeaway, and she was dialling Rose’s number.

“Hello! You’ve reached Rose’s phone! She can’t answer the phone right now, but leave a message after the beep and she’ll probably ring you back-”

When the Doctor’s silly message had finally ended, Jackie drew in a shuddering breath.

“Hiya, sweetheart. I know I only spoke to you a while ago, but I need to speak to you about something. Well,” she took a breath. “I need to speak to the Doctor. You’re not safe, Rose. You an’ him. I’ve... I’ve had a bloke round. Been coming round for weeks. I thought... I thought he liked me. But he had a photo of you, love, and he was after the Doctor.”

She paused, took a moment to steady herself again.

“I saw him off. Told him where to go. But you and the Doctor need to know, because I don’t think he’s working alone. And... And I’m scared. For both of you.” Tears were streaming, unbidden, down her cheeks then. “I don’t know what he wants with either of you, but he was looking for you, and it can’t be good, or he’d have told me. Oh Rose! I’m so sorry! I let him in the flat, invited him round... I thought he liked me-”

And then Jackie’s hysterical message was cut off. She’d used up her time. The answer phone had stopped recording. She swallowed, ending the call and setting the phone down.

~0~0~

Jackie Tyler was pacing the nursery, bouncing her eighteen month old son in her arms as she tried to calm him. But whatever she tried, little Tony wouldn’t calm down. Maybe a different voice, Jackie decided, one that he wasn’t sick of hearing all day every day. She couldn’t phone Pete, he had meetings all day. Mickey was out in the field on an assignment with Jake. But there was always Rose. Tony adored his big sister, although he rarely got to see her.

“Shall we phone your sister?” Jackie asked, forcing an exaggerated smile at the blonde-haired boy in her arms.

The boy’s cries quietened a little, but not by much.

“Shall we phone Rose? Yeah? Shall we?”

Jackie knew that Rose was at work, most likely working once more on the Dimension Cannon project that no one expected to work. But it was Rose’s pet project, the one thing- save her family, though she’d been distancing herself from them more and more- keeping her sane while locked away in this parallel world. Even if she knew it couldn’t generate enough power to propel her through the Void, Rose still worked on it. Because it gave her hope. Hope that, someday, she might be able to return to the Doctor.

So Jackie pulled her mobile from her pocket, thumbing through the contacts and dialling her daughter’s number.

As expected, the call went to voice mail. But it didn’t matter. Rose’s voice echoed through the phone’s tiny speakers anyway, and Tony grinned and clapped in excitement.

“Hello, you’ve reached Rose Tyler’s phone. I can’t get to the phone right now, but leave a message and I’ll try to get back to you.”

“Shall we leave your sister a message?” Jackie asked her son, sitting down in the rocking chair before her now-wriggling son could fall.

There was the obligatory bleep, and Jackie hastened to speak.

“Hiya, Rose. Just me and Tony calling. Tony was crying, and wanted to hear your voice. Anyway, it seems to have helped.”

Jackie paused, glanced at her son, who was reaching for the phone, bellowing “Rose!” at the top of his tiny lungs.

“When will you be round to see him?” Jackie asked before she could stop herself. “He misses you, you know. I know you’re working hard on that project of yours, but it’s not going to go anywhere if you take the afternoon off. You could come round and play with Tony in the garden.” She paused, sounded a little wistful. “I’d like to see you again, sweetheart. I miss you.”

She ended the call then, little Tony bellowing furiously and oblivious to his Mummy’s tears as he once more tried to reach for the phone. He finally managed to pull it from Jackie’s now-limp grip, bringing it to his face and bellowing, once more, “Rose!”

Jackie sighed, smoothing her son’s blonde hair back from his forehead.

“I know how you feel, sweetheart,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to his brow.

~0~0~                                                                                                                

Jackie Tyler eyed her husband suspiciously as he watched her pace the kitchen. Tony had just been dropped off at nursery, having started four months ago in September. When Jackie had suggested taking their eldest out for a shopping trip, Pete had been oddly quiet, not telling her that it was a good idea, or that Rose had enough holiday time saved up to take a day out from Torchwood, but also not telling her that Rose was busy with the Cannon now it was up and running, or that he couldn’t spare her for the day.

And to top it off, Rose’s phone was ringing out.

“You know what’s going on, don’t you.” Jackie glared at him, phone still at her ear. It wasn’t a question, they both knew that. Jackie Tyler wasn’t stupid, especially when it came to her kids.

“Jacs,” Pete began cautiously, putting his hands out in a placating gesture.

Jackie’s eyes narrowed.

“What’s she done?”

At that, Pete frowned. “What?”

“Rose,” Jackie responded. “What’s she done? What’s happened? Why hasn’t she answered the phone? She’s not scheduled for a jump today, you only ever let her use the Cannon once every three days, ‘cause of that Void stuff. She only jumped two days ago, her next jump’s tomorrow. She’s not even meant to be in work.”

Pete said nothing. Rose’s mobile was still ringing.

“Pete,” Jackie continued, taking a step toward her husband. Her jaw was clenched, eyes blazing with something across between anger and fear.

Pete swallowed. “We think we found the TARDIS.”

Jackie stared at him.

“We found him, Jacs,” he continued softly, and his eyes were damp, she realised. “We found the Doctor.”

And Rose is gone.

The words hung between them in the tense air, not needing to be spoken aloud, not wanting to be heard.

“When?”

Jackie’s voice was soft, almost inaudible. Terrifyingly calm. Pete watched her carefully.

“First thing this morning,” he admitted.

Jackie nodded. In her ear, the answer phone across London in Rose’s little one-bed flat picked up. Her daughter’s voice rang through her ear like a cruel mockery, a sick and twisted joke.

“Hello, you’ve reached Rose. I’m not home right now, so just leave a message-”

Like hell she would.

Jackie ended the call with a furious stab of her thumb against the phone, before slamming it onto the breakfast table and sweeping from the room. Pete watched her go nervously, unsure what to say, what to do, if there was any way he could make it alright.

He didn’t think there was.

And then Jackie was back, standing in the kitchen doorway with her coat on and hands folded over her chest.

“Well come on, then,” Jackie snapped at him as Pete gaped. “What are you waiting for?”

Pete blinked. “Where are we going?”

She rolled her eyes. “To Torchwood. Whatever happens, I’m not letting Rose do this alone.”

“She said not to follow her,” Pete pointed out, although he gathered the car keys anyway. “She didn’t want me, or Mickey, or especially you following her.”

Jackie sniffed. “Tough,” she responded. “I’m her mother. It’s my job to make sure she’s alright.”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe I should go,” he began slowly. “You’re not trained-”

But Jackie scoffed and cut him off. “No chance,” she told him. “It’s your turn to do the nursery run.”

And with that, she swept from the house.

[sparda3g]

Gintama Chapter 637 Review

The change of atmosphere can happen at a blink of an eye. The last chapter was a great mixed of fun and action. Now, it looks like those days may be over when the man who caused the war has arrived. The chapter got me very hyped, yet it brings in a surprise to the table that I begin to feel nothing but fear.

It does look like we are closing in to the final phase of the arc, and that would mean the series is drawing near to the end. There are still other points to cover before entering the final fight, including remaining guest characters, but now, we are entering to the grueling phase where the comedy mostly if not completely fade away. At least this chapter does offer a very fun light-heart moments before entering twisted yet excited development.

Son is out of the battle, though at least he can see the light of Yato’s future bright. It’s funny that we don’t get to see his face. I did laugh at how the reaction to his defeat is probably what everyone usually reacts when it comes to a person’s defeat or not, and by everyone, I also mean the audience. People tends to say, “We need a death confirmation before we can say it’s over,” so this is like making fun of that thought. Nobody even bother to head over to Son and confirm it. To be fair, his manhood is broken; that’s a solid death confirmation.

I do like how the older Yato didn’t stop fighting just because Son accepted the 7th Division as brethren. It’s like “Sure, the leader said they’re cool now, but so what? We are not accepting them.” Because of that, the action resumes and it’s plenty of fun stuff that happens.  The scene with Kamui and Kagura is a good mix of charm and funny. In the midst of the ongoing Yato battle, they decide to fight against each other; truly, their nature is to battle forever.

Once Gintoki and others arrive to the scene, this brings out a really funny moment with a shot fire to the trope. First of all, in my last review, I said that it would be nice to recall back to Sougo versus Kamui, and Sorachi hasn’t forgotten that. I don’t know why, but it almost feels like Sorachi knows about me and series of death flags galore, so in here, it’s all about rematch flags, and it’s true, Kamui has a lot of enemies for round 2. It’s funnier that Gintoki and Sougo want to call dibs on that rematch, even though we have one battle in the background happening.

I really like that fourth wall joke on Ichigo 100% reference, including the voice work. I wouldn’t get the real joke until I read the translation note and now, it’s pretty funny. Kamui makes it awesome when he deliberately thrashed the trope of a harem protagonist. Instead of being undeveloped, completely oblivious, and anything that frustrates the audience, he takes the matter by his hand and just eliminates heroines. Granted, that’s extreme to kill them off, but he has a badass aura that excuses the killing intent.

The action is fun to watch. Kamui throws Gintoki’s sword right at him while knocking down some Yato along the way. It almost feels like we were getting a rematch clause; instead, they just trolled them and start beating the crap out of them. It’s such a fun chemistry between those two. Those Yato don’t even stand a chance when they are not only overpowered, but outnumbered. It was surprising that Kamui ordered his men to not to kill them, rather mercy them. Talk about change of heart. It’s a smart move since perhaps they would help out later on. Also, they are his blood, so best to recruit more in the future. Just when it was nothing but a really fun time, it shifts drastically once that man arrives.

The atmosphere and tone change significantly when a staff pierced through a Yato guy. When I saw that weapon, I was getting chills to see Naraku back to the scene and that would only mean he would appear. There’s some brutal display of extermination. Each staff is thrown right at Yato and it’s not just Son’s but Kamui’s as well. It was like a slaughterhouse, but man, that was nothing until later on.

As expected, Utsuro makes his entrance and delivers a bone chilling sinister speech. I can’t do it justice here but it’s the way on how he described the war in a nutshell that makes you feel nothing but nervous that he’s about to unleash carnage to everyone. Hell, the mere presence of his in the same area as Gintoki got me shaking. It doesn’t help that while he is speaking, we see others such as Kondo, Tsukuyo, and others fighting elsewhere like they have no idea what’s about to happen.

The scene of Utsuro landing and clearing the way is jarring. Yes, it is pretty badass, but my God, the scenery is intense. He slices a large numbers of Yato in half at ease, thanking them for their foolish act and show the will to destroy Earth is not enough. If anything, this is all fun and games for Utsuro; watching them dying and suffering until he grows tired and decide to cut short and call it end. I got chills again…

The presentation helps a lot to make the menacing feel of Utsuro. As the first half is filled with fun action and funny routine, the latter half is filled with dark and intensity. His speech is dark and nerve wrecking; I got chills just by remembering on what he said. The visual also helps a lot as well. Watching him walking down with the background of deaths and blood still spilling out is tensed; that includes with Naraku waking back up after blood bath.

When it comes to completely scare me, it’s all due to the cliffhanger. If anyone wonders why not harm to Earth in the first place, Utsuro is already aware of it, but he has something in mind. I can’t say what it is exactly, but it definitely involves with Altana. He tops his speech with the end that makes it seems like he’s having a time of his life with everyone. Seriously, win or lose, he wins. My main concern is that Kondo was right under the blast and there are multiple of them. I don’t know if I should expect him to get another scar or lose a limb or worse, but this is definitely not what I expected.

What a huge turn to the arc and certainly an exciting one. It is worrisome on what will happen to this fight. I doubt it’s the last one just yet. It’s going to be carnage, whether the fight is happening next or not. The final despair is here and the countdown to the grand finale has begun.