#sun: IS IT ANY WONDER PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF TECHNOLOGY

[strawbubbysugar]

I don't know how to explain it but your Y/N gives me vine energy

Like I'm waiting for them to start quoting the Burger King Foot Lettuce vine from memory(yes that is a thing I do too so I can judge-)

They wouldve been a teenager right around the time of vine so they can absolutely quote almost every single popular vine from heart

They force the daycare attendant to watch a full hour long compilation so that their references make sense

Now Sun won’t stop coming up behind you and shouting “TECHNOLOGY”

[phan3145]

So it has been about 8 years since I developed a MASSIVE writers block which I like to call LIFE, but thanks to KotPotA as well as these three FABULOUS writers ( @the-monkeies-girl @reddesires @ohwaitimthewriter ) I think it’s safe to say that for the moment my writers block is over. I’m making no promises on chapter updates just yet, only that I WILL finish this. I’m also curious if people respond well to the set up. Please be kind but feedback is always welcome!

Slippery Slope

Prologue: The Dilemma

Noa

It frustrated him to no end. Neither side was happy, that much was obvious, and yet you insisted everyday to return to your solitary encampment. And for what? Protection? Who exactly were you protecting by doing this? It had been eight seasons since Proximus, and with the surrounding clans having a better understanding of humans now, for better or worse, the danger was relatively minimal.

You had no weapons or technology that could be used against them, no ulterior motive in spending time with the clan, and your physicality certainly wasn’t a threat. Your blunted teeth and short nails were almost humorous in his consideration. While your nails could pinch when digging in to his skin with your full strength, they were nothing in comparison to Eagle Sun’s talons, or his own canines when he was determined to sink them into something.

And then there was the undeniable truth in all of this- you were alone. You had no clan and no other humans with you in your makeshift hut. Every sunset you returned to your solitude, leaving him to watch as you disappeared into the dense woods without him. Why? Why leave the safety of the Eagle clan? The safety he could provide. Surely it outweighed any sense of danger your mind could conjure up. What were you afraid of? Was his promise of protection not enough? Was he not enough?

He released a growled huff at that. It was ridiculous.

The facts remained, you weren’t a threat to him or his clan. You’d proved that time and time again over the past two seasons. There was no reason for you not to join his clan; you could carry your own weight, provide another hand in tending to the eagles, and there was more than enough space for you. Even if there wasn’t, he would have made space for you. He would make any adjustments necessary if it meant he didn’t have to watch you leave every sunset, only to return at a random time the next sunrise… if you returned at all that sunrise. There were still rare days the sun would be past its peak in the sky and there would be no sign of you.

He hated those days, unable to stop his mind from plaguing itself with thoughts of you trapped or hurt somewhere. Alone. Unable to call for help or give him a sign that you needed him.

Surely he was being ridiculous, but he cared for you like he cared for the rest of his clan. Perhaps even…more so. It was so confusing in his mind, in the few seasons he had known you, you somehow managed to engrain yourself in his life. You might as well have been part of the clan, so why yet did you refuse to join officially? You chose to remain just on the borders, out of his reach.

The elders found this behavior suspicious. An Echo with no clan, who would share their territory, eat communally with them some nights, but not join. It was a battle with them now, as every full moon this season he offered for you to stay, to join them, and every time you refused. It stung something inside of him, but more so it ruffled the fur of the elders.

They started to wonder, perhaps you were a distraction. Perhaps you were not alone and chose to go back and forth as you did because you were gathering information on their clan. Perhaps you thought yourself above them and that’s why you refused to join. Perhaps an ultimatum should be made instead of an offer.

That was shut down quickly with a disapproving snarl and quick word of warning from him, but he knew it wouldn’t keep them from considering the strangeness of your refusal. The elders had reached a mutual decision yesterday at the council meeting, that managed to make it both easier and harder for him at the same time. The decision, and subsequent conversion, when it came to the Echo and their current standing as an outsider, would be solely up to him as the leader of Eagle Clan. His responsibility. Thus, your refusal now reflected on him and his abilities to lead his people.

He no longer had to worry about the elders intruding in your affairs, which was a relief in itself. He had a notion their barely concealed indifference towards you was partially responsible for your hesitation to join. Of course though, you couldn’t make it easy for him. He wouldn’t tell you of this new development, not until it was necessary, but he hoped with a bit more time he could discover on his own why you remained apart from him. There had to be a reason, you were too intelligent for their not to be. He wanted to ask you about it before sunset, but of course today was a day you were absent. Tomorrow was the full moon, another offer would be extended, one he hoped with some communication he could convince you to accept.

He had just fasted Eagle Sun in for the night when something trickled down his spine and made the hairs on his shoulders stand on end. He froze for a moment, hoping it was his imagination, before slowly creeping outside to the edge of the enclosure. He waited, willing his heart to be still and his breaths to be silent. Then he heard it again, and before he knew exactly what he was doing, he had leapt off the enclosure.

He made his way down to the ground in two strategic grabs to the side, crouching on all fours in an all out sprint towards his horse. Still saddled from the day’s excursion, he flung his body up and onto the saddle before he heard it again.

A high pitched scream that was not ape.

[natti-ice]

Dream Invader- Castiel.

Pairing: Castiel x fem!reader

Summary: Castiel takes a trip into Y/N’s dream and finds some interesting information

Warnings: written in third person (she/her pronouns) (1.6k words)

Author’s note: this is a reupload, I wrote this a while ago!

Reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated<3

The Impala drove down a dark road, no other cars for miles. They had just got a case two states over. They had just finished a hunt so they didn't have any time to rest. Dean is in the driver's seat, Sam in the passenger, Y/N in the back passed out. She wasn't new to the game, but it always wore her out like a newbie.

Dean went through all the channels on the radio, either they were static or they were playing some new top 40 song. He wasn't a fan of this new generation's music. He was getting annoyed, he settled on silence.

"All this new technology and they can't get better signal out here" Dean grumbled, mostly to himself.

"People don't listen to the radio anymore, Dean" Sam mumbled, fighting his sleep. He was exhausted, he got four hours of sleep in the past two days. He was always on edge, afraid something would happen when he slept.

"Shh, Y/N's sleeping"

"Must be nice" Dean said looking up at the rearview mirror. "Jesus!" He said startled.

Sam jumped, the tired leaving his body. His hand immediately reaching for his handgun, snapping his back to look in the back seat.

"Cas, you have to stop popping up out of nowhere" Dean sighed

"Sorry, I figured this was better than showing up in the middle of the road."

"I wanted to come with you guys on this hunt, I had nothing better to do" Castiel explained.

"Why didn't you just call?" Sam asked

"I uh- I lost my cellphone" He replied, he had no idea where it was. Probably some country in Europe, he's been to too many places this week.

"Whatever just give us a warning next time" Dean said

-

The four of them drove in silence for another thirty minutes. Y/N is still sound asleep. As much as Dean loved to drive, looking at a bunch of nothing is boring. He was trying to think of a game to keep him occupied, maybe like 'count how many trees you see' he probably couldn't count that high.

Checking the mirror once more, he saw a faint smile on Y/N's sleeping face. She was always a peaceful sleeper, he wondered how after all the things they had seen. How could anyone sleep after that? He was happy she could sleep, he never wanted her to know the feeling of running off adrenaline and bad coffee.

He got an idea, not his best work but he had to deal with what he had.

"Hey Cas" The angel looked up, he didn't know road trips were this boring.

"Yeah?" He answered

"Why don't you hop into Y/N's dream, see why she's got that smile on her face"

"Dean-" Sam started

"C'mon it's harmless Sammy. Just a little bit of fun" Dean said before his brother could tell him how that it was an invasion of privacy blah blah.

"I don't think that's a good Idea, Dean" Castiel didn't understand how this would be "fun" But he knew humans found entertainment in weird ways.

"Don't be a buzzkill. Just use your little angel powers and see what she's doing."

"She's probably running through a field of flowers or something"

"Fine. I'll do it, but don't ask me to do anything weird for at least a week"

"Deal, now go" Dean said, he could feel his brother's disappointed glare as Cass disappeared.

"What?" he asked

"Boundaries Dean, boundaries." Sam sighed

"Oh please it's not like Cas doesn't show up in our dreams three times a week"

Silence.

"No, he doesn't" Sam said confused

"Whatever, you know what I mean" Dean nervously squeezed the steering wheel. Oh god, do I dream about Cas? he thought.

"Right.." Sam replied giving Dean a skeptical look

-

Castiel landed on some unstable surface. Looking down at his feet, his black shoes were sinking in sand with every step. He looked around at his surrounding, he was on a beach. The sun was starting to set, the sound of waves crashing filled the air. It was so picturesque.

He could hear faint music coming from his right. Off into the distance, he could see two people standing. He figured it was Y/N, but he didn't know who the other person was. He walks closer to the pair, he noticed small candles lit around the two.

They were swaying to the tune playing from the small radio on the ground. It was one of those old love songs. It seemed whoever she was with, they were romantically involved. When he got about 6 feet away from them, he could see who the mystery person was.

It was him.

Well, his vessel.

They seemed so happy, in love with the moment. Y/N had her arms wrapped around his torso resting her head on his chest. While dream Castiel's hands were on her waist. He didn't know she felt that way about him, maybe it was just the dream.

He watched them for what felt like forever, as he took in the sight. He had a strong love for Y/N, he had trouble figuring out what kind of love. She was one of the most beautiful humans he'd ever met. She's smart, funny, caring, in his eyes she was perfect.

Though, he wasn't sure how relationships between humans and angels would be seen by the man upstairs. Honestly, he didn't care.

He guessed he had been standing there so long Y/N felt his presence. She looked over and saw him. "Castiel?" her eyes went wide.

He freaked out and didn't know what to say, he vanished out of the dream landing back in the Impala.

Shortly after, Y/N woke up from her sleep. She looked over and saw Castiel. Her hope of that meeting being a part of her dream went out the window. He saw what she was doing. She prayed to anyone who was listening that he didn't think anything of it.

"Morning sunshine" Dean said when he saw she was awake.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked, he could see she was disheveled.

"Fine" She replied, trying to keep it together

"Did you see anything in there, Cas?"

"Nope. Just like you said, fields." He came up with the lie on the spot, he didn't want to embarrass Y/N anymore.

"That's boring-"

"Hang on, you told him to go into my dream?" Annoyance in her voice

"It was just for fun Y/N, plus like he said, he didn't see anything" He said in defense.

"You son of a bitch" she said flicking his ear

"Ough!"

-

The rest of the drive was mainly silent. Y/N didn't talk to Dean much and didn't say a word to Castiel. She was so embarrassed, out of all the dreams he could've walked in on it was that one.

It had been reoccurring for months, she and Cass on a beach in each other's arms. Not one problem in the world, it was just them. Her crush grew stronger as the dream progressed. She had done so well hiding her feelings for the angel. Now all of that is gone because Dean is nosy.

They finally made it to their next case, pulling up to a motel parking lot. Sam and Dean went inside the office to get a room, leaving Cass and Y/N alone.

They stood outside the car waiting for them to get back. Needless to say, it was pretty damn awkward. The silence was killing Y/N, she spoke up.

"Thank you" she said

"What?" Castiel was confused

"Thanks for not telling them what you saw." she kept her head down

"Oh, you're welcome... I didn't think it was my place to tell them about your dream."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to invade your privacy" he felt so bad about this.

"It's alright. At least now you know." she sighed

"Know what?"

"You're gonna make me say it?" she looked up at him. He looked very confused

"That I like you, Castiel."

"Oh," he swallowed "I didn't want to assume anything, I had no idea about this"

"No one knew, I didn't want it getting in the way of the job. Plus I know there's no chance you feel the same way-"

"You're wrong" he cut her off

"Huh?"

"About how I feel, I do feel the same. I guess I've been keeping a secret too." He looked deep into her eyes to make sure she knew he was telling the truth. " There hasn't been a day that's gone by where I haven't thought about you, how kind and sweet you are. Not to mention how stunning you are."

Y/N thought she was still dreaming. She couldn't believe what he was saying, her heart started to race. She couldn't find any words, so she used her actions.

Her eyes flickered down to his lips back to his eyes, leaning in slow in case he wanted to back out. He matched her actions, leaning in connecting their lips. She runs her hand through his hair deepening the kiss.

"What the hell did we miss?" Dean's voice pulled them out of their daze, pulling apart from each other.

"Hey guys" she nervously smiled

"Hey" Dean mocked "Should we get you two lovebirds your own room?" he laughed

"Leave them alone" Sam said "c'mon rooms this way" he led the group towards the motel room

Dean walked in between Castiel and Y/N one arm on each of them pulling them in for an awkward hug.

"Isn't this great, my two best pals together. I can hear the wedding bells already!"

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[and-stir-the-stars]

@dire-kumori (this is, uh. This is gonna be a long one 😬)

It's completely fine if you're not up to date on the fnaf books, especially considering I haven't read any of them myself, lmao. I only know the things that the silly fnaf youtubers tell me is important in their theory videos, so. I don't know very much, and what I do know is probably very biased through their theory-crafting lenses.

But I enjoy me a good Evan and Gregory story, so I'd love to rant a little but more about them. I like the idea that Evan is hiding away somewhere in the Night Terrors recreation of his room, too terrified to leave it. He hides away somewhere that only a little kid would think to go/be able to reach, which is exactly why Gregory (who isn't THAT afraid while playing the game, but is a little menace who likes breaking the game's boundaries and trying to see where he can and can't go rather than playing the game normally) is able to find him.

Maybe Evan is terrified of Gregory at first-- after all, the details are hazy, but he clearly remembers how much the Stranger hurt him for so long, and who says this stranger will be any better? But Evan is terrified and alone and he just wants comfort. He thinks about the weird pictures on the wall of the family with blurry faces, how happy and safe they all look, and after a while of Evan being scared and Gregory trying to calm him, Evan can't help but notice that Gregory looks a LOT like one of the small blurry figures he sees in the family photos (ig technically Gregory should be nothing more than a pair of transparent floating arms if they're in a VR game, but I'll do what I want with no regard to the cruel constraints of logic). And Evan wants the happiness and safety he sees in those photos, so wouldn't it make sense to go with Gregory? (though, Gregory insists the kid in those photos isn't him)

Evan is so broken at this point that he doesn't remember his personality or his name. He can't answer any of the questions Gregory asks him about what things he likes or what he does for fun (though, the difference in technology thanks to them being born so far apart may play into that, too). Gregory has to help give Evan a name (Evan shudders for reasons he can't remember when Gregory suggests the name Freddy).

The last thing I'll say about the Gregory ending (such an original name, ik) is I'd like to think the two of them get out of the game eventually. Despite Gregory’s kindness, Evan still thinks he's too broken and the world is too big and scary for him to continue existing... and then the sun rises. At this point, Evan has spent what accounts to years/billions of nights desperate to survive long enough to see the sunrise but always being brutally murdered before he can. And then! Then Evan feels the light and warmth ghosting against his skin for the first time in god knows how long, he sees the brilliant pinks and oranges and reds of the rising sun, and he falls onto his knees with tears in his eyes. "I made it," he whispers. "I finally, really made it."

The happiness is almost enough to make his soul move on right then and there. But... it also fills him with hope that maybe this world and the people in it are worth surviving for after all.

Okay, moving on!

~

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Oh gosh,, the idea of "Michael" trying to take control of the game in order to turn it into a safe haven for Evan!! It's such a painfully sweet idea... except, I can't help but wonder if Michael would even know what a 'safe haven' for Evan would look like-- let alone if the Fragment would know, since the Fragment has lost everything that makes Michael, Michael and is just the remnant of an instinct to keep Evan safe. I feel like the "safe haven" that the Fragment would make for Evan would end up being empty and hollow, devoid of any real meaning or happiness. It's nothing but an empty paradise filled with false promises of what the Fragment thinks a little kid SHOULD want but is devoid of the love and affection that Evan NEEDS. I'm having trouble coming up with any examples, though. Maybe it's like the Other World in Coraline, but instead of a greedy, hungry monster being in control of an empty world of lies, it's a monster that WANTS to help Evan but doesn't understand how.

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And the idea of Glitchtrap using Evan against the Fragment is positively delicious :3

I'm going to make William and Mike a bit more sentient than you originally intended for a sec, though. I like the idea of a manipulative, silver-tongued William turning Evan against his brother. Maybe William even takes advantage of the fact that Evan (and probably Mike) never found out or knew why he got trapped in the Nightmare in the first place; maybe William frames the whole thing as Michael coming up with another way to torture Ev for fun. I wonder how Evan would respond. Would he listen to his father (whether or not Evan even recognizes this person as his father) telling him Mikey deserves this, take out his frustration on Mikey and hope that he can rest once Mike is gone? Or does Evan break, because as much as Mikey has hurt him, he doesn't want his brother dead?

And wouldn't it be interesting to see how Mike/the Fragment responds to Evan attacking him/it? The Fragment wants nothing more than Evan to be happy, so it must glitch the hell out of it when Evan tries destroying the Fragment. It's just like what you wrote about Mike being torn when Ev begs Mike to stop trying to save him in the Nightmare; the Fragment's entire existence is to keep Evan safe and happy, and it needs to be present so it can do that, but if Evan wants it gone... how is it meant to fulfill both objectives at once?

Though, I'm also curious about how this au could tie back into Security Breach. Maybe the Fragment does end up winning control of the game from Glitchtrap, so Glitchtrap runs to the only place he can: Vanessa. And maybe he drags Evan with him, or perhaps Evan goes *willingly* if it means escaping from the Fragment/Stranger that tortured him for so long. Security Breach still happens, but this time, Glitchtrap has Vanessa AND Evan under his control. Maybe he even uses Evan’s ghost to try tricking and manipulating Gregory as well. And all the while, Michael has to try to figure out how to get out of the VR game and back to protecting the ghost spirit whose name he no longer recalls.

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AND THE FRAGMENT BEING A YOUNGER MIKE IS SO COOL! Maybe it could be the reverse of what I described with Evan and Gregory, where Evan sees another lost and scared kid his age hiding away, just like him, and decides "i am not leaving you to face your horrors alone." Neither Evan nor Mike have any memory of who either of them are, but they're both lost and alone and terrified and cling to each other. They're the only thing that either of them has, and vow to get through this together, sort of the antithesis to how isolated they were in the Nightmare. Very depressing that it takes both of them completely losing all of their memories and will to live for them to trust and rely on each other without constantly hurting each other, but...

Maybe the two of them spend eternity forever without their memories. Or maybe like you said, they slowly find each other's memories in the game's coding, and they have to reconcile the horrible truths they learn about themselves and their pasts with the fact that they're *friends* now and don't want to lose each other

[anomalocaris2hu]

Touhou Ship Week 2023 - Day 1 (Keiki/Chimata) - Legacy

As the sun set on the outdoor marketplace held on the grounds of the Moriya Shrine, Chimata Tenkyuu, the goddess overseeing the market rested against a pillar by the large lake behind the shrine, wiping the sweat from her brow. “Congratulations on another successful marketplace,” a familiar voice greeted Chimata. She recognized her friend Keiki, whose smiling face did more to wipe away the stress of the day from her than even a quick nap would. Replacing her tired expression with one of warm greeting, she walked forward to greet her fellow goddess.

“Thank you,” Chimata smiled back. The setting sun reflected off of the lake, illuminating her face in a red glow the sculptor god felt added to her beauty.

“I hope your faith continues to go well,” Keiki said. She derived her faith from the human spirits in the Garden of Humanity, who viewed her as a savior from the oppression of the beast spirits. While she wasn’t in danger of vanishing any time soon, it meant she had many duties to her worshipers. On the other hand, Chimata had almost faded from existence due to the decline of physical marketplaces. Only recently had she been able to regain a consistent source of faith by sponsoring physical marketplaces in Gensokyo.

“Yours too.” Chimata seemed to be worried about something, based on how her smile faltered after speaking.

“Is something the matter?”

“What? No… well, it’s kind of embarrassing.” Chimata cast her glance down, away from Keiki, and rubbed her hands together.

“You know I’m here for you,” Keiki reassured her friend. “If it’s something related to your faith then I’ll do what I can to help.”

Chimata breathed in deeply and exhaled before continuing. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m merely prolonging the inevitable. With all of the new technology brought in by the mountain god and the kappa, physical markets may be a thing of the past. If somebody can push a button and have anything they want delivered to their home, why would they ever take the time to travel to a marketplace, look for what they want, and haggle with the seller? Even Gensokyo will change someday, and I’m afraid of being left behind.” Remembering the chilling sensation that filled every fiber of her being when she began to fade due to a lack of faith, Chimata hugged herself and began to shiver.

Keiki moved closer to Chimata and waited for the goddess of the marketplace to look back at her. “Chimata,” she spoke slowly and softly, taking the time to choose her words. “I am but a newborn in the world of gods, so I may not understand the issues of a long-lived god who has seen the change of seasons and the birth and death of religions. However, I am certain there will always be a place for you, for the marketplace. The sense of community in participating, The joy of seeing something you created bring happiness to another. The festival-like atmosphere brought about by the flow of people and goods. As long as humanity exists, they will seek such things out. And where those people go, you will find your place.”

Chimata felt tears form in her eyes. Keiki’s words had swept the chills away, but the fear remained. “Maybe you’re right, but I’m still afraid. Afraid that one day those bustling marketplaces will be nothing but abandoned stalls. And when that happens, I’ll be all alone, forgotten, and left to vanish in obscurity.”

“I can not say that marketplaces will always be around, but I can say this. You will never be alone.” Keiki closed the remaining distance between her and Chimata, and drew her arms around the other goddess, pulling her into a tight embrace. “I will be there with you, no matter what.”

“Keiki…” Chimata almost pulled back in surprise, but then leaned forward into the hug. Keiki was taller than Chimata, with a plump, motherly figure, and her soft embrace quickly swept away the anxiety the marketeer felt. Chimata wrapped her arms around Keiki and began to weep into her bosom. They stood there in silence for a while, Chimata crying softly and Keiki holding her, as the rainbow goddess released her pent-up emotions. Eventually, Chimata pulled her head back and looked up at Keiki. Her face was red from crying, but she wore a smile.

“Sorry about that,” Chimata said with a nervous giggle.

“There is nothing to apologize for,” Keiki replied, leaning down a little to get closer to Chimata’s face. “You look so much more beautiful now that you’re smiling again.”

Chimata felt a blush creep across her face, but had little time to feel embarrassed, because Keiki moved in even further, bringing their lips together in a kiss. The warmth Chimata felt grew tenfold as she tried her best to return the kiss, giving herself to the moment and feeling intoxicated with love for Keiki. They remained kissing for what felt like hours, but when they had finished and Chimata looked towards the sky, the sun had not yet finished setting. She felt like she was soaring, unfettered by her previous worries. After all, she knew she would not be alone, no matter what happened.

[fnaffersblog]

Spoilers Below for ‘Moon RETURNS!? in VRCHAT’

The third one. From June 27th 2023. 

Trigger Warnings Below for: Cursing

I was wondering earlier today how Moon was doing dealing with Lord Monty and Nice Eclipse for a month. I wonder if he’s done any bonding w Nice Eclipse. I’m sure he’s ready to get home. I’m sure Sun’s missin him a lot, but I wonder how receptive he'll be to Sun jumping all about him in excitement.

I love that Lord Monty, despite wielding one of if not the most powerful object in his universe, is seen as like an annoying nuisance at most by the people who are in his universe.

On one hand I see where Eclipse is coming from here in regards to the speed the satellite was built. It's good to be cautious, especially with something so important and I imagine they spent the last month meticulously building this thing.

On the other hand, they're genius super computer animatronics being supported by actual genius super computer AI's. Lol.

"Not to mention I still gotta deal with the amalgam." Uh. Oh. Hm. Moon. Buddy. I got some news for you.

I KNEW that was gonna be a fuckin problem lololololol

Like, I KNOW Jigsaw was never gonna STAY in the arcade room but come on, you know? They really just left him there and went *dusting off hands* 'Job completed! That's a problem for future SaMs!' I'm laughing about it.

The satellite was the easy part. I'm super interested to see how they solve the infinitely more difficult issue of getting Eclipse into this dimension.

I'm... actually a little afraid they're gonna actually kill Eclipse again. Turns out I'm still not ready for it.

"More British man?" NO. NO. MOON. GET OUT OF THERE. LEAVE. PLEASE, BEFORE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The utter look of betrayal on Eclipses's fuckin face as Moon fingergunned his way backwards into the portal. I'm wheezing.

UNS IS THWOORNG BARELLLS??? WHAT??

By God he really was losing his mind with out Moon.

He's so excited! He's so excited! I'm so excited!

Sun told Moon he was gonna be pissed and Moon's immediate assumption was Sun thought he'd be mad because he wasn't taking care of himself.

"I assumed that was gonna happen." >:} Oh did you? /j

Bonus: Sun trying to ease Moon into the conversation about how he went off to do some questioning in regards to the whole 'taking care of Eclipse' situation on his own. Making excuses for why he did what he did. Making it sound like it was just a passing silly curiosity tee hee! Awkwardly laughing to try and ease tensions. He assumed Moon would be mad that he did all that.

NEWTON STAR LORE *POUNDING MY FISTS ON THE DESK* LET'S GO.

Okay. So we're getting contrasting information about the star here. I was under the impression the star was a mix between a magical and a technological object which is what made it so powerful. Golden Freddy said it's base was a magical artifact and now Moon is saying it's a piece of technology. Science, not magic. I wouldn't be surprised if the exact nature of the Star was part of the information lost when Old Moon reset.

I do remember there being something said at some point about how there can only be one Star per universe. I swear. There are just SO many lore episodes trying to find one line in several hours worth of footage is nigh impossible. But it sounds like, as of now, they COULD make a new star, it's possible. It's just that THEY, Sun and Moon can't because they don't have the blueprints or whatever because Old Moon deleted them.

It kinda sounds like they're just as confused about Newton Star lore as we are which is very funny. (Moon's shrug. LOL)

Don't misunderstand me! I Fucking Love The Newton Star Shit. They keep making shit up for it and then not giving a fuck. I get very excited every time they mention the NEwton Star.

Newton Star lore boils down to 'do whatever you want forever'. Facts about the Newton Star are concrete all the way up until they aren't. Shrodinger's Newton Star Lore.

On one hand, I think it's very funny that everyone keeps making fun of Eclipse for putting on a very see-through villain persona. Puppet, Sun, Moon, all of them keep pointing out his façade and making fun of him.

On the other hand. Remember that time he trapped Moon in his own body and made any action taken by his possesor cause him terrible pain, dragging Moon clawing back into one of his worst traumas? Remember when he blew up Lunar in cold blood? Like, yes, I agree. Eclipse is kind of pathetic. Eclipse Baby. But I do think they shouldn't be so flippant about him. Eclipse IS capable of doing heinous shit and he's done so before. Like. He's not STUPID.

On the other other hand, the idea that they could just use gun or trick him into getting pushed into the ballpit a la sharptooth from land before time style to defeat Eclipse is terribly funny. Especially if they did so while he was evil dude monologuing.

Sun is really just trying to help here. That doesn't make Moon's silent pantomime of 'bruh' any less funny. That whole silent interaction was great.

On a less funny note, I do appreciate Moon allowing Sun to talk and not straight up calling his ideas stupid. Like, yeah the 'pushin' Eclipse into the pit with a bit of elbow grease' idea was not the best, but it came from a place of sincerity. And when Sun suggested 'Rick Sanchez's portal gun', regardless of Sun's incredulous manner when suggesting it, Moon took that as an ACTUAL idea.

THE AI'S ARE FIGHTING. The SHADE being thrown.

It never occurred to me that they might DISLIKE one another. I always just assumed they were friends, or at the very least they got along since they inhabited the same arcade machine together and both of them 'work' for Moon. AI1 immediately turning on Moon when he got snarky with him. I keep replaying this entire interaction, it's very funny.

Also, Moon refers to the AI's as brothers. I just... thought that was interesting.

"That was the other me. This is the new me." Hmmmmm.

"I don't trust you now."

"WHAT?" Hmmmm??

This right here, Moon allowing Sun to talk about what he was doing instead of just shooting ideas down. Telling him that he recognizes Sun is trying to help, recognizing the effort Sun is putting into this mission. Saying straight out that they'll try and figure things out together. This was so important to me.

Sun ASKED Moon 'Can I say my thing?' and Moon immediately paused, gave the mic to him. And then he LISTENED. ACTIVELY LISTENED.

*Insert Deltarune Explosion mp3*

"Why are we Fallout 4-ing this?"

"He's a God." Lol.

New Moon gettin' reeeeeal stressed out by everything going on right now + Old Moon's shit. He sounded so annoyed when he said 'I can learn'. He's got so much shit on his shoulders. I hope once all this is over, he gets a moment to sit down and sift through all this shit, with Old Moon and his current life and situation.

Sun making a suggestion about Killcode and Moon giving him the floor to speak his part again. It's making my heart hurt. It's so important to me that Sun gets to SPEAK.

"98.5% accur-"

"95%. That's pretty good."

... "98.5%" *Simulates clearing their throat* "This is why you never listen to me."

"I'm sorry. I was talking!"

And then AI2, not one to pass up on an opportunity to both dunk on Sun and show up AI1 pops in to sass Sun. Wonderful.

Fucking love the banter by god. Have I

HAVE I

HAVE I EVER MENTIONED

HAVE I EVER SAID ALOUD FOR THE MASSES TO PERCIEVE

THAT I ENJOY THIS SHOW?

Have I said that yet?

Sometimes I just feel the need to repeat that.

Lol

Anyways

Haven't heard a bald joke in awhile.

Moon threatening to hit Sun as a joke, and Sun holding up his hand. You can't fucking hide that from me. I saw that shit. I SAW that shit.

I always assumed KC went off to explore the wilds for some reason. Like, became a full time hiker. It never occurred to me he might go get a job. I love the idea that he went for volunteer work.

AI1 suggesting, unprompted, that Moon be the one to go and see Killcode. Their reason is sound, yes. But that was weird.

OH.

SHIT.

BIGGEST FUCKING PLOT TWIST OF THE EPISODE!

I

Wow ok.

This is HUGE. This is MASSIVe. I don't

I can't

This show makes my jaw drop sometimes. Irl. Because something'll happen and it'll just take me so by surprise I go fully Looney Tunes jaw-on-the-floor. Like, Moon and Lunars deaths and the fucking trapping episodes did it...

MOON GRANTING FULL ADMIN ACCESS TO SUN IS HUGE.

And... Like. There was no fucking

There was no fucking SNARK. Moon didn't groan and go 'I'm gonna regret this aren't I?' which I can

like, I can HEAR him mumbling some shit like that under his breath before.

the annoyed sigh was because AI1 questioned the decision not because of Sun

He paused to consider his options and came to the conclusion that the best solution to this problem was to LET SUN HELP.

I'm having so many thoughts. Oh MY God.

Moon not knowing the code/ caring enough to break a previous set protocol for the gun but knowing the code to grant Sun admin access.

I

yeh.

I watched it a second time. I might cry. Jesus Christ.

It really just was a 'Oh this'll help Sun!' decision. Even Sun was dumbfounded. He really did just go 'here's some extra tools for your disposal' he's so casual about it he WANTS Sun to help him im

I'm having a hard time trying to describe why this was so important because I'm getting emotional over it fuck

Moving on. I'll

Get to that in the future

I think this is the second time it's been insinuated that Sun is the best candidate to find Eclipse because of their shared history. Golden Freddy kinda touched on it in his own cryptic way and now Moon's suggesting the same thing. I saw someone else on here point that out.

Moon's excitement as he's running out the door. "We're gonna do a video later! Go ahead and pick a game! :D "

Sweet. Welcome back Moon, u were missed.

Unprompted, recommending a game again. It's a horror game, a Garten fan game.

I'm trying to tell if it's Eclipse pretending to be AI1 again, which would skew my perspective on the previous interactions in the episode. But I'm also wondering if this is AI1... caring about Sun?

We haven't lost the snark towards Sun lol.

I'm gonna have to go back to that one episode where Sun breaks Moon's computer and listen to what AI1 sounded like because there WAS a subtle difference, to hint that it was Eclipse, that I didn't pick up on until I went back and watched the episodes again later, after everything happened with Killcodes resurgence and the truth of that whole situation being revealed.

He's done this before. Did Old Moon ever tell Sun about that? That that happened? Probably not knowing what I know about Old Moon. So most likely, neither of them have any reason to suspect Eclipse can do that even though he's done it before. We still don't know what his 'false hope' plan is, but now that I'm thinking about it this could be exactly what's happening here.

[ingek73]

You may not like Prince Harry but his win against the Mirror is huge – and he’s not finished yet

James Hanning

Piers Morgan now has a problem, but so too does much of the press. It is in the crosshairs of a man on a mission

James Hanning is a former deputy editor of the Independent on Sunday and author of The News Machine

Here’s a thought for key sections of the British press: be afraid, be very afraid. Prince Harry’s battle with the Mirror Group (MGN) and his success today will come as no surprise to those who have studied the working methods of the red-top newspapers over the last few decades, so brace yourself for more revelations. The availability of the technology to snoop on their targets made it daft, in a highly competitive market, not to hack phones. If it looked as if the other side was doing it – and the law requires us to say that there is no confirmation that the Sun was indeed doing so – then you would be missing a trick not to do it yourself.

How did it work? Initially, it was done by experts sitting in dingy suburban offices, but then the editors and their accountants realised there was no need for the experts, and it became a free-for-all. Why pay for a hack to stand on someone’s doorstep when you could get someone in the office to do some “finger-fishing”, as it was sometimes called, on any number of people?

Anyone could have a go. The only time the experts were needed was when hacks were snooping on one another, trying to find out who was having an affair with whom. Damn them, they kept changing their pin codes.

All this was denied for years, of course. No, no. Anything the press did was in the public interest, though that was debatable, and certainly not in the face of laws designed to stop illegal snooping. One newspaper even had a “hack off” contest, to see who could hack the most phones in a given period. It was won by a senior executive who has so far escaped justice.

About a dozen years ago, I was told that a senior executive on a red-top paper had suggested to the police that there be an amnesty for phone hackers. He knew how widespread and how normal it was. He knew it was systemic and smiled upon, and had been made indispensable by bosses, but to my knowledge the police dropped the idea pretty quickly. The bad guys would have got off without penalty, and any number of Milly Dowler moments – the hacking of that murdered girl’s phone by the News of the World – would have been buried.

Which is why the judgment against MGN is just the start. The judge ruled that there was extensive phone hacking between 2006 and 2011. He also found that Piers Morgan, who was forced to resign from the Mirror in 2004, knew about phone hacking. He even called it a “little trick”, yet he denied on oath to the Leveson inquiry knowing anything about it. His own position will now surely come under scrutiny.

You may or may not like Prince Harry. You may think he is a damaged young man who has had too much therapy following the highly public death of his mother. Even allowing for the creation of hateful narratives about the influence and ethnic background of his wife, in most circumstances he would be a candidate for widespread public sympathy, but there is little sign of that in the way his activities are reported.

If you have ever wondered why Prince Harry gets such a bad press, consider the context. For Britain’s most popular newspapers, the backstory is terrifying. This is a man on a mission, and while you may say he is tilting at windmills in trying to reconfigure the British media, it will clearly take more than a bit of personal abuse to stop him. The newspapers may or may not be guilty, but the legal costs, let alone the reputational ones, of trying to prove their innocence, and the costs of defending subsequent claims from aggrieved celebrities, will be breathtaking.

Having done a small amount of work investigating this area, I think I know that few cupboards are entirely skeleton-free. Some of the activities that went on can arguably be defended as public interest journalism. But many fail the test set by the great Harry Evans (of Sunday Times fame), which is as follows. If a journalist is considering using subterfuge or doing something ethically questionable, he or she should ask themselves this question: when I come to write up this story, will I be willing to confess to the reader exactly which ethical corner I cut? In other words, will the reader be willing to say that, say, in pursuit of a paedophile I invented a false story, or whatever, then that was fair enough?

That simple test is surely a good basis for any such discussion, and should help dismiss any notion that trawling through celebrities’ private lives – all of which perpetuates a market that needs to be fed – has any conceivable wider public interest. Tittle-tattle may be hard to define, but you know it when you see it.

Quite how things have come to this ought to be a mystery, but it isn’t. The former Press Complaints Commission was asleep at the wheel and almost completely failed to keep tabs on how new technology had made unlawful snooping a piece of cake. And the police crossed their fingers and hoped that, after a few junior execs had gone to prison and a lot of money had been spent, the last-chance saloon had learned its lesson. They had no idea of the depth of the problem, that there was in effect a boozy lock-in going on. That is the party Harry and his friends want to break up, and he, Elton John and others have the money to do it.

James Hanning is a former deputy editor of the Independent on Sunday and author of The News Machine, about the phone hacking at the News of the World

[dfroza]

people would like to make the world a cleaner place

a better place to live

And of course we need to do so in a reasonable and responsible way to promote the sustenance of life that God made.

things will be quite different when our heavenly King returns to rule earth.

people get upset about the use of fossil fuels for energy, but take it away and we will see the food supply (and so many other basic necessities) basically cut off, which is no answer at all.

we need energy to live, and technology has done wonders in making life dramatically different from what things used to be. we can only seek to improve things while here, although the world will experience cataclysmic Judgment in the near future before the return of the eternal Son

but don’t be afraid.

those who belong to Light will be here for another thousand years enjoying a time of peace, where war is replaced by growing things from seeds.

what we see (read) in the Scriptures will actually come True because it already is True. it will surely be.

maybe life will be simpler on earth during the Sabbath day’s “rest” and who knows if it will even be such a digital world any longer. that is up to Him. maybe we’ll still have cars and maybe still be using gasoline? and maybe not. we’ll have to see. but even so, the world will be a pure place and all will know truth.

certainly the use of certain chemicals and things like oil and coal are dirty and have been harmful for the environment, which is especially seen in congested cities in the air quality and in the water. improvements have been made but are still far from perfect. maybe technology will someday adequately harness the massive amounts of free energy given by the sun sent directly to earth? it certainly would be cleaner.

people may dream of a perfect world but it will only truly be so when our eternal King is here to rule from the sacred ground of Jerusalem

(He only left earth for a “set time” in Heaven with the promise to return)

And we see a prophetic “picture” of this being as 2 days in God’s Eyes (or 2,000 years of earth’s time)

and so it is that we are closing in on such timing since He left earth (rising through the clouds)

He being the Creator of earth will restore the True nature of things.

[fandomwriterstuff]

They had gotten to this planet via pod, just Percy (a human XO), Annabeth (a half-Mivervan, half-human Chief of Operations), and Nico (a Plutonian Chief Science Officer). Percy and Annabeth had met as kids on Earth and grew up together, but they’d only met Nico at the start of this mission (six weeks ago). They were on what appeared to be a lifeless asteroid in a belt off of Solaris, looking for a specific type of crystal. Nico was there as Chief Science Officer to determine that they were looking at the right crystal, because, if Percy was being honest, this asteroid was covered in shiny rocks and he was no geologist.

“I’m a scientist, not a geologist,” Nico had grumbled when they’d asked him to come along, but he reluctantly agreed because he did know the specs for the crystal they were looking for, as it was his team’s project that required it. All Percy knew was that it was green and shiny, and wasn’t even on the Mohs Scale because it was harder than diamonds.

That was how all three of them found themselves wandering into a dark tunnel, following Annabeth’s tracker. She and Nico had found that this crystal, ketatite, had a radiation signature similar to a more harmless version of a gamma wave, and they were using tracking technology to find it on the asteroid. The tunnel was dark and round, though obviously not man-made. It had sharp jagged edges and shiny obsidian-like walls.

“I hope we can find our way back out,” Percy murmured as they passed through different passageways and ducked under low ceilings.

“Don’t think like that,” Annabeth chastised him. “We’ve taken a clear path through with no turns and-” She cut herself off as they entered a chamber with three passageways. She facepalmed and held her handheld light above her head, trying to illuminate the very high ceiling. “Of course I had to say that as we came to a fork in the road.”

“You jinxed us,” Percy giggled, his nerves at getting lost in here finally getting to him. They hadn’t seen natural light in over fifteen minutes, and he was getting antsy from the dry scratching noises the wind was making on the walls.

“What is a ‘jinx’?” Nico wondered aloud as they followed the tracker into the middle tunnel.

“Jinxing is like then you say ‘it can’t get any worse,’ and then it gets worse,” Percy elaborated. The conversation was distracting him from the creepy vibes he was getting. “It’s like bad luck.”

Suddenly there was a noise, like paper scratching on the floor and crinkling. The three companions paused, and Annabeth held her light aloft as she looked for the source.

“Who’s there?” Nico called, but only the echo of his voice came back.

Percy was beginning to sweat, despite the below freezing temperatures and soft breeze. He licked his lips and his eyes darted around the dark tunnel. Still no sign of the ketatite.

As they wandered on for what seemed like endless minutes, only following the sign of the trackerpad and the light in Annabeth's hand, Percy became more anxious. He wasn’t scared of the dark, but he was not prepared to fight any aliens that popped out and tried to implant their eggs in him.

He hummed a tune under his breath, something that reminded him of home. Warm water, blazing sun, surfing the waves. He flinched when there was another scuttling noise from ahead of them. Of course there were noises coming from the direction they were walking in.

“This is super creeeepy and we’re all going to dieee,” Percy said in a sing-song voice. “I want to go hooome,” he continued, and nearly ran into Nico’s back when the Plutonian stopped in his tracks.

“What are you doing?”

“Singing makes me feel less creeped out,” Percy bit his lip.

“Are you frightened?” Nico wondered aloud, and Percy scoffed.

“Not frightened, just… Freaked out,” Percy’s words died on his lips as there was another soft shuffling noise, and he jerked his head around to try to find it.

“Why don’t you take the middle and I’ll take the rear?” Nico offered, and Percy wanted to be offended that the other was offering him a way to feel more safe, but he couldn't help but appreciate it. He nodded and stepped ahead of Nico, following close behind Annabeth.

They reached a chamber not long after with more passageways, but this time, one was clearly glowing a soft green, and they hurried towards it.

“Fucking finallyyy,” Percy sang again, this time more relieved.

When he tried to collect a green crystal though, a clump of insect-like creatures started emerging from where he pulled the ketatite out of the ground, and Percy fell back.

“What the fuck?” He screeched. They started crawling towards him.

“I want to go home, this is really unpleasant, I don’t like SPIDERS!” he backed up all the way until he fell onto a hard chest- oh, it was Nico.

“Percy, calm down, look. They’re going away,” the other man reassured him, and tried not to laugh at his Commanding Officer’s antics. He was sure laughing would be a bad idea when the human was clearly very unsettled.

“Oh thank god,” Percy sighed and righted himself.

“Your singing is giving me chills, stop being freaked out,” Annabeth mumbled as she tore chinks of crystal out of the ground. “You’re going to make me creeped out.”

Percy huffed out a laugh.

“So, is singing like a signal of fear, or…” Nico trailed off, looking sideways at Percy, who tried to scratch his head sheepishly, but just ended up bonking his glove on his helmet.

“No, not really. It’s just a pastime for most people, but humans deal with fear in different ways. When I get creeped out I talk in a sing-songy voice or hum a song that reminds me of home so I feel less afraid.”

Nico nodded sagely.

“Good thing we’re done then, and can get back to the pod,” Annabeth smiled at them through her helmet and showed off the sack of glowing green crystal.

“Great, because I cannot handle any more adrenaline,” Percy muttered, and this time Nico did chuckle, but Percy didn’t mind.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are Weird: The Nightmare of the Universe

Below are transcripts from former Eternal Federation president Dokova Mince regarding humanity.

“When I was a child, my father would tell me that unless I did what he and my mother said the Packrils would get me and take me away. They were small scaly creatures with dozens of talon arms that they would grab you with and drag you away into the night.”

“At the time I didn’t understand why my father would do this to me, but in time as I grew older I came to realize his method. He told me this because he knew I would be more afraid of monsters than I would be of him, and that I would do everything I could to make sure they didn’t take me.”

“When I learned the truth I was outraged, and yet I could not deny its effectiveness. I did everything my father and mother asked of me and in return the Packrils never came storming through my windows in the dead of night. Over time I came to find it rather amusing, the notion of imaginary monsters creating such order in my chaotic life. I thought to myself “Why did I ever believe monsters were real?””

“It wasn’t until much later on in life when I became the sitting president of the Eternal Federation that not only were monsters real, they had a name.”

“That name….was human.”

“Upon first discovering humans the other great powers of the universe thought them a joke; the latest in a long line of primitives trying to reach space by strapping themselves to explosives and shooting off into the sky. I must admit that I was among those who laughed at their feeble stumbling into space as they tried to colonize their home system. It wasn’t long though that their stumbles began to turn into sprints.”

“As time passed so too did these savages, these humans come ever closer to reaching the galactic community. It took them nearly 7,000 years before they left the bounds of their world’s gravity. A mocking number for many but it was what came after that which began warning me in the very back of my mind that something was very wrong.”

“Eight of their years after they achieved space flight not only did they land on their moon but they also established their first orbiting space station. Seven years after that their first robotic explorers began traversing the outer worlds of their system, relaying countless images of red barren wastelands that enthralled the small minds of humans all across their tiny world. Within the next twenty years they established a vast and complex network of satellites for sharing information around their planet for every moment of every day. Fifty years later they were landing manned missions to other worlds and spreading out like a deadly plague.”

“These small beings, these humans, though slow to progress went through a rapid paradigm shift and began a rapid expansion of science and technology; pushing the very boundaries of their understanding farther and farther.”

“Still, the powers that were stood by and watched; yet only I saw the danger unfolding before our eyes.”

“Only I could see the monsters waking from their sleep.”  

“These humans…..they were walking paradoxes of themselves.”

“They claimed to want long lives, and yet they bathe in their suns radiation for enjoyment.”

“They claimed to want peace, but their military spending far exceeded every other aspect of their society.”

“They said they were explorers cresting the ever changing tides of the cosmos, yet with every planet they touched a flag was planted and a claim staked like conquerors.”

“It wasn’t long before I was not the only one to see this rising threat, and together we decided to act.”

“Energy barriers and engine disrupters were placed around their system and any attempt to leave was halted immediately. A rotating fleet of ships to patrol the system and ensure any ship disabled would be safely returned to the nearest human world.”

“We thought by closing them off from the rest of the galaxy would  ween their more confrontational traits away, that they would mature more; to give them time to understand their place in this vast and wonderful universe. At the very least it would give me peace of mind that the monsters were still far off from my doorstep.” “Instead we only drove them deeper into the pits of madness. They looked up from their worlds and saw the wonders of the universe all right; but they saw it through the iron bars we put them behind. They saw our protection as an insult, a challenge. “Why should we be denied the grandeur of the cosmos? Why must we be locked away and forgotten?” “

“The years passed and our watch began to wane as the rest of the galaxy required our attention. Our watch became lax and in time even I forgot about the humans. That was until one day I received a priority message from the patrol fleet.”

“The humans had breached the barriers, engaged the patrol fleets, and had stolen their ships. I immediately ordered replacement ships to be sent in but by then it was too late.”

“Human ships poured out of the breach in every direction. Primitive compared to our ships, yet their jump drives were effective enough to spread them in nearly every direction before we could close the breach again.”

“They spread out like rodents fleeing a sinking ship at best and a deadly plague at worst. We tracked as many down as we could, but with them fleeing in seemingly every direction many slipped through our fingers. When we did find them many years later what we found was almost too impossible to believe.”

“Somehow they hacked into our captured ships and stole our star charts. They pulled dozens of uninhabited worlds and set coordinates for them at the fastest speeds they could go. Some of these worlds could support life, and yet many more were near total death worlds floating in space.”

“On planets so cold a single second spent outside was enough to freeze you solid they had carved elaborate cavern cities of dazzling beauty.”

“On planets of nothing but scorched sands they planned massive rail systems that carried entire cities around the planet at just the right spot between the night and day sides to maintain life.”

“On countless asteroids and dead moons massive space stations clung to the rock faces housing hundreds of thousands of living beings that lived in conditions borderline unimaginable.”

“Worse yet was how humans began appearing in other civilizations across the galaxies. For all their barbarism they seemed to have a knack for merging themselves into different cultures; adopting new customs and beliefs as easily as one would breathe air. Some even rose to positions of power within these new cultures and gained followings.”

“I had the government issue demands that any humans found outside of their containment system should be handed over at once. Some of the species gladly handed them over, eager to keep us on their good side. Some bartered and negotiated for the humans, seeing them as a resource to be used. More often the other powers out right refused to hand them over. The reasons varied but the theme was that they did not see the humans as the monsters I knew them to be. It wasn’t until my own government began to question my own sanity and even began softening the rules against humanity that I knew I had lost.”

“For all my efforts, all my struggles, all my sacrifices to stem the tide of monsters at our door I was defeated by the weakness of others.”

“Now as I lay here dying in my bed I find it rather ironic that the only face I now see every day is that of my human caretaker Julie. She smiles at me every time I see her; yet I can see the dark glint behind her clear green eyes. She knows who I am and what I have done to her people, and she smiles not at me personally but at the soon to be moment when my life sheds off this mortal coil once and for all.”    

“I had done everything that was ever asked of me and the monsters were still waiting at my door…..waiting to drag me away.”

[singledarkshade]

Scarred By Time

Author’s Note: I'm procrastinating writing something else so I ended up picking this up once more. Another chapter will hopefully appear at some point. Hope you enjoy. Part One can be found here.                                ********************************************* Part Two The building sitting at the edge of the city loomed above them as they walked towards it from the parking lot.

Everyone had heard of TM Consultancy these days. It was a think tank which had a reputation for creative brilliant solutions to problems most people would dismiss as unsolvable. They had appeared from nowhere about two years ago and quickly built their reputation.

Sara Lance looked at the three people standing with her at the entrance, Ray Palmer, Nate Heywood and Zari Tomaz, three people who didn’t normally work together. She knew them through some mutual friends and the bar she hung out at some weekends.

“What do a scientist, a historian, a hacker and a martial arts instructor have in common?” Sara asked thoughtfully.

Ray grinned at her, “I think we’re about to find out.”

Sara watched the main doors open before them. Swapping confused glances, they walked in and looked around the spacious comfortable almost empty reception area.

“Good morning,” the woman who stood waiting for them said as they moved closer, she had long chestnut brown hair with storm-grey eyes. Her face had a pleasant but neutral expression while she held a tablet in her hand, “Miss Lance, Dr Palmer, Mr Heywood and Miss Tomaz, it is a pleasure to meet you. Dr Hunter is waiting for you. Please follow me.”

They stared when she turned and walked through the wall behind her. Looking at one another again, they shrugged and followed the woman. All cried out in surprise and pain when they walked into a solid barrier.

“Gideon,” a man’s annoyed voice came making them turn to see Rip Hunter, owner of TM Consultancy standing inside an elevator. He was tall, with sandy hair, neatly trimmed beard, intense green eyes and was dressed head to toe in black, the only part of his body uncovered was his face despite the fact it was the middle of summer but the thing that especially caught Sara’s attention were the leather gloves he wore.

The woman reappeared asking innocently, “Yes?”

“Stop it,” he stated before turning to them, “My apologies, she has currently developed a rather childish sense of humour since her recent upgrade.”

Sara could see the others as bemused as she was, “What?”

“Gideon is the AI who runs the building,” Hunter explained, obviously trying not to laugh as Gideon crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him before disappearing back through the wall once more, “Follow me and we can discuss why I’ve asked you here.”

“Thank you for coming,” Hunter said as they filed into an office decorated in neutral colours with a long dark wooden desk in the middle and the sun shining through the wall of windows, “I’m sure you’re all busy so I’m not going to waste too much of your time. The reason I asked you here is to offer you a job.”

“What?” Sara spoke up.

He gave a slight smile, “All four of you have very specific skills which would be useful in order for us to expand our business.”

“What work exactly?” Ray asked thoughtfully.

“We find solutions for problems that others can’t,” Hunter replied, “Each of you have the skills I am looking for to expand the team.”

Sara frowned before challenging, “Considering my skills, what job do you expect me to do?”

“You’re a leader, Miss Lance,” he said, “I want you to manage this team.”

“What wages and perks are you offering?” Zari asked, “Because we all currently have pretty good jobs.”

Hunter smiled slightly again, Sara wondered if he knew how to smile properly, before he told them, “Gideon has emailed you a copy of your contract as well as details of all monetary compensation.”

“And you can’t give us any specific details of what we’ll actually be doing?” Nate demanded.

Hunter mused for a moment before nodding, “I’ll send you some write-ups of our previous cases, but there is information that you will not be privy to unless you are working for us. I will say that your days won’t ever be able to be called boring.”

With that the meeting was over.

 Rip stood in his office watching from the window the people, he had hopefully just hired, leave the property to consider his offer, stunned that he’d made it to this stage. ‘Time’ had confirmed that all those that were needed would be in the right place when required and Rip had been concerned that something would go wrong. It had been a long five years, three of which he’d spent alone and two more building up a business so that he had a way to bring the team together.

“I still do not believe that hiring them is a good idea,” Gideon’s voice made him turn to find her standing at his side.

“We need Sara to recant her wish now John and Mick have managed to capture the Djinn,” Rip reminded her, “But in order for her to do that then she must know about the fact she made it. If she’s working here, then we can ease her into the information. The other three will help with finding the information to convince her it’s real and not some kind of joke.”

Gideon rested her hand on his shoulder, the sensors in his clothes letting him feel her touch, “Then we need to get back to work.”

“Yes, we do.”

“Although,” Gideon noted, “You have not yet eaten this morning.”

Rip rolled his eyes, “I will get something just now.”

Gideon nodded, “Excellent. I will have something waiting for you in the dining room. I’ll meet you there.”

With that she disappeared, and Rip looked out the window once more at the four people walking away.

Part of him hoped this worked but he also knew if it did, then he would leave Gideon again.

And he hated that thought.

                                 *********************************************

 Gideon had been watching her Captain carefully over the past few weeks since he’d made the decision to contact the Legends in this version of the world. John had managed to track down the Djinn who had tricked Sara into making the wish that created this reality, trap it and it was currently being stored in the Waverider under several layers of security both technological and magical.

Although she knew that this was what Rip had been working towards for many years, she feared him succeeding because Gideon would lose him once more.

She never used her hologram and turned her cameras off whenever he was in the shower or changing because Gideon knew Rip hated anyone, even her, seeing the scars that covered every part of his body.

The reminder that to give the Legends time to defeat Mallus after they had blundered in without a proper plan, he had been ripped apart by the energy from the time core.

“Gideon,” he called, letting her know he was dressed.

Turning her camera and hologram back on, Gideon smiled to find him dressed and heading out the room.

“Yes?” she asked as she followed him to the elevator.

“Have we received a reply from anyone yet?” he waited as Gideon sent the elevator down to the sixth floor so he could have breakfast.

Gideon shook her head, “I’m afraid not, Rip. However, it has only been a few days and the remuneration package you are providing may be giving them pause.”

“Should I have offered more?” Rip frowned concerned.

“From what Mr Constantine has said,” Gideon noted as they walked the corridor to the dining room, “You may have offered them too much.”

Rip rolled his eyes, “Money has never been something that has meant much to me, not since I was a child, and I stole whatever I could get my hands on. The Waverider always provided what I required. I probably should have had Mr Rory work out those details.”

“His economic knowledge is quite surprising,” Gideon noted.

Gideon gently touched his hand and Rip took a hold of it. She was relieved he had agreed to let her put the sensors in his clothing, Rip needed physical contact of some kind and would never accept it from Mr Constantine or Mr Rory.

Gideon knew from when Rip and Miranda had been together how much just a simple touch of his hand or kiss on his cheek from his wife, comforted and made him smile.

Rip turned to her and rested his other hand on her cheek, “I’m fine, Gideon.”

“I’m not,” she whispered, leaning into his touch, “Because the closer we get to fixing the mess Miss Lance made with her wish, the day I lose you again draws ever nearer.”

Sighing, Rip shook his head, “I’ve been dead a long time, Gideon. It’s just going to take this time.”

“Captain…”

“I’m at peace with my decision,” Rip told her, “I only wish it didn’t mean leaving you once more.”

Gideon closed her eyes and turned her face to press a soft kiss to his palm, “We have time before that moment comes, Rip and I will treasure each moment.”

 “Have you found anything, Mr Constantine?”

Swearing John jumped, “Make a noise, Gideon before you appear.”

“I am constantly monitoring all parts of this facility,” Gideon noted with a roll of her eyes, “I am always here.”

Shaking his head and muttering under his breath, John pulled over the book so she could see it properly.

“I think I can summon the corporeal version of ‘Time’,” John told her, “But what do we do then? We can’t threaten him to keep Rip alive after we’ve fixed things.”

“I am aware of this, Mr Constantine,” Gideon replied sharply, “However, I will not allow Rip to die again without trying something to save him. This way we have a chance to find out what we can do.”

John shook his head, “I know, Gideon. Look,” he closed the book, “I need to collect some stuff to do the summoning so I will start gathering them up. And we can work on what we offer.”

She nodded, “Thank you.”

“He’s my friend too,” John reminded her, “And I won’t let him go without a fight.”

Gideon gave him a soft smile before she tilted her head, “The Legends have replied to the job offers. I will leave you to work while I report this to Captain Hunter.”

As Gideon disappeared again, John mused over everything. It was only a few hours after he’d been resuscitated into this world that Gideon asked him to find a way to help her save Rip after he saved the world.

He knew Rip and Gideon were close, but the past few years a lot of the time John could see how close they truly were. Gideon had implanted every piece of clothing Rip wore with sensors allowing her to physically interact with him. John had been a bit weirded out by it at first but realised after a while that it was good for Rip.

John smiled slightly, thinking back to anytime he saw Rip and Miranda together. How she would always place a hand on his arm, or lean into him to look at something, she’d brush a kiss to his cheek whenever she left the room or would simply sit on Rip’s lap without even acknowledging him.

It always made Rip smile and relax, Gideon knew this too so, as always, was looking out for her Captain.

                                 *********************************************

 Sara stood with her arms folded as she stood just outside the TM Consultancy building.

“You know,” Zari said as she walked up to Sara’s side, “We only get paid if we go inside and work.”

Shrugging Sara asked, “Don’t you think this is a little odd?”

“A little,” Zari agreed, “I nearly passed out when I saw the salary we were being offered. Not to mention the bonuses for completed jobs.”

Sara nodded, “I know what you mean. It…” she hesitated, trying to find the words, “The job is amazing and so much better than the one I was doing but there is just something odd about it and Hunter.”

“His dress sense screams that,” Zari laughed, “Do you think he knows the all black outfit makes him look like a stick-insect?”

Sara chuckled, “It’s the fact every part of him was covered other than his face I found odd.”

Zari shrugged, “Maybe he just doesn’t like the cold.”

“We’re in the middle of summer,” Sara sighed, “Never mind. We’re due in ten minutes and I don’t want to be late on my first day.”

They started towards the gates and Sara mused over everything. There was something strange about this entire thing and she intended to find out what reason this guy had for hiring them. The money he offered them all was incredible, far more than she expected ever to earn with her qualifications.

Reaching the reception, they found Ray and Nate were already there, sitting on the plush couch just to one side of the desk.

“We were told to wait,” Nate told her, “I don’t think the computer likes us much.”

Sara and Zari took a seat as Zari asked, “Why?”

“Just the look she gave me,” Nate replied.

Ray shook his head, “You’re imagining things. She was very pleasant, and this time didn’t make us run into a wall.”

Zari chuckled, “Come on, that was a little funny. And the fact she’s an AI with a sense of humour, this job won’t be boring.”

“Boring is something I’m not expecting,” Sara mused.

 “Are you ready for this, Captain?” Gideon asked softly as he stood in his office watching the video screen showing the four people waiting in reception.

Rip shook his head, “Honestly, no.”

Placing her hand on his back, Gideon whispered, “You don’t have to do this.”

Turning Rip took her hand, “I do. This world isn’t real. It is missing those who will step in and save it from dangers that normal people cannot.”

“Why is there no other way?” Gideon asked.

Sliding his arms around her, Rip drew her in for a hug, “Because there isn’t. Sara recants her wish, the world goes back to how it was…”

“And I lose you again,” Gideon sighed, her head resting against his shoulder, “Only this time it will be forever.”

Rip closed his eyes before he reminded her, “I made my choice, Gideon. I never wanted to leave you and I don’t but…”

“But?” she pulled back and looked at him with large eyes.

He let out a slow breath, “I can’t be selfish, Gideon as much as I want to. The world is wrong, and I made a deal to fix it. I made a promise.”

“You are far too honourable sometimes, Captain.”

Rip sighed, “You are probably the only one who has ever thought that.” He gave her a smile and rested his hand on her shoulder, “Let’s go meet our new employees.”

“I hope you ensure to remind them that I don’t take orders from them,” Gideon told him, turning on her heel towards the elevator.

Rip smiled and followed her.

 The ding of the elevator made Sara jump to her feet along with the other three.

“Good morning,” Hunter greeted them, wearing basically the same outfit as he had been on the day he’d ‘interviewed’ them, except his polo neck was blue not black, “I’m glad you all decided to take up my offer.”

“Well,” Sara spoke for the group, “It was a hard offer to say no to.”

He gave a slight smile and handed Gideon who was waiting at his side the tablet he had been holding. Sara stared, feeling the others stunned looks as well, when the AI took it.

“How did you do that?” Ray demanded.

Hunter glanced at Gideon before replying, “Executive level clearance.” He turned and headed to the elevator frowning as he turned back to find them staring at him, “Please join me and we can start the tour.”

Sara took the lead and walked into the elevator with the other three joining after a moment.

“Before I show you your offices,” Hunter said as the doors closed, “I want to confirm to you the areas that are off-limits no matter what. These are the top two floors which house the apartments used by myself, Mr Rory and Mr Constantine. None of us will be happy if you wander into our private rooms. Secondly is the basement.”

“Keeping the bodies down there?” Zari asked with a chuckle.

Hunter gave her one of his slight smiles before replying, “Just filled with so much junk it’s dangerous and I don’t want any of you to get lost down there, it could take days to find you.”

                                 *********************************************

 John went through his checklist for the summoning spell. It had taken him a month to get everything together with Gideon constantly checking on him.

He had avoided the Legends since Rip had brought them in, it was just weird that they didn’t know him, and he knew Mick was also avoiding being around them. The former thief and Bounty Hunter had taken to working in a Think Tank, amazingly becoming their security expert with enthusiasm. When they’d joined Rip and started creating the business, Gideon had gone about reorganising the building so that it worked both for their business but also for a place for the three of them to live.

“Please tell me you’re ready, Mr Constantine,” Gideon’s exasperated voice preceded her hologram appearing.

John smiled to himself at her irritation, “I take it one of our new recruits has annoyed you.”

“Mr Heywood insists on calling me ‘computer’,” she snapped, “Honestly it is only due my promise to Captain Hunter that I have not retaliated.”

“Sorry, Gideon,” he sighed, “I’ll talk to him. Because the last thing we need is Rip to deck him for disrespecting you.”

A sweet smile touched her lips and John, not for the first time since he’d been woken in this new world, realised how little he’d understood just how self-aware and ‘human’ Gideon was.

“Before that though,” John pulled out the spell book, “Lock the door and we can try the spell.”

Gideon nodded and John heard the click of the lock as he pulled out everything he required for the summoning.

“Okay,” he took a breath, “Are we ready?”

“Whenever you are.”

John started the summoning spell, feeling the enormous power he was bringing into the room but it wasn’t the first time he’d interacted with something powerful and held his nerve.

Finally a man stood in front of him, or it looked like the shape of a man but John couldn’t quite see the features or anything other than a slightly grey shape.

“Not many people are brave, or powerful enough, to summon me,” the voice echoed off every corner of the room meaning John was in no doubt this was ‘Time’, “Why have you done this?”

“Rip Hunter,” John said, “I want to know what is needed so that he will survive once he gets the wish recanted.”

‘Time’ tilted its head, “Rip Hunter is dead. I was only able to return him to life because of the wish. He knows this.”

“He does,” John replied, “But he deserves something more than to die again once he fixes things for you.”

“He does,” ‘Time’ agreed, “But I could only give him life in exchange for another.”

“Then take mine,” Gideon spoke suddenly.

John spun to her, “What? No?”

“You are an AI,” ‘Time’ mused, “Offering your basic immortal life for a human?”

“For him,” Gideon replied, “Yes.”

‘Time’ moved to her, “Do you understand what you are offering?”

“I do,” Gideon nodded, “And I want to ensure if I do this then he is completely whole once more.”

“Gideon,” John snapped, “Rip would never agree…”

“Your offer is accepted,” ‘Time’ interrupted John.

John frowned, “No, wait.”

“The offer was made without guile,” ‘Time’ told him, “Without deceit. It was given freely and has been accepted.”

With that said ‘Time’ disappeared.

John spun to Gideon, “Rip will never agree to this.”

“He does not need to know until after Miss Lance has recanted her wish,” Gideon told him.

“And you think I’m not going to tell him?”

Gideon nodded, “I know you will not.”

Bright light filled the room and John blinked.

Looking around he frowned, before checking the book, “It didn’t work, did it?”

“No, Mr Constantine,” Gideon replied, “What you intended did not happen.”

Sighing John said, “I’m sorry, Gideon. I know how disappointed you must be. I can try again.”

Gideon gave him a sad smile, “It took you almost two years to track down that spell. It is doubtful you will be able to find another in time.”

John sighed as Gideon disappeared and he began to tidy up, disappointed that he’d failed.

[quillandink333]

Scarlet Carnations ~ Part VI

BotW Link X Zelda ~ Detective AU

Rating: T

Word Count: 2.4k

WARNINGS: death, murder, loss, trauma, blood and gore, terrorism, organized crime, self-harm

Summary: Inspector Zelda Hyrule, assisted by the faithful Constable Link Fyori, is infamous for cracking the most confounding of cases in a town dominated by crime. Her latest assignment is to solve the murder of her own godmother, Impa Sheikah, the late CEO of Sheikah Tech. Incorporated, while staying under the radar of the dreaded Yiga organization.

Part I • Part II • Part III • Part IV • Part V • Part VI • Part VII • Epilogue • Masterlist

By the time I was finally let into the crime scene the day after making my little forensic discovery, the sun had already come down to kiss the horizon. It had taken a great deal of stubborn persistence, but in the end, I had managed to convince the chief detective to grant me access by proving the effectiveness of my method.

As for the name of this method, I had decided to dub the chemical “luminol” due to its distinguishing chemiluminescence, as well as for the sake of succinctness.

Though the chief himself had taken to this well enough, there was yet another hurdle that I’d had to overcome. The estate’s residents. That process had been a bit more difficult, and delicate. At first, my adoptive family were, naturally, apprehensive to let me do as I wished. But when I gave them my solemn apologies and told them that this might allow me to make up for all I had done to hurt them, their trust in me seemed to have been somewhat restored. And I had no intention of letting them down again.

I had to admit, though, that being here on my own was more than a little bit strange. I’d done each one of my investigations side-by-side with my partner ever since I’d freed him from the psych ward and gotten him in with the force a year ago. Every time he wasn’t there to lend me his insights or hold onto something for me or put a hand on my shoulder if ever I got myself overly worked up was like the pang of being slapped across the face. But each of those times, I would straighten up and remind myself, “I’m doing this for him.”

According to Link, he’d found the key near the foot of the fireplace. And so that would be the first place I’d search.

But before I could begin, the parlour was bathed in harsh, orange light.

The officer charged with supervising me had his finger on the light switch. “Ah, actually, could you keep those off for me?” The man gave me an estranged look, but granted my request all the same. “Oh, and close the blinds for me while you’re at it, will you? Ta!”

Now that the room was dim, I’d more effectively simulated the conditions of my apartment that night.

With no further ado, I made my way toward the mantel. Its polished, stone surface couldn’t possibly have the ability to conceal any amount of blood, one might have thought. In which case, one would have been wrong. And my new formula was going to prove just that.

All it took were a couple of spritzes to cover the entire width of the mantelpiece. I waited. Then after a few seconds, the luminol set in, and I had my results.

On either end of the shelf, there was a statuette. These frog-like figures stood guard here as guardian deities to the Sheikah family, or so I’d been told as a seven-year-old. But now, the truth would be revealed to me that what they protected was not the family but a secret. And on the night of the murder, evidently, they’d failed to do even that much.

On the right-hand figurine’s forehead, there had appeared an array of fluorescent blue spots. They were shaped and positioned like fingerprints—a thumb, index, and middle, gripping the creature by its painted skull—but unlike fingerprints, they were completely filled in. I recalled dusting these statuettes for prints on the second or third day of official inspections, and I’d found nothing. The person who these bloody prints belonged to must have been wearing gloves at the time. The same method they’d used to leave no prints on Link’s revolver.

With caution, I aligned my fingers with the prints and gave the figurine an experimental wiggle. To my surprise, it wasn’t fixed to the mantel as I’d thought, but rather hinged to it. It tilted back, and underneath its feet, a small, round keyhole glowed orange in wait.

This was it. I took the unassumingly sized key from my pocket and dropped it into the hole, whereupon both key and keyhole went from orange to brilliant sky blue. A perfect fit.

I couldn’t believe my eyes with what occurred next.

When the key fell in place, the mantel itself split down the middle. Then the two halves began to shift independently away from one and other. As this was happening, the inner wall of the chimney had broken apart into individual rows of stone brick, which then swung backward into the wall.

The two halves of the mantelpiece, having scraped along all the way to either end of the fireplace, collapsed and folded down against its outer legs with a decisive klock. All of this had transpired in the span of just ten seconds.

Behind what had once existed in my mind as a solid, stone-brick wall, there was now a small, cylindrical hollow, just big enough for one or two people to stand inside. The floor of the hollow, beyond the hearth, bore the symbol of the Sheikahs and glowed with the same blue hue that had the key upon being returned to its home. I looked down and noticed the key in question on the floor, having fallen out when its side of the mantel had lain itself vertically.

When the mechanisms in the mantelpiece began stirring to life again, I realized I was on a time limit. With haste, I retrieved the key, placed it in one of my coat pockets, and entered the tiny room.

For several moments, nothing happened, save for the wall of the fireplace closing back up behind me. During these moments, I wondered, what purpose could this room possibly serve? There were no shelves or drawers or racks that one could use to hang one’s clothes on, and it was far too small to be used as storage.

Then all of a sudden, the floor began to lower, all by itself.

The farther and farther I descended into the depths of the unknown, the harder my heart pounded. Just how deep did this elevator go?

And for that matter, how in the world was it even going? The ceiling above me remained where it was, so pulleys were out of the question—and there were no gears or anything moving the floor downwards, from what I could tell.

My confusion turned to shock when the platform I was on defied gravity itself as it entered the chamber that seemed to be its destination.

“What in the blazes...?” I breathed aloud. I had half a mind to suspect that what I’d just witnessed was the result of paranormal influences. Of course, the Sheikah crest beneath my feet told me there had to be a scientific explanation as to how these endless technological mysteries operated. Auntie Purah was sure to know. Though, come to think of it, had she even been aware of the existence of this secret passage?

I now found myself at the start of some kind of corridor. The sound of my heels touching the floor as I stepped down from the levitating platform echoed in the darkness. The only sources of light came from the pulsing, blue runes lining the baseboards of the cold, polished walls, the similarly pulsing Sheikah insignia adorning the archway that marked the start of the hallway ahead, and the mounted sconces that, rather than fire, contained lightbulbs of the same blue that emitted no heat.

As enthrallingly curious as all this was, none of it was relevant. Right now, I was retracing what were likely the steps of the true killer. All I had was to keep moving forward.

But doing so was going to be far easier said than done. Not only was this place exceedingly dark, so much so that I could only just make out the edges of each wall, but it seemed to go on forever. The twists, turns, ups, and downs were so frequent that after five minutes, I hadn’t the slightest idea which way I was facing. The one bright side to it all was that there was only ever a single path forward to choose from.

But to make things worse, there were traps set up along the complete length of the labyrinth. Things like cameras, pressure plates, and even lasers, all of which were inventions that I and the general public were already familiar with, unlike that impossible “elevator” that I had discovered. One thing was for certain: whoever had carried the corpse of their victim through here had to have known their way around this place. For I was barely even able to get by without unwittingly tripping the alarm.

By the time I was finally nearing the end of my journey, and thoroughly drenched in an anxious sweat, I spotted something lying on the ground where a few stray rays of moonlight were seeping in from the outside.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a letter of sorts. It wasn’t until I examined the back of the envelope that I realized this wasn’t just any letter. It was addressed to none other than Impa Sheikah, and it bore no return address. Not only that, but it was stained with splotches of what appeared to be blood.

The sheets of parchment inside were old and yellowing, and the envelope had what looked to be the remnants of a broken wax seal on the flap. The letter itself was handwritten in the same elegant cursive in which the address had been written, with some kind of nib pen and ink. Aside from murder, whoever had sent this must have had a deep affinity for the old-fashioned.

“My dear friend,” it began.

“It is with great sadness in my heart that I am writing to you. The last time we spoke was far too long ago, but even so, I am afraid this will be one of the last times you shall ever hear from me. You see, I have held off on this for as long as possible, but you have forced my hand. I can no longer allow you to meddle in my affairs as you have been.

“I am certain that you are aware of this by now, but I have been keeping watch over you from the ashes of the afterlife for a number of years. I must say, you have done a fine job of raising my darling Zelda in my stead. She has grown into a fine, young lady thanks to your efforts. Though I admit, I do wonder if she has what it takes to ‘solve the mystery’ of which she has been so steadfast in her pursuit ever since my unfortunate, yet necessary, departure.

“The night grows late, and I find myself carrying on. This letter has strayed far from its original purpose. Allow me to get straight to the heart of the matter. Meet me in the secret garden on the twenty-first before daybreak. Surely I need not tell you what would happen if you were to decline this simple request of mine. You were once my nearest and dearest friend, after all, and to allow malice to fester between friends such as we would be a tragedy, to say the least.

“Please deliver my deepest and most heartfelt affections to the rest of the family.

“Yours faithfully, Hilda”

By the time my eyes had dragged themselves along the sweeping lines of the signature, by hands had started to shake so severely that I nearly couldn’t read what was written there. In fact, not just my hands, but my entire being was trembling out of control. I fell to my knees, the sheets of paper scattering in every direction.

Now I knew the reason why this writing had seemed so familiar. I’d used the very same to confirm the nonexistence of the tooth fairy at age five by writing “her” a note and analyzing “her” reply the next day.

My mother was alive. Not only that, but...

I rose to my feet so quickly, my head started pounding. But I paid no heed to it. All I could think in that moment was how impossible it was.

At the end of this long hallway, there was a small set of stairs leading up to a trapdoor, carved from the same stone-like material that made up the walls of the labyrinth. It was incredibly heavy, but it wasn’t locked. With a bit of effort, I managed to heave it open.

The scene into which I would then emerge would change my life forever.

I found myself in the middle of a section of the estate’s gardens that I had never seen before. Behind me was the garden wall that I was familiar with, but rather than the rest of it being properly walled off, it was lined with dwarf evergreens. Beyond those, however, the thicket of the woods seemed all but impassable.

At the centre of it all, there was a place where the flowers were trampled and wilting. From afar, these flowers appeared a deep red hue. But up close, they were white. Something else had turned them red.

Then it dawned on me—these were carnations. I looked around. The secret garden was fit to burst with carnations.

“I observe the world as I hide in a cage. In my youth, I am weak, but I gain strength with age. I both give life and take it away. When one tries to pluck me, I make them my prey. What am I?”

“A carnation.”

It was all flooding back to me. My mother’s fondness for the species, how she had been born on the streets, the great fire that had devoured City Hall, the uprising of the Yiga...

Everything I had been led to believe was a lie.

The head of the organization was my mother. And Auntie Impa had known it all along.

When I looked up toward the starless sky, it felt as though I were plummeting head first into its insatiable, black abyss. My lungs seized up, and I couldn’t breathe. My very soul, being pulled in two opposite directions, was doomed to be torn apart.

Then the clouds parted, and behind a veil of shadow, the full moon was revealed.

The phantom of a hand belonging to the boy I called Link came to rest upon my shoulder. It was soft and nostalgic, in tandem with the frail light of the moon. I felt my chest brimming over with a courage most profound. At that moment, I harboured not even a wisp of fear for whatever it was that lay ahead of me.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 122

Annnnd WE’RE BACK!

Thank you so much for your patience during the hiatus. Work is still crazy, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel there *crosses fingers*. And I was able to build back up my cushion of chapters, so that was a huge win for me.

As a reminder, this is a skip forward roughly 4 years from chapter 121. So, if you read a bit and start to wonder “wait, did I miss something?”, you probably didn’t and it’s most likely something I am going to circle back to.  Don’t be a afraid to shoot me an ask, however, if you are just really thrown off by something! I’ll gladly clarify unless it’s something plot-specific.

Thanks, as always, go to @baelpenrose, @raven-fae, and @charlylimph-blog.  By the way, Raven is working on a podcast of The Miys, which I am incredibly stoked about. Please follow @glimmeringfeatherspodcast for updates!

I carefully adjusted my glasses as I suppressed a giggle at Noah, who was swarmed with small yellow puffs of fuzz.  In the last seven years since their discovery, Else’s hyper-fast evolution hadn’t slowed down much, although Grey did promise that it had slowed down. Noah buzzed at the puff resting on one of its vomu, eliciting a purr. “I believe they learned this behavior from Mac.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” I admitted. “I caught him playing with several of them a couple days ago.”

“I have observed them together on frequent occasions.” Reaching up, it plucked another puff from the top of its head. “I cannot hear if you sit on my sensory organs, podling.”  Soon after Else evolved to the point they could live outside of a habitat tank, Miys had developed a tendency to treat them like its own young, and generally had several of them perched somewhere.

“How many of them are there now?” I asked, reaching out slightly before stopping myself from petting the closest canary-sized fluff. “Else, can I pick you up?”

In response, it bounced onto my hand.  I’d noticed how little they spoke now, but Miys had assured us it was a normal stage in hive-being evolution - once Else became too large to actually fit in our bodies, it wasn’t able to communicate through the translator chip.  At this stage, it could still hear us, but communicating back was a work in process.  Mostly, they just trilled and chirped.

“Currently, there are five hundred and seven thousand, six hundred and twenty-three.”

“They’re very adaptable,” I observed.

With the one free vomu it had, Noah made a nodding gesture. “Most species that reach sentience are. We are able to observe Else’s evolution on a much shorter time scale than most, as well. Consider humanity’s evolution, and imagine seeing it take place in years rather than over the course of millenia.”

“I know,” I laughed. “But seeing it is way more incredible than imagining it.” I adjusted my glasses again, eliciting the buzz that usually meant Noah was exasperated with me.

“Why do humans insist on using those instead of having their eyes repaired?”

“My eyes aren’t damaged,” I reminded it. “And you did repair my eyes. I’m wearing these because my eyes are working right. You know this.”

“In principle, not in practice.”

It was my turn to sigh. “Our eyes evolved to work in a specific kind of light. Earth’s sun is yellow, I think? But Von’s sun is more blue.” I gestured at the light emitters in the corridor. “When the light is in the twilight cycle like this, some humans can’t see as well as we could in Earth-twilight. Hence the glasses.”

“Sight is so inefficient.”

I just shook my head. I couldn’t exactly argue. “Between the light and the gravity, it’s been a huge adjustment.”

“You have all adjusted in quite - innovative ways,” Noah replied. “My kind have done many of these relocations. Not all species adapt well.”

“What was it you called it?” I squinted, both from trying to see what was ahead of me and from thinking. I’m going to have to talk to someone about some flashlights, I swear… “We ‘persist’?”

“Humans are remarkably stubborn, yes,” it confirmed. “As Arthur Farro seems to prefer explaining it, your species began space travel by attaching chemical ignition drives to your posteriors.”

Even after so long, some things just did not translate. “Yep, we very much strapped a rocket to our asses to achieve spaceflight,” I laughed. “Everything on Earth kind of evolved and adapted like that. We learned what wouldn’t poison us by watching others die from eating it, that kind of thing. Even our superstitions, and later our laws, were basically ‘hey, let’s not do this, it kills people’.” A liw made its way into my line of sight, rocking to mimic a confused head-tilt. “You rescued us for our sight, not because we are a particularly bright species.”

“I understand that the polite thing to do, according to your customs, is to object to that statement, however I have been told on several occasions that I lack any skill in falsehoods.”

“We bombed ourselves back to the Stone Age the second we hit our highest peak in technology.” I reached out and patted what would have been a shoulder on a human. “You don’t have to lie about that. Arthur has studied an absurd percentage of human history. Even from a scholarly perspective, I am assured we are a singularly idiotic race. Besides, we’d already ruined an entire planet at that point...”

“It has evidenced itself to be a lesson well-learned.” It returned the pat, gently. “For a species historically inclined to warfare, those on the Yjq have demonstrated a profound proclivity toward peace.”

“Trying to keep it that way, bud,” I admitted.

Removing yet another puff from its sensory organs, Noah continued. “Please be assured, also, that Terrans are far from ‘singularly’ idiotic.  There are many species in the Galactic Community that are demonstrably lacking in what you refer to as ‘common sense’.”

Noah was still a terrible gossip. “Do tell,” I asked, crossing my mental fingers that we weren’t the worst out there.

“Preeyar,” it listed immediately.

“The rift-valley avians?”

“The same. They experience terrible reactions to liquid water, and yet they are fascinated by fountains and insist upon touching them!” Startled chirps erupted as all six appendages on Noah’s upper body flung out in frustration. “Any vessel transporting Preeyar has specific instructions on how to treat the resulting burns.”

I had to admit, that was pretty bad. “Terrans at least learn not to touch things that will burn us by the time we can speak, usually.” My nose tickled as several little Else-puffs migrated over to me, upset by the grand gesture from my friend.  I was almost glad it was so difficult for humans to see in the corridor, because I probably looked absurd.

“Shalt’krii are somehow just as difficult,” Noah confessed. “As a species that have what you term an ‘allergy’ to sonic waves - they develop painful rashes and can have seizures when exposed. Yet, it is entirely inevitable when transporting a large group that several will have forgotten or neglected to bring dampeners.”

“Oh my gosh,” I gasped, trying not to laugh and upset Else again. “How?”

“It has eluded the Galactic Council since they joined. The dampeners are far less barbaric than what the So-K’nor do to resolve a similar concern, but I must privately admit that the So-K’nor are at least more consistent and effective.”

Well, yeah, deliberately deafening yourself permanently when you go off-world tends to be that way, I thought to myself. I knew I didn’t need to say it out loud, but I also knew that Noah would not address my thoughts out loud. “Okay, maybe we aren’t that bad,” I granted. “I think the worst we do is ingest mild poisons.”

“On an alarmingly frequent basis, yes. Including plants native to your world that actually attempt to digest you as you eat them.”

I shook my head. “Not this girl. I don’t like pineapple.”

“And the number of humans on the ship who willingly consume lactic acid, knowing it will cause them digestive distress?” If it had eyebrows, they would be arching, I just knew it.

“You have pointed out several times over the years that you can’t taste,” I pointed out. “So you have no idea how tempting cheese can be.”

Noah shook one vomu like a head. “Incorrect. Having witnessed the sheer amount of it that Tyche consumed once she realized that you were not lactose intolerant, there is empirical evidence to support your claim.”

Unconsciously, my hand jumped to touch my left ear before I could force it down. “I remember the spicy food,” I said carefully, stroking one of the fluffs on my arms. “But I didn’t know about the cheese. Come to think of it - “ I stopped in my tracks and turned to face Noah directly, “Why weren’t the consoles just adjusted to make all the food… I dunno, lactose-free, I guess?”

Two liw reached to pluck several yellow beings from my arms and head as Noah used one vomu to start ticking reasons. “One, because I was specifically asked not to by Grey Hodenson and Xiomara Kalloe, the consensus being that bovines are, in fact, in the genetic database. Two, because that was attempted several weeks before you were brought on board, and I was tempted to damage my sensory organs to block out the sheer number of complaints regarding how everything tasted.”  Thankfully, its vomu was still empty when it flung outward. “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to accommodate requests regarding something you do not experience?”

I felt slightly ashamed. “Not entirely, no.” Trying to lighten the mood slightly, I felt the need to point out “Besides, I really like goat cheese.”

“Something about chetter and mootsareeleh,” Noah grumbled.

“Ohhhhh,” I whispered. “Eyeah… do not mess with Italians’ mozzarella, I have learned. And cheddar does have a very specific flavor. I can see those being very loud complaints.”

“In eight Terran years, I am still confused why the color of the chetter is a determining factor, as well as how something so soft can be compared to an edged weapon.”

I felt like I was going to explode from suppressed laughter. I had to stop, tears streaming down my face, and catch my breath. “Oh, Noah… I honestly don’t know if I can explain that, but I can try…”

<< Prev   Masterlist  Next >>

[theres-someone-to-write-about-it]

Winx Club Characters

Musa: audio processing issues. Uses her magic every day subtly to boost volume or base but sometimes when people talk too much or too low it’s hard for her to understand. She also uses sign language a lot and uses her headphones to maybe raise the volume of background noice so she can hear it or completely tune everything out. Wind chimes all around the room. Spoken word poetry can turn into a blood bath. Use the vibrations of peoples words as a weapon against them. I can’t picture her as straight either. At the very least bi if not full lesbian or maybe even demi.

Flora: beautiful, wonderful, sweet Flora who is calm under pressure and in crisis and shows her love to her friends by understanding them. She’s the first to learn sign language the moment she meets Musa. Maybe learns in secret and surprises her. She’s not passive and gets distracted with her plants sometimes but they require a lot of tending to.

Layla (Aisha): ‘Magic shapes and shifting tides’. They’re able to manipulate water at the molecular level. Creating the form of objects as needed for useful things. Always always swaying. Sea legs are constant and they trip a lot but in a boat or in the water, they’re incredibly graceful. Always has a water bottle. They’re similar to Stella in their moods are affected by the tides and sometimes they butt heads about it. Ebb and flow. They’re royalty too so they gets the pressure and always tries to be better even sometimes to a self destructive level. Nonbinary!! As hell!! They have no shape!

Stella: strong Leo energy, fiercely loyal to her friends even when she can be self involved. She’s the sun and the moon. Always know a what time it is and where the sun and moon are. Great at directions which is why she’s a mentor. Show her being a mentor to all of them not just Bloom. Fashionista but not in a snobby stuck up or even brooding way. Royalty vibes are important but not because it’s weakness. Being unkind is weakness. Not sticking up or standing by people who need it is weakness. Her entire being is affected by the sky.

Techna: so logical and analytical but amazingly adaptable. Software engineering mindset of effective problem solving. Is the second to learn sign language for Musa and recommends technology to help. Would create an optimal watering schedule for all of Floras plants and a catalog for Stella’s clothes if asked. The touchy feely stuff is not her/their thing but she/they supports them in her/their way. Feels connected in the city and almost lost in the country where technology is scarce. Definitely a tech geek and the one for recommendations. I can’t picture Techna as cis but they are definitely ace.

Bloom: a good relationship with her parents who told her much earlier she was adopted. Can get heart burn a lot and coughs. Runs warmer than everyone and is definitely the cuddle buddy on the couch. Sagittarius energy with the passion burning inside but she doesn’t let it run away with her. She knows it’s a new world and she’s excited to learn about it. Can be narrow minded and focused on one thing when other things are happening that might deserve attention but has deadly accuracy with her words and magic. She’s determined and stubborn sometimes to an annoying degree. But I can’t picture her ever loosing her temper so where she says something hurtful to her friends. She measures her words carefully even when tensions run high and could never hurt them like that.  But also she’s ruled by passions so if her heart isn’t in it, it shows. Pansexual. Can’t change my mind.

Sky: strong and intelligent leader type first and foremost. Happy go lucky. I wanna say Cancer sun with a Sag moon and maybe a Taurus rising. Cause he’s sweet and in touch with emotions but is able to be grounded and see things clearly with a little passion thrown in there. His family and friends are his world. He takes being a future king very seriously but also isn’t afraid to have fun. All American boy Chris Evans honestly. That’s the tweet.

Riven: not a piece of shit stoner dude. He can be the brooding bad boy whose pretty cocky and who one enjoys taking down a peg. But at the end of the day he’s a secret ride or die. He loves his friends and does little things to show it that don’t really show it. Like taking the time to learn some new tech Timmy is working on so he can talk about it with someone but also as a way to flex his brain. Trains with Sky whose probably the best so he can be the best and protect him. Would absolutely play the sacrifice play but in a last minute you’d never see it coming way. Annoyingly chaotic bi energy.

Dane: as much as I don’t really know how this character fits into the overall show. I like his potential he was never given so I’m gonna give it to him. He’s a soft boy from a kingdom that’s actually dealing with bad shit. He’s been through horrible things and honestly wanted the academy to learn just more than he already knows and deals with. He’s tough and strong and great in a fight. But also doesn’t give two shits about toxic men questioning why he enjoys the greenhouse. Because it’s shit you need to know my dude, what’s gonna kill you or heal you when you’re in a realm with a completely different ecosystem. I want him to be at least 60% gay and have that never be something that’s mentioned without him in the room. Like he gets a boyfriend? Maybe he already has one? Chill! Now onto how he would absolutely break your legs if you were talking about any of his friends. Low key maybe Phillip Hamilton vibes...

[obwjam]

#17 with a shrunken Obi-Wan or Anakin?

“Is this size permanent?”

i’m doing anakin and using my oc for this because obi-wan deserves a win 

from this post

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

Nobody knew what had just happened. 

The Separatists were always trying out new weapons, but when Anakin held up his lightsaber to deflect the weird blue laser that was headed straight for him, he didn’t expect his body to start aching and his vision to go blurry. He was knocked off his feet, and a sharp ringing in his ears made him squeeze his eyes tight until it stopped. He could hear people shouting... but they all sounded miles away. 

Anakin took a sharp breath and sat up straight, blinking rapidly as the scenery started to take shape around him again. Everything was a lot darker than it was before, and a lot more devoid of color, too. He rapidly moved his head around. This was certainly not the flat field he was fighting in before.

“Obi-Wan?” Ankain called out. Nothing. “Rex?” He tried again, louder this time. Still nothing. “Ahsoka?!” It felt like he was screaming into a pillow. He thought he heard someone yell his name back to him, but everything still sounded muffled. Was he in some kind of alternate dimension? Could the Separatists do something like that? Was he dead?

“Anakin?”

A clear voice shook him from his trance. 

“Jayla? Is that you?” he yelled back. Anakin couldn’t discern any of his surroundings, much less where the voice was coming from. The more he strained his eyes, the heavier the weight of the world felt around him.

“Anakin? Anakin! Are you okay? What happ... holy kriff.”

It took him a moment to realize what he was seeing. Jayla, the best friend he had known forever, the one who was small enough to curl up in the palm of his hand, was standing right in front of him.

Right at eye level.

“Anakin... what...” she started, almost too afraid to move closer. If Anakin thought he was hallucinating, Jayla certainly had him beat. But the blue weapon... its strange energy... it all made sense now.

“Jayla? Why are you... how...”

“Anakin... it’s not me.” Jayla could barely get her words out. “That weapon... it… you’re...”

“Are you saying that weapon shrunk me?!”

Jayla flinched. Even at such a diminished height, seeing Anakin get mad was concerning. He scrambled to his feet, and suddenly everything became clear. It was dark because he was surrounded by tall grass. He felt anxious because the sheer size of everything around him was weighing down on him heavily. Those voices sounded far away because they were.

Jayla cringed at the panic that was clearly engulfing Anakin. She could marvel at this later. Right now, she needed to help.

“Ani... you need to calm down,” she said softly, slowly making her way over to him. Okay, maybe she could marvel a little bit. He looked so different up close. So much... older, and worn down.

“You want me to be calm when I’m stuck like this?” he cried, throwing his hands up. Up. Up was so far away now. Treetops that were once a leap away were now impossibly out of reach. “What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to fight? Is this size permanent?”

“First of all, I resent all of that. Second, we need to find Obi-Wan and get back Coruscant so we can--”

“Obi-Wan?! No. No way.”

“Are you kidding? Please don’t tell me you’re afraid.”

“More like embarrassed,” Anakin sighed, rubbing his eyes. “He can’t--I don’t want him to see me like this!”

“Oh, you’d rather make this awful muddy field on this backwater planet your permanent home, then?”

Anakin sighed. She was right, but that didn’t make the pill any easier to swallow.

“The sooner we get off this planet, the quicker we can… fix you,” Jayla said. “It’s freaking me out too, you know.”

“How do you live like this?” Anakin asked. “I mean, I’ve always wondered, but actually experiencing it...”

“Please,” Jayla rolled her eyes. “It’s been like two minutes.”

“So? That’s way more experience than I ever thought I’d get.” Anakin took a moment to look himself over. He was still holding his lightsaber and his clothes had shrunken with him, so that was a positive. He felt normal, albeit a little dazed. He could still walk, talk, breathe. Everything was fine. He was just... tiny.

“How are we supposed to get to Obi-Wan from down here?” Anakin asked, completely serious. Jayla stared at him as she held her arm up and pointed to her wrist comm.

“Oh. Right,” Anakin blushed. 

“I think that weapon did some brain damage,” Jayla muttered as she turned the comm on. “Obi-Wan? Are you there?”

“Jayla? Where are you? Have you found Anakin?”

“Yeah, I found him…” she tapped a few buttons to transmit her location. “Just watch your step.”

“As always,” came Obi-Wan’s garbled voice before the comm beeped off.

“How long till he gets here?” Anakin asked, a tinge of panic to his voice as his eyes scanned the horizon.

“I don’t know,” Jayla shrugged. It was alarming how strongly she could sense his fear. “Look… it’s gonna feel really overwhelming, having another person loom over you. But don’t worry, you just have to--”

“--I feel fine,” Anakin grumbled.

“I know for a fact that you don’t.” 

Anakin looked at Jayla, and he finally took in what was in front of him. From his normal perspective, she usually looked spry, alert and energetic. He had never noticed the scratches on her face and the bruises on her legs before. Her blue eyes were the brightest thing in this dingy atmosphere. She was way more muscular than he would have ever guessed.

“I’m taller than you.”

Jayla blinked. “What?”

“Even when we’re on the same scale, I still got a few inches on you.”

“You are actually unbelievable,” Jayla shook her head, biting back a smile. She stared at Anakin for a few moments, neither of them needing words to say what they were thinking. Her stomach dropped, though, when a long shadow passed over them and Anakin’s eyes grew wide.

“Jayla?” Obi-Wan took a knee high above them. Anakin gulped. “Where’s Anakin?”

Jayla didn’t say anything; she just glanced to her side, where Anakin was frozen in place. It took Obi-Wan a moment, but when he saw, he gasped.

“Anakin! What in the -- what happened?”

“It was that Separatist weapon,” Jayla answered, knowing Anakin wasn’t going to speak. “The bright blue one.” 

“That’s impossible… how could they have developed technology like this?”

“I have no idea. But we need to get out of here before they get anyone else.”

“I agree.” Obi-Wan couldn’t take his gaze off Anakin. Anakin was doing everything he could to avoid eye contact. Wordlessly, he put his palm down next to the two. 

“Let’s go,” Jayla said quietly, too soft for Obi-Wan to hear. Anakin glanced at her before warily walking to Obi-Wan’s open hand. He cringed when he stepped on.

“This is humiliating,” he mumbled. 

“Grab the thumb. You’ll balance better.”

Anakin scoffed. “I am not touching his thumb.”

“Obi-Wan, Anakin refuses to touch your thumb,” Jayla said, holding back a laugh. 

“Well, I hope you have good balance,” Obi-Wan said, trying his hardest not to smile at the sight of Anakin nearly falling over when he began to stand. “I must say, Anakin, you look adorable down there.”

Anakin glowered at him with the ferocity of a thousand suns, and this time, Jayla couldn’t hold back.

“Ani, you really need to relax,” she said between giggles. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re very adorable at all.”

“I hate both of you,” Anakin sneered. “So much.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

As they made their way back to base, Anakin finally got over himself and leaned over Obi-Wan’s thumb like a railing as the field he once ran through with ease whizzed by.

“What’cha thinking?” Jayla asked, scooting up next to him.

Anakin smirked. “I can’t fly my ship anymore.”

“Hey, I don’t even know how to fly!”

“Everyone’s gonna see me like this. Rex, Ahsoka, the council…”

“Trust me, the council isn’t nearly as imposing as you would think.”

“...I’m gonna have to tell Padmé.”

“Oh.” Jayla cleared her throat. “Yeah, that one might be awkward.”

Anakin said nothing. Jayla slid closer, rubbing shoulders with her friend. Obi-Wan glanced down, trying to make out what they were saying.

“Someone’ll fix this,” she reassured. “I don’t know who, but the Seps wouldn’t have done this without having a way to reverse it.”

“Oh, good. Let’s just find Dooku and politely ask him to make me normal again!” Anakin snapped. 

Jayla looked away. There really was no getting through to him when he was upset about something. Only this time, it wasn’t so easy to ignore him. He was right here with her. It suddenly hit her why she felt so uncomfortable -- she had never been in a position to truly console anyone. Sure, she offered wisdom and support when it was needed, but she always got the feeling that her advice didn’t carry the same weight as it would if she were a normal height. Normal. She really wished Anakin wouldn’t use that word.

Anakin stole a glance at Jayla. Maybe being snide with her wasn’t the best idea when she was all he had down here.

“‘M sorry,” he mumbled. “This is just… this is a lot to deal with.”

“I know,” Jayla sighed. “I shouldn’t tease you.”

“Eh, I deserve it,” Anakin said. “We all know I never let up on you.”

Jayla huffed a laugh. “Yeah.” There was a long pause before it was clear that neither side was going to continue the conversation. Slowly, Jayla wrapped her arm around Anakin’s shoulders and squeezed.

“It’ll be alright,” she whispered. Anakin put the lightsaber he didn’t even realize he was holding back on his belt before reciprocating her gesture. Jayla smirked. “Wow. So this is what it feels like.”

“What what feels like?”

“A hug.”

Anakin turned to her, surprised. “A hug?”

“Would it surprise you to know that I have never once been hugged?”

“Well, yeah, it would,” Anakin said, looking hurt. “Because you tell me everything.”

“I tell you the things you’ll understand,” she corrected. “Being tiny in a giant world means you have to be okay with missing out on basic human experiences. Things like, hugs and holding hands and sitting in a chair around a big table eating dinner together. Just… talking to someone, without constantly being on edge and feeling like you’re being watched.” Jayla fell silent for a moment. “I know it’s wrong to say, but, I’m glad you’re here with me. Like this. It feels… a little less lonely.”

“Even if we’re being carried around by Obi-Wan on a gross Outer Rim planet?”

Jayla snickered. “Especially that. You don’t think this is familiar territory? I’ve fallen asleep more times in this hand than you have next to Padmé--”

“Alright, I get it,” Anakin cut her off, his face a light shade of red. “I wish I had picked up on it. A-about you feeling so… isolated.”

Jayla shrugged. “I do a good job of hiding it. There’s nothing you would have been able to do, anyway. Hugging a finger is nothing like… well…” She let out a breath. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to go off like that.”

“No, no. I’m glad you did.” Anakin smiled. “It feels like I’m talking to a completely different person. You’ve been my best friend since I started training, and it’s like I’m just meeting you for the first time.”

“Well, I hope you really like me, ‘cause this is what you’ll be stuck with for a while.”

“I’m gonna have to find a new nickname for you that’s not Tiny.”

“Aw, I wouldn’t want you using all your brainpower on me! You need to save it for other things. Like Force jumping from the floor to the table instead of from the ground to the top of a kriffing mountain.”

Anakin opened his mouth to retaliate, but didn’t get the chance before Obi-Wan stopped walking. “This is our stop, kids,” he teased. He immediately made eye contact with a frantic Rex and waved him over.

“General Kenobi! Did you find--” Rex stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was in Obi-Wan’s palm. “Um. Sir...”

“Don’t look so surprised, Rex!” Anakin called out, trying to ignore just how big he was. “I’m trying out a new look.”

“Sir…” Rex said again, unable to tear his eyes away. He had finally gotten used to Jayla being around. He couldn’t do it all over again.

“Staring is rude, Captain,” Obi-Wan remarked, sensing Anakin’s discomfort. Rex pursed his lips and quickly looked away. “We’re going to take my starship back up to the Resolute. I suggest you round up the 501st and tell General Yularen that we’re heading back to Coruscant.”

“Yes, sir, right away, sir,” Rex stammered. He spun around on his heels and jogged away to meet his men.

“Well,” Anakin said. “That was awkward.” 

Jayla huffed. “Welcome to the tiny experience.”

“Master!” another voice called out. This one belonged to Ahsoka, who had only caught a fraction of what Rex was trying to explain before deciding she had to see it for herself. She was panicking that nobody had been able to find Anakin after he jumped in front of that weapon. Rex had said something about him being with Obi-Wan… but she didn’t see him. Yet.

“Anakin!” she said in shock when she finally saw. She bent down, wide-eyed, and Anakin appreciated the fact that she wasn’t just gawking mindlessly. “What happened?”

“Some sort of new Separatist weapon,” Anakin answered before mumbling, “I’m really gonna hate having to say that a thousand times.”

Jayla glanced up behind her back as Ahsoka fired off questions. The usually snippy Obi-Wan had been surprisingly devoid of quips about Anakin being smaller than a Zilkin. Something was not right here.

“Ahsoka,” Jayla cut in, noticing how irritated Anakin was beginning to look. “Why don’t we go and get Anakin’s starship back up to the destroyer? Since, you know, he can’t do it himself.”

“Funny, you just said “we” there, and last time I checked, you can’t fly either,” Anakin joked.

Jayla smirked. “Oh but see, the difference there is that I don’t care.” She flashed one last mocking smile at Anakin before jumping off Obi-Wan’s hand and landing perfectly on Ahsoka’s shoulder. Anakin stared in disbelief. That leap looked impossibly far.

“Will you be okay, master?” Ahsoka asked, sensing Anakin’s anxiety. He nodded without a word. Ahsoka knew it was time to leave.

Obi-Wan waited until the ship was a speck in the sky before turning his attention fully on the tiny Jedi knight in his hand. 

“You’re very anxious, Anakin.”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Gee, and why would that be, master?”

“I just mean…” Obi-Wan sighed. It was rare for him to be at a loss for words. “I’m worried. This is completely uncharted territory. I don’t have an inkling as to how the Separatists would have made a weapon like this. There might not be a solution.”

“Yes, there is,” Anakin shot back. “We are going to find a way to fix this. I don’t care what it takes. I’m not staying like this forever.”

“Anakin--”

“What, Obi-Wan? What do you want me to say? That Jayla can live like this, so why can’t I? She’s lived like this forever. I… I haven’t. And I can’t. They need me.”

“They?”

“Rex! Ahsoka! The 501st! Jayla! You! I can’t be who I need to be if this is what I am.”

Obi-Wan bit his lip. Fear and distress were clouding Anakin’s rationality.

“Anakin, listen to me. We are going to do everything in our power to get you back to normal. That I can assure you. But you need to stay calm. It could take days, it could take months. We simply don’t know. But if you let this consume you, you’ll be going down a dark path.”

Anakin crossed his arms, acting like he wasn’t listening to a word of what Obi-Wan was saying. He was right. Anakin was afraid. And pretending not to be afraid was even worse than feeling afraid in the first place. Right now, he couldn’t be more grateful to have someone like Jayla on his side.

“Let’s get back to the destroyer,” Obi-Wan said once he felt Anakin’s shaking subside. “We can get started in the medical bay.”

Anakin sighed and sat down, ready to embrace the weirdness of leaning on someone else’s fingers. 

It was going to be a long trip back to Coruscant.

[hyrule-kingdom-updates]

Zavis gave a yelp as Misko jabbed his chest with a gloved hand, his body swaying like a swing set. 

"Alright. Well suppose my monetary, and, or, practical gain is not as fruitful as you claim. What exactly is it that you have to gain from all this, Yiga? Say I return these powerful items, and they are used to defeat the Calamity. Is that not what the Yiga don't want?

Zavis craned his head as much as he could in his upside-down state.

"I'm not a true Yiga, so their wants aren't mine."

Something sparked in Misko’s eye, and he smiled a toothy grin.

"Ah, I see. You are a little spy, then? Explains why Lady Impa tolerated you. Would have never thought Her Majesty would have such...unusual company...”

Misko swiped Zavis’ glasses, plopping himself on the ground and pretending to be preoccupied with cleaning them with a silk handkerchief from his pants pocket. As he sat, legs crossed, in the grass, Zavis spotted the assorted leather pouches across the belt around his shoulder and waist.

While most of his attire was rugged and inconspicuous, a shining rapier in its glistening scabbard was attached by his left hip. Its subtle green accents on the sheathe and pommel even seemed to glow slightly in the shadow of Misko’s dark cloak. It was quite longer than your average sword, even more than the Master Sword. Did he really move around such a weapon one handed? Perhaps it was lighter than it appeared...

“So you wear the colors of false ambitions...Goals not your own...” Misko said, as he inspected a crack on the lens. “To disguise yourself in the intentions of others, and to not be corrupted or swayed...I must assume you are stronger than most in protecting your true values, whatever they may be...”

Zavis raised (or perhaps in true orientation, lowered) an eyebrow. “‘Values?’ Well it’s not as mysterious as you make it out to be. I value my life, and my friends’ and families’ lives. I don’t want everyone to...you know. Die.”

“Is that not what all sides are already doing?”

Misko didn’t look up as he popped one of the lenses out from the round the pair of glasses. He fished around in one of his pouches, apparently having a handful of different other lenses on hand.

“King Rhoam pushes for his daughter’s sacred power by any means in order to save his people. Master Kohga and the Prophet of Doom serve Lord Ganon to spare their own people from demise. Your own queen rejects the perfect gods, and instead clings to the powers of flawed souls to achieve a perfect ending for her companions. No, I’m afraid your answer is not unique, Mr. Asu.”

Zavis blinked, wondering if it was possible to hear the frown in someone’s voice.

Misko held up the glasses to the sky, inspecting them beside the other lenses he had on hand, trying to find a match. Green sunlight filtered through the trees, and for a moment, Zavis found it illuminated a strange set of...bowls? A set of something hanging out by the backside of Misko’s belt. The sunlight left and it was obscured in the cloak’s shadow once more. Truly a strange thief...

Zavis sighed, having a hard time maintaining eye contact with the blood rushing to his head.

“So what do you want?”

“I want you to enlighten me.” Misko said, matter-a-factly. “You want my treasures? You must convince me. In the world of thieves, it’s all about the value of the trade.”

Zavis squinted.

“So...you want my glasses?”

Misko clicked his tongue and shook his head with a sigh. However, it was cut off as he breathed an excited “Oh!”

His eyes lit up, the color of a glowing ocean as the sun sinks into the west. One of the lenses in his collection clicked into place in the red frames. Misko tossed the old, cracked lens into the brush behind him. He then tucked the fixed glasses into the tangle of Zavis’ hair.

“Now, Zavis, I do not want anything as silly as a pair of vision aiding glasses. I’m possess excellent sight, as well as being an excellent sight.” He winked, playfully.

“However, you possess something of great...shall we say personal value, that I think most people take for granted. From what I surmise, you can’t even comprehend its existence, even though you know it well.”

Zavis withheld his groan. Great! This guy speaks in riddles. But as he rolled his eyes, Misko suddenly leaned closer, refusing to break their gaze.

“A thief takes what isn’t theirs, what others possess, but what they themselves desire. That desire turns to purpose, and that purpose turns to skill. A thief’s treasures are, as such, the culmination and representation of their skill.

“To take said treasure, is to take skill, and thus wither purpose, and thus insult my desire. ‘Your desire is worth nothing. It is worth less than my desire. Thus, I shall trade nothing for it, and take.’ Hypocritical as it may be, there is no greater dishonor than be taken from. There is no greater displeasure than giving treasures for free.”

In a flash, Misko stood and unsheathed his blade, and slice the rope holding Zavis with a flick of his rapier. As the boy toppled to the dirt, Misko’s blade danced in the air in time to balance the red pair of glasses on the sword’s tip, sitting undamaged, unlike Zavis’ face.

Zavis picked his head off the ground. Feeling too unsteady to stand with the blood rushing out of his head, he just grumbled.

“Rupees are worthless to me. As are whatever monetary valuables your rich Asu ass could part with. They are not treasure in the way that these royal items are. I feign to you my explanations about technological abilities, or the practical options of having a little guardian. But in truth, to take from the Queen Zelda is, of itself, greater treasure to me than you will ever know--of reasons we are far from close enough to get into, so I must ask that you respect my privacy.”

Misko remained cheery-eyed and maintained his smile as he pointed the sword between Zavis’ eyes.

“So do you truly wish to make these treasures yours, Yiga Asu?”

Zavis stared up. He locked eyes and nodded.

“Then do you understand what I would want, Zavis? Of what would be of equal value in this trade?”

Zavis lay contemplating, for seemingly an eternity, eyes each providing the corresponding sunrise and sunset for each day, week, and year that his mind mulled over the question.

Finally, he nodded.

“Yes.”

Misko grinned, then lowered the rapier, the glasses sliding into Zavis’ hands.

“Then give it.”