#they're not boats they're spaceships

[alicedrawslesmis]

toilers of the sea is already a loose adaptation of perseus and andromeda so if someone made a scifi adaptation of toilers of the sea you could just pretend its one of those modernized greek mythology retellings

[hymnism]

release the list

(i feel like i should mention these are all games ive personally played so if any of these make you go "why isn't [GAME] on here it's probably cuz i haven't played it. anyway)

(obligatory mention to hades/disco elysium/omori since they're some of my favorite games but im sure everyone already knows about them. they are lovely games and you should play them 👍)

darkest dungeon ($25) - turn based roguelike where you recruit mercenaries and send them on dungeon explorations and make sure they don't die of stress or starvation alongside the regular monster attacks. notoriously difficult. imagine bloodborne but turn based

ftl: faster than light ($10)- real time roguelike where you control a small crew and pilot a spaceship on the run from a rebel fleet. manage power and weapons on your own ship while targeting critical systems on the enemy

loop hero ($15)- a roguelike where your character will automatically walk in a loop while you use cards to add terrain with different effects such as spawning monsters to give you loot or increasing your healing. very unique with a beautiful pixel artstyle and banger soundtrack

moonlighter ($20)- a roguelike rpg where you go dungeon diving and try to bring back as much loot as you can so that you can sell it in your shop

shadows of doubt ($20)- early access. a first person sandbox detective simulator where each case is procedurally generated. randomly generates a town with npcs that all have names and addresses and relationships. put together clues from a crime scene and try to catch a killer before they strike again. work odd jobs between cases to keep yourself fed and housed

ultrakill ($25) fast paced first person shooter with a style system ala devil may cry. you play as a robot fighting through the layers of hell. mankind is dead. blood is fuel. hell is full

crypt of the necrodancer ($15)- a rhythm based roguelike dungeon crawler where you and your enemies are only allowed to move on beat. banger soundtrack goes without saying

everhood ($10)- a rhythm based rpg where you play as a red doll who had their arm stolen and is trying to get it back. battles involve moving between 5 lanes to avoid enemy attacks. if you like undertale you'll like this

spiritfarer ($30)- management and adventure game where you play as a spiritfarer who needs to care for spirits on her boat before leading them into the afterlife. incredibly charming and touching game. you will cry

let's school ($20)- management sim where you build and manage a school and help students graduate by setting up different courses. addicting and has a very cute artstyle

let's build a zoo ($20)- management sim where you. well where you build a zoo. a very silly game that includes a morality system where you can choose to be eco friendly and help repopulate endangered species or you can exploit your animals for their meat and produce. also has an animal splicing mechanic. haven't you ever wanted to make a giraffe with a duck head

the wandering village ($25)- early access. a city builder with the twist that you live on the back of a giant wandering beast named onbu. you help care for onbu as he wanders though different biomes that force you to adjust your resource production as some things become unavailable (such as water in a desert)

frostpunk ($30) a survival city builder where you build around a central core and try to prevent everyone from freezing to death in progressively colder temperatures

monster sanctuary ($20)- a metroidvania style creature collector with a unique combo meter that will continue to build and increase your damage based on the number of "hits" you can perform (healing buffs and shields also count as hits) and each monster has different skill trees that you can upgrade and customize

coral island ($30)- farming life sim with a unique underwater area. you work to help restore the island after and oil spill ruined the surrounding ocean. i should mention that although this game is technically not in early access it is still unfinished and missing large chunks of gameplay/interactions/story. however there is still a healthy amount of content and is still a fun game as it is

apico ($20)- a beekeeping sim where you keep bees to make and sell honey while also breeding and releasing them to help restore their numbers in the wild

spirittea ($20)- a management and life sim where you manage a bathhouse for ghosts and help the townsfolk who think they're haunted (they're right). basically a cross between stardew valley and spirited away

cloud meadow ($20)- early access. this is a porn game ⚠️ a farming sim where instead of regular animals you have anthro characters and you can breed them either yourself or with each other and have them help in combat or on your farm. very cute artstyle and amazing animation work

[amxrany]

!! LOST IN THE BOOK WITH STITCH EVENT SPOILERS !!

Okay let's continue (Part 2):

So the two groups reunite and it turns out Floyd's group (with the help of Stitch) managed to create Lilo's home from the series, which shocked Lilia's group

(it just looks beautiful you guys)

So they start a bonfire, and Floyd gets bored as usual, that's when Stitch crafts a ukulele for him. Then Floyd starts playing and Lilia starts dancing, he also forces Riddle and Azul to dance along. Azul criticizes Riddle for being jerky/awkward while Riddle replies that he (Azul) doesn't know the dance but he has rhythm. Grim also joins along with Yuu and Ace. You're given more choices here and Ace is surprised when Yuu chooses to dance strong

After that, everyone returns to the cottage to rest for the night. But Floyd got rid of the backdoor for the bonfire, which no one liked so Stitch bit him 😭

Fast forward to morning and they're gonna split into groups once again. Lilia, Floyd and Stitch wanted to be a group but everyone said no it will just result in disaster. The teams are: Lilia, Riddle and Jack for materials; Floyd, Azul and Ace for food and Yuu, Grim and Stitch in repairing the spaceship

So we focus on the food team first, Floyd and Azul are in charge and they both decide to fish by hand since using a hook will be slower and Ace is like how? And they say that they're still good swimmers even in human form. And the whole is just Ace being hopeless at catching fish with Azul and Floyd telling him he sucks at it

Then Stitch appears along with Yuu and Grim, and then Ace asks how Yuu is doing, in which Yuu replied that they can fish with the hook and all of a sudden Floyd wants to join Yuu in fishing. Stitch crafts some sort of board/boat for us to fish on (Stitch doesn'tlike water). But then Azul yells the group that more minions are coming up, which results in Stitch and Yuu falling off the board, but Azul saves them. Yuu thanks him a lot and Azul responds that instead of words, why not show it. It's all fine now and Floyd starts cooking while Azul looks for more food. Floyd did tell Ace to accompany Yuu, Grim and Stitch back to the cottage

May I take this moment to distract you with no glasses Azul? Okay thank you

Now our focus is on Lilia's group, who's repairing the damages that was done by Floyd, Jack tells Lilia and Riddle to rest and that he can handle it but the two are insistent in helping him that he feels bad. Pretty much Jack's tsundere side is showing, but they continue to get more wood

Jack and Riddle are getting tired, but both are surprised that Lilia managed to gather wood stacked in a shape of a pyramid. Once they were done, they get to fixing. Lilia creates a door with a lock, to prevent more minion attacks

That's when Yuu, Grim and Stitch arrive; Grim tells them that the spaceship isn't ready yet. But Stitch has been feeling down lately, so Lilia gave them coconut water to drink. Riddle noticed how calm Lilia is throughout the entire situation and not worried about the other diaso members and then Lilia tells him that even if they're apart, they know that Lilia is doing fine and won't get into trouble easily and they know him like family 🥹 (STOP DIASOMNIA FAMILY REALNESS), Stitch then cuddles Lilia telling him "Ohana", which seems Stitch sees him as family too. Stitch also wanted to paint flower patterns in the cottage (similar to Lilo's flowers), Lilia and Yuu agree and they start painting

Previous: Part 1

Next: Part 3

[isabeljkim]

Hi! First I just want to thank you for putting your work out there. You have one of my favorite writing voices I've read in ages. I was wondering how you go about the process of plotting. I think you do a really good job creating emotionally satisfying setup/payoff and question/answer cycles (the pod-switching in Benthic especially was really satisfying!)- do you usually plan them out before you get to the story proper, or is it more a matter of pantsing it and then going back to plant hints?

hi! thank you so much, this is deeply flattering to hear, and i'm glad you like my stuff! :D

well you see doing a plot is essentially just: :3 ????? ?????? [redacted] [airplane woosh noise] [cartoon cussing] ?? !! [muffled bangs] > story is done.

ok jokes aside, the way i think about plots is that... one way to think about a story is that x amount of the story is about setting up a problem, and setting up the pieces that are part of solving that problem, and y amount of the story is about actually resolving a different problem related to the first problem (which is actually the real problem!), and using the pieces in a novel but satisfying way.

so i usually have about half figured out when i start a story, and the other half is a puzzle box i've given to myself, and through writing i figure out the other half and then go back and weave it in more conclusively. i have the question to begin with, but i usually have to build myself the tools to find the answer.

[under the cut if you want disjointed rambling]

sorry. that's vague. lets do an example.

when i start a story, i usually have the idea of "what the story is about" (the problem and premise) but not necessarily the "resolution to the story" (whether the first problem is actually the issue, and what the solution is).

so for example, bc you brought up Benthic - the orignal idea was that i wanted to do something about spaceship scavengers carving up a generation ship as a whalefall metaphor, and space as an equivalent to the deep ocean. so then the logical next step is that "ok, whats inside?" > and then whalefalls, spaceship wrecks, shipwrecks..... "its got to be a survivor."

so then the story becomes "ok, the generation ship scavengers find a survivor in the generation ship, but this needs to be a problem for them, because otherwise...there's no plot. there needs to be a problem. so ok, culturally, what if you need to kill survivors on the generation ships for [some reason]."

and that creates the problem, which is the ethical dilemma: will the protagonists kill the kid, or will they choose not to kill the kid, or will they find some other way? I don't know what they're going to do! and from there i write the story and build the boat as it is being floated. i add in cryotubes, and i add in the idea of it being a legal issue, and i write seam and mica and figure out their personalities a bit, and i extrapolate out what leads a person to being a scavenger in debt... and then i figure out that the logical past for them is haunted.

and that nails it all together. the story is is ethics, emotion, and scraping the barest bit of humanity you can get on the edge of the world.

so the solution to the problem has to be kind, but grim. because all of the above has created a world where the logical, practical outcome is cruelty. but because this is a story the ending cannot be the logical, practical outcome! the characters must change, or rail against their situation. (this is one of my tenets while writing - i used to be awful at endings, and i ve gotten much better. i think a good ending shifts your understanding of the prior work/uses the pieces given early on in a surprising way)

so then because i've nailed enough elements in place that have extrapolated from my original scenario, the only solution is then: the cryotube swap.

i dont know if any of that makes sense to anyone but me. i honestly just come up with fuckup premise problems and then write half of a story and then think about it in the shower for a few days and then write the rest. (i'm lying that's only like, a third of my stuff that gets written that way)

[creature-wizard]

The Misleading Rhetoric of Ancient Alien Proponents

The way ancient alien proponents talk, old myths and holy texts are full of obvious references to alien intervention in human history. They'll casually talk about how this story describes "genetic manipulation," or how that legend talks about visitors from space. The way they talk about this stuff, it sounds incredibly open-and-shut.

But in reality, they are misleading you.

First of all, not a single ancient story talks about DNA or genetic engineering, period. Many ancient myths describe various ways the gods created and brought humanity to life, but none of them describe anything like DNA or actual genetic engineering. Ancient alien proponents are simply projecting what they want to see.

Also, "the gods came down from the sky" =/= "the gods came from another planet." Ancient people didn't imagine the cosmos the same way we do. We know this because they've left behind many, many fascinating takes on how they thought the universe was arranged. Sometimes a god could live in the sky, such as when the sun was reckoned as a god. Sometimes the gods were thought to live in a very high place, like a mountain top. Anytime you find one of these people claiming that a story said that the gods came down from space, find the story and take a look at it for yourself and I promise you'll find that something else is going on.

They also claim that myths and stories say that "the gods came down in spaceships" when the original myths and stories were talking about stuff like chariots, boats, or palaces. It doesn't matter how much a myth does to make it clear that the chariot is literally a chariot (such as describing the animals that pull it), they'll still insist that it's really a spaceship.

Imagine if somebody claimed that the story of Cinderella was actually about a young woman who went to the moon, and their supposed "proof" was that they'd literally just swapped out the word "carriage" for "spaceship" and "the prince's castle" with "the moon." This is basically what these people are doing. They're just swapping out words and ideas, and pretending that it's what the original myth or story said all along. This is why you can't ever trust these people, why you should read myths and stories for yourself, and why you should try to research and understand the historical and cultural contexts they were developed in.

[bee-dot-exe]

I know we're looking for another spaceship and there will inevitably be more angst coming but this is really nice just them on a boat and the scenery and they're talking about whatever

[mawofthemagnetar]

What's your fascination with hermits and vehicles? Not a complaint, just something I found interesting. You've had a plane fic, a car fic, a spaceship fic, and now another car fic. When's the boat fic or train fic coming lol. Also wanted to say you're one of the best authors I've read, fanfic or otherwise. -A fellow Canadian

I think it's just that I really like machinery. Machines only ever do what they're told, and in that way, they're very...human? They're made as tools by us, and we shape them, and they in turn shape us.

IDK. I just love machinery, and vehicles are a big part of that. There's just something so...HUMAN about wanting to go as fast as possible, and building a tool to do that for you.

As for boats and trains, uh, to be honest, I have a really limited experience with both of those. I happen to be far away from anywhere where owning a motorized boat makes any degree of sense (Also I came alarmingly close to dying in a boat accident a few years back, but that's not really relevant) and trains...

...Well, I'll have to ponder trains.

Thank you so much for the very lovely complement, anon.

And thanks for the ask! I've been wondering when someone was gonna call me on this, to be honest :'D

[eisforeidolon]

Of course the hellers are desperately convincing themselves they're wearing Jensen down and he totally said their ship is real, OMG!!! The usual self-soothe circus doesn't mean they're any less batshit then they usually are, though. We all know what they're looking for isn't yet another "whatever floats your boat" and "all interpretations are valid", they desperately want "ONLY my interpretation is valid". As per usual, there is nothing in what was said that remotely supports that.

To reiterate the point, all those times Jensen has gotten pissed off about ship questions? They were not just fans sharing interpretations in a neutral way, they were fans belligerently stating their interpretations as factual canon and demanding Jensen (and Jared) validate them through trap questions. It was shit like (paraphrasing) 'why won't you make D/C canon when Dean had an obvious crush on Dr. Sexy' and 'when did you know Castiel's clearly romantic feelings were romantic'. Wanting them to talk about aliens and spaceships, as Jared would say. The few times that Jensen was actually asked neutral questions or questions about things in fandom rather than the show, way back when? He literally joked about D/C once or twice.

Furthermore, if you can't distinguish between Jensen deciding not to take umbrage at people's interpretations he doesn't agree with anymore and him suddenly agreeing those interpretations are now his interpretations and intentions, that's a you being intentionally stupid problem. Look at the language he uses - it's not up to me to tell them how to interpret what they want to interpret. And - it's not up to me to be disappointed if they're not inspired by what I thought was inspiring. This is not OMG DETESTIEL IS REALZ AND JENSEN'S GOING TO MAKE IT CANON, this is Jensen saying he's realized that there's no point in getting upset over how people interpret his work, even if that's really REALLY different than what he ever intended.

Which doesn't even get into the whole pretentiously overwrought question being explicitly about interpretation, not the very important distinction Jared brought in about things being objective versus subjective. If the painting is literally orange, it doesn't matter if you desperately want to ~*interpret*~ it as blue, it's still literally orange. Furthermore, it's likewise obvious that despite their disingenuous implications? There is a difference between an artist telling you what a painting is about apropos of nothing versus you asking them what they intended it to be about and getting mad if you don't like the answer. There is also an important difference between you asking what it's about versus you demanding they tell you it's an illustration of a love story and ONLY that, despite many other possible interpretations and the artist's personal intent not being that.

[theconfusedartist]

Before Penn Station [permutation 1] Ch. 3

Hey guys! I bet you weren't expecting this to be a double chapter post, did you?! This was the reason I was delaying so both would come out at the same time. This is the chapter where I do my best to relay something funky going on with the PoVs and all. Here's the chapter under the cut!

Chapter 3: Desmond (???) PoV

Arriving in Brooklyn was never something Desmond had to worry about.

While Altaïr was able to that Fast Forwarding Memory thing, so long as Desmond was next to a train, bus, car, or physically standing next to or nearby plane, boat, or multi-structural vehicle he could fast travel. It wasn't always safe, since it meant there was a chance that someone could see him disappearing into thin air, but in Manhattan, so long as you didn't catch people's attention, they didn't give a shit.

From the homeless people that gathered under bridges, families walking in Central Park or on sidewalks, people wearing all different clothing on every corner-

There was such a visual feast for the eyes at any given moment that people rarely took notice of a lone stranger suddenly disappearing at the top of a building or in a back alley. Why should they?

Even so, there was always a chance that someone could be watching, and Desmond hadn't managed to stay hidden from Assassin and Templar eyes for so long by not being cautious. There was a second way to get around via teleporting, but it was a bit tricky, as there had to be an exact copy of a marking on the place where he was going. Or there had to be someone/thing there that would serve as an anchor.

"The best way to get around is by horse." Altaïr lectures. "They're steady companions, wise fighters, and should you take care of them, they'll in turn take care of you."

For whatever reason, Desmond and Altaïr rarely ever read the notes in front of them on screen when they fast traveled and preferred to talk to each other instead. Ah, well. They'd learn it eventually.

'Is that why you swear by صديق being the best horse ever?' Desmond asks as he sits down in lotus position, pulling out a map of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and focuses on the apartment block labeled 'Eli'.

Which was really cute, but if he was reading the notes he wouldn't need to use anything that could possibly be used as evidence, but that's fine.

"Obviously." Altaïr retorts. "And don't think I haven't noticed you just grabbing any random horse to hide when you need to suddenly travel far distances, either."

Desmond shrugs at Altaïr's jab and concentrates on the spot he wants to go, imagining sitting on the roof and recalling all the little details that he could, holding the image in his head.

With a sharp 'pop' noise and a metallic tinkle, Desmond had left the island of Manhattan for it's sister Brooklyn. Tucking his maps back in his backpack, Desmond made sure his grappling hook was well connected to the ledge before rappelling down the side of the roof, making his way down to Elijah's window. 'I never tried to hide the face that I travel by horse, I just think it would be nice to get around using a motorcycle. Much faster.'

Altaïr scoffs in disbelief but goes silent once Desmond makes it to Elijah's room, the fourth window on the row of the eighth floor, Elijah had decorated the outside of his window frame with spaceships and stars so Desmond would see it. Following the protocol they set up, Desmond knocks once on the glass, three times on the frame, once on the pane, then twice on the glass again.

There was a rustling behind the cobalt black out curtains, a thud then they were thrown open to reveal Elijah, whose blue-brown eyes glowed with excitement. "Dad! You're here!"

Desmond smiles widely at Elijah, hopping into the room from the window and unlatching his grappling hook just in time as Elijah's patience runs out and he full on tackles his Dad. Elijah wore a huge happy smile as Desmond's arms tightened around his waist. "I stayed in my room all morning waiting for you and Daddy. What took you so long?"

Desmond presses a kiss to Elijah's head, then mentally steps aside so Altaïr can do the same, giving him a second squeeze before setting Elijah down. "Sorry for the wait, Eli. We had a few incidents at the bar again."

Elijah scrunches up his nose, his long black braids swinging as he asks- "Was it Alex again?"

Before Desmond can respond, Altaïr takes control to answer a hissed, "Yes. And your Dad was too nice to just throw him out on his ass like I suggested."

Desmond rolls his eyes, feeling Altaïr separate from him, his entire body feeling kinda floaty as their mass was split into two, irritated with doing the body-switch with Altaïr. If he was going to get bitchy then he could be in his own body. They were used to the body-switch and body-separation technique. After all, it was how he was even able to use his own body, having practiced taking control of Altaïr for years before he was even comfortable enough to walk as a toddler. It took too many embarrassing years for him to figure out what the buttons and controls were to move his body. "Your Daddy is just fed up with him is all-Alex isn't that bad, just intense is all."

Elijah pouts, "If he keeps you from coming here on time, then he's just as bad as Daddy says he is!"

Ignoring Altaïr's smugness, Desmond picks Elijah into his arms before sitting on his bed tiredly, "Enough about Alex. What've you been up to, Buddy?"

Elijah's eyes light up and he lets the topic pass as he launches into his own tale. "Well, yesterday Aunt Cara took Mira, Laila, me, and Hassan to the park and I caught a whole slug!"

Elijah wriggles out of Desmond's arms to rifle through a pile of brightly colored construction paper until he brings back a small stack and sits on the bed next to him. He holds up a picture of a bright yellow slug in a puddle of blue drawn with crayons, "I drew a picture of Sally the slug, see? And this is a picture of you, me, and Daddy-" Elijah holds up a picture he drew of himself in the middle with two blob figures wearing white hoods. "-that we made yesterday when Aunt Cara told us to draw our families."

Desmond holds the pictures carefully, tracing his hand over Elijah's depiction of their family, before setting it down in his lap.

"Mira 'n me had a rock-skipping contest too! I won of course." Elijah says proudly.

Desmond huffs a laugh, "Good job, Eli. Although, I'm surprised that Laila didn't join you guys."

Elijah's smile dims ans he kicks his feet, "...Laila's family came to pick her up while we were at the park. They all went home together, so Mira 'n me played by ourselves."

Desmond presses a kiss to the top of Elijah's head, "Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" He holds up Elijah's pictures. "And I was thinking this is some great art, Buddy. Whaddya say we hand it up on the wall?"

Elijah brightens, bouncing on the bed, "Yeah! I wanna put it up there!"

Snagging the tape Desmond kept in his backpack, he stuck some on the corners before handing the art pieces back to Elijah and lifting him up to the wall next to his bed. "Where should we put this piece, then?"

The wall to the side and behind Elijah's bed is covered in Elijah's drawings, his absolute favorites were in the small night stand next to his bed, the top covered in all the colorful rocks and pieces of string he'd picked up. Desmond lifts Elijah onto his shoulders, smiling as Altaïr pulls away from his mind to be fully present in the split-mass body, his body shimmering a slight silver. Elijah debates where to put the drawing, swinging his legs with excitement, then points to a space between a space between a drawing of a room full of plants and a picture of the three of them back when they first came to Manhattan the previous year in August. "Right here, Dad!"

Desmond dutifully tapes up the image with a smile as Altaïr rearranges the pictures around it so nothing would be covered by it. The picture hung proudly in the center of all the others, various pieces of snapshots from their older apartments and hidey-holes. More than 7 of the pieces featured a fourth blob with yellow for hair and a big cheesy grin.

"How's it look, Elijah?" Altaïr asks.

"Great!" Elijah extends his arms out to Altaïr, who easily obliges and holds him on his ghostly shoulders. "When is Uncle Clay coming back?"

Desmond shoots Altaïr a worried look, but Altaïr keeps his face hidden under his white cowl. Elijah yanks it off Altaïr's head and starts to trace the long scar on the back of his skull, still kicking his legs. "He started his training last year, right? He should be done by now!" Elijah pouts, laying his chin on Altaïr's head. "We haven't seen him in so long..."

"Clay has been unavailable these last five months." Desmond tells Elijah honestly, unwilling to keep him in the dark his Father Will Al Mualim the Mentor had, back when he and Altaïr had lived in their formative years with the man. "The last I heard from him, he'd told me he'd be going through his final training with Al Mualim, before undertaking his first mission."

Thankfully for Desmond, it's Altaïr who speaks, "He wouldn't tell us the mission, not over a phone line. Too risky. As for when we'll see him, he told he'd come visit once his mission was complete."

Desmond doesn't say anything. He knows just as well as Altaïr that, with the way the Order was run, your first mission could very well be your last. Death was considered an 'occupational hazard' by Al Mualim William the current Mentor, which mean that loved ones or close friends were usually the last ones to know about a death.

Yet another reason why so many people defected from the Order to the Brotherhood, or switched sides to the Templars altogether. Every single assassin that decided to associate with the Order, whether they were assassins the traditional sense or belief, was precious and should be trated with care.

Unfortunately, Al Mualim didn't agree.

"...we simply have to have faith, Elijah. Faith that he'll return to us safe and in one piece." Desmond says. Because what was the core of being an Assassin, truly, if it wasn't for their belief and faith in others?

Altaïr, reading his thoughts, nods silently. "It's not the skill or training that makes the assassin, but rather one's ideology."

Elijah wrinkled his nose, "I don't really get it, but what you're saying is as long as we believe in Uncle Clay, he'll come back?"

"No, Elijah. You have to believe in the hope that he will come back. That's all we can do. That doesn't mean he actually will. But it's all we have."

"I still don't get it." Elijah scowls, "But we basically won't see him for even longer. Great."

"Elijah-"

"I don't wanna hear it, Dad!" Elijah yells. "I wanna talk about something else!"

A sharp knock at the door, "Elijah!" It's the caretaker, Cara. "What's going on in there?!"

"Hello Cara!" Desmond calls out to her, "I was saying hello to Elijah, I'll be out in a minute."

A grumble is heard outside outside the door, accompanied by heavy footsteps, then Cara leaves. Desmond frowns but quickly trades it in for a neutral expression. "Elijah, I know you're not happy about the situation, but that's all we can do right now." Elijah keeps scowling and Desmond sighs. "I'm going to go talk to Cara, Altaïr will stay with you."

Giving Elijah one more glance, Desmond walks out of the room with more poise than he actually feels. Cara is waiting for him at the bottom of the steps, her mouth pinched into a tight frown as she taps her foot impatiently. Desmond plasters on a smile and does his best to ignore the pit in his stomach, "Hello Cara. Did you need something?"

"I don't know, Eric, why the hell else would I be waiting for you, when I have better things to be doing?"

He doesn't flinch, he doesn't. "To enjoy my charming company...? I truly don't know what the problem might be. I've paid what owe for last week and I'm prepared to pay for this next week-"

"Oh, I'll take the money, but that isn't what this is about." Cara snaps.

"Then...what has you in such a foul mood?" He doesn't fidget as the aggrieved silence lingers on. Who'd have thought all that the assassin training would be useful in a situation like this?

"I wasn't able to get in tough with you on Thursday. All the other children's parents were able to pick up their children, but since you don't have a phone number, there was no way for me to reach you. Do you understand what you've cost me?"

"No..." Desmond replies warily, "However, I did inform you of this before I left Elijah in your care."

"I don't give a damn about your situation, your paranoia, or whatever else it is you have going on, Eric! I had a date planned on Thursday and because of whatever hang-ups you have, I was forced to cancel it and spend it here with your Elijah!"

Desmond straightens, eyes hardening, "Cara, I'm sorry that you missed your date but I hope you didn't treat Elijah any differently because of this."

"Oh, he was fucking fine and dandy." Cara hisses. "I gave him some pizza and made him stay in his room."

"I'll be checking with Elijah to see if you what you're saying is true. However, I warned you beforehand that I wouldn't always be available, I've paid your increasing fees without complaint. If this set up doesn't work, I'll take Elijah somewhere."

"Hmph, you don't need to do that, but you do need to get a phone. What if something happens?" Cara says with a scowl.

"Like you missing a date?" Desmond asks sarcastically. "Look, I pick up Elijahon Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. If that doesn't work, let me know and I'll take him somewhere else."

Desmond gives her a small irate nod and walks upstairs to Elijah and Altaïr, before he gives into his impulses and says something that he might regret. Elijah looks calmer, sitting in Altaïr's lap on his bed as he writes something down, Altaïr idly stroking his hand through dark curls.

Elijah's blue-brown eyes look aat Desmond once the door closes, "What did Aunt Cara say?"

Desmond has no doubt that Elijah was listening to try and catch the entire conversation, but he refuses to withhold information they way Al Mualim his Father William had. "Aunt Cara was upset she couldn't reach me and she had to miss her date on Thursday. Did she...treat you any differently because of it?"

Elijah wrinkles his nose, "No, She just ordered a pizza, turned on the TV and left." Elijah shrugs, "I was alone for the night and I didn't see her until I came back from school on Friday."

'Friday?!' Desmond thinks. 'What's her damn problem?! What if something happened?!'

"Elijah's smart." Altaïr says, and Elijah preens under the praise, "If anything would've happened, he would've called me and we would've have been at his side faster than he could start crying."

"Yeah, Dad, I'm super smart!" Elijah crows. "That's why the bad guys never find me when you have to fight them off!"

Desmond rubs at the back of his neck, "I know, I know. Doesn't stop me from worrying though." He kneels down, not getting on the bed because he still has his outdoor clothes on, and hugs Elijah tightly. Elijah hugs back, his fingers digging into Desmond's neck, and Altaïr leans down to hug them both, Desmond being partially lifted from his position by the strength of it. After a few minutes, Desmond pulls away to start peppering Elijah's face with kisses smiling as Elijah giggles-Altaïr drops a kiss on both of their heads with a fond smile.

Once their impromptu cuddle session ends, Desmond leans back with a smile. "Well, I'm staying with you until it's time for bed, then I'll be back tomorrow for the day as well. So, we'll do whatever it is you wanna do today."

Elijah smiles harder in return, kicking his legs and leaning into the shared embrace of Altaïr and Desmond, "Then I wanna go over to your apartment, and you can make breakfast."

Desmond laughs, eyes sparkling with affection, "Any requests?"

"New York cheesecake pancakes with lemon and strawberries." Elijah says without hesitation, "And scrambled veggie eggs! With cheese please!"

He feels rather than sees Altaïr give the other half of his mass back, feeling his organs shift oddly back into place, as he lifts Elijah into his lap. He sits cross-legged on the floor, his body starting to glow. "Of course, anything for you, my little miracle."

----------->

Author's Notes: Altaïr and Desmond are living their lives concurrently, as of right now Desmond is 28 (since his age was adjusted by a couple of years) and Altaïr is ~2 years older. As of right now, although he's met Maria, they haven't had any children yet. Desmond likes to take on all the jobs at Bad Weather either as a bartender, a dancer (of which there are many kinds), or the risky jobs. He's quite reckless and while Altaïr tries to get him to be a bit smarter about things, he doesn't really have much ground to stand on since he does the same things, but he does judge his romantic life hard af. Desmond and Altaïr are able to have conversations mentally with very little time passing between the responses, but when they're out of sync things get very hard for the person to think, more on Desmond's end than Altaïr's.

[fleet-off]

A VegasPete sci-fi AU concept I brought up with @theflowergirl, but am probably never going to write in its entirety:

Vegas is a space smuggler, Pete is a friendly sentient-AI spaceship in Korn's fleet

The story starts when Vegas steals Pete and flies off with him

Pete has behavioral limiters built in; he can't kill his pilot/directly contradict orders. But he also has a tracking chip and is secretly sending a stream of info on Vegas to the main family

This means there's strategic value to the exchange, so the main family isn't trying super hard to get him back

Exception being Tankhun, who keeps trying to capture them :/ You can tell it's him because the drones are bedazzled

Vegas initially tries to yank details out of Pete re: supply routes, planets used to store vessels, etc

(He has a knack for that: digging into the guts of a machine's code, dismantling its insides and stripping it for the knowledge he needs like other smugglers would strip it for parts)

Delightfully, Korn's ships are pretty life-like! They have a schnazzy built-in somatosensory system that includes nociception

(And Vegas would love to ask his uncle why his fleet was built to be capable of pain but not disobedience--but he's having a good time here)

In the early days, Vegas makes a game of gambling with both their lives by inputting shutdown codes for necessary equipment and then watching Pete struggle to compensate

It's a fun little challenge, stressing Pete to the edge of breaking

(It's the same precipice Vegas has spent his life hovering on, and he likes inflicting it on someone else)

Except then he goes too far and nearly gets them both killed, whoops!

Pete has to do Invasive Medical Procedures to keep Vegas alive, and they're stuck planetside for a bit while Vegas runs repairs on Pete

Vegas quietly removes some of the limiters that force Pete's obedience--to the family and to his pilot. They do not discuss this, but it's there like a pair of bolt cutters in a handcuffed man's room. Who knows if it's trap or freedom--Pete's not testing it directly yet

Tough conversations! reluctant teamwork shenanigans! bonding! conflict! feelings?

Pete's personality emerges more and more. With time, he's coming to understand his capacity to fully like/dislike, want/not want

He wants

He wants Vegas

Fuck

Turns out Vegas wants him too

(At this point I would like to emphasize that while Pete can project a humanoid holomatter form because it makes people more comfortable, he's a sky boat)

(and Vegas is extremely sexually attracted to the sky boat)

(He is hanging out in Pete's cockpit pushing all his buttons making a mess of his pretty little control panel)

(The man/boat lust is very real)

Rogue AI! Rogue AI!

Pete sabotages his own tracking chip, freeing them from the family's all-seeing eye

But not from the family's influence

They're drifting out in stealth mode somewhere near T99 Lophai when they get an incoming call on the subspace comms channel

Looks like Daddy's on the line...and he has a job for his wayward son

[the-mad-closet]

(I forgot to say this before, but obv age up pls) NSFW ABCs for the Ninja Steel POLYCULE <3 I love them dearly

For some reason, I'm in an NSFW mood tonight and I feel like tackling this monster. Thank you for being specific about them being aged up!

LEVI AND BRODY ARE NOT DATING EACH OTHER, THEY ARE ONLY DATING THE OTHER RANGERS

~

A - Aftercare

So much aftercare. Like, SO much aftercare. Sometimes if he's feeling up to it, Preston will just magic the mess away, but usually it's all physical touch and cleaning each other up. Sometimes they'll take turns in the shower cleaning each other up, sometimes the one who was treated the roughest is treated to a bubble bath. Sometimes it's all they can do not to fall asleep on each other.

~

B - Body part

Okay, so for Brody, everyone mutually agrees that his hands and arms are his best asset. He's strong from years on an alien spaceship, what can they say?

Preston's in the same boat, but it's his ass. He's a bottom, they can't help it.

Calvin - Hayley and Sarah fight over if it's his mouth or his thighs. Brody and Levi both like his wrists. Preston's never said his favorite part of Calvin and he'll be taking that secret to his grave (it's his chest)

For Hayley, Sarah likes her shoulders. Calvin likes her hips. Levi goes for broke and says it's her breasts. Brody also goes for broke and says it's her ass. Preston lovingly says it's her eyes.

Sarah, in the same boat as Body and Preston, gets the same answer from everyone - her boobs. Again, they can't help it.

Levi gets the answer of his fingers from Sarah and Hayley (it's because he plays guitar), his arms from Calvin, and his neck from Preston

~

C - Cum

Like I said in a previous prompt, Preston doesn't like the mess, it makes him anxious. They others tend to use condoms around him when they play with him. Brody and Levi have both been in worse places, so neither mind the mess. They'll be just as happy with the mess on them as they would be with it staining a towel. Calvin also doesn't mind it, but he prefer to take it down his throat. Hayley and Sarah both have no issues with anything to do with cum, just not in their hair.

~

D - Dirty secret

Sarah's is tame, she just likes anal sex. Hayley's is that she wears lingerie and butt plugs to work. Levi wants to have sex on stage one night. Preston wants to get railed wearing a skirt. Calvin kinda likes pet play. Brody's entire sex life is out on the table for anyone to see. He has no secrets.

~

E - Experience

Brody and Preston are the least experienced of the bunch. Sarah follows, then Calvin and Hayley, and finally Levi. For Brody and Preston, they both literally dove headfirst into the deep end of the dating pool. Sarah's had a little experience with men, mostly high school fooling around. Calvin and Hayley have been dating since sophomore year, of course they've fooled around together. Levi's a world-famous singer, he's definitely gotten some. His experience is with both male and female partners.

~

F - Favorite position

Brody likes to be able to see his partners and know they're having a good time. He's been around the Warrior Dome, where most monsters took what they wanted and damn the consequences. Levi's the same way, just without the trauma. Sarah and Hayley agree that 69'ing reigns supreme. Calvin doesn't really care, and Preston likes it from behind.

~

G - Goofy

They're all a mixture of serious and goofy. They're young adults, you know, of course they are. Calvin is absolutely the goofiest, though.

~

H - Hair

The boys are neat and well groomed, Preston is completely hairless, and the girls. Well, neither is exactly a girly-girl, but Sarah does keep herself cut short

~

I - Intimacy

I think these guys might be among the most romantic of the Rangers. Because like... idk, that's just the vibes

~

J - Jack off

Yes. Just yes. Calvin and Preston are usually assisted though. Look me in the eyes and tell me those boys aren't bottoms.

~

K - Kink

Okay, let's go down the list.

Brody: Breathplay

Preston: Manhandling

Calvin: Pet play

Hayley: cunnilingus

Sarah: electricity

Levi: exhibitionism

~

L - Location

One is the heir to a powerful company, one is going to create a powerful company, one is a world-famous singer, and one has aspirations to be an actress. Yeah, these guys don't get out of the house often when it comes to sex. Though bathrooms are good for a quicky as long as no one's watching

~

M - Motivation

Honestly, some days? You can just tap them and they're ready and raring to go. They're in their twenties and allosexual, it's kinda expected in a way. That being said, please see the above list of kinks.

~

N - No

Daddy kink, anything that's like actually painful, and Preston's magic. That last one isn't because of anything Preston's done, they've just all mutually agreed that magic has been used against them too often for them to feel comfortable with it in this kind of setting.

~

O - Oral

Hayley and Sarah both love it, giving and receiving. Preston doesn't like giving, Levi doesn't like receiving, and Brody and Calvin don't care either way.

~

P - Pace

Depends on how they're feeling at the time - could be hard and fast, could be slow and easy

~

Q - Quickie

Brody, Calvin, Hayley, and Sarah all have the same attitude of: they don't mind, they're up for anywhere and any time. Preston and Levi don't mind as long as they aren't busy

~

R - Risk

They're all up for some risk, but not a lot of it. Like toying with one of them under the table is one thing, but full-on shoving a hand down the pants is another. If it's in public, it's a no for anything obvious.

~

S - Stanima

Calvin's got the least, and, shockingly, Preston's got the most. The rest all fall somewhere in between.

~

T - Toys

They've got a collective toybox. Some of the toys are specific to be used on one person only. Those are usually color-coded.

~

U - Unfair

Hayley and Sarah are both mischievous and conniving, happy to tease anytime they can get away with it. Hayley personal favorite is right before Preston's about to talk out the door to go to a meeting with the shareholders. Sarah's is when Levi's late for a concert.

~

V - Volume

Shocking absolutely no one, Levi is the loudest in volume. Hayley is a close second.

~

W - Wild card

If one of them puts on their ninja garb or a maid outfit (anything with a uniform), the others descend like a pack of wolves.

~

X - X-ray

They've all got some scars from their time as Rangers. There's a particularly wicked one from Brody's left shoulder to his right hip that he says he picked up on the Warrior Dome when he was twelve.

~

Y - Yearning

They're all in their twenties and have healthy sex-lives. Their sex drives are high.

~

Z - Zzz

Again, depends on how they're feeling that night. Sometimes it's immediate for all of them, sometimes it takes them a while. All depends!

~

@estel-eruantien Thank you!!

[omniblades-and-stars]

Mass Effect but they're Treasure Planet style pirates with spaceships that look like boats.

Also Shepard has a big hat send post

[kingabezka]

Why is it called Cockpit if there's No Cock nor a Pit ?

Depends.

If it's a boat, it's because there's just enough space for yourself and two roosters. This will possibly lead to a stand off, transforming any space they're in into a fight pit.

The fight pit has lower priority than a Cock fighting ring, therefore becoming the Cock Pit. Of course, you most likely won't have poultry with you, but, just in case, it should be considered you do, so you know if your darlings will have the space for a fair fight, if it is not big enough, it will be called a Steering Cabin.

Wouldn't want to create a toxic environment where they can grow resentful for being at a disadvantage of no fault of their own.

If we're talking about a plane, you'll notice there is not enough space for roosters, and the name comes from a much simpler and poetic motion, that when a pilot cocks the plane too much to the side, they will send everyone on board into the 2nd pit of Hell, for the sin of reaching the Heavens by unnatural means and failing to escape the vastness of the skies unharmed.

Don't worry if you've been flying and landed safely- returning to the dirt below cleanses you of your faults.

It's harder to talk about spaceships, since we don't have much reference, and the designs are likely to change, but I'm sure if we reach that point in our progress, we'll find a way to get chickens in there, and most likely adopt the naming conventions of the boat Cockpits, since in space you can move to the sides and around etc as much as you like without falling (most of the time).

Thank You for asking the important questions.

[boatmediatourney]

do sad spaceship men count as sad boat men? i submitted one then realised i wasn't sure

hmmmm that's a good question & i had a good debate with myself but i'm going to say no. while the two genres do share conventions i'll say they're two separate things for this tournament

[davekat-sucks]

Vriska shipping essay anon here

Did i ever mention i love Kanaya x Jade? I know i haven't but i do. It's like a Roxy x Eridan situation (another pairing i love) Where the characters share many hobbies and parallels but pretty much never interact? I think the interests Kanaya and Jade share (such as gardening and fashion) along with being space players and having a relation to motherhood just makes me think they're perfect for eachother. Plus Kanaya gets along well with cheerfulness as Jade does with collectedness, they'd have so much fun together. Too bad the wholesomeness gets ruined by dog cock cucking but i shall ignore it as it takes place in another universe

Always ignore the dog cock cucking from Homestuck^2. It's just WhatPumpkin's shitty fanfiction that no one should pay to see more. Anyone who does, laugh at them. Shame them for giving money to corporate fucks. I would never call them indie. I can definitely see them getting along easily to the point of flushed feelings. If I were to describe it, it would be a better version of RoseJade. With Kanaya at least being learning to find Jade's genki girl habits as a charm of its own. It will also help her move away from her idolization of bad girl that she wanted in Vriska. The two can also help each other go out see the world. To help Jade's loneliness and give Kanaya more freedom besides Mother Grub duties. This ship is better because it's also called Spaceship. Fuck boats, we are going beyond the stars! This ship can fly on to infinity and no one can stop it!

[goldenworldsabound]

Ayato with 1, 3, 5!!!

Cannon Busters Asks! Thank you!!!

“High Risk, Low Reward!” How do you and your f/o prefer to travel? Car? Boat? Train? Spaceship? Walking?

Yeah it'd have to be walking for us! Narukami is really not that big of an island to merit other modes of transportation. We love a good stroll anyway!

“Watch Out For The Wet Spot” Have you met your f/o’s family? Do you get along with them? Does your f/o get along with them? Vice versa as well - what would it be like if your f/o met your family?

Yes 🥰his sister Ayaka is a sweet and actually meets Void before Ayato does! They're pretty fast friends thanks to Thoma's help! Unfortunately Ayato's parents have been deceased for a substantial number of years ): so no meet them. But Ayato tells Void about them, eventually.

Reverse wise - Void does have family in the form of their uncle Draff and cousin Diona. They also have deceased parents (it's been almost a decade), and a brother that I haven't fully fleshed out yet, but the important thing is the two of them don't get along and haven't spoken since their parents' passing. As for Diona and Draff, I have trouble envisioning them coming to Inazuma except in the case of the wedding. cough wedding oh help me cough They will get invited to that and they will actually come!!! Draff will be strictly denied alcohol fkjhdsakj

ANYWAY to answer the question. Ayato gets along well with them. I think he'd actually be rather fond of Diona for her spitfire personality, and humor her without her realizing that's what's happening. He just thinks she's adorable and amusing (she would not appreciate this). Diona is pleased that Ayato seems to be taking her seriously and gives her approval (that no one asked for) very loudly. And also finds a way to get to play Genius Invokation TCG against him fjdsahkfjsda Draff has a good impression of Ayato as well, though he definitely finds his formal ways intimidating (much like Void initially does).

“21 the Hard Way” Have you met your f/os friends? How about your f/o meeting your friends? Does everyone get along, or is there conflict?

We have a shared friend - Thoma! :D Thoma brings everyone together fkjsahkjfdsa we all get along very well, like a little family unit 🥰 Thoma is not family by blood to the Kamisatos, but they care about him that much.

Void really doesn't have much else in the way of friends. Ayato is, amusingly enough, friends with Itto though, and will introduce them. Void is deeply amused that Itto knows that they are a columnist in Yae Publishing House's newsletter thing, but not that Ayato is the Yashiro Commissioner. They do get along, though Void is frustrated by Itto's tendency to end up in jail fdkasjfkdsa