#this comic gives me the worst brain worms in the best way possible

[mysteryfeesh]

Some fanart of @kenneduck’s SidLink comic! This was so fun to draw and I love the little changes that were made to Link’s design! If you aren’t already following along with the comic I highly recommend it, the art and writing are amazing!

[h-worksrambles]

Frontiers got the Sonic brain worms going again, and I’ve had this thought for a while.

  Does anyone else...really dislike the thought of Shadow working for G.U.N. from ‘06 onwards?    G.U.N. were a consistently negative force in their earliest appearances. In Sonic Adventure 2, they were a corrupt organisation responsible for killing almost everyone on the ARK, including Maria, and covering it up. By the present day, they’re still equally shady, to the point that they’re implied to be going after Sonic in part to cover up the fact that Shadow is loose. They basically serve as the embodiment of everything that made Gerald and Shadow hate humanity and want to wipe them out.

  Their next major appearance is in Shadow the Hedgehog and while they aren’t killing researchers en masse anymore, they’re just kind of useless here. Their commander (one of my picks for one of my least favourite Sonic characters by the way) is a reckless, trigger-happy reactionary, who is less concerned with protecting his country from an alien invasion, than with resolving a petty, wrong-headed grudge against Shadow. Side note, how did you work for G.U.N. this long and never realise they were the people actually responsible for killing Maria? Seriously, screw this guy.    All this to say, I don’t much like G.U.N. or their role in the story. When they’re not cartoonishly evil they’re either incompetent or just boring. But at least these games recognised that they were, you know, kind of the bad guys. Or at least untrustworthy. But nope, come ‘06, Shadow’s just working with them now. Many people praise Shadow’s story as the best part of ‘06 despite its faults. And I mostly agree. But I really dislike this as a conceit for that story to happen.     I don’t care if Shadow’s leaving his past behind him. This feels wrong. Even if you assume Shadow is willfully ignoring everything that happened in SA2 because ‘something, something, I’m not that person anymore,’ these people spent the last game trying to kill him for no reason. And have never shown themselves to be remotely trustworthy or competent. You can infer he’s possibly joining G.U.N. to fix it from the inside, but we’re never actually told that. Nor does it feel like intentionally relying on subtle implication. It simply feels like fans just filling in gaps where the writers didn’t bother, something this series makes us do far too often. Is this your idea of fulfiling Maria’s dying wish, buddy? Frankly, it’s a bit rich of Shadow to have whole character arc about never being a puppet again in his own game, and then instantly become a tool for the shady government faction. I guess being a pawn is fine as long as it’s not for a gravel-voiced alien, then. This just serves to make Shadow look stupid at best, and outright hypocritical at worst. Even if they’re not as bad now as they were 50 years ago, I still don’t see Shadow looking at the mess these guys were in ShTH, and thinking ‘ah, yes, these seem like precisely the people who will give me purpose and help me make the world a better place’. I’m not gonna claim that this is a ‘plot hole’. Characters not making the decisions you want is not a plot hole and I know that. But I do think it’s a very…weird choice for this character in a game that’s supposed to be all about him making his own decisions after everyone keeps ordering him around and placing expectations on him.     And yet, for as much of ‘06 got retconned, this has stuck. Chronicles has Sonic and co. working with G.U.N. briefly with no fuss and Forces keeps Shadow as a G.U.N. agent. As did the Archie comics. Even Sonic & Tails R, a fan project I really like, kind of leans into this and frankly, I don’t like it. I’m honestly glad that the movies have consistently portrayed G.U.N. as self-involved and shady. They’re the ones who brought Robotnik into this mess in the first place and they’re still spying on Sonic in the sequel. Because as far as the old games were concerned, the fact that they were incredibly sketchy was kind of the point.

   TLDR, I don’t like how G.U.N’s actions have been conveniently forgotten, if they must be in the story at all, I think they work better as antagonists, and I don’t believe Team Dark have to be affilated with them to function themselves. In fact, as far as out of character stuff goes, I’d say this bothers me MORE than the whole ‘Shadow is Vegeta now’ controversy. If this aspect of Shadow gets dropped at some point, I’ll have no complaints.

[reidsnose]

happy campers

overview: the bau goes on a team building camping trip but reader and spencer spend most of their time together

genre: fluff

a/n: ive been kicking myself for not posting in forever but i think this one is pretty cute! please lmk what yall think :)

masterlist

-

-

the stuffy, eight person suv finally rolled to a stop, the overgrown children that call themselves the bau tumbling out as quickly and gracelessly as possible. Morgan and Reid nearing the end of a 2 and a half minute long slap fight that you happened to be caught directly in the middle of. you looked at jj, pleading to make them stop with her mom powers.

"boys behave or ill ground you both," she sighed, going to help out with taking things out of the trunk.

they immediately stopped, muttering under their breath that the other one started it. but before they could start again, Spencer caught a glance at you. you were taking a deep breath, smiling contently, very clearly happy to get some fresh, forest air. despite being in direct sunlight, your smile was far brighter than anything he'd seen in his whole life.

before he knew it he was being snapped out of his daze and asked to help set up the tents. he was really hoping to have a chance to share a tent with you, like you sometimes had done on cases when hotel rooms were scarce. but he knew that almost everyone wanted a spot in your tent because you're that much fun to be around. Penelope would win, obviously, and he would be paired up with morgan again.

he let out a sigh as he finished up pitching one of the tents, pulling the corner and nailing it into the ground. as he did so, something caught his eye: a pink, round, fat little worm crawled out of the dirt.

his attention was now fully on the worm, ecstatic to see it because he had been reading up on worms for a while. he called morgan and hotch over since they were the closest to him, rambling excitedly all hes learned about them so far. he looked up and could see the disinterest behind their polite smiles. his own smile faltered for a second, until he saw you finishing up pitching a tent.

"im gonna go show y/n. shes gonna love this!" spencer giggled, already walking towards you.

"hey kid i dont know if she-" morgan began.

"reid she might not-" hotch started as well.

but he had already reached you, sticking out his hand and revealing the worm. hotch and morgan looked at each other worriedly, concerned that the tiniest rejection from you, even about something as small as a worm, would tear his heart to pieces.

their faces changed from worry to confusion as they watched a wide grin crack on your face.

"oh! a worm!" you exclaimed gleefully.

they observed as you put your hand out and Spencer dropped the worm in your hand. you watched it wriggle around and would occasionally look up and nod along with his rambling, asking questions and listening intently. hotch and morgan were speechless, knowing full well if they offered a girl they liked a worm, she would not have the same reaction.

you and Spencer started walking back over to the tent, where hotch and morgan tried their best to seem busy. you two were laughing, something about putting the worm back where he found it so it gets home safely. if there was ever any doubt that you and Spencer would be the perfect couple, its completely disintegrated now.

you and Spencer were typically joined at the hip, but after the worm encounter, you two were especially inseparable.

the girls went down by the lake to tan while you and Spencer tried to build a hut out of random sticks and logs you found around the forest. and while the guys were fishing on that same lake, Spencer and you were rock skipping, and he was explaining to you the physics behind it. and you were both scaring away any potential fish for rossi, hotch, and morgan to catch. so you two were banished back into the forest for the time being. when the rest of the team came back, you and him were up in a tree, eating some of the snacks they'd packed, talking and laughing and subconsciously leaning into one another. you didn't need to be a profiler to see the signs. you two were head over heels already, even if you guys didn't know it yet.

after a bonfire full of roasted marshmallows and scary stories, laughs and giggles. it was a wonderful, but tiring night and before you knew it you were getting ready for bed, sharing highlights of the day back and fourth with Penelope.

"i'm picking up on a bit of a pattern," she giggled, wiggling her eyebrows.

you wracked your brain, "what pattern?"

"all of your highlights included a certain adorkable genius."

"what? no we just...he's my best friend so we-cause its fun and i just-" you stammered, feeling your face heat up with every passing second.

"relax my love, i was just teasing," she chuckled, turning over to go to sleep.

"yeah i know. goodnight pen."

"goodnight lovely," she sighed, "but give some thought to lover boy."

you chuckled lightly before whispering to yourself, "trust me i have."

you woke up and checked the time, it was 4:47am but you just could not fall asleep. you crawled out of the tent, grabbing your blanket when you felt the cool morning air rush at you. you didn't want to wake anyone, so you made your way over to the little hill that the suv was parked on, stealing the keys from hotch's bag and crossing to the other side that faced east. the sun would be rising soon, it would be nice to watch; you draped your blanket across your shoulders. you heard footsteps coming from behind you, your blood running cold, immediately assuming the worst.

you turned around and were met with Spencer's sleepy smile. his hair stuck up in all directions and he looked perfectly adorable. you had to resist your urge to give in and kiss him right then and there.

"you scared me!" you whispered, trying to stifle a smile.

"im sorry," he giggled, "why are you up?"

"im not sure i just couldnt fall back asleep. why are you up?" you echoed.

"morgan keeps farting."

you and him let out hearty laughs, quickly covering your mouths as to not wake up the rest of the team.

you faced the car for a second, legs growing tired from standing.

"look how pretty the fogged up windows look," you observed, facing back and fourth between the colorful sky and the muggy version reflecting on the suv. you pressed your hand against the window, leaving a print, "so cold!" you chuckled.

spencer put his hand next your handprint, quickly recoiling, "you werent lying," he laughed, shivering a little.

you looked at the two handprints, his comically larger than yours and you couldnt help but smile to yourself.

"do you want some blanket?" you asked, opening your arms.

"i think im too tall," he frowned, "maybe if i crouch?"

"how about," you dangled the keys infront of your face before opening the trunk of the suv, "front row seats to the sunrise and some blanket."

"that sounds perfect," he smiled, begging his body not to redden his cheeks.

you two crawled into the trunk, draping the blanket across both of your shoulders, being pulled together by the small piece of fabric. you two were completely cuddled together, getting maximum warmth from the blanket and each other's body heat. a comfortable silence floated between you, faint bird songs and the others breathing filling it with peace. you felt your eyelids droop, despite the breathtaking rebirth of the sun happing in front of you. spencer was just so comfortable.

he felt the same way, his head falling to rest on top of yours as sleep pulled at his eyes. he yawned lightly, pulling you closer and breathing you in. you smiled. perfectly content.

about an hour later, hotch woke up, searching frantically for his keys. he ran up to check if the suv was still there, only to be met with your sleeping figures in the open trunk, wrapped up tightly in a blanket, smiles on both of your faces despite being asleep. hotch was good at predicting things, he saw scenarios play out fully before they truly began.

he snapped a picture, knowing it would be put to good use in a few years, he smelled a wedding.

spencer and you spent the drive home smiling like a couple of idiots, grins growing wider each time the sun hit the window just right, revealing your handprints.

-

ultra mega super cool taglist:

@mac99martin @imhreid @spencersmagic @hollydaisy23 @raelady1184 @a-broken-pact @padfootswife @hey-there-angels @star-stuff-in-the-cosmos @sonnydoesrandomshit @averyhotchner @laurakirsten0502 @reidyoulikeabook @rem-ariiana @spencerreid9 @vampire-overlord @takeyourleap-of-faith @spenxerslut @violetspoetic @aperrywilliams @b-a-utiful @eevee0722 @srhxpci @reidemandweep @imdefinitelyfloating @random-human-person @gurkiloni @luvspence @calm-and-doctor @ssavanessa22 @singularityjc

[passionate-reply]

This week, on Great Albums, we finally get around to discussing an industrial album--and we’ve started with one of the best there is, from the OGs themselves: Throbbing Gristle! (No, it isn’t jazz funk, I promise.) As always, full transcript under the break.

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today, I’ll be talking about one of the most important albums in the history of industrial music, and certainly one of the most...infamous. If you’ve ever noticed this album hanging on my wall in my other videos, you may well have wondered how an album that looks like this fits in with the rest of the stuff that’s up there. This record is the pioneering industrial group Throbbing Gristle’s classic 20 Jazz Funk Greats, and it’s essentially a bait and switch. It looks like a dorky, “family band” record from the bargain bin, but when you put it on, it sounds like this:

Music: “What a Day”

...well, not really. I’ve fibbed a bit here, much like Throbbing Gristle lied to you with this album cover. “What a Day,” one of the most sonically abrasive tracks on this album, is actually the second to last track! They take a little time to warm you up to the heavier stuff, actually. The first two tracks, the title track and “Beachy Head,” are still not really “jazz funk” by anybody’s standards, but they ARE decidedly softer than some of the other stuff you’ll encounter here.

Music: “20 Jazz Funk Greats”

Things arguably don’t start really heating up until we reach the third track on the album: “Still Walking,” which introduces us to ear-splitting distortion, rapid, disorienting percussion, and buried, albeit deeply ominous vocals, sounding like the first “typical” Throbbing Gristle track. It’s dense and almost comically busy, almost exhausting to listen to--and yet we have only just begun.

Music: “Still Walking”

So, where do we go from here? 20 Jazz Funk Greats wouldn’t be the legendary album that it is, if it was a one-note knock-knock joke, a jack in the box that emerges fully within the first few minutes of the album. What I think it really excels at is its ability to keep us on our toes throughout its entire runtime--it goes back and forth between showing a slightly friendlier face, and peeling back the skin of that face to show us the gory skull underneath. The whole thing vibrates along that contrast. Side two of the album, for instance, opens with one of Throbbing Gristle’s best-known tracks: “Hot on the Heels of Love.”

Music: “Hot on the Heels of Love”

Positioned squarely in the middle of the track listing, and at the crucial point of opening the second side, “Hot on the Heels of Love” certainly seems crucial to the album. It reads as a sort of dark parody of Giorgio Moroder’s famous “I Feel Love,” in which the voice of Donna Summer stands nakedly alone in a sea of pulsating synthesisers. It’s a pretty quick rebuttal, too, given that “I Feel Love” was released just the year before! Despite those sultry, breathy vocals, courtesy of Cosey Fanni Tutti, there’s no mistaking this one for a disco hit--not with its harsh hi-hats and gritty, highly textural synth scrapes. “Hot on the Heels of Love” features minimal lyrics--and they’re almost insultingly vapid--but 20 Jazz Funk Greats also features two prominent tracks that are much heavier in lyrical content, which I like to think as complementary to one another: “Convincing People” and “Persuasion,” which appear on the first and second side of the LP, respectively.

Music: “Convincing People”

Taken alone, “Convincing People” is weird, but it’s so vague and disorganised that it’s hard to come to a firm conclusion about what’s going on the first time you hear it. Unlike “Still Walking,” the fairly minimal instrumental accompaniment makes it easy enough to make out what the words are, without the sleeve handy. But it’s also so repetitive that it’s bound to infect you with semantic satiation, and fog up your brain’s ability to pay attention to those lyrics. The clearest statement “Convincing People” seems to be making is that you’ll never convince people when you come across as someone who’s trying to be convincing...well, alright, I suppose. But what really gives this song a darker significance is its counterpart on the flip, “Persuasion.”

Music: “Persuasion”

Abrasive numbers like “What a Day” and “Still Walking” are physically uncomfortable to listen to, but “Persuasion,” like the earlier Throbbing Gristle number “Slug Bait,” unnerves you with its lyrics instead. It takes up the mantle of a narrator who’s clearly a predatory, sexually violent character, and once again, a fairly simple instrumental makes us confront this vile subject matter head-on, as though we are alone in the room with this creep. “Persuasion” and “Convincing People” are actually extremely similar, but the biggest difference between them is that “Persuasion” is the escalation of their shared basic idea, with its much more explicit lyrics, and use of dissonant, unpredictable human screaming sounds. It’s actually a great metaphor for understanding how this album works--it gradually pushes our boundaries as we listen, worming its way into our consciousness like some masterful manipulator. And it dovetails with how Throbbing Gristle frontman Genesis P-Orridge would later style herself as a charismatic cult leader, with varying shades of irony, in later projects related to “Thee Temple ov Psychic Youth.” As we’ve recently been told, you don’t convince people by coming across as someone trying to be convincing. Or do you?

As I alluded to in the beginning, the name and cover design of 20 Jazz Funk Greats are a sort of musical booby trap, to hopefully ensnare innocent victims. It’s not jazz or funk, it doesn’t have twenty tracks, and its seemingly quaint cover photo, featuring the band in sunny surroundings, actually has a dark secret: the spot it was taken at, Beachy Head, is the most popular suicide destination in Europe, and one of the most popular worldwide. It’s Britain’s highest sea cliff, a stark, sheer wall of chalk that looms over the English Channel, and just a few feet away from where Throbbing Gristle are standing, people regularly throw themselves off of it. It’s a place where delicate natural beauty meets the profound human sickness sown by our twisted, exploitative industrial world. It’s just one more insidious detail, that heightens the cruel spirit of the album’s visual identity. It’s worth remembering that Throbbing Gristle were, first and foremost, provocateurs. I think that may be a better way to think about them overall, compared to thinking of them as “musicians.”

In my day, I’ve often seen 20 Jazz Funk Greats recommended as a good introduction to Throbbing Gristle, and to industrial music as a genre, more broadly. Industrial is one of the very few genres of music that was given its common name by an artist and not an outside critic--and we have Throbbing Gristle to thank for coining it, so they’re inarguably industrial royalty. Their catalogue remains indispensable to understanding what industrial is about--like so many acts we consider seminal or foundational, the seeds contained here inform a great deal of subsequent music. The problem, though, is where to begin, since they were arguably more of a jam band than a studio act, with legendary live performances that probably influenced other artists much more than anything they ever pressed on wax. Their discography is hairy, peppered with live recordings, non-album A-sides, and releases whose official vs. bootleg status is unclear. If you’re looking for a traditional album listening experience--as many music enthusiasts often are--it’s hard to do better than 20 Jazz Funk Greats.

At the same time, though, I think there’s something to be said for respecting the fact that Throbbing Gristle were never trying to offer anyone a traditional listening experience. Just the opposite! 20 Jazz Funk Greats is a Great Album, for sure, and it’s also a bit more of a softball than some of their other work, which arguably makes it a bit more accessible. But is it really all that fair to try and wring an “accessible” experience from a band like Throbbing Gristle, when it isn’t particularly representative of their work? Or is it better to meet them head on and try to tackle them on what appear to have been their own terms? If you’re new to them, but want to understand Throbbing Gristle and feel literate in their work, I think I might recommend their 1981 “greatest hits” compilation, Entertainment Through Pain, better than I would any of their proper albums--particularly if you’re like me, and prefer their more aggressive cuts to the ambient ones.

Music: “Adrenalin”

I think my favourite track is “Walkabout,” even though I would argue it’s one of the least “industrial” sounding tracks here. It isn’t heavy, rhythmic, or sludge-textured, but instead serves as a sort of “breather” between “Persuasion” and “What a Day,” a brief, floating melody that drifts by like a cirrus cloud. It’s both playful as well as devious, wedging itself between some of the hardest-hitting stuff, looking like it might be a reprieve, but ultimately leading right back into harsh musical territory--like an abuser love bombing you between some of their worst behaviour. Perhaps “Walkabout” is something like a masochist’s after-care, a moment of healing and cooldown after the excesses of simulated abuse. Or perhaps it’s the stillness and disquiet peace of the grave, for those who meet their end at the hands of “Persuasion”’s narrator? Ambiguity and possible irony are an integral part of Throbbing Gristle’s particular danse macabre...so I’ll leave the rest of the interpreting up to you. Thanks for watching!

Music: “Walkabout”

[ablackbirdsinging]

Like Calls to Like: Chapter 3

Nina/Sturmhond, Grisha Trilogy/Six of Crows crossover! Nothing too scandalous here, but it will eventually get pretty mature/explicit.

Summary: Nina finds out more about the secret Sturmhond is keeping.

If you need to catch up: LCtL: Chapter 1 LCtL: Chapter 2

If you’d like read this over on AO3, click here!

@bharatanatyamandballet, @runesandfaes, @rowanismybae, here’s a new chapter for you! 

She looked Niko in the eyes and found the bright green clouded with shadow and shame and hunger and lust and exhaustion.

“What are you?” And under her hand, Niko shuddered

----

“I was attacked by the Darkling near the end of the war.” Nina removed the finger that was tracing his jaw, driving him crazy.

“And you lived?”

“Apparently,” Nikolai said with a dark laugh. “It seems that he left something behind, though.”

Realization crossed Nina’s features.

“His shadows?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he shrugged.

“Can I - can I look?” Her eyes darted to his chest. It seemed that she could sense that the darkness concentrated in his shoulders, his chest, his abdomen, down his thighs. His face and neck were clear, although he could sometimes feel the dark shadows like a wiggling worm under his hair or behind an ear.

He nodded his consent and lifted his still-gloved hands to his shirt buttons, but Nina brushed them to the side.

“I want to do it.” With trembling hands, she began to unbutton his shirt. One by one she went lower and lower until she had to pull his shirt out of his trousers to do the last three buttons. Her eyes went lower and lower as arousal curled in Nikolai’s belly.

“Eyes up here, Zenik.” A blush stained her cheeks.

“Sorry. Can I touch you again?” Nikolai knew somewhere in the less-lust-addled sections of his brain that she was looking at him as a science experiment, not someone she wanted to touch intimately, but still, her low, breathy voice had his cock twitching helplessly against his trousers.

She ran a finger down his chest, tracing a thick streak of the shadow writhing under his skin, and furrowed her brow, thinking. Every second of her touch was like fireworks going off in his body.

“Well, Captain Niko Sturmhond Pirate Boy Scourge of the Seas. Today is your lucky day.” He cocked his head, feeling confused. “These strands are death.” He recoiled.

“That doesn't sound very lucky.”

“Well, they aren't going to kill you. Probably. What's lucky for you, though, is that my powers no longer react strongly to living flesh. I can't manipulate the body the way I once could. But the dead,” She looked down and scratched a spot above her nose. “My powers still work for the dead. I think these strands of death under your skin will allow me to clear your mind a little, lower your blood pressure some. I don't know how long the effects will last, but hopefully you'll get enough relief for a couple nights of decent sleep.”

Nikolai loosed a deep breath. Could she tell just by looking at him that he could barely sleep? That when he did drift off he was plagued by nightmares?

“That would,” his voice was thick, “that would be enough.” She nodded.

“Let’s get to work, then.” Nikolai tried to sit as still as possible, but Nina’s hands working on his body tickled at best and felt like some sort of advanced torture device at worst. It didn't hurt, but it did take every ounce of his considerable willpower not to capture her face in his hands and kiss her breathless.

Her hands on either side of his face swept the cobwebs out of his mind. She pulled one flap of his unbuttoned shirt aside to slip a hand over his heart to relieve the tension in his chest and lungs. And then she helped him stretch out on his stomach on the leather couch, so she could rub her hands over his shoulders and work out the knots of shadowy stress there. As she worked, she spoke to him about what she was doing and things she had learned in her studies at the Little Palace. When her hands finally stilled, Nikolai was nearly asleep. His body hadn't felt this light in years.

“Do you need help getting to bed?” In some murky depths of his now-relaxed mind, Nikolai wondered if she was propositioning him, but she was still using her professional Heartrender voice. Whatever bit of flirtation they'd shown toward each other earlier in the night had slipped away. He shook his head groggily and staggered off toward his sleeping quarters.

----

Nina wondered if she should follow to make sure Niko would be ok, but she was just so damn tired from expending so much of her power. She had gone so long without using it at all, that she felt completely worn out. Rather than finding her way back to her room, Nina grabbed one of Niko’s cloaks hung over the desk chair to cover herself and promptly fell asleep on the couch.

----

Light starting filling the room entirely too early through the porthole somewhere beyond the couch where Nina slept. It took her a second to remember where she was and what she had learned about Niko the night before.

A man with death running through his veins. Nina’s whole body shuddered at the thought.

She pushed off the cloak that smelled of Niko and slipped her toes back into her flat leather shoes. She needed copious amounts of tea as quickly as it could be found.

When she threw open the door, though, she came face to face with Tolya standing like a soldier outside Niko’s room.

“Tolya, hi.” He didn't seem surprised to see her.

“Good morning, Nina.”

“Were you...standing here all night?” Tolya nodded.

“It was my turn on watch.”

“Sturmhond is that paranoid about his safety aboard his own ship?”

“Not really his call, from what I understand.” Nina didn't have any idea what Tolya was talking about. He was always so damn cryptic and it was still too early to puzzle out his meaning.

“He seems like a man who could handle his own sword, if it came to it.” Tolya quirked one eyebrow in a comical fashion.

“I think you'd know better than me, miss.” A hot blush lit up Nina’s face.

“Tolya are you making an inappropriate joke?” She exclaimed, looking scandalized. The big man laughed a silent laugh that shook his shoulders.

“You're lucky you caught this one. Tolya only makes an inappropriate joke about once a year,” Niko said dryly as he came into the antechamber. He was in the same unbuttoned shirt from last night, linen sleep pants, and his gloves. His hair was ruffled, his cheeks red, and for the first time since she met him, he looked well rested. And, he was barefoot. The sight of his toes peeking out from under his pajama pants had Nina swallowing hard and she could not stop watching him walk across the room. Her fingers twitched at her side and her blood hummed. Oh, how she wanted to touch him again.

Tolya, who could probably feel the racing cadence of Nina’s heart, looked between the two, muttered something about tea and lumbered off to fetch some.

Nina looked awkwardly around the room.

“Did you sleep well?”

“I can't remember the last time I slept like that.” He rolled his shoulders. “Everything feels lighter. Thank you, Nina. I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you did.”

“I'm really glad I could help. I've been feeling kind of useless with these changed powers and not really being able to pull my weight aboard the ship.” Niko sat at the small table in the corner of the room and gestured for Nina to join him.

“What are you talking about? Your lovely singing from the Crow’s Nest really motivates everyone. I've never seen my sailors scrub down the decks so quickly to hurry back to their chambers. It's a pity about all the blood leaking from their ears, though.” Nina laughed long and loud at that. She was well aware that singing was not her best attribute.  

Tolya gave a tentative knock at the door before pushing it open, hands full of a tray of tea and mugs and some kind of pastry.

“Please tell me Anton made scones?” Tolya nodded and set the tray down on the small table between Nina and Sturmhond, then hesitated. Nina smiled up at him. “You'd better sit down and grab a few before I eat the rest of this tray.”

A moment later, Tamar poked her head into the room.

“Nadia! They're having a party and didn't invite us!” And then Tamar was crossing the room, dragging her girlfriend by the hand. Tamar perched on a trunk beside the table and Nadia perched on Tamar’s knee, nibbling at a scone and looking back and forth between Nina and Sturmhond with an excited expression.

“You two have a nice night together?” Nina and Niko both choked on their tea.

“It wasn't - we weren't together - not like -,” Nina stammered.

“Nina slept on the couch,” Niko said, clarifying.

“Oh, very romantic, Captain. You couldn't even share your giant comfortable bed after?”

Everyone started chattering nervously at once.

“Nadia, you minx!”

“It wasn't like that!”

“Did Zoya and Genya give you lessons in gossiping like this?”

Nadia only laughed.

“If nothing happened, why are you staring at her with that loopy grin?”

Nina raised her eyebrows and shifted her foot under the table ever so slightly.

“Yes, Captain, why are you smiling like that?” She batted her eyelashes at him, baiting him. Niko winked at her one time as if to say he wouldn't back down, and her insides went molten.

“Well, if you must know, Nadia, I'm smiling like this because Zenik’s been rubbing her toes against my ankle for the last five minutes.”

She stomped hard on his toes.

“Is there no such thing as a secret on this damned ship?” She cried and the rest of the table answered with a resounding “no!”

The rest of breakfast was a flurry of innuendo and elbows around the too small table and the scent of tea and the clink of spoons on the side of mugs and the slide of butter over still warm scones and not at all secret loopy grins over everything and laughing. So much laughing. Nina’s heart gave a lurch. It wasn't Inej and Jesper and the Dregs, but it would do. Yes, it would certainly do.