#where the moon is a giant eye or colony or something | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mariacallous · 1 year

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The moon, which seemed so far away for so long, is rapidly becoming the new hotspot for space activities. Following the successful launch of the Artemis program in November, NASA is now looking ahead to moon landings and a lunar space station. China’s space agency aims to deploy lunar landers and rovers and to build a research station on the moon. Companies in the US and Japan have plans in the works for their own moon landers too.

But in the long term, all eyes are on Mars.

NASA chief Bill Nelson considers Artemis to be a stepping stone, part of the Moon to Mars program. The European Space Agency, a longtime NASA partner, has its own Terrae Novae 2030+ program, which is also aimed at eventually sending crewed missions. China’s space agency is at work on landers, rovers, and orbiters. And of course, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk can’t stop talking about how he wants to build Starships that, like “Noah’s arks,” will make humanity a “multiplanetary species,” including building sprawling civilizations on the Red Planet.

But the hellish conditions on Mars make it hard to imagine living there, let alone sending millions. The Red Planet lies on the edge of our solar system’s habitable—or “Goldilocks”—zone, where it’s not too hot or cold to have liquid water on the surface, which is probably necessary for life as we know it. More than 3 billion years ago, Mars was likely much more life-friendly, with some flowing rivers and lakes, a more temperate climate, and a more substantial atmosphere. But today, the thin air is almost entirely made up of carbon dioxide. The temperatures are as cold as Antarctica. It’s many times drier than the Atacama Desert in Chile, the driest place on Earth.

The first astronauts to travel to Mars, perhaps in the 2040s, will need to cope with a nine-month journey cooped up in a tiny spacecraft. Then they’ll need to survive the landing. If they get that far, life on Mars will be harsh. Frequent sandstorms can bury key equipment or solar panels. There’s no soil for growing food, so they’ll have to rely on whatever they brought with them. A hole in one’s spacesuit would mean certain death. Any significant problem on base—like a loss of power, oxygen, water, food or communication with Earth—would probably doom the whole crew. If something goes awry, they’ll be on their own. While the moon is nearly 1,000 times as far away from Earth as the International Space Station and the Tiangong space station, Mars is hundreds of times more distant than that.

The isolation of the Covid pandemic might give us a small taste of the psychological challenges of life on Mars. Those first visitors will be trapped in one or two small structures with the same few people for something like 2.5 years, counting travel each way and around a year on the ground. Just going for a walk outside would be a huge ordeal. They would never see a single tree in any direction, never dip their feet in a river, nor fill their lungs with fresh air in the morning. Everyone will have a good chance of getting cancer (thanks to a high dose of space radiation) or losing bone and muscle mass (thanks to the long flights and the planet’s weaker gravity).

So why would anyone even want to go?

Well, there aren’t that many other options for the intrepid space traveler. Despite its many challenges, after the moon, Mars seems like the obvious next stop for exploring the solar system. It’s more hospitable than greenhouse-smogged, excessively hot, high-pressure Venus. It’s much closer than asteroid belt inhabitants like Ceres and Vesta. The moons of the gas giant planets, like Europa, Enceladus and Titan, look intriguing, but they’re so distant that Earthlings probably won’t be able to visit them until the 22nd century. Mars, to its credit, has ice that could be used by astronauts, and it’s close enough to the sun for a colony to generate solar power.

For years, space agencies have been exploring it with robots, like NASA’s Perseverance rover, the Maven orbiter, and the InSight lander. Even more are lined up, including China’s Zhurong rover and Tianwen-1 lander, Europe’s Rosalind Franklin rover, previously known as ExoMars, and NASA’s sample return mission that will pick up the rocks Perseverance collected. But there’s only so much the agencies can study from afar.

To really advance scientific discoveries, learn more about the Red Planet’s climatic and geological evolution, and unpack the history of our solar system, they think they’ll have to send small crews. The first human visitors might just orbit and map the surface, studying its ancient geology while looking for possible landing spots—the same function the astronauts aboard the 1968 Apollo 8 mission and the Artemis 2 mission planned for 2024 serve for moon exploration. Later on-the-ground crews might uncover crucial details about the origins of life, and maybe even evidence of never-before-seen life-forms.

That’s a powerful motivator: To learn about humanity’s role in the vast cosmos. Humans have always explored, and we want to know what’s out there—and who’s out there. “One of the best things about us as a species is our curiosity and our desire to know how we are part of the universe. I think that that larger perspective is very valuable,” says Sasha Sagan, daughter of science communicators Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan and author of the book For Small Creatures Such as We.

What vision of Mars exploration will humanity realize? Wernher von Braun, America’s first real celebrity space figure, envisioned launching spacecraft to the moon and Mars, a vision we’re still following today. But in his view, these would be military-led expeditions, establishing dominance on other worlds while looking for military applications for new resources and technologies. After leaving Nazi Germany in 1945, von Braun led NASA’s development of the powerful Saturn V rocket used in the space race with the Soviet Union.

Carl Sagan, the author of Cosmos and Contact, was arguably the US’s next major space leader—with his more hopeful, peaceful, and science-focused perspective. While he wasn’t against crewed spaceflights, he generally advocated for sending robotic probes to learn more about our cosmic neighborhood as a less risky and more efficient use of resources. Sagan contributed to the Pioneer and Voyager programs, and played a major role in the Voyager Golden Records.

Today, that celebrity role largely belongs to billionaires with more apocalyptic visions, who are raring to quickly send huge populations off-world, citing fears that Earth could be destroyed or become uninhabitable. “The new von Braun is of course Elon Musk,” says Jordan Bimm, a University of Chicago space historian. “He presents himself as a potential ruler of a Mars society.” The SpaceX CEO has referred to the sun’s eventual death, and to killer asteroids on collision courses, as motivators to build a civilization on Mars, even though such events happen on geological and cosmic timescales, not human ones.

He isn’t the only one. Billionaire Jared Isaacman, who bought seats on the Inspiration4 spaceflight last year, has made similar comments. So has Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos. And so have a few top aerospace executives, including SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell and Tory Bruno, CEO of the United Launch Alliance, a Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture. While Musk has proposed somehow sending a million people to Mars by the year 2050, Bruno proposed dispatching a few score for short visits, setting the stage for colonies in the next century, when self-sustaining technologies advance and trips become cheaper. Meanwhile, Bezos dreams of billions of people living in orbit around the Earth, while treating our world like an unpopulated national park.

But so far, none of these commercial space companies are anywhere close to realizing these audacious visions. SpaceX has flown taxi and cargo rides to the ISS for NASA and the private company Axiom Space, but otherwise it has only flown a single crewed spaceflight in low Earth orbit, Inspiration4. SpaceX has invested heavily in the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy Rocket, which are currently undergoing fueling and rocket engine tests; they are planning an uncrewed orbital test launch in early 2023. NASA has tapped SpaceX to provide a modified Starship for the Artemis 3 and 4 moon-landing missions, but those won’t happen until later this decade.

Blue Origin, for its part, has only launched a handful of suborbital spaceflights that briefly flit along the edge of space. The first flight of the company’s massive, reusable New Glenn rocket, which could send crews and cargo into orbit, has been delayed for years, with its launch now planned for late 2023. Boeing’s Starliner, a potential SpaceX competitor for NASA’s commercial crew program to the ISS, has been delayed as well, with the first crewed flight scheduled for April 2023. While these companies have made significant accomplishments, they’re far behind the out-of-this world comments made by some CEOs.

Such off-world ventures can also seem hard to justify when we Earthlings are plagued by climate change, pandemics, risks of nuclear war, and rampant inequality. Setting up a research station and living quarters for a half dozen visitors—as space agencies might eventually do—would likely cost tens of billions of dollars. (If Musk really intends to send thousands of Starships to Mars, that’s more like a trillion.)

Some people would rather invest these resources in solving global problems, not launching astronauts to other worlds. People in the 1960s questioned the Apollo program for similar reasons—it was also a time of systemic inequality and fears of nuclear war. Today, in public opinion surveys of US adults, NASA’s climate-related efforts and monitoring of near-Earth asteroids are more popular than crewed missions to the moon and Mars.

“It would be easier to justify going to the moon and then Mars if people weren’t starving and dying. I don’t think there’s a scientific rational reason for it, and that’s OK,” says Natalie Treviño, a space theoretician at the Open University in the UK. Yet as she points out, the drive to explore isn’t always logical. “Why do we make art and make music? Living in contradiction is what the human experience is. It’s both amazing and tragic.”

Depending on the animating vision behind Mars exploration, the first astronauts could be scientists, poets, tourists, or military officers. They could be viewed as visitors, settlers, cowboys, or colonists. Treviño prefers the term “migrants”—partly to destigmatize migration on Earth—and she favors including an artist to make sense of the existential experience, and enormous culture shock, of living on this ruddy, barren world.

Let’s say it works: Humanity overcomes the cost and practical barriers of settling Mars, and the migrant Earthlings arrive. There’s one thing left to consider: Maybe Mars would be better off without us.

If our treatment of Earth’s atmosphere is any sign, we’ll corrupt the Martian one too. We’ll litter it with junk, as we have despoiled our own world. Maybe we’d geoengineer the atmosphere, or live out Musk’s desire to terraform the world by blowing up nukes to create a “nuclear winter”—something we’ve managed to avoid so far at home—to raise temperatures, initiate a helpful climate change, and melt some of its polar ice. As with geoengineering proposals meant to combat climate change on Earth, such schemes carry huge risks.

We’d also mine the surface, likely reproducing the economic inequalities and unsustainable practices already prevalent on Earth. For example, Treviño says, there’s a limited supply of Martian ice, but no binding rules exist saying who could use it, how much, and for what purpose. Plus, if any Martian life-form lies underground, terraforming and mining attempts may well destroy them and their ecosystem, and who are we to decide their fate? It’s the height of hubris for one species to decide what should be done with an entire planet that’s not their homeworld.

So as we venture toward Mars, let’s be ambitious and curious, but also thoughtful, ethical, and sustainable. Our travels many millions of miles away will likely serve to remind us how lucky we are to have our own world, says Sasha Sagan: “I suspect that the further we go, the more we’ll realize how precious and valuable this one planet is.”

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that-house · 2 years

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Heads turned as he walked into the bar, a dingy joint that would have been almost pitch black to a regular human. The man’s vision switched from perceiving the visible spectrum to infrared, allowing him to trace the movements of his observers. It was nothing out of the ordinary, the regular patrons eyeing the stranger in their midst with a mix of distrust and curiosity. As usual, both emotions quickly drained away to be replaced by hatred and disgust as they saw his scars. And such terrible scars they were, running down each limb and digit, encircling his face and joints. They were pale echoes of the paths the Enchir surgeon-mages’ knives followed as they unseamed him. They were the marks of a dead man.

“Here to kill us, rotter?” the bartender said, slowly inching towards where whatever weapon he had was stowed. If the dead man’s intent was indeed a violent one, it would make no difference.

Silence reigned in the subterranean drinking hole. “The war’s over. I’m not looking for trouble.” He was unarmed, as he always was.

“No pulse, no soul, no service. Get your decayed ass out of my establishment.” The bartender spat, feigning bravery. His elevated heart rate stood as evidence to the contrary.

“One drink, then I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Dead men don’t drink.”

“I’ve had a shit year.” Truer words had never been spoken. He’d spent the last three months in low orbit around Sessil-3, finally impacting with the surface of the lunar mining colony two weeks ago. The moon, belonging to the gas giant from which it took its name, lacked an atmosphere, which would have been a problem for a human. Luckily, dead men couldn’t die, and so he’d picked himself up from the newborn crater before making the thirteen-day hike to one of the shaft entrances.

The officer at the gate hadn’t wanted to let him in, but if the war had taught people anything, it was that denying dead men was a fucking terrible idea. And so he’d found himself down here, in the dark, arguing for the right to get a drink. On most of the homeworlds, dead men were considered citizens these days, but word traveled slowly on the outskirts. Sessil-3 was about as remote as you could get. They might not have had off-world visitors in months.

"Come on. One drink."

The bartender grabbed his gun, shakily bringing the barrel to bear on the dead man. "Get. Out. Your kind killed my brother in the trenches down in Ghend. Move, or I shoot." The gun was an older model, a Sessilian diffraction shotgun. A pull of the trigger and eight ritually-induced beams of heat would pass through a series of lenses, converting magical energy into a roughly conical explosion that would tear through steel and flesh like paper. It wouldn't do anything to a dead man, and they both knew it.

It wouldn't be hard to paint these rough-hewn walls with blood. As always, something deep in his bones sang a hymn of broken bodies and torn flesh, urging him to violence. Given time, a dead man could exterminate a colony of this size on their own. He could start the grisly work here, be behind the bartender before he could blink. Snap his neck, throw the body at the two recharging circuitborn plugged into the wall outlet. Not that they'd be a threat, but it was always good practice to take out what was, relatively speaking, the most dangerous opposition first. From there, he could take up the diffraction shotgun and eliminate whoever made it to their feet first. Reloading would take too much time, but he could throw the empty gun hard enough to rupture... the dead man shook his head. He wasn't a soldier anymore, and these men weren't rebels. He'd take his leave, find a way offworld. Maybe Sessil Proper would be more welcoming. He’d wanted to feel human again, just for a moment. Clearly, this wasn’t the place for that.

#neon-grey-writing #dead men of enchir #felt like writing some interstellar fantasy and so i did #funky lil character study sorta thing #lmk what u think

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tatttletale · 3 years

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Roulette!AU | Steven Universe

AU: Basically, Rose is still Pink Diamond, but this time around, due to her life on Homeworld she's more skittish and soft-spoken, and because of her gentle treatment with her new Pearl, that's allowed her to become more confident, and in this AU Pearl is the leader of the rebellion and Rose is more in the role of "terrifying renegade Quartz". Garnet stays the same as a fusion, and so does Bismuth, but her love interest has changed on account of the personality changes.

Let's start at the beginning. The very beginning.

○○○

"I— I can't believe it," Pink Diamond murmured, voice soft, disbelieving. ". . . My own colony!"

"Isn't it exciting?" Pearl agreed. "And it looks so beautiful! What should we name it?"

Pink smiled at Pearl's boldness. If any other Pearl had suggested their owner's colony was just as much theirs, they would undoubtedly be reprimanded. It was safe to say, as well, that Pearl wasn't really hers anymore—she was her own Gem, and if anything, Pink found herself more Pearl's than the other way around.

"What about. . . Earth?" she gave a soft laugh. "It feels good to finally say it. . . I've been saving that name for so long."

"I love it," Pearl grinned.

"Have you already organised the Lapis Lazuli schedules for us?"

"Of course! The terraforming should only take a few weeks, and then we'll be making our own Gems!"

"I can't wait," Pink sighed, wistfully.

○○○

Pearl sighed, reaching out to the control panel from her seat on Pink Diamond's lap.

For now, the moon base was as close as they could get to their new colony, but it quickly grew dull. The Earth hung in front of them like a giant blue marble, teasing them through the communication room's full-wall window.

"The Kindergarten was injected years ago! Shouldn't they be emerging by now?"

Pearl squirmed a little on the restless Diamond's lap and placed a hand on the panel, electricity buzzing up through her arm and into her head. Graphs appeared before her eyes.

"The terraforming is going as scheduled. Lapises are already terraforming the Beta Kindergarten in the northern-western hemisphere. Bismuths have constructed strategic warp panels across the Earth and Peridot technician stations are planned to be developed in the Kindergartens soon. The first—" With a gasp, she lit up, quite literally. "Pink, the first Quartz soldiers are scheduled to emerge soon!"

"Finally, something exciting!" Pink agreed.

In a rush, they bustled down to the viewing orb and Pearl turned it on. The walls lit up with a holographic vision of the Prime Kindergarten.

Pink gasped, gazing around in awe, and Pearl threw an arm out, pointing. "Pink, look!"

On the far rocky wall, what appeared to be a Gem-shaped hole was glowing pink. A beat later and a grinning Amethyst burst from the rock and landed on the floor. The gem set against her upper arm was clean-cut and pristine.

Pink felt excitement flare up within her. "We're creating life from. . . nothing!"

"Welcome to Earth!" Pearl cried to the hologram, and then her face fell as it walked right through her and into the arms of a pair of newly-emerged soldiers.

Pearl sighed, face resigned. "I wish we could be there."

Pink said nothing, dreading the inevitable.

As she'd anticipated, Pearl's features suddenly lit up. "Wait— of course we can be there! We can warp into the Prime Kindergarten!"

"Wh-What? Pearl, no—" Pink Diamond found herself cringing. "If we went down to the kindergarten—if we were caught—I would never hear the end of it from Yellow and Blue." She let her eyes drop. "Blue would throw me in the Tower."

The room was silent for a moment, and then Pearl padded over and reached up, lifting her face a little. She could just reach her this way, as she was kneeling on the floor.

"Pink. . ." Pearl's voice was soft. "You can't let them control you like this."

Pink only shook her head. "I can't do anything about it—they're my family. If. . ." Her voice petered out. She didn't like the idea herself, but if it would make Pearl happy. . . "—If you want, you can go by yourself. I'll stay here and wait for you."

"What? No!" Pearl sounded scandalised. "I'm not doing that! We'll both go, together."

Pink tried to ignore the fluttering feeling her words brought about in her stomach. ". . . How?"

"What if. . . you shapeshifted? To look like another Quartz?"

Pink raised her head. "You think so. . .?"

"Yes!" Suddenly, Pearl was completely onboard with the idea. Gem aglow, she projected a model of her Diamond into the air before them, saturated in a holographic blue. "If you shrink down in height, widen your build, grow out your hair. . . no one would know the difference!" The model complied, shrinking down into a soldier with tight ringlets.

"I. . . I can try," Pink said, if only to appease her. She took a good look at the hologram and then closed her eyes, imagining the form in her mind's eye, withdrawing the excess of her light projection back into her gem.

She heard Pearl gasp, and she opened her eyes.

"You look amazing!" Pearl cried, and brushed a hand over her chest. She shivered. "You even remembered the Court symbol!"

Pink smiled down at her in relief, and she could have sworn Pearl flushed before she stepped back and cleared her throat, shooting her a mischievous smile. "Are you ready to go?"

○○○

The Kindergarten warp pad chimed, shooting a beam of light into the sky. When the light cleared, it left a Pearl and a pink Quartz soldier standing together, gazing in awe around at the enormous canyon.

"Pearl. . . look!" Pink-Diamond-as-Quartz leaned over the warp pad ledge, pointing at a band of marching Amethysts. Pearl's grin was luminous.

"This is incredible!" Her wide eyes sparkled in excitement, and she grabbed ahold of Pink's hand. "Take us down there, quick!"

Taking her under an arm, Pink-as-Quartz obligingly leaped from the warp pad and into the air. Even as they drifted down to the Kindergarten floor, chunks of rock burst from the walls as dozens of Amethysts emerged and jumped down.

"Pink," Pearl breathed as they touched down. "This is. . ."

"Out of my way!" a newly emerged Amethyst cried, and shoved them apart as she ran past. Pink-as-Quartz fell to the ground with a surprised ugh!.

"Oh, dear!" Pearl cried, a small smile on her face, and padded over to help her up. "Are you alright?"

"Of course," Pink returned, taking her hand. "But this is. . . so different."

"Isn't it?" Pearl agreed with enthusiasm. "You're fitting right in! No one's saluting you now!"

Pink-as-Quartz gasped lightly. "You're. . . You're right!"

"This is so fun," her companion gushed. "Thank you so much for doing this for me. I couldn't have done this on my own!"

The words warmed Pink, and she smiled before taking her hand. "What about those Amethysts?"

"Yes!" Pearl cried, and hauled her over to the gathered soldiers nearby. When they pulled up in front of them, Pearl gave Pink a sly nudge.

"Uh, hello. . . fellow Amethyst guards!" Pink-as-Quartz called. "What. . . are we all up to?"

"There's two more from our unit that haven't emerged yet so we're gonna wait for 'em," one replied, eyes half-hidden beneath a neat fringe. At that moment, a section of the rock wall lit up and burst apart. The new Gem tumbled to the ground before them wth a groan. ". . . Here comes one of 'em!"

Delighted, Pearl stepped forward. "Oh, my stars, look at you!"

"Welcome to Earth!" Pink beamed from behind her.

"That is the first and. . . nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," the Quartz smiled back, soft eyes flicking between them.

"What's going on here?" Another light-haired Amethyst ran up to the group, hands on hips. "Our orders were to move out as soon as you emerged!"

"But. . . 8XM hasn't emerged yet," a different Amethyst replied.

"She can catch up with us later! Go! Go! Go!"

Pink began to move after them, but was quickly stopped in her tracks by Pearl. "We can come back here later. Wouldn't you like to explore some of Earth's other features?"

Pink-as-Quartz gasped. "Pearl! Yes, let's go!"

They emerged unhurried from the Kindergarten, transitioning from barren dirt to lush green grass. A light chirping filled the air. "So. . . this. . . is Earth," Pink breathed.

Vast green fields, carpeted with pink organics, and rising on the horizon, majestic purple landforms, framed by a clear blue sky.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Pearl beamed, and took her by the hand. "We have to see it all."

○○○

The day sped by. They laid together on the grass and gazed at the clouds; they gathered flowers, throwing petals into the air where it fell as pink rain; they explored the mass of tall trees, glimpsed organics in the patches of dappled light; and at one point Pink-as-Quartz made a grab at a fluttery-looking organic, which escaped her fingers and instead flew around them in circles.

They came across a flowing body of water, through which they watched slippery organics swim, and Pearl bent down to trail her fingers through the water. Then, across the banks, Pink noticed a set of figures. As she watched, the small one gathered water and walked back to the two taller shadows, disappearing again into the trees as Pearl stood up. She thought she could feel Pearl's elation falter.

They made their way back to the Kindergarten in growing shadows. There was a rumbling somewhere nearby—it seemed to come from the grey sky. As soon as they crossed from green grass to brown Kindergarten dirt, Pink stopped.

"We can't go through with this invasion," she said, voice soft.

Pearl sighed, and took her hands into her own. "I know. I didn't realise that. . . that all this life, growing wild on Earth. . . that it's going to be destroyed."

"We're not creating life from nothing," Pink murmured.

Pearl's eyes mirrored her own sadness when she answered. "We're taking life, and leaving nothing behind."

There was a flash from the sky, and water began to fall in droplets from the grey overhead, pattering onto the bare rock walls of the Kindergarten, washing the dirt away in a brown wet mess.

A newly-realised Pearl and her Diamond stood, hand-in-hand, gazing out at the endless green, wondering how much longer it would last.

(Chapter 1/13)

Check out the rest of this story on: - Wattpad - FanFiction - Archive Of Our Own

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realityhelixcreates · 3 years

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Lasabrjotr Chapter 81: Occultus

Chapters: 81/?

Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: pg13

Relationships: Loki x Reader

Characters: Loki (Marvel),

Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending (Canon-Divergent), Party Time, And Now For A Detour

Summary: Some secrets revealed, some questions answered.

Beyond Iceland. Beyond Earth. Beyond the Solar System and the Sagittarius Arm.

Beyond the Milky Way, and beyond Yggdrasil. Beyond the Virgo Supercluster. Beyond the Boötes Void, and all the quasars. Beyond the edge of the observable universe.

There were three giant women.

That is how they appeared to you at least. Something in you knew that they were something else, something far beyond your ability to perceive, let alone comprehend. Something greater than you could possibly imagine. So instead, they seemed like huge, cowled women, working together to weave a great tapestry. It was practically unending, yet somehow still fit on the loom, each thread a life, a place, an event. The finished cloth was all of time, all of space. It sparkled with stars and galaxies, like intricate beading, and the loom weights were raw, glowing gemstones, like you thought you'd seen in a dream once before. A handful of them were missing. They wanted you to know something. Something that had come before. The oldest one unrolled the finished cloth for you to see. You looked in, and fell away. Time was an unknown concept to Ymir. They did not understand or measure it. They did not see nor feel it. Truly immortal, and completely alone, they noticed change on unimaginable timescales, but thought nothing of it, save to admire the beauty that came into being, and flared out, again and again. They did not know how or when they came into being. The weave informed you this was before Earth, before Asgard, before the galaxies you knew and understood. The weave knew when Ymir had started, but it did not show you.

Ymir only knew that they lived, and that change happened, and that it was beautiful. Once, all had been dark. The heat of a singularity met the cold of nothingness, and Ymir was. They had drifted for a long time, between tiny lights, through glowing dust. They collected the tiny lights along the way, multicolored pinpoints, pressed into fingertips, bringing thought, solidity, movement, selfhood, the realization of cycles, and the will to act.

You saw the eons pass, as they slowly realized their sense of self, their name, and their possibilities. They drifted alone for all that time, until captured by one of the great lights that had grown up all around them. Then began their long period of admiring the growing star, learning what warmth was, and, in it's light, coming to understand what they looked like, and adjusting that as they saw fit.

They did not know how their presence effected the development of the star system. Their gargantuan mass allowed for only a single, rocky planet to form, close in to the star, constantly disrupting the rock, gas, and ice that orbited further out. Planetoids and comets often crashed into them, the resulting debris careening around the system, creating massive meteor swarms that rained fire and ice down upon the singular planet. Eventually, they noticed that the little round rock had changed, showing patches of blue and green. It was a lovely neighbor, and they enjoyed looking at it. Occasionally, their presence still caused fiery crashes and cosmic explosions to occur on the planet, but the damage always seemed to rebound, and left the little world even more beautiful for its scars.

The beauty of it compelled them. They wanted something. They wanted to create. First, they tried grabbing two asteroids and pressing them together. But upon letting go, the asteroids just drifted apart. Then they tried throwing one at another. When they collided, it caused chunks to fly free, spinning in all directions. They noticed the fresh surfaces had a glint that they liked, and snatched one up to look at it closer.

Breaking asteroids to see what was inside became something of a little game. Some had tiny green crystals, some had metal, some had ice, and smooth, glassy surfaces. Eventually, they noticed that sometimes, when they dragged their fingers over the surface of a chunk of rock, streaks of color were left behind. The points of light embedded in their fingertips imbued the cosmic stones with hue and light. Once they started thinking about it, every time they tried, their fingers traced glowing color behind them. Soon, the asteroid field around them was littered with pictograms, whatever shapes and designs they could come up with, glowing in a rainbow of colors. They set the drawings into orbit, delighting in how the art would parade before them, as the rocks raced around the star. Occasionally, one of the artworks would fall to the planet, where Ymir presumed it lost forever, so they drew more and more, their work becoming more complex and refined. One of their favorites, one with many shapes vaguely like their own fell to the planet, causing Ymir to try to make it again. For the first time, the colossal being had to reach into their memory to recreate something that had come before. For the first time, they were faced with the concept of the Past. With that, came an idea of the Now, and the Will-Be. They were strange ideas But Ymir realized that these ideas had always been, that always and forever those three things existed all at once. They realized that they could use these things in their creations. And so, using all their colors, they drew the shapes they liked. Cylinders, triangles, ovals, and cones, with arms and legs, eyes and mouths, whimsical patterns in all shapes and sizes. Set them to dancing with the power in their fingers, sent them spinning though space. When these fell to the planet, Ymir watched closely, and saw that under the clouds, all of their old fallen drawings were there: sprouting from the rocks, blanketing the land. Darting here and there through the air and in the water. So too, did their favorite shapes begin to wander, spreading over the little world, and they were pleased to see this. They watched in delight as the eons passed, and the planet changed and blossomed with ever new shapes and colors. Their favorite shapes worked and formed the land, building and creating, just as they had. Cities went up and came down, different each time, but with a kernel of the last in each new form.

Fighting occurred between the shapes, and peace as well, over and over, until the whole planet united in partnership. Through it all, Ymir's great presence still perturbed the orbits of other celestial bodies, causing icy comets and stony artworks alike to rain down on the ever-changing world. Each time, destruction ruled for a time, but always did the beloved shapes overcome and thrive, rebuilding higher and greater each time. Ymir saw, with great wonder, when sleek artworks built by the shapes began to leave the planet. In a reflection of their own origins, the shapes returned to the vacuum from whence they once came.

It didn't always work well. Many of the streamlined artworks were destroyed on their voyages. But the shapes tried, again and again, refining their artworks, until they performed perfectly each time. The world had been changing in the meantime, this time in a direction Ymir had not yet seen. The white clouds had gone gray and thick, the blue seas had a brownish tint. Volcanoes glowed orange, more than they had ever seen. It had started after a particularly large swarm of meteors had struck the planet. The shapes had rebuilt, as they always did, but this time, the change continued on in this new direction.

New artworks began to leave the planet in droves, great hordes, thousands strong. Ymir watched them as they gathered, admiring their shapes and shine. Curiously, the great shoal began making it's way across the star system, closer and closer. They were covered in colored lights. Ymir reached out and grasped one, wishing to see it closer, to pick out the ultra-fine details. Unfortunately, tragically, the artwork crumpled under their fingers, igniting in a pathetic, fiery implosion. A terrible shame. Ymir had no idea the artworks were so fragile. But they numbered in the thousands, like their own artworks, and many yet survived. The artworks were acting curiously now, arranging themselves in precise clusters and rows. Their glowing lights brightened, blinked, flared. Beautiful. The many small artworks were making a vast artwork out of themselves. How clever. It filled Ymir with inspiration. They reached for a nearby asteroid. The lights burst into beams and pulses, so bright they blinded the vast being, just before slicing into their alien flesh. Beams swept across their entire body, separating them at every joint, sending each part careening forever through space. As millennia passed, these parts would crash into stars, fall into black holes, aggregate gas, ice, and dust, creating planets around them. Their head, the size of a moon, would become the hub of a mining colony, the harvested parts some of the rarest and most valuable in the universe. And so, the creations of Ymir continued. ****** Their world was dying. It had long been known that fire rained from the sky every few thousand years, sent by the Great Star to cleanse the world. The civilizations that came before were imperfect, and so the survivors built again, better, more precise every time. But this time was different. This time, the destruction didn't end. After the last Fire Fall, the world began to tear itself asunder. Molten rock flowed from deep underground for a thousand years without stopping. It was poisoning the air, the sea, the land. The People's shapes were loose, and they adapted with each generation, but it wasn't enough. They applied their advanced science to themselves, which made them even more plastic, some of their new forms becoming quite terrible to behold. Frightened of how far they would have to go, of what they might become in order to survive, the People looked to a new solution. They needed to find another world. They knew there were others out there, far beyond their own atmosphere. All they had to do was find them. With their adaptable forms, they should be able to survive a variety of possible planets. And so the great building began. All of their industry turned to the sky.

They built spaceships, clunky and clumsy at first, but learning twice as much from every success, and more from each failure. The ships became sleeker, sturdier, more advanced. They learned more and more about how to survive in space, about speed and distance through space, about maintaining health and sanity in the void. Permanent orbital stations experimented with stable, space-bound populations, finding the best ways to live off planet. Ships made voyages further and further from the homeworld. They came home with bizarre and disturbing stories of finding great boulders floating out in the vacuum. Boulders covered with what had to be artwork, on truly enormous scales. At first, the disturbed astronauts could only draw or describe what they had seen from memory. The great stones were orbiting with tremendous speed, after all, and spinning all the while. Many People still on the planet found it hard to believe. Where would these artworks have even come from? But then pictures started coming back, pictures of mile high murals covered in bright colors and frighteningly familiar shapes.

The true terror came with the first high resolution images of the People's ancient nemesis; the Great Star. There was no one on the planet that didn't feel the creeping horror as the images became clearer and clearer, revealing recognizable limbs, a torso, a head. Worst of all, the series of photos showed movement. Somehow, the monster was alive. What had, for the longest time, been no more than a blurry blob in telescopes, obscured by the high number of asteroids in its vicinity, now had a face. A mind. Shock and fear became disgust, became rage. Their ancestors had worshiped the star like a god; dedicated temples and holy spaces to it, made sacrifices and offerings to stave off a destructive wrath that always seemed to come anyway. This entity had wiped countless civilizations off the planet. Even their own now had to abandon their homeworld because of it. The People had stopped believing in gods, considering the Great Star to be simply that. Just another star in the sky, from whose direction destruction occasionally came. To find that it truly was a celestial being, that all those world shaping events, the loss of life, might have been deliberate... The ship building began taking on a militarized aspect.

After many years, the relocation project finally took off. Goodbyes were said, tears were shed, rituals were performed, and celebrations thrown. Then all remaining population, along with as many plant and animal species as could be salvaged from the poisoned world, were loaded onto the ships; a vast fleet of thousands, each meant to be an enclosed community. These then left the planet behind in waves, ready to voyage to their new destiny. There was just one last bit of unfinished business to attend to. ****** When it was done, and the vast being that had tried so many times to destroy them had itself been destroyed, the ships spread out in every direction, journeying into the vastness of space, in search of planets to collonize. One, damaged by space debris, crashed onto a tiny, icy planet, their genetics adapting within a generation. Another fell through a wormhole, onto a world of burning carbon and massive active volcanoes, with similar results. Others landed safely on planets of mostly water, and found the seas more hospitable than the land, while yet others learned to share worlds with inhabitants that were already there. All across the galaxy, the People seeded themselves onto a wide variety of different planets, changing and adapting into forms so different that they would no longer recognize one another. Many lost the technology to travel through space in one way or another, while others simply considered it no longer important now that they had homes. One ship, the smallest, the very last to be built, and the last to leave, remained in the old solar system long enough to watch the form of Ymir scatter and fly away, long enough to watch their old home tear itself apart and create another asteroid belt. This ship, not as well provisioned as the others, due to its size, scavenged the system for rare materials. In the wreckage of their planet, they discovered unusual crystals created during that final destruction, crystals that could contain energy, and even warp local space. They discovered a tiny piece of Ymir that had not yet left the system. Embedded within it was another gem, and they discovered that, when contained within space defying panes of those special crystals, it served as an infinite energy source. With this object on board, they could easily contend with the rest of their People, who had regarded them as lessers, and given them the least. As a final act of remembrance, they took aboard one of the monumental artworks of Ymir, and also contained it within the special crystals. Then they began their long search for home. ****** Theirs was the longest voyage of all the People. Despite their great longevity, many generations passed on the smallest ship, unaware that the encapsulated Infinity Stone they used to power everything, was also exerting influence over themselves. It stabilized their genetic structure, gradually locking them into one basic shape. Brightly colored and patterned skin faded into various shades of brown and cream. Having previously adapted to the confines of the small ship, their bodies became the smallest of all the People, their bone and muscle density increasing, their use of oxygen and nutrients becoming more efficient. The Stone blessed them with the ability to survive in empty space for a time, to be less effected by extremes in temperature, and to withstand powerful radiation, such as that given off by the Stone itself. They concentrated on crystal and light based technology, and eventually, Aesir began to spring from their lineages. From these came lines of famous captains and leaders: Lodurr, Hoenir, Donnar, Tyr, Woden, Gullveig, Nahelennia, and Mimir. Yet, they never found a world worthy of becoming their homeland. Not until the last of the captains, a young and enthusiastic Aesir by the name of Buri, made the fateful decision to just build an ideal world of their own, did hope of settling permanently blossom again. ****** The aged woman rolled the cloth back up partway, and one of the others, a woman who looked no older than you, pointed out a specific part. It had happened recently, in the scheme of things. An invasion, a series of battles, a lost artifact that changed everyone who spent time in its vicinity. A Frost Giant woman, expecting both a child, and a new homeland. The power of the earth, it's spinning core, reached within her and effected the plastic genes of her child, just as in the days before settlement on their world of ice. He would be the first of his kind adapted for life on Earth, but she would not recognize this. The story of her people's origins had been lost and replaced long ago. The first of Earth's Jotnar would not know this for another thousand years. Across the cosmos, Infinity Stones, first collected by Ymir, would change hands, bringing endings and beginnings with them. Great creations and destruction alike would follow their guardians, each destined to foment change. Throughout time, there would be those who tried to gather them all together, to be not guardian, but master. Each time saw reconstruction on a terrible level, but each time, the would-be master ultimately failed. The Stones themselves fought back. They were not supposed to be here, and resented being under the will of a single being that was not of their choice. But their guardians, they blessed in many ways, though not all recognized it as such. The universe was changing, bouncing back from the Stones being used in tandem twice in rapid succession, and not everything was perfectly as it had been. Repercussions still echoed throughout the cosmos, leaving changed memories and messy timelines in their wake. The dead had never died, and there were those who remembered two separate realities. A whole year's worth of time had disappeared. In some places, entire planets changed, as specifically worded wishes from Stone wielders resurfaced them with life lost decades ago. Extinct species surged back to life on worlds no longer fit to take them. Objects popped in and out of reality, as people forgot and then remembered that they existed. The actions of one person were entirely reversed, redirecting the flow of history. It might be eons before everything settled. But for right now, ripples traveled over time, space, and reality. Power fluctuated, and minds warped. Two souls, trapped within the corresponding Stone, had been granted leave to pilot their bodies remotely, for the first time in the entire existence of the universe.

This was going to be an age of strange happenings. ****** The third woman, the one with the wide eyes of a child pulled you away from the bolt of finished cloth, and draped her cowl over your face. It was a strange sensation; you could see, but you somehow got the feeling that no one else could, even though you were the only other person here. Perhaps this was something that had to be hidden from the other two women. She led you to the skeins of 'yarn', the threads of reality not yet woven. Within them glittered the potential of all things not yet come to be. You saw Loki and yourself, gray in both your hair, and a rebuilt Asgard that towered over the river and climbed the surrounding mountains. You saw a Titan whose air was clean, and whose land flourished. You saw a handful of deadly people, black and gray their motif, and the term 'Black Order' flicked through your head and was gone. You saw a toppled memorial in New York, three beautiful, brightly colored alien women carrying strange tidings, and a human body, covered in boiling mud. You saw an armored Titan, similar in appearance to Minos, gazing at the sky with a hate-filled grimace. You could see no further. The 'yarn' became colorless, full of potential, but unintelligible to your perception. The woman retrieved her cowl from your head, and then they all, along with their loom and bolts of cloth, began to shrink. They shriveled, smaller and smaller, their colors fading into monochrome, their forms and outlines simplifying until they were no more than line drawings on a great artwork that stretched across the sky. You floated in the air beneath it, recognizing the style as Ymir's, recognizing the air as winter, and recognizing the growing voices beneath you as the Seidkonas, and the mesmerized crowd. You could feel the runes pulsing all over your body, the light flowing from your eyes illuminating the artwork, which you had expanded to its full size using the power of the Asgardian containment units attached to it. As the trance faded, and you sank back to the ground, you closed the ancient, precious artwork back to its compact size, carefully passing it off to Saga, who had apparently had her phone out, and had filmed whatever it was that had just happened. Then you fell over, and you did not wake back up for a full day.

#lasabrjotr #loki x reader #loki (marvel)

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hag-rambling-on · 3 years

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Boys hc’s feats Diaspro

Riven

Riven Cassios was born to two Omega prisoners. What surprised everyone, because staying healthy enough to carry out a pregnancy on a planet that sucks your magic is... Obviously the Rocalucce Council keeps an eye on the planet, they took him out of there because no child would pay because his parents, and he has been in foster homes, although it doesn't last long since the requirements for his adoption were more strict than most -which in the long run the Council would realize was COUNTERPRODUCTIVE for his character-. That is what Darcy detects and why the high spheres are somewhat "permissive" with him.

His mother died giving birth, it was already miraculous that she lived so long and ‘bout his father I think I'm going to kill him too, maybe. The father I assure you would be love him (he called Riven to himself Daru, his gift) thought was not his initial idea, the mother always saw him as an experiment (she was a witch who followed the Ancenstresses). Ohm, also in his blood there are dark elves and giants.

Riven surname is actually the name of the galaxy where he was born or a derivation of it, as is common for orphans. So the boy knows NOTHING about the above.

Timmy and Riven are the only specialists who have passed the full course at Fonterossa, without skips. In the end they bond about it. Timmy gives him a recommendation to work as a part-time mechanic at Magix (good boy face, he knows how to use it)

Timmy

Timeus “tshhhh, it’s Timmy.... i’m not my grandfather” fulfills the physique requisits as much as any other specialist, but it is true that his physique and abilities, adapted to the distance, give him a more "feline" air.

He is also the one who wakes up at night and moves silently, scaringthe rest of the squad if they wake up unexpectedly.

His glasses are for both sight and Aura Vision. His parents are rich enough to pay for an operation, but since he would have to wear glasses for his ability anyway, why? Practical guy.

And the glasses make people look down on him, something that when his self-esteem is high and he’s being rational and cunning he knows it’s wonderful, although many others times may hurt. He is mostly leprechaum with something human.

Nex

Nex is still a Paladin born in Lymphea and with blood of literally ALL races. He adapts well to any planet, although not its people at first. His race mix makes his face “charismatic”, like always draw attention even if people don’t know very well why they are draw.

His ability is Delay Sleep. It allows him to hold over his need to sleep for days without going crazy or losing physical capacity or needing many days to recover (he can stay awake for 5 or more days, sleep 8-10 hours and go back to being his usual self). Sometimes he does not control this well and has plenty of energy in need of drop but he is the one who has the most control of his ability.

One of his parents spent time in Rocalucce Fortress as a "guest" so at times he feels like he has something to prove.

Roy

Coming from Andros, most of the population are merpeople with a few elves and humans. which avoids the 100% aquatic population. Roy, unlike Aisha is mostly human-elf with a bit of merpeople in a grandgrandgrand level. One of his parents comes from one of the colonies on the moons of Andros and he was born there although they moved almost immediately.

Roy’s paladin ability being the canon “Triton Aura” used to breathe underwater. That and learning to swim and drive all kinds of water vehicles was what made him feel "adapted" to Andros. But he always try to be useful.

He only became a Paladin at the beginning of season 6, and it was visiting him that the season began. He’s bi but he thinks of himself as straight.

Nabu

I plead guilty to liking Nabu even though I shipped Aisha with Flora and Nex. So I have a hard time thinking about him. Except, EVERY time I try to think of something. EVERY TIME. Rapunzel. So, he will never cut his hair.

But with an island instead of a tower and a babysitter (male and wizard) more dumbledoor (not, actually more like Newt Scamander mentor like).

Sometimes he misses out on some "social customs/things/normalcies" whatever is called due to his little dealing with people. He may seem naive or that don't understand sarcasm. He understands and learns quickly, but people were very respectful to him and there are things he is not used to. 1/2 merpeople 1/4 half elf 1/4 human as both of his parents are half merpeople.

He likes to swim as much as any merpeople, but they didn't let him do it much because they were afraid he would go away or lost, so he usually went off "to the heights", going up to the rooftops and things like that.

Helia

Helia is trans but keeps his first name as chosen name which I don’t understand. Also he has formally tried study practically everything he wanted. Specialist, Paladin, Wizard (of Threads). Painter.

He can't make up his mind, his family hurries him just to STOP making them dizzy and spend a few years with everything -and actually end a single “major” choice- he wants to experience, that he has a very long life and can dedicate a few decades to Everything and they can support them. Well, more or less, but he was vip pass to all these options because family connections.

Long story about Sky, Brandon and Dia.

Sky, Brandon and Diaspro's first meeting was a show. Has it all. Costumes, lies. Confusion. Kidnapping. And that is why Diaspro insists on the wedding (I would like to mention that although I don’t know her romantic orientation yet surely bi or lesbian, here, Dia is asexual. And Sky is non-binary but his parents do not approve so go for he/him to avoid problem with them. And here our story begins)

A bit of background. Brandon actually hails from Isis, the son of the military and was chosen by the whimsical chibi!Diaspro as a playmate and future personal guard (because then she believed that touching children gave "lice" and her character and age did not have the 18like wall of royal education, then in a random encounter he called her among many things what Dia's mind translated in a strange way "uncracked geode", which is a double-edged compliment in Isis that many would not accept from strangers but she liked it). Rarely they would end up becoming friends in the end. When the series begins, Brandon and Diaspro keep up with calls, which will prevent Dia's reaction with Bloom on the one hand.

On a visit (officially only from the kings of Erakyon to to the kings of Isis) for the children to get to know each other, somehow, they all ended up happily dressing up, with Sky and Dia looking like two pretty princesses and Brandon assessing whether his dress would be green or yellow because Diaspro insisted that she and Sky had already taken the blue and red and so it would be more "thematic".

Here began the first of many attacks on Sky's head, because before it had begun to be rumored (true) that Erendor had fertility problems (btw his race dwarf-high elf and Samara is leprechaum-high elf, Sky gots mostly high elf part). When they came in and saw two girls and a boy, Brandon, not the highest IQ, but one of the wisest of his team and definitely the best fighter, played along so he ended up pretending to be Sky (also helps that his hair colors looks like Erendor) Everything worked out well in the end, although Brandon ended up as Sky's squire (better for him, worse for Diaspro), and Diaspro made Sky promise that he owed her a big favor. Anyway they grew up over the years in friendship and they both knew they were not of each other's true love interest, but, they could put up with each other (because that's what royalty does).

Sky and Diaspro have a sonorous (affectionate) war over Sky's hair to annoy/exasperate Brandon. Diaspro always complains that he doesn't grow it and it would look great then. Sky says that he is fine as with his hair at it is (it's actually Erendor's thing). The soft part of Diaspro that she doesn't usually show off has taught Sky many ways to style his hair and subtly put on makeup to look more feminine if he wants to.

How I am amused by that image from wikipedia and that Diaspro entered Sky's guard so quickly. Another headcanon is that Diaspro would sometimes change her appearance a bit and go into Sky's guard to be with Brandon to annoy him and Sky, when Brandon has to talk about her without giving details, she is simply "his sister Charbonne" (she hates that alias). They were discovered when she was 15 years old but she had already trained and the royal families considered it a sign to formalize the engagement since “they search each other” (people only sees what they wants).

The Diaspro family is not good, first Brandon was a shield (emotional) because as a child they were not “that” bad and then Sky joined him (physically and politically), handling things with Bloom so like that was not a good idea when the floor was full of cracked bottles.

... omg i’m sorry you three i’m sorry what I did to you

Also, Brandon's ability as a green user is very interesting and helps with this a lot. I temporally call it “Keypoint Warning” and I like it a lot, it's like a "tic" that tells him "be careful, what you say, what you do now, even the smallest thing could change everything for youself (for better or for worse)”. He actually has a scar on his forehead (not a lightning bolt) that his hairstyle hides after “that” day but a little less fine on the words and the kidnappers might have broken his mouth so... His parents have been cured (spoiler: no) of heart attack since then.

#winx #winx club #rewinxing #winx rewrite #winx specialists #winx paladins #winx timmy #winx brandon #winx riven #rambling about winx #winx helia #winx sky #winx roy #winx nabu #winx nex #winx diaspro

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corvus--rex · 3 years

Text

This is the last of the abandoned wips for now. This one is a (much, much later) continuation of one of the chapters for Julance 2021 that's a rewrite of Crystal Venom with Altean Lance, and can be found here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32307130/chapters/80219737. It's another Omegaverse, so feel free to skip it :)

~*~*~*~

Looking out the window over the city, Keith seriously wondered why exactly this mission required both the Blades and Altean diplomacy. It felt like overkill to him. It was a slightly different kind of aid mission, in that they were going to be escorting a caravan of supply ships from the planet he was currently on, Elara, to their nearby colony on the moon of a gas giant in the next star system. But it didn’t at all need the presence of an Altean diplomat. Not that he really minded seeing his mate at work. And after this mission, he’d be seeing it a lot more often.

Keith was giving up command of the Blade of Marmora to Acxa to “retire” to Altea with Lance. He’d already fought his biology longer than he should have. It had been a major relief to go through his “proper” Galra puberty while in the Quantum Abyss with Krolia there to guide him through it, knowing what to expect and being able to answer whatever questions he had. He’d been through a severely watered-down version of human puberty already, having nominally presented as an Omega at 13. The changes he went through then were, as he put it, “gross and weird”, but it couldn’t hold a candle to Galra presentation.

Part of what that had meant was his Galra genes becoming more active and causing physical changes beyond his secondary sex. As it turned out, Krolia was one-fourth Altean, and that factored into Keith’s transformation as well. He didn’t remember much of the few days when it happened, mostly periods of intense pain and sleeping for hours on end. When it passed and he was finally awake, Krolia said not to be too upset by what had happened. He didn’t know what she meant at first, but then saw the barest hint of lavender in his pale skin. It also didn’t register at first how softly his mother was speaking. But as he listened to the world around him, such as it was on the back of a space whale, he realized that he could hear far more than he had before. His vision was sharper, able to pick out individual strands of fur on Kosmo’s sleeping form on the other side of their firepit. There was a sudden sound and he felt his ears twist toward it. It was an odd, disconcerting sensation, and when his hands went to where the sounds were being received, his fingertips were met with soft fur and not where he expected.

He had run for the small pool of fresh water not far from their camp, and that was where Krolia found him staring at his reflection. His human ears were gone, replaced by the very feline ones much higher on his head with fur as black as his hair. He had noticed by then that his fingers ended in semi-retractable claws, smaller than Krolia’s permanent ones. His violet eyes now had a sharply slitted pupil, and he found that he could control its dilation. The discovery of his claws had come with the discovery of his expressive tail which was covered in smooth, silky, jet black fur. Like his ears, the fur on his tail was fine and short with a texture like velvet. He also had tapered markings in a soft, dusty lavender much like Krolia’s, but horizontally along his cheekbones, the only visual remnant of their Altean heritage. The whole package was a lot to take in.

But now, as he sat in the honored guests’ suite in the Elaran capitol, it was like his body had never been any different. He didn’t move, only one ear twisting to listen when he heard the door open. He was expecting Lance to be coming back from his meeting with the Elaran Chancellor. But it wasn’t his Alpha coming in. The unexpected guest was Elaran. Like the rest of their feline race, the Beta that walked in was covered in a fine coat of fur, this one a dark rusty brown. Their hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and Keith could not figure out how they fit into the Elaran governmental hierarchy.

When they approached, their steps were crisp and quiet, their hands clasped behind their back. Their uniform was a form-fitting deep charcoal grey bodysuit with no distinguishing markings. “I apologize for the intrusion, Blade Commander. I am Commander Dysserra of the Shadow Blades. I expect you’ve been wondering about the escort mission and Altea’s involvement. The truth is that our request for Altean involvement was only for appearances. Something to show our people that we are dedicated to the Alliance. However, we find ourselves with a situation that you may be able to assist us with.”

“What kind of situation?” Keith asked cautiously.

“One that has arisen overnight. Our planet may be unified under the Chancellorship, but many of our former nations retain their royal houses even without any political power. A matter or tradition, you understand. There has been some unrest in one of those nations, and family infighting erupted in the night. The heads of the family were killed and their infant daughter abducted. We can only wait for the dust to settle before we know which branch of the family will attempt to claim the throne, but we need to find the princess. As the sole heir to her parents’ line, she could be used as a bargaining chip between the different branches of the family, or possibly killed to completely end the line.”

He wasn’t sure how much the Elarans knew about him, but this information fed directly into why Keith was leaving the Blade for Altea and living permanently with Lance. After their first heat, Galra Omegas had an intense drive to procreate beyond the usual need of a heat. It was a physical need, and one that could cause damage to their reproductive system if left for too long. Keith was reaching the limits of his body and needed to be with Lance for his next heat, and they needed to take every precaution to ensure he got pregnant if they wanted the possibility of kits in the future. Hearing that a helpless, innocent infant was in the hands of people who didn’t care about her at best and wanted her dead at worst made his already sensitive Omega instincts flare.

“Do you have any leads as to where she might be?”

~*~*~*~

Links to the rest of the series:

1 | 2 | 3* | 4 | 5* | 6* | 7 | 8 | 9* | 10 | 11 | 12* | 13 | 14 | 15* | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19* | 20* | 21* | 22* | 23*

#my writing #abandoned wips #keith kogane #lance mcclain #omega keith kogane #alpha lance mcclain #klance #keith x lance #abo #omegaverse #vld #voltron #voltron legendary defender

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colehasapen · 4 years

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(ONE SHOT) aikiyc STAR WARS

Rex lost everything when Order 66 went live. He lost his sense of self, his purpose, his men - he lost brothers, and sisters, and siblings. He killed them himself, put them down to protect Ahsoka, and then he lost Ahsoka too as soon as the ashes settled and the dead were buried. She said it was because they were too identifiable to travel together, that they’d catch the wrong sort of attention, but Rex suspects it was a different reason that had her walking away again.

She couldn’t look at him, not after what his brothers did. She couldn’t look at him without being reminded of it all, of what she lost, and Rex couldn’t blame her. He wouldn’t hold it against her for leaving, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt to see her go.

Over the following months, he had managed to establish contact with Echo and the Bad Batch, and working with them had managed to chase away the aching loneliness that had settled into his bones. No clone took well to being alone - they were supposed to be constantly surrounded by others, they were decanted together, they died together, and the survivors kept marching together. Having someone around made him feel like he was fighting for something again after being aimless and alone. They do what they can to hinder the Empire; they raid supply lines, blow up depots, and break into so many buildings that Rex actually starts to lose count, stealing away with anything that hadn’t been bolted down.

The Empire thinks they’re pirates, and they do nothing to hinder this belief.

It’s not long into their self-imposed mission to be as much of a pain to the newly formed Empire as possible when they find Gregor and Wolffe on separate planets, bothing having made it out of the fall of the Republic and the murder of the Jedi with only partially-active chips. They go under for the surgery and come out with most of their minds intact, heavy with grief and a desperate desire for revenge.

Having Wolffe near - a broken, quiet shadow of the fierce Commander he had been, but still Rex’s older brother - makes him miss his brothers even more. It brings back the fear that he had tried so hard to bury, wishing that he knew what had happened to Cody after the Republic burned. He knows that Cody was on Utapau when the Order went live, but he has no idea what had happened to his ori’vod after the fact. By the time he had made it to Utapau, back before he had met up with the Bad Batch, Ghost Company had already moved on, and Rex hadn’t stuck around for long to try to investigate. Neither Wolffe, a fellow Commander, or Gregor, a former member of the 212th, knew what had happened to Cody, and the lack of knowledge had begun to grate on them all - not even the combined slicing abilities of Echo and Tech could break through the newly upgraded and ever-changing firewalls the Empire employed to find Cody’s position.

They have no leads. None, that is, until they find a familiar clone balancing on the brink of death, abandoned with a sizzling lightsaber wound in his gut to die slowly and alone, a curse no clone would ever want. Wolffe had held his brother as he struggled for breath, begging Fox to pull through.

He doesn’t, but enough of Fox managed to shine through the haze of the chip to give them the authorization codes they need to get into the Empire’s systems. It took them longer than any of them wanted to admit to convince Wolffe to let go of his batchmate’s body to let them burn him, and Rex hadn’t been able to look anyone in the eye as Wrecker had carefully lowered the former Commander onto the unlit pyre. As the fire blazed, he felt numb. He hadn’t been close to Fox since Kamino, back when Cody would smuggle him into his batch’s bunks and hide him in his pod. Even then, he and Fox hadn’t been what others would consider friends, and after Fives - well, their relationship had been well and truly broken, and Rex is less than proud of his inability to feel saddened by Fox’s death beyond his sympathy for Wolffe’s agony.

It’s never easy to lose a brother, especially when they slip away in your arms, and Rex hates how often it had to happen.

Fox’s codes had helped immensely, and Rex passed what he could onto Ahsoka for her to disperse among her contacts. They continue combing through the Empire’s systems, picking apart what they can, and that’s when they find the internal bounty; Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi had survived Order 66. It’s not very promising for Cody’s continued well-being.

Rex couldn’t imagine General Kenobi being able to kill Cody, not knowing what he did about his brother and his relationship with the General, but he can’t guarantee that Kenobi wouldn’t fight back like Ahsoka had when the clones turned on him. He didn’t want to think of General Kenobi cutting Cody down when his Commander turned his blaster on him, never knowing why his partner - in more ways than one - would turn on him when they were so close to the end of the War. So close to the chance to build the future the two of them so desperately wanted together. His dreams are haunted by the image of Cody on the ground, a lightsaber wound through his chest, or his brother being Force thrown into a raging inferno to burn alive. The sounds of screaming makes his head hurt even when he’s awake.

Not knowing makes it all worse.

It’s Echo who finds the security footage; it’s grainy and soundless, and someone had made an attempt to delete it, but it’s easy for Rex to see the scar curling around the temple of the clone in officer grays. He’s standing at the base of the Emperor’s throne, with a hulking figure in all black standing a few steps away. It’s Cody - Rex nearly screams when lighting leaps from Sidious’ fingers to strike his brother in the chest and throw him back. Wolffe snarls like a wounded beast, the others going still and quiet in a way that shows their readiness to throw themselves through the footage to protect their Commander. They’ve all seen too many men killed by weaponized electrical currents to not feel the choking fear that they’re witnessing Cody’s death months after it had happened. When Cody goes down, Rex feels his heart rate spike until the grainy footage shows his brother stirring and pushing himself to his feet to stumble to Sidious’ enforcer’s side.

He's still alive, and with the information they have on them now, they find proof that TK-2224, formerly CC-2224, had been demoted and reassigned to some unimportant moon outpost. While the disrespect aimed towards his brother's skills and talent leaves a sour taste in Rex’s mouth, he's overwhelmingly relieved that it’ll make rescuing his brother so much easier.

The moon is small, with only small mining colonies scattered across the surface, and scouting reveals that the Imperial garrison is manned by natborns who barely pay the single clone among them a second look. Watching Cody go about his duties leaves Rex with an immediate feeling that something is very wrong with his brother, beyond just the chip in his head. He lurches when he walks, stutters slightly on the rare occasions he talks, and the natborns call him defective. The snatches of conversations they manage to catch between the Imperials tells of an impending decommissioning if Cody continues to spiral. Sometimes they joke about putting the clone down themselves.

They need to get him out of there.

It's disturbingly easy to coax Cody away from the Imperial base and into their trap, especially because the Cody they had known was so much more cautious and would never have walked into such an obvious trap, unless it was while he was chasing after his reckless Jedi. The Cody they knew was a deadly fighter and a sharp tactician, while also being crazy enough to have won the respect of the Bad Batch. He had been one of the best, trained personally by Alpha-17 and had been one of the first ARC Program graduates - hells, a whole new rank had been created just for him because he was just so frighteningly competent. It had only been his status as a clone that had stopped him from being promoted to a general on his own merit.

The Cody serving the Empire - TK-2224 - is clumsy, easily distracted, and easier to take down. All it takes is Wrecker hoisting the white-armoured figure up by the armpits and pinning him against his chest in a parody of a hug. Cody squirms, thrashes, but it almost seems like his limbs aren't properly responding to him, and it makes Rex fear that, like Gregor, the chip in his brother's head had done more damage than he could see.

Rex steps forward, the others following his lead, and Cody goes limp at the sight of the familiar armour and patterns, making an odd choking noise that’s muffled by the blank helmet he wears, stripped of any and all personality. For so long, Rex had been imagining seeing his brother again, but now that he’s in front of him, Rex finds that he doesn't know what to say. Would Cody even recognize him , or would he just be CT-7567 to him, like he had been to Jesse and his men?

Cody gurgles something, twitching in Wrecker’s arms, and the giant of a man makes a quiet noise of worry that's broadcast across their comm channel, all-but hugging Cody to him as the former Commander's head lolls. The sight makes Rex’s heart leap into his throat, and he steps forward, pulling off his helmet and letting it drop to the ground, uncaring of where it would land in comparison to his spasming brother.

“ Rex ?” Cody’s voice is a garbled, pained moan that has Rex picking up his pace, Wolffe hot on his heels. “Wolffe?” He twitches again, head jerking to smack the back of his unpainted helmet against Wrecker’s chest plate, squirming away from Tech and his scanner. He's mumbling something unintelligible under his breath, gasping like he couldn't get enough air in his lungs.

Rex is in front of his brother in a heartbeat, grasping for the seal on Cody’s bucket with shaking hands - he hadn't managed to stop them from shaking since he had found Jesse's dying body on that moon, buried under the rubble and face twisted in a mask of bloodied hatred; the shaking has only gotten worse since then - and he peels the helmet off his brother's head. Cody’s face is waxy and wane, dark bags under his bloodshot eyes and scar standing out an angry red against his flushed, hollow cheeks. His eyes are rolling and darting, pupils two different sizes and dilating wildly, and most alarming of all is the steady drip of blood from his nose.

“ Cody .” He breathes like a prayer, as Wolffe makes a sound so wounded he’s almost afraid someone had gotten stabbed. “Shit vod , what did they do to you?”

Cody wheezes, head drooping towards his chest, and Wolffe reaches out to grasp his batchmate’s face in his hands, nearly desperate to touch. Cody’s lips part, letting out a stuttering breath, and the steady drip of blood turns into a stream. “C-chip.” Cody finally manages to gasp wetly, face screwing up in agony. “C-can’t - no more - follow orders - Good soldiers -” with every word, the twitches shaking his body grow more intense, and Echo makes himself known at Rex’s side, pressing a sedative into his hands, “- Please -” Cody chokes out, eyes meeting Rex’s with a desperate kind of madness to them, “- get it out .” He begs.

Rex doesn't need to be asked twice, burying the hypo in the side of his brother's neck. Cody goes stiff for a second, almost shaking out of his armour, before the tension leaves his limbs in a rush, and Wrecker gently releases Cody’s limp frame into Wolffe’s protective hold. He watches, heart pounding, as Wolffe clings to his batchmate, wiping the blood from Cody’s face with a gentleness he wouldn't offer just anyone. Cody’s eyes flutter as Wolffe speaks to him, gruff voice quiet and soothing, and he seems to just melt into the other Commander’s arms.

Finally, Cody’s eyes drift shut, coaxed into unconsciousness by the drugs in his system and Wolffe’s gentle touches, and something twisted and aching in Rex’s chest relaxes.

Nothing in the Galaxy has been fixed, but it still makes everything feel a little bit better.

#get it out #no more #star wars #fanfiction #whumptober 2020 #no.6 please...#commander cody #captain rex #commander wolffe #arc trooper echo #bad batch #clone force 99 #commander fox #minor codywan #cole writes

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imagine-mdzs-cql · 4 years

Note

Hmm, what do you think about reader trying to hide an animal of your choice from NMJ, LXC (and JGY if it's alright)??

3zun with adorable animals coming right up! Also those of you who know a thing or two about Zhu Zanjin (who played JGY in The Untamed) will see what I did there.

Also this is pretty long so it´s under the cut!

Lan Xichen: Pets were forbidden in Cloud Recesses. You knew this of course. But you also knew that Lan Wangji, the supposed living personification of the 3000 rules of Gusu had been keeping bunnies for years. So when you found an entire colony of otters during an exploration in the back hills, you were thrilled to find out that they were not only a curious bunch but also very friendly once persuaded with a few snacks. They were living in nature so they weren't technically pets, right?

It had been half a year since you'd made friends with this furry bunch. Xichen and you had been walking around Cloud Recesses completely immersed in conversation. It was too late when you noticed you had wandered a little too close to the riverbanks. You felt yourself tense up when you heard the little, familiar squeaks from the left. Seconds later they came wiggling their way up onto the path gathering around you excitedly getting the bottom of your clothing wet. When you dared to look Xichen´s face was frozen in an astonished smile.

“I didn't know there were otters in the back hills.” You felt sweat forming on your brow.

“Um, yes me neither.”

“Are you sure? They seem to be very happy to see you.”

He gave you that one smile. The ´I know you're lying but I'm going to pretend I don't so you can come out with it yourself´ smile. No one could fight that one. You slumped under the pressure. “Okay, okay I come down here to feed them sometimes. And you know… play with them and pet them and… but they're not pets! They're wild animals! Can't you see how wild they are?”

One of the otters flopped over right in front of you presenting it's fat belly.

“Oh yes, absolutely feral.” Xichen let out a warm chuckle before looking back at you. “Y/N, there is no need to worry. I will not tell anyone about this unlikely friendship you have formed. As long as you promise to take me with you sometime when you go to visit them again.” He winked. Zewu-jun had just winked at you.

“Of course, Zewu-jun! Thank you Zewu-jun!”

Jin Guangyao: “Y/N, what's in your sleeve?” You almost jumped out of your skin and whirled around holding your sleeve tight so your precious cargo wouldn't be jostled too much. The smile on Jin Guangyao's face was a pleasant one as always and yet you really wished he wasn't here right now. You saluted as was courtesy.

“Good evening, Sect Leader Jin. A lovely night isn't it?” Maybe, just maybe you'd be able to wiggle your way out of this one. Lianfang-zun stepped forward to stand next to you on the veranda.

“A lovely night indeed.” he hummed looking at the rising moon. “Still, you haven't answered my question.” Damn, better come up with something quick.

“Oh it's just… it's just some treats I nicked from the kitchen. I was too embarrassed to tell you. I apologize for wasting your time.” You dropped your head hoping he wouldn't catch onto the lie.

The pleasant smile hadn't left his face but his voice dropped slightly when he spoke.

“Y/N. I would really prefer it if you would refrain from lying to me.” That's it you were caught.

“You're right, of course. Forgive me, Chief Cultivator.” you said with a soft sigh. Then you reached into your sleeve and carefully presented to him the smallest, big-eyed animal he had ever seen. Jin Guangyao´s eyes went wide and his fake smile dropped.

“What is that??” He said softly as if to not disturb the tiny furball in your hand.

You spoke equally quiet not wanting anyone to overhear your conversation. “It's called a Sugar Glider. This one is almost full grown!”

The Jin sect leader smiled once more but this time out of pure excitement. “Where did you find him?”

You relaxed glad the situation had taken a turn. “He was found in a fruit box that came from overseas. I asked one of the sailors about him and he told me everything. He should be waking up soon... Do you want to hold him?”

Jin Guangyao´s eyes lit up. “Can I?”

“Yes, of course.” You showed him how to hold the small marsupial putting his hands together until they were almost completely surrounding the sugar glider. You stayed like that for a while watching the little furball slowly waking up and becoming more active. Eventually the Sect Leader gave it's fur a last careful pet with his thumb and then handed it back to you.

“Tell me, should you succeed in raising him. If you do I'll ask the harbor master to import more of them. He deserves a family after all, wouldn't you agree Y/N?”

Nie Mingjue: You had no idea how you had wound up in this situation. You had just wanted to rest for a second sitting down on a rock on the side of the road to Qinghe, when the rock had suddenly moved. Then completely baffled you had apologized to said rock and gone on your way to rest somewhere else only to discover that the rock was now following you. You had pinched yourself and then splashed water in your face repeatedly thinking you were seeing things from being on the road for too long. But the image wouldn't go away and when you finally approached, saber drawn to investigate you saw that this rock wasn't actually a rock at all. Instead you saw a large shell with four legs coming out the bottom and a dark-eyed face staring back at you. A large tortoise had been following you all along.You found yourself completely puzzled but decided that it would be best to ignore the large animal and just get back on your way.

Mingjue had been delighted to see you back in the Unclean Realm, though one could only tell when they had lived with him for some time. Soon you had forgotten all about your strange encounter.

That was until you awoke in your chambers late at night to a sort of chafing sound against the wooden doors. At first you thought you were just hearing things but as soon as you laid down again the sound could be heard again. You grabbed your saber from your bedside and slowly, quietly sliding the door open.

Okay, you had officially gone insane. Why was this tortoise here again? And how had it even gotten in?? The Unclean Realm was surrounded by high stone walls!

“What do you want from me??” You hissed looking down the hallway to see if anyone was there. Here you were talking to animals again. The tortoise just looked at you judgingly and then moved pushing you back inside your room to then walk over to the corner unbothered by your indignation to then retreat back into it's shell. You couldn't believe this. But what were you gonna do? You had no choice but to just go back to bed.

The next morning you were alone in your room. Had you just been having weird dreams? You got ready for the day and went down to the training grounds. You weren't ready for the sight of four Nie disciples trying to lift a giant tortoise, your giant tortoise, off the ground. Mingjue stood off to the side overseeing the “efforts”. You stood by his side.

“Sect Leader.” “Y/N, can you believe this? How did this thing get in here?” You nodded as you heard him say exactly what you had thought earlier. “Sect Leader, with all due respect. I think our efforts will be futile.” Mingjue´s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“This tortoise has been following me around since yesterday. I too have no idea how she got in.”

“You didn't see it?”

“No.”

Mingjue looked as if he was already ready for this day to be over. “Fine. Doesn't look like we´ll be able to move it anyway.”

“It's a she… at least I think so.”

I hope this last one was okay I got carried away. Hope you´ll still like it :,D

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out-of-this-dimension · 3 years

Text

Spooky SF Headcanons

Happy Spoopy Day~ Hope everyone is well. I thought I could celebrate on here with some spooky headcanons!

Venom

Venom is considered to be a haunted, cursed place. There are remnants of several civilizations scattered across the planet, the most prominent being the ancient Cornerus and the far more recent failed Cornerian Settlement Project.

Not much is known about the Cornerus or what happened to them but their ruins still haunt Venom’s eerie landscape. There are rumors of ghosts that dwell within, wailing in a state of perpetual limbo with eyes that can invoke madness. Usually these ghosts do not stray far from the old Cornerus cities but occasionally there have been sightings in the jungles. Most sightings are usually laughed off fearfully-- people don’t want to admit there might be a nugget of truth to any of these rumors but the amount of people who have seen something paranormal in the wilds is incredibly high.

The Cornerian Settlement Project happened quite some time before the Lylat Wars, before even the time of James McCloud, Peppy Hare, and General Pepper. The project was a colonization effort to start a third planetary hub that would function as a center of trade with planets further from Corneria, such as Sauria and Cerinia. Back then, Venom had a different name, tentatively called “Eden”, though that name was quickly nixed after the Settlement Project. Although some experts had already scoped Venom out and had reported high levels of toxins in the air, most of those reports were dismissed by settlers. The sight that followed the settlers arriving was allegedly one so traumatic that the survivors immediately ran back onto the ships in horror. As soon as the first group arrived, over half their number dropped dead on boarding ramp, their lungs clotted with airborne poisons. The survivors wished to leave but eventually did decide to settle the proposed colony area on Venom. However, within two years, the colony was abandoned, even after measures were taken to try to purify the air. It is said that not only did the air make it hard to populate the land but there was an unnatural force that pushed the Cornerians out-- a force no one could see but could feel. A force that would dismantle bits of their infrastructure and haunt their government officials at night. After the Project failed, the planet’s name was switched to Venom and it was used as a place for exile.

Of course, Venom has seen plenty of civilizations who survived the toxic atmosphere -- namely reptilians who have long made their home amid the jungles. Though reptiles are not entirely uncommon in the Lylat System, the varieties seen on Venom were viewed with apprehension, no doubt stemming from the fact that the planet itself seemed cursed, so everything that lived there also carried that same stigma. From these early discoveries of Venomian reptiles came legends of alien-like beasts that would thrive in the dark jungles, abducting Lylatians and feasting upon their flesh.

Fichina

Not many people would consider Fichina to be a terrifying planet-- after all, it’s home to sights such as the aurora borealis. However its harsh climate has led to some terrifying discoveries over the years.

Fichina’s north and south pole clock the coldest temperatures in all of Lylat, however that has not stopped people from trying to live there, even those without any expertise in living in such harsh conditions. Climate control centers dot the planet’s surface, trying to stabilize some of the weather in an attempt to play God. However, there have been several cases of these climate control centers failing, resulting in lives being lost as entire cities are covered in blizzards. Alternatively, heating systems connected to the climate control center have been known to occasionally fail, resulting in the worst case scenario imaginable-- entire cities frozen, its denizens inside, lifeless.

Yet despite the freezing temperatures, arctic animals often make their home on Fichina. When Corneria arrived at first to establish peaceful negotiations with the Fichinans, they spread across the planet’s surface, even venturing out to reclusive villages up north. One military officer reported back to Corneria with a chilling report that they had found several villages that had been infected by a sickness of some sort, turning most of their citizens (arctic wolves) into mindless creatures running berserk. The Cornerians destroyed the village and all who were within to keep the sickness from spreading, later attributing it to something found in a local set of mines. This report was eventually leaked to the public and twisted by media. Over time, these barbaric, berserker wolves became something of a cryptic legend and there are claims some of them even still exist to this day.

Aquas

Though a planet that looks like a gleaming sapphire in the midst of space, Aquas is a planet drowning in a bloody history and filled with dark secrets.

It is believed that the monstrosity Bacoon destroyed the north and south poles of Aquas, flooding the continents with water. This is a tale that has been believed by Cornerians for some time... but no one has really discovered how this was possible. There has been some research done into this legend to ascertain the truth but no one knows for certain how the giant clam was able to do this. There have been, however, strange shrines spotted on the ocean floor. Shrines that bear an uncanny resemblance to shrines found on Venom and Sauria. Did Bacoon... have help? And if it did, what happened to that help?

After the defeat of Bacoon, Corneria opted to help the planet recover from all of the pollution Andross had dumped into its waters. When they did, they also decided to explore the planet, scoping it out as a possible location for a colony. The planet was perfectly fine, they believed, just covered in water-- nothing that they could not possibly work around. However, as they searched the planet, they chose to dive into its depths. Not only were they met with abyssal, dark waters but their scanners indicated an assortment of gargantuan things that lurked far, far below the water’s surface-- things that perhaps had not even seen the light in hundreds of years. Although the colony project was given the greenlight, there were many scientists unsure if it should have been approved of at all. Many beg the question if Bacoon was ever really alone down there.

Exploration into Aquas’s ruins have uncovered what may have been religious worship of Bacoon. Worship that eventually was abandoned, resulting in the beast growing enraged. Some of these depictions of worship include bloody sacrifices to the clam.

Eladard

Eladard’s surface is a nightmarish tangle of factories and cities, the planet’s environment completely disregarded. Eladard has become something of a junk planet, filled with graveyard-like dump sites.

Eladard’s capital city saw its fair share of strife after the planet was abandoned by wealthy Cornerians looking to profit off the planet. The worst of its strife stemmed from its self-proclaimed mayor, who ruled the city with an iron fist and his own personal army of mobsters. After he was dethroned and killed by mercenaries, his manor’s grounds were investigated. Countless bodies were found on the site, some even taxidermied and kept in a trophy room. The entire manor was burned to the ground and his body was allegedly burned with it. The grounds now stand empty, just outside of town, charred. Some folks have since tried to revitalize the area... but for some strange reason, nothing ever seems to grow there. Not even grass.

Eladard’s clusters of factories have seen their fair share of work accidents. From these accidents, occasionally there have been deaths. And from these deaths have occasionally been ghost sightings-- usually late at night, from the graveyard shift. Sometimes when the workers are packing up, they will swear they see their late coworkers, occasionally looking as though they are clocking in. Other times, they can be seen across Eladard’s nightmarish landscapes, wandering about the factories aimlessly, as if they are unable to rest.

Space

Space... the final frontier some say. But despite being beautiful, it is a silent, haunting place.

Tales of the unknown are common among pilots, particularly space-faring ones. But one of the most haunting sights is near Sector Omega, where one of the final fights happened in the Lylat Wars. It is said that there is a spaceship graveyard still out there, debris floating in limbo for all eternity. It consists of both Cornerian and Venomian ships, abandoned by their respective sides and left to drift forever.

Every so often within the asteroid belt of Meteo, pilots have reported a strange portal. Of course not many dare approach it out of fear... but a few brave souls have, plunging into the unknown fearlessly. They disappear within and usually are found days later, sometimes on the other side of the Lylat System, babbling about strange lights and even stranger noises. Each of them has described a world where reality is distorted and the laws of physics don’t seem to make sense. All of their descriptions are similar with a few tweaks here and there-- moons with sneering faces, comets made of rainbows, strange random objects floating about, and strange, terrifying creatures lurking within. Each and every account ends with the pilot being led to safety by something they can only describe as “the Whale”. It should be noted that all of the pilots have experienced some sort of psychosis from prolonged exposure to this strange dimension and have all been needed to be hospitalized. Cornerian officials from the CDF have looked into the matter but the findings have not been made public.

#star fox #starfox #venom #long post #headcanons #star fox headcanons #starfox headcanons #fichina #aquas #bacoon #eladard #spooky headcanons #out of this dimension #meteo #ok some of these are heavily based off of canon but like eh i put a small bit of my own spin on it

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pastelpunk-3206 · 3 years

Text

My gems roles part 1

Diamonds - the matriarchal body of Gem leaders.

Cubic zirconias - substitutes for the diamonds that follow the diamonds duties while they are away, other zirconias act as generals or Colonie owners

Moissanite - gems who act as governors of groups of colonies or star systems for the diamonds, each color is given special elemental powers

Herkimer diamonds - special guards that are the last line of defense for the diamonds, they are filled with essence giving them the diamonds abilities

Emerald - They are captains of spaceship fleets, and lead many ships into space wars.

- trapiche emerald - fleet leaders that act more hostile and act more like pirates and generals

Garnet - Command fleets and colonies since the diamonds can’t always spectate.

Almandine: Owners of science-based colonies and large scientific areas.

Pyrope: Owners and governors of Noble areas and residential habitats.

Rhodolite: They manage the judicial system, deciding rules and such, they function much like Zircons, but get the final say in any rule.

Spessartine: Garnets that specifically own planets during early colonization, before anyone can claim any land.

Andradite: A blanket term for Garnets that govern working-class planets and working-class areas. It has a few subclasses which include:

Demantoid: Demantoids govern the work of any public service Gems, and will usually create timetables or be in charge of managing jobs.

Melanite: Melanites govern any public or private punishments because Nobles will oftentimes be exempt from punishment if they do something bad. They will manage the prisons and execution schedules.

Topazolite: Topazolites govern the storage of working-class Gems, determining when a Gem is needed and when one is not, will typically work alongside a Demantoid.

Grossular: The large blanket term for Garnets that govern public areas or parts of Gem-Lifestyle that no Gem is exempt from. Those include:

Hessonite: Hessonites are usually military commanders and general offensive Gem leaders. They can control fleets the size of planets and facets, although will also control planets that are designed to either be weapons or house them.

Leuco Garnet: Leucos control the expansion of Gem-Kind, and will often be plotting with Alexandrites on where the best location for a colony or structure will be.

Hydrogrossular: Hydrogrossulars govern all forms of transit, whether it be public or private.

Merelani Mint: Merelani Mints control all civil protection, such as passive police officers in areas of the public and private work where things like Quartzes and Topaz are too brutish to be guarding and monitoring.

Mali: Mali Garnets govern, monitor, and own public spaces such as Hubs, they also heavily specialize in organizing trade that Morganites and -another Gem I’ve yet to decide- work on.

Tsavorite: Tsavorites manage trends and styles amongst GemKind, deciding what architecture, clothing, and general lifestyles will be enjoyed by Noble citizens.

Uvarovite: A slightly lower class of Garnet that manages servant creation planets, as well as the storage complexes that hold and edit them.

Jhonkoivulait - small color-changing gems that are extremely powerful, they are experimental and are in the process of being made into gas giant terraformers

Prehnite - small gems that holds vast knowledge of all gem kind

Gold beryl - gems that act as a beacon, they are made to be a representation of high ranking gems gifted with pearls,Rubies, pebbles, and Spinels although they don't do much lol

Opal - these gems spread rumors and myths of the diamonds making other gems idolize the diamonds

- Cats eye opal - spreads lies about any rebels to make them look bad

Londonite - these gems are gifted to high ranking gems to help make difficult decisions

Black beryl - gems that act as spirit mediums, they also are psychic and read the dark thoughts of gems

Zoisite - yellow diamonds event directors, zoisites organize yellow’s speeches and her presentations

Thulite - pink diamonds event director, thulites organize homeworld balls

Tanzanite - blue diamonds event directors, tanzanites organize public executions

Angelite - these gems are the reason buildings are floating, they utilize their abilities to fly around homeworld

Heliodor - homeworld inventors

Sapphire - use their future vision to assure other Gems of the future's certainty

Kyanite - they are gem directors who will direct plans to the colonization process and commands other diplomatic gems

Sunstone - they spectate suns and stars from satellites to monitor them before they explode. She glows so bright so gems get a signal to evacuate

Moonstone - they spectate the moon bases from colonies to make sure they are in order. Her invisibility

prevents troublemakers from spotting her.

Morganite - they designed the palanquin, so they are designers/artists.

Petalite - gem gardeners that controls and changes plant life

Titanite - gems that act as cameras and utilizes plants as weapons, their gems create perfect holograms of what they saw

Axinites - a group of gladiator gems made to fight for entertainment

- Ferro Axinite - these gems utilize white diamond related tech such as gem stuns and spears

- Magnesio axinite - these gems utilize blue diamonds tech such as cross bows and shatter wands

- Manganaxinite - these gems utilize pink diamonds weapons like sheilds and healing

- Magnesio axinite - these gems utilize yellow diamonds weapons like destabilizers and swords

Chalcanthite - her role is to create and organize cores, such as the harmony core or the small core crystals seen in destabilizers and rejuvenators

Phenakite - responsible for making weapons like rejuvenators and destabilizers, they can't be poofed by these

Mother of pearls - a gem who trains pearls and makes all the other organics

Aquamarine - these gems are made to collect certain targets whether it be a living thing or an item

Turquoise - Egyptian style gems that do sacrifices to the diamonds to give them more power

Poudrettaite - cool down large cores that can over heat

Realgar - Noble-class gems which work as decorators and designers for balls and events.

Ammolite - gem doctors who heal cracked gems

Taafeite - taafeites are nurse gems that assist with ammolite to heal gem

Vanadinite - these gems are made to turn gems invisible so they can avoid dangerous situations

Albite - these gems were made to create defenses or to host puzzles for gems to train

Sphalerite - owns gem libraries and watches every book to keep info

Iolite - high ranking gems that are authors of books and own libraries

Tourmaline - they power wind power plants and wind powered war machines.

Corals - gem pirates that lead spodumenes and pyrites on missions to gather treasures

lapis lazuli - terraformers, uses hydrokinesis to break up earth

desert glass - they are used in wars and battles as defense. Her psammokinesis can create fortresses,

ledges, spikes, etc. made out of sand.

Erythrite - made to collect lost resources that were thrown out

Chrysocolla - they are collectors and collect things of a specified type. She can summon hand-like vines

under her robe to help her search big trash piles.

Bazzite - gems that grind up gem shards into dust or liquids, they are the reason behind the evil scroll in together breakfast

Spodumene - they search for important resources underwater. Glowing items are a top priority.

Jade - record keepers, keep track of homeworld, certain gem activities, gem biographies, etc. unlike fluorite

though they are not constantly keeping track they are only creating timelines

Tugtupite - tugtupites monitor colonies oceans, they have no hydrokinesis but can utilize cameras to monitor oceans

Tremolite - a gem that monitors tectonic plates and watches over earthquakes

Kosmochlor - sing melodies for high ranking gems, the diamonds forced shape shifted their 2 kosmochlors

to be a permanent wall decoration.

Geode - gems that monitor and control the colonies weather

Chrysolite - large gems that helps dig up ruble if an accident occurs

Eudialyte - a winged gem that flies around and delivers over canyons where devillines cant go

Devillines - they deliver items to areas in colonies that don’t have warp pads yet.

Cinnabar - these are gem repairmen they will fix up old broken machines and even give small upgrades

Lepidolite - They handle bubbled gems and are given the order to decide which gems get shattered, melted

shapeshifted or used as energy sources. She can store a lot of bubbled gems in her gemstone.

Larimar - they make ice sculptures for the diamonds. She may have cryokinesis since her corrupted form

was made of ice.

Hemimorphite - Large, immovable guards used to protect areas as security when other quartzes and standard soldiers would falter.

Selenite - Higher-ranking soldiers specialized in policing and hunting rebel gems.

Jet - gems that have rockets built into their feet and palms, act as police gems while aquamarines contain gems

Topaz - they are used as bodyguards for high ranking gems. They could also serve in war battles despite their slowness.

Rhodochrosite - a low ranking diplomat that reads out messages by the diamonds

Nephrite - they are in charge of operating Homeworld dropships. They make sure the landing area is safe by using their acid powers.

Sulfur - gems who were made to hunt down off colors, they were gifted

Pyrite - fools gold that look similar to gold, they act as pirate crews for corals

Verdelite - big gems that take on giant animals on new colonies

Zircon - the lawyers of Homeworld

Agate - supervisors and superiors to quartzes constantly keeping watch and Commanding over them

Citrine - high ranking quartzes who are more buff they absorbed twice as much light making them fight better at day

Chalcedony - samurai quartzes who were made to be quicker and sleeker

Quartz - soldiers used in wars and as bodyguards.

Biotite - There role is a combination of a diplomatic and soldier who leads platoons of gems

Aragonite - these gems are superiors to Rubies, they act almost like a agate would to a quartz, constantly keeping the Rubies in check

Wavellite - acts as large human shields for other gems

Dumortierite - a special quartz like a agate or chalcedony, these quartzes are shorter and were made to defend underground tunnels

Cuprite - gems that mimic sounds of others like a bird, these gems will attract flying creatures for easier containment

Bone - studies alien fossils

Chrysoberyls - Noble scouters and item collectors. They direct and lead alexandrites

Alexandrite - scout that are usually green but when they find resources useful for cores they glow a red color signalling that they are found something

Amber - a gem who contains animals utilizing there sap manipulation

Peridot - technicians in charge of handling kindergartens.

Diopside - they dig out tunnels and pathways to make kindergartens more accessible. They use seismic

communication to know where they’re heading underground.

Bismuth - were builders for aristocratic members of society

Glass - a simple gem that looks like a taller quartz but is not, they create glass resources and can turn things into glass, they poof easily

Chalcopyrite - a slim gem that works in team to help put up decorations, they work under Realgars

Anyolite - gems that were made to power buildings utilizing electricity they absorbed and store

Concrete - were gems made to break stone down, they did things like pave the ground and carved out

Bridges

Adamite - backup powers buildings by turning wheels

Fluorite - constantly collects data for any use

Chrysoprase - gems made to observe sometimes hazardous environments.

Smithsonite - gems that were made to float on the surface of the water, they puff out and float to the top, they are often made to keep things from sinking

Sugilite - these gems are stocky gems that assist in holding things in place, they don't fidget or struggle, their movements are very still and stiff

Bixbite - could cut with great precision worked in construction and manufacturing.

Rutile - worked as a smaller worker in construction,mining, and tiling

Magnesite - unclogs drains

Steatite - steatites carry resources in large groups like ants

Operculum - a gem mailman who goes to colonie to colonie delivering things

Copal - gloss special items like sculptures

Anglesite - a tiny gem that collects chromas to fuel cores,prisms,and even gems

Obsidian - they create trenches for armies. Different type of obsidians can produce different type of

trenches.

petrified bone - gems who would watch over organics that belong to high ranking gems

petrified wood - gems who would watch over plants that belong to high ranking gems

#all my gems #steven universe #gemsona #part 1

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blackevermore · 3 years

Text

x Secrets of The Lake: The Company of Misery and Pain

{ Chapter 14 }

Summary: Vladimir Masters’ family tree has always been tainted by secrets swept under the rug. From generation to generation there have been countless reasons the Masters’ family had seemed to keep private from the public. Even to this day, Vladimir was no exception. But what was one to do when a restless spirit from the settlement years finally breaks free from restraints and demands you answer for your ancestor’s crimes? Vladimir doesn’t know. However, Clockworks does.

Notes: We just having fun, rewriting some of the canon, new adventure new characters. I will apologize now for any grammar, spelling, weird sentence structuring in advance. My brain writes faster than my fingers and even when I go back through to reread it I still miss things. Sorry about that!

Word Count: 8024

P.s: This is so broke on tumblr so if you choose to read this on ao3 it will be a lot better qwq

Vladan felt his heart start to beat again moments ago when he left the town square, rushing to get home and make sure Tayonna was safe. He had heard the whispers, the rumours, the stories of a man in the town cursed by a black witch to be her slave. He heard it from the young maidens the gossip near his stall as they peaked over their shoulders to look at him. His fist was clenched tight but he wore his polite face continuously as he greeted customers anyway. He heard the way the children would gasp as they lifted their fingers towards him but their mothers quickly shooed them away in a panic.

Then he heard the mention of killing the witch and that was enough to put him on edge. Vladan tried his best to keep himself composed and not lash out demanding who spoke ill of him. He knew if he did it would only further their whispers and nor he or Tayonna would be safe. However he would neither stand around for the rest of the day listening to their words, especially if they were not gentlemen enough to do it out of his face, he was disgusted.

When the last customer of the day wandered away with their goods. Vladan quickly set to work, closing his stall and loading his wagon up with what was leftover for the day. He didn’t care that the profit was unusually low, what he wanted more than anything was to get home. When he was finally prepared to depart he drove the horses with haste, as he weaved through those on the street he didn’t fail to see the glowing green eyes that watched him like prey.

Lady Spelltra, dressed in dark reds that almost went black, fanned herself with a smirk pulling at her lips. Vladan had known it had to be her. Anger filled him but he was no beast to ever lash out at a woman without real proof. Nor was he a fool to do so to the judge’s daughter of all people. As he finally made it to the clearing of dirt roads that went north of the town, he whipped for the horses to pick up speed.

Vladan didn’t have to turn his head to hear the patter of hoofs that trailed behind him. They weren’t good at hiding nor were they good at making sure he wouldn’t be able to notice he was being followed. The town was not made up of the best British soldiers, only the ones that did enough to get by. They should have taken better notes from the Germans instead of relying on their French relatives.

Vladan tsked and whipped the horses again to pick up the pace so he could have time to warn Tayonna. He knew she wouldn’t be in the house, she was always outside or near the door to greet him. To welcome him on with love and warmth and her bright eyes and smile. But there would be none of that, he hoped she would at least be behind the house to give them both time, or he hoped by the small chance she would actually be inside.

When he rounded the bend and tucked off into another dirt road he could see the clouds parted above his home bathing in the set of the sun. Vladan groaned and tried to think of an excuse for when the townies arrived at his home with a false ‘checking on you’ he would have a good enough reason to why, in a very gloomy part of the colony, did the sun shine down so brightly. By the greatness of God! Could you believe that, must be his appreciation for the great German people! Vladan joked in his head but quickly whooshed it away as he made it up to the last dirt stretch between his house and the road. He jumped from his wagon and ran the rest of the way trying to find Tayonna. He spotted her by the front garden kneeling down with plants in her hands.

“Tayonna!” Vladan called out breathlessly and panting as he finally made it closer to the house. He was so relieved to see her but the panic set back in when he realized they were still in danger. The girl rose to her feet and turned around with a giant smile to greet him. When she saw how alarmed he was she walked towards him with her hand stretched out to comfort him. Vladan yelled at her no and swiped in the air for her to go.

“You have to run, Tayonna! They are following me, get away from here and don’t come back until you think it’s safe or I come for you. Go, hurry!” Vladan yelled and Tayonna dropped everything and picked up her skirt and took off towards the edge of the forest. Vladan stayed put to make sure Tayonna was able to escape. When the girl was out of sight Vladan could then hear the front door open as two of his other servants peaked out and also the slowing of running horses. Vladan finally caught his breath and straightened out his back , he locked eyes with the servants and nodded towards them and they knew what that meant. They walked out and stood beside him as Vladan slowly turned and put on a stoic face. The archbishop, the town's mayor, and of course the judge himself rose from their horses and walked down the dirt path.

“Good Sirs, what brings you so far from the town?” Vladan forced his politeness as he bowed his head and his servants followed suit.

“Sir Mægisters, we believe you are unwillingly harbouring a witch.” The judge stepped forward with his hands behind his back and a dark, deep scowl on his face. Vladan swallowed and took a deep breath before slowly turning his head towards the forest. It felt like time had suddenly stopped and the air around him became dense as his vision only tunnel towards where Tayonna had gone. His body began to shake and his breath became hard and laboured as he huffed and puffed through his mouth. The air then turned hot and flames started to grow from the ground. The forest began to go up in flames and Vladan’s eyes widened as fear of the very worst pushed to the forefront. He felt this voice stuck in his throat but it burned to be let out. He tried to move but every fibre in his body turned in slow motion. Finally, as if on his last breath, he screamed as he watched the flames turn from red to a toxic fuchsia.

“Tayonna!”

Vlad's eyes shot open and he sharply sat up as a burning sensation roasted in his throat. He hadn’t even opened his mouth but it felt as if he had been yelling for hours non-stop. He was too shaken up to move any part of him and just panted heavily as he looked forwards towards the wall. He hadn’t had the dream since this whole thing started, now he knew what was being said and why Tayonna ran away, but he never remembered there ever being a fire.

As a matter of fact there was never a fire, it wasn’t real, but it felt so real. And in that dream in those last few seconds, he felt hopeless. No. Vladan felt hopeless, these were all Vladan’s memories and nightmares. Vlad was not Vladan and damn sure was not going to start having an identity crisis all of a sudden. Finally, Vlad felt his body become his body and he brought a hand up to his face to cradle it. He took another deep breath then pushed his hair back and out of his face.

A red mist rose from Vlad’s part lips and he quickly turned towards the left when he felt the energy of someone in his room. Tayonna stood at his bay windows staring out towards the night sky. He took note that she was in her ghost form and was wrapped in a purple shawl he had never seen before. She didn’t wear her sad expression but more so a stoic and unbothered one.

“Why are you in my room?” Vlad’s voice broke a bit as the sting in his throat made it difficult to speak. Tayonna turned from the window and her eyes dug holes into Vlad. Her eyes glowed green from her ghostliness but also from the moon that hung higher in the sky but lower towards the earth. Vlad wasn’t going to ask her again but he knew if she didn’t answer him here soon he wouldn’t be too kind to send her on her way for invading his space. Tayonna looked back towards the sky then sighed then shook her head.

“He called for me,” Tayonna lowered her head then slowly faded away in the air and out of Vlad’s room. His senses told him she was completely away from him and Vlad could only groan and fall back into his bed. Vlad knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep now. He knew it would be the air of staring up at his ceiling counting black sleep as the sun slowly rose that he would feel the pull of his eyes. Luckily for him, four hours of sleep were enough to keep him going.

Vlad felt so out of place as the days filtered by one by one. The week had already started again with Monday sending him off to work at a different company he owned. Everything for the most part seemed in place but yet, Vlad felt like he was operating on autopilot and just allowing what was left of his consciousness to do his day for him. After hours he would drive home expecting an empty house, however, even if Tayonna wasn’t around he knew she was there. They wouldn’t speak other than when Vlad was being polite and or when Vlad was telling her something she shouldn’t do while he would rush out. Honestly, he felt no need to remind her to behave, she hardly did anything except ghost around his home and then settle herself in his garden. Even in the late hours when dinner was served she would stay outside leaning against the statue spinning a flower in her hand.

Vlad didn’t really try to make an effort to speak to the girl either. Though it would have been nice to have some decent conversation, he held his tongue and went about as if she wasn’t there. What was the point when the few times he did talk to her it was to ask a question about her problem that left them both in weird feelings. Vlad very much preferred not feeling a false romantic intimacy towards the girl. Luckily for him, the voice in his ear had also been silent the past couple of days which brought joy to Vlad for having his mind to himself.

The only time it seemed that the voice and the person it belonged to seemed to surface a bit was when Vlad became curious about Maddie. One evening while enjoying soft music playing from his radio and a drink, he thought of how lovely dance with Maddie would have been. Within a matter of seconds, his head was hurting and he could hear incoherent grumbling echoing around him. Vlad felt rather silly screaming out shut up to no one during the dead of the night.

During the busy week Vlad tried to keep up with his personal public affairs. Kate hadn’t gotten much done due to the state libraries in Pennsylvania being closed for construction. That meant she wouldn’t be able to do much except enjoy a few vacation days with Jackson till she was able to report back to him.

“Don’t worry, Sir, we won't drive the company bankrupt.” Kate snicker then hangs up and Vlad would only shake his head and get back to work.

When he tried to reach out to Dani, the teen would keep up the small talk but would end it quickly when someone called her name or Vlad figured out she was sneaking out of the Fenton house again. Surely Vlad couldn’t think of a good enough reason why the girl was sneaking around doing stuff but a part of him told him not to pressure her to tell him. Instead, Vlad sends a text to Danny telling him to keep an eye on his young cousin. Danny would only respond with an emoji. Personally, Vlad found that disrespectful considering he wrote out a full message. A single emoji. A thumbs up emoji at that, Danny could at least say okay and Vlad would have taken it. Guess that was just his age talking, Vlad would never be caught up with the youth of the world.

At night when the house became sound of sleep and Vlad would have a dream and found himself awakened and unable to sleep. He would find Tayonna in his room once more standing and facing the window. She would never turn towards him nor acknowledge him. The few times Vlad actually paid her more than a glance he would see her lips moving but could never hear what she was saying. Tayonna would stand at the window for the same amount of time it took Vlad to go back to sleep, then she was gone. Sometimes that wouldn’t be until the sun started to peek over the horizon and Vlad had made it obvious he was getting up for the day. She still wouldn’t say anything and faded away in thin air. He had asked her the third night why she kept creeping in and she only huffed and mumbled something about ‘he is so loud’ before slipping through the side of the house towards the garden.

What was the point? If she wasn’t bothering him then he would allow her to stand there and talk to herself, it's not like if she left he would be able to sleep. It wouldn’t, he would still be staring up at the white ceiling sighing annoyingly. At least she was some else to look at. At times when the dreams were a bit out of hand Vlad was glad to see her standing there even if she wasn’t helpful. He didn’t feel alone, especially when he knew that she knew what was going on. Like a child waking up from a nightmare about the monster under their bed but the night light was a safety beacon. Tayonna served as Vlad’s safety beacon of understanding the nightmares, just like Danny did with understanding the halfa business. It was lacklustre and a bit bland but Vlad would smile gently as he saw her there and sometimes that was enough to roll over and actually fall back asleep. There were never dreams afterwards, Vlad would dream of nothing and he was okay with that.

But sometimes when he dreamt of nothing it felt like an out of body experience and he was still somewhat awake. He could feel the gentle swipe of a hand across his face and it eased him.When Saturday made its round again Vlad didn’t feel like going golfing and preferred to go home. He didn’t even bother looking around as he ghosted through his front door and shrugged off his suit jacket to hang up. He kicked off his shoes without unlacing them, which on another day would have bothered him, but today he just didn’t care. He pushed at the buttons of his button up and loosen his tie as he walked towards the kitchen for a snack.

He turned his arm invisible and reached through the fridge to pull out one of Dani’s Gogurts. He knew it was childish but he had to indulge himself at least once a month. No harm no foul when no one worth keeping up an image for was around. Vlad was about to head towards the living room and turn on the tv until he heard talking coming from the sliding doors. He slowly walked over and looked through the glass towards the normal spot Tayonna would sit. He couldn’t actually see if she was there due to the angle but he could see the top of her head popping in and out of sight as she moved.

He didn’t feel like walking out so he stood by the door and used his enhanced senses to try and make out what she was doing. Though she was a bit out of his hearing range he could still make out she was speaking in German. Angrily speaking at that, she was grumbling about wanting something, and of course Vladan, but some words Vlad couldn’t make out because they were older German words he never learned.

Thank those above Vlad took German in college and had an overseas company in Germany, or else he would be stuck at square one if Tayonna ever fuck right off with English. Vlad didn’t care to continue listening if all the girl was going to do was complain, he could listen to himself do that if he really wanted. Vlad scoffed and turned on his feet only to hear the sound of paper hitting the floor. He sighed and kneeled down to pick up Clockwork calling card and read it.

“Anger with others festers in ourselves, acting upon it will drive us insane.” - CW

Vlad felt the sudden urge to go down to his basement and invent something that could rip a hole in space and time to create a portal straight into Clock’s lair and ask him what the hell this meant. Always with the vagueness! Vlad was now starting to understand why Danny either loved and bragged about how amazing clockwork was, or bitch him out about Clockwork loving to take a jab at him every chance he got. Truly those with masterful minds were annoying. And that was coming from Vlad himself.

Vlad crumpled up the card and threw it away as he exited out of the kitchen and towards the living room. Saturday meant a football game or something sports related would be on. Vlad just wanted to enjoy his Gogurt (and maybe another one) and cheer for whoever was winning. And that’s how the week ended with Vlad getting a little too into a hockey match between two states he actually never been to.

“How did you forget?” Vlad didn’t need to see Danny to know the young man was rolling his eyes. He could hear the slight annoyance in his voice and for once Vlad did feel bad for causing it.

“To be fair I do have a ghost lurking around my house while also trying to keep face with my companies. I promise it was not intentional and if I did happen to forget until the day of, I would have hurried over in good nature to embarrass you as I had planned.” Vlad shrugged and smirked as he heard Danny grumble a ‘fuck off’ so he wouldn’t he heard by his parents. Vlad did feel bad though, he forgot Danny’s graduation was this coming Wednesday and it was already Monday afternoon.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Jack nor Maddie that had invited Vlad to the graduation, Danny himself hand delivered the invite two months ago. Vlad felt his heart flutter with warmth at the realization that Danny really did see him as much more than ‘that old man that tried to steal my mom, kill my dad, and adopt me in one day’. Vlad also knew it had to be Dani that pushed for Danny to do it and Vlad was forever grateful for her. But Vlad did become busy with other things and time seemed to slip away from him. Almost like a cruel joke made up by someone to give Vlad more than he could chew.

“No embarrassing me, just show up and be cool and don’t gather any further attention to yourself. The last thing I need is someone thinking I’m about to get an expensive car or something.” Danny sighed.

“Oh, so you don’t want the car?”

“You got me a car?!” Danny's voice cracked as it rose an octave and Vlad let out a chuckle of delight.

“No, I didn’t, but if you had wanted a car I’m sure that would have been a cheaper gift than what Danielle and Miss Way put together.” Vlad rolled his eyes remembering the two week expensive getaway he booked weeks ago for Danny and Co. to go on next Monday to Florida. Dani had told him she overheard Danny wanting to go to the Kennedy Space Center, Tucker wanting to go to the Humpy Dumpy anniversary concert, and Sam mentioning she wanted to see the sea life. Or was it to set it free? Vlad couldn’t remember but he knew he mindlessly said yes and passed the information to Kate. The horror when Vlad woke up the next morning to see he had just paid for something labeled under ‘a good time’. Kate had a wicked way of pranking her boss he wasn’t too sure he could live through. Good thing he was already half dead.

“D-Do I want to know?” Danny knew there was no weaselling out of whatever expensive gift Vlad got him. The man thrived off showboating and Danny knew if he told the man no, whatever it was would triple and might even have his family involved.

“That ruins all the hard work Danielle put into putting this all together.” Vlad leaned against his desk as he looked out the windows down to the busy city of Amity. It was mid evening and some people had just gotten off work. Vlad looked over to his clock and noted he had three hours left before he could go. He really craved a bath and a strawberry shortcake right about now.

“Suuuure, whatever, but still no embarrassing me Wednesday and also no flirting with my mom.” Both halfas grew quiet on the phone as an awkward silence washed over them. Vlad hasn’t tried to flirt openly with Danny’s mother in two years. Sure he still thought of her but he had learned to keep that to himself. He even told Danny he was over her, which was only half true to the point Vlad wasn’t obsessed anymore just...admirable. “Sorry, bad habits die hard,” Danny whispered and cleared his throat. Vlad only sighed and nodded to himself.

“They die hard for some, not for others, at least you didn’t say kill your father.” Vlad chuckled to himself. Honestly, since coming out as halfas and actually reconnecting with the Fentons, Vlad found himself back to his old ways with Jack. They were advancing at a constant pace towards who they used to be. But Vlad refused to do the old college battle call, they were adults now, middle aged, he was not going to scream at the top of his lungs.

Danny laughed, a little snort even fell out which made Vlad chuckles deepen, “Nah, I think you guys are fine. Besides if you did I would tell dad you totally wanted to go camping in the raw wilderness and sleep on the cold hard ground.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Oh how Vlad despised the rawest form of camping, he liked nature just nothing about it that would cause him discomfort. Going camping like wild men was very displeasing. Vlad could hear Danny pull away from the phone and greet his father from wherever he came from and Vlad felt his heart run cold. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to Jack ramble, becoming friends again or not, now wasn’t a good time. Nor did he want Danny to tell Jack he wanted to go camping.

“You got lucky, fruitloop, Dad only came in to get a snack and left.” Danny snickered.

“I despise you,” Vlad dramatically responded and Danny let out a ‘ha!’

“Oh hey, Plasmius when did you get on the phone?” The two laughed for a bit before Danny spoke again. “But seriously, don’t forget and don’t be late, I’ll cry to my mom how I trusted you and you let me down and she’ll give you her disappointed mom look.”

“I will not be late, scout’s honour.”

“Yeah, yeah, scout’s honour, bye Vlad.”

“Goodbye, Daniel.”

Vlad couldn’t remember the last time he had been to a graduation and not been a part of it. Casper High School was not the only high school in amity, during Vlad’s mayor duties his springs were filled with giving speeches at several graduation events spread out from May to June. Having to now sit on the football bleachers and wait for god knows how long for everyone to take their seats then wait another hour for the graduates to come out made Vlad restless. Maybe a suit wasn’t his best choice, his butt started to hurt from sitting on metal. Luckily, or maybe not, Vlad was far from being bored as Jack and Maddie told him crazy stories from Danny’s childhood. Of course Jack made sure they all sat together, including Sam and Tucker’s family, as much as the Manson’s didn’t want to. Vlad couldn’t help but laugh at Jeremy and Pamela’s discomfort every time Jack drugged them into a conversation. While the other adults talked amongst each other about their children’s goals and accomplishments. Vlad's eyes wander off to see where his responsibility ran off to.

As soon as he arrived Dani was already away from the group chatting with friends that were in the band or happen to be the younger siblings of Danny’s peers. Vlad could only imagine the day of Dani’s graduation, he was already so proud of her being able to not only control her powers but also find her own personality. She never allowed the fact of how she was created deter her away from making something of herself.

Now that she got from the Fentons and Vlad could admit he was envious of it. He also couldn’t lie to himself he missed having her at home, who else was going to put chocolate syrup in his coffee as they slept walk in the morning? He finally spotted Dani down on the first row of bleachers with a group of her friends. One of them seems to have caught Vlad looking and got Dani’s attention and pointed. A few of them yelled hello and Vlad simply waved back and nodded. Dani covered her face in her hands and Vlad smiled knowing she was likely saying they were embarrassing her.

Just then Dani’s band friends were called back to their seats and began to play as teachers and staff walked across the stage and waved before taking their seats. When the song came to an end the speeches before the graduates started to introduce and welcome everyone. Jack and Maddie were already standing on their toes with banners with Danny’s face and name on them. After the two speakers, the music began again and the graduating class began to walk out in a single file line to the rows of chairs on the field. Vlad could never remember the names of any of Danny’s peers no matter how many times in the past he caused an issue. They were all just kids barely caring about their education and more about popularity.

All those kids had grown up and were about to breach into their twenties either getting jobs or going to college. Vlad hoped that as they got older they would be better people, but who was he kidding, only some of them could even spell the word mature. Except for the Baxter boy, Danny always complained about, who was currently throwing up hand signs and sticking out his tongue as he waved to the crowd. Somehow the whole football team had last names that sat them all together. Vlad could only imagine how well thought out that was when the staff realized the chaos. It didn’t take Danny long to be seen in the line of students since he was closer to the front of the alphabet.

“That’s my baby!”

“Danny-Oh!” Vlad knew his friends wouldn’t be able to handle themselves when they saw their baby boy. They had done the same thing when Jazz graduated from what Danny told Vlad. It was Jazz who had to get her parents to sit back down so they weren’t being too much of a nuisance the whole ceremony. Tucker was only five people behind Danny and the boys kept shooting glances at each other. Tucker held up his phone and Danny nodded. As the line continued Vlad realized Sam wouldn’t be anywhere near her friends.

Out of the 137 children graduating, Sam would be placed two rows behind her friends and somehow right next to Paulina, guess the school didn’t have many students with n-r as a last name. From what Danny said Sam and Paulina had just recently put their past aside and found themselves actually forming a friendship. Danny had also let it slip that Paulina may have developed a crush on Sam and that would explain why Paulina was twirling her finger through her hair.

Someone should have told Vlad that sitting on the other side of a graduation was outrageously boring. Speech after speech, thank you after thank you, the new mayor had no favour and was downright bland. Vlad had hoped the valedictorian and salutatorian would have fun speeches, but nope, they were just as boring. Vlad couldn’t stop the yawn that escaped his lips, it quickly turned into a red mist and Vlad shut his mouth. Dani seemed to have noticed and leaned over.

“Really? Today of all days?” Vlad saw Dani’s fist clasp and her about to stand up to take off and he quickly reached out and held his hand over hers and shook his head. Just then his phone beeped and he pulled it out of his pocket.

Daniel: Please tell me this is a joke >:T

Vlad: I’ll handle it.

Vlad slid his phone into his pocket and rose to his feet. He got the Fentons’ attention to tell them he was going to the bathroom but was going to be quick to not miss anything. They bought it (maybe all of them but Jazz, she saw his sense go off ) and Vlad excused himself but not before telling Dani to stay put. The last thing Vlad needed was the sporadic ghost hunters to rip the place apart out of rage for a ruined graduation. Vlad pardoned himself past families and walked down the stairs. He had to make this quick and find who or what set off his sense before they caused a scene. When Vlad made it to the ground he pushed past those who chose not to sit and made his way behind the bleachers. He was about to transform until he heard someone clear their throat towards him. Vlad quickly turned around and saw nothing but red eyes glowing from the shadows.

“Well, well look what we have here,” from the shadows stepped out Spectra in her human form fixing up her hair and double checking herself in the mirror. “Here to enjoy the misery as well? Or were you actually enjoying Danny’s big day?” The female ghost chuckled to herself and batted her eyes.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t you have your fun here ages ago?” Vlad spat out and Spectra pouted then rolled her eyes

“Always straight to the point, seems like things never change. If you must know, I’m here for a quick spa treatment and goodies.” Spectra walked over to Vlad and circled him a few before placing her hands on his shoulders. When he shrugged her off she playfully threw her hands up. “Don’t worry I’m not here to cause any more trouble than there actually is.”

“Any more?” Vlad cocked a brow telling her to continue and Spectra’s eyes narrowed and she walked back towards him to hook her arm through his and pull him along towards the ceremony. Vlad was about to pull away until he heard whimpering coming through the speakers.

“He would have wanted to walk with his class one last time. He would have wanted to be here and I’m happy I’m able to do it for him.” A mother stood at the mic dressed in a cap and gown whipping her tears and shakenly accepting her son’s diploma. Vlad had forgotten all about the accent that happened to one of the football players a couple of months ago. He had died from a tumour in his brain that he had been fighting since Vlad was in office.

It really shook the school to the core when his passing was announced. Vlad looked over to Spectra who was taking a big breath from the faint green clouds that formed around her. Like magic the wrinkles that happen to be on her face began to disappear and she became youthful. Her fiery hair burned back to life and her green eyes glowed like neon ectoplasm.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m not feeding off the mother, just the handful of children who are still mourning,” Spectra smirked and fixed her hair in the mirror. Vlad could never understand why Spectra was so obsessed with her looks. Maybe it had something to do with who or what she was before her death. He never cared to ask her, he honestly never asked any of the ghosts their backstory. You weren’t supposed to get close to business unless it truly benefited you. Vlad learned that long ago when stepping into the political world. Vlad had done business with Spectra before and thought there were great benefits. That was until she’d crossed the line and Vlad made sure she was aware of it.

“Well since you’ve had your fix, you’ll be on your way.” Vlad pulled her arm back and tucked it behind his back while creating space between them. Spectra's happy go lucky mask seemed to melt away as Vlad kept cold towards her. He could almost see the way her smile twitched to stay upright.

“I said I was sorry and yet you still don’t forgive me?” Spectra fluttered her eyes and Vlad wanted to gag. Her charm had worked on him once but he was determined it would never work again.

“Your apologies are as empty as you are, and truly, there is nothing inside you that would amount to an actual apology.” Vlad gritted his teeth and turned away from her but when he looked forward Spectra was standing in front of him fixing her sunglasses.

“Oh, Plassy-”

“Never call me that.” Vlad felt his blood boil and the sparks in the palm of his hands start to ignite and he quickly calmed himself down.

“Fine, fine, but Plasmius I don’t really understand.” Spectra was quick on her feet and spun Vlad back around while pulling him in close just as Danny’s name was announced across the speakers. Vlad could hear Danny's parents losing their mind as their son awkwardly walked across the stage and got his diploma. The boy gave a quick wave to his family then down to Sam who too gave a cheer. “You used to want control over that boy, have him weak and begging under your boot to be taken under your wing. Then you wanted control over this town and that leaked into the Ghost Zone. Remember how excited you were to possibly sit on Pariah’s throne?” Vlad groaned and tried to pull away from Spectra until she turned his head towards the Fentons. “And then her. Everything about her was truly what you wanted. Then suddenly, poof! It was all gone and you were turning over a new leaf for “the better”.” Spectra finally let go of Vlad and made air quotations while rolling her eyes. Vlad said nothing, he honestly didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t be him threatening to kill her where she stood. He remembered all of that! But he also remembered how bitter and petty he was during all of it.

“That is the past, Spectra.” Vlad kept his cool even when he growled at her. She only smirked.

“Sure it is, but you have to admit when you came to me for help in your little games I did what I could.” Spectra walked close and only stood inches away from Vlad. He could feel her icy breath tickle his cheek and he pulled back. “I did what I could and then much more.” Spectra ran a finger up Vlad’s arm then caressed his cheek before sliding it down to his chest. Vlad felt his core shake and a burning feeling rise to his chest which caused the other to pull away. She shook her hand and cursed then pulled herself together. Vlad had no idea what that was but whatever it was he thanked and hoped it would keep her off him for the rest of their conversation.

“I bet you miss that.” Spectra narrowed her eyes over her shades and winked.

“I don’t,” Vlad held up a finger and shot at Spectra’s feet to get her away from him. It worked but Spectra’s smile never fell and she continued to act as cool as ever. She shrugged then turned back towards the ceremony and narrowed her eyes wickedly. Vlad knew it was best not to ask her what she was thinking, he didn’t want to hear her voice any more than he had to.

“He’s gotten so big and tall and stronger, maybe one day he’ll surpass you and you’ll be nothing but a faint memory. I know how much that weighs on you.” Vlad nearly shot the ghost down where she stood but she was quick to disappear with an echo of laughter. Vlad stomped his foot and turned away from where they were to go to the bathroom. He had to calm down and not allow that red headed vixen to play with his mind. She had already done that in the past and it left Vlad in a blind rage until he had her begging mercy before he ripped her apart.

Why on earth did he think Spectra was ever a good ally, he wasn’t sure...actually he knew why but he didn’t want to admit it. Desperation made you do foolish things that haunted you in three inch red heels and red hair. He was sure he would never see her again but today seemed to be against him. After a few minutes of counting down from 30 and fixing his suit he rushed back out the door and towards his seat.

When Vlad sat down he held up a hand before Maddie or Jack could say anything, “Don’t worry I saw him walk, I was at the food hut in the nick of time. I’m so proud of him.” Jack only smiled and waved his banner back and forth, Maddie nodded and turned back towards the end of the students crossing.

“What was it?” Dani leaned over towards her father and nudged him. Vlad sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before shaking his head.

“Nothing, just some loose goops, everything is handled.” Vlad held his gaze with Dani to ensure her but he knew she could tell he was lying. With what just happened with Spectra he wanted nothing more to pull Dani into a hug but he knew that would only raise suspicions. For now Vlad only smiled and looked away from a very confused Dani.After the graduation and a lot of crying from the parents' parts, the freshly new graduates were asked where they wanted to go for dinner. When they (plus Dani) yelled nasty Burger Vlad found himself groaning with the Mansons like the rich they were. Surely they could have picked a much more appropriate place to eat besides the godforsaken nasty burger. But Danny was persistent and held his ground and eventually everyone huddled into their cars to drive over to nasty burgers. When everyone was seated the adults made it obvious they much rather be elsewhere.

Well most of them except Jack who thought Nasty Burger was a wonderful idea. It didn’t take long for Sam’s parents to cut from the group when they saw how “ungodly” the food was and told Sam they would see her when she returned home. Jazz had to cut out due to her job and she apologized to her brother. Tucker’s parents were called in and apologized for leaving but they made sure to tell Tucker when he got home his big gift would be waiting for him. It wasn’t long into the waiting for drinks did Vlad enjoy a conversation with Jack and Maddie about their college days.

“Ay yo, Vladdie, you remember when we used to have nasty nacho nights and see who could get down the most without throwing up?” Jack laughed and nudged the much smaller man who almost fell out of his seat. Vlad caught himself and shook his head but he genuinely smiled and rolled his eyes.

“Oh how could I forget how you snorted nacho cheese then proceeded to shove five trays of chips into your mouth. Then you called Madeline to come help you to the bathroom because your brain was clogged.” Vlad twisted his finger on the side of his head like it was clogs. Jack let out a stomach full laugh and Maddie could help but follow along.

“Remember when you drunkenly stood outside Taco Hut Tony’s half naked at 1 am demanding tater tots?” Maddie pointed towards Vlad and the man became flustered in the face as he tried to hide himself. Both of the phantoms spun around from their booths with their mouths dropped and laughing. Vlad groaned and leaned down against the table to cover his head and face. The kids quickly turned back around and he could hear them telling the others.

Jack slapped Vlad’s back which quickly knocked the man forward and out of breath. “Oh man that was crazy and then you started yelling in Russian. To this day I still don’t know what you were saying.” Jack wiped tears from his eyes and Maddie leaned in to make sure only they could hear her.

“He was yelling he would piss on the doors until Tony opened up.” Vlad thought he was surely going to fall over and die. Why in the world would she remember that?! He didn’t even remember that!

“You know Russian?” Vlad peaked up and shot Maddie a look. The red head shrugged and shook her hand sided ways up and down.

“Kinda sort of, my roommate was Ukrainian but her father was Russian. I learned a few things.” Maddie chuckled then turned towards Jack to spark up another conversation about their time in the lab when he made ghost stink bombs. Vlad on the other hand felt his blood run cold as he remembered all the love notes he had placed in her binder. When she found them he would play it cool like it wasn’t him who placed them there and would falsely read them to her. There was no doubt she would give them to her roommate when he wasn’t there to read them. Vlad felt like a schoolboy who had been caught but he didn’t want to confirm that with her. Vlad would just have to swallow that and hope it never got brought up. Vlad was ever so grateful the food finally came even though he did more so at poking at his than eating.

After everyone was full, the family and kids packed up, paid, and headed out towards the parking lot to continue their conversations. Vlad was stuck in a vice grip on Vlad by the neck as the man spun him around doing the very obnoxious college battle call Vlad now grew to hate. Finally, he was let go and Vlad could feel his head spinning as he leaned over his car for balance.

“My apologies V-Man.” Jack gently rubbed his back.

“All is well...I think.” Vlad wasn’t sure if he's seeing double would ever stop or if he was going to have to have someone drive him home. When he regained his vision he felt a tug on his sleeve and turned to see Dani standing beside him. He excused himself from the Fentons and gave Dani his attention and the girl gave a soft smile.

“Can I come home tonight? Danny is going over Tucker’s with Sam and I don’t want to be stuck at home with Jazz trying to use me as a psycho experiment for her upcoming paper, no offence.” the youngest phantom rubbed her elbow and lowered her head and Vlad quickly reached out a hand to place on her shoulder.

“Danielle, you never have to ask to come home. You could have easily gotten in the car with me and I wouldn’t have said a thing.” Vlad rubbed her shoulder and Dani nodded before thanking him and running over to her cousins and telling them she was going home. When it was time to part ways, Maddie and Jack piled into the car with Danny and his friend’s and Dani got in the car with Vlad. As they drove off Dani sighed and looked out the window.“Is everything alright over there?” Vlad asked, never taking his eyes off the road.

“Y-yeah.” Dani mumbled out and Vlad automatically could assume what was the problem.

“I told you, there is nothing to worry about, she shouldn't be anywhere but the guest room when we get home. In the morning I will inform her of your arrival if you wish.” Vlad hoped his words would ease Dani just enough for the teen to trust him and it seemed to work. Dani pulled away from the window and crossed her arms as she thought for a moment then nodded.

“Yeah, that would be cool. Thanks, dad.” Dad...she called him dad again and Vlad's heart fluttered with happiness. When they got home Vlad allowed Dani to walk in first and the young phantom quickly said goodnight and hurried to her room. Vlad took his time to settle in and made his way towards the kitchen back doors. It was late but he had to know whether or not Tayonna was lurking in the garden. When he peered out the door he couldn’t see any form of activity and he quickly floated upstairs to the bedroom hallway. He secretly stuck his head into Dani’s room when he heard her talking on the phone. He found her on her bed throwing a ball in the air and giggling.

He wouldn’t overstay his welcome but he couldn’t help but become curious when he heard her tell someone she loved them. Pulling back into the hallway he knew he would have to get to the bottom of that. He walked down to the guest room and knocked on the door gently and waited for an answer. When he didn’t get one he ghosted through the door and looked around. Tayonna wasn’t there either and that concerned him a bit.

He could go about trying to find her but the pull for sleep was nagging him and he could feel the endless string of yawns airing through his body. He pushed the thought of Tayonna away and went out the door and towards his bedroom. Vlad knew that no matter where she was when he woke up from another dream she would be standing there at his window and he didn’t have to worry. Vlad caught himself in mid-thought and snorted. He felt foolish for almost admitting he looked forward to seeing her.

“She is not a guest that is welcomed, Vladimir, she is a ghost that is haunting you.” Vlad reminded himself as he slipped into his master bathroom for a shower.

#📖Ghost Stories👻#vlad masters #danny phantom #dp fanfic #Secrets of The Lake #My writing

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