#yes I already have Saurian

[c6jpg]

natlan 5.0 brain dump

i did this in a lot of small chunks so i already forgot all of my detailed thoughts so i'm gonna try to keep it brief

general environment/exploration:

first off music and scenery is 💯💯💯

i particularly like how much wildlife there is and i really love the saurian gameplay (for me its hydro > dendro >>>> geo)

i feel so awful every time i accidentally kill a capybara they should be immune like the rhinos

it makes sense that there isn't "one huge city" like the other nations since natlan is composed of tribes, and each tribe looks like it gets a decent amount of attention, but i was still kind of disappointed by how small the stadium of the sacred flame feels in comparison for being the "main" area. i feel like they could have done a lot more with it

archon quest:

tldr; it was... not good? or at least very underwhelming? especially coming off fontaine/sumeru which had incredibly strong opening acts

act 1 was particularly like. whatever. felt more like a kachina story quest that rolled right into a mualani (but npc-focused) story quest

like for how important the pilgrimage is it just felt so. underwhelming and anticlimatic. yes yes i know kachina is precious and everyone loves her but i wish we spent less time doing kachina support group and focused more on the pilgrimage itself like can we at LEAST see some of the other playable characters participating instead of just hearing about it in passing

literally was soooooooooo fucking annoyed with the entire atea plotline. i wrote a whole rant in my first write up but basically that entire arc only existed so that they could bring back the purification plot device which WE HAVEN'T SEEN SINCE MONDSTADT

i was just incredibly annoyed with how that was all handled lol atea is also just such a non-character how am i supposed to care about her. she didn't even die in the end!!!

also mualani's tribe's whole thing being super stereotypical hawaiian tourism left a really bad taste in my mouth i wanted to get out of there as fast as possible

act 2 was weird because like. i felt like they were saying a lot of things that were like "this is a serious national crisis" but it didn't... feel that way? and a lot of the lore itself was pretty glossed over

i think a problem with the natlan story is that you need the first acts to set up the stakes but we just spent the first act gallivanting around with kachina/mualani and then when they DID get to the "main problem" in act 2 it just info dumped so hard to the point that i. didn't care?

pacing in general just felt all over the place

the only investment they gave us is through caring about kachina and i guess hating the abyss/not wanting a nation to be destroyed on principle but idk. especially with the "nah we gotta wait for the last 2 heroes first" the stakes are Not there for me

reminded me of when nahida was like "yeah i needed you to figure this out for yourself bc if i told you directly your head would explode." but at least that one was fun/could just chalk it up to nahida being cheeky and didn't like. prolong the plot for too long

SHOW US DON'T TELL US DAMN IT. i might just have recency bias but i genuinely feel like natlan might be one of the worst cases of telling and not showing as far as archon quests are concerned

also capitano's appearance felt so random LMAO he really showed up, said some cryptic shit, got his ass beat, and then left. at least the cutscene was cool?

chasca girl i'm shaking crying throwing up somebody get that girl a full pair of pants and brown contacts PLEASE

i find it interesting how detailed/fleshed out chuychu (chasca's sister) is, both in terms of design and personality/character. it kind of felt like they originally intended for her to be playable but turned her into an NPC instead

also citlali is definitely some kind of faruzan situation where she's old but young looking

night kingdom was cool i guess nothing really to say here. i am very interested in the wayob lore though especially in regards to how it ties into the rest of teyvat/why natlan has particularly weak leylines

i feel like mavuika's younger sister might also become relevant in the future... in a bad way. like the insistence to not being forgotten/seeing mavuika again, the fact that mavuika doesn't "really" know what happened to her. also she also got a pretty unique npc model. or maybe she won't be brought up ever again idk

in general that whole reminiscence sequence with mavuika was like. fine but again you just info dumped the shit out of me i have no emotional attachment to feel anything about whats going on right now???

also we all know that was fucking ororon at the end with capitano like lmao come on. but im willing to bet both he + chasca are the last two heros bc like. who tf else do we have left LMAOOO

capitano was supposed to be cool but he's just giving goofy villain right now. sorry capitano fans they flopped so hard with him in this act

[arisenreborn]

Ways Emrys Will Sabotage Asshole Arisen:

Are you an asshole Arisen who spits on the poor and needy, throws their Pawns down chasms for them to catch you, and steals candy from kids? Then this informative guide of what to watch out for might be for you!

Now, Emrys isn't actually inclined towards killing most Arisen himself (usually). I like to think there's something intrinsic to being a Pawn that makes that very hard to do, which only adds to his hatred towards Arisen.

He will however find ways to make the lives of Asshole Arisen difficult. And in the cases of extremely shitty Arisen, he does start to flex a bit of that tiny will of his to... try to end their lives. :') Here's a non-comprehensive list of just some of the ways Emrys will be A Little Shit.

Logistician? Starting out Emrys will be a very good and helpful pawn, always organizing packs and making sure weight is evenly distributed. However he will later start sneaking rotten meat into an unsuspecting Arisen's pack, making them Target #1 for wargs and wolves. (Emrys, holding his hand over his eyes watching the Arisen get carried away by wolves "Look at 'em go...")

Chirurgeon? Especially in the event there are no healers or chirurgeons, he will claim to have some familiarity with such matters, enough that you can rely on him. Yes, give him all of your potions... And he will effectively make use of them! At first. He will also discreetly be pouring a portion of them out, chalking it up to 'that one taxing battle'. And then, just when the Arisen needs it most... 🤷‍♂️

Enemy of my enemy... Sometimes the quickest way to deal with an Arisen is simply to whisper word to one of the guards. Whether it's just getting rid of them for a few hours, days, or forevermore, well that depends on the weight of your crimes, doesn't it Arisen?

May accidentally fire an arrow into a nearby saurian nest, or tip off nearby goblins when in the midst of an already taxing battle.

Valuable items disappearing? A loyal pawn would never! (He's also out there picking up wakestone shards on the sly, not informing the Arisen when they're fully assembled, and using them on poor random souls on the side of the road.)

Negligence. Who would blame a simple pawn for being a little distracted now and again? He was just going to gather some herbs, for the Arisen's sake, how was he to know the Arisen was walking into an ambush? How was he to hear the Arisen's call for aid over the din of battle - he's a pawn he would have responded had he heard of course!

Similarly, he will sometimes fail to guide an Arisen who has ticked him off even if he's the only one who knows what to do next.

When opportunity knocks, accidents happen! So there was a truly difficult battle, everyone is scattered, and it's just the Arisen and Emrys for the moment. But it's all right, he's great at reading the lay of the land and is certain he knows where the others are, just follow him, Arisen! ...*

Rare. If they've caught him with actual, more-severe-than-his-norm dragonsplague symptoms, he may just straight up kill the Arisen. If he's already moody and irritable, and the Arisen is showing their own signs of being a dick, he may just pull out his hunting daggers and gut a bitch. He may just snipe them in the middle of a fight. (He may even go a bit dragon-mode, but that's for a different post I think.) It goes without saying that sometimes this results in him dying and effectively being dismissed, but them's the breaks.

As with the above, but in even rarer cases, the Arisen might not even have to be an asshole! If the plague symptoms are bad enough, just by being the Arisen and calling upon him, all they have to do is irritate him a little more - which can be a hair trigger. Again, extremely rare, but it has happened a time or two.

It's worth noting he's been at this a while, he knows not to overplay his hand, and will typically only do these things if he can go undetected/get away with it. He waits, watches, and maintains the image of a good pawn most of the time.

If an Arisen is truly abusive towards other Pawns, he'll generally use one of several strategies to get their attention on him instead, be it 'being a bit of a dumb/ass' to 'outright seducing them' or anything in between. Anything but getting himself dismissed sooner, less he be unable to do anything to help the others.

*I have the very specific scene in my head of Emrys leading a battle-weary Arisen over a ledge, and that Arisen bleeding out at the bottom of a cliff. They reach out towards him and he just slowly crouches down, covering their mouth so they cannot issue any orders, waiting until they succumb to their wounds.

Alternatively, if he's feeling a bit more rebellious (the longplague is acting up, there's no way he'll obey commands) he just watches and listens to their feeble pleas for help as he pours a potion out and drinks in the sight of dread realization filling their eyes. 😌

[fiberturkey89]

The slate beast yawned once the sunrise bathed him in its warm embrace, opening his massive jaws which displayed deadly serrated teeth. A low growl leaving his maw, he shut his jaws with a light pop of air. Licking his chops he shifted in his nest, rolling onto his side.

Grass and sand shifted to accompany his weight, the saurian rubbing his face into the moss beeding with a low hiss. Normally, he'd be dormant in the day, only coming awake when the sunset arrived and filled the land with its cool breaths.

Today was different however, he could smell her approaching- with something important that would require him to leave the semi-shaded comfort of his nest, he slowly rose from the ground and shook himself free of any loose grasses, sand and more that could affect the companion Lisbeth was arriving with.

Slowly, he trudged out of his cave and descended down the hill to greet the Elemental of thunder and lightning- curious as to why she had a hatchling with her.

Perhaps that was the reason she had not visited in the previous Withering and Cold Season.

____

Gently bouncing the little bundle of joy on her hip, Lisbeth hummed a soft song- one that her late mother had often done for her.

Her hair bounced and swayed softly in the wind as yellow and blue eyes stared at her- two small hands curled around her scarred and calloused fingers. Leaning against the tree that had been planted long ago..

It hasn't seemed so long now, but it certainly felt like it! She grinned, and her baby grinned back. "Ooh, aren't you the sweetest thing! Yes, yes, you are! Taking after daddy and mommy both."

Her child cooed, blinking. Trying to mouth on her finger- she silently thanked herself (and Cliff) for making sure to remove any nail polish and fakes.

"He thinks that just because I don't have a human guardian that it doesn't really count, but you'll see him here in a second!" She chirped, her intuition right on cue as the familiar heavy footsteps of the slate saurian appeared.

"Hi Roja!"She looked up with a smile as Roja's head came around the corner with a low huff, eyeing her then the little bundle of sweetness in her arms. "Come meet your nephew or niece in arms!"

Coming closer as he crouched, sniffing cautiously, he then sat down slowly. Acting as a barricade of muscle and scales by curling around her and her baby. "Cliff and I had decided to have a kid, this is them! I haven't thought of a name yet, but I can already imagine them being great with people like their dad and mom, aim't that right, my little chick?" She cooed.

The blue maned carnivore extended his neck a little closer, carefully trying to peer into the her arms without being a disturbance- she giggled, getting up carefully and walking over to him. "Its the closest I've got to a name but Wren is looking like a winner between me and Cliff."

Both infant and saurian fell silent as their gazes met, eyeing one another. Yet her baby babbled, letting go of her finger and trying to reach out for the larger being they could see. Babbling and cooing in curiosity. "See? They like you, big blue!"

The carnivore gently pressed his snout to her arms, the near featherlight touch not surprising to her. "Nomad" despite being the figurehead of strength and loneliness was capable of acts of tenderness. "It's okay! I got you," she giggled, angling her child so that the tiny hands could brush against the grey scales.

They went still, one out of fear he had done something wrong as he eyed her with concern- and the other out of wanting to know what it was. "Pfft.. I've never seen you look so worried!"

Nuzzling against one of their cheeks, she gave a soft peck to the temple as the baby babbled in joy. Feeling her heart swell up with pride and joy, she held them closer. "My little Wren.." she whispered, ooh how she wished Cliff came along!"

Letting them play with her index finger, she gazed at her perfect child lovingly. "Your daddy doesn't really like my friend."

Roja lowly hissed through his mouth. The soft exhale from his nostrils, however, caused Wren to babble in excitment. Mumbling and moving their hands around in maybe play.

She enjoyed how her three of her five favourite beings were able to get along. While she would like Spark to come down from the trees, she was just glade he was nearby and watching. The little Glider always vigilant.

Even when they hung out with a descendent of Dragons before them. Smiling as Roja came back and allowed her baby to run their small hands across his smooth scales.

Something chirped above her, and she glanced up to see that it was a Blue Jay. She tilted her head, then glanced back at her baby and the saurian.

"Maybe Jay would be a nice name.. what do you think?"

The Phantom rumbled in partial agreement, and she smiled. "I'll talk to Cliff about it,"

He was going to agree.

[areeis]

New game, who this?

After leaving Dragon's Dogma 2 with an ending I was happy with I started 1. I've been enjoying this different take on a world with a Dragon's dogma so far and it really feels like a different world entirely. It's only my first playthrough, I still have to confront the Big D and I'm at hour 100 rn (1st playthrough of DD2 took me 143h including closure). There's already things I appreciate like filling in more pawn lore, more hybrid vocations, magic and debilitations. Fights are more fun, especially against drakes. Saurians and goblins are funnier and I like some designs like chimeras and golems more. Due to its smaller size it doesn't reward free exploration as much and most locations are quest locations. I still really like the environments and variety they got. I'm missing the number of convenient campsites for farming and owning a house in the capital, though.

Yes :) I really like the Arisen sitting down on a silly wooden curule chair and instructing their pawn. It's more adaptable than choosing an inclination at the beginning and then manually adding a specialisation and plays more into the pawn lore of 1, too.

I like this nod.

Yeah, good game actually.

Sure, let's just visit the Bluemoon Market real quick...

Pawns are really clear when it comes to combat, but when it comes to quests even pawns with quest knowledge were rarely a help so far. I like a sense of vagueness when it comes to figuring out quests, but in some cases I couldn't figure out if I still had to do something or if a quest was bugged. Escort quests sometimes decide not to resolve right away, which can be annoying, just like figuring out how/where to reliably find certain items for notice board quests. Once quests do resolve pawns not commenting on the quest itself, but on them gaining quest knowledge really takes me out each time. That whiplash is also really funny, though, so I can't take it too seriously either way. Those are my thoughts so far. For now I'll unlock more augments and then eventually head to the Big D.

[kindauglypikachuicon]

Final photo with the people we’ve met in Fontaine before heading off to Natlan!! (I wish Wriothesley and Neuvillette was here)

My thoughts on Natlan so far…

Kachina’s so cute I wanna pet her and squish her bunny ears!!

Cute scene of an npc playing music with animals gathered around them

I LOVE YOU ALMOND!!!! 💕💕💕🫶🫶🫶✨✨✨ If anyone hurts Almonds I will kill everyone and everything including myself

Road on top of this creature (forgot their name already :p)

I’m getting you Kinich and I might get obsessed with you soon……O_O (<-Staring really hard into Kinich’s beautiful eyes)

I’m definitely gonna get Mavuika too, she looks awesome with that flaming hair (I’m very curious about the lore of Natlan that will unravel soon hmm…)

Some cool and cute artworks of the Traveler in a new outfit for the first time ever (He looks very cute in a high pony tail too)

Sucked out the bad poison of the Abyss on a nice lady who we just met but Atea was already too damaged on the inside to recover anymore. Farewell and it was nice to meet you in this short time…

THEY’RE SO FUCKING CUUUUUTE!!! 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕 They might just be my favorite Saurians awwwww!!! The way that baby just cocked its head at the transformed Traveler was so ADORABLE!!! RAAAAAAHHHH!!

Tried to get this blobbly thing (I failed aw)

Got a Capybara at least!! YES

Tried to kidnap uh I mean get the goat (I succeeded!! ✨)

Got the white and brown Alpacas. I wish I could hug them to feel how soft they are!!

Got the cute green chicken bird (whose defense mechanism is to faceplant and stick their butt feathers upwards to pretend as a flower, it’s kinda neat to see!)

Couldn’t get the new bug and the cute flying squirrel creature sad 😔

Wow I want you……….I just hope I have enough primos left after Kinich, Mavuika and that pretty blond cat-eared girl (forgot her name)

Looking kawaii as fuck sleeping like this :3c

A portrait of Mavuika’s family before she became the Pyro Archon

Cool new area! Natlan makes me wanna explore and do chests more unlike Fontaine for some reason

[lowlyroach]

335) Slip

If you want me by your side

Take my hand

If you find yourself shivering

Take my heat

It's yours and yours alone

Let's bathe in mud and dirt

Just the two of us

At the creek again

I show you around

It's too hot for you

So you dress down

Sports bra and leggings

I want to eat you alive

That midriff

Those eyes

I resist

I want to hear you say pretty please

With my thumb on your lip

I hold out my hand while we walk on a fallen log

You seem to hesitate

There is no ulterior motive

Than to keep you steady

To keep you safe beside me

I look elsewhere, out at the moss

The saurian ferns

Yes, I did notice

In my periphery

Your eyes watching me

I wondered if you would do or say anything

Staring at me

Eye me like candy

I wanted to look back

I stopped myself

Don't look, don't touch

If she wants you, she'll reach

You point out how gross you must be

Sweating through your sports bra

I would love to hold you even now

Beautiful, always

I mock you jokingly

If you look like that

I bet I look gross too

Of course, you deny it

Dumb fuck

What do you think I see when I stare at you?

Gorgeous down to the pores

Let me kiss you clean

Our skin slick together

Let me show you what I mean

Squint at me under the gableblo

You named a monkey, not an ape

Hypotheticals about murder

A lens in your sunglasses falls out

Now they're looking for the McDonalds Pirate

As I wear them

I want to wait here with you

Do I really not listen?

Do I really not return your questions?

I always mean to

I worry I am no good.

You keep asking about my vape

You say you took a hit

When I look back, you almost seem scared

I want to ask you if you're okay

To reach out and touch you

I turn around and keep walking

Distance

I don't have permission to love you

These are not the hands you want to hold you

They'll ruin you

I want too much

I take you to the spot by the dock

Guide you as we walk down

You release, I hold

Until the bottom

You don't want to stick around

I lie down

The way you tilt your head -

Oops

I've fallen in love with you

All over again

The mosquitos buzzing

It's too hot to stay

I bully you a little as we leave

Woe is me

She doesn't like this spot

As I'm eaten by insects

You flick them off

We take the exit

Too short

We're here too short

Did you watch me watch you?

From the rear view

Before I head back there?

You call me so we talk as I lie on a bench

You lay on your bed for an hour

An hour I wish you spent here

I long for your touch

I give consent, always

Won't you stay a bit longer

Maybe forever?

You want to maintain your responsibilities

More than you want to be here

That's alright

You can admit that

You don't have to hold back

Leave me on the outside

I'll look through the window

Leashed to a post

Kept in one place

Arm's length

5 minutes

Wanting to be a responsibility you have, too

In the morning, find my fingerprints on the glass

Footprints of my passing

I'll keep the leash on

Follow it and find me

Codependency

I've already offered everything

You offer a day of the week

I wait with bated breath

Too sharp?

Without you, I always feel too dull.

Too passionless and empty

A muse, with no color

A pianist with no hands

Too hard?

I've always been too soft for my own good.

I've lost every fight I've been in

Too afraid to throw a proper punch

Too gentle, I'll stop swinging

Too cold?

I can share some of my warmth, Lovebug.

I'm like a space heater

Place your skin on mine

Feel my heartbeat for yours

Too strong of a hand?

Place it in mine, I can take it.

They're twice the size.

You can squeeze, I won't mind

Thoughts of you suffocate me on a 3 hour drive south

All day as I sit in someones shop

Swap their machine parts

Why don't you leave?

I think about you squinting and I smile

The way you turned your head has me grinning

Between bouts of sorrow

I cross out days and wait

I wait

We talk for 12 minutes on the ride back

Too short

Always too short

I miss my exit

Distracted by thoughts of you

I wait by the phone

A slippery slope?

Wouldn't it be so delightful to fall?

I'll catch you

I'll catch you every time.

Just like when I picked you up in my room.

I've already fallen for you a million times over.

Don't fight gravity.

If you slip

You can land right into my arms.

I'll keep them open.

[tailsrevane]

[comic review] star trek: discovery: adventures in the 32nd century (2022)

writers: kirsten beyer & mike johnson artist: angel hernández

this miniseries is comprised of four issues, each from a specific crewmember’s point of view. the first is grudge (yes, book’s cat), and as a proud cat uncle and lifelong cat-lover, i just have to say it’s way too adorable and perfect, omg. like, easily one of the best comics i’ve ever read, let alone star trek comics.

the second, which is also unsurprisingly the one i was looking forward to the most, is about adira. i love, love, love them so much, and i especially love, love, love them with gray, so even though this is largely retreading ground we’ve already seen explored in flashbacks, i’m really never going to complain about getting more of them! honestly i’d be super into a novel or a longer comic miniseries that’s adira/gray-centric, but i appreciated this whetting my appetite and i’m just still so fucking glad that star trek is so hecking queer these days!!

the miniseries is rounded out by stories about lt. commander detmer and lt. linus. and while i do like detmer well enough and think her story went to some interesting places, i think it was probably the story i was the least hyped about if that’s fair to say? like, it was good, it was fine! it just wasn’t something i felt like i really needed on the level of some of the other characters? and like, to be perfectly honest, what i would love more than a detmer solo story is a detmer & owosekun story! i would say a story with their whole friendgroup including airiam & tilly, but to be perfectly frank as much as i love me some tilly and really like airiam, i feel like both of them have gotten plenty of fleshing out? and even detmer has, to an extent. we’ve gotten little hints of what owosekun is about, and she seems amazing from what we’ve seen? but we’ve seen precious little of her, so i’d really like to see more of her! and her and detmer seem pretty tight, so that seems like it could’ve been a good way to go. i know i’m just armchair editing here, but yeah. just my two cents.

linus’s story is delightful and genuinely deep! i sort of vaguely knew that he was supposed to be a saurian, but it’s really cool to actually get some portrayals of a species we’ve known existed since the earliest days of tos beyond “oh hey yeah they make really good brandy i hear.” like, okay, i was definitely way more into learning about his internal struggles and anxieties gelling with the crew than i was with the plot hinging on him singlehandedly saving the entire ship/crew. that felt like a bit much. but i still enjoyed this a heck of a lot.

so, yeah! taken as a sum of its parts, this is almost certainly my favorite discovery comic so far! i guess that’s not really surprising considering some of the characters involved and considering that this is exactly the sort of stuff i think expanded universe content should do for franchises, but still! i’m glad this lived up to my fairly high expectations!

a-rank

[emperor-of-hearts]

I posted 3,328 times in 2022

That's 2,383 more posts than 2021!

19 posts created (1%)

3,309 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@fatherthotomine

@malnedott

@saurian-official

@lonelybeuys

@god-was-the-first-thot-slayer2

I tagged 555 of my posts in 2022

#fave - 57 posts

#me - 13 posts

#dbd - 11 posts

#dead by daylight - 8 posts

#yes - 4 posts

#helpful - 4 posts

#fav - 4 posts

#mood - 3 posts

#the dredge - 3 posts

#&lt;3 - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 111 characters

#like my mutual already knows but i spend like 30 minutes or something reading about divorce in the soviet union

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

The dredge is great, now i have a great hiding spot when survivors give me depression!

11 notes - Posted May 28, 2022

#4

new killer leaked and im desperate that he’s real cause he might be doctors mentor and i want more stuff with doc like the simp i am

13 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

#3

the more monstrous a man is the more he is sexual

17 notes - Posted May 31, 2022

#2

OOOOH THE OTHER KILLERS GET A NICE WELL SCULPTED STATUE WHILE HERMAN GETS A FUCKIN FUNKO POP

26 notes - Posted May 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

YESY EYSEYYSE YEYSYE EYSY EYS

HE’S REAL HE’S HERE HE’S SO NASTY AAAAAAAAA ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

33 notes - Posted May 17, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[lawain-dimensional-heroes]

"Nebulus, what's the current intel that is currently gathered regarding this planet's lifeforms. There seems to be a civilization, is there not?"

"That is correct. Some of our kind have found human life across the planet, with the location we're currently residing in being a part of a nation known as Natlan. It's architecture suggest it's civilization isn't advanced, however we've located a variety of mechanical lifeforms in the levels more suitable to that of our era wandering astray. However, it appears these machines are programmed to consider outsider as threats considering some were engaging in combat with our kind and on top of they do not seem to have any semblance of wireless communication. We've already deployed repair drones to attend their damages."

"...Understood. Make sure that there is one of these machines deactivated so we can research the technology available in Natlan. It may prove useful to us in the future."

Jinki decided to take a stroll around the nation, specifically around the Basin of Unnumbered Flames, thinking that traversing around the place and heading to the stadium of the Sacred Flame, the most well known landmark and capital of Natlan.

As she made her way to the stadium, she did encounter and observed various things, from humans from different tribes who at least gave her a warning for coming near their resting grounds, to Saurians of different kinds, with the youngster of course being curious about the queen of the mechabeings herself, to coming across different animals, with one very long necked saurian being rather passive towards Jinki observing these creatures. And yes, the Hilichurls and some from the abyss order who she made quick work of.

With the most recent one, an Abyss mage, she had blasted her foe's head clean off as if it was smoke she was hitting. But interestingly enough, what she expected was a dead corpse ended up being reduced to blue, white and yellow particles of light, dispersing till there was nothing left of her foe.

"...To think this planet cannot get more out of the ordinary. From dinosaurs to advanced technology, from humans to such vile cavemen like beings, to those elemental wizards with plague-doctors masks. I'm almost beginning to consider the potential that this world is made purely of magic rather than it being naturally made...Had I had sufficient data I would've known the reason using simulations by now..."

Her audio receptors picked up a crackling sound nearby. Probably a tree branch being broken, but she couldn't ignore it, especially with the dangers that she had been faced with. So her right hand turned into a arm cannon, aiming at the location of the sound, ready to fire a concentrated plasma shot.

"..."

But upon noticing the figure, it appeared that she wasn't facing someone from the abyss order, or those hilichurlians. Nor did he seem like someone from Natlan from the looks of the attire...

"...And this world keeps on subverting expectations." She lowered her arms, reverting that one arm blaster back to her normal right arm. Great, human interactions. A quote unquote skill she was programmed with that she can exercise in this situation...

"From the clothing you are wearing, you too aren't of this nation either, am I not wrong?"

@runeskald

[glaucophane]

Disappointment rex

As the new models for the alpha of Battle For Azeroth come out on Wowhead and MMO-Champion, I find myself more and more torn between two emotional extremes. On the one hand - and even though I exclusively play Alliance, who likely won’t spend much time in the zones populated by these creatures - a whole slew of new dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals are slated to be added to the game, and I could not be more excited for the possibility of tracking down every one in the game world. And on the other, I am deeply, deeply disappointed - not necessarily by the models themselves, but in how badly the people from my field have been unable to communicate what dinosaurs actually look like.

There’s a major disconnect here between stuff that’s known to science, and what ends up filtering in to pop culture.

We’ve already seen this happen before with dinosaurs, with the backlash against the discovery of feathers on certain theropods - specifically on those belonging to Maniraptora, commonly known as “raptors.” While taken as a given in paleontological circles, this idea of feathered dinosaurs has been very slow to catch on in the world at large. The first confirmed feathered dinosaur was described in 1996: Sinosauropteryx, a small compsognathid dinosaur from China, was found with preserved feathers, and the evidence has only compounded since then. And yet we still see naked raptors in Jurassic World, hand-waved away by the progenitor story’s famous use of frog DNA to fill out a spotty genetic code sample. Populating a world with fleet-footed, giant-clawed, efficient hunters is somehow less cool when those same animals are covered in sleek plumage, it would seem.

But I’m straying from the thing that inspired this essay. The thing that’s really just stuck in my craw. The thing that’s been gnawing at me: devilsaurs. If there’s anything that highlights just how badly we’ve cocked up showing the world what dinosaurs look like, it’s the new undead devilsaur model. Because, somehow, it’s more boring than the real things.

While I doubt that the models were accurate before now, having an animate skeleton to look at makes the disconnect between science and pop culture clear as day. I could nitpick at length about how the third digit on the thing’s hand makes my eye twitch, or how the arms are held in an anatomically impossible way, how the shoulder girdle is completely misplaced on the body, that the hips sit too low on the body, and on and on ad nauseum. But there are two things that I think are far more worthwhile to point out:

the absence of gastralia on the skeleton, and

the repetition of the square-ended neural spines and chevrons

The first is a clear example of the disconnect, and I know precisely how it came about. The gastralia, or gastral basket, are a series of “belly-ribs” found in multiple theropod groups, including tyrannosaurs, oviraptors, and compsognathids. They may have aided in breathing but, in spite of their importance, they are frequently left off of skeletal mounts in museums. This is partly a practical decision, because the gastralia are thin and fragile relative to the rest of the body. But perhaps more than that, the exclusion of gastralia has led to a perception of dinosaurs that are far skinnier than science knows them to be. Regardless of whether or not it’s based on T. rex or Allosaurus, the devilsaur is missing a good chunk of its body.

The second is as much a violation of good artistic design as it is bad skeletal anatomy, and also where the design really hits the brakes on my excitement. In a nutshell, the more times an element is repeated, the more it fades into background noise. This is somewhat broken up by slight color variations on the model, but not enough to make it any less dull. And, in an ironic way, it makes the creature seem less like it belongs on Azeroth than the actual creatures from Earth.

The neural spines - the part of the individual back and tail bones that stick upward - and the chevrons - a series of V-shaped bones that attach to the underside of the tail - are not so static on real theropods as they are on the zombie devilsaur. On a Daspletosaurus, between 1/4 and 1/3 of the way down the tail, the neural spines begin to taper backward, becoming more swept-back, while the prezygapophyses - the forward-facing knobs of bone that help keep vertebrae aligned - grow in length and sweep forward. The chevrons below progressively transform from being knife-shaped to being shaped like axe blades, and then finally more like straight razors near the tail tip. The look of the current devilsaur is one of stasis, of tedium, while real-life tyrannosaurs were far more slick and fluid. The art design would rather swap a series of Chiclets for a series of backward-swept blades and forward-swept pikes, which is so far removed from the Warcraft that puts spikes on damned near everything.

I really don’t know where to go from here. I have my doubts that a massive company like Activision-Blizzard is going to be swayed by the likes of my puny blog, and that isn’t even my intent in putting this out here. And as much as this could be written off as venting from an unpleasable fan from a notoriously unpleasable fanbase, it’s not that either. I know I’m one of the few people on Earth that gets to regularly work with these incredible extinct beasts, these creatures that have captivated us for two hundred years, and I want to share that knowledge and experience instead of hoarding it all.

At a time when “well, actually” is the fastest way to identify a pedant with nothing worthwhile to contribute, I don’t want this venting into the void to amount to nothing but nitpicking. More than anything, I hope that this kind of art criticism can be a jumping-off platform, a way to make inroads into bridging the gap between the thing I’ve devoted myself to - paleontology - and the things that I play to unwind after a long week in the lab - video games.

[hrodvitnon]

Abraxas Finale Preview 2 (Mosugoji Edition)

There's an approaching sound of wings on the air and he breathes a little easier in the presence of his Queen.  She nuzzles his blunt snout, her fur and antennae causing his nostrils to itch.

The Two Who are One are on the move, she informs him, and Godzilla thrums attentively.  They've just passed us on their way east with little Manda... just to visit their mother, so you need not worry about disciplining them.

Going to see a parent?  The idea is a warm-blooded one foreign to him — Godzilla hasn't seen his own mother since he and the survivors of his clutch grew large enough to fend for themselves, and he'd been aware of his father, or at least one who he suspects was his father based on how his mother would glance toward a certain bull saurian in the distance.  The People had called that one "Dagon" or "Raijin" and worshipped him as some great spirit, but he fell victim to the Unclean Thing that birthed the Parasites.  If Godzilla had been younger, perhaps he'd think of crushing that fiend underfoot to be like avenging a father he never knew beyond curious peeps from a hatchling.

They've a title already, Godzilla notes as Mothra crawls up his back and begins preening at him.  Didn't take long for the People to name them.  Always with the names.

They have several names, Mothra chimes and Godzilla snorts, because of course humans would pile names on such an usual creature.  When she lists the names, the sounds come out as though from a great flute, which only emphasizes Godzilla's opinion that such things are pretty but useless; it doesn't help that he probably can't pronounce most of them.  He grunts, feeling something get pulled out from between his plates, and a chunk of cinderblock thumps onto the sand.

You always make such a mess of yourself after a scrap, Mothra chides him.

You know I can't reach back there!

Yes, yes... she sooths the exposed ache with her long tongue, gives him a playful jab.  But that just means I can make you beautiful again.

Godzilla snorts.  And who, pray tell, am I supposed to be impressing?

Me, of course.

That's not so difficult.  All it takes is a little flash.

Mothra makes a tutting sort of noise.  All that does is distract me from fixing you up!  Every time we meet again, there's another scratch on my king.

Have to keep the rambunctious young ones in check.  Godzilla pulses a gentle blue; not to tease her, but in a show that he is comfortable in her presence and that he feels at peace.  Mothra digs out more and more pieces of shrapnel that've been caught in his plates and irritated him for a while.  He glows happily.

[tarencehowling]

Prompt #5 - Cutting Corners

Characters: Ella Rons, Father, Beny

Location: ??? 

“Alright Ella, we have to craft a heavy metal longsword that a soldier ordered.” I give an affirmative nod to my father already having a mental list on what I should prepare. “Right i’ll start preparing ye furnace and go get ye lucky-” My father cuts me off by holding his hand up as a sign to shut my trap.

He begins to give a serious stare at me and his raw pirate accent gets loud and affermitve, “Ye don't need to start my prep for today Ella, You are going to make the sword.” He then gives a small smile.

I stood still for a moment and my eyes widen in surprise, this is going to be my first time actually making the order! After being just an apprentice for so long I'm going to be making an order! I have a big grin over my face and look at my father, “I won't let you down father!” I start to walk off writing what materials I need in my head.

I start to grab my blacksmith apron, put on my gloves and tie my red fiery hair in a ponytail to clear my face. I quietly mumble to myself repeating what materials I need then walk in the storage room to get the supplies. “ Luminium Ore check, Platinum check, Saurian Leather check.” 

As I'm carrying the materials in my arms while searching through the storage room I slowly start painicing to not find the most important metal, the heavy metal ingot. “Where is it, where could it be?” I start looking in the boxes to find not a scrap of that damn metal, I start to quickly think of what my father would do. 

“Oh! Father would visit Beny if we suddenly ran out of materials!” I immediately put the rest of the materials I needed in a box and ran out the door heading straight to Beny’s market stall. 

I start to see the male Roegadyn I was looking for and start to dash towards him “Beny! I need ye help, I am in need of some Tungsite for an important order!” The Roe looks at me with a frown and my painiking starts to rise again. “Im sorry mate, a shipment of Tungsite is going to take a couple days to arrive ere’.”

I start to frown again, “Aye, have a good rest of your day then.” I then start to walk back to my shop trying to think up another plan. “Okay I can't make Heavy Metal, what do i do, what do I do?” I start to clump up my hair trying to think

Okay uh, I need to make something that looks similar to heavy metal. I then snap my fingers, coming up with a plan. “Iron! Iron looks similar to heavy metal, I might be cutting corners here but I need to craft this.”

I get the iron out of the storage room and start to begin to make the Iron- I mean heavy metal sword. After the sword comes out of the water barrel molding its shape, I wipe my forehead already covered in ash and start to look at the sword. It's smelted Luminiun gold handle and sharp blade looks to be alright! 

I pick up and carry the sword and walk out of the room to find my father, “Im done! Ere is the order Father” I hand him the sword and he takes it and starts to gaze at it. 

“Ye did a fine job on making the sword dear, ye really did, but there is a lesson I forgot to teach ye that is the most important lesson to remember.” He walks up to the sword dummy and starts to attack it with the sword. 

Immediately after the first swing the sword starts to make a different sound, It bent. I widen my eyes and frown knowing what was going to come next. My father raises his voice, turning stern. “Whenever someone makes a sword or armor order, they are trusting you with their safety! The sword ye make protects them from being defencles, the armor ye make protects them from being severely injured. You are responsible Ella, and I want you to remember that.”

I nervously try to defend myself, “But-” “But nothing! I don't want to see a cheaper or more easier way to craft again. Do you hear me?” My Father cuts me off and I slowly nod my head.

“Go clean up, you have failed the test!” I start to widden my eyes and my voice nervously comes out. “T-This was a test the whole time?” My Fathers eyes narrow “Of course it was a test! I ain't trusting yet with a real customer anytime soon.”

I sigh and start to head back inside to clean up for the day.

[heliinx]

“ It is not fair, Rinki. Not fair! Ruinous power-things bless-give gifts to their chosen! Great strength, beauty, great power! What does Horned Rat Bastard give his children? Nothing! Nothing but misery-pain and problem-headaches!”

She’s complaining to her largely mute Lizardman bodyguard, pacing back and forth before him. Of course, she is sure to speak in Saurian, a language no one in the warren but her knows how to write, read, or understand. Heliinx couldn’t even begin to imagine to consequences of squeaking such angry heresy within the hearing of her rodentine brothers. The Council of Thirteen had spies everywhere, millions of ears and eyes secreted into millions of places. Even in Clan Reave.

Especially in Clan Reave, given the recent happenings.

Rinki may as well have been a statue with how still he was. He didn’t even follow the pacing she-rat with his eyes, though at her tirade his tail gave the barest twitch. Pleased. Both at her rage and to hear his tongue spoken to him after being immersed in the harsh squeaking language of ratmen for years and years.

Heliinx kicked out with a paw and a sharp, angry squeak. Her pink foot caught Rinki’s ankle and she wound up squeaking again, this time in pain. The Saurus was as solid as any wall and her poor paw didn’t stand a chance. Hackles raised, she considered striking him down. How dare he be in the way of her tantrum! Nevermind the fact that she ordered him to stand there, in that exact spot. There was a tense moment of silence, save for the crackling of electricity in her paw, but eventually that too bled away and Heliinx slid bonelessly into the nearest stone chair.

Only Rinki’s rumble made her look up and she followed his suddenly focused gaze to a meek ratmen standing in the frame of her chambers. One with her mark-- one of her slaves.

“ Lady-master,” the dimunitive ratman begin, “ Have news from--”

“ I can speak-squeak for myself, slave.” Another voice was heard, deeper and more commanding. Practically shoving the other ratman out of the frame with his presence alone, the form of Espik, the Clan’s Murder Master, slid into view. He was a tall, rangy thing with red robes clinging to his black fur. Various coverings and wrappings obscured his features and there was no scent to discern his mood, his thoughts. Behind her, Rinki stirred. The Lizardmen had killed many assassins just like him and didn’t trust the red-garbed killer in the slightest.

Frankly neither did she.

Already, she was wringing her paws and reminding herself of the neccesary incantations for a Skitterleap, in case she needed to literally disappear. She doubted the assassin would be much good against her Saurus.

“ What news?” She asked, ears perked in interest, “ Tell-squeak. News is good-pleasant?”

“ Nurglitch VII disapproves of you. He has poison-cutting words for our clanlord, as well.” Espik began. Heliinx didn’t react much, besides a frown and a twitch of the whisker. That wasn’t anything unexpected. “ But, despite his personal feeling-thoughts, he cannot deny Reave’s strength. The old plague-rat is hungry for the Seerlord’s place on the council and sees-smells this is a golden opportunity to take-steal it.”

A plaguelord in the seerseat. Ridiculous!

“ So he is genuine-true ally of Reave?”

“ Appears to be the case, yes-yes. Will not openly support Reave’s defense should we need to fight, but has thrall clans and thrall rat lives to spend-give. If we win, Pestilens can make power play on council since the attack is at Kritislik’s behest. If lose, he can dismiss those thralls as traitor-rebels.”

Heliinx rubbed her beard of fur, thoughtfully. Assuming the Arch-plaguelord stuck to that scheme, it wasn’t a bad plan, broadly speaking. Individually speaking, she knew cuddling up with the plague-makers would see an uptick of assassinations attempts on her life. Her gaze drifted to Rinki; she briefly considered cloning him. But new, more prudent thoughts took center in her mind.

“And what news of the Reaper-thing, Espik?”

The assassin looked thoughtful, Heliinx gleaning as much from his eyes. The brief silence following her question was cause for anxiety and it almost turned over into anger. Fortunately, he spoke before it did.

“ The location of the daemon-thing is unchanged from previous reports. My Gutter Runners were able to get in close-close. The daemon seems...weakened. Like man-thing lost in hot desert with no water or slave-meat whose gone days without food-meal.”

Weakened. Heliinx couldn’t stop the grin that spread out over her face. 

“ However,” Espik held up a taloned finger with his addendum, “ Not always weak. Sometimes, will go into blood-rage, then be back at full-strength.”

The she-rat’s smile faltered. That complicated things, but it didn’t completely throw her plans out of whack. Adjustments could be made. Would be made. Absently, she fished in the pockets of her robe and pulled out several glowing warp-tokens to deposit into the assassin’s paw.

“ You did well-good, Espik. Can see-smell why the Clanlord spared your life when you came to kill-slay him.”

Espik didn’t react to the remark but Heliinx knew all the same he didn’t like it. It was no throwaway comment either. The Grey Seer wasn’t Weaver; her trust in the Master Murderer only went so far. But she could deny his skill, which is why her claw snagged in the fabric of his gloves whenever she opened her paw to led the coins drop in his open hand. They locked eyes, Heliinx’s gaze filled with greed.

“ Have one more task-mission for you. Safer, I promise-swear.” She squeaked, “ Want-need man-things. Specific man-things-- cultists of the blood god.”

They would have information and knowledge on the red daemons that would be hard to find anywhere else. Heliinx had a suspicion her mark of domination would be useless on Skarbrand, so other means needed to be made ready whenever the Council came calling. The Bloodthirster was her ace in the hole.

Even if he didn’t know it yet.

“ You can do that for me, yes-right?”

The assassin was unreadable. His answer, like before, didn’t come right away. How many of his gutter runners had died to see her mission completed? Sure, he had intended for some of them to perish, but others had promise and potential. They had just as well, leaving the Master Assassin with few pupils. But still, he wasn’t foolish enough to cross Heliinx, especially when she was more or less gripping his paw.

One pulse of warp energy and he was done. Electrocuted, immolated, and that was if Heliinx was feeling merciful.

The red-garbed ratman nodded once.

“ Of course, Pale Lady.”

[trashroyalty99]

Just some domestic life headcanons for Aurelia. (Yes, I like her. Stop judging me.)

-You two got together in one of the parties she attended, which was dreadfully boring to her.

-That was until you bursted in with a flamethrower in your hand. You fired it in the air, releasing the heat and making the guests search for cover.

-You cackled madly as you headed to the champagne bottles and opened one.

-Aurelia walked over to you with an smile on her face.

"Your entrance was one of kind, good sir/ma'am . And brought much needed entertainment to this event."

"Why thank you. You're one of the few to compliment my entrances Miss.."

"Hammerlock. Aurelia Hammerlock."

"My, my, one of the legendary vault hunters from Elpis. Pleasure to make your acquitance."You try to gently take her hand and kiss it but she pulled it away.

"Ah, ah. Not so fast my darling. That is an privilege one must earn."

-And that is how this romantic tale between you started. Well, as romantic as relationships with Aurelia can be.

-It started out as you starting trying to get her interested in you but she was already interested. She just wanted to see how far you were willing to go.

-After serenading to her, she knew you weren't going to back down. She decided to give you a chance.

"Entertain me for tonight and I'll decide, if you're worthy of my attention." You chuckled to this.

"I may not worthy of your time but you're worthy of mine."

-For your first date you took her to hunting exotic creatures on Eden-6.

-You having almost no experience in hunting let Aurelia lead the hunting trip, only for you to be mezmerised by her.

-You were impressed by her talent in tracking and shooting, only for you to be constantly to be complimenting her.

"Such raw talent. I've never seen a woman who possess this much both beauty and skill."

-She absolutely loves the way you compliment her. This is how she'll react tho.

-"I do know all this. But please do keep going. It's nice for someone to recognize my talent."

-After you've managed to kill the Saurian, you'll both fly back to her mansion. You awkwardly lean on the railing as she walks up on the stairs.

"Well, moment of truth. Am I worthy of your..mph!?" She suddenly grabbed you by your collar and pulled you into an kiss.

-After she stopped the kiss, she gazed into your eyes. "You've proven to be an enjoyable entertainment. Therefore, your mine for the time being."

-This lead you two buying an ginormous mansion, just for you two. (And some of the servants)

-Aurelia doesn't really treat her service people with respect, so it's upto you to remind her that they're human too.

-She'll be slightly annoyed by this but does say an thank you. Overtime she'll become less of an bitch, thanks to your influence.

-She's very busy with managing her wealth and hunting, so you'll become her assistant/all time available boyfriend/girlfriend.

-She will buy all the expensive stuff, for you even, if you were rich enough to buy them yourself. (You know what's better then Xbox? Better Xbox. That's pretty much how it'll go when she's buying you gifts.)

-She will buy both you a lot of outfits. And I mean a lot.

-Whenever you have to attend an event or an ball, Aurelia will make sure you two are the most expensive things in the room.

-This includes wearing the most expensive suit/dress, jewelries and fancy makeup if that's your thing.

-She doesn't say I love you often but when she does you know it means something.

-When she's drunk she'll shower you in compliments and kisses. Which is every other weekend, when she opens an new wine bottle.

-Mornings are the most together time you get. You two cuddle underneath the blanket sharing its heat, Aurelia clinging to you searching for warmth.

-She prefers to be the big spoon but doesn't mind being small spoon. (She's usually the big spoon.)

-Her hands are constantly cold, so this means you have to warm them up for her. She does usually wear gloves but she left them out of her wardrobe once, she realized you could warm them for her.

Once again relationships with fictional characters are fun to write.

[spicycreativity]

Ticket Crimes - Oneshot

Rating: T Words: 9,752 Characters: All Category: Gen Summary: To welcome his new crew members about the USS Foley, Starfleet Captain Janus Gaines schedules shore leave on the pleasure planet of Ya'Lotus. Janus and Virgil run into an old acquaintance who seems to have ulterior motives; Roman and Remus attempt to infiltrate a drug trafficking ring; Patton and Logan narrowly avoid death on a history tour. Content Warnings: Mild violence/violent intent, alcohol use/mild intoxication, guns and phasers (no shots fired), mentions of drugs and drug trafficking (no drug use depicted) Note: You do not need to be familiar with Star trek to read this. In fact, it's probably better that you're not, because I took a LOT of liberties with canon

Doctor Patton Kelsey's boot heels clicked along the metal floor of the USS Foley as he made his way out of Sickbay. Despite the corridors' unusual emptiness, he kept to the right side out of habit, dragging his fingers along the wall as he went. He counted the doors, mouthing the numbers to help him keep track, until he came across the door he was looking for.

There was nothing usual about Ensign Virgil Salem's door except for the fact that it rarely ever opened. Virgil emerged for his shifts and for scheduled meals and made himself scarce the rest of the time.

Patton had studied Virgil's chart extensively but found no psychological defect that would render him unfit to serve in Starfleet. Surmising that Virgil was shy, Patton privately declared himself responsible for looking after the young recruit. The fact that they had joined the crew at the same time only served to strengthen this notion.

Patton raised his fist and knocked gently on the door, knowing full well that Virgil was inside. "Ensign Salem?" No response. "Virgil? Kiddo? Our group is about ready to beam down."

"Do I really have to go to that?" Virgil asked, his voice muffled behind the door.

"You don't want to?" Patton asked. "It's a party for us!"

"I would have been fine with a bottle of Saurian brandy, but nobody bothered to ask for my opinion, did they?"

Patton smiled a little and leaned against the doorframe. "Look, kiddo, you'd better just come with me before Captain Gaines calls you over the intercom."

"Shore leave is supposed to be optional," Virgil shot back, but Patton could tell that his resolve was slipping away. Virgil took a while to warm up to things, but he could usually be convinced.

"Not when the whole reason we're here is to celebrate you!"

"And you," Virgil said, and he was much closer to the door now.

Patton stepped back and waited for the door to slide open. It did a moment later, and Virgil appeared still tugging on his gold tunic over the standard issue black undershirt. His dark brown hair, slightly longer than regulation permitted, stuck up in the back where he had been resting his head against his pillows. Patton absentmindedly smoothed it down, though he managed not to lick his hand to do so.

Virgil let him lead him down the hall toward the Transporter Room. "You know I'm not actually your kid, right?"

"But we look so much alike!" Patton smiled sunnily at him. Patton was sturdy and soft where Virgil was rail-thin, and his honey blonde hair and blue eyes contrasted with Virgil's own dark hair and darker eyes.

"Sure, pops." Virgil shook his head, but there was a fondness to it. "I look like your shadow."

He stuttered his steps as they approached the Transporter Room so Patton would enter before him. Virgil respected Captain Janus Gaines, but he was also keenly aware of their difference in rank whenever they shared space. While Captain Gaines played fast and loose with regulations and encouraged his crew to do the same, Virgil never forgot what those regulations were. They had been drilled into his head at the Academy and haunted him like a ghost no matter how casually the Captain treated him.

"Took you long enough," Janus drawled. "I was starting to think you'd gotten lost."

"That was one time," Virgil said before he could stop himself. Not that it mattered; Janus had only ever been amused by Virgil's backtalk.

The rest of the party to beam down were milling about like guests at a mixer, largely ignoring Virgil and Patton. Janus stood out among them not only for his nonchalance, but for his unusual appearance. He made no secret of rejecting his half-Vulcan heritage and regularly spirited away Lieutenant Commander Remus Aime to help him bleach his hair and eyebrows. This resulted in unhealthy-looking white-blond hair and stark black roots. To make up for this transgression, he kept his hair at an acceptable regulation length, one that revealed his mismatched ears. The left was pointed exactly as a Vulcan's ears would be, but the right was rounded like a human's. Contributing to the asymmetry were his mismatched eyes: the left was a piercing blue while the right was warm and brown.

"We're ready now!" Patton said. He often focused on the bridge of the Captain's nose to avoid staring openly at him, and he did so now with a sunny but vacant smile gracing his lips.

"Places, everyone," Janus said, cutting off the murmured conversation between the remaining party members.

They all stepped onto the platforms, Virgil with his stomach turning with nerves, Patton staring dead ahead, still smiling.

It was over in a blink.

Janus stepped forward, turning around so he could address his party. "Gentlemen," he said, raising his arms for maximum melodrama, "welcome to Ya'Lotus."

"Uh, yeah, so what is this place?" Virgil asked, stepping off his platform.

He was interrupted by Lieutenant Roman Aime, who had made no secret of his disregard for Virgil since day one. "Weren't you paying attention the first two times we explained it to you?"

Janus rolled his eyes, annoyed at having lost control of the conversation, but made no attempt to regain it. "Logan?"

The android nodded at him, stepping forward and edging Roman out of Virgil's space. "Lotus Island, located on the planet of Ya'Lotus, is a popular shore leave destination due to its vast array of amenities and unique ticket-based economy."

Virgil, who had not been paying attention in the slightest the first two times this was explained to him, frowned. "Ticket-based?"

"Like Earth money," Remus Aime interjected.

"Yeah, yeah," said Roman.

"Ooh, like the county fair!" Patton said.

Virgil wheeled around to face him. "Is that an Earth thing? I'm from Alpha Proxima II."

"Well," said Janus, regaining everyone's attention by clapping his hands once. "Thank you, Ensign Salem, for that fascinating little jaunt into your personal history. But seeing as we're here to have fun, why don't you just stick close to me until you figure everything out, hm?"

"Yes, sir," Virgil said, squinting at Janus. He, like many others, was never sure where he stood with the half-Vulcan, and was unsure what to make of him because of it.

"Joy," said Janus. Addressing the rest of the landing party, he said, "Virgil and I are off to the Tier III Lounge. Is anyone else coming?"

"Logan said he wanted to do the self-guided history tour," said Patton, nudging the android in the ribs.

Logan nodded, causing his ash blond hair to dance along the line of his jaw. His gray eyes differed from organic beings' only in that they reflected no light, and he turned this unsettling gaze upon Patton, who tried not to flinch. "That is correct."

"An island full of debauchery and you're going on a history tour?" Remus demanded, grabbing a fistful of Patton's shirt. Despite the height disparity (Patton being the tallest member of the party and Remus being the shortest), Patton bit his lip and leaned back as much as the young Romulan's grip allowed. With his extravagant face tattoos and devilish bearing, Lieutenant Commander Remus Aime was no stranger to getting his way through intimidation tactics.

"You get free salt water taffy," Patton said, glancing around to see who might assist him.

It was Remus' twin brother who came to his aid, yanking Remus back by the hair. "Knock it off."

"I am your superior officer!" Remus said, releasing Patton and turning to face his brother.

"Oh, I do apologize, Lieutenant Commander Hair Dye," Roman said. To Janus, who was toying with his bleached locks with an exaggerated carefree expression, Roman said, "We'll go with you."

"No way!" Remus said, freeing dark hair from his brother's grasp. "I don't want to go to some stuffy lounge."

"We'll find our own fun on the way," Roman said.

"Again with the melodrama." Janus sighed and looked over at Virgil, who was slouching with his hands jammed in his pockets. "Follow me. If we lose them, we lose them."

Janus turned on his heel, an impressive feat given he was supplementing his already substantial height with three-inch heels, and left the receiving Transporter Room with Virgil in tow. Always loath to be left out, Roman followed suit, trailing Remus, Patton, and Logan behind him.

The first stop was a massive receiving terminal where they were all made to spin a wheel to receive their first round of tickets.

"How, exactly, does this work?" Virgil asked, folding his tickets into a small stack.

"If you really cared to know, you should have paid attention the first two times Logan explained it to you," Janus said, stuffing his own tickets up his sleeve like an Earth magician. "You're more than welcome to join him and Doctor Kelsey on the history tour if you think that would be a better way to spend your time than a high-end liquor tasting."

"You know," Virgil said, "I think I'll stick with you."

"That's what I thought."

A fair distance behind them trailed the Romulan twins Vrih and Vaebri i-Elehu tr'Aime, better known but their preferred names. Given that they hailed from a particularly superstitious region of the planet Romulus, the twins had dubbed themselves "Roman" and "Remus'' respectively to avoid the bad luck of giving away their full names.

"Captain Quick Step is trying to ditch us," complained Remus, his boot heels clicking against the concrete. Patton and Logan had already peeled off, leaving the brothers to tag along after Janus and Virgil on their own.

"Don't let him," Roman urged, nudging Remus to hurry up.

Lotus Island was a hectic place, bustling with all races of aliens. Music rang out loud over strategically-placed speakers and workers called out for the crowd to try their luck at a variety of carnival games from multiple cultures. Sequestered away in gravity-defying skyscrapers were gambling halls, and further inland towered the tracks of massive roller coasters.

Remus dodged an inebriated Orion and nearly tripped, grabbing onto Roman's tunic to stay upright. "He's dodging and weaving, that bastard!"

"You shouldn't have worn heels," Roman chided, grabbing Remus by the wrist and yanking him forward.

"You're wearing heels, too."

"But I can actually walk in them."

Far ahead of them and gaining ground, Janus was employing Earth-based power walking techniques. Virgil stuck close behind him at a jog, toying with his tickets, privately amazed at the unfamiliar sensation of actual paper between his fingers.

Virgil, despite his rigorous Academy training, was somewhat out of breath. Janus was not, and even if he was, would not have allowed Virgil to see him gasping for breath. He had determined long ago to take the best of his Vulcan heritage and the best of his human heritage, suppressing his weak points far beneath the surface where no one could ever see them. Despite his fondness for Remus, Janus Gaines was simply not a man who allowed himself emotional attachments and weaknesses, and this had very little to do with his early childhood training on Vulcan.

"Any particular reason you're running me like a racehorse?" Virgil asked.

"Like you've ever seen a racehorse," Janus replied.

"Okay, don't answer the question."

Despite their rapid pace, Janus managed to turn and leer at Virgil, micro-expressing as only a Vulcan could. "Because it's funny."

Virgil didn't see what was so funny about ditching crewmates, but (wisely) kept that to himself. "Why don't we catch a lift, then?" He gestured to one of the many ride services available, surreys and bicycles, rickshaws and moving sidewalks.

"We're almost there," Janus said, motioning to a blue-black building ahead of them. The rounded windows were blacked out, leaving Virgil to wonder at what was inside.

It was a regular lounge, as he soon found out, quiet and upscale. The interior was dark and just a touch too cool for Virgil and Janus' liking. Virgil crossed his arms as he followed Janus to the bar, but was soon distracted by a familiar hissing and clicking from the corner. "Is that a pinball machine?"

Janus looked at him like he'd just said something phenomenally stupid, mostly to hide the fact that he had only a vague idea of what a pinball machine was. "You can worry about that or you can let me buy you a drink."

"Fine," said Virgil, who had yet to master the subtle and esoteric art of decoding Janus' communication style. He clambered onto a barstool and picked at the piping on his sleeves that denoted his rank while Janus ordered something that the universal translator couldn't translate into English.

The sensation of eyes on him made Virgil shudder. He ran a hand through his unruly hair and glanced down the bar only to make eye contact with a pair of green eyes. They belonged to a Vulcan Virgil had never seen before. Unsure of what to do, Virgil froze, leaving the Vulcan to break the eye contact. He looked Janus up and down, then up again, his gaze lingering on his bleached hair.

"Dude," said Virgil, once he had recovered from the off-putting sensation of having been cased and rejected, "I think that guy likes you."

Janus leaned forward and peered down the bar before pulling back in an attempt to hide behind Virgil. "Shit."

Then came the voice, bassy, yet undeniably Vulcan in its even monotone. "Chu'lak? I thought that was you."

"Fuck," said Janus, already smiling, "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He slipped off the barstool and landed cleanly on his toes so the click of his heels didn't disturb the lounge's quietude. "Sihok."

Sihok saluted both Janus and Virgil, though his attention was mostly on Janus. "Scheduled shore leave?"

"A welcome party," Janus said, holding out his hand for a shake.

Sihok eyed it with what Virgil regarded incorrectly as apathy and Janus recognized as disgust and a trace of amusement. After a fraction of a section of hesitation, he shook Janus' hand. "And this is the new recruit?" he asked, indicating Virgil with a small nod.

"Ensign Virgil Salem," Janus said.

Virgil, who had been trained in cross-cultural contact, gave the proper Vulcan salute with a trembling hand. Despite being unable to decipher Sihok's body language, he could sense the tension between Sihok and Janus as keenly as he could the difference between scotch and bourbon. Somewhere behind them, Virgil registered the click of their drinks being set down.

"Ensign Salem," said Sihok. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Virgil said, trying not to fidget.

"It is gratifying to know that you've held on to your manners despite your proximity to Chu'lak and his… half-measures."

Virgil's eyes went wide and he quickly averted his gaze. But to Virgil's surprise, Janus, rather than dressing Sihok down, gave a cold chuckle and put a hand on Virgil's shoulder. "It's Janus. Captain Janus Gaines."

"You always did have trouble conforming," Sihok said.

"Yes," said Janus, "Mathematically speaking, I thought I would go for half acceptance. How do I measure up?"

Seeing that his companions were otherwise occupied in their strange battle of insults, Virgil rotated slightly to retrieve his drink from the bar behind him. He had a feeling he was going to need it if Sihok stuck around for much longer.

Sihok lifted one eyebrow ever so slightly. "They call you The Mad Vulcan."

"Well, now you have my attention." Janus turned and retrieved his own drink. "Shall we get a booth?" He knew perfectly well that Sihok was getting at something, and the mystery of the subject matter had him more curious than he would care to admit. He was reasonably sure he had managed to hide this from Sihok, having expressed anger and amusement as a sort of misdirection.

Virgil said, "Is this a worm?" He held his drink up to the light, examining the fizzing red liquid within to try to get a better look at the thing floating in it. "Like mezcal?" From the look Janus gave him, he judged that the universal translator hadn't been able to find a good Vulcan equivalent of the word. "Never mind. Booth?"

"But first." Janus held up his glass for Virgil to toast. "Congratulations, Ensign Salem. Welcome to the Foley."

--

"I didn't want to go to that stupid lounge, anyway," Remus said, crossing his arms. In a fit of pique, he grabbed Roman's braid, which ended just shy of his lower back, and gave it a yank.

"Oh, don't pick a fight with me just because you're grumpy," Roman said, flicking Remus' temple. "There's a million other things to do; I'm sure we can find something more fun than stalking the Captain and the new kid."

"Drugs?" said Remus, brightening considerably.

"I meant like a roller coaster or something, but if you want to go find an upper, I guess that's--"

"Let's go!" Remus started walking away.

"Seriously?" Roman said. "I was kidding! An island full of stuff to do and you want to get high?"

"Re-lax, Vrih. Janus will have a fit if I bring drugs onto the Foley, inside or outside of me. This is more of a personal challenge." Remus continued on his merry way, weaving behind buildings and sticking to areas so nondescript that Roman would have stayed away from them out of pure instinct.

"C'mon, Vaebri, I'm sure the heavily-regulated pleasure planet doesn't have a scary criminal underbelly for you to infiltrate. We're wasting time."

"We're almost there," said Remus.

"What do you mean we're almost there? Almost where? You've never even been here before."

"Do you ever shut up?"

Roman crossed his arms over his chest and scowled, but continued to follow Remus as he strode away from everything that made Lotus Island appealing. They ventured past a few 'Keep Out' signs written in Federation Standard and Vulcan into a gray jungle of humming machinery all locked inside tamper-resistant metal cages. Remus darted up to one particular machine and wasted no time jamming his face up against the grating.

"I'm gonna leave," Roman threatened, his arms still tightly crossed over his chest.

Remus was only half-listening, having just uncovered something he found far more interesting than gambling or thrill rides. "This powers an elevator!"

"Ooh," said Roman, barely giving the gray machinery a glance, "an elevator. Not like the Foley has turbolifts or anything."

"Someone wasn't paying attention to Logan's little spiel."

"Uh, yeah, Ensign Salem."

"No, no. You know what's under the island?"

"Water?"

Remus rolled his eyes and gave Roman's braid another tug. "You've been spending too much time with the Captain.

"Will you knock that off?" Roman demanded, kicking Remus in the shin.

"It's the staff's living quarters!" Remus said, growing bored with the argument.

"Oh," said Roman. "So we're definitely sneaking down there to take a look around?"

"Way ahead of you," Remus said, already fiddling with the control panel.

Behind them came the distinctive hiss of turbolift doors opening, followed by conversation. Roman and Remus, in a moment of synchronization, both turned on their heels and stood at attention. As Romulan twins, they were both fully aware of the attention they tended to attract once strangers figured out they weren't Vulcans. But the pair of humans, both wearing hot pink uniforms denoting them as staff members of Ya'Lotus, didn't so much as glance up as they carried on toward the Midway.

The twins exchanged a glance, then Remus dived for the closing doors with Roman hot on his tail.

"Nice," said Roman, already examining the panel of buttons.

Remus pressed one at random and the elevator began to drop, taking them far beneath the surface of Lotus Island. When the doors opened again, the twins were met with the sight of pale blue walls and concrete floors. It was eerily silent.

Roman stepped out hesitantly, looking around for any possible passers-by, but there was no one. He motioned for Remus to come out after him. While Remus held the higher rank, arbitrarily bestowed by Janus, Roman was the older (and bossier) twin and had yet to relinquish the sense of authority he had gained from a childhood of leading Remus around Romulus and, later, Decos Prime.

"What language is that?" Remus asked, nodding at the phrases painted on the walls.

Roman studied it for a moment. "Federation Standard. Sickbay is to the left, plus the Medical Staff Break Room. Living Quarters to the right."

"Break room," said Remus, already heading toward it. Roman fell into step beside him, so perfectly synchronized that the click of their heels on the concrete sounded like that of only one person. It was a trick they had perfected in childhood that had served them well in previous instances of trespassing.

"It's kinda freaky down here," Roman muttered. "Where is everybody?"

Remus shrugged. "Sleeping? Working?" He wasn't too bothered. Remus was of the mind that getting caught was half the fun of misbehaving.

"And what do you want with Sickbay, anyway?" No sooner had the words left Roman's lips did realization click into place. "Are you still on drugs?" he hissed, barely resisting the urge to grab Remus by the shirt and drag him back to the elevator.

"No, I'm not on drugs," Remus whispered back, displaying a picture-perfect shit-eating grin. "That's the problem." Upon spotting the door to the break room, he fell out of step with Roman and lunged forward to peek inside.

Roman was savvy enough to stop walking when he noticed Remus breaking away. He watched, half annoyed and half embracing the inevitable, as Remus froze in the doorway with wide eyes. With his facial tattoos, his unruly hair, and his mustache (which he had to shave before every inspection), Remus did not pass for Vulcan half as well as Roman did, even with his long hair.

Still, Remus straightened and crossed his arms behind his back, falling into a passable impression of Vulcan stoicism. "Good morning."

In the hall, Roman frantically flashed the Vulcan salute, trying to get Remus to notice.

"Officer," said a voice from within.

"Lieutenant Commander," said Remus, wiggling his fingers playfully at Roman behind his back.

"Did he send you?" asked another voice.

Remus' facade fractured for a moment, his lips twitching with excitement. He clenched one hand into a fist and shook it at Roman as much as his current positioning would allow. Roman rolled his eyes, confident now that Remus could see him.

"Yes." Remus had to fight to hold still as he stared down the two Caitians lounging at a table in the center of the room. They both had PADDs and communicators in front of them, both had half-empty mugs of a substance Remus couldn't identify.

One of the Caitians, whose name tag identified her as M'Birr, tilted her head at Remus, pupils going wide. "Shaa. What if he's lying?"

Remus rocked forward onto his toes, and he flashed several nonsense hand gestures at Roman behind his back in excitement. It was time to bring out one of Janus' favorite lines, albeit with less sarcasm than the Captain usually employed. "Vulcans do not lie."

"Yeah," said Shaa, her pupils also wide, "I have heard that. Beside, the Big Guy would have vetted him before sending him to us."

Bored with the waffling, Remus decided to take a risk. He had no way of knowing what or who the Caitians were referring to, or even if there was any mischief afoot. But Remus had a nose for trouble and he could see Roman getting bored in the hall. So he adjusted his posture and fixed M'Birr with his best impression of a calculating Vulcan stare. "I was instructed to obtain a sample of the product."

It was all he could do not to squirm in delight when M'Birr sighed and said, "He could have at least given you a Staff shirt. How am I supposed to sneak a member of Starfleet into Sickbay?"

"Incidentally," said Remus, still wiggling his fingers at Roman, who was pantomiming shock in his peripheral vision, "I wasn't told the name of the product."

"Like it matters," said M'Birr. "They're calling it 'kin.' How much did he tell you to move?"

Before Remus could answer, one of the communicators on the table chirped. "Voight here."

"Shaa."

"Starfleet's onto us."

Shaa side-eyed Remus, who took pains to hold completely still. "How can you be sure?"

"We've got two hitting all the stops on the trail. Not buying. Just looking. They went straight from the Help Desk to the Founder's Statue."

Remus and Roman sighed in tandem, both knowing full well it had to be Patton and Logan making their rounds on the self-guided tour.

"Not with us," Remus mouthed, looking M'Birr in the eye.

She exchanged a glance with Shaa, who shrugged briefly and addressed the communicator again. "What's the plan?"

"Dispatch. We can't let them off the planet."

"On our way." The two Caitians stood and moved toward the doorway where Remus was still standing. "Sorry, Lieutenant Commander, but we've got trouble."

Unable to help himself, Remus said, "You're just gonna leave me down here?"

"I'd think a Vulcan would know better than to cause trouble," M'Birr said pointedly. "Excuse me." She pushed past Remus, followed closely by Shaa. "And who's this?"

"Backup," said Roman, trying not to react to the sight of the two cat-like aliens before him.

M'Birr stared at him, calculating, but Shaa nudged her and said softly, "We don't have time for this."

"See yourselves out," said M'Birr. She and Shaa took off for the elevators, leaving Roman and Remus to stand awkwardly until they were out of sight.

"Drugs!" said Remus, stamping his heels on the floor and shimmying. "What did I tell you?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Roman, annoyed despite himself that Remus had gotten his way. "Can we go save our friends from getting murdered now?"

"Sure," said Remus, heading back toward the elevator, "if they haven't already died of boredom yet."

--

After receiving their specially-programmed PADDs for the self-guided tour (along with two bags of saltwater taffy), Patton and Logan had set off for the first stop on the tour.

"Ooh," said Patton, who was attempting to read, walk, and eat taffy at the same time. "There's trivia."

Logan grabbed him by the shoulder and steered him out of the way of a group of Andorians. "I believe that all the knowledge we gain here today could be referred to as 'trivia,' Doctor Kelsey."

"No, no." Patton shoved a candy wrapper in his pocket so he could use both hands to show Logan the PADD. "There's a trivia contest at the end! We should pay extra close attention."

"Noted," said Logan. "I will make an effort to keep the information in my memory banks."

"Oh, by the way." Patton navigated back to the map of Lotus Island. "You can call me Patton, you know."

"If you're sure," said Logan. "I am aware of the human concept of 'politeness' and did not wish to overstep if you were being polite when you introduced yourself."

"Nope! You really can call me Patton," Patton said cheerfully, holding up the PADD and rotating it, trying to get his bearings. "Where's Virgil when you need him?"

(Virgil was, at the moment, weighing up the benefits of crawling under the table and abandoning Janus and Sihok to their Vulcan mind games)

"Allow me to assist." Logan removed his own borrowed PADD from under his arm. "Next up is the, ah, 'Fun Wheel.'"

"That thing?" Patton asked, pointing to the massive Ferris wheel ahead of them. At their current proximity, the hulking metal contraption dominated the horizon.

"Yes," said Logan, biting back a sarcastic comment. The Captain responded well to sarcasm and Logan's communication style had evolved accordingly, but time and experience had shown that most people found Janus' sarcasm off-putting. And Logan had seen him don the mask of diplomacy, which received much better reception. So Logan decided he would be diplomatic in the hopes that it would make Patton feel at-ease. Logan did not want to be the crewmember responsible for scaring off their new CMO.

They made for the Ferris wheel, Patton still with his nose buried in the PADD. "You get more taffy for correctly answering trivia questions!"

"What could we possibly do with more taffy?" Logan asked.

"Share it with the others!"

They reached the viewing platform of the defunct Fun Wheel and both held up their PADDs to read the description.

What the PADDs did not tell them was that less than 30 guests attended the self-guided tour per Earth year and those guests that did were rarely members of Starfleet. The PADDs had also not been programmed with the knowledge that every single stop on the tour was a tradeoff point for distributors of a new drug known colloquially as 'kin,' as the scientific name was several syllables long, untranslatable from Golic Vulcan, and contained a multitude of niche phonemes.

"Do you smell that?" Logan asked, searching his memory banks for several pieces of data at once.

Patton sniffed and looked around in confusion. "The ocean?" Most of Ya'Lotus consisted of a saltwater ocean that contained no indigenous life. The sea breeze was fresh and cool and smelled, to Patton's human nose, unremarkable.

Logan shook his head. "There is a strong chemical smell emanating from the lower cabin of the Ferris wheel. I believe it may be opioid in nature."

"Opioid?" Patton sniffed and again could only smell rust and sweet ocean air. "You can get all that just from the smell?"

Logan nodded and approached the low metal fence, leaning over it to try to get a closer look at the cabin. It was caged off and covered with a fine mesh that blocked even his keen android eyesight. He cycled through his senses, again landing on smell as his best means of solving the puzzle before him. Beneath the smell of iron and grease, there was a definite tang of something other, something distinctly sedative. He wasn't specialized to identify chemicals like this, and the sensation of answers dancing just out of reach in his databank was enough to elicit an emotional reaction. He looked at Patton and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fuck."

"Whoa!" said Patton, tucking the PADD under his arm. "What's wrong?"

"Forgive me, Doct-- Patton. I am expressing frustration because I would like to know the source of the smell."

Patton leaned in over the guardrail. "Maybe it's just an industrial agent you're smelling? I can't think of any reason why opioid drugs would be anywhere near a Ferris wheel. Not here, anyway. Not on this planet."

"You're right," Logan said. "I will let it go." To emphasize this, he let go of the railing and stepped back. "Are you finished reading?"

"Yeah," said Patton, also backing up. "Let's move on."

And they turned and walked away from the first hidden kin manufacturing still on the tour.

--

By this point, Janus was fairly sure Sihok was getting at something, though he was circling around the point like a seabird waiting for the kill. It was a tactic Janus could respect, though it was decidedly un-Vulcan. Virgil, meanwhile, signaled for another round of drinks with his fingers. He too had an idea that Sihok was getting at something, and that Janus was as well. While he was admittedly inexperienced with Vulcan body language, he was reasonably sure that Janus hadn't figured it out yet. With boredom and alcohol combining in his mind, Virgil sat back and decided to try to figure it out before Janus did. Sure, he was just an Ensign, but he wasn't stupid.

At the moment, Sihok and Janus (whom Sihok insistently referred to by his Vulcan name, Chu'lak) were talking lightly about their careers.

"I thought," said Janus, drawing one fingertip around the rim of his glass, "you were studying xenobiochemistry."

"I was."

"So how did you end up here of all places?" He gestured to the room at large. Virgil, tracking the movement with his eyes, caught sight of the pinball machine and gazed longingly at it before remembering himself. "As I recall, you had a natural talent for the sciences. If you'll forgive my saying so, working security at a glorified casino seems a bit beneath you."

Sihok's expression did not change that Virgil could see, but he marked that Janus was smirking just a bit.

Sihok nodded. "I discovered in the course of my schooling that xenobiochemistry better suits me as a hobby. And, if you will permit a lapse in logic, I find the the atmosphere of Ya'Lotus most agreeable."

"You dig the vibe," Virgil blurted before he could stop himself. Janus and Sihok both stared at him and before his eyes, the expressions he had mistaken for disapproval read simply as confused. A small spark of triumph ignited in him; he was learning to understand Vulcan mannerisms.

"That didn't translate," Janus said.

"I thought you spoke Federation Standard," Virgil said.

"That was not Federation Standard."

Virgil's cheeks began to burn. "Ah, never mind. You were saying?"

"I think," said Sihok, "there is a certain beauty in mathematics. Do you agree?"

"Sure," said Janus. "But why do I get the feeling that you're not referring to fractals?"

Virgil fished a maraschino cherry out of his drink and began to bat it around the table with his fingertips.

"There is an objective beauty in symmetry," Sihok said vaguely. "No one could argue that. But it's asymmetry that has my interest. Chu'lak, answer a question for me."

"Yes?"

"Where are you staying tonight?"

Virgil stilled, his eyes flicking to Janus. He had no doubt that the question had translated oddly, that Sihok wasn't seriously propositioning Janus. But Janus had been given an opportunity to tease, and even from his limited experience aboard the Foley, Virgil knew that Janus rarely passed up an opportunity to make fun.

"I hadn't decided yet," Janus said with an arch smile, staring at Sihok under his lashes. "The Foley, I suppose, or someplace lavish if I ever make it to the casino."

Virgil resumed playing with the cherry, knowing on some level that he was behaving unprofessionally. He was just drunk enough to not care, the alcohol softening the sharp edges of his anxieties.

"Why?" Sihok asked.

"Why?" Janus repeated.

"You have everything you need on the Foley, don't you? And the free accommodations here are sufficient to sustain life? Why strive for more?"

Janus made no effort to hide his confusion. His patience was wearing thin. He had been intrigued at first by Sihok's vague enterprise, but his insistent refusal to get the point left Janus struggling for diplomacy. "I didn't think you cared for philosophy, Sihok. You've changed."

"Think it over," Sihok said.

The maraschino cherry rolled across the table. Virgil grabbed for it, having flicked it a little harder than intended, but missed, and watched in a hazy mixture of horror and amusement as it rolled off the edge of the table, hit Janus in the knee, and bounced to the floor.

"Sorry," Virgil mumbled, already ducking to grab it. Movement under the table caught his eye; Sihok adjusted his grip on something. Forgetting the cherry, Virgil eyed it curiously. It looked very like the rolls of Lifesavers that Alpha Proxima II would import from Earth, little pieces of culture to keep the colonists connected to their heritage. Virgil had preferred dark chocolate bars and later, coffee and brandy, but his mother had been quite fond of the sharp taste of spearmint Lifesavers. Whatever Sihok had a grip on was wrapped in a translucent white paper that allowed Virgil to see the colorful discs within. Not wanting to linger too long, Virgil resurfaced with the cherry and set it down on a cocktail napkin. "Sorry," he said again.

"Didn't you say you wanted to try the pinball machine?" Janus asked. He was already formulating an exit strategy, but it had never been his intention to hold Virgil hostage. Sihok was taking his time getting to his point, and this was supposed to be a welcome party for Virgil. "Here." He scooted out of the booth and stood.

"Thank you," Virgil said. He walked slowly, listening as Janus apologized and Sihok began to wax philosophical once more about the beauty of asymmetry in mathematics.

A few rounds on the Starfleet-themed pinball machine only left Virgil frustrated and half-sober, overstimulated. He didn't understand why Janus didn't just make an excuse and go. They had both been drawn in by Sihok's vague manner, but Virgil knew that his continued refusal to get to the point must have been driving Janus crazy.

The music changed to something reminiscent of heavy metal, blast beats ringing loud in Virgil's ears. He practically felt in his face: the shredding guitars, the way all the conversations became louder to compensate, the beeps of the pinball machine. Virgil had been declared mentally fit to serve in Starfleet, having proven he could push through bouts of anxiety and even thrive in high-pressure situations. But subjecting himself to the torment of this noisy bar was unpleasant and wholly unnecessary, so he turned and followed signs for the bathroom.

Once inside, he leaned back against one of the cool metal walls, heedless of the potential for infection. He had been vaccinated for just about everything under the sun upon joining Starfleet and he doubted any pathogen on Lotus Island could make it through his defenses.

The door opened and shut and a human stepped in, eyed Virgil up and down. "You look like you could use a chill pill."

It was old vernacular, slang Virgil had picked up at the Academy, because no one on Alpha Proxima II talked like that. He was quiet for a moment, wondering if this stranger was merely using a turn of phrase or if they were, in fact, stupid enough to offer drugs to a member of Starfleet. He decided on the former. "Am I that obvious?"

"You're about to chew a hole in your lip," the stranger said. "Look, you're already bleeding."

Virgil had long grown used to the taste of iron on the tip of his tongue. "It's just a little loud out there."

"I've got meds that can help with that," the stranger said.

Virgil blinked and reassessed: they really were that dumb. "I'm Starfleet," he said incredulously, glancing down at his yellow tunic in case he had somehow taken it off and forgotten about it.

"So what, you're not allowed to cut loose a little? You're on vacation."

Virgil scoffed and let the back of his head rest on the wall, marveling at the audacity of this strange human.

To buy himself time, he walked over to the sink and began to wash his hands. A plan was beginning to form in Virgil's head, neurons firing and making connections. He steeled himself and turned back to the stranger. "How much?"

--

"So, and just so I'm crystal clear on this," Remus said, stomping along beside Roman with his unstyled mohawk ruffled by the breeze, "our heroic plan to rescue Patton and Logan is to take the guided tour?"

"Oh, shut up." Roman backed away from the Help Desk and shoved the PADD at Remus. "Ugh, I don't understand maps at all. Where's Virgil when you need him?"

(Answer: Making a drug deal in the bathroom of the Tier III Lounge).

Remus studied the PADD. Roman had already set the translation to Romulan, but it was crude and hard to navigate. "Man of metals?" he asked, squinting.

"Oh, nevermind." Roman snatched the PADD back and began to walk. "It's the Founder's Statue. It's made of titanium and platinum. Get it?"

"Well, that's a terrible translation," Remus grumbled.

"Maybe you should learn Federation Standard," Roman nagged. This was far from the first argument they'd had about it and he already knew that Remus would refuse point-blank, masking his frustration and insecurity behind stubbornness. Remus had none of his brother's knack for languages, and while he was a talented engineer, he'd always struggled with his classes far more than Roman had.

"Maybe the Federation should start using Romulan," Remus shot back, and changed the subject before Roman could escalate the argument. "You never answered my question. What's the plan?"

"We need to catch up with either Patton and Logan or, uh… the Caitians."

"Shaa," Remus said with unnecessary smugness, pleased to have something on Roman, "and M'Birr."

"Sure."

They were both out of breath by the time they reached the Founder's Statue, both privately regretting the decision to wear heeled boots. The marginal boost to their height still left them the shortest members of the crew, a fact for which Janus loved to tease them.

"Onward to the next one," Roman said, looking around and seeing no one. He held up the PADD, and Remus peered over his shoulder.

"Rotation wheel," Remus read in Romulan. He looked up at the towering Ferris wheel in the near distance. "Well, that shouldn't be too hard to find."

"It's called a Ferris wheel," Roman complained. "It's a proper noun. Why would they try to translate that?"

Remus paused so he could stamp his foot. "Focus."

"Yeah, yeah." Roman tucked the PADD under his arm.

They caught sight of the two Caitians just after the Ferris wheel and pulled back to avoid being spotted.

"They have guns!" Remus said, a touch too loud even for his own liking. "Real guns! Not phasers!"

"Speaking of…" Roman sighed and touched his hip where his phaser and communicator would sit. Weapons were not allowed anywhere on Ya'Lotus and communication was restricted to their own official channels. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Vulcan nerve pinch?" Remus reached over and grabbed Roman's neck.

Roman stared at him, unamused. "Right, so we'll just try to stay out of a fight. Maybe if we can get around them, we can catch Logan and Patton and, uh… Well, get the Captain, I guess."

"Running off to get Daddy at the first sign of trouble," Remus sighed. "This is why I got promoted and you didn't."

"Yes, that's why. Not because you were the only one stupid enough to risk bleaching the Captain's eyebrows for him."

"Only chemical burned him one time!" Remus said proudly. "Where are we going, by the way?"

"Oh." Roman consulted the PADD. "Banana stand."

"What's a--"

"Walk and talk."

Remus shook Roman's hand off his shoulder. "What's that?"

"It's a kind of Earth fruit. I'm sure they have them here, since the founder of Ya'Lotus was human."

"Boring," said Remus. "Race you!" He took off running, moving awkwardly in his heeled boots. Roman sighed, looked around, and grabbed a tandem bike. It was not the most dignified form of transportation on the island, but it was one he happened to be familiar with. He and Remus both had a bit of a fascination with human history: Remus specializing in weaponry and warfare and Roman preferring to study courtship rituals. He mounted the bike with only a little difficulty, found his balance, and pedaled after Remus

"C'mon, get on."

"Oh!" said Remus happily, not even bothered by the direct order. "It's like a motorcycle with pedals!"

"How have you heard of a motorcycle but not a banana?"

"Will you focus?" Remus flicked Roman's shoulder blade. "You are now officially the Navigator and Helmsman of the Federation vessel Gemini."

"Subtle." Roman would have rolled his eyes, but between trying to steer and keep an eye on the PADD, didn't want to risk it. "What does that make you?"

"The Captain, obviously," Remus said. Roman put his head down as they pedaled by Shaa and M'Birr, but Remus whooped and flashed them a rude hand sign.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" Roman wheezed, a little winded from having to haul both his and Remus' weight. "Fucking pedal!"

"Don't talk to your captain like that," Remus said, giving the pedals a few half-hearted turns.

"Could you at least take this a little seriously? Our crewmates are in danger!"

"Oh," said Remus, kicking his feet out, "guns aren't that dangerous. Not compared to phasers."

Roman just huffed and didn't answer. He steered them to the banana stand without incident and, upon seeing Patton and Logan about to leave, dived off the bike to reach them. Ignoring Remus' annoyed cries behind him, he sprinted over to his wayward crewmates. "Hey!"

"Roman," said Logan, glancing over at Patton in surprise. "You appear to be in distress."

"We gotta get out of here," Roman said in Romulan. Despite the universal translator, he usually switched to Federation Standard out of politeness when speaking with Logan and their human crewmates (though Patton's native language was Welsh), but he was too stressed at the moment to try to switch gears.

Behind him, Remus cursed and examined his left palm, which he had thrown out to break his fall when the bike had tipped. "I'm gonna kill you."

"Kill me later!" Roman shouted back. "We gotta go!" He wrapped his arms around Patton and Logan's waists and started to steer them toward the crowded boardwalk. "Remus!"

"I'm bleeding!" Remus said, scampering to meet them.

"You are?" Patton stopped and turned, ignoring Roman's cursing. "Is it bad?"

"Kiss it better?" Remus asked, batting his lashes.

Roman dragged his hands down his face. "Do you want to get in a gunfight with-- Oh, don't answer that. Of course you do."

"Forgive me, Lieutenant, did you say gunfight?" Logan asked, extricating himself from Roman's slackening grip.

"We don't have time for this!" Roman stamped his foot to try to get Remus' attention, but he was too busy playing up his injury for Patton. He only had a few minor scrapes across his palm, a few dots of green blood here and there.

"Roman, I must insist that you explain," Logan said. "I understand that you are agitated, but if you simply explain the situation, I'm sure we can--"

"We don't have time!" Roman interrupted. "Is it not enough to know that we're in danger?" He turned to his brother, desperation shining in his eyes. "Back me up on this."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you tried to murder your superior officer," Remus said as Patton continued to pick bits of gravel out of his palm.

Along the path, Roman caught sight of the Caitians. Their pace was quick but not frantic as they scanned the horizon for their target, hands on their guns. Roman whispered an untranslatable swear word and made a decision.

Abandoning his crewmates, he straightened, crossed his arms behind his back, and strode forward to meet M'Birr and Shaa.

"Greetings" he said, trying not to let his voice tremble.

"You again?" said Shaa, crossing her arms. "Where's your partner?"

Roman swallowed. "After some discussion, we agreed it would be logical to interfere on your behalf."

"How so?" M'Birr asked. She frowned at Roman, her eyes scanning him.

"We acted under the belief that Starfleet officers would be more likely to trust other Starfleet officers. As you can see, we were correct. We have gained their trust and ascertained that they are not aware of the operation." Shaa tilted her head, and Roman felt compelled to add, "Vulcans do not lie."

"If you're really Vulcans," M'Birr said, still eyeing him with wide-pupiled green eyes. "And not, say, Romulans."

Roman forced his face to remain impassive. "That is an easy mistake to make, particularly if one is not familiar--"

"Oh, shut up." M'Birr drew her gun. "We can take care of all four of you."

Roman's pulse and breathing quickened, his vision narrowing to a very small spot, centering on the matte black of M'Birr's handgun. It was bulkier than a phaser and, he reminded himself, less deadly. He stared at the barrel, mind formulating and discarding half-formed plans for escape. Regardless of what Remus had said, he really didn't want to get shot.

What Roman did not see in his narrow-minded panic, was Remus abandoning Patton and flanking his brother and his assailants. He also did not see Patton flanking the other side, nor did he notice Logan appropriating a golf cart from a confused family of humans.

Remus flew into Roman's field of vision and tackled M'Birr, followed shortly by Patton who dropped Shaa with a sweeping kick to the knees. Adrenaline kicked in and Roman grabbed Remus by the wrist and hauled him up, spotted the golf cart, and dived for it. Patton beat them there and swung around to the passenger seat.

"Go, go, go!" they all shrieked, and Logan obediently stepped on the accelerator. The golf cart began to roll forward at a leisurely pace.

"Oh, are you kidding me?" Roman demanded.

"It's okay!" Remus said. He had turned so he could peer out the back, and was happy to see Shaa and M'Birr still struggling on the ground. "Dang, Patton, I think you broke Shaa's leg."

"Don't say that!" Patton wrapped his arms around himself and instead turned his attention to Roman. "What was that all about, anyway?"

Roman explained, punctuated by interjections from Remus. This concluded with Remus sitting back in his seat with a huff. "I can't believe nobody got shot."

"Should we have confiscated their guns?" Patton wondered out loud.

"Hopefully security will deal with them," Logan said. "Does anyone know where the Tier III Lounge is, by the way? I've been making evasive maneuvers, and now I am unsure--"

"So we're lost," Remus interrupted. "Possibly with more assassins after us, if the kitties called for backup."

Roman rested his forehead against the back of Patton's seat. "I hope the Captain is having a better day than we are."

--

Despite the lack of immediate danger, Janus was having a much worse day than the whole of his crew, save perhaps Virgil, who was still negotiating his drug deal in the bathroom.

"So you see," Sihok was saying, his drink nearly untouched, "an asymmetrical system is beautiful not only for those at the top, but for those at the bottom by instilling hope in them that they might someday reach the top."

"Capitalism," said Janus, bored. "You just described capitalism."

"Perhaps I did," Sihok said, and displayed the Vulcan equivalent of a guarded smile.

Janus masked his utter confusion behind raucous laughter. "Sihok, what exactly are you implying?"

"Nothing at all," said Sihok primly. "I was merely displaying my admiration for the artful execution of a certain style of economics."

That was when Virgil emerged from the bathroom clutching a roll of tablets, the drug known as 'kin.' It was identical to the one Sihok was holding, and the implications of this turned his stomach. Sihok was head of security for the whole of Ya'Lotus, and the way he had spoken to Janus had implied that he was after something, though Virgil had no idea what it could be.

Virgil hurried over to the table, heart racing in anticipation of what he was about to do. He had information that Janus might need and he couldn't speak it out loud. After hearing he had been assigned to the Foley, he had made a point to study the biology and abilities of Vulcans, though he had no idea what telepathic abilities Janus might have inherited as a human-Vulcan hybrid, and a genetic anomaly at that. Virgil was taking a risk, one that might draw the Captain's ire or make him look foolish, which was as dire a consequence to Virgil as death.

He approached the booth and, before Janus could get up, gently rested his hand on Janus' shoulder.

Janus froze. Sihok marked this, and Virgil noticed him notice. Dread trickled down his spine like cold water. "Excuse me, Captain," he said weakly.

"Bored already?" Janus asked. He directed an amused look at Sihok and said, "The human attention span," in a tone of patient exhaustion, then got up to let Virgil in.

Virgil was careful not to brush up against Sihok's legs, but he could tell that Sihok was staring as he scooted back up against the wall. Despite Janus' lack of reaction, he had a sneaking suspicion that his plan had worked too well and that not only Janus, but Sihok as well had picked up on the information he had transmitted.

They all lingered for a moment in a silent standoff. It was Janus who broke the silence, laughing again and rolling his eyes. "I have to say, Sihok, I'm a little disappointed. And offended, if I'm being honest." He took the roll of kin from Virgil and set it on the table. "You're pushing a capitalist drug empire on a pleasure planet. What was the master plan? To establish a capitalist regime within the Federation with you at the top? How un-Vulcan."

Sihok ignored the slight. "I had intended to offer you a partnership. Are you declining?"

"Was that not obvious?" Janus asked, abandoning the last of his pretense at Vulcan restraint. "Not only am I declining, I'm calling you an idiot. Sihok, you are an idiot and a disgrace to the planet Vulcan, and I don't mean that as a compliment. I suppose now you're going to kill us before we can report you to Starfleet?"

"Yes," said Sihok.

"How?" asked Janus. "We're sitting down. Do you want to arm wrestle us to death?" Sihok took a breath to speak and Janus cut him off, "Don't even think about your phaser. Sure, you could get one of us, at which point the other would disarm you."

"Well," said Sihok, "it seems we have reached an impasse."

Virgil took another risk. "May I?" he asked, nodding at Sihok's drink. "You haven't touched it and if I'm going down today, I'm going down drinking."

"Control your crewman," Sihok said to Janus, deadly serious.

Virgil took the drink. "Thanks." He held onto the tumbler, using the numbing ache of chilled glass against his palm to ground himself.

"So," said Janus, disregarding Virgil, "an impasse."

"About that," said Sihok. "Your Ensign is new to Starfleet; you said so earlier." He drew his phaser and aimed it at Janus. "I do not believe he has the capacity to disarm me, especially as he has been drinking and his reaction time will be slowed."

Thinking that now was as good a time as any, Virgil touched Janus' leg and splashed his drink in Sihok's face. They both scrambled out of the booth and sprinted out the door. They paused for a moment to get their bearings, and that was when a golf cart plowed into Virgil at a speed equivalent to 10 miles per hour.

Logan hit the brake and reversed so as not to run over Virgil's legs. "Forgive me, Ensign Salem. Are you alright?"

Roman, who hadn't picked his head up from the back of Patton's seat, began to lightly tap his forehead against the metal support bar. "Please tell me you didn't just kill our Helmsman when we need him most."

Virgil scrambled to his feet, too full of adrenaline to register any serious pain. "We gotta get out of here."

"You too, huh?" Remus said. He patted the seat next to him and addressed Janus. "Climb aboard."

Janus hopped on and was forced to sit on Remus' lap. Unruffled, he barked, "Ensign Salem, evasive maneuvers. Now."

Virgil hopped into the driver's seat, which Logan had recently vacated, waited for Logan to clamber onto the back of the golf cart, and slammed down the accelerator. "Where to?"

"Evasive maneuvers, Ensign Salem. Let's lose our pursuers before we worry about a destination."

"Yes, sir." Virgil pulled around the back of the Tier III Lounge just as a dripping-wet Sihok emerged, phaser drawn. The chase that ensued was unremarkable, as the golf cart began to pick up speed while emitting a worrisome whining noise.

"I made some adjustments to the engine while we were moving," Remus said proudly.

"That's impossible," Janus answered.

"I said that, too," Logan said.

Virgil continued to steer them in concentric circles around Lotus Island, self-assessing now that he was calmer. He could already feel the dull ache of impending bruises on his hip and elbow, but the damage seemed minimal.

"So," said Roman, "who are you evading?"

"Oh," said Janus, feigning boredom, "just a would-be capitalist drug lord Vulcan hellbent on murdering us. You?"

Roman put the pieces together. "Said Vulcan's lackeys, also hellbent on murdering us."

"Oh!" said Patton and Logan simultaneously, albeit for very different reasons: Patton to express dismay and concern, Logan realizing why he had smelled opioids earlier.

"You're welcome, by the way," Remus said, addressing Patton since he was easier to reach. "Those Caitians were after you and Logan."

"Thanks," Patton said weakly. "You know, I'm not feeling very relaxed."

Janus looked around and, seeing no trace of either murderous Caitians or murderous Vulcans, leaned forward to address Virgil. "Set a course for the Transporter Building, departures terminal. Let's get the Hell out of here."

--

After making some arrangements on the viewing deck, Janus arranged for Virgil and Patton to be summoned from their rooms, where they had both gone to decompress. Virgil and Remus had first been strongarmed into going to Sickbay, where Patton looked them over and pronounced them fit for duty.

Remus was showing off his bandaged hand to Janus and regaling him with a greatly embellished tale of how he had received the injury when the doors slid open and Virgil and Patton appeared.

Patton came in first, Virgil lingering behind him. "Aw!" he said, looking around at the array of alcohol and finger foods arranged picnic-style on the floor. "What's this?"

"It's your welcome party," Janus explained. "Since Ya'Lotus didn't quite work out. Come sit."

Patton sat down next to Logan, leaving Virgil to occupy the empty space next to Janus. Janus offered him half a smile. "You did well today, Virgil. You may even have saved my life." He paused, then added, "Although I probably still could have disarmed Sihok before he got the shot off. Regardless." He poured Virgil a glass of bourbon. "Thank you, Ensign Salem. You did well."

"Yay, Virgil!" Patton said happily.

After ensuring that everyone had drinks, Janus regained command of everyone's attention and raised his glass. "A toast to honor our new crewmates. Virgil Salem, Patton Kelsey." He looked at them in turn. "Welcome aboard the Foley."

[littleredhat29]

Kagami angst fic

       After three months of not talking to Adrian Kagami was finally ready to forgive him. Spending the weekend in London with her mother had drudged up old memories and she had realized that she wanted to be with him again.

Friendship at first but when she judged he had matured enough and stopped being dishonest with her she would reclaim her perfect match. And this time it would be perfect. The perfect couple at last.

  But first she needed a hot sweet roll and to see her other friend who just so happened to live in the best bakery in Paris.

   She walked into the Dupain Bakery and took a big sniff. Heavenly. She was greeted by Sabine who called up to her daughter. "Marinette you have a.." The older woman was cut off by a thump and a thunder as Marinette rushed down the stairs at a high speed tripping slightly before catching herself at the bottom.

The pigtailed girl had a big grin on her flushed face as she blabbered at high speed. "Your early! How did you manage to get..Kagami?!"

Kagami smiled her friend was such a disaster. "Hello Marinette. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

Marinette put her hand behind her head and laughed "No. No. Nope not at all. I was just expecting my.....Chinese teacher!" She nodded quickly. "yes I'm just so excited to learn more Chinese!"

"It's good that your connecting with your origins Marinette. Do you have time for a snack and a chat?"Kagami didn't want to impose but it had been weeks since she and the pigtailed girl had spent time together.

"Oh. I'm soooo sorry but I really need to focus on my diction exercises. "She rushed behind the counter and continued speaking fast and moving faster. "Let me get you something now and then we'll meet up later."      

Kagami was disappointed but a sweet roll was a sweet roll. Though this would give her more time to practice her reconciliation with Adrian. She couldn't let him know she still wanted him. She had  to maintain control this time. He would have to earn his place by her side.      

    The fencer was lost in reverie as Marinette handed her the bag of goodies.

Then the door burst open to reveal a person bent over in a dark hoodie their face completely obscured.

Kagami put her guard up and Marinette must have been freighted because she was waving her hands and making high-pitched noises behind her.

"My dearest Marinette." the figure spoke with muffled voice "Your boyfriend has escaped his cage and but has suffered a terrible fate. I have become....."

The stranger then lifted his hoody to reveal.. "A dinosaur!"

A bad rubber raptor mask.

The self styled monster then made various saurian motions and noises before putting his had dramatically on his forehead "Oh! if only a beautiful and talented baker's daughter would kiss me and reverse this spell...." Kagami had never been more confused in all her life.

But then the dime store raptor froze dead. "Kagami?!"

Marinette smacked her head behind her and thumped it on the counter. Kagami was very familiar with both sounds.

"Marinette who is this strange person and should I get rid of him?"

"Kagami it's me! "the raptor mask was removed to reveal, Adrian Agreste. Hair a disaster and a smile on his face.

Marinette made a squealing noise from her place face down on the counter.

Adrien blushed a bit and scratched his ear. "I didn't expect you here. Marinette and I had a study date and I wanted to surprise her so umm. I'll leave till your gone if you don't want to see me "he said guiltily.

"Date?"Kagami asked the wheels in her mind picking up speed after the shock of seeing Adrian act like that. "Also did you say you were her boyfriend?" Adrien looked at his feet and then back at Kagami."Yes?"

Marinette had somehow made it between them and grabbed the blonde's hand there fingers intertwining. "Haven't you checked Instagram or your messages?" Kagami swallowed and wondered why she felt so numb. Like everything was from a tv show.

"Mother checks my phone and she deleted Instagram. She says it's full of scammers."Kagami was sure this had to be a dream. It felt so unreal. "That's true. "Marinette nodded "But me and Adrian announced it there when we became a official three weeks ago. I sent you a message too."

Kagami felt for her phone in her pocket. "My mother...I'm sorry I have to go." She used all her speed to fly out of the building. This wasn't a dream. It was starting to hurt. The boy she still loved and her dearest friend called out to her but she was already in the car. She told the car to take her home and clutched at her phone. Her fingers stroking the round spotted charm connected to it. She whispered a thank you to Ladybug for giving her the ability to fall apart without fear.

She wasn’t sure how she would put herself back together though.