#Claimings Tails and Other Alien Artifacts | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

britt-kageryuu · 13 hours

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Leo for some reason decided to stream at work using the AR system, he claims that it's because it's been pretty slow recently because of the relatively small amount of clients. So his model is dressed in blue jeans, black boots, a minty green shirt, a lab coat with an ID badge, his mask with shorter than normal tails, with a stethoscope around his neck. Sitting in a rolling chair next to a desk and shelves.

The stream can only see the front desk area, and all the paperwork seen looks like it written in an alien language because of a filter, and Leo wanting to mess with the veiwers. Including his Degree(s) on the hall, since they read as presented from a hidden city college/university.

River is there in her robot body disinfecting the waiting room, and organizing the books/magazines, toys, and Cafe station.

A notification goes off with a question about the comic books Donnie supposedly brought from a different reality.

"Oh The Ronin books. Yeah we all read through them, and all agreed while amazing, it was also quite horrifying to think of the scenario happening here." Leo says as he pulls a hard back book from a nearby shelf.

The cover is mostly dark gray, and black with some red. There's a figure in all black with a Katana and Bo staff strapped to their back, and a Sai and metallic Tonfa on a utility belt along with some pouches, and rope. There is a red moon with 'The Last Ronin' in white over top of it. There is some other words and the author and artists names in red and white, but the letters are unreadable, either it's to far from the camera, or the filter is messing it up.

"The other book is at home, Pops finished this one, and wanted to read the second book." Leo says as he flips through some of the pages, "Either way it's kind apocalyptic/dystopian with a mentally not Okay main character out for revenge for most of his family 'H' being killed because the other group 'O/F' didn't truly want a truce between them, or something." He stops at a page and reads it over, "Or that's what we figure, since it's implied that one of the O/F leaders claimed H broke the truce."

"Before anyone asks the reason I'm not saying the names of the families is because the H family is actually the same name as Our family name, and the O/F group are an actual group my family had a rivalry with like 500 years ago. They're still around but there's not a full on grudge anymore." Leo stresses this if only to make it clear no more answers will be given on the subject.

"Anyhoozle the family names are why Donnie believes this is from another universe, but again I don't want to look into it, or mess with things that might lead to trouble." He puts the book on the desk opened to a page with what looks like an explosion on it, "We had enough trouble with getting past out own problems with the other group. Some of their members had some screws loose, and came after us, we don't know why, just that we supposedly had an artifact of theirs. It was just a creepy teapot!" He slouches with a sigh/groan of annoyance.

Just then the sound of sliding doors opening could be heard, and Leo sits up and quickly mutes the stream. The audience is left to watch Leo talk to someone, with him leaning forward you can see his tail sticking out from a slit in the lab coat. He holds up a finger in a 'just a minute' motion, then gets up and goes behind the camera.

Someone can be seen trying to lean into frame, even wave their arm where the camera can see, but the person is not able to lean far enough into veiw. Though it's obvious when Leo returns because they jolt and jump back. Leo walks back into the camera veiw and hands the person a bag with presumably their proscription in it.

Leo talks with them for a few minutes, before the person leaves and he un-mutes the stream.

"Sorry, one of my clients who also watches the streams came in, probably because I was streaming and they thought they could sneak into veiw. Luckily I'm a nice guy, so they're not going to be blocked or banned from the stream, and our socials." Leo informs with some amusement. He sits back down with a slight bounce, and quickly checks the work computer on the desk.

"Unless another veiwer decides to try crashing the stream, let's go back to the books, now the first book, has a bittersweet end, but it leads into the second book which is like 10 to 15 years into the future. And it swaps from present day to the past to tell more of what happened with Ronin, and act as a teaching method for the next generation of the family."

Leo goes on to vaguely describe more parts of the books, all while purposefully ignoring the chat asking why they can't find the books anywhere. And some asking if Mandarin/Mikey wrote/drew the graphic novels.

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Masterpost

The chat/audience doesn't know their real names, but just incase someone didn't know Mandarin is Mikey. The ones asking about Mikey would be their Friends/People who know them.

#VTurtles!#vtuber au #rottmnt au #tmnt au #rottmnt leonardo #rottmnt leo #rise leonardo #rise leo #rottmnt fanfiction #tmnt fanfiction #rottmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2018 #rise of the tmnt #rise tmnt #vturtles!

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dsudis · 1 year

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Do you have any more recs in a similar vein as the Human Omega series? I never would have read it without your recommendation but I did and I loved it!

The one that immediately leaps to mind for having Large Aliens, Very Different Alien Culture, and a delightful language barrier, is Lyn Gala's Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts.

If anyone else has recs that hit some of those buttons, I would also be glad to have them!

#books #book recs #lyn gala #eileen glass

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lea-andres · 1 year

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An Espnah oneshot/snippet thing no one wanted, yay~ I wrote this instead of finishing up the next chapter of WtDMtN, I'm sure everyone's thrilled, LMAO.

Although this does contain my lore's explanation for Smash Bros AND the Olympic Games games! Because those being canon amuses me. Along with Sonic knowing/being Santa.

Espio being a knight is not canon to my lore (...maybe... I'm tempted, tbh), it's a reference to SonicSong182. Iykyk, and if you don't you should remedy that. SS182's fucking great.

Dinah can't quite match I believe it was 17(!!!!) languages Espio apparently is fluent in according to MoStH, but she qualifies as multilingual. Latin and Japanese are the main two in here. I'm a dumbass American who only speaks one language, I cannot guarantee the 100% accuracy of anything ever.

Yes this is part of my plot to manifest Espio and Rouge as being 100% playable in the next Olympic Games game lmao. I want them, leave me alone.

"So… explain to me this whole Olympics thing again." Dinah requested, as she and Espio sat down on a bench by the rink entrance to pull on their ice skates.

"Where did I lose you?" Espio got his on first, and began doing some light stretches.

"Back at 'The Super Mario Bros are real'."

"You really struggle with the whole 'other dimensions and other planets' thing, don't you?" He teased, getting up and getting out onto the ice to do more stretches. Dinah finished lacing up her skates, and looked up at him to respond.

"Yes I do, because you know how often that comes up when I'm digging artifacts out of the ground?" Espio couldn't resist, forcing himself to keep a straight face, he locked eyes with Dinah, and said as evenly as he could manage.

"Ancient aliens."

"Adversus solem ne loquitor, you fucking moron!" She practically snarled back playfully. He burst out into laughter as he returned closer to the rink, holding out his hand to assist her. Dinah got up, a little wobbly in balancing on the blades, and took his hand as she made her way to him.

Once she got onto the ice, Espio launched out more toward the center, doing several tight spins and twirls before stopping sharply. The spaniel had stayed behind back at the wall, leaning against it as she watched him with an amused smirk. He blinked in confusion. Usually Dinah was all for jumping straight into an activity with him, eager to at least keep up if not try to top him. Why was she holding back now?

"Walk me through this multidimensional Olympics thing again. How did Sonic meet a video game character again?" She asked instead. He just nodded as he skated back toward her.

"Okay, so apparently Sonic got this letter in the mail. And when he opened it, it teleported him to this nexus where many great heroes across the multiverse were hanging out and having a low stakes fight club."

"Is this at all like Sonic's claim of going into that book and becoming King Arthur?" Espio smirked at that.

"I had been meaning to ask you for your professional opinion of that. Is Sonic the one true king?"

"Sonic gets points for sheer gall, but… I significantly doubt it." Dinah smirked back. Shifting so he was now gliding backwards away from her again, Espio continued.

"Anyway, Sonic met Mario there. Apparently WE'RE a game in the Mushroom Kingdom, so he was just as floored to learn about us as we were him."

"Are Sonic's games good?" Dinah raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Plus minusve," Espio waggled his hand, shifting again to now be sweeping straight toward her again, completing the large circle. "It's a… polarizing topic over there, even amongst the fans."

"Ouch." The spaniel shook her head with a laugh.

"So, they became friends, apparently Tails and the Mushroom Kingdoms' best scientists got to work on connecting our dimension and theirs, and Sonic's friends and Mario's friends get together for a friendly Olympics inspired competition."

"And you've competed?" She continued to watch him circle back and forth before her.

"Not… officially. Typically I've been invited to compete in a single event as a Rival, but I'm hoping to make the cut this year-"

"Whomp whomp…" Dinah giggled. Espio pointed at her in mock irritation.

"Don't make fun of me, I've been busy! I've got ninjitsu training, cases that pop up, whatever bullshit YOU throw at me-"

"Your mysterious part time job you keep vanishing to?" She continued to smirk teasingly.

"Oh right, that's related to this! So, I met Princess Peach at these interdimensional get togethers, and-"

"Is she as hot as she is in the games?" Espio studied Dinah's face for a bit, trying to gauge why she was asking that.

He decided to cover all bases: "You're not going to try to pull my boss and I will NOT invite her to a threesome."

"Your boss?" Dinah repeated, adjusting her glasses. "I didn't realize the Mushroom Kingdom was in the market for Shinobi."

"They're not, to my knowledge. Princess Peach knighted me and I've been serving as a guard in her castle-"

"No you haven't!" The spaniel interrupted in amused disbelief.

"Why would I lie about that?"

"I take back my professional opinion of Sonic's delusions of grandeur, that wasn't the most absurd thing I heard today." She continued teasingly.

"Come with me next time and I'll prove it!"

"So do you wear the mushroom hat and the diaper, or-" Dinah cracked up laughing at that, almost knocked herself over, then flailed to catch herself on the wall so she didn't wipe out on the ice. She adjusted her glasses and smiled nonchalantly, trying to play it off.

"I don't, I have proper armor." Espio narrowed his eyes at her slightly, noting what he just saw.

"Is the Princess still getting kidnapped by Bowser all the time?"

"It's been a bit since the last one, but… I guess?"

"You're a shit knight." Dinah teased.

"HEY-" Espio himself almost wiped out at that, letting out a shocked laugh.

"Can't stop one fire breathing turtle from kidnapping the princess?" She tsked playfully.

"You should stick to ninjitsu and detective work, Onmitsu."

"Just because you study knights of olden times in our world doesn't mean you're qualified to review my performance as one in another, Himawari!" He fired back playfully, snagging Dinah's arm as he skated past, pulling her away from the wall and along with him.

She lost her balance almost instantly, dropping backwards. Espio lunged to catch her, sliding across the ice on one knee, firmly cradling her head with one hand and gripping her waist with the other as he stopped her skull from cracking into the ice. She had flung her arms around his neck in her attempt to save herself, letting out a big gasp of relief when she didn't crash hard.

"Thanks, Onmitsu…" She breathed, a little dazed from the adrenaline rush.

"You… can't actually ice skate… can you?" He accused softly, giving her a look of suspicion.

"You never asked if I could, you just asked if I've been ice skating, which I have. Once." She pointed out, grinning mischievously.

"Dinah…"

"Is it a crime to want to ice skate with your Onmitsu?" She teased, one of her hands wandering up to stroke his cheek.

"It should be, if you're going to risk spilling your brains all over the rink to do so." He chastised, shifting his grip so he could scoop her up bridal style instead.

"I can make this work." He smirked, making sure he had a firm grip on her before beginning to skate forward.

"What work? What are you doing?" Dinah demanded anxiously, clinging to his neck and shoulders.

"Resistance training for speed skating events." He started picking up speed. Quickly adjusting her glasses before returning to tightly gripping his shoulders, she teased with a grin.

"Don't crash."

"I'm far less likely to than you are." She thumped his chest lightly for that, both of them laughing.

#i don't have a oneshot tag anymore lmao #espio the chameleon #lea's ocs #dinah the spaniel #canon x oc

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july-19th-club · 2 years

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Recap for Roswell: New Mexico S2E11: “Linger”: hammer to fall

4.5/5 ⭐s

Some chapters are about what’s right in front of your face, some are actually about what’s not there at all, and some are about both. There are a lot of elephants in a lot of rooms on Roswell: New Mexico right now, but some of the rooms, to extend this metaphor as far as I can, are harder to access than others.

Alex, for example, is conspicuous in his absence for the entire forty-two minutes, though it only takes Michael about one to realize he’s not at some recruitment gig. On the one hand, he’s in serious life-threatening danger (we didn’t see the flash of light that heralds the Cam/Mimi-pattern abductions, just some guy hitting him and stuffing him in the trunk of a car)...on the other hand, at least he’s not telling teenagers how they can advance their careers by getting themselves and others into serious life-threatening danger for the United States Air Force? Really a tossup on that one.

Usually it’s Max we see engaging in cowboy cop levels of outsized violence and rage, but that was also mostly before he was (mostly) focusing on being heart healthy. And lest we forget the cowboy part of that phrase, Michael (who would be deeply insulted if you compared him to a cop) is fulfilling the “whaling on people until you feel better” role this week. Michael has always been the first sibling to say “dude, let’s just torture them!” - but because he was Michael, he never actually acted on it. I’m cool with him breaking and doing it now, because the performance is so full of fear, and because I don’t know that I’ve often seen the roaring rampage of protection in a gay way much before. And as everybody knows, tropes that are tired or irritating in a straight setting become fresh, new, and original if you queer ‘em up a bit.

He spends most of his episode doggedly Hardy Boy-ing the Case of the Missing Bosom Chum - like that the napkin in the alien script is newer than they were led to believe (a clue I appreciated in that the audience can pick up on it first, if they’re paying attention (I wasn’t)) and planted specifically to give Alex a reason to try the artifact plan Michael had such misgivings about. Jesse attempts to head him off by claiming that he, too, has been looking for and worried about Alex, and I don’t know who the fuck he thinks he’s talking to, though Michael is freaked out enough at this point to consider that maybe this time they have a shared goal. He tails Jesse to a meeting with Flint, who gives away way too much information when he thinks he’s speaking freely.

It seems (though I revert to my old Manes adage; namely that they are always potentially lying) that there are two kidnapping schemes happening here - Jesse kidnapped him first, but truly doesn’t know where he is because Flint has had the exact same idea and kidnapped his brother from his dad when his dad wasn’t looking. If all this sounds convoluted...well, yes. For Jesse, Alex is a “loose end” (Michael, probably correctly, suggests he was planning on killing him), but Flint’s plans are more nebulous and it’s hard to tell just how much he exactly wants his brother dead. Watching all this, I immediately began to formulate a theory that Jesse is orchestrating the whole thing with Flint as a convenient next lead to get Michael off his tail. But before we find out if I’m right, we take a few long-time-coming minutes to deal with some unfinished business.

Forgive an old heller their vices, but I call ‘em how I see ‘em, and we are on the CW, after all: Michael gets to do his Dean Winchester best and scream homoerotically at a personification of christian authority. This catharsis isn’t just for him, and the ten years of pain and loss he suffered at this man’s hands. It’s also for Alex, and the lifetime of trauma endured both before and after his father’s influence sent him to war. Alex always views that as a decision he personally made, and he’s correct: but Michael, not being Alex, is able to look at the source of the decision and want to punish it. He won’t kill him, though - he’s working on not doing the easy thing. He finds it infinitely harder to think like Alex, to try without evidence to have a faith or a compassion for people, but to prove him right...he spares the rod. Here’s hoping that act of mercy doesn’t put both of them in greater danger.

Michael’s thread is, however, actually one of the shorter ones (not that you’d know from how much I’ve already written about it). In the rest of the episode, we’re back to the many-plates-spinning structure the show loves best, which is not my personal cup of tea all the time, but it functions well here. In Thread B, Izzy visits Rosa, bearing sketchbooks and Arturo’s pan dulces. I’ve become deeply fond of the bickering kinship Isobel and Rosa have, against all odds, forged - although their teenage connection was never as real as either of them thought it would be, they still came away from it caring about each other. And I also love how, whenever they hang out, Isobel is a full foot taller than Rosa. Izzy wants to talk about their Noah trauma and maybe some of their regular trauma too, and Rosa’s in a stable enough place that she agrees they can try.

Their day of commiseration and sketchbook archaeology is cut short, however, when Rosa decides to try and call her mom - for closure? to torment herself? - and instead gets Helena’s boyfriend Dirk, who has no idea where Helena is. A reluctant Isobel agrees to drive Rosa back home, since Rosa now believes her mother might be another abduction victim. But they (and we, so far) don’t know the half of it.

In Thread C, Liz and Diego have been juggling experiments, immigration officials (they have to quickly scoot Javi the line cook out the back), and CrashCon hours at the diner. We see a flashback to their time as a couple, celebrating a big grant Liz has just scored - she’s happy, he’s proud, and she starts crying just thinking about what her somewhat-trapped-feeling teenage self would’ve thought “knowing that the person I am now existed.” Jeanine Mason always plays these moments quiet reflective moments beautifully, and then we flash back to the present, where she’s using the mixer at the diner as a makeshift centrifuge because it’s tourist season and there’s work to do and burgers to fry and lately she’s been remembering what that hemmed-in feeling is actually like. They have another version of an old fight: he works for a company called Genoryx, and she’s always maintained that they’re too shady to risk being funded by. For the record, she’s probably right: there’s no way they’re not plot-related, this is television.

And in Thread D, Kyle and Max snoop around town trying to get a better understanding of Max’s abduction sleuthing. Kyle’s mostly there (in full drunk and bitchy Kyle mode) because all of their equipment-theft has finally been noticed and he’s suspended at work. Here their investigation dovetails with Michael’s, thinking that Flint The Weapons Specialist might have some kind of lead on the memory-scrambling drug (which they figure could easily be classified as a weapon - you could use it to confuse soldiers’ experiences, to keep them from revealing sensitive information). While they’re doing a spot of B&E in his house, they find a lot of potentially incriminating stuff, including what Max believes to be a gun he spotted during his and Charlie’s rescue-Cam mission...and the box Arturo kept his mother’s ring in, last seen with Helena. Looks like Rosa was right to be worried.

Max tries to offer good advice and be the healthy partner in this little buddy-detective venture, but one of his suggestions - that they go pick up the unused equipment from their abandoned lab and return it to the hospital - almost comes back to bite him. The lab, as we know, isn’t abandoned, and Liz is using the equipment, and poor dopey Max puts this together when Kyle realizes he no longer has door access.

No matter how supportive he tries to be about Liz’s whole thing, her job makes him incredibly skittish and he feels like she’s been running around behind his back (because she has) doing things that will expose him and his siblings (not her intention, but still very possible). She’s sick of the slow path, and has decided to use her alien biology knowledge to develop a treatment for Steph. The fight is inevitable, and even harder to take back than the Michael-Alex fight last episode. And yes, part of it is about Max’s insecurities re: Diego, who has no fears about Liz’s work and is always eager to help do weird science with her. It’s a part of her life Max doesn’t understand and doesn’t really trust, and it remains to be seen whether they can get past it in two episodes. And then they find a note pinned to Michael’s trailer...

Back in Thread A, Michael catches up with Flint (whose name will never stop being funny to me, it’s like Jesse watched Black Sails thirty years before it came out and came to the exact incorrect conclusions about every single character). He spares none of the mercy he reserved for Jesse, and Flint never really has a chance against him anyway; we get to see the kind of usefulness finely-tuned telekinesis can actually have a lot in this episode. Michael never seems to think it’s worth it to explore his siblings’ specialties - and when his is so handy and so low on the side effects, why should he? Without even having to work at it, he chases Flint down, steals his gun, and flings him around a bit before presumably levitating him into the bunker to yell at him.

But Flint has the upper hand when it comes to interrogation scenarios. He’s smug the whole time, and Michael is not military-trained and does not actually know how or when interrogations work versus how or why they fail, and is highly emotional and more or less winging it. It’s his prisoner who winds up giving him an ultimatum: do what I say or Alex’s life is forfeit. What he finds, on Flint’s orders, is someone even I was not anticipating having any active connection with the plot - at least this part of the plot. It’s the one and only Hurricane Helena Ortecho, brandishing another alien power dampener and a set of schematics for, given all the clues we’ve amassed this season, a biobomb combining Charlie’s DNA work and Michael’s alien mechanical knowledge. But what the fuck is she doing here?

REGENERATED WORMS

Liz: “Oooh, we should get you a boyfriend!” Max: “Or a girlfriend! Or a *rather proud for knowing the Gay Words face* nonbinary intimate companion :)” Iz: “Great job, Dad.”

Diego really is a very likable guy. He sticks around in town to make sure he’ll be able to do something if ICE are still breathing down their necks; he helps out in the kitchen; he’s understanding about his and his fiance’s breakup to the point where he’s still very excited to help her with her research; he’s a veritable Adonis...surely there has to be some kind of catch, but until we find it I’m happy to just bask in him. And so is Isobel. And so is every other vaguely single person in town.

A reviewer I read during the first season said that Jesse’s main purpose on the series is to get his ass kicked. They were cool with this, and you know what? I am too. We love to see it.

If ever there was a time to use the song ‘Evil’ used in its natural habitat: the scene where the kid Jesse mutilated a dozen years ago has actual power over him and he realizes he should’ve been waitin’ on the other shoe to drop. I’ve always found this song’s function as Michael’s unofficial theme ironic and slightly mean-spirited, given the fact that he (a former abused kid) gets a track with the line ‘hit my kids when I don’t mean to’. Watching Michael refuse to keep the cycle going with that track in the scene would’ve been killer.

“He still loves. He even loves you.” Delivery - really, speech - of the episode to Michael V. this week, one hundred percent.

“I wanna be...less angry.” “Anger’s not so bad. It reminds us that something’s not right, so we can change it.” Liz is a woman, and she’s the daughter of undocumented immigrants, and she’s poor - but she’s not Black. Diego is, but he’s also wealthy and connected, clearly relishing (as he should!) using his leverage to stick it to the man. But wealth and connections also are the man, so to speak, which seems to be part of the crux of the incompatible part of him and Liz. There are some understandings they can share, and some they can’t. Everything's intersectional.

#the only reason i didnt give this episode a 5 is because i really withold my 5s #it gets 4.5 because there's not a thing wrong with it but it is still a setup episode so it's not as impactful as if it were very pivotal #roswell nm

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beabee-reads · 3 years

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Book Review: Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala

Review written the 12th of August, 2021

FIVE STARS

Let’s just start out this review by acknowledging that, the world-building? The world-building was stunning. I loved it, and I found myself finishing the book faster than I wanted. I wanted this to last. I’d just finished binge reading the series Baal’s Heart by Bey Deckard, which is a historical fantasy mm romance story with pirates. Rightfully so, I was in the mood for something sci-fi. This was one of the first options that came up in the tag list. I thank whatever Goodread Gods are out there because this was exactly what I needed. Actually, I’d come over this book before, in the “Readers also enjoyed” section, and I remember the cover having caught my eye at the time (it's horrendous, really... what were they thinking?). I don’t even remember adding the book to my TBR, but apparently, I did. Didn’t even bother reading the blurb, so I went in totally clueless. Which was also why this disclaimer

DISCLAIMER: Please do not try any new sexual practice, especially those that might be found in our BDSM/fetish titles without the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Neither Loose Id LLC nor its authors will be responsible for any loss, harm, injury or death resulting from use of the information contained in any of its titles. Caught me totally by surprise and made me start to worry about what the actual heck I’d gotten myself into. Not to despair though: Turns out it’s a general disclaimer that the publishing company puts in all their books. Which I appreciate, by the way. I completely agree with the fact that you should research, to be able to practice any form of sex in a safe and healthy manner. This is, after all, fiction we’re reading, and can not be used as point of reference. If you’re going into this book expecting alien porn, you might as well just close the book right now and go do something else. The story is well written and, again, the world building was just fantastic. It also gave me seriously big hurt/comfort vibes throughout the duration of the whole story. The tenderness and relationship the two main characters eventually develop, had my heart aching. This has truly become one of my favorite sci-fi books so far, and I wholly resent Gala for ending the journey so fast. I look forward to reading the other books in the series and learn more about this fascinating new world she’s managed to create.

Check out my Goodreads!

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mikiib · 3 years

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The Magnus Archives: ALIEN AU (Part 2)

Sashas heart monitor going dead surprises everyone and terrifies Tim. Tim even tries to leave the ship, but Georgie is the one to stop him before he can even get into a suit. Jon and Melanie were out there already and they were going to find Sasha. Tim doesn’t think thats really a great thing to rely on, but the radio picks up filtering with Jon and Melanie's voice. Over the com Jon and Melanie are arguing about bringing Sasha back- who had busted her cracked her helmet and acting strange. Martin calls Tim back- saying the found Sasha- Tim goes over to the communications again and demands all three of them get back to the ship immediately. Jon gives in after Tim starts yelling at him and they drag a semi delirious Sasha back to the ship. (Small dialogue scene) “She’s coming in and out of conscious but she’s fine otherwise Jon- ” Melanie says as they enter the ship's quarantine grounds, and disrobing.

“This is exactly why we shouldn’t have split up. If you had just listened to me-” Jon helped Sasha take off her suit. The fabric seemed to stick to her skin until he yanked it hard enough. Her skin seemed stickier- but not quite clammy.

“OH. So this is my fault is it?” Melanie turned narrowing at Jon.

“I never said that-” he sighed. Placing the gloves he had worked off

“Your tone inferred it you massive tw-”

“Welcome back to the ship! Glad everyone is alive. Now please, if you’d all focus on entering your quarantine chambers we can focus on getting out of here sooner. Sasha, I’ll be with you first if you don’t mind,” Nikola said entering the room with them wearing a sort of hazmat suit, but more skin tight and flexible. (Scene Ended)

They each get checked, one by one by Nikola as she goes through the breathing procedures, checking their vitals and cleaning them thoroughly. After that they are set to wait 48 hours before they can leave the chambers. In that time Tim is complaining to Martin about how shit of a boss he was thinking to not bring Sasha back with them. Georgie is there watching as Martin tries to reason that the atmosphere of foreign germs of a likely alien diseased ship getting inside Sasha is a fair enough reason to be concerned. But that only makes Tim more anxious about Sasha's state. Martin leaves, announcing he’s going to make everyone tea, and Georgie sits next to Tim, the Admiral jumping onto the table to try to cheer him up. She’s there now and that's what matters. Tim nodded as he stroked the Admiral gently. The cat enjoyed the attention nonetheless. Once Tim has calmed down a bit Martin comes back to them each 2 cups of tea, and they collectively go to check on the quarantine chambers together. He recalls Tim and Sashas secret relationship they’ve hid from most everyone. He himself only found out after cleaning up the living quarters when he’d found himself useless in the mechanics department. More than once has he discovered something that should’ve been tossed out but also accidentally stumbled across them in his spare time without their notice. Martin thinks it's sweet Tim cares so much for Sasha. Once they arrive, Georgie stops to look at the monitors, seeing one of them having a system freak out. Concerned, she asks what's going on. Nikola simply brushes her off explaining it’s only freaking out from all 3 of the chambers being used at once and that Sasha so far is perfectly fine, even with ‘foreign entities’ being read from her chamber. Georgie nods slowly, but makes a note to check up on this again later when she can. Martin overheard this conversation before he walks on; He passes Sasha and Melanie’s chambers with a wave- instead stopping at Jons to hand him tea through what is essentially feeding slots. Jon looks a bit melancholy and stressed, so Martin tries to strike up a conversation with him. At first Jon doesn’t really want to talk until Martin says he wouldn’t get to sleep with the Admiral once he gets out- picking up the cat who seemed to follow him instead of Georgie. Jon then huffs claiming Martin can be a surprisingly persuasive negotiator as he picks up the tea and starts to lay out his thoughts. He admits he feels guilty for overreacting about Sasha. And he fears Tim might try to get back at him for even considering leaving Sasha behind. Martin tries to comfort Jon, saying he was only worried and overwhelmed by the whole situation. Even saying he wouldn’t know what to do if it were him in Jons boots. Jon absently nods to this before asking Martin to bring him back a book to read while he waited. Martin complies, waving the Admirals paw at Jon as he goes. He passes by Georgie who is talking with Melanie, and hands her the Admiral, new mission on finding Jon a book he HASN’T already read on the ship. Georgie talks with Melanie about all the amazing things she’d seen out there but also criticized Melanie for her lack of tact in the situation. Melanie takes the slap on the wrist, and apologies as she may have been too eager to see all the grim situations of foreign life. Once Melanie finished her tea she announces she’s going to bed- it’s just as Martin walks by again with 3 separate books in hand. Georgie agrees to the fact they’ve all had a long day and bids everyone goodnight but stops short when The Admiral hisses loudly and jumps from her arms as she stops to bid Tim and Sasha goodnight. Everyone is startled by this as he has NEVER been known to have done that before. Sasha plays it off to his animal instincts as she’s probably still covered with alien germs. She gives a big grin that makes everyone who sees it uncomfortable. Even Tim looks concerned. They then go off to bed- not saying a word to each other about this event but they do keep tabs on her status while the next 3 days of their quarantine go by slowly. Once they’re deemed free to be let loose Jon immediately goes off to record all his findings and review the footage and audio they’d been able to collect. Martin and Tim after the first day of Sasha being out slowly start avoiding her- something in their brains telling them something is wrong. Tim is really upset about it- saying she’s likely still sick, but Nikola says Sasha is perfectly healthy. In fact she announces they should start prepping to go back into hypersleep if they wanted to get back to Earth quicker- scolding Jon when he walks into the room because she has noticed he hasn’t been sleeping since he got out of quarantine. Jon argues he’s cataloging and reviewing data but Nikola says Georgie should be helping him with that stuff and that he needs to get rest now. Jon stalks off but Martin brings Jon a cup of tea and The Admiral so he can get some good sleep as they start to prep the ship. It takes them 2 weeks for the system to be fully back on course as well as to set up the autopilot for the trip back home. Jon has been consistently avoiding Nikola and Sasha, always in his office going over the recordings as well as just hiding from everyone else. He feels like something is off with Sasha, and while others Georgie and Martin agree with him- Tim and Melanie get almost hostile towards him if he brings it up. Once they’re all laid down and prepped for the hypersleep he actively fights it- and keeps his eyes open. He does this for almost 3 hours after everyone else has fallen asleep before he notices Sasha stand up and leave her pod. He gets up and groggily follows her down to the artifacts room. Once in there he realizes the lights aren’t turning on and while he mutters that Martin needs to fix this place too he notices one of the more higher security level rooms was open. He was the only person that should have access to that room. He grabs a crowbar and slowly approaches the door, pushing it up higher to make his way in easier. He finds the room filled with some sort of eggs. 7 if them in fact- and one of them opens right then and there. Before he can make a decision to approach or leave something lunges out at him from within it. Horror stricken by this he swings his crowbar and catches it against the wall. Its tail however wraps around his neck and pulls him forward with strength he wasn't prepared for still being so groggy. It is able to extend a tube halfway towards his face- sharp teeth of sorts trying and succeeding in grazing his neck as he brings more strength into his arms and tosses it away. He gets up, the creature slightly stunned as it lands onto the other eggs, but just then he realizes his mistake. The other eggs begin to hatch just then, tops opening up with a squishing hiss and he books it just as some of the creature's fingers peek out from behind the eggs. PART 1

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purplerose244 · 3 years

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Belonging

Here again for the @toa-secret-santa of this year! So happy to participate again, I love these events! 😍😍 Hello @spellcasterdouxie, I’m your secret santa! Merry Christmas and festivities, hope you like my present! ❤

Summary: In which being stuck in New York to protect a magical being and save the world in the process is no excuse for not celebrating Christmas with your friends.

Also on AO3

So… Nari was a terrible liar.

Extremely powerful being, the purest pretty soul, but horrible at lying.

Douxie didn’t have the slightest idea of what she was plotting, granted that she used to be part of an evil congregation of wizards that wanted to take over using an ancient artifact – meh, like that was the weirdest coming from his friends –, but he was fairly sure that her claim regarding the leaking sink of the bathroom was some sort of decoy.

Did that convince him to ignore those big adorable puppy eyes?

“It looks good to me, but I’m gonna give it a double check just in case!”

“Thank you Douxie, much appreciated! Please make sure everything is working, do not overlook a single thing!” Absolutely not. He was a master wizard, not a beast.

Their little apartment was neither pretty nor particularly clean. Which considering the little money he accumulated over the years with all of his jobs back in Arcadia and given the fact that they were in New York City, was kind of a given. But it had a perfectly functional bathroom, basically a gift from above, or some kind of karma retribution from putting up with three different apocalypses in the same summer – and he had all suspicions that another one was coming, but possibly another season. That being said, he wasn’t sure why with her plant like appearance, Nari with all people was so interested into their sink. Besides maybe for spraying a bit of water over her head – one very curious and endearing scene really, like a pot plant watering itself.

Then again, he wasn’t completely sure why he was going along with it instead of asking directly what was this all about. Maybe he liked to study whatever thought somehow as peculiar as her could come up with. Maybe there was nothing else of particular interest to do while waiting for his mac and cheese to be ready… maybe that little nightmare of his from last night got him a little too down, and doing anything but think about it was a better solution than most. And it was a pretty annoying maybe, because dreams about his master were as common as breathing lately.

He thought he was over it. It was probably too soon… hopefully he was at least getting closer to the not too soon part of it.

One long silence followed, from which he was fairly sure he had heard a few whispers a little lower than Nari’s light tone. Great, what now? Was she actually plotting something?

“Is everything okay over there? Arch? Nari?”

“Fine, everything is fine! Keep checking please!”

“Are you serious?” Okay now it was ridiculous. “Nope, I’m getting over there, and you two better not be up to no good!” They were a surprisingly compatible pair, especially since his familiar had made it his mission to teach her the marvel of pranks – she wasn’t even malicious about it, that made it all even more devious somehow. Douxie left the wrench on the ground, getting out of the bathroom and towards the living room. “You all keep forgetting that I’m the master wizards here, so technically I’m in charge, so if you’re scheming something- Whoa, Mordrax’s miracles!”

The last thing he had expected, after leaving their lonely living room that was made of four faded walls with a random kitchen connected to it, was to get back to it completely transformed into a messy, happy Christmas themed little chamber.

Filled with very familiar faces.

“Merry Christmas, Teach!” Claire almost knocked him off his feet with that hug. She looked radiant, all wrapped up in one big purple sweater with ‘Feeling Wicked Sassy’ written on it – appropriate. Behind her Steve, Toby and Archie were all smiling.

“Sorry, you would not leave the house,” Nari looked all cozy and a little guilty in that big mint green sweater – with ‘Every Day is Green Day’ written on it, where did she get that? –, waving at him. “And it felt like claiming we were being attacked by Skrael and Bellroc was a bit excessive.” Thank goodness his roommate and protegee had some common sense – considering his latest adventure, more than him for sure.

Claire giggled, shrugging innocently.

“We honestly hoped you were that bad of a plumber and would give us more time…”

Douxie snickered, because this was ridiculously endearing and he loved it all already.

“Too bad I’m not completely hopeless.”

“Could’ve fooled me!” Steve, it was Steve, not even worth turning around to recognize him. But a random fist bump, that much he could concede – especially with that massive blue sweater ‘Silent Knight, Holey Knight’ he had on, like really what was even that. “Ready to have the best time of your life?”

The master wizard arched an eyebrow.

“Said from you? Should we call the firefighter in advance? Or the police?” The blonde pouted very dramatically, Claire snickered. He had really missed these two. “Wow, this place looks amazing! The landlord can’t see this or she will force me to pay more for the rent.” His wallet was already gasping enough for breath and money. “All this stuff, all the decorations… is this beef?” Ah, that was why it all felt like such a sudden change, this paradisiac scent had definitely not been here before. “It smells delicious!”

“Thank you!” Second shock of the day, but Douxie could hardly blame himself considering the most time he had spent around Jim had been during his huge troll moments – he kinda looked like a twig now in comparison. “I’m pretty well known for my festive feasts.”

“Also known as festeasts!” Toby showed one enthusiastic victory sign, pulling off his orange ‘Rockin’ This Christmas’ with plenty of little gems and stones all around – the forever geologist.

Jim rolled his eyes with a grin.

“Tobes we’re not calling them that.” The Warhammer holder frowned, only to beam when he got handed a spoon for a taste. “I made most of this from home so it’s all ready and warm, but I wanted to make something on the place while I was at it. Freshly made food tastes way better on Christmas.” Toby hummed around the spoon, smacking his lips, then he rubbed his fingers together towards the chef, who caught it as to add more salt.

Douxie couldn’t help but scoot closer, peaking inside. That looked like food. That looked like real, delicious, extremely well-made food.

“What in the world, how did you make that?” Jim snorted.

“You moved on without much of a comment from me turning into a half-troll, a full troll and then back to a human, and this surprises you?”

“My friend, there were Thai leftovers, one instant ramen, an onion and an egg left in the fridge so yes, this surprises me!” All speculations died when he was offered a taste too. “… so it turns out I know nothing of magic. I must bow to the real master wizard here.” If happiness had a flavor it had to be this one. The former trollhunter snickered, giving him a little elbow before going back over his creations. And if the most classic ‘kiss the chef’ apron on him wasn’t already extremely fitting, the cyan sweater underneath reciting ‘I’m In The…’ on the back barely left to the imagination what list was written on the front.

A very well-deserved sign, really.

“Buttsnack’s managed to make these too, take a look!” Steve waved at the little counter that was the only thing remotely looking like a table in this place. And smelling just as heavenly as everything else, there they were, mince pies, just like the ones from Camelot. “But I don’t know if they’re as good because someone slaps my hand every time I- OUCH!! I didn’t even try this time!”

Archie’s tail could be surprisingly useful as a whip, in fact.

“You were thinking about it! So don’t, these are for later.” And wow, if his most loyal companion wasn’t absolutely adorable wearing that little red sweater – ‘Santa Paws’, he was going to complain about it all day long. Douxie wished he hadn’t left his phone in the bathroom. “We’re still waiting for the tree, the last decorations and the music. But we’re almost ready.” So apparently his familiar had been behind all of this. That actually made perfect sense.

Of course this little wizard associate had known this was going to do him good. It was the kind of bond that came with being around each other for over 900 years.

Archie smiled at him, and Douxie couldn’t not grin in return.

“Can’t wait for them! Even thought I did have some when we had that travel… well technically ages ago, we were actually in Camelot, but it wasn’t- Ah forget it, time loops are too confusing.” There was a consensual groan including all of them but Toby and Nari, who just looked at each other and shrugged. “Well, this is awesome, how did you even get everything here so fast?” On second thought, that was more than just bizarre. His eyes crossed Claire’s right away. “You get so tired with transportations through the Shadow Realm usually, and you got to bring along all of these people and decorations?” The thing was, this wasn’t supposed to be possible. Another thing was, Lady Claire of house Nunez was so insanely talented it would had not surprised him.

The girl waved her hand in denial.

“I wish I was at that level, but no. Still, we did travel back and forth pretty quickly.”

“Without magic? How?”

“I should take offense from that highly questioning tone.” Third shock, his poor heart – he came back from the grave once, and he really didn’t recommend it. He was fairly sure the apartment he had rented didn’t include interdimensional portals opening in the middle of the living room. “And from the fact that you humans keep forgetting I invented a perfectly functioning wormhole generator. But please, continue with your predicaments, ignore the scientific feat I’ve accomplished!” For an alien that barely understood human sarcasm, Krel Tarron was made a whole half of it.

As he walked in from the portal, holding one edge of a box filled with Christmas balls, on the other side Zoe stepped in carrying along the rest. And between a black ‘I’m Back, Witches’ sweater and a gray ‘DJ Kleb’ one with four sleeves, it was one curious and fantastic view.

“Yeah yeah, you bent the rules of physics, congratulations!” Zoe’s tense tone implied that she must had heard that complain already. “Stop talking and get working, I’m going the extra mile here!”

“This doesn’t sound like a good time to have a walk.”

“For the love of…!” The pink haired girl let out a muffled scream, let go of her edge of the box – lucky for Krel to have four arms to catch it – and jumped over the master wizard to grab his shoulders. “I hate you so much, you left me alone dealing with all of these new knuckleheads! Like the local dummies weren’t enough!” The collective offended ‘Hey!’ coming from both the Akiridion and the village’s idiot – a marvel that Steve actually responded, fully aware of his status as knucklehead – was somehow even more endearing than funny.

Meanwhile Zoe was still wrinkling his favorite jacket, frowning aggressively at him like the fact that he was out there saving the world was unforgivable – you could say anything about this pink head, but not that she didn’t have priorities.

Douxie snickered, easing the hold onto him.

“Sorry for trying to give my friends a place to live in this crazy wild world, then!”

“… apologies accepted.” Zoe narrowed her eyes. “But only if we finally hunt for niffins and get those forsaken burgers after you did the deed. I’m calling dibs on you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Besides, you owe me. I didn’t snitch and told that Hex Tech got annihilated and we’re in need of new personnel because someone needed to hide from the big bad villains.” Those blue gems were screaming not to mess this offer up, because it was certainly not going to come back.

Even with a pressure like that, in some way inside of him, Douxie felt freed of a little weight. Despite the distance and everything that had happened, some things stayed the same. So he quite happily held up his fist, smirking at the girl.

“Alright, as soon as this is over with. Deal.” Zoe glared at him a few more seconds. Then she nodded, and finally bumped their knuckles together.

With a thud Krel finally put the box down, sighing soundly.

“Thanks Seklos this is done. I believe we are only missing the dead tree that will be then covered in artificial garnishments as a form of apparent belittlement of nature.” He stayed still for a few seconds, mindlessly throwing a little sphere on the ground that divided in four pieces, generating a portal. “… I feel like I’m getting so accustomed with humans’ savageness that I’m even quite looking forwards to it. Especially for that useless invention called ‘tree’.” He snickered, getting inside the wormhole that disappeared as soon as he was in.

Luckily the impossible dimensional gateway appeared of not leaving any trace behind. And luckily the creature – or elf, demigod, Nari was still a bit of a mystery – most connected to the nature that had just been denigrated was way more interested in whatever chef wiz Jim Lake Jr. was preparing.

“You knubhead, I just told you not to!” Archie’s spiteful voice came along, as apparently Steve had managed to take advantage of the situation – a scientific miracle happening in front of them, fair enough – to finally get himself a mince piece. Only to get slapped to the ground. “That’s it, until these cool down you’re getting nowhere near! Douxie, out with me, we need to guard the treasure!” That was some attachment for one tray of soft and delicious little pastries.

Douxie shrugged and complied, picking up the meal under the jock’s renovated pout and heading to the balcony. The chilling air got to his nose right away, but he endured, appreciating just the tiniest breath. There was barely space for once person there.

Well, one person and his familiar. He placed the tray on the railing, making sure it didn’t fall.

“How did Jim even get the recipe?” Archie grinned.

“Well, apparently his troll friends did remember a certain meal very appreciated by humans from back then, but they have their own idea on how to make it. I don’t know the details, but I certainly know it involves socks. Plenty of socks.”

“… you want to see Steve’s reaction to them later.”

“I want to see Steve’s reaction to them later with all the others. Christmas is supposed to be a family festivity, right?” His grin disappeared right after. “So… it didn’t sound like you were sleeping too well last night.” Yep. He knew. Of course he knew. He would had even if he didn’t have to habit of sneaking into his bed to get warm. “Something you’d like to talk about?”

Douxie breathed out, gently buffing his fluffy ear.

“I’m fine Arch, not need to get all sensible on me. It was one of the usuals.” He tried a weak smile, not really feeling like keeping everything in. Not with so many people inside, on this particular day. “… you know, thinking it now, somehow it was easier celebrating Christmas on the streets back in Camelot. Getting something good to eat, have fun, that was enough. Considering how tense was everyone in the Pendragon castle it’s not much of a surprise, but still… I wonder if Merlin ever had a proper Christmas in there.” He sighed. “He certainly didn’t while I was around.” The noisy streets of Camelot overlapped NYC’s busy ones. He swallowed a lump into his throat.

That legendary town was such a faraway place right now, coming back from a single memory was a slap from reality. Douxie shivered, taking in a freezing breath, gasping when Archie jumped over his shoulder and curled all around his neck. His fur was nice and warm.

“We have no way of knowing. But one thing’s for sure, that old man got a surprising, unexpected present in any case.” Archie smiled, eyeing him softly. “One very sneaky, very foolish, very brave apprentice.” They had been there, the both of them. And in any possible way, in the good, the bad, and the best, he had found a life to call that way. The one Merlin had asked him about.

The master wizard smiled, snuggling his cheek against his loyal friend.

It didn’t take long, the winter air acted like a freezer over the little pies. But as they went back in, the place had already changed – and that was besides AAARRRGGHH!!, with one gigantic hat on his head, holding up the tree while Blinky, wearing a scarf, was reading a manual on how to decorate it, where did he even get that? –: there was a table, appeared again out of nowhere, with all the most delicious looking dishes placed all over between branches of holly and little bells. Jim and Nari were putting down the last dishes, Steve was clumsily getting the statue of a reindeer to balance over the tv, Toby was checking the lights to make sure they were functioning.

And Claire was suddenly in front of him, beaming, clearly hiding something from behind her back. It immediately grabbed everybody’s attention, like it was some sort of event.

Was it?

“We’ve organized the present exchange for after lunch, but this one you need to put it on now. So, her it is!” She uncovered the secret and- Oh. It was a sweater. It was a sweater. For him. “There you go, you’re officially part of the wool club, a Christmas-limited association only.”

“Founder of the association Nancy Domzalski, mostly because it was Nana who made them all!” Toby caressed the front of his sweater, smiling softly. “She’s that kind of grandma that thinks that everything that’s made with love can bring warmth, and I’m kind of a believer too.” He shrugged, crossing his fingers behind the back of his head. “I know this isn’t your cool punk rock wizardy style, but Nana had her midlife crisis in her own time and I’m not exactly looking forward to one before my very own eyes!” That was probably not a sight a grandchild wanted of their grandma, that was understandable.

It was. It was, right? It was getting a little hard to focus on something, anything that wasn’t a soft bundle of black and navy blue stripes, welcoming and warm, with ‘Fuzzbuckets’ written on it. It was getting weird. A little unsettling even, because he just got out in the cold but his bones weren’t freezing anymore and he felt all fuzzy inside and now his eyes were warm and-

“… oh, curse me, not the waterfalls…!” Centuries spent transitioning from hopeless bard to punk rock guitarist, only to tear up at a random surprise Christmas party.

From there, he didn’t understand much. Only Claire’s probable ‘Aww Douxie!’, Toby’s sudden ‘There’s no Christmas without the sad moment’, Steve’s surprising ‘I know what to do, come on everybody, let’s all hug it out!’. And all of the sudden he was enveloped with so many arms, so many different people he had gotten to know and had managed to befriend and appreciate. That were part of his world, his life, and what was coming for the future.

So when he managed to open his eyes, there was so much to uncover, between a pink head, a scarred eyebrow, a lock of leaves and a paw still so close to his cheek. And it hit him that perhaps there was a reason why Camelot had always felt so far away lately.

That age was over. But this, it felt like it had only begun. Douxie smiled, closing his eyes again.

Embracing how good it felt to belong again.

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mrallnight57-blog · 3 years

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The Crystal of Mordokia

Chapter 17

Jenny and Litias stood there silently. At this point, Jenny wasn't sure what to say, or what to do. Suddenly Litias broke her silence. "Meaah! Damn it! I shouldn't have told you that pretty one. Now you will just use that against me."

Jenny took offense to Litias's comment. "I don't want you to die!"

Litias was becoming more angry. "Oh you will. You will betray me just like the people of Mordokia!"

Jenny was trying to think of something to calm Litias down. The last thing she wanted was to be on the receiving end of Litias's wrath. She also wasn't fully convinced that Litias was as evil as she said she was. Something about the way Litias acted made Jenny think there might be some good in her. After a moment of thinking, she remembered something Litias had said about The Hero. A hero that Jenny was pretty sure Litias secretly admired. "Didn't you say The Hero believed in giving people second chances?"

Litias frowned. "I've had way more than two chances."

At the moment, Jenny wasn't concerned about what Litias had done on another world. It wasn't like she could arrest the creature for it anyways. In fact besides conspiring to break into a government facility, the only real crime Jenny could arrest Litias for was literally being a illegal alien.

Jenny was about to tell Litias that at the moment it's past didn't matter, but before Jenny could say that. Litias got right in her face, and started talking. "You think I can be redeemed pretty one? You know nothing about the terror I can bring."

Jenny tried to say something, but Litias put it's hand on her head, and said. "I will show you." Suddenly Jenny lost consciousness, and began seeing visions of another world.

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

The Story of Litias.

I was discovered by the Drow Elves. They came from a matriarch society. Their society leaders were elven priestess, who obeyed their gods. Their weak pathetic gods. I changed all of that.

I started my reign of terror by destroying the drow churches. Of course by doing this, I had angered their gods. As each one came for me, I put them down, by the end I made The Drow worship me. That's when I turned my focus to the rest of Mordokia.

Years ago before The Legendary Hero, The Drows were at war with the High Elves. The Legendary Hero had brought an end to the war. It was time for me to start it again.

I took attacked every major kingdom of the High Elves. Me and my dark forces, tore down their castles, took their leaders out of power, and enslaved their people. With in a few years. I had taken over their entire world.

For centuries I ruled. Leaving Drow in charge of The Kingdoms. Eventually the High Elves rebelled. They sent their heroes, and every time I took them down, and forced them into servitude. Their was one hero though who ended up earning my respect.

His name was Cage, he turned out to be one of the High Elves greatest warriors. Some even compared him to The Legendary Hero. He was rather intelligent too. Instead of coming at me directly, he and his group of warriors hunted down several magical artifacts. One of them was a sword, that could apparently cut through anything.

When his group finally did come attack me, they were successful in defeating my armies, but when the final showdown came between me and Cage. All hell broke loose.

He discovered that the sword he had could not harm me, but it did block my magic, so it made him a worthy foe. Then the unexpected happened. During our battle. Something crashed in the side of the mountain where we were battling, which caused a cave in. Me and Cage were trapped in side the cave. Which meant we had to work together, if we wanted to make it out of the mountain.

Once the two of escaped the mountain, we both saw something we had never seen before. I know of it now as a star ship, but at the time, I had no idea what it was. When me and Cage opened the vessel. We found a girl, unlike any girl we have ever seen before.

The Girl was elven like, but smaller. She had a tail, and a face of a yellow fox. I could tell right away, that Cage had become smitten with her. So I made a deal with him.

I allowed him to take the girl, but I kept the craft. Once he agreed to this, I made him the ultimate bargain. I told him if he wanted the lands of the High Elves, he needed to give me all of the magical artifacts he had collected, and in exchange he could take the land of the High Elves on the condition that his people stayed out of the Drow Lands. Cage agreed to this, but before I could celebrate my victory. The girl from the sky, who had been unconscious this entire time. Awoke and gave me a dire warning.

The girl from the craft was named Sarabella, and she said that she came from a another world, and above Mordokia was a space station being ruled by a Powerful Woman, and eventually she will come looking for her, and that there was no way to stop her. Once she arrives she will take over Mordokia.

At first I didn't take this warning seriously. Why would I. I had never been defeated in battle, and Mordokia still belonged to me. Even though I gave some power back to the High Elves, I still ruled Mordokia. There was no one more powerful than me, but I was wrong.

Several days later I met Ravenerress. At first she tried to cut a deal with me. Saying if I returned her ship, and the girl who was inside it, she would leave my world alone, but I was arrogant, and challenged her to battle. This was a mistake. She annihilated me. It was the first time ever felt pain. Once she was done beating me. She said I had five days to bring her the girl, or she would destroy Mordokia.

Beaten, and broken, with a army that had been decimated, I found myself turning to the High Elves for help. I told them about Ravenerress, and discovered that she had been on our planet before, and she was the one who defeated the Legendary Hero. At first the High Elves weren't sure what to do, but Sarabella had a plan. She said her people were on the the skybase, and if we could get up there, we could save her people, and destroy the Sky Base. It would weaken Ravenerress, and with the help of her people, we could defeat the Red Tyrant.

At first I wasn't sure how her people would do in battle, but discovered that after only being on Mordokia for five days, Sarabella had already mastered several advanced sword techniques, and several different fighting skills. She claimed she had never battled in a day of her life. These skills just came naturally for her.

After seeing Sarabella's skills, I decided to go along with her plan. We would wait for Ravenerress to attack, then as Cage and his warriors held them off with the magical artifacts I returned to them. Me and Sarabella would take her craft and go to the stars.

On the Fifth day, Ravenerress attacked, she brought her army, and brought her army. She left the skybase defenseless. Me and Sarabella went to the base, and it was nothing like I expected. I saw things that I have never been exposed to before. Technology that would make your world seem like it was still in the stone age.

Finally me and Sarabella found her people, but when we found them, I was once again left speechless. They weren't captured, in fact they had been left free to roam the ship. It appeared that they had no hardship thrust upon them. When Sarabella asked them to join us. They refused, they acted as if they were brainwashed, but they were under no spell.

It was at that point, Sarabella begged me not to destroy the sky base, and I finally agreed. Only because if I did defeat Ravenerress, her skybase would be mine. So we returned to Mordokia, and found that the Armies of Mordokia had surrendered, with very few casualties, and Ravenerress had made a deal with Cage. Ravenerress decided to spare Mordokia, and even let them keep Sarabella, but in exchange Ravenerress would take me in her place. I would now and forever have to serve Ravenerress.

Litias ended the vision. Jenny stared at Litias for a bit trying to think what she should say. As she was thinking, Litias began speaking. "Now you see what you are dealing with. I am a conqueror, and with me I bring darkness. So now that you see what I am. You probably want to destroy me."

Jenny sat silent for a moment, then shook her head. "No. Everybody has darkness inside them. When I was a young, I was bullied alot, especially when I came out of the closet. When the other kids at school, discovered I was gay. They made my life a living hell. If I had your powers when I was younger, I would have destroyed everyone, and everything in my path. My sister helped me through, the tough times though. She was a loving and compassionate person, and when she died, I dedicated myself to law enforcement. I didn't do that just to find her killer, but I did it because, I wanted to help people just like she did."

Litias stared at Jenny for a moment, then the creature stood up and placed her hand on Jenny's shoulder. Jenny smiled and looked up at her, that's when Litias said. "You know everything you just told me about yourself?" Jenny nodded, she thought her words had gotten through to Litias, and she would reconsider giving the contract to Gothic Mirror, and find another way to break it's bound with the Demon. Then Litias said. "I knew that already, but thank you for sharing." Jenny's jaw dropped, and Litias went back to her desk.

#horror #my words #supernatural #super hero

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tomasorban · 3 years

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Alien Technology May Have Entered Our Solar System, Says Harvard Professor

Scientific ideas like the Drake Equation — an attempt to formalize wider theoretical parameters of intelligent life beyond Earth — have yet to give a solid figure to the possibility of life in our galaxy. If intelligent aliens are real, they've yet to leave a sign.

However, one scientist of note says they just did. When the unidentified object called 'Oumuamua zipped through our solar system in 2017, it may have been our first official encounter with alien technology — so argues astrophysicist and Harvard Professor Avi Loeb in his book, titled "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life," forthcoming on Jan. 26.

Alien technology may have entered our solar system

In his forthcoming book, Professor Loeb makes a compelling case for why the object called 'Oumuamua (pronounced "oh moo ah moo ah") — an elongated, shaft-like object that sling-shotted through our solar system in 2017 — was more than just another space rock.

'Oumuamua, he says, was probably a piece of defunct alien technology.

The object came from the direction of the star Vega — a nearby star 25 light-years away — and crossed into the plane of our solar system on Sept. 6, 2017.

"It intercepted the orbital plane, within which all of the planets in our solar system revolve around the sun, on September 6, 2017," wrote Loeb. "But the object's extreme hyperbolic trajectory guaranteed it would only visit, not stay."

'Oumuamua displayed small, consistent acceleration

After passing the perihelion, the closest position to the Sun of 'Oumuamua's trajectory, "it began to exit the solar system; its speed far away — relative to our star, it was moving at about 94,800 km per hour (58,900 miles per hour) — more than ensured its escape from the Sun's gravity," wrote Loeb in his book.

"It passed through Venus' orbital distance from the sun around September 29 and through Earth's around October 7, moving swiftly toward the constellation Pegasus and the blackness beyond," Loeb wrote.

The object then displayed a small but consistent acceleration for which the sun's gravity could not account.

Strange object's acceleration baffles scientific community

Comets do the same as they release gases — which coalesce into their signature tails. But 'Oumuamua didn't have one, nor did telescopes we'd centered on the strange object find any signs of by-products typically linked to outgassing, like dust or water vapor.

Astronomers worked to exclude one theory after another, looking for ways to make sense of 'Oumuamua's bizarre motion. It hadn't collided with another object, and it hadn't received its boost in speed from solar wind.

One research group thought the best explanation for the object was that it was a "miniature comet" whose tail went undetected, as a consequence of "unusual chemical composition." A different group suggested 'Oumuamua consisted of frozen hydrogen — a modified mini-comet hypothesis.

Key to 'Oumuamua's origin lies in its brightness, says Harvard professor

However, the most interesting account came from Professor Loeb, who argued 'Oumuamua wasn't the kind of interstellar object we expected. To him, it was an artifact of an alien civilization.

"Long before we knew of its existence, the object was traveling toward us from the direction of Vega, a star just 25 light-years away," wrote Loeb in his book.

However, ground- and space-based observations following the outward trajectory of the object identified sunlight reflecting off of the surface of 'Oumuamua.

"For astrophysicists, an object's changing brightness provides invaluable clues to its shape," wrote Loeb. "In the case of 'Oumuamua, the object's brightness varied tenfold every eight hours, which we deduced to be the amount of time that it took to complete one full rotation."

Harvard professor argues object was artifact of alien civilization

"This dramatic variability in its brightness told us 'Oumuamua's shape was extreme, or at least five to ten times longer than it was wide," Loeb wrote. It seemed evidence pointed to a relatively small, cigar-shaped object.

"This is definitely an unusual object," observed the narrator of a NASA video, The New Yorker reports. "And, unfortunately, no more new observations of 'Oumuamua are possible because it's already too dim and far away."

Ruling out the possibility of a comet or an asteroid, Professor Loeb concluded only one explanation remained: the baffling object is an artifact of advanced technology from an alien civilization.

'Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence'

"Our civilization has sent five man-made objects into interstellar space: Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, and New Horizons," wrote Loeb. "This fact alone is suggestive of our unlimited potential to venture far out. So too is the behavior of our more distant ancestors."

"And if other civilizations developed out there among the stars, wouldn't they have felt that same urge to explore, to venture past familiar horizons in search of the new? Judging by human behavior, that would not be surprising in the least," concluded Loeb in his upcoming book.

Needless to say, Loeb's conclusion about the origin of 'Oumuamua is extraordinary. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," said the astronomer Carl Sagan — who has yet to be dwarfed by another scientist in his efforts to promote the search for extraterrestrial life.

Alien origin theory of object opens 'new vistas of exploration'

The best evidence Loeb cites for his 'Oumuamua theory is the absence of convincing alternative explanations. "It is not obvious to me why extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," wrote Loeb, flipping the script on Sagan: "Extraordinary conservatism keeps us extraordinarily ignorant."

To Loeb, so long as the chance exists that 'Oumuamua is an alien probe, ruling out the possibility could make fools of us all. "If we acknowledge that 'Oumuamua is plausibly of extraterrestrial-technology origin," writes Loeb, "whole new vistas of exploration for evidence and discovery open before us."

For standing by his convictions, Loeb risks (and has weathered) serious ridicule. On a historical basis, the odds are stacked against his theory. Yet considering the statistical likelihood of life beyond our home planet against the stark contrast of lacking evidence — known as the Fermi Paradox — it's hard to resist the exciting possibilities that could unfold if we knew technology from an alien civilization did, in fact, enter our solar system.

#oumuamua #Astronomy #science #extraterrestrials #mystery

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crystal-siren · 6 years

Text

Knowledge (Dad!Tony x Reader + Loki x Reader) Pt. 4

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

@dovies666 @mymourningtea @hams-corner @parkerrpeterr @desdestiny @m4shtyx @blackmaylovesfries

She said, ‘Never forget me’.......as if the coast could forget the ocean, or the lung forget the breath, or the earth could forget the sun. ~ Beau Taplin // A Reminder

She was the last person Tony had ever suspected of being a thief. It had been two years since he had spoken with her and heard her voice.

Y/N had left the country on what was supposed to be a business trip. It was not until she was completely out of the country, that the authorities discovered what she had done.

The American government had tasked SHIELD with the mission of finding her and bringing her back. Tony had been reluctant at first, not wanting believe that his little girl was responsible for the theft of classified documents from the National Archives. When he had learnt however, who these documents concerned, he had all the proof he needed.

For two years he and his team mates had chased her across Europe. She had evaded them at every turn, outsmarting them at every opportunity. Even Nat and Clint had a hard time keeping track of her. Y/N’s extensive knowledge of information retrieval made it hard for the Avengers to prevent her from gaining access to the various institutions that had become her targets.

London was the last place they had seen her. Their British contact had seen her, her Y/F/C hair making it easy for anyone to spot and pinpoint her. Nat had tailed her but she soon gave them the slip and disappeared, taking the stolen information with her.

Fury had ordered Tony to stay behind, believing him to be too emotionally involved. He had waited with baited breath as Nat’s steady reports came in over her com. Then came the words that Tony and Fury had been dreading. “I’ve lost her.”

She had gone dark, off the grid. Y/N had made it near impossible for them to track her. Since her disappearance from London, the Avengers had received no further reports of her location. It was not until a pattern was discovered by a SHIELD analyst that they were able to predict where she would go next.

Siberia.

The information and artifacts she had stolen all spoke of a legendary stone with ability to allow its bearer to travel to different worlds. While some argued that they should lie in wait for her, others believed that if she could not find the stone, then she would eventually give up and return to America of her own will.

Tony, who had no desire to arrest his own daughter, voted on the second option.

~ ~ ~

“Sometimes memories are the worst forms of torture.”

If he was surprised that Thor had come to visit him, Loki showed no outward sign. Standing up, he smiled nastily at his brother. “How kind of you to come. Are the realms at peace now that the mighty Thor has vanquished their enemies?”

Thor moved closer until only the barrier of the cell stood between them. “I spoke with Mother,” he continued, ignoring the jibe.

“Did you just.”

“She is worried about you.”

Picking up a nearby book, Loki pretended to read it. “She is? How very touching.”

“You know she is,” Thor spoke, his tone gentle. Taking a deep breath, he looked down at his hands before lifting his gaze to meet his brother’s. “I did not just come to speak of our mother, but also to offer my condolences.”

Loki did not answer right away. When he did, his voice was dangerously calm. “I would thank you if I knew why you offered them.”

“Do not play games with me, brother.” Thor could clearly see that something had shifted in his brother, despite the facade he had constructed.

Loki turned away from the older Prince. He clenched his hands into tight fists in order to to maintain his control over his emotions. “I have no need for such useless sentiments.”

“I do wonder,” Thor spoke after a few moments of silence. “How it is possible for you to remain so calm, even after the worst experience has befallen you?”

“What other choice do I have?” Loki challenged, turning to face him.

“The woman you love is dead,” Thor hated himself for the brief flicker of pain that flittered over his brother’s features. “And here you are, calm and collected as though nothing of importance has happened.”

“What do you suggest I do?”

Thor ground his teeth in frustration. Why was he acting so damn unaffected ?

“Lashing out in anger would hardly aid my cause,” Loki pointed out. “She was a mortal, Thor. It was only a matter of time.”

“Would you listen to yourself!” Thor could hardly believe what he was hearing. “If she meant so little to you, as you claim she did-”

“Do not presume to put words into my mouth,” Loki snapped, cutting him off. His upper lip curled in the first show of emotion Thor had witnessed since his arrival. “Do not presume to offer me comfort when you know nothing of the pain.”

Thor said nothing. What could he possibly say? His brother was right, words of comfort would have no effect on him, they were useless.

~ ~ ~

“This is not how I pictured my first trip to the Swiss Alps.”

“Really?” Nikolas shot his cousin a sideways glance, “I am truly shocked.”

“Ha ha,” Y/N unbuckled her safety harness and stood to walk to the back of the helicopter where she proceeded to strap a parachute to her body. “Very funny.”

“I still think the plane would have been better,” her cousin spoke from the cockpit.

“You know,” Y/N replied, moving back to the front and sitting back down. “If you keep saying that, I might just pull you out with me.”

“Then we would crash and boom, there goes the element of surprise.”

Y/N smirked, “boom indeed.”

“Honestly,” Nikolas rolled his eyes and attempted to glare at her. His expression softened, “are you sure you’re up for this ? I know you never liked heights much.”

Y/N took a deep breath and smiled at him. “My fears are of little consequence. I made a promise and what kind of person would I be if I broke it ?”

“This isn’t just about the promise though is it?”

Looking down at her hands, Y/N shook her head.

“You really love him then?”

Meeting her cousin’s blue gaze, she took a shuddering breath and nodded. “Yes.”

“Well, then,” Nikolas nudged her shoulder. “Lets hope everything goes smoothly.”

“Yeah,” she whispered and fixed her eyes straight ahead, “I hope so too.”

Silence hung between them for the remainder of the flight. It wasn’t until the distinct shapes of the mountains came into view, that Y/N stood up and moved to door of the aircraft.

“We’re almost at the drop zone,” Nikolas reported and glanced over his shoulder. “You ready?”

Y/N made to reply when a fit of coughing racked her entire frame.

“Y/N?” Nickolas made to come to her when she waved him away.

“I’m alright,” she wheezed out and held a hand to her chest where a stabbing pain bloomed. “Just the nerves I suppose.”

Despite remaining unconvinced, Nikolas nodded. “If you’re all set?”

Y/N nodded and slid a pair of goggles over her eyes. Sliding the door open, she took a series of deep breaths to try and calm herself. “Here goes,” she murmured to herself and all but fell out of the aircraft.

The rush of the cold mountain air helped to distract Y/N from paying too much attention to the fact that she was falling rather rapidly towards the ground. Only when she pulled the parachute did she relax.

Landing somewhat smoothly in a clearing, she untangled herself from the parachute and activated her earpiece. “Nikolas? Can you hear me?”

“Still alive I see?” Came her cousin’s relieved tone.

“Alive and kicking,” Y/N replied, smirking. “I told you this would work.”

“Hang on,” he protested, “you haven’t even gone in yet.”

“Such faith, dear cousin,” Y/N shot back, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “You remember where to go I assume?”

“Please, I’ve been in this business longer than you.”

“Whatever you say,” she replied, “I’m going in.” Looking around, she began the short climb to the walls of SHIELD’s European base of Operations.

~ ~ ~

Not entirely convinced that his daughter would simply give up, Tony had elected to stay at the base in case she got it into her head to try and steal the stone.

If the past two years had taught him anything, it was that Y/N was not to be underestimated in the lengths she would go to.

Standing in front of the case that housed the stone, Tony sighed heavily, never would he have pictured his life to turn out this way. His precious daughter as a fugitive and thief was something the still sounded alien and wrong.

It was a beautiful stone to be sure, that much he would acknowledge. It was as though someone had trapped a sunset inside it. Under no circumstances could he let her get her hands on it.

~ ~ ~

Y/N was more than a bit suspicious of how easy it had been to get in. Not stopping to think why, she slipped into one of the numerous hallways and walked as silently as she could, relying heavily on her memory of the base’s layout.

The stone, if it was there, would be housed in the most secure part of the building.

Making doubly sure to avoid the cameras that decorated the walls, Y/N crept through the building like a shadow.

The sound of approaching footsteps had Y/N press herself against the wall and stop breathing, even though the stabbing pain in her chest continued to increase.

“What do you think Tony’ll do if she comes?” Natasha asked, rounding the corner. Y/N’s eyes widened, her father was here?!

“I hope he doesn’t hesitate, whatever he decides to do,” Clint replied.

Y/N waited until the two agents were completely out of sight before letting out the breath she’d been holding. She berated herself for not having prepared for this eventuality. She perked up however, if her father was here, that meant the stone was too.

With renewed energy, she headed in the direction the two agents had come from. She hoped and prayed that she wouldn’t encounter her father, she had no idea how he would react. She was a criminal after all.

It wasn’t long until a heavily guarded door came into view. Swearing under her breath, Y/N ducked into a nearby alcove, hoping that the guards hadn’t seen her.

Running her hands down her legs, she pulled out a pair of throwing knives. Nikolas had insisted that she at least go minimally armed, in case anything should happen.

Praying that her aim should prove accurate, Y/N spun out of the alcove and threw the blades. They sliced through the air and hit their mark.

Trying not to focus on the fact that she had just taken two lives, Y/N hesitantly approached one and nudged him with her foot. When no response came, she sighed with morbid relief.

Retrieving her knives, she quickly wiped them clean on her pants before approaching the door. Not wasting any time, she pulled out the device Nikolas had given her and placed it on the door. Numbers flickered across the screen until a combination was reached.

Looking over her shoulder, Y/N scanned the hallway before pushing the door open and stepping through.

~ ~ ~

Hearing the door open and then close, Tony turned around. The person that stood before him was both the first and last person he wanted to see.

“Y/N?”

Her e/c eyes didn’t seem to register his presence. They were locked onto the case behind him. “Finally,” she murmured and stepped around him.

Y/N knew full well that her father was there. She also knew that she had precious little time. The stone gleamed before her. It’s warm golden glow reflected on her features. Reaching out, her fingers brushed the cool glass.

“I can’t let you take that.”

Y/N briefly closed her eyes before turning to face him. “That’s too bad. I made a promise and I have every intention of keeping it.”

“A promise to a criminal is one that you have no obligation to keep.”

Y/N stared at her father. “How can you say such a thing? A promise is a promise, regardless to who it is made.”

“He is dangerous, Y/N. You above everyone would know this.”

Y/N nodded. “You’re right, I do know and I love him despite it.”

“I can’t let you do this,” Tony continued as she moved closer to the case.

Turning away from him, Y/N faced the glass and clenched her right hand into a fist before slamming it through the case. The glass sliced at her knuckles but she didn’t care. Her slender fingers curled around the stone and drew it to her. “You thought to steal my chance at happiness. You and those people you call friends.” Turning to face him, she continued, “I will make each and everyone of you pay for that.”

The moment she had smashed the glass, alarms had sounded. Panic coursed through her but she refused to show it. “You made me lose my love once, now you will lose yours a thousand times over.” Her voice was dangerously calm.

Shocked into silence, Tony stared at her. What had happened to his sweet girl? His Y/N? What being had possessed her?

Taking advantage of his stunned state, she sprinted from the room. Clutching the stone to her chest, Y/N ran.

The sound of the alarms seemed to follow her. The hallways all looked the same as she struggled to remember the way out. The heavy sound of running feet soon reached her ears and her panic increased. Touching her earpiece, Y/N activated it and tried to keep her voice calm as she addressed her cousin. “Nikolas? Nikolas? You there?”

“That was quick,” his surprised voice filtered through the com. “Was it there? The stone ?”

“Yes,” she answered quickly as her pursuers gained ground. “I have it with me. I need you to get me out. Now.”

“Something happened didn’t it?”

Y/N sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before answering. “My father was there and I may have said some horrible things to him.”

“Well, did you?”

She bit her lip before answering and looked over her shoulder. “I kind of threatened him.”

“You WHAT?”

“I wasn’t thinking, alright!” She protested and ducked around the next corner when she heard them getting closer. “We can talk about this in greater detail later, but right now, I need you to get me out.”

She heard him sigh heavily before replying. “Alright, as we planned.”

“Agreed.” Taking one more breath despite the pain in her chest and hand, Y/N ran as fast and as quietly as she could.

Finally the route began to look familiar, this alone helped to spur her on. Skidding to a halt just before an emergency exit, she pushed the door open with her good hand and was greeted with a rush of cold mountain air.

“Y/N.”

Freezing at the sound of her name, she slowly turned around and faced her father, who in turn was flanked by Agents Barton and Romanoff.

“Dad,” she acknowledged and unconsciously held the stone closer.

“Give us the stone,” Clint stepped forward and held out a hand.

Curling her upper lip, Y/N shook her head. “I would sooner cut off my right hand than give this to you.”

“Come now,” Tony stepped in. “There is no need for that. Y/N, sweetie, please. I know the promise you made, we were all there.”

“Then let me keep it,” she pleaded, “let me be happy.”

“He will not make you happy,” Natasha tried to reason with her.

Y/N turned her attention to the young Russian. “Who are you to say such a thing? How do you know that ? Hmmm? Who are you to say who and who won’t make me happy?” She then turned to other two. “Who are any of you to determine that? You all hate him! Especially you,” she pointed a bloody finger at Clint.

She opened her mouth to continue when her cousin’s voice sounded in her ear. “Whenever you’re ready, cuz.”

Sure enough, the cold rush of wind that accompanied the arrival of a helicopter blew the few stray strands of Y/F/C hair loose of the braid she had put it in. Turning around, Y/N saw the craft only a short distance away. Her cousin was beckoning her.

Not even sparing a glance for those behind her, Y/N ran and leapt on board, one of Barton’s arrows skimming the air just below her leg. Slamming the door shut, she climbed into the cockpit beside her cousin.

Nikolas’s keen eyes soon landed on her injured hand that still clutched the stone. “What on earth happened to your hand?”

“Later,” was all she managed to gasp out. Her chest heaving with the effort to breathe normally.

“Brilliant,” she heard Nikolas mutter in a worried tone, one hand resting gently on her heated forehead.

To be continued...

Part 5

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sweetfirebird · 6 years

Quote

iwillcrushmyphonesomeday replied to your post: Hi, on the subject of alien dicks. I have read one... Just in case you were wondering - I think the book your Anon was referring to was Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala. It’s good m/m sci fi romance. Gala also wrote Turbulence which has one of my favorite characters of all time in it (Jacqs) and plethora of fun sexualities.

I am personally so flipping delighted that several people have now talked about this book with truly alien peen with complete joy and love.

Take that as a rec, everyone. Take it as a rec and read this book if alien naughty bits are even a little bit your jam!!

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beabee-reads · 3 years

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Masterlist

Check out my Goodreads!

Book Reviews

One Star

Book Review: Den of Vipers by K.A. Knight

Book Review: Knotted by Pam Godwin

Book Review: Monster Whisperer by J.B. Trepagnier

Book Review: Lords of Wrath by Angel Lawson, Samantha Rue

Book Review: Damaged Dreams by Kris Butler

Two Stars

Book Review: Conveniently Convicted by Ivy Asher, Raven Kennedy

Book Review: Transformation by X. Aratare

Three Stars

Four Stars

Book Review: The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

Book Review: Bossy by N.R. Walker

Book Review: Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Book Review: Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Book Review: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Book Review: The Scholomance by R. Lee Smith

Five Stars

Book Review: Wolfsong by T.J. Klune

Book Review: Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala

Book Review: Damaged Gods by K.C. Cross (J.A. Huss)

Book Releases

5 book releases in September 2021 that I’m jumping up and down in excitement for

5 more book releases in September 2021 that I'm jumping up and down in excitement for

#goodreads #book reviews #book recommendations #master list #book blog #booklr #one star #two stars #three stars #four stars #five stars #favorite books #DNF

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sueboohscorner · 6 years

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#Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Season 5 Episodes 1&2 "Orientation" Recap and Review

The episode begins with a super-bizarre domestic scene about the guy in charge of abducting the team. He can breathe underwater, has a human skin suit, and is part of some secret high-tech men in black something or other. He brings them all out in plastic except for one, who isn’t on the list. They wake and are transported by another monolith, but this one looks different. It’s white and red, very festive.

Coulson transports in first, to a spaceship with a whole in it, first frozen and then in real time. When time resumes and Coulson reveals himself, one of the people knows who he is and practically gushes all over him. The other person gets taken by what the other guy, Virgil, calls “Roaches,” but are actually a super obscure alien race called the Vrellnexians, and no, I have no idea how to pronounce that. He continues to explain where they are, who he is, and etc., but gets interrupted by Mack knocking him out.

Yo-Yo and Simmons also show up. Simmons is wearing a gas mask, so Yo-Yo doesn’t recognize her at first, but it’s all good. Simmons goes to check out the dead people, who have been drained of all fluid, probably by the Roaches. They run into Mack and Coulson dragging Virgil’s unconscious body.

There is a guy in a Star-lord mask that levitates in through the broken window where Coulson just was.

May comes through and is impaled by a pipe. Otherwise nothing and no one on that ship would’ve stood a chance.

Coulson doesn’t have his robo-hand because he thought they were going to get arrested. Mack quits again. Yo-Yo makes a joke about both S.W.O.R.D and Inhumans. Coulson gives Simmons something from Virgil’s pocket and they also find a postcard from Lake Ontario.

May manages to get herself free and then hides, because something’s trying to get through the door.

Virgil wakes up and fangirls over everyone else too. He says that they’re destined to save humanity and then he gets taken by the Roaches. They all run, and get cornered, but get saved by Daisy quaking it.

The mask man is now in the room with May and removes a keyhole looking disc from a dead guy’s arm. He appears to leave, so May comes out of hiding. He then begins to choke her, and he says he’s been looking for her. They fight and it looks like May is going to beat him with an injured leg until he uses the keyhole thing, which is some kind of anti-gravity device, and pins her against a wall.

Daisy asks Coulson if this is part of his deal with Ghostrider. Coulson knows absolutely nothing. Simmons and Daisy figure out that Fitz was the one not on the list, but May did come with them. Coulson suggests that they split up to find her and in comes Mack with the common sense. You never split up if there is something out there that can kill you all one by one, especially if you’re a black guy! Because of this, they creep down the hallway together.

The mask man has May bound and gagged and then cuts her open and inserts the anti-gravity device. He does all this while claiming he doesn’t want to hurt her.

Simmons and Coulson talk about the fact that the spaceship is designed to support human life but also looks like it has been around for a while, which isn’t possible because they don’t have the technology to do this. They find the room where May was, but only find here jacket and blood, not her. Daisy finds a control panel that says water reclamation. They’re getting water from asteroids. This not only means that the ship is some kind of human colony, it also means that they have a spacecraft that the team can use to signal Fitz. The problem is, human access isn’t allowed. At that precise moment, two Kree come in and knock them all out.

Coulson, Daisy, and Simmons wake up in a cell. They hear voices discussing what to do with them. Daisy asks what they’re going to do with Mack and Yo-Yo. She gets the ominous reply “whatever we want.”

Mack and Yo-Yo are hanging in chains in a freezer. The Kree come in and start punching Mack.

Mask man comes in with May and pretends to be friends with all of them to get them out of the cell.

The Kree talk about taking Mack to fight in the crater and about someone named Kasius, who is probably in charge. Then they start to freeze Yo-Yo.

Virgil had agreed to pay mask man to hide them and is annoyed to find him dead. His name is Deke and he now has no reason to help them. May activates the antigravity device to pin him to a wall. Then they split up. May and Simmons go find the ship, Daisy goes to rescue Mack and Yo-Yo and Coulson stays to interrogate Deke.

As May and Simmons are riding in an elevator down to the ship, they realize this base is large enough for an invasion.

Daisy finds and frees Mack while they fight the Kree.

May and Simmons find the ship. The thing Coulson gave Simmons earlier is the key.

Daisy and Mack free Yo-Yo and kill the Kree. Daisy uses one of their fingerprints to get onto the computer.

Deke and Coulson are getting nowhere. Coulson asks why Kree built the bunker. They didn’t. Humans did. Deke thinks they all should have been told this in “processing.” He also doesn’t know where Wisconsin is. He says it was built at least 90 years ago. He was born in it. Coulson can’t comprehend that this was built in the 20’s and then Deke starts to get it.

Daisy and co. realize that all the machinery has been repurposed because it’s giving their location in longitude and latitude. Mack asks to see the postcard.

Deke asks what they’re from and Coulson realizes that they’ve traveled through time.

So do May and Simmons.

The postcard is from Fitz, and it says, “working on it.”

And that’s part one.

Part two begins with the ship getting hit by asteroids. The controls are going wonky, so Simmons turns it off and then on again. They see a destroyed Earth.

When they reunite with Deke and Coulson, he gives them all antigravity devices, which are called metrics. They discuss how to get back now, but they’re interrupted by a woman named Tess, who knows Virgil. Deke tells her that Virgil is dead and that he was also right. The team is from the past. Tess agrees to double Virgil’s price is Deke continues to help them.

Deke finds Daisy and co. and freaks out that they’ve killed two Kree. Mack suggests that they stack them with the human corpses, so people will believe that Roaches got them.

Tess tells the rest of the team what she can. She doesn’t quite know what happened to Earth. It was torn apart by something and then the Kree took over. They destroyed all records. She leads them to a place called the exchange and tells them that there were Elders who used to tell stories about S.H.I.E.L.D, but they were all killed. Virgil was the only one left who believed and everyone thought he was crazy. She takes Coulson to Virgil’s room and tells May and Simmons to lay low. On the way, she runs into her boss, Grill, and he asks her why the ship, the Trawler, went out. She tells him that Virgil’s dead and she was training a new pilot.

The rest of them take the bodies to a Roach infested areas. Deke flirts with Daisy. She’s not into it thankfully. We really don’t need to continue Daisy’s revolving door of love interests.

Virgil’s room has all kind of artifacts in it, including a journal. It reminds Coulson of his office. Tess tells him that the Roaches live on Earth now. It will never be livable for humans again.

The Kree come in with a human servant and shovel out food. In the fight over it, the servant is stabbed. The female Kree kills the stabber with her balls of steel. Simmons tries to help the servant. The Kree take both of them away.

Tess tells Deke that she believes Virgil now. Daisy decides to tail him.

Simmons is in a spa, where she it told to wash and change. Then she meets the creepy guy in charge, Kasius, who says Hala doesn’t even have views like this.

Daisy follows Deke to a hidden room where several people are passed out. She passes out and wakes up in the Framework.

Simmons talks to Kasius. He asks her where she learned her medical skills. She says her mother. He offers her grapes and sees that she doesn’t have a metric. She says she removed it. He keeps creepily admiring her. He also tells the female Kree to give the humans some slack to relieve pressure.

Yo-Yo takes a tablet and then the Kree arrive for metric inspection. Coulson tries to trade Grill the tablet for the metrics. He isn’t interested in the tablet, but he is interested in the whoever could steal it. He agrees to let them work it off.

Deke has rebuilt the Framework from scratch and uses it as a business.

Tess explains that the metric inspection leads to a “renewal.” If a metric lights up red, the person owes either their life or someone else. As you might expect, this is chaos.

Grill installs the metrics and then pins the agents against the wall in case someone comes looking for him. Someone does, but May protects them and Tess shoots the guy. Grill then covers for them when the Kree ask about their metrics. He says they work for him.

The servant is brought to Kasius. He now has a scar and Kasius has the female Kree kill him. He then puts something that was in the guy’s ear in Simmon’s ear. She now can’t hear anything.

Daisy asks Deke if the Kree know about the Framework. Deke says that they do and they encourage it. They then argue about the morality of the Framework until a news report comes on about Daisy. He now knows that she’s Quake and says that he’s pieced together history and she’s the one who tore the planet apart.

Simmons is painted up like the rest of Kasius’s servants. It turns out that she can hear him.

So that was a lot to process. I’m knocking it down a bit for lack of Fitz, but I don’t see any other red flags in these episodes. 8/10.

#Agents Of Shield

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mikiib · 3 years

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The Magnus Archives: ALIEN AU (Part 3)

Jon manages to remember to close the door to the Artifacts Room but in his panic does not lock it. Rushing quicker till he reaches the cryochamber room he immediately wakes them all up, yelling at them to get up even as he quickly looks around in paranoia for one of those creatures to pop up- there are 2 entrances to this room by door and he hastily rushes back and forth between them as the others- much more exhausted from having to rush their cryosleep recovery- question his sanity. That is- until Martin notices Jon’s neck and shirt- the entire left side of him seemingly splashed with blood.

Melanie at first thinks this is some elaborate joke, asking where Sasha is and when she’s gonna pop out to surprise them before Tim shuts her up- demanding to know where Sasha is if these creatures Jon’s describing are real. Jon says it was Sasha that led him into a trap with that nest of creatures, and Tim grabs the front of Jon’s shirt and slams him against the wall.

Tim is basically outraged at the thought that Sasha might not really be Sasha but its Georgie and Martin playing peacemakers as they pull the two apart. Georgie reasons if they really are in danger they need to go to the security surveillance hub- it’s doors can be locked on command from the inside and they all agree this is a smart idea. Nikola is quick to tend to Jon’s wound- remarking that the slash to his throat is similar to that of a barbed mouth- meant to latch on and not be yanked off for whatever reason. Jon is deeply unsettled- considering himself very lucky. Melanie picks up The Admiral- him much more sleepy than the rest to even wake up properly yet.

They eventually make their way to the Security room and lock themselves in there. Georgie, not wasting time as she logs into the camera system to find- not only finds the visual feed on the cameras no longer working but the audio as well. Jon turns to Tim and Martin and asks them what could’ve done that, and Tim eventually shoots back that the cameras had to have been entirely destroyed if they no longer are picking up anything. They turn to look at their own cameras location in this room and just that- the whole camera is missing from its place.

The room grows silent, a chill rippling across their moods as they begin to realize how serious this whole thing is. Martin then asks if there's any way for them to view the ship otherwise, Tim then points out there are the motion sensors that are all over the ship's floor panels. Only way those are busted is if they to get fully removed from the floor. Turns out they are all intact- aside from the ones in the Artifact Storage. Movement is noted coming from that direction and moving randomly now throughout the ship.

Nikola openly ponders just how such creatures could’ve been born on the ship- and asks them that if they are to hunt these creatures down- to bring her the corpse of one to study. She claims that even if they are violent- a dead one will be enough to bring back for proof of their events thus far.

They agree to this- not wanting the whole of this ship's damage to be placed on them for any reason. They split up into 2 groups, equipping themselves with some spare pipes and walkie talkies. Melanie and Georgie are Team A and Jon, Tim and Martin are Team B. Nikola is set to feed them information on the creatures locations as well as keeping track of their own.

Melanie and Georgie are headed towards the location Jon last said the creatures were, while the boys make their way to the engine room where movement is being tracked.

Jon eventually is the first to find a face hugger- it jumps out at him just as Tim bats it away from him.

Scene:

Jon’s ears were ringing. The squeal of the creature combined with the whistle of the pipe playing back in his mind as he stares up at Tim. He doesn’t even register Martin’s hands pulling him up from the ground from where he fell out of shock until a hand presses against the small of his back to balance him.

“You saved me,” he breaths, the present seemingly slapping him across the face as Tim snatches Jon’s crowbar from his grasp,” Thank you,” he stutters.

“Don’t thank me yet-“ Tim steps away from him and stabs the creature from its dazed state,” I’m just fucking pissed,” he brought the weapon up into the air before repeating the action several more times until the creature stopped squirming. Its shrieks nothing but a low hum now as its impaled body is lifted up and examined. He offers the skewered creature towards Jon, instinctively his hand reaching out to take it. The crowbar now seems to be deteriorating, bending and hissing from the blood that oozed slowly from the creature. He makes a not to see the ship has also started corroding from where the creature was brutally killed only moments prior.

Acid blood Jon realizes as he tosses the creature's body away from the engines. Taking a moment to examine his hands to see if any had gotten on him.

The radio chirps as Martin reports they killed one of the creatures, and all else seems clear from that room. Static comes before Nikolas voice chimes back.

“No, no, no! That can’t be right! More movement is still detected within that room,” Jon narrows his eye towards the radio and Tim reaches for his own as he cautiously walks through the narrow spaces of the engines, pipe in hand.

“Where-?” In a flash Tims body is slammed backwards onto the floor from the passageway- his shout muffled and gurgled by some terrible squishing sound. In less than a moment Tims body stops struggling and Jon and Martin are stunned by the scene.

“Tim!” they simultaneously shout, rushing forward to assist their downed crewmate.

Scene Ends

Martin calls out for help over the radio and Nikola says she’ll meet them in the observation and medicine room. Jon swears under his breath as he struggles to carry Tim, Martin taking it upon himself to guard them with a fire extinguisher. He reasons it has enough heft it should send them flying like the crowbars. It isn’t until they reach the last stretch that they find another face hugger- going for Martin.

He doesn’t think as he swings his weapon, and only knocks it back a bit. He pulls the pin of the fire extinguisher and hoses the creature down- hoping to stun it as his swing didn’t seem to have much effect as he’d hoped. As the fog clears away however they find the creature is very much dead- curled in on itself like a spider. Jon shutters at the thought. They find shelter in the medical room and try not to stare too much at Tim as Nikola makes it to them- no issues that come across on her way.

Jon radios Team A their current situation but to no response. His nerves are on fire, as he’s torn to know why Georgie and Melanie aren’t responding and saying by Tims side. Martin tries himself, informing them of the weakness found with the fire extinguisher, and warning them of the blood. Jon didn’t tell Martin about the blood, but it seems he’s perceptive enough to have pieced it together himself.

Melanie and Georgie however are in their own situation- too busy shutting off the radios to hide from the xenomorph that is currently searching for them. They had spotted it down the hall near the docking bays entrance, and when running away they noticed the creature jump into a vent and hear it chasing after them through them.

Melanie and Georgie had indeed made it to the artifact storage. Now however were hiding in the office lounge- both crouching behind their respected desks. The creature jumps down from the vents, its forehead looking like a morphed face of Sasha, with a body mixed with that from what they saw on the alien ship and that of a human body. It looked wrong to say the least.

Melanie- closer to the fire extinguisher grabs it quietly as Georgie goes to sneak towards Melanie's desk- which had a survival knife in it. As she does her pipe hits the floor creating a loud enough echo to catch the Not-Sashas attention. It screams and laughs as it hurdles its way towards Georgie. Melanie- ever quick on her feet pulls the pin and sprays the creature in the face- right before bashing it in the head. It clicks unholy sounds as Georgie grabs the knife and makes a dash for the door. Melanie follows quickly behind her but when she goes to lock the door the creature's tail shoots out and stabs her in the eye.

She screams in pain and rage before she sprays the creature once more- it’s body not dying but shaking violently in pain from the cold as it jumps into a vent to escape the extinguisher's wrath. Just in time too as Melanie almost collapses from pain of her own bodily injury. Georgie catches her just in time.

Georgie tells Melanie to head to the Med bay where the others are- equipping Melanie with the knife, but Melanie pleads with her to not leave her alone. Georgie kisses her forehead before pushing her off in the right direction and takes the pipe and swings at the vents opening, grabbing the aliens' attention more than Melanie's running away. PART 1 PART 2

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trbl-will-find-me · 7 years

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Every Exit, An Entrance 4/?

There are two (and only two) possibilities: either she led XCOM to victory and they are now engaged in a clean up operation of alien forces, or XCOM was overrun, clearing the way for an alien-controlled puppet government to seize control of the planet.

She’d really like to figure out which it is, but asking hardly seems the prudent option.

In nine months, they have broken protocol once and only once, and even then, she’d argue extraordinary circumstances absolved them.

They had transgressed far more egregiously in the process of building XCOM. There were the little things, like the drawer in his dresser she’d claimed as her own, that they could pass off as matters of efficiency, practicality. Then, there are the incidents that are harder to ignore: November in Zurich, August in Rome, and of course, June in Berlin.

So, by comparison, they have behaved with absolute professionalism.

Time and place, she tells herself. Get through the clean up, deal with the Council, and you can deal with it then.

“Commander,” Shen’s voice crackles over the comm, snapping her from her thoughts. “Looks like we’ll be on target to deliver the new Firestorms by the end of the month.”

“Seems like that new art inspired the whole team. Give your daughter our thanks.”

The engineer chuckles. “I’m sure she’ll be pleased.”

“And so will Europe and Africa. Good work, Doctor.”

She breathes a small sigh of relief. Firestorms are bargaining chips --- good bargaining chips. Even if the plans were released, the crafts are still to resource-heavy to be built by a single member nation, and without Shen’s expertise, they’re far too difficult.

Even then, Shen’s brilliance hadn’t spared them a rocky first construction. Between salvaging enough parts and learning to negotiate the alien machinery, there had been more mishaps, accidents, and notably, explosions originating in engineering than anyone had thought possible. They’re all fortunate the fire containment system is well-maintained.

She shakes her head, smiling to herself, and turns her attention back to the tracking terminal in front of her. The skies are quiet, but they’ve begun to detect strange energy readings from cities that had previously been sites of alien incursions. Something is nagging at the back of her mind, something she’s forgotten, something that she hopes this might snap back into focus.

Her fear, her greatest fear, is another ambush, a new landing of alien forces even stronger than the ones they have already seen. She fears being overwhelmed, unable to defend effectively against an invader whose technological prowess still greatly outstrips their own. It is why the psi ops still train, why the lab has nearly free reign to pursue more in-depth analyses of recovered artifacts, and why she intends to have global Firestorm coverage by the end of February. She just has to keep the Council off their tail long enough to make it happen.

The energy reading flashes across her screen, but it’s gone too quickly for their recon network to pinpoint a location beyond the most general level. Asia, she thinks. Good. Very helpful. Not like Asia’s huge, or anything.

Still, she sets her datapad on the console and opens the media aggregator. Scanning the headlines, she’s at a loss to find anything out of the ordinary. Even a more detailed search of side stories fails to add anything to the puzzle. Whatever’s happening, it’s not a problem yet.

“Commander,” Vahlen’s voice sounds in her ear. “We’ve completed the protein analysis of the carapace armor. We believe we may be able to resynthesize it in a flexible form, but we’ll need more time.”

“Excellent, Doctor. Thanks for the update. Keep working at it.”

“Understood.”

Moira Vahlen has always worried her. It’s not that she doubts the woman’s intelligence or capability, and certainly not her absolute dedication to her work, a passion bordering on reverence. Without her keen mind, they would never have made the kinds of gains that they had in the fight against the invaders. Still, her sheer delight in employing the interrogation device was unsettling to say the least.

“High intelligence, low wisdom,” Central once said to her when she’d expressed her misgivings.

“More like: high intelligence, wisdom is a dump stat.”

“That’s what they pay you for.”

She thinks back on that conversation more often than she would like to admit.

There are other worries, though. Allowing the men brief periods of leave to make their way through downtown Manhattan always has its risks, chief among them the risk of exposure. Kansas State provides a veneer of plausible deniability for the range of accents and languages, but one drink too many, and her soldiers are liable to expose them all with one too many tales told just a little too loudly. There is the matter of the Council and the research, a matter that eventually cost her her freedom.

And there is the fact that, at the end of the day, she’s forgotten how to relax. She doesn’t know what to do with herself if there’s not some crisis to respond to. She’s afraid she’ll lose her edge, go soft, and when something does happen, as she’s certain it will, she won’t be ready.

It’s not that she misses the invasion, not at all. She is grateful that the world is safe, for now, save for its own machinations. She is grateful to no longer sleep with the sounds of screaming in her ears, the images of soldiers and civilians alike cut down in their tracks by plasma weapons at best, a Berserker’s fists at worst.

But she can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t the end, that it isn’t over. This is a respite, a lull, and they’re wildly unprepared for what’s next. It’s just a feeling, of course. There is no evidence to back it, save for the energy readings and even she can admit those might be harmless anomaly.

That knowledge does nothing to soothe the pit in her stomach every time she wakes. Always with a start. Always with the feeling that something is wrong.

She knows she isn’t the only one the war has taken a toll on. She doesn’t see Hershel without medkits hanging from her belt, or Bernard without a shoulder holster. Martin’s reliance on Aleve to keep the headaches associated with suppressed psionic abilities is getting to be all too common knowledge. Even on the best of days, there’s a haunted look in Royston’s eye, something the Commander doubts will ever truly disappear.

Then there’s Central, whose smile is a little less easy, whose jokes have taken on a darker edge, who still thinks nothing of taking a double shift as insurance.

Yes, they’ve won the battle, no doubt, but they’ve all paid in blood.

And she can’t shake the sense that the real war is still coming.

Two days later, and he still isn’t speaking to her, outside of the most necessary interactions. They keep to separate shifts on the bridge, and he makes himself scarce when she’s out and about. He goes on a bender that leaves them low on liquor and Kelly breaking up ever escalating Royston-Bradford shouting matches.

She is lucky the crew has not followed his lead.

If anything, the men and women under her command have embraced her, adopted her as one of their own. She has been called on to mediate disputes about the world before ADVENT, to prove her worth at darts, to entertain them all with stories of their predecessors. She has had company at lunch and dinner, and more quietly proffered cups of coffee than she can count. In truth, she suspects Kelly and Royston of having more than a hand in the gestures, though she can only feel gratitude towards them for their efforts.

She is not alone.

Herlihy gets the debris cleared, making way for Rilke to start on the Proving Grounds facility. There is a minimum of difficulty, save for a few busted knuckles. Tygan and Shen come through with a means of contacting other Resistance cells, and they are off and running with some scavenged equipment, and a full facility next on the build queue. For being a week out of the tank, things are progressing well enough.

She is not sure whether she should take this as a sign of imminent danger. She has learned time and time again not to underestimate the aliens. If they could decimate the Kansas base, it is well within their power to rip the Avenger from the skies, to turn its crew on each other, to dash them into the ocean somewhere far from land --- or worse, into a city center.

She wakes one night to the roll of thunder and the patter of rain against the hull. She laces her boots and shrugs on a nylon shell, then makes her way out and down. She passes Royston, half asleep on a monitoring console, Central’s coat draped over her shoulders, likely by the man himself.

It is third shift and the ship is quiet. ROV-R chirps at her as she passes through engineering.

“I’ll be right back,” she says, as if the tiny robot might harbor concerns. “I just need a minute.”

Undeterred, it buzzes alongside her, hesitating only as she crosses to exit onto the ramp.

“I’ll be fine, ROV-R. Go back to Shen.”

After a moment’s thought, it pushes on at her side.

Gently, she lowers herself onto the deck of the ramp, the chill of the metal seeping through her pants. She pulls her knees towards her chest, wrapping her arms around them, and draws in a deep breath, enjoying the petrichor hanging heavy in the night air.

She tries not to focus on loss. It’s not productive, and it fails to take into account all of the good that still remains. She’s been freed from the aliens’ control, she’s been shown kindness, and she has capable senior staff. Save for the damnable headache, she’s in good health --- maybe even better than before she was taken. The memory of wires and needles blinks into existence, but she shakes her head, willing it away.

Not now. We’re not thinking about that now.

She scrubs at her eyes. The new crop of rookies is good – better than good, even. They’re brave and ferocious and dedicated, even if their aim does leave something to be desired. They know the odds, and yet, here they are. She is grateful for each and every one of them, for the sacrifice they are willing to make in the hopes of a better world.

She’s seen what happened to former XCOM personnel, at least insofar as Central’s been able to ascertain, thanks to the archives. Bernard was killed defending civilians outside of Nice six weeks after the base was attacked. Hershel and Molchetti took their own way out once ADVENT began seeking XCOM’s psionic operatives. Martin was captured, tortured and experimented on; the file on the incident is attached to his service record, but she’s had neither the heart nor the stomach to read it. Royston was the last surviving member of Strike One, working as a Resistance operative until the end. She’d been killed during a retaliation, though the wound had been suspiciously inconsistent with ADVENT’s weaponry. Her file notes she’d been tracking an informant; the Commander wonders if it’s the same one Sally had hunted.

She doesn’t want the new faces she’s surrounded by to meet the same ends.

Her train of thought is cut short by the sounds of rustling in the bushes not far from the ship and she realizes too late that she’s completely unarmed. ROV-R bobs overhead, his capacitors beginning to crackle in preparation for discharge. She imagines dying here, on the ramp of the Avenger, to some unknown thing in the dark because she was too stupid to remember a pistol; the idea probably shouldn’t make her laugh, but that’s what eeks out amidst the terror. She can’t move, she can’t yell, but she can sit and laugh at her own stupidity.

It is neither a ferocious animal nor a crazed madman that emerges from the bushes. It is not some lost ADVENT bastard, either. Instead, it is Krieger and Thomas, covered in dirt and leaves, one looking self-satisfied and the other underwhelmed. They both turn a bright shade of red upon noticing her, tripping over one another’s words to explain themselves.

She just shakes her head. “I didn’t see anything, and I don’t know anything. Though, I’d get back inside before you trip the perimeter alarm.”

She takes comfort in the fact that some things never change.

Lighting cleaves the sky in two and rain begins to pour slantwise onto the ramp. ROV-R nudges at her shoulder, the message clear: time to go inside. She pushes herself up slowly, reluctant to let the storm pass without an audience, simultaneously loath to leave and absolutely unwilling to traipse through the bridge soaking with rain water.

Outside of engineering, she pries off her boots, hoping to avoid making an excess of noise as she passes the bar. She has no idea where her XO is, but she’d prefer not to have a confrontation at this time of night. She makes it back to her quarters without incident, and drapes the shell over her desk chair, then slips off to sleep to the sounds of the storm.

#xcom #every exit an entrance #commander/central

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