#I also got 3 more comms from this artist before

[silvertsundere]

incredible selfie comm of my Okita by kimakuma! 🥰

#final fantasy #okita celeritas #silver comms #refer to the tags of the post below this one #that day came a LOT faster than expected #GOD I love my cat she's so good aaaa #I also got 3 more comms from this artist before #the 1st I tried to post and got nuked. the second I didn't try cause of that. and the 3rd for SURE would get nuked #you can see them on my twitter or in my server if you join up

[ladsofsorrow24]

a get to know you better meme

@loquatenjoyer69 tagged me so... why not. 🤷 thanks crow! <3

do you make your bed? not really, i just fix the bed cover if it's all over the place, but other than that, i left it how it is

what's your favourite number? 4? and 9? idk i don't have any superstition about numbers but 4 and 9 just look nice to me hehe

what is your job? the only job i have these days is drawing comm, so... nope i'm unemployed... 🥲

If you could go back to school would you? nah... not really. i like learning new shit, but i don't like following rules

can you parallel park? i am afraid of driving.

a job you had that would surprise people? customer service. i am a pretty volatile person.

do you think aliens are real? kinda? never saw them but this world is weird as it is, aliens just make sense. but i don't think they wanna come to earth tho humanity aren't as interesting as hollywood make us to be

can you drive a manual car? i am afraid of driving, and the only car i know how to drive is auto. even then i am still scared.

what's your guilty pleasure? idk i always feel guilty about anything i like lmao

tattoos? nope. first, because of religious reasons. second, i'm scared of needles.

favourite colour? lately, it's red and black. blue as an accent color is nice too. i always say my favorite colors is the spectrum between red to blue

favourite type of music? i like rock and metal... pop is good but most of them are pretty predictable to me. jazz and orchestral is pretty damn good too but it doesn't inspire me much compared to rock and metal tho

do you like puzzles? played windows solitaire until level 100+ so i think i can say yes to this haha

any phobias? fucking... cockroaches. or any insects really, i can't stand em, if i look at one somehow i can just feel em crawling on my skin... 😖

favourite childhood sport? i like badminton... i miss playing em. also cycling... i love that, but i can still remember getting into too many accidents lol so i try not to like it too much

do you talk to yourself? all the time. sometimes it's two to three voices talking at the same time. and the other voices will code switch from my native tongue to english because ofc my brain just love doing that... for no reason 🙄

what movie(s) do you adore? oh so many of them... Happy Together, Gonin, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Mad Max Fury Road, Ghost in The Shell, End of Evangelion and many more but i forgot...

coffee or tea? really love coffee before... but i got hospitalized for one day from drinking too much so nowadays i don't really drink em. not really fond of tea, it taste too... clean to me.

first thing you wanted to be growing up? an artist. look where i am now. lol

tagging @righteousdelusions @b1uetrees @yayee-prsp @rose-colored-sd if you guys wanna do it too

#tmi tag #i'm such a boring person the only thing interesting about me is that i can draw haha

[chaoticcutiewhirl]

A more propper introduction

If you see my Tumblr hello again, I have some news besides the obvious:

The Emergency Comms have been retired kinda as I got the money I lost in a scam back (not the money that was lost back in June but I reearned it, thank you Ebay). Simply to say though, due to the game Mice Tea, I have found a character who is basically me to the core being the Snake love interest named Sylvia, and with that I realized, similar to the implications of the epilogue of her route, I would likely stay as a Snakegirl if I was in her situation. Because of this I started to have vivid dreams as a sort of anthro snake, a lamia, and after a few days of that, I realized moving my legs caused a similar feeling when you feel a sound in your teeth and after speaking with a few friends i have come to the end that I may be a Lamia Otherkin.

I have done my best with that information but the main aspect is sorta dysphoria involving my legs in the way they exist, before I thought some aspects that line up with the idea were just unachievable transition goals ideas of being a Tiefling but the factors that can't line up with Lamia, which really was one thing, was likely relieving pressure on my feet and in my legs from standing as I often shifted to the balls of my feet in order to feel different, thinking it was possibly an idea of wanting hooves but now I think it may be due to the idea of less pressure and friction put on my lowe half. And with the leg thing I found binding my legs in a blanket while sitting or laying down helps a lot. But I mean do know if synthetic body mods become a thing I am getting myself that Snake tail because omg my brain these past 3 days has been on fire with this.

Beyond that propper introductions:

Name: I am Avarstia Sylvia [Redacted] (I wouldn't give my full name openly but still choosing a new last name as well), but you can call me Ava, Avarstia, Sylvia, or Sylvie.

Pronouns: She/her , Fae/Faer

Species: Physically human but Lamia Otherkin, also a Bat furry on top of all of that

Sexuality/Romanticism: Demisexual, but also under the Lesbian umbrella for my Romantics.

Media Interests: Transformers, Dragonball, She-Ra, Furries, The Owl House, Signalis, Mice Tea, Generally a lot of Indie games, RWBY, Legends of Avantris, D&D, Anything made by IdolMantis, Anything made by 66Sharkteeth aka 66, Anything made by Miranda Mundt, Sonic, Et Cetera (There is a lot)

What do I do?: I am primarily a writer, I am currently writing a Novella series to possibly publish sooner than later as well as writing two different novels with more stories in the works beyond all of that. I also have some Art Comms if anyone wants my sorta meh art style

What kind of Music do I listen too?: (I like answering questions lol) I mainly listen to forms of rock, folk, and generally music with darker vibes such as Shawn James, Shayfer James, Will Wood, Hammerfall, The Dead South, Marah in the Mainsail/Coyote Kidd (My favorite), Miracle of Sound, The Aviators, Crane Wives, Et Cetera (Again I listen to a lot)

Beyond all of that I don't really have much else to add so have an artistic depiction of who I am who I intended to turn into another Fursona lol, this one being a Mojave Sidewinder (But as a Lamia I do not know if I am also a Sidewinder lol

#Otherkin #Lamia #idk what else to put here #Introduction #Trans #Furry

[wolfcamellias]

Hi, I really hope you don’t mind me asking but it would really help if you could give your input when it comes to taking commissions as a minor

I’ve followed you for a while now and knew that you took commissions or at least handled Ko-fi when you were 17 even when it said you must be 18 and over

If what I’ve stated above is wrong, feel free to ignore this and please don’t feel pressured by it🙏🏼🙏🏼

As a 17 year old currently and wanting to learn how to be a bit more independent, it would be awesome to have some guidance

Plus you’re one of the peeps on the Internet that I feel that passes the vibe check and you just have a friendly aura radiating from you so I really hope you don’t mind me asking for advice🙏🏼

ok thank you for letting me pass the vibe check tysm

Secondly, yes I took commissions at 17 and that was because I was allowed to have a bank account for my 17th birthday so if you have one then you got step one down into taking commissions.

I used Ko-Fi for setting up commissions since it allowed me to provide examples, add in small rules and set the pricing for comms. It was also easy to message/contact people via Ko-Fi (at least in my experience) so I suggest using Ko-Fi before trying to handle taking commissions by Email or anything of the like. (Ko-Fi also offers a type of payment use called Stripe, which is similar to PayPal but it hasn't kicked artists' in the back when a new update drops so I highly recommend it! It works exactly the same way as PayPal and it hasn't failed me yet)

When it comes to setting commissions up just remember to be very clear on your rules! Your do's and don't's are super important when it comes to commissions and you need to set boundaries for what you can or can't draw (for example you're a minor so in no way should someone be commissioning you to draw inappropriate or if you can't handle drawing gore then state so in your rules, etc.)

Personally, I can't draw mecha or highly complex designs since that's out of my skillset. Nor do I like drawing certain ships so I avoid taking commissions for that.

When it comes to pricing your art remember that you're being paid for your time and effort; art takes time and that's 3 to 6 hours spent on a full piece, maybe more if you're a slow artist. Checking other people's prices helped me a little as well as consulting some of my friends (basically walking up to my siblings and going "is 10$ good?" and then held me at gunpoint to raise them up (/lh)).

Keep your boundaries, decline any commissions that make you uncomfortable, if people don't respect you or your rules then you have every right to decline, remember that art takes time so don't feel bad if a commission takes a bit longer than you expected (just make sure to communicate with your client! send wips and updates of the art piece!), and remember to take good care of yourself.

If you have any more questions feel free to send another ask but I'm not that well-informed on this myself, I handle commissiosn the best I can and i'm just trying to vibe honestly.

Thank you for the ask!!! have a great day anon :D

[quuma]

Q HOW WAS UR ARTIST ALLEY???? OMGG DOD OT HAPPEN YET??? if u ever come to san francisco…. let me know… bro my wallet is screaming for q art prints… ALSO WHAT ARE YOU SELLING??? i love twst merch SO MUCH that would be so cute if u had keychains EEEE would u ever consider (or do u have) an etsy page open??? i am whoring over the idea of your riddle art on a professional print good heavens I MUST INVEST!!! anyways i hope it went well if u had it!!! if u didn’t yet GOOD LUCK ITS GOING TO GO AMAZING. also omg a fellow nctzen??? who is ur bias MINE IS JAEMIN AND JISUNG I LOVE THE DREAMIES SO MUCH

KIMI I JUST GOT BACK FROM IT ABOUT 4 HOURS AGO, AND DESPITE HAVING SOME,, QUESTIONABLE,, PEOPLE COME TO MY TABLE, IT WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD!! :D

It was so tiring tho I’m ngl 😭😭 I’m gonna need at least 2 weeks before I leave the house again ;^;;

legit spent the entire event trying to juggle with drawing (bro I haven’t done traditional art in so long - idk why tf I thought it’d be a good idea to give myself such a short timeframe [40mins - 1hr] to draw sketch comms), dealing with ppl complaining about my keychain prices (I was literally using the price recommended to me by the staff 😭😭 most con keychains are literally more expensive so idk what they were complaining about), and talking to random 50yr old men that were asking me about digital art (as creepy as that sounds, they were both v v nice - ended up convincing one to buy an iPad for his daughter for Christmas [she better be grateful >:(]),, ;-;;;

I doubt I’ll ever go to San Francisco (America sorta scares me hahaidhbkjjh) [actually maybe I’ll visit just for you pookie 🤭🤭😍😍], but I’ll definitely let you know if I ever open an Etsy store !!! I’ll probably end up doing it once my catalogue is larger & I figure out how to get higher quality prints :))) (so,, sometime next year :D)

I was selling art prints (TWST, Genshin, Nijisanji), keychains (Genshin), and commissions !! :D

My prediction was right tho LOL - only one TWST print sold (my mootie who loves Riddle bought it eheheh) (actually maybe 3 sold if you include the art trade for Leona and my brother buying a Ruggie print) - and as disappointing as it was, it’s a good indicator on what to make more of in future though!! As much as i love making TWST content, I do still want to make art that sells at cons 😔😔,, i.e. I probs have to focus more on vtuber/Genshin/anime art sighhhhhh

The way I’ve written this post makes it sound like the event was entirely miserable omfg i promise it wasn’t !! stressful, yes, but not terrible !! I did enjoy the experience a lot, and will be applying to proper, bigger cons in the future !! :D

IM SO GLAD TO HAVE A FELLOW KEYCHAIN LOVER AS A MOOTIE <3333 I LITERALLY LOVE KEYCHIANS SO MUCH THEYRE ALL I EVER BUY ONLINE <333 I’LL DEFINITELY DESIGN SOME TWST KEYCHAINS IN FUTURE FOR YOU POOKUMS <333 I’ll even pay the stupidly high shipping costs to send them to you snookums <333

ALSO YES I AM A FELLOW NCTZEN!!! MY BIAS IS TAEYONG <33 (can you tell that I like the overworked type ahsbjdahsfgdgb) BUT TBH RENJUN AND DOYOUNG ARE RLLY CLOSE BEHIND HIM SO IDK </3

OH AND HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS OF MY TINY LITTLE STALL !! sorry that they’re so blurry 😭😭 I was nervous so my hands were shaking a lot 🧍🧍

had to partially cover poor Ruggie and Leona’s faces with labels bc I didn’t know if I was allowed to show blood ahahjshkskn

#q’s convos

[laindependencialuna1899]

I posted 2,034 times in 2022

That's 1,496 more posts than 2021!

226 posts created (11%)

1,808 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@thoughtkick

@quotemadness

@marbodt

@animentality

@kineticpenguin

I tagged 66 of my posts in 2022

#rant - 7 posts

#vent - 5 posts

#philippines - 5 posts

#politics - 4 posts

#azur lane - 4 posts

#leni robredo - 2 posts

#deviantart - 2 posts

#ai art discourse - 2 posts

#kiko pangilinan - 2 posts

#original writing - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 122 characters

#a post on why you should support artists getting more notes than artists who are struggling in this site is giving twitter

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

my only contribution to goncharov is an actual current events AU is possible and that's why all these russians are in italy and not current day russia

3 notes - Posted November 29, 2022

#4

I'm gatekeeping Tumblr from apologists. Go Leni-Kiko!!

6 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

#3

man, adult filomena was wiling to serve fymryn mene omg....

9 notes - Posted August 17, 2022

#2

I guess I'm making this post to make me feel better about the current political situation in the Philippines. I want you all to know that I proudly voted for Leni Robredo and Kiko Pangilingan as President and Vice President last May 9, 2022, and by the numbers it looks like Bongbong Marcos, the son of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos will become the next president of this country. Personally and professionally, I knew how the elections would go because Filipinos, in all honesty, are not educated voters. Only a handful are, and they have exploited the poor through vote buying. It seems people will only ever vote for you if you're well-known, "well-mannered" and a man. This country does not care about credentials, although HRs and job offers here will beg to differ.

For me, as a Filipino and a second time voter, the elections for broken democracies like the Philippines needed both the voters and politicians to know the nuances of how this country works and be at the height of knowing the implications of our history and politics before they can vote. I had been on this earth and godforsaken country for 24 years and people always voted like this. My parents, who always sided with the best choice of presidential candidates and politicians, never saw their good presidential bet win. Now Robredo, our "Liwanag sa Dilim" and Beacon of Hope, did not win because the other camp views us supporters as elitists and privileged for supporting and voting for her.

We needed Robredo and Pangilingan for the development of the Philippines. And other voters voted based on their opinions and feelings. Feelings won't feed you, it won't clothe you or give you a job, feelings won't shelter you. Even if it did, you are probably working for the Marcoses and Dutertes' troll farms and disinformation and misinformation machinery. Most Filipinos do not like hearing about facts and the truth, let alone be educated in the Philippine history. Martial Law is a fact. Martial Law is a part of Philippine history. And they would rather believe in fake news and misinformation? Shame on you.

Also, about Filipino artists and creatives. I beg of you, please do not stop commissioning Filipino artists because of our elections. We are not the US, you're not in any danger because we are not a big country. I honestly cannot relate to Filipino artists who commission because I opened my comms twice before and got zero comms, but please continue to support them. Filipino artists and creatives need the money just in case this country gets worse.

10 notes - Posted May 12, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

god i love gaia online

14 notes - Posted November 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[bellmo15-blog]

Just Hanging Out In Metru Nui

In the time before time, in the ancient decade of the 2000’s, six plastic canisters were stocked in plenty of toy stores. And new and powerful legends were… Wait, why am I giving you all a history lesson on this anyway? Most of you reading this who were alive though out the 2000’s know what Bionicle is anyway!

Inkling Michael: Umm, I mean there IS a chance someone reading this might NOT know what Bionicle is.

Even if that is true for some, Google exists. I’m not here to hold people’s hands though everything!

But yes, like a lot of “Still listens to music via CD’s and watching movies and shows via DVD’s (unless I can get a Blu Rey version that is), still having the Sam Rami Spider-Man movies as their fav” 2000’s kids, Bionicle was a massive part of my childhood growing up. And there are a lot of reasons for that. Outside of being born in 1996 meaning I was around at the perfect time for Bionicles hay day there’s also the set’s themselves looking really dam cool no mater what year of it’s 9 year long run we are talking about with maybe a few exceptions, it more or less saved LEGO from finical troubles as well as how it had some pretty deep lore behind it that wasn’t afraid to delve into some more darker aspects that kept so many people like myself invested in it. Granted, when I became a teenager in 2010 I did start to fall out of it a little but well, if you’ve seen my Twitter the last couple of months you can probably tell I’ve gotten back into it recently.

And, well… I knew eventually it would lead to me getting this! Remember how I said this in my recent Kronos Unveiled Comm I got? “Bionicle 3 Web of Shadows which I also saw later that same year had the scene of the Toa Metru all trapped in the Visorak cocoon’s which I also had a wired fascination with that I also didn’t fully understand until I became an adult.” Yeah, let’s just say this scene was more or less my awakening to my interest in webbing and cocooning. I mean they weren’t JUST in the 3rd movie though. I mostly bring Web of Shadows up spesificlly because the movies were some of my fav things relating to Bionicle growing up and still are…… Well three of the four movies at least. These cocoons were pretty much everywhere in 2005’s marketing. Which makes sense considering the Visorak are practically spiders and they were the catalyst for the Toa Metru becoming the Hordika in that years story line. Lucky for me and Shantae here, that transformation WON’T happen to us! As far as the lore is concerned, Hordika Venom can’t affect purely organic matter. So, we can be trapped there for a fair while and not be affected. Though I think one of us seems to have some objections. She’ll come around to enjoy it though soon, I’m sure. 😉

Artist is Mugenbine.... Although now that I mention the whole “not affecting pure organic” stuff, you reckon we could take a dip in some energized protodermis and it’d be safe? Look all I’m saying is that that pit in Makua’s lair in Mask of Light looks tempting!

#Bionicle #Shantae #OC

[dcptcnx]

F, S and T :)

Gonna Post under a cut, since it can be a lot and I don't wanna clog the timeline for any passing scrollers :) I also hope i understood the assignment and apologies for the severely late response <3

Have a scrongly spooky boy

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“Sin, do you copy?” Price boomed over the comms, with such an urgency in his words. When he received no response right away, he tried again already on the move towards her last known location. Radio static began to come through the comms, with a faint, “Leave, go!” in her voice.

Price did not like how the words sounded, and so he grabbed Soap and practically bulldozed their way towards Sin. The mission was simple; sneak in, grab intel, and get out. But unfortunately for Sin, she got into trouble. The building in which the intel was held in, was surrounded by multiple dead bodies, a key indicator that she defended herself. 

Quickly and quietly, the Captain and Sergeant slowly pushed through the door, only to freeze when they started hearing disgruntled huffs between two people. When they peeked more into the building, they saw Sin and an enemy holding each other in desperate attempts to push each knife away. 

The sight of the two men must have startled Sin, as her grip slipped, causing the enemy to plunge his knife to her face. Luckily, she was able to lean back just enough to let the blade drag down her cheek, neck, and chest before the shot from a gun knocked him off. 

“I-I…said..” Sin panted, right hand touching her face, a panic through her body as she saw the red stain her digits. “Leave…” her final word was barely above a whisper, before she leaned forward, color fading from her skin. Soap reacted just in time to catch her figure, before urgently radioing for an emergency evac.

I don't normally write a whole lot of dialogue, since I love trying to paint an image for the readers. But I particularly like this snippet, of my ghost self ship. Used it as like a flashback to an assignment, presenting the reason behind the scarring Sin wears on her face and to give sight as to why Sin wears a face covering as well.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

I am a sucker for Mafia AU. Yakuza styling, or simply cartel or of the like. I do adore a coffee shop au, and flower shop owner falling for tattoo artist who frequents their store front. I am not entirely against anything that I have not read. I am always wanting to read how other people view characters bc everyone is different

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

Continuing from last selection, I don't necessarily have any I cannot stand per say, but I know I won't read any that promote r*pe culture, or severity like that. If it is written correctly and the writer can properly warn it, I may give it a try, because again, some people can pull it off if they use accurate information. I also don't like the whole "reader gets pregnant and (x character) is abusive and leaves" or something. Or incorrectly using mental illnesses.

Writing is Literary Art, Don't Abuse It.

#sin answers 💀 #writing is art too #have freedom on anything but know when its too far

[alcalexandria]

Dark Fate Prop Auction movie notes.

The Terminator Dark Fate prop auction is now underway!

The full catalogue is now up for bidders, and it's a great resource for really detailed reference images of some of the costumes and props.

As an FYI if you are going bidding - "Hero" means it's the version that gets the most focus on screen, ie the stuff the actress wears for close ups etc. "Double" here usually means the Stunt Double, so the costume will often have modifications for stunt harnesses or crash pads.

The props and their descriptions also give us some really interesting little clues about the movie's worldbuilding, and some reworked plot lines, so this is a post to look at some of the stuff that caught my eye.

Fic writers and fan artists might find it of particular interest, or just Terminator movie geeks.

1 - Grace's "Ion Injector"

This is very specifically described as an "ion injector", rather than a "thorium spear" or any of the other terms I've seen used for it anywhere. It makes me wonder... the scene with Grace seeing it before surgery, and the scenes where it's ultimately used, they do feel very modular, like they could have been inserted in later.

We already know the final battle played out a little differently in early versions, but now I have to wonder how differently? Was Grace's power source involved at all?

2 - "I like your shoelaces"

Dani wears some very jazzy rainbow laces in her introductory scene.

Hmmmm. 🤔

3 - Chain reAction.

There's a bunch of these chain brackets, which Carl supposedly used to defend Dani on the plane.

I'm... not sure we actually see that in the movie, so I suspect they come from a cut fight sequence?

4 - Walkie Talkies.

Similarly, according to the description, Dani and Sarah use these walkies to stay in contact.

When? It's a very specific description, is this indicating another cut scene? Any guesses when?

5 - Flashbacks?

This item suggests Grace has flashbacks throughout the trip around Mexico. We know the road trip stuff was initially longer, and I strongly believe it wasn't always meant to be a surprise that Dani was Grace's commander - so I suspect the whole order and placement of Grace's flashbacks was initially different.

6 - Resistance fatigues!

A few observations on the Resistance troop kit.

Something that surprised me, up close the Resistance troop uniforms are a lot less... well, uniform. The body armor is standardized, but the fatigues they're wearing under them are actually a whole spectrum of different cuts and camos, and stuff like their belts and boots do seem cobbled together. So the armor, weaponry, and electronics like the green eye pieces and comms units seems to be mass produced, but the clothes seem to be mostly just scavenged, and maybe stained darker so as to suit an ashy urban environment.

The Resistance doggos got body armor too! (see the K9 armor on bottom left. There's also another picture showing they have the same blue lights all the human troopers have equipped on their gear)

The troops who rescue Grace & Co have their helmets all labelled "CFAR" and then individual numbers, but Grace herself doesn't - so presumably that's their unit name, but not hers? I'm not familiar with a relevant military acronym, any guesses?

This is listed as a communication device. You will have seen it strapped onto the troops' left bicep, illustrated here on Grace's costume. It lights blue, just like the helmet lights, and although it's hard to see here, it's stamped with the same symbol - a view of the globe over North America, I think? - as the troops have on their helmets. Interestingly, none of the Augments seem to carry them.

6 - William Quinn/Hadrell

Tom Hopper's Augment character, who we know originally had a longer death scene, is clearly credited in the movie as William Hadrell, but Tim Miller has referred to his surname as Quinn more than once, as do the descriptions here, so it looks like there was a name change late in production. No biggie, but it settles something I was confused about for a while.

#TDF #Terminator #terminator dark fate #Terminator Franchise #grace harper #dark fate #terminator #dani ramos #sarah connor #terminator: dark fate #dani x grace #scifi #props #armour #Tom Hopper #Mackenzie Davis #natalia reyes

[rexcoatlarchive]

Twisted Fate

Alarms were going off in Novum Chaldea's control room! It was an emergency! The three masters along with Mash and Quetz came into the control room to learn what had happened.

Rex: what happened?

Rikko: yeah, what's with the alarms?

Da Vinci: a new singularity has been detected.

Rikka: what?!

Da Vinci: yes, we had detected it earlier but it seemed so minor that we figured it would solve itself.

Holmes: but that's no longer the case. It's grown since then and now it's nearly as bad as the singularities from the incineration of humanity.

Rex: holy crap!

Sion: so we're sending you lot to go fix this just like before. Thankfully unlike those singularities this one's localized to one large portion so it should be relatively straightforward once you get there.

Rikko: where is the singularity?

Da Vinci: it's actually in Orleans again.

Rex: huh, that's interesting.

Da Vinci: anyways get ready to go you three, we need to fix this as soon as possible!

All 3 masters: on it!

The 5 of them find themselves in the French countryside once again

Mash: it seems we managed to get here smoothly this time.

Da Vinci, over comms: we've sent far enough away as to not get caught up in whatever's happening but close enough so you can get their quickly.

Rex: thanks Da Vinci.

The group heads into the city, where the disturbance is coming from and see a very unexpected sight.

Quetz: it's one of those giant ghost enemies.

Rex: this one's different... but familiar.

Rikka: wait a minute! Isn't that how Ereshkigal looked in Kur?

Rikko: that's right!

Berserk Eresh: Raaaaahhh!!!

The giant ghost is seen whipping up a wind storm that terrorizes the city and is wielding a huge spear.

Rex: why is she so angry?

Mash: senpai look!

Rex looks right underneath the raging Goddess and sees a human. A woman with brown hair tied in a braid, she seemed unconscious and bleeding.

Quetz: maybe that's the source of her anger?

Rex: it's possible.

Rikka: wait a minute! She's wearing a mystic code!

Rikko: huh?

Rex: you're right! But how?

Quetz: mi amor I don't think now's the time to question that!

As she says this the berserking goddess sees the group

Berserk Eresh: STAY AWAY FROM HER!!!!

As she says this she swings her spear at the group, they manage to dodge but it was very close.

Rex: fucking hell!

Mash: we gotta stop her! She's too angry!

Eventually the goddess lifts up her spear readying a big attack!

KUR KI GAL IRKALLA

MOLD CAMELOT

Mash manages to put up the walls of the false Camelot to protect them from the goddesse's attack.

Rex: ok that was a lot! Quetz! Give her a taste of her own medicine!

Quetz: si!

After that Quetzalcoatl engulfs herself in huge flames, eventually creating a huge serpent shape to attack the other goddess.

XIUHCOATL

The attack weakens the huge ghost who then returns to her more humanoid form, lying on the ground next to the human woman she seemed to be protecting. Thankfully it seems she took the whole of the attack and the human was left unharmed.

Rex: now we can investigate this person.

The group go up to the unconscious woman. Rex reaching his hand out only for the weakened goddess to grab his arm.

Eresh, weakly: dont... hurt... her...

Rex: we won't

Rikko: we want to help.

The group sees that there's a large glowing spike stabbed into the girl's back.

Rex: what the hell...?

Rikka: it might be magical?

Rikko: then we'll probably need a Caster.

As such they summon Merlin to help out.

Merlin: very interesting!

Rikka: what is it?

Merlin: this stone is not only slowly killing this woman but it's also what's turning Ereshkigal so berserk.

Rikko: well can you get rid of it?

Merlin: I can negate the spell, but you'll need a medical professional to help remove the actual spike.

As he says this he uses a spell to disable the glow from the stone, already the fallen goddess seems more calm.

Merlin: well there's the spell deactivated!

Rex: thanks again!

They then summon Nightingale, who helps remove the spike and repair the wound.

Nightingale: she's still weak, It'll be some time before she's better.

Rikko: well that's good to hear.

Rikka: Da Vinci? Is everything good?

Da Vinci: well the singularity is back to the weakened form we originally sensed. It might've been this woman originally.

Rex: well what should we do now?

Sion: if she's the source of the singularity we should just wait until she wakes up and talk to her.

After a while the girl finally awakens.

Rex: hey there! How ya doing?

???: ...I'm kinda hurt. Who are you?

Rex: you can call me Rex and these are the twins: Rikko, and Rikka. And you're name?

???: Faye...

Quetz: Faye, where did you come from?

Faye stands up properly, now seeming to feel better.

Faye: novum chaldea, in the wandering sea.

The 5 of them: Huh!?

Ereshkigal is finally back to her normal self and is excited to see Faye seeming to get better.

Eresh: Faye! Thank goodness, I was so worried!

Faye: everything's OK my goddess, they helped me!

Eresh turns back to the group.

Eresh: I'm so sorry about my behavior, I don't know what got into me.

Rex: it's alright, it was the magical stone.

Rikko: do you have any idea who hit you with this?

Faye: before I was knocked out we encountered Koyanskaya. We tried to fight her but she managed to stick that thing into me. After that... I was put.

Eventually Faye's comms start up

Da Vinci?: Faye! Finally we're able to communicate again! Are you alright?

Faye: yeah... thanks to these guys.

Rex: huh...

Eventually Rex's comms start up

Da Vinci: what is going on? Why is there another master of Chaldea talking to another me?

Sion: must be another dimension, just like how Musashi is just able to warp dimensions randomly.

Other Sion: oh my! Another me! That's amazing!

Rex: ok, but can we focus for a sec, it seems at least one version of Koyabitch is out there to deal with

Other Sion: actually not really, right before we lost communications we saw that she had left already, confident that she ended Faye, it seems tho that she was wrong.

Rex: oh... cool.

Quetz: that's great to hear, so now what?

Sion: well since there's no worry about singularities anymore you guys can rest up if you want.

Faye: sounds nice.

Rex: yeah

For a long time, the group talks to each other, comparing similarities and differences between their timelines. Eventually an interesting topic comes up.

Rex: so you've also met another chaldean master besides me and you?

Faye: yeah, Maya she's pretty fun. We encountered her and Abby in a similar scenario to this... minus the whole Koyabitch thing.

Rex: not that similar at that point.

Faye: yeah... so you've met another master too?

Rex: yeah, Ayako, She's a nice artist but also likes to keep to herself. That's fine tho since I'm much the sake.

Faye: cool, actually now that I think about it... I think I've heard of you before from Maya

Rex: huh? How?

Maya: yeah yeah yeah, she said something about you swapping servants with another master called Kiryu swapped. Like how I swapped with Maya.

Rex: ...I don't remember swapping with anyone.

Faye: really? Could've sworn she mentioned that... maybe I misremebered.

Rikko: thanks goodness, they haven't, I'd rather not think about his reaction to losing Quetz.

Rex: ...

Faye: well regardless it's still nice to meet you guys. Maybe our Da Vincis can work to connect our comms and we can communicate with each other.

Sion: already done!

Faye: huh?

Rex: well we already had ways to talk with Ayako so she probably used that as basis.

Faye: that's cool!

As the masters talk, their servants talk aswell.

Quetz: so this Maya has been giving you advice? That's nice

Eresh: yup, her and Kama's advice has been helpful. When I actually build up the confidence to do anything with it.

Quetz: oh... Kama

Eresh: is something wrong?

Quetz: I'm not on the greatest terms with her...

Eresh: really? Why?

Quetz: oh I dunno, might be her constantly trying to seduce my husband right in front of me, so much so that in one day she managed to be more annoying then BB and Kiara combined!

Eresh: wait... how did you avoid being absorbed into the Ooku?

Quetz: Sion says it might be me and master's contract. He didn't use Chaldea to summon me but a traditional summoning circle.

Eresh: he can handle that!?

Quetz: his circuits are... scarily good according to the staff at chaldea. He knows very little but has tremendous potential.

Eresh: amazing!

Eventually the groups finished resting and decide to leave finally.

Rex: it was nice to meet you Faye

Faye: same here Rex! Talk to you surprisingly soon!

Rex: seeya!

Later

Rex, talking on a communicator: so I actually managed to talk to another master Ayako! It was crazy!

Ayako: damn, another one huh? You think there's something to all this?

Rex: ...maybe... hey wait where are you? I thought I heard water or something?

Ayako: I'm at a beach in the simulator, Count insisted I needed to relax so here we are.

Rex: anything to see Dantes in his beach clothes huh?

Ayako: ...don't act like you're not the same with Quetz and her little super suit.

Rex: ...touche. anyways, Sion managed to figure out a way for me to communicate with Faye, hopefully I can introduce you to her soon.

Ayako: sounds nice, anyways I gotta go, seeya.

Rex: bye!

A/N: lil crossover with Rex and Faye, with others being mentioned and Ayako cameo. Name is a twist on the Faye/Maya crossover name. Hopefully you guys liked it.

#fate grand order #quetzalcoatl #wife #rex #mastersona #rexcoatl #gudas #faye #ereshkigal #fayeresh #ayako

[haknew]

anon asked: I HAVE SONG RECS :DDD I tried not to do songs that you would have obviously heard before but a lot of the songs here are still popular but I couldn’t help but add them 😭

AHHHH thank you so so so so much for all the recommendations anon ! your taste is absolutely impeccable !!! i think i vibed with a lot of these maybe we are a bit similar ^~^ and no worries about your picks ! i totally support you and your incredible music taste no need to defend yourself :p ! popular songs can still be good ones ! thank you again and i tried ... to ... get through them all i’m so sorry JHGFDJHGDK you’ll see i get through like ... half and then ran out of energy T^T i’ll probably get back to this list some other time when i have free time and update with thoughts ! thank you for sending so many in ! i found so many new songs to add to my playlist heh thank you lovely ! 

Pop

cherry by rina sawayama - super cute ! i love these kinds of pop songs it’s right up my alley :o ! 

xs by rina sawayama - her voice is so well suited for this style ! i watched the mv and djkfhskgrjf HHH idk she gives me mitski vibes even tho their music is pretty different, you have peaked my interest i’ll definitely look into more of her stuff :o !

comme de garçons by rina sawayama - the bass line T^T !!! the talk-y (?) parts are so good i got chills, it’s like a rave song low key haha :p ! it’s so good ! 

Any song by Rina Sawayama 😭 - yes yes i’ll try to look more into her stuff ! 

Kpop

123 by nct dream - i’m only an honorary guest of ncity but one of my irls ults them ! and dream’s music has always been a bit more my speed :o ! this has more nostalgic kpop vibes to it ! i said this before but i really am more a pop person at heart and this is so good ^~^ 

Up to you by pretty much and nct dream (HAECHANS PART HHHHH) - oooh are you a haechan stan 0v0 i like jaemin tho i admit my knowledge of dream is limited (my fren ults renjun heh) also yes yes consent is very important kids u.u dskjghkdfj YOU’RE RIGHT THO haechan is a singer he SINGS, i love the vocal harmonies ! 

Oasis by crush ft zico - those electric keyboard synths (?) amazing ! this song bops u.u 

Moon by everglow - !!! i actually have heard this a lot before ^~^ i got so excited when i saw this bc it’s so good ! it’s definitely one of my fav everglow songs too i think i overplayed it a lot when it first came out *v* 

Woowoo by dia - i love the ocean wave sounds ! that’s so cool i love how summery it is ! it kind of reminds me of loona too ! ggs are just >>> i love the fun and brighter pop songs so much 🥺

Secret garden by Oh My Girl - i’ve heard a few songs by omg ! and i really like a handful of them, secret garden kinda gives me early gfriend songs vibes too ! it’s so pretty ! i really love when songs utilize strings in their instrumentals too ! it’s a bit slower paced too which is really nice ^~^ 

Page by got7 - YEEEES okie actually maybe unpopular opinion but spinning top is one of my fav got7 albums ! i used to listen to the whole mini on repeat ! i actually used to ult got7 too for a few months heh ^^ BUT YEEES i love page ! got7 always have bangers love them so much 

Nekkoya by produce 48 - AHHHHH ANOTHER SONG I LOVE !!! i’m actually a wizone haha :p so i’ve seen produce 48 ! tho admittedly it probably contributes to my burning h*tred for mn*t and any survival shows ;;;; but i loved the title song so much ! i used to unironically play it on repeat djghskfj

Puzzle moon by gwsn - AHHHH YOUR TASTE !!! i also followed gwsn from debut and puzzle moon is so so so cute ! it’s such a bop too ! they have such fun and catchy songs ! 

Goblin by sulli - ahhh the xylophone chimes ! they make the song sound a bit haunting before the piano comes in ;;;; it really reflects the mv story so well i think ;;; and sulli’s voice is so beautiful ;;;; it’s got that characteristic background vocal harmonies that sm artists usually do and it’s just really beautiful ! 

What are you up to by kang daniel - today on can you tell jess is unfortunately a bg stan daniel’s songs have been so good :,)) i stopped following all the wanna ones closely after a while but ! he always surprises me ! his songs are such vibes u.u 

Best day ever by yeri and nct dream - the TRUMPETS YEEES it’s so upbeat and fun !!! the cheering is so cute i love it ! 

Hair in the air by yeri and nct dream - JAEMINNNNN !!!! I LOVE YERI SO MUCH PLEASE ! i love the vocal harmonies between her and the boys 🥺 it’s so cute T^T ! renjun’s a singer HE SINGS 

119 by nct dream - ah yes this is ncity brand u.u LOL they always have really filled chorus instrumentals and use a lot of vocals to fill up the space which i think is really cool and something i think immediately screams sm artist :0 ! i think renjun’s voice really sells this for me tho HIS VOICE IS AMAZING him and haechan yeees it’s a banger tho :,) 

Save me save you by wjsn - i love wjsn’s music so much ! it sounds so magic and ethereal and totally bops ! their voices are so beautiful too and work together so well and i think this song’s style really suits all the members’ voices so well too ! 

Loonatic by loona - YEEEEES loona are my ult gg ! and oec is probably my fav unit in terms of music ! i have spent many a day playing their whole discography ! haha :3 

Up by izone - MY GIRLS ! yes yes up is so cute ! i love it so much ! the choreo is so cute too ! i love izone please ;;;; 

N/s by stray kids - oh boy okie ;;;; i’m like not a good judge of a lot of hip hop / more rap heavy songs ;;;; bc i was classically trained as a singer in choir ;-; so i’m sorry i do not have much to say about this one ;;;; it slaps tho ! i probably wouldn’t listen to it normally if you hadn’t recommended it tho so ! good to listen to smth outside of my normal preferences  

Sunshine by straykids - OH very very different from the last skz song KJHGKFJHKD yea this is probably more my speed i’m so sorry LOL T-T it’s so good tho :o ! i don’t listen to a lot of skz bc i figured i wouldn’t be able to vibe with them but this one is so good i really like it ! skz and ateez man i’ve been trying to stan for ages but music is a big part of why i stan /stan/ certain groups more seriously and it’s also why i’m only honorary nctzen lol clearly i have been enlightened (literally *looks at my past ult groups* yeaaaa)

Blueprint by stray kids - YEEES IT’S SO UPBEAT ! i love upbeat and brighter songs (i am consistent like this T-T) it’s got summery tropical vibes to it too ! it’s so cute ! 

Question by stray kids - another banger yeeeees ! i vibe with the lyrics too u.u love that 

Any mixtape by stray kids (but I really love 1 and 4) - oooh i still have a lot to get through so i’ll save these for my own time haha ^^ 

I’m your girl by khan

Revolution by Alexa

Secret by wjsn

I wanna be by key and soyeon

Handle it by twice

Teenager by got7 

Take by jus2 (CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS ENOUGH)

Bump bump by woodz

Stylish by loona - this is one of my fav loona b sides yeeees !!!! love them so much ! 

Outta my head by somi

Jpop

showersnow by orbit

show off by orbit

crazy love by orbit

any orbit song ngl 😭

poison girl by nanaka suwa

lost umbrella (I like the tsukishima kei version cause it sounds like lee know :DDD)

Notice by moe shop

Kawaki wo ameku (domestic girlfriend opening)

The day by porno graffiti (my hero academia opening 1)

Odd future by uverworld (my hero academia opening 4)

Again by yui (full metal alchemist brotherhood opening 1)

More English music

Luxury by azalea banks (Ive heard she’s said some terrible things tho 😭 WHY DOES IT SLAP)

Hurricane by Bridget Mendler (I miss this song and ready or not too 😭)

Little dark age by mgmt

I got a couple one direction recs bear with me here 💀

Happily, Magic, AM, 18, Tell Me a Lie, Through The Dark, Wolves, Night Changes, Better Than Words

Hip-hop/rnb

Leaked by lil tjay

Pretty little fears by 6lack and j cole

Water by joe gifted

The London by young thug

Bands by shoreline mafia

Swervin by a boogie wit a hoodie

Father stretch my hands pt 1 by Kanye west

More English music (indila is French)

Northern lights by kennie

I am not a robot by marina

Tourner dans le vide by indila

Parle a ta tete by indila

Greek tragedy by the wombats

Viva la vida by Coldplay (SHHHHH DONT ROAST ME)

La da dee by Cody Simpson (SHH IT MAKES ME HAPPY 😭)

Move your body by loving caliber and anders lystell (this ones good to make u feel like an early 2010’s movie protagonist :D)

Mariposa by Peach tree rascals

Sunflower by post Malone and swae lee (like many songs on here it’s popular but I still wanna put it here cause they make me happy 😭)

I got really carried away sorry I hope you haven’t heard too many of these 😭😭 OKAY BYEEE ❤️

#anon #jess.replies #not tbz #jess.text #ask games #shared songs hour #oh god i am so so sorry anon i swear i'll get to all the others on my own time T-T #i just underestimated all the asks i was going to get with recs and i can feel my energy fading #''faded in my last song~~~''' #i know i said i'd get around to all of them but it's nearing two am djgdkjfhg I'M SO SORRY #i'll come back to this list and update it with thoughts if i have time :o ! #so what have we learned today kids ... jess does not have taste whatsoever #also also that ggs >>>>>> #i'm sorry to all my stay friends <///3 truly i have no taste u.u

[gumnut-logic]

Test Flight (Part 2/2)

From here.

This one fought me tooth and nail. Three times I started this chapter and it shows.

But many thanks to @scribbles97​ for the poke in the right direction and for listening to my whinging.

This fic was for @tinglingsquidsense​ with the prompt ‘Scott and Butterflies’. I think I probably should have just settled for him lying in a field of flowers and watching the insects doing their pollination thing, but eh, muse does what it likes. Hope you enjoy it anyway ::hugs::

Timeline: Season 2

Spoilers and warnings: Very minor season 3, a little angst and brother butt kicking.

This bit 1699 words. Prompt list can be found here.

-o-o-o-

The wind came up that evening. Not strong, but blustery, enough to cover the ocean in whitecaps and to rattle the palm trees.

Scott emerged from his mandatory confinement just as the sun was making its way towards the horizon. Walking across the comms room to his father’s desk, his whole body creaked.

Being slammed into his harness as Thunderbird Two snatched the pod from its fall hadn’t been fun. He rolled first one shoulder and then the other.

Virgil had been beside himself.

As he reached the desk, Scott placed one palm flat on its smooth surface. Touching it felt like he was connecting with Dad. Like if he stayed in contact with the wood long enough, he could absorb his father’s wisdom through the laminate.

Dad, what do I do?

It was a question he had asked the empty desk so many times.

Two had grappled the pod from the sky before it could hit the ocean and immediately flown back to the Island, gently depositing the crippled flyer on the runway.

His brother then set his ‘bird to a hover and rappelled down to check on Scott.

Virgil had been inconsolable.

He saw the whole incident as a personal failure. He had signed off a test flight that, in his words, could have gotten his brother killed.

Scott just shrugged it off and said it had been fun while it lasted.

The silent aghast in those brown eyes had shut him up pretty quickly. His brother then proceeded to scan him within an inch of his life in the infirmary and on finding the harness bruises had sent him to his room for the afternoon under threat of Grandma.

Scott had been of the mind to ignore Virgil, after all he wasn’t hurt that bad, but there had been something in his brother’s eyes. So, he had complied.

The room was eerily quiet except for the stiff breeze outside. A tap on the desk and his brothers’ locations sprang onto a holographic map. Gordon and Alan were holed up in the theatre and Scott remembered that it was Buddy and Ellie day. A frown and he considered checking up to make sure Alan wasn’t tied to a chair or something.

Brains was in his lab, Grandma was with Kayo in Auckland - they wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. John’s icon sat beside the display with its usual gold flare indicating his presence on Five.

That left Virgil, but really, he didn’t need a map to find his brother. He was exactly where Scott knew he would be.

A sigh and swipe of his hand killed the locator hologram. Edging around the desk he sat down heavily, leant his elbows on the desk and let his head fall into his hands.

His shoulders yelled at him, but he ignored them.

Dad, how do you console a brother who cares too much?

Virgil had been so excited about this new pod design. Brains had put together several ideas, but it was Virgil who chose which one to go ahead with. Scott had found him hovering over the specs for it several times during development. At one point, he had had to drag a dirt coated, exhausted brother away from a discussion with Brains about that exact subject. The man had been dead on his feet after three nasty rescues in a row, but had still found the energy to spout engineering terms all over the room.

The fact that he had then protested by throwing more of those engineering terms at Scott just proved how much he needed sleep.

Scott sighed. His brother was passionate.

Okay, Dad, damage control. He pushed himself up and out of the chair with a godawful creak.

Ouch.

-o-o-o-

As expected, Virgil was down in the hangars. But unexpectedly, he wasn’t working.

Scott frowned as he approached his brother from behind. The engineer was sitting on the hard concrete floor, elbows on knees, head in his hands in front of the remains of the crumpled red-winged flyer.

“Virgil, you okay?”

His brother startled and a pair of strained brown eyes turned to stare at him.

“Fine.” A grubby hand was pushed through Virgil’s hair. An aggravated exhale. “The pod’s a bust.”

“Hey, don’t let one failed test flight get you down. Find the problem, fix it and we can give it another go.”

“Did. Can’t.” Virgil unfolded from the floor and pushed himself to his feet. “The problem is a terminal one. This design is not going to work. And I should have seen it coming.”

Scott blinked. “What?”

His brother began picking up tools and packing them away. “The cahelium thread in the wings develops a charge as it moves through atmosphere.”

“Yes, even I know that.”

“Yeah, well, it couldn’t be discharged safely. Today’s incident fried every computer component in the pod.”

“What?”

His brother glanced at him before returning to tidying up around the wreck. “It’s not going to work, Scott. We’re back to the drawing board.” A clatter as a spanner was dropped. His brother bent to retrieve it.

“Are you sure?”

Virgil straightened and glared. “What? Did you miss the fact I almost got you killed?”

Scott sighed, but then... “Uh, yes, I did. Because I wasn’t in any danger.”

Brown eyes continued to glare at him.

So, he pushed his point. “You think you wouldn’t have caught me?”

“Of course, I could have missed!”

Scott’s snort was pure scoff. “Sure. Say you did. Say there was a micro-chance that your experienced hands slipped and missed and I did fall into the ocean. Gordon would have caught me. That is why we have a team for testing.”

“You shouldn’t have fallen at all! It was an obvious error and I missed it!” Virgil took a step forward. “It was a pathetic mistake!”

Scott stared at his brother. The man was furious, obviously with himself. “What about Brains?”

That made Virgil take a step back.

“You weren’t the only one on this project. What did Brains have to say about it?”

Virgil fell silent and his head dropped to star at his boots. “This isn’t about Brains. This is about me and my screw up.”

“You’re allowed to make mistakes! Dad-“

“Dad didn’t!” Virgil rounded on him. “Dad and Brains worked together on this project and look at all they achieved!” He flung out a hand to encompass the entire hangar. “I’m the only factor in this equation that has changed, Scott. I guess I’m not the chip off the old block I need to be!”

Scott stared at him. “You’re kidding.”

Virgil returned the stare. “What? You think you’re the only one who wants to follow in Dad’s footsteps? I may not be the pilot you are, but he was still my father. I just...wish...” But his shoulders dropped. “You know what, forget it. Forget the whole thing.” Virgil spun around and began to stalk away.

He honestly could not believe this. Scott straightened, projecting his voice. “You’re wrong, Virgil.” Every word reflected his absolute certainty. “You don’t take after Dad.” A swallow. “You’re stronger than that.”

That stopped his brother in his tracks. Virgil turned around to stare at him.

And Scott followed it through. “You take after Mom.”

-o-o-o-

His eldest brother never looked more like his father than he did in that moment. He resembled Jeff Tracy in look, stance and determination. Part of Virgil couldn’t help but react with defeat because he knew it wasn’t in him. He wasn’t Scott. He had at least thought he had his engineering, but apparently, he couldn’t make the grade there either.

But his mother?

He continued to stare at Scott.

His brother clenched and unclenched his fists. “Do you have any idea how much you look and act like Mom?”

Well, yeah, it was obvious...and part of the reason why he was so desperately looking for a piece of his father in him. He held up his hands. “Yeah, so?”

“Do you have any idea how I wish I had a trace of her in me? You look like her, you have her artistic talents...for goodness sake, Virgil, she was an engineer! I look to Dad because he is what I understand, what I’m made for. You? You are Mom.” An exhaled breath and Scott’s tone softened. “Have you ever considered why Dad achieved so much? He didn’t do it by himself. Mom wasn’t one for celebrity, she had her preferences and mostly kept herself behind the scenes...sound like someone we both know?” Scott looked down at his hands before looking back at Virgil, his voice quiet. “I will admit that I follow Dad and I have encouraged all of you to do the same. But Virg, don’t discount Mom’s strength. It’s the same as yours.”

Virgil was still staring. Scott had always been all about Dad. He rarely mentioned their mother. Virgil had assumed it was a symptom of grief and maybe it was, but...something glinted in the blue of Scott’s eyes. His brother managed to straighten even more.

“So, we still need a Mars pod.” He raised an eyebrow. “What does my Field Engineer want to do?”

Virgil couldn’t help but straighten in response. He had always been so proud of his older brother. Had always looked up to him, followed him around like a lost puppy at school. Where Dad was Scott’s hero, Scott had become Virgil’s.

And if Dad was Scott’s hero, then Virgil must be more like Dad.

But he was more like Mom. He remembered soft words, long dark hair and eyes like his own. Her piano which was now his and the help she gave him with his math homework.

Something small bloomed in his chest. He was a Tracy, but he was also a Taylor.

And Taylors were traditionally a stubborn bunch.

He caught his brother’s eyes. “We need a new design.”

“Well, if a butterfly didn’t work, pick another insect.” Scott shrugged. “How about something with a little more speed? Like a wasp or a bee?”

Typical. Virgil felt his shoulders relax just a little and an idea came to mind. Okay. “How about a dragonfly?”

-o-o-o-

FIN.

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Virgil Tracy #Scott Tracy #nuttys fandomversary

[dfrh93]

DFRH Original #3

Space and Humans: The First Physical Contact. 

We, Small ship, talk your small ship. Park between big ship and station ours?

Captain Hobbes stood from his station and started giving orders, “we need a team prepped and ready to board a small vessel for first contact. Bridge crew you are to keep talking to the station and learning their languages. I’m leaving Commander Warwick is in charge in my absence, no way I’m not joining the first contact team. I want all members of the first contact team prepped for containment conditions. We don’t know if there will be any diseases that can spread between our species, or if there even breath the same thing we do. We also don’t know if we have anything that will affect them either. CT Tanaka, send them a message that wee will meet them at the middle ground and that they might want to bring containments suits, our air may be toxic to them, or possibly our diseases might spread to them. We don’t want to accidentally hurt them after all.”

“Sir, the first contact team is ready for you to join them, they are 10 mins from launch. Good luck sir, Godspeed” Commander Warwick said with a salute. 

...

Yes, small ship, meet, middle ground, bring suits, maybe, Air, toxic, you? Maybe, we have, sick, spread, you? No, want, hurt. 

Gahurl smiled and opened comms to Chairge, “Looks like they are thinking ahead in terms of First contact. Make sure our team takes full containment gear and has enough air to breathe for a few hours. Take a few reserve tanks. Judging by the size of their ship you will probably be docking our small ship inside their ‘small’ ship that just launched. It appears to have a docking bay big enough for a Class Krait shuttle. You should be able to take more than enough gear with you in one of those. Go with them Chairge, I need someone I know I can trust out there. Be safe Broodsister.”

...

Captain Hobbes locked the small short range transport ship, that had been modified with First contact in mind, in orbit of the gas giant behind the station. He stopped roughly equidistant from both his ship, The Enterprise, and the station. “Hopefully now that we are in geosinc they can dock with us without issue.”

… 

“Chairge, they have locked in geosinc around the planet. You should be able to dock with them as soon as you arrive, it appears that they have already opened their largest docking bay. Proceed with caution, broodsister. Make sure all of your people have their suit cameras on. We want video of the first contact.”

...

“Captain they are almost docked we should get down there and greet them.”

“Alright try not to scare them or otherwise cause issues. I know how psyched all of you are, so just try to keep it professional,” Hobbes reminded his small crew. 

Eight humans of multiple nationalities and skin tones walked towards the shuttle settling in on the deck. Each one wearing a containment suit with a domed glass helmet that would let the aliens see their faces.

Sixteen small lifeforms climbed out of the shuttle, each clad in it's own suit. To the humans surprise and amusement there was not a single one of them taller than 4ft. Grins broke out as they saw some of the cute new aliens that they had discovered.

...

Peeking out of the ship Chairge saw rather large bipedal creatures with domed clear helmets standing in a row a few steps off the loading ramp. As his crew disembarked their shuttle they looked around in amazement at the angular design of the ships interior. Everything was built with right angles and sharp edges. The space looked entirely utilitarian, with no artistic touch. It almost looked predatory. As a group they all saw the cracked features on the faces of the aliens and as a group started to panic. They are aggressive after all! And are predatory to boot. Forward facing eyes, big brutal teeth, uncanny speed and balance, we're all going to die!!!

...

"Uh Captain why do they seem to be panicking? We haven't done anything aggressive. I mean we are huge compared to them, but we haven't moved."

"I'm not sure Commander Grace, but we need to calm them down." Taking one step forward the captain kneeled on the floor and addressed them all, "we come in peace, calm down and talk to us." His proximity scared some of the smaller fox like aliens more, and one by one 4 of the 16 little aliens seemed to faint. Barely catching all 4 of them before they smashed their helmets the Captain eased all of them into a laying position where they could rest without being in danger. Then a memory washed over him, and he had an idea. Pointing behind him the Captain quietly mouthed, "You sit next to me and project a galaxy map and slowly zoom into where earth is located, and you sit on my other side and project a human anatomic map and have it construct and deconstruct the image to show the building blocks of humans. Everyone else move back to the wall and stand at ease, this may take a while. None of these guys are predatory, but they recognize that we are. Hold as still as you can. I'm going to stay here and not move to see if they will calm down with time. Think about coaxing a farm animal, be non threatening."

...

After a relatively short time of panic, Chairge looked at the creatures closer and watched as they did something she could not explain. Three of them sat on the floor and became very still. On one side there was a star map projected of the galaxy, that was repeatedly zooming in until it rested on a particular star, then planet in the Orion Arm. On the other side there was a projection of some sort of medical study. It kept building then deconstructing a model that appeared similar to these giant predatory creatures. Gathering her wits she called out to her crew, "stop tripping over each other in a panic. Not only did it leave all of us open to be eaten by a predator, but it also made it impossible to get back aboard our shuttle. Calm down. Look at the aliens, they are obviously trying to convey that they don't want to destroy us. They lowered the fainting Churl to the ground preventing them from breaking their helmets. They are also calmly watching us panic and not taking advantage of us. Calm down and get the logic circuits in your brains functioning again. They are all in positions that should give us enough time to get back aboard our shuttle if we wanted to. So calm down and think logically. We need to talk to them and see what they want. You are a trained first contact team are you not?" At her commanding tone the GA pl first contact team paused mid panic and looked around. They slowly stopped panicking and started studying the three creatures on the floor. Seeing her chance she eased herself closer to the middle creature. Fearfully she got close enough to touch one of its limbs. When it did not react other than to focus its eerie eyes upon her, she grabbed the appendage she had touched before. With surprising ease she lifted his limb and moved its joints as she compared it to the anatomic map to one side of him. When it still didn't crush her, her team all started walking forward to look at the strange new beings. Poking and prodding the creatures they began calming down as well. Until one of the creatures let out a sharp, loud scream and they all backed off in terror.

...

"Shh Grace your giggle terrified them. Hold still, we have to show them it is a harmless sound," the captain whispered as he reached over and prodded her in the armpit to produce the noise again. " I suppose they are not used to the idea of being ticklish" he muttered as he kept prodding her wiggling form now and again. Speaking into his mic he addressed what appeared to be the leader of the alien group, "we want peace, but that part is sensitive. It is an involuntary noise."

...

Staring at the creatures as one of them prodded the other and the noise repeated, over and over. Her subordinates were backing away, until the middle human pulled out a tiny electronic device and vocalized into it. Peace, that sensitive, not, voluntary, noise. Upon hearing the rather garbled message her crew calmed and looked at her for direction. She did what she could and walked forward to speak with the middle creature, "I am Chairge, who are you?"

...

Welp it is way past my bed time but I couldn't find a good place to leave off. So see you again for the next part. Space shanties are coming, but I want to develop that once I have some context. There will probably be a few more parts before I get to them.

#humans are wierd #original work #space orcs #humans are deathworlders #first contact

[microcos-pod]

Micro-Cosmos S1E2: Turn and Draw Transcript

(A strange beast torments the crew.

Transcript begins below break.)

[THEME MUSIC FADES IN]

ANNOUNCER Futuristic Trail Mix Productions presents Micro-Cosmos: A Science Fiction Podcast. [THEME MUSIC FADES OUT]

[sfx: footsteps, button press]

ATHENA Transmitting on April 8th, 2094, from approximate position on Ophiuchus-22, North 51 degrees West 111 degrees, this is Officer Athena Romero: combination communications-security specialist and resident chronicler with Omnitarian Establishment Crew #0137-F. This is day 12 of our terraforming mission, and our 8th day of hauling ship to the rendevous point. I'm happy to report that the last 24 hours have been pleasantly uneventful, given our... typical circumstances and somewhat whimsical encounters. Dr. Couvillion has continued expanding upon his... catalog, if you will, of flora and fauna he's found on the planet's surface. According to Cal at 0600 this morning, he has gotten it up to 34 items. Impressive. He is, though, still waiting for authorization to send what he collected last week in for analysis, so... I think he would be... Rather appreciative if you could get back to him on that. Please. Hmm what else... oh! Petty Officer Abbott has been busy trying to add... I think they called them 'firewalls'? To Cal's programming, to try to prevent any more... technical accidents, when Cal inevitably gets bored. They are so far unsuccessful, but... I have faith. They were able to successfully repair their ocular functions on Monday after Cal unintentionally disabled them, so... I don't know, we'll see. Commander de la Cruz has been making sure that morale is high, given the long trek. The temperatures on Ophiuchus aren't too terribly hot, only reaching a high of a scalding 25 degrees Celsius yesterday, so being sweaty and miserable hasn't been a tremendous source of torment during our hike... but being painfully bored certainly has, though. She gave Felix a... deck of cards last night. I'm not where she got it, or why she has it, or why she gave it to him,jokinglybut I am quite disappointed she has never invited me to a game of Cribbage. Uh... Aside from that, she has also been doing a wonderful job of navigating us towards our rendezvous point. Either that or we are.. almost definitely screwed, soo... Here's to hoping. I have been spending a large amount of my time in the woods alongside Dr. Couvillion. Not only to serve as protection from... you know, the possibility of predatory creatures, but also to observe for myself! The wildlife here is... gorgeous. Similar to much of what you'd find on Earth but... I don't know, I can't put my finger on it. The more flower reminiscent plants have a much stronger smell than those on Earth, though. Not bad, by any means, but... strong. Like perfume.  It's all very coordinated and... matchy? The fragrances all complement each other. And very well, at that. I feel like it could make the perfect bouquet. Like it was made to make the perfect bouquet, in a metaphorical sense. They're... perfect. I like it. The plant life, I mean. I can... pretty confidently assume that Felix does, as well. I think we all do, if in... very different ways. I think Miles has less of an admirable view of plant life and more of a... sort of... I don't know. I was going to say 'respect,' but that doesn't... Sound entirely right, either. They... acknowledge its importance but... that's about the extent of their reverence. Regardless, I think everyone else is at dinner right now, so I'll... wrap this up and get the two of us back to camp. We're almost halfway through our hike to the rendezvous point right now, and should thus be arriving in... approximately 2-3 weeks. As stated previously, morale is... about as high as it can be while we make our boring... boring way. Outside of all of that, I currently have nothing left to report. So... For now, Romero out. [sfx: button press, footsteps] ATHENA (CONT’D) Are we ready to go, Felix?

FELIX Should be, assuming you are done with your log?

ATHENA Yeah, just finished up. Find anything else?

FELIX Well- [sfx: comms turning on] ALEX (O.S.) You two on your way back yet?

ATHENA Yes, sir... Why, is something wrong?

ALEX (O.S.) No, just a... small situation back at camp. Not an emergency but we could certainly use you guys here with us.

ATHENA 10-4. We'll pick up the pace. ALEX (O.S.) Copy. Thanks.The comms clicks off.

ATHENA Any idea what that was about?

FELIX No. Only one way to find out though, yes?

ATHENA Yeah...Head right on, then?

FELIX Right on. *** ALEX So you're sure you didn't hear anything?

MILES Yes. I was- I was just getting my food. I came out of the tent to sit at the camp. Is that so-

CAL You hesitated.

MILES Oh, shut it, you insufferable little- [sfx: footsteps] ALEX Alright, you two. I wasn't accusing anyone, Miles. I just wanted to know if there was anything you heard or saw that could help us figure out what did do it. I'm not going to put you through trial over a-

FELIX Why is the bag outside of the tent?

ATHENA Why is the bag... slashed open- what happened?

ALEX That's what we're trying to figure out. Glad you two could join us, though. If there's some wild, carnivorous beast out there hunting us down, we're probably better as a unit than alone, right? Right, Felix, there's not a wild, carnivorous beast out there hunting us down?

FELIX Well... [The rest of the crew groans.] CAL On April 7th at 2200 hours, Dr. Couvillion left the following report in his Wildlife Catalog:"Footprint. Reptilian in nature. Tridactyl. Approximately 20 centimeters in length. Located in the southwest forest. Likely predatory." [They groan again.] FELIX I said 'likely!' Not to mention that it was merely a footprint and I have no other correlating information. Some... twigs could have left that.

MILES Some artistic ass twigs-

ALEX Miles.

MILES Commander, you heard what Cal said!

ALEX I did. And it all sounded theoretical to me. Everyone just needs to calm down, it'll be fine. Felix, do you think that there's... a probability that that footprint and the... tear in the bag could be related? Was it pointed towards the camp or anything?

FELIX I wasn't... necessarily looking, at that moment. If we want more information on the classification and nature of this creature, we'll have to go back into the forest and conduct some actual research. MILES No way. ATHENA Let's do it.

MILES Athena!

ATHENA Miles, look at this.

[sfx: the bag rustling as Athena opens it]

ATHENA (CONT’D) First Aid equipment. Bandages, hydrocortisone ointment, antiseptics. If this thing is a legitimate threat, then we need to do something about it, seeing as we've already contaminated and/or shredded the majority of our medical supplies. One of us trips and accidentally gashes our knee open, we're screwed. God forbid someone gets slashed by whatever was sharp enough to trash a polyurethane nylon bag and layers of tough equipment. I... I really don't think this should be up for debate.

ALEX She has a point. If we sit around and wait for whatever it was to come back, it might end up jeopardizing the security of our other equipment. Equipment that we really can't afford to lose. Communication devices, the tent...

FELIX Rations.

ALEX Exactly. Not particularly a risk I'm willing to take when we're lightyears away from base.

[Miles sighs.]

ALEXl You'll be fine, Miles. We've been in the woods dozens of times, now, and we're all still here. Limbs and all.

MILES I know, but... I mean, we've got how much more time before we run out of starlight? An hour? Thirty minutes?

ALEX You've got some nice glasses there, Abbott, don't they do anything? Transitionals, perhaps? New scotopic models?

Flashlight, dude. Felix and Athena go out after dark all the time.

CAL "Nothing routs us but the villainy of our fears," Officer Abbott.

ATHENA Was that Shakespeare-

MILES Cal-

FELIX Miles are you... afraid of the dark?

[Miles groans.]

ALEX Right, then. Into the woods to Grandmother's house we go. Everyone grab a bag and make sure your flashlights are still secured to your belt. We'll head out in 10, get a quick dinner if you need to.

CREW (varying) Yes, sir.

ALEX Oh, and Athena?

ATHENA Yes, sir?

ALEX Nice thinking. ***

ALEX What were those coordinates again, Cal?

CAL North 51 degrees West 111 degrees.

ATHENA North 51 West 111? That's not far from where we were earlier this afternoon. I wasn't... looking out for anything, but I... don't particularly remember seeing anything indicating that there's a... You know, large, reptilian predator out there. You're sure those are it?

CAL That is the approximate center of what we generally refer to as the "southwest forest." So, yes. I'm quite sure, Athena.

MILES "The southwest forest" is a pretty friggin' vague location, Cal. There's no way you could find a... I don't know, more precise target or something?

CAL Of course, Officer Abbott! Give me a moment as I integrate myself into Dr. Couvillion's hippocampus and see the exact location of the footprint measured at a mind-boggling 20 centimeters in length somewhere in an undefined, unexplored, unmeasured forest of foreign flora- and, more importantly, fauna- to get you a "more precise target" since you can't bother walking the extra 0.8 kilo-

MILES Cal, you need to drop this attitude with me! I'm trying to get things done and you're acting like it's some otherworldly request! Just do your job, is it that-

ALEX Hush, you two.

What is taking Felix so long?

MILES Probably making himself a gourmet meal with the trail mix...

[sfx: footsteps, a bag jangling]

FELIX Sorry for the delay, I had to- What's with the staring?

ALEX That's a... lot of equipment you've got there, Felix.

FELIX Well, I figured we would require a particular level of, how do you say... expertise? And as our one and only Chief Science Officer and the only biologist I know of for a couple of lightyears, I figured I would bring some of my equipment. Maybe make it a bit of a learning experience for the less knowledgeable.

Such as Miles.

MILES Now, look here-

ALEX Play nice. That's all actually useful though, right? It's not just going to slow us down?

FELIX No, of course not. It's a collection of hunting and trapping supplies and portable evaluation equipment. If things go as we're expecting, it should all come to use.

ALEX Good, good.

[Alex claps.]

ALEX (CONT’D) Alright. Athena and Miles, you two stay close and keep tabs on each other. Felix and I will take the lead. If you see anything out of place, anything at all, let us know immediately. We should reach the approximated position in... mm, Cal, what do you think?

CAL At your average speed of 13.87 kilometers per hour, I think shooting for 15-20 minutes is your likeliest estimation, Commander.

ALEX Call it 17, then. We've got twenty-ish minutes of starlight left, so make sure your flashlights are secured and you've got your eyes peeled. Not entirely sure what we're looking for, so be ready for just about anything.

Cool... Onward, then. [sfx: footsteps]

***

[sfx: footsteps, birds chirping, forest ambiance]

MILES Hey, Athena?

ATHENA Yes, Miles?

MILES You're the, like... bodyguard, right?

ATHENA [laughs] Security specialist, bodyguard, however you'd like to put it. Yes, I am. Why?

MILES So you...You have a knife or something, right?

ATHENA Yes... It's not exactly going to gut a modern dinosaur, but I have a pocketknife. So does Felix, I think.

[Miles mumbles an affirmation.]

May I ask why you're asking me this?

MILES Oh. No reason.

ATHENA You're sure? No reason at all?

MILES Yes. Well, no. I mean. Well... you know.

ATHENA I... don't. You know you can talk to me, Miles, right? I know I'm not the, uh... social butterfly, that Dr. Couvillion and Commander de la Cruz are, but I'm still your crew member and I'm not going to... bite, or whatever. [chuckles.] I've been told I'm actually quite pleasant to talk to, on occasion.Miles awkwardly chuckles back in response. Before they have time to say anything, though, 

ATHENA I'm sorry if you thought I was trying to make you look like an idiot earlier, I swear, I wasn't. I just... that was a lot of medical supplies, and we've still got a ways before we reach the rendezvous point, so I was... worried, at the implications of possibly losing anything more. I didn't mean to seem... aggressive, or anything, and I am genuinely very sorry if I came across that way.

MILES Oh, no, yeah, no, you're fine. I didn't think much of it. I was being... Stupid, so... No, I get it.

I was asking because of the, uh... "modern dinosaur," by the way. It's getting dark out, so I was just thinking about it.

ATHENA I'm honoured that you think I could take on a potentially 5 meter, thick-skinned dinosaur on my own, Officer Abbott.

MILES Yeah, yeah...Miles stops walking for a moment, as Athena continues to walk. 

[sfx: jangling of Miles searching their belt, a slight droning glitch]

MILES (CONT’D) Hey, wait up a minute!

ATHENA What was that? 

[sfx: repeated clicking]

MILES My flashlight's not turning on!

ATHENA Stay there, give me a second!

Commander, could you two turn back for a moment?

ALEX (O.S.) Yes, turning around now. Everything alright?

ATHENA Yeah, we're fine, just...

[sfx: jangling, clicking from Athena]

ATHENA Torches aren't turning on. Low visuals. Soon none, most likely.

ALEX (O.S.) Fantastic. We'll be there in a minute or two. See you then. Or... not, apparently. de la Cruz out.

[Athena sighs.]

[sfx: jangling, clicking]

ATHENA Miles-

MILES Sorry.

[sfx: forest ambiance] [sfx: a sudden scuttling]

MILES Athena, what the hell was that?

ATHENA I don't know. Stay quiet, I'll go check it out.

[sfx: footsteps]

MILES What? Athena, don't be an idiot, get back here, what are you-

Athena? Are you- [sfx: comms click on] ALEX (O.S.) Hey, our-

[Miles screams.]

ALEX (O.S., CONT’D) -flashlights aren't working either. Not sure what's going on. We should be approaching in a second, though, so just keep an ear out. Copy?

ATHENA(O.S.) Miles? Miles, are you okay?

MILES Uh- yeah, I'm okay, I'm fine, ah

[sfx: button press on comms]

MILES (CONT’D) Copy! Copy. We, uh... we heard something and, unless Felix has taken a liking to scuttling around on forest floors like a squirrel, I think it might be our predator. Athena went to go look, not sure why in Hell she would, but she's... away. A couple meters, at least.

ATHENA (O.S.) I'm fine, don't worry about me. You two should get here as quickly as possible, though, I can hardly see the back of my hand right now, let alone a potentially deadly predator. I think we'll take any help we can get.

ALEX (O.S.) Copy. Okay, how about this. Give us 15 more seconds to cover some distance, and then we'll start a count off. Make sure everyone is accounted for and get some approximated positions. Me, Felix, Miles, Athena, Cal. Out loud, no comms. Make sense?

MILES Yes, sir. 

Well, actually, uh...Cal has been. Shy. For the past few minutes. So unless they've had a major change of heart, I'm not sure how willing they would be to-

ALEX (O.S.) Okay, Miles. Noted. Are we good, Cal? Athena?

ATHENA (O.S.) 10-4.

ALEX (O.S.) Got it, Felix?

FELIX (O.S.) Got it. Uh... what was that about Cal?

ALEX (O.S.) They're... fine. I don't think they plan on running away anytime soon. We can check on them once we get things sorted out. Not the first time they've been... antisocial with us.

Okay, everyone turn your comms off. Listen for our voices. De la Cruz out.

[sfx: comms all click off, forest ambiance]

ALEX ONE!

FELIX TWO!

MILES Three!

ATHENA Four!

ALEX One!

FELIX Two!

MILES Three!

ATHENA Four! ALEX One!

FELIX Two!

MILES Three!

ATHENA Four!

ALEX One!

FELIX Two!

MILES Three!

ATHENA Four!

UNKNOW DISTORTED VOICE FIVE.

[The group SCREAMS, chaos ensues.]

[sfx: various shuffling, running, collisions]

[Athena and Alex exclaim.]

ALEX Are you okay?

ATHENA I think- are you?

ALEX Hell if I know!

FELIX Miles?!

[Miles shrieks.]

FELIX Miles, it's me, calm down!

MILES Sorry, I didn't-

ALEX Everyone, calm-

[CAL laughs. And keeps laughing.]

CAL Oh, you should've seen the looks on your faces! I mean, I couldn't exactly see, but imagining was just as fun! That was great, that was great...

MILES What?

CAL What? It was just a prank, Miles. If this was you, you'd tell me to 'lighten up.’

MILES I think you have a really twisted view on what I think is funny, Cal.

ALEX Cal, this... this is beyond unacceptable. What the hell were you th-

[sfx: a monstrous roar]

[The crew screams, Cal’s boot-down jingle plays]

ALEX Run. RUN, GO!

[sfx: running footsteps]

ATHENA Here, look! Behind here!

MILES So does anybody... want to explain to me... what the hell just happened?

MILES Anyone at all? FELIX Did any of you... actually see the specimen?

MILES Thank you, for not answering my question at all.

FELIX No, Miles, I'm serious. Did any of you catch a glimpse of it? Size estimations, speed, anything?

ALEX I don't think so, Felix. Why? Did you catch something we didn't?

FELIX Not exactly...

[sfx: jingling, shuffling of Felix’s equipment]

FELIX Despite the, ah... acoustics and tone of the beast in question, I don't actually think it... well, hm...

ALEX Felix? What are you getting at?

FELIX I have a theory that this beast may not be quite as beastious as aforementioned, sir. The scale is... not quite adding up to me.

MILES ... what.

FELIX I'll be right back, sir.

[sfx: footsteps of Felix sprinting off]

ALEX Felix- Oh, for the love of-

[sfx: footsteps of Alex sprinting off]

ATHENA Alex!

[sfx: footsteps of Athena sprinting off]

MILES Athena!

[sfx: footsteps of Miles sprinting off]

*** ATHENA Transmitting on April 8th, 2094, from our current base. We have now reached 2100 hours and I...frustratedWhat a day it has been, Headquarters. Following my previous log, sent out approximately 2 hours ago, Dr. Couvillion and I returned to base to find our primary first aid bag slashed open. Contaminated, trashed, and, mostly, useless.

From that point on, it was somehow deduced that a.... reptilian predator was out to sabotage us. Nothing has since pointed against such a deduction, however... the creature is still nowhere to be found. We had a close encounter, though, following an... incredibly tasteless joke from Cal. They later expressed to me that they did it as an act of retaliation. They said it had something to do with their... dismissal. Being used as an asset and nothing more. Not getting to fully interact with the crew like the rest of do, barely being able to get a word in, period. I get that. I don't think what they did was appropriate at all, that's not what I'm saying, but... That feeling. That disconnect. I get it. Regardless, we proceeded to get chased behind a tree. Doctor-

[sfx: footsteps MILES You're telling me. You had. A net. This entire time?

FELIX I told you I had trapping equipment, Miles. I just never got the chance to set anything useful up since somebody here couldn't deal with a broken torch...

MILES Yours was broken too?

FELIX Ah, yes, but I didn't make Athena call up Commander de la Cruz, did I?

[Miles and Felix argue in the background.]

ATHENA Uh, sorry... Doctor Couvillion then set back out, which led to... a bit more chaos. Just what we needed. We then reported back to base, and he was... incredibly insistent about heading back out. So... he and Miles pushed back into the trees. After we all rested for a few minutes. I held back to watch over base, and Commander de la Cruz followed them close behind, with Cal, to make sure they didn't kill each other. Sounds like he had a net. I don't see anything of importance though, so... I'll update later. [sfx: comms click]

ATHENA Anything?

MILES No, just a bunch of stupid twigs.

ATHENA Great.

FELIX It could've at least been a learning experience if someone had put in the smallest twinge of effort. But alas... Miles is doomed to brainlessness.

ALEX GUYS! Guys, you might want to check this out!

MILES She was in the forest?

ATHENA Yes, now go, go go go...There is a shuffling as they all run back to Alex.

FELIX What did you- [gasps].

AWWWWW. Oh my god, that is the most adorable thing I have ever seen...

ALEX Isn't it?

[sfx: the creature murmurs]

MILES That is the most hideous thing I've ever laid eyes on.

CAL Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Miles.

ATHENA Felix, do you know what that is?

FELIX No. However, its build is very similar to that of a cougar cub, and its reptilian frill, tridactyl state, and scaley nature....

Well, for starters, it's clearly only a baby. Aside from those claws, it couldn't hurt a fly.

[sfx: a single step forward]

[The crew whispers at him.] [sfx: the creature squeaks]

FELIX Isn't that right, little guy? You wouldn't hurt a tiny, little fly, would you? No you wouldn't, no you would not... How does Mercutio sound for a name? Little Mercutio-

[sfx: the creature hisses and sprays]

[Felix screams, the crew exclaims.]

ALEX FELIX! Are you okay?

CAL Doctor Couvillion?!

MILES FELIX!!

ATHENA Are you alright??

FELIX Yes, I'm- I'm fine... Just stings... Bad Mercutio! Bad!

[sfx: the creature hisses and scurries off]

ALEX Dammit.

CAL Don't worry, Commander. The probability of one of Doctor Couvillion's traps catching the creature is incredibly-

[sfx: a trap springs, the creature yelps]

CAL (CONT’D) Likely!

ALEX Joyous day...

Right, Felix, let's get your face checked out. Athena, go see what the situation is at the trap. Cal, maybe back some of the newfound data to the catalog with Miles?

CAL Yes, sir.

Alex undoes their projector from her wrist and hands them to Miles.ALEXGet along with each other. We'll all bed down in 30. CREW (varying) Yes, sir.

*** [sfx: a campfire crackling]

CAL Processing 80% complete. Processing 85% complete. Processing 90% complete. Integrating into mainframe and long term memory drive. Processing 95% complete. Saving to Doctor Felix Augustine Couvillion-

MILES Augustine?

CAL -personal data file. Processing 100% complete. Data saved.There is a quick chime.

CAL Yes. Augustine, Officer Abbott. As an asset of the Omni-Corporation, I have access to each crew member's personal file, seeing as that's useful and convenient. Is this shocking to you?

MILES No, that's not what I meant, you know that's not what I am, I just thought-

CAL Because I can go through all of it right now, if you'd like! Since it seems so interesting! Let's start with the star of the show, yes? Petty Officer Miles Jackson Abbott.

MILES Cal-

CAL Date of birth: June 30th, 2071. Ooh, interesting! Education: Skipped years 7 to 9 in secondary school. Attended the University of Teegarden- very impressive school, Miles- from 2086 to 2088, before facing e- 

MILES ENOUGH, Cal.

CAL I'm sorry that that wasn't convenient for you, Officer. There must be something wrong with my programming. I shouldn't be able to be so challenging, so... impractical. I was only trying to help you. Perhaps it's something that the decommissioning floor will have to look into when we arrive back on Earth. I will try to be a better contrivance in the future. Goodnight, Officer Abbott. [Cal’s boot-down jingle plays.] *** [THEME MUSIC FADES IN] ANNOUNCER Micro-Cosmos: A New Science Fiction Podcast.

This episode, Turn and Draw, was written by Jesse Smith, edited by Luka Miller, and directed by Jesse Smith, Zyrel Thompson, and Lauren Tucker. It starred Jesse Smith as the voice of Athena Romero, Jackson Rossman as the voice of Miles Abbott, Luka Miller as the voice of Alex de la Cruz, Kaleb Piper as the voice of Felix Couvillion, and Pippa van Beek-Paterson as the voice of Cal. Original music by Julia Barnes, and sound editing by Tobias Friedman and Isabel Sepúlveda. Be sure to stay tuned to our feed for upcoming episodes from the new backpacking intergalactic adventure from Futuristic Trail Mix Productions. To follow the show and find transcripts, you can find us on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram as @MicroCosPod. Questions, comments, and concerns can be emailed to us via [email protected]. Find more information on the show on our website, microcospod.space. Thank you for listening. [THEME MUSIC FADES OUT] ***

#Microcosmos #micro-cosmos #micrcosmos #microcospod #microcos pod #science fiction #newpodcast #new podcast #podcast recommendations #fiction podcast #sciencefictionpodcast #audio drama

[hedwigstalons]

The Tracy Prize - part 15

Hey, it wouldn’t be Thunderbirds without a rescue every now and again.  Thank you @willow-salix for helping be out of another plot block.

Here are the earlier parts for those that want to go back to the beginning: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14

xoxoxox

The atmosphere inside the cockpit of Thunderbird Two was tense.  Virgil’s movements were clipped and precise as he flew the green behemoth towards the danger zone.  Gordon could sense that his elder brother was immersed in his own thoughts and wisely stayed silent in the co-pilot’s chair.  

 The grip of the pilot was a little too tight, the set of his shoulders a little too rigid.

 No rescue was without risks; it was the nature of their existence.  Adrenaline spiked.  Ideas buzzed as information came in.  Plans were made and revised.  This call out was different.  Today two of their own were caught up in the situation.  It added an extra level of worry.

“I’ve reached the conference centre.  I’ll liaise with the local coordinator and give you an update when I can.”  Scott’s voice came over the comms, shattering the silence.  “Thunderbird Two, how far out are you?”

 “Sixteen minutes.”  The reply was abrupt, the voice strained.  “John, have you got the building schematics yet?”

 “Sending them through now” his space bound sibling responded.  “Land on the roof when you get there.  It’s your best access point.”

 “FAB.”

 Virgil passed control to Gordon then reverted to moody silence as he studied the building plans John had just supplied him with.

 Only that morning he had dropped Claire and Brains off at the very same conference centre for a science and engineering exhibition.  The pair had been chattering excitedly on the outbound flight about the exhibits they were hoping to see and choosing which seminars to attend from the programme.  Virgil had been quite jealous that he hadn’t been released to attend too, his role limited to playing taxi service.  If he had examined his feelings further he might have attributed his jealousy to more than just the conference attendance.

 Now his two friends were stuck somewhere inside the enormous building, held hostage by a group that were yet to make their demands.  

 The lack of information was one of the causes of stress.

 Virgil found himself concentrating more on the scientists than on the task in hand. He gave himself a slight mental shake and refocused himself on the building plans.

 The architect had evidently been going for a heavy industrial theme.  The whole building was comprised of reinforced concrete and thick steel doors.  The central space was dominated by an exhibition hall and auditorium.  From here corridors radiated off leading to smaller rooms.  Each room individually lockable with electronic keypads. It was a veritable fortress.  

 “What joker commissioned this?  And why the hell is everything lockable?  It looks more like a prison than a conference centre.”

 “Francois Lemaire.  All those security features are so he can host art exhibitions and the like.  It gives the artists reassurance their works are safe.  Apparently he took his inspiration from Parkmoor Scrubs” the voice from space responded

 “Figures” Virgil snorted.  “Any chance of the access codes to these rooms?”

 “Unfortunately not.  It seems the terrorist cell have been planning this for a while.  They infiltrated the staff and have changed the codes.  Eos has been trying to access the security systems but something is shutting her out.”

 As they approached the conference centre Virgil reclaimed the controls.  VTOLs fired as he guided Thunderbird Two onto her rooftop landing platform.  He could see Thunderbird One on the ground below.  Her pilot by her side with a representative of the local police.

 “Thunderbird Two, nice of you to join us.”  Virgil had to restrain himself from giving his elder brother a cutting response. Now was not the time to be joking about his response times when the one person who could make a difference to them was in danger.

 “Update?” he growled.

 “Negative.  Last contact with the terrorists was the call announcing they had the building in lock down and all delegates held as hostages.  They said they would lay out their full demands at 11:00 hours but they never made the scheduled call.  All attempts to communicate with the building from outside have failed.”

 Virgil’s sense of dread only grew.  Their own attempts to reach Claire and Brains had also failed suggesting the group holding the building had some sort of signal disruptor that was blocking transmissions.  With the hostage takers going dark too there was no way of knowing what was the situation inside the building.  Negotiation was impossible, hence International Rescue being called in to assist.

 “Are the terrorists armed?”

 There was a pause before Scott responded.  “Affirmative.  The local coordinator confirms.  The original transmission contained gunshot sounds; the group wanted to provide proof they were serious.”

 “I’ll access through the roof.  Gordon and I will provide initial reconnaissance.”

 “Remember, if there is some sort of signal blocker inside we are likely to lose contact with you too.  Do not engage the group.  Repeat, do not engage.  You have thirty minutes to assess the situation.  If you cannot reopen communications then I expect you to return to the roof to report in.  The GFD are on their way and will take the building by force if necessary but until they get here you are on your own.”

 “FAB”

 Virgil killed the link to Thunderbird One and turned to his younger brother. The intense look in those chestnut brown eyes chilled the aquanaut.  Gordon sincerely hoped that they did not run across those responsible for holding their friends captive; if they did he didn’t fancy his chances of restraining his brother.  That look said loud and clear that Virgil would do whatever it took to protect his family.  

 With Virgil kitted out in his exo-suit he and Gordon exited Thunderbird Two and headed out into the unknown.

 Access to the building was remarkable easy.  The build team had evidently blown the budget on the public spaces.  The flimsy and insubstantial maintenance doorway to the roof was easily forced open.  

 The brothers descended into the heart of the building, trying to tread quietly on the polished concrete floors.  

 A quick test of the comms showed that something was indeed blocking the signals. Even the life signs scanners had been disabled.  The brothers were completely isolated.

 Virgil brought up a diagram he had downloaded onto his wrist computer.  John had overlaid the exhibition map onto the building schematics so they could see which sections of the site should be in use.

 They tiptoed through the building.

 They met no one.

 While Gordon had initially been worried about having to prevent his brother from launching a one-man rescue mission, now he was worried about the complete absence of anyone at all.  

 Even the exhibition space was deserted.  The open hall was set out with stands.  Displays of equipment and inventions filled the space.  Corridors led to seminar rooms and more secure exhibition spaces for those inventions requiring tighter security.  Two sets of double doors leading in to the auditorium were open.

 The brothers shared an uneasy glance.  Somewhere in here were scores of exhibition visitors and their captors.  

Somewhere in here were their friends. 

The steel doors and building design muffled any sounds.  At least they hoped it was only the building design that was responsible for the ominous silence.

 Silence that was suddenly broken by the sound of an explosion.

 The brothers took off at speed in the direction of the blast.

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #scott tracy #virgil tracy #john tracy #gordon tracy #alan tracy #kayo #brains

[artistic-writer]

Love Finds a Way :: CS Jurassic World AU :: Ch 8

Title: Love Finds a Way by @artistic-writer

Summary: Emma Swan is the Head of Operations for David Nolan’s exotic adventure park, Jurassic World.  She has a son, Henry, and is loved and respected by her colleagues. Her life was perfect until a new dinosaur the park created, Indominus Rex, decided to escape.  Oh, and her one night stand, Killian Jones - he’s there to help contain the asset. Just to complicate things even more.  Jurassic World AU.

Rating: M (for people getting eaten)

Also on: AO3 - FF

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRYSTAL! I hope you like this little bit of excitement and accept it as my gift to you on this glorious celebration of your birth! Welcome to 21 again! ;) And thank you to @resident-of-storybrooke​ for your eyes <3

Taglist: @hollyethecurious​ @kmomof4​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @cocohook38​ @sherlockianwhovian​ @wordsmith-storyweaver​@winterbaby89​ @kymbersmith-90​  @killianmesmalls​ @killian-whump​ @nonnyj @jennjenn615​   @thislassishooked @searchingwardrobes​ @doodlelolly0910​ @cs-forlife​ @darkcolinodonorgasm​ @mariakov81​ @xemmaloveskillianx​

Please show your appreciation for my writing and artwork by buying me a Ko-fi.  If you are unable to do that, then please enjoy it and show your appreciation with a reblog. Or leave me a comment, i’m a sucker for that.  Any feedback welcome :D

——————————————————————————————

“Emma, should we talk about this?” Killian finally broke the silence between them as they headed towards the raptor compound.

“About what?” Emma asked dumbly as she stared out the window into nothing but rolling green fields. “We kissed,” she shrugged.

“Aye, we kissed, and then you said ‘we’,” Killian clarified. He took his eyes off the road for a second to stare at her profile. “‘We’,” he repeated a little louder in the hopes she would look at him.

“Did I?” Emma turned to him, finally, a smirk playing on her lips.

Killian knew she was teasing him as soon as he saw her eyes, still a little wide from arousal and excitement, her lips slightly plumper than before as they framed her teeth in a grin. He had been holding his breath and without even realising it, he exhaled hard in relief, loosening his vice like grip on the steering wheel. If he still had any doubt it was all washed away when Emma reached across the centre console and rested her hand on his thigh, brushing her fingers over the fabric of his jeans.

“I said we can wait,” Emma smiled softly but with a more assertive tone. “I’m sorry, but my priority is Henry right now.”

“Of course,” Killian agreed. He dropped one hand from the wheel and laid it over hers, curling his fingers around hers and giving the digits a little squeeze. “Did Liam say if he was alright?”

“God, no, what if he is hurt?” Emma suddenly panicked. “I didn’t hear his voice. What if he,-”

“He’s not hurt,” Killian assured her, squeezing her hand again. “I promise you he’s not hurt.”

“You saw that Gyrosphere,” Emma snapped. “And Graham’s…”

“Hey, love, stop that now,” Killian soothed, releasing her hand and putting both of his back on the wheel. “Liam said he was safe and besides,” Killian said quickly, leaning forward to inspect the imposing concrete wall that loomed in front of them. “We’re about to find out for ourselves.”

Without even knowing it, Emma and Killian followed the exact same road up to the raptors compound that Henry had taken. The two roads intersected not far from where they had found the Gyrosphere and it seemed that not many people had taken notice of the old road in such a long time it had been thoroughly overgrown until Henry had plowed his Jeep through the tree covered gates. As soon as he arrived at the compound, Henry had drawn a detailed map for security who had resecured the gate following Liam’s orders in an attempt to minimise any more assets escaping.

Guards already had the gate open when they saw Killian’s vehicle approaching, but it hadn’t even come to a full stop before Emma was jumping out of the passenger seat and rushing for her son when she spied him across the courtyard. He was standing next to Liam, who looked up when he heard the vehicle’s engine and the crunch of gravel under tyres, but he had no time to announce their arrival before Henry was taking off towards it.

“Henry!” Emma shouted as she ran towards her son across the gravel, her heels catching in the stones and twisting her ankle sideways. She ignored the misstep, thighs burning with exertion as she propelled herself towards her son, nothing able to stop her, least of all the warm breeze as it whipped at her face.

“Mom!” Henry cried out, rushing towards her with twice as many steps, his little legs working faster than they ever had, arms outstretched in readiness to embrace the one person he wanted more than anyone else in the entire world.

When their bodies collided, Henry knocked all of the air out of Emma’s lungs with the energy at which he jumped into her arms and trapped her waist with his legs. She had to swing around to compensate for the force, arms wrapping around the boy so tightly she didn’t realise at first that she might be squeezing him a little too hard. Henry wriggled after a few minutes of Emma combing her fingers through the hair on the back of his head, a hefty sigh audible to all of the crew currently working in the compound when she got a whiff of his scent from his hair.

“Oh, Henry,” Emma apologised quickly, setting the boy back to the ground. Her hands continued to roam over him beginning on his head where she even looked behind his ears. “Are you hurt?” She fussed, pulling the cartilage forward and noticing a few scraps down his neck.

“Mom,” Henry groaned, trying to move his head out of her reach. Emma ruffled the hair that had fallen over his forehead, exposing another long slice along his eyebrow that had sealed itself shut with some caked on mud. “Mom, I’m fine.”

“Just let me look at you,” Emma told him, her voice trying to sound calm but the quake in her words giving away her anxiety. She and Killian had come close to the Indominus Rex, but as the crushed glass sphere and Graham’s leg had attested, Henry may have come closer. “Just quickly,” Emma promised, dropping to her knees and running her hands over Henry’s torso.

“He’s alright, aren’t you, Henry?” Killian announced a little louder than he should have from behind her. When Henry spied him over his mother’s shoulder he grinned, pleased to see his friend. Killian gave him a wink and a sideways smirk. “Let the lad be.”

“I’m okay, mom,” Henry told her, catching her eye when she looked back to her. He gave her a boyish smile, one of his chubby cheeks painted with yet more scabbing. Emma ran her thumb over it, softly so she didn’t hurt him but so that he knew she cared more than she had done over the past few years.

“I’m sorry about Graham,” Killian offered Henry with a look cast down to his boots as they scuffed at the stones under his feet. He knew Emma wouldn’t know how to approach the subject, and they never had to tell Henry the gory details of what they had found, but when the boy gave him a small nod, wise beyond his years, Killian returned the gesture.

“I should never have let Graham takes us off the track in the Gyrosphere,” Henry said solemnly, lowering his head. “I knew we would get in trouble.”

“Not your fault,” Emma told him sternly, cupping his face in her hands and lifting his watery gaze to hers. “You hear me? No one is in trouble.”

“Your mother is right,” Killian told him, stepping closer and laying one hand on the young boy’s shoulder. “This isn’t anyone’s fault.”

“Did you see that dinosaur?” Henry asked Killian with a hint of fear still lingering in his voice. “It was so big, like no dinosaur I’ve ever seen. What was it?”

Emma got to her feet and looked at Killian, silently pleading with him to not tell her son what the Indominus was, or what had gone wrong, and most definitely not how she had been responsible for almost getting him eaten by it. Killian sucked in a breath, trying to buy himself some time to think of an answer that might sate Henry’s inquisition but not also terrify him enough to give him nightmares for the rest of his life. Although, Killian wasn’t sure that damage hadn’t already been done.

--

“So, it escaped?” Henry inquired, leaning forward from the back seat of the vehicle they currently all occupied.

Emma had insisted on heading back to the comms centre, to what end Killian wasn’t sure, but she was convinced that it was the safest place on the island. “Kind of,” Killian offered with a thought.

“And it can camouflage? Like a chameleon?” Henry peppered the question at no one in particular and Emma and Killian shared a look. They had told him the jist of the general story, leaving out all of the ACU carnage, but true to his nature, Henry was hungry for more knowledge.

“Sort of,” Emma replied, seeing the disappointed look in his eyes from the rearview mirror.

“She clawed out her own tracking chip too,” Killian told him as he shifted down a gear to ascend a particularly steep hill on the road back to the comms.

“Why are you impressed with that?” Emma asked him in a hushed voice with a narrowed stare.

“It means she is clever,” Henry told her before Killian had time to answer. “Dinosaurs are not known for their brains.”

“Exactly!” Killian agreed, even if he didn’t totally agree with the thought process of a ten year old. The Indominus wasn’t doing anything out of malice, or because she was trying to get back at the human population of the island. She was simply trying to find where she fits into an already complicated food chain, further intricate by her very existence.

Emma glared at him. “God, I am so fired.” Killian had no time to respond before Emma’s phone rang again, her heart jumping into her mouth. She fumbled with the device before realising it was Ruby on her caller ID, probably with even more bad news that she was sure could wait until she reached the comms centre. They were already halfway there but nevertheless, Emma answered after a sigh.

“Ruby, I’m on my way back to the comms room,-”

“That’s a bad idea,” Ruby whispered, her voice muffled under her palm she was using to conceal her cell phone.

“What? What’s going on?” Emma demanded

“Walsh is what’s going on,” Ruby growled. “He’s taken over, had David escorted out by security, and In-Gen is taking over emergency ops.”

“What the fu,-”

“Emma, listen,” Ruby shuffled further into the corner she was hiding in when one of In-Gen’s men swept by her with some more equipment. “He has this insane plan to use the raptors to hunt the Indominus.”

“What do you mean, ‘use the raptors’?” Emma repeated with a frown, one finger in her ear as she struggled to hear over the sound of the tyres on the off-road terrain.

“Son of a bitch,” Killian muttered, overhearing Emma’s exclamation and slamming on the brakes and stopping Henry from flying forward with am arm across the gap between the seats.

“You shouldn’t swear,” Henry told him but before Killian could scold him for not wearing a belt, his words were almost drowned out by the sound of helicopters overhead.

They all looked up, military helicopters thundering across the sky. Killian tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his jaw muscles ticking with the mere thought of Walsh touching his raptors. Killian wasn’t an idiot. He knew that he was expendable to In-Gen’s research. All they needed was to see one successful run of raptors obeying commands for them to think it was a good idea to release them, and Killian had already shown them that.

“He’s heading to them now,” Ruby told her in a low voice. “Tell Killian-,”

“I heard you, lass. Fucking Walsh,” Killian growled louder than usual so Ruby could hear him.

“You shouldn’t say fuck,” Henry muttered.

Yanking the gear stick into reverse, Killian peered over his shoulder and gave Henry a look, nodding towards the seatbelt he should have already been wearing. “Seatbelt, Henry,” he scolded gently as the red faced boy scrambled to secure his belt. “And hold on.”

--

Walsh had done it. He had successfully acquired the ability to control people, and all it had taken was a little hot headedness a the hands of David Nolan. For years he had played the underdog, skulking around in the shadows of others, gaining repute as high as his status would allow. When the Jurassic World gig had come up, not many people put their names forward to go and work on the island, but Walsh had not faltered where others had, signing up and flashing his passport to the nearest superior.

He wasn’t going to lie, he had thought it would have been much harder than it actually was to get someone as influential as David Nolan to lose their temper. Normally a man of resolve, Nolan had cracked way earlier than Walsh had anticipated. His jaw hurt but it had been worth it. All it had taken was a little jab here, and a little nudge there, combined with a slight towards a woman who David obviously held feelings for, before the Mughal had toppled.

The days had been long, the nights no cooler than those days, but Walsh was finally where he wanted to be. A little bit of small print said that in the event of a massive security risk that was unable to be contained by the in house security teams, In-Gen officials would be assigned to minimise the risk to life by, and here is the important part, any means necessary. As far as Walsh was concerned, four apex predators loose on an island where the majority of the human population was already contained in one place was a risk he was willing to take.

Who knows? He might just be the next big news story.

Walking along the line of raptors, all four of them enclosed in their huge metal muzzles, made him feel big. They were in his control now. So what if he needed Jones to instruct them. Walsh would credit the man, in tiny writing underneath a photograph of himself with the beasts, preferably one where Jones had been cropped out due to a misprint in the scientific journal he was sure his decision would make.

His team were busy fixing cameras to the reptiles, the headband on all of them as tight as they could make them in order to stop them losing the expensive equipment. One mercenary, dressed heel to toe in black, operated the tablet like device that offered a live view of what the raptors were seeing, whilst the other fiddled rather nervously with the optics. Walsh managed to walk past two raptors before the one they called Delta began growling, almost dog-like at his approach, so he stopped with a smug grin.

“Hey! Hey!” Walsh crouched to eye level with the raptor, ignoring her snarls as he snapped his fingers to get her attention. “Right here,” he yelled in her enclosed face. The mercenary beside Delta snorted a laugh and turned the tablet he was holding around until Walsh could see himself on the screen. His maw stretched with glee at the sight and he turned back to the cat eyed reptilian. “Yeah, right here.”

“She looks at what she wants,” Liam told Walsh as he came up behind him. The man didn’t even turn away from taunting the raptor and Liam shook his head with a grin. “It’s usually what she wants to eat.”

Walsh didn’t have time to retort as he watched the curl of the raptor’s lips, her jaw muscles twitching in its cage before they both heard the sound of a vehicle approaching. Whoever was driving had their foot to the floor, the engine screaming out for a gear change, and when Walsh stood upright to see what the commotion was, he spotted Killian behind the wheel. The vehicle splashed through a puddle, obscuring the driver’s view, but Walsh could still see the contempt in Killian’s eyes as the car ground to a stop with a screech of its brakes.

“Oh good,” Walsh sneered, planting his hands on his hips. “Daddy’s home.”

“Let me handle this,” Killian snarled as he pushed the door open. He hadn't even let the car stop fully before he threw himself out of the cab and stalked towards Walsh, leaving his door open and the engine still running.

“I don’t think so,” Emma snorted, hopping out of the vehicle after him. She slammed her door and shot Henry a look which he knew meant he was to remain still and where she could see him.

“Jones, finally-,” Walsh began with a toothy grin.

Killian strode forward, angered even more by the smirk on Walsh’s cocky son-of-a-bitch face, and pulled back his arm ready to strike. Walsh had no time to register what was coming before Killian’s balled fist connected with his nose, splitting the skin there straight down the bridge of his nose, reopening the blood vessels inside that hadn’t fully healed from Nolan’s punch.

“Get the hell out of here, and stay away from my animals.” Killian was livid, his hand flexing at his side from the impact with Walsh’s bones, his knuckles instantly hot from the punch that hadn’t, thankfully, opened any of his own skin. Walsh stumbled backwards, only just stopping himself from falling into the wet dirt, both hands clutching his nose as he let out a cry of anguish.

“Walsh, you wanted this to happen, you son of a bitch,” Emma added to Killian’s threat, standing slightly forward of him in case she needed to separate them.

“Oh, Christ,” Walsh scoffed at them both, rubbing the side of his jaw. “How many more people have to die before this mission starts to make sense to you, huh?”

“It’s not a mission,” Killian growled through clenched teeth.

“It’s a field test,” Liam finished for him, appearing beside Emma.

“You’re both wrong,” Walsh snapped, looking between them before focusing his attention of Emma. “This is an In-Gen operation now.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Please.”

“There are going to be cruise ships to get everyone off this island at first light. You’re all going to watch the news tomorrow and it’s going to say how you all saved lives, no no, better yet.” Walsh took a breath, his cheeks rubying from anger, and took a step towards Killian. “About how your animals saved lives.”

Killian didn’t care about the news, and he didn’t care about Walsh, but what he did care about was the thousands of people potentially at risk on the island. He didn’t know where David was being held, but there was no way that he could get to him and stop Walsh from executing his diabolical plan in time. Walsh was a fool, but maybe Killian was even more of a fool for thinking that training dinosaurs to obey commands in isolation was In-Gen’s only end game from their field testing. The idea to release them was ludacris, and with the Indominus heading straight for the main visitor’s centre, more people would die.

Killian looked toward Liam who gave a sigh and planted his hands firmly on his hips as he read his brother’s mind. “They’ve never been out of containment.”

“Aye,” Killian agreed.

“It’s madness!” Liam told him.

“Aye,” Killian nodded, looking down at his feet.

“This is happening with or without you, Jones,” Walsh spat. Killian looked up to meet his gaze and Walsh saw the muscles in his jaw tighten in frustration, but ultimate resolve in his eyes. “Good,” he smirked. “Let’s make a plan.”

--

For a team that was supposedly taking down an entire animal, the measly eight man team didn’t fill either Killian or Liam with much confidence. They had seen bigger teams defeated by this dinosaur. She was smart and she was ferocious, and they knew that she was learning by experience and adapting to compensate. There wasn’t much more they could try that would surprise her, but she needed to be stopped. Killian had faith in his raptors, even if he didn't have much in the gaggle of shaved heads and bushy beards in from of him.

“We know she is in sector five and heading towards the visitor’s centre,” he announced to the group. They were huddled around a huge desk, a map of the park spread out before them. Two corners were held by two of the men and two more had surrendered their weapons in order to weigh down the paper.

“This is a game we call hide and seek,” Liam told the room, standing arms crossed next to his brother. “It’s essentially a scenting exercise.”

“We’ve done it about a thousand times with these animals, so when they get on target, and they will,” Killian reiterated, eyeballing each man. “You must wait to engage.”

One of the In-Gen mercenaries snorted like he knew better, drawing both of their attention.

“Velociraptors are pack hunters,” Liam snapped. “They like to herd their prey into a kill zone, and when they do that, it will give us a clear shot.”

“Wait for my command before you fire,” Killian asserted. “And give her everything you have. We have one huge fucking target here, gentlemen,” he told them, locking eyes with each and every one of the scarred, battle worn men who thought they knew better. “Do not shoot my raptors.”

“Please,” Liam added quickly.

After the briefing, to give the men time to gear up, Killian walked out to the paddock where the raptors had already been prepped. He walked between them, sorrow and remorse on his face as he looked at each of them in the eye with a silent apology. Charlie, Delta and Echo got instantly excited at the sight of him, knowing that just like when they trained, Killian was the one who fed them at the end of a good exercise. Blue, on the other hand, began to claw at the wall behind her confines, and Killian wondered if she knew that this time things would be different.

“Easy, Blue,” Killian soothed his beta, the dinosaur clearly annoyed at being in her confines when she knew that being so meant a new hunt was about to begin. “Easy,” he whispered, his fingers bumping over the ridges of her skin in an attempt to calm her. Blue’s blinking went from rapid to slightly slower, barely noticeable to anyone else, but Killian saw her acceptance of his words. “There’s a good lass,” he smiled at her and Blue made the affectionate sound of chirping in her throat. “You don’t scare me,” he said softly, adjusting the camera angle of the raptor’s live cam.

“Killian?” Henry’s voice made him straighten up and spin around in the caged area he was in, a sudden panic that Henry might have followed him rushing through him. Henry was standing just outside the bars, dirt covered arms resting against the metal and a look of contemplation of his face. “Is this safe?” Henry nodded to Blue over Killian’s shoulder as he approached. “Setting them loose, I mean.”

Killian heaved a sigh. “No, it’s not.”

The look on Henry’s face made Killian rethink his words, or at least the way he had delivered them, but it was too late to take them back. The sight of the raptors clearly had a different effect on Henry now that he had come into close contact with the Indominus, something that Killian hadn’t failed to recognize. The lad had lost his zest for them, instead content to skulk behind barriers and at a more than safe distance whereas before he was less happy to do so.

“Listen, Henry,” Killian added gently as he let himself out of the compound and pulled the boy into his side as he walked away. “You and I both know this might not work,” he admitted. “Gods, you and I are probably the only people on the forsaken island who know this might not work.” Henry chuckled a little. “But I am going to do everything within my power to keep you safe.”

Henry stumbled a little, squashed so close to Killian, who held him up as they walked.

“What about my mom?” Henry asked shyly.

“I’ve arranged a safe place for you both, you just have to get there.” Killian nodded ahead to where an armoured vehicle was waiting. The huge, thick walled truck was similar to ones that were used to transport money, only this one was clearly used to island purposes now. Killian reached the doors and twisted the handle until the lock sprang free and released the almighty weight of the door. “You just have to drive there.”

Henry looked into the truck. It looked safe, clean and hardly used and as Killian lifted him up into it, the sounds from the mercenaries and world outside seemed to fade away with how thick the walls were. A toolbox at the end was handy as a makeshift seat, and Henry sat down after he had crawled his way to the very back of the truck, right next to a cab window where his mother would talk to him as she drove. A sudden screech from one of the raptors made Henry jump clean out of his skin, his whole body stiffening and his eyes going wide with sudden fear.

“Nothing’s getting in here, right, Killian?” He asked tentatively.

When the boy looked back to him, Killian saw real fear in his eyes, the whites pricked with red where he had obviously, at some point today, sustained a blow to the head. Or maybe it was when he had been thrown over a waterfall into a lagoon of unknown depth. Or maybe it had been when he was busy trying to repair a Jeep twice as old as he was to get back to his mother. To safety. The point was, Killian felt like the boy had already had his fair share of terrors for one day.

“Do you remember that time when you came to my trailer, and you thought there was a predator outside?” Henry’s silence prompted him further. “When you heard that noise from outside and was scared we were going to be eaten?”

“It was the generator,” Henry told him with a pout.

“Aye, it was, but I told you I would protect you.” Killian climbed up into the truck after him, kneeling down in front of the boy who was so busy studying his palms in his lap. “I protected you, right?”

“You mean, how you made a fort out of some pillows and told me that nothing would be able to penetrate the keep as long as I stayed inside,” Henry recalled.

“Aye, lad.” Killian’s lips twitched into a small smile at his own recollection of that incident, when, despite his young age, Henry had been babbling on with the sage of an old soul, until the very moment his generator had made a high pitched cry, just like a raptor, and Killian had remembered his true mentality, including all of the trepidation that comes with having such a young imagination. “See, nothing is going to get you whilst I’m around, alright?”

Henry’s smile faded and Killian wondered what he had said when the boy returned to studying his hands so intently. “But you’re not always going to be around,” Henry mumbled. “My mom-,”

“Yeah, well, leave your mother to me,” Killian said with a reassuring smile. “We’re friends, Henry, and we’ll always be friends, alright? Nothing is going to change that.”

The youngster took a second but finally looked up again when Killian patted him on the knee. “No matter what?” He asked quietly.

“No matter what,” Killian nodded.

Henry launched himself forward without warning, wrapping his arms around Killian and holding on like he might fall if he let go. Killian swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat, the compassion he felt for the boy more than anything he had ever felt for anyone he wasn’t related to. He smoothed his hands over Henry’s shirt, giving him a quick pat on the shoulders that indicated they should part, before ruffling the boy's hair in a final act of affection.

Hopping down out of the truck, Killian kept his smile until the huge doors locked back into place and he wasn’t so sure he would be able to keep his promise after all.

--

The raptors scuffled around in each of their boxes like hounds in a trap waiting for the bell. They snorted and sniffed through the door thick mesh grilling as Killian walked up and down the line of them holding out the chunk of flesh the Indominus Rex had clawed out of her own body. The tracking beacon was no longer working, but the skin and tissue around it held all the information the raptors would need to find their quarry, all of them already beginning their myriad of chirps and communicative noises they would need to hunt as a pack.

Flood lights on a pursuit vehicle behind them lit up with a buzz, both Jones brothers bathed in the iridescent white the spotlights provided as Killian made his way to the front of the entourage of vehicles. It wouldn’t help, because the second the doors were triggered and the raptors were released, only Killian would be able to keep pace on his motorbike. All of the other support vehicles, including his brother and second trainer, Liam, would fall behind because of the weight of their vehicles, and Killian would be alone.

“You ready, brother?” Killian shouted over the rumble of engines, giving his brother a look over his shoulder.

“No, are you?” Liam replied, giving his brother a nervous look, his hands gripping the handlebars of his quad bike tighter than he should be.

Killian just exhaled, his toes digging into the dirt beside his bike, feet barely touching the ground as the machine inched forward because he was holding the throttle so constantly tight. He watched his breath dance in front of his face, the island falling much cooler tonight than any other, but it would be no help with a cold blooded prey that could thermoregulate. Killian looked off to the left where the new boy who had almost been eaten was perched up high above the raptor boxes, thumb hovering over the warning and release buttons, waiting on the command.

Killian nodded and the warning button was pressed, a siren sounding that indicated the doors were about to open. Killian revved his bike a few times to flood his carburettor with more fuel to warm the engine, before he gave the boy another nod and the boy looked over the railing, nervously watching for the four beasts to emerge as he pressed the button. The doors all sprung open at the same time and the raptors flew out, barely visible in the darkness as they screeched like baying hounds who had just found the scent of a fox.

#jw au #cs ff #cs au #csff #jurassic world au #killian jones #emma swan #henry #not sure on his surname here #happy birthday Krystal!