#but apparently i am a space cadet

[ub-sessed]

Not only did I somehow manage to not join my selvages AGAIN, but I forgot to check if I'd joined my selvages until I'd changed yarns TWICE. The bright green is Loops & Threads Soft & Shiny, which is a bitch to work with, so I'm going to put in a lifeline before I frog it.

I am not up to dealing with this tonight though. This is a tomorrow project.

#double knitting #and i was so pleased with how this square was turning out #repeat after me: #i am allowed to be bad a knitting #knitblr #knitting #selvages #double knitting selvage #brain fog #i swear I've been so careful too make sure my yarns are crossed at the beginning of each row #but apparently i am a space cadet #double knit blanket #this is square no. 4 #it is very stripey #which means a million ends to weave in #my knitting

[sinsandsuccubus]

Hi love can you do an Urban overstimulation and sub space smut? then fluffy aftercare?

Space Cadet - Urban Wyatt

Context: "Bought a spaceship, now I'm a space cadet"

Genre: Smut

Word Count: 1.5k

Pairings: Sub!Urban Wyatt X Fem!Dom!Reader

Warning: 18+! , sexual activity

A/N: I didn’t know if you meant Urban being in a subspace or the reader being in a sub space, so i wrote it for Urban as we are all a whore for Sub!Urban

-

Please DO NOT ENGAGE if not 18+. Reader's discretion is advised. I am not responsible if YOU CHOOSE to continue.

-

Masterlist ☽☾

                                          ☽ ☾

“Aww, my poor baby. Do you want mommy to touch you?” You cooed, your fingers ghosting Urban’s warm skin. His eyes were rimmed with lust, fist clenching the sheets as he remained tied down by the restraints you had put him in.

Tonight was one of Jack’s pop-up appearances, and Urban decided to act like a whore, for lack of a better word.

So you decided to teach him a lesson.

If he was going to act like a whore, you were going to treat him like a whore. Plain and simple.

You remained unfazed as you ran your manicured nail over the print of his dick in his boxers, the tent very apparent.

“Please touch me Y/N.” He spoke, earning a light slap to the face.

“What did you call me?”

“Y/N.”

“And what are you supposed to call me?”

“Mommy…”

“Good boy.” You cooed as you dipped your hand into his boxers, swiping your thumb over the tip before withdrawing your hand, licking the precum off your fingers; Urban letting out a gasp.

“Mm, you taste so good baby. I might just have to…” You swiftly removed his boxers, immediately taking his heavy dick into your mouth. He thrusted upwards, forcing your gag reflect as you quickly pulled back.

“No mommy, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Mm, baby, you know about thrusting into mommy’s mouth.”

“M’sorry. M’so sorry.” He spoke rushed, his fingers turning white against the sheets.

“It’s okay baby, I forgive you… this once.” And you took his cock back into your mouth, all the way down to the base, his pubic bone brushing up against your nose.

You moaned around him, the vibrations sending shivers up his spine.

“Fuck mommy, your mouth feels so good.” You slowly withdrew yourself from him, moving to stroke his cock in both of your hands, the tip becoming harshly red.

“I know it does baby. I know. And I’ll tell you what, if you apologize to me, I’ll let you fuck my face and then consider riding you. Does that sound good baby?”

“Please mommy. Please please please.”

“Start apologizing Urby.” He paused as he swallowed his spit.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry for behaving as I did. I’m sorry for acting out. I’m-“

“You’re sorry for acting like a what? Go on, say it.”

“M’sorry for acting like a whore. I won’t do it again.”

“Mm, good boy.” And at that you hovered your face over his cock, nudging his hips with your fingers.

“Go on, fuck my throat baby. Go ahead.” You couldn’t even finish the sentence before Urban was having his way with your throat, your gagging making him moan out even more.

You braced your hands on his thighs as his thrusting became harsh, grunts and moans leaving his plump lips.

A pool of saliva sat at the base of his cock, forming a ring of cream.

You moaned at the idea of him making himself feel good, the vibrations sending shivers up his body, goosebumps appearing on the surface.

His hips because to stutter, cock twitching in your mouth, letting you know that he was close. You swiftly pulled away, Urban’s cock twitching against his stomach, ever so slightly making jumps into the air.

“Mommy..” He whined, tugging on the restraints in discomfort.

“It’s okay pretty boy, mommy’s got you.” You moved off his body, stripping down to nothing.

You straddled his hips once again, bending over, exposing the apple of your ass in the air, tits lining up with Urban’s dick.

Slowly, you began to tit-fuck him, shaft sliding up and down the valley of your breast smoothly due to the salvia that had collected before.

Urban’s moans, groans and pants echoed in the room, his cock twitching within the grip of your tits.

“Mm, let me know when you’re about to cum baby, okay? Make sure to tell mommy.” You cooed at your boyfriend, smiling at his appearance.

His eyes were squeezed shut from the pleasure he was feeling, legs shaking.

You began kitten-licking the tip, paying extra attention to the slit. Swirling your tongue over the head, you took as much of it in your mouth as the angle allowed, sucking the soul out of him.

“M-mommy, m’gonna cum. Can I cum? Please mommy, I wanna cum.”

“Mm.” You pondered the thought before withdrawing yourself once more.

“No.”

Cries and whines echoed the room as you got up to straddle him, folding his dick to rest against his stomach. Hovering over him, you laid your pussy over his shaft, folds gliding against it.

You moved back and forth at an agonizing pace, arousal spreading amongst his dick, precum gathering on his stomach.

“Does that feel good pretty boy? Hmm?” Urban nodded his head, thrashing against the sheets. You lightly tapped his face with your fingers, his ocean blue eyes reflecting into yours.

“I need words baby.”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“Yes mommy.”

“Good boy.”

You began to pick up your pace, moaning alongside Urban as you brought him closer to his orgasm.

“Are you gonna cum?”

“Mhmm, yes mommy. M’gonna cum.”

“Cum for me baby. Go ahead and cum.”

Large ropes of his seed landed on his stomach, going up to his chest. He thrashed and moaned against the sheets, pulling at the restraints as he came down from his high.

Except you weren’t letting him come down.

Swiftly, without him noticing, you slipped his cock inside of you, bouncing up and down on him.

“Ohfuckohfuck, mommy no. Please, fuck. I’m sensitive, please.”

“You gotta get me off baby, I know you can do it.” You quickened your pace, rotating and spelling your full name on his dick.

Leaning down, you licked the ropes of cum off his chest, licking his nipples in the process.

"Please mommy, can I touch you? I wanna touch you, please."

You moved to remove the restraints, ropes coming off his wrist, to which he wrapped himself around you, situating his body to thrust up into you.

“Ohfuck, oh fuck oh fuck, Urban baby.”

“Fuck, you feel so good, you feel so fucking good mommy.”

“Let’s cum together Urby, cum with me, cum with me baby, fill me up. Put a baby in me.”

And he came once more.

A lot.

A lot.

You could feel the cum oozing out of you as you squirted on him, pussy gripping him up like a vice.

You watched as he fell back into the pillow, eyes shutting as his hips moved on their own. You watched as his body sank into the sheets, eyes shutting softly. You took notice of the subspace he entered, removing yourself from him as he whimpered.

Kissing his forehead, you wiped the sweat that dampened his skin, watching as his eyes fluttered under your touch.

“Baby?”

“Hmm.”

“You okay?”

“M’okay mommy.”

“It’s okay baby, I’m Y/N now, you don’t have to call me mommy.”

“Okay…”

“I’m gonna run a bath, you rest up okay?”

“M’kay. Love you.”

“Love you more baby.”

                                          ☽ ☾

The bath water was perfect for both of you, a lavender bathroom making the water turn purple, littered with petals.

Urban rested against your chest, his hair damp as you cleaned his beautiful locks.

"How are you feeling baby?

"Good. Really good."

"Was it too much? Did I go too far?"

"No, no baby, it was perfect. I really enjoyed it."

"Okay, I'm glad." You leaned forward to kiss his neck, moving to scrub his sweaty body with the lavender-sleep-soap you'd bought a little while back.

You massaged his back and shoulders, moving your hands up his neck, littering kisses every now and then.

"Thank you, baby."

"You're welcome, pretty boy."

                                          ☽ ☾

After a long and cleansing bath, you and Urban remained tangled in the sheets, his hair tucked into the pink bonnet you got him. You stroked his chest, listening to his deep breaths.

“I’m sorry Y/N, I know how much it hurts you. And I promise I’ll make an effort to do better.” He spoke out from underneath you.

“Old habits die hard.”

“Baby..”

“Don’t do it again Urban, it hurts.”

“I won’t. I promise. I know that was my lifestyle before, and I have no excuse to continue, especially since I have you. Someone who I absolutely love and adore. So I promise I’ll do better.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay baby. I trust you.”

“I love you Y/N, more than you’ll ever know.”

“I love you too Urby.”

And the two of you fell asleep, warm and entangled in the fresh sheets.

-

Tags ♡

@heavyhitterheaux

@vegan4jack

@velvetstreets

@harlowsbby

@harlowcomehome

@raelorns21

@jackharlowsbabe

@harlowthot

@hoodharlow

@lcandothisallday

@pianoisland

#urban wyatt #urban wyatt x reader #urban wyatt smut #urban wyatt fanfiction #urban wyatt fan fic #urban wyatt fic #urban wyatt concept #urban wyatt imagine #urban wyatt x y/n #urban wyatt x you

[sshbpodcast]

Won’t someone think of the children?! A Dal R'El Appreciation Post

By Ames

Okay, I meant to only do a Rok-Tahk appreciation post because a) she’s the best and b) who has the time to write all these blogposts? But I just can’t help myself. The community’s efforts to #SaveStarTrekProdigy have motivated me to keep the posts going, so here’s some more love for Star Trek: Prodigy. These installments probably won’t be as intense as the Rok post, but check out what makes Dal R'El such a great character.

[images © CBS/Paramount… I guess? For now? Yikes.]

Dal starts off as a terrible captain

The great thing about starting off a character with a lot of messed up personality flaws is that there’s that much room for them to grow. Like I said in Rok’s post: Perfect characters are boring. We saw a similar guided development in Julian Bashir in Deep Space Nine; he was downright unlikable early on until his relationships with other characters on the station gave him some foundation and his experience throughout the seasons provided the building blocks to becoming an ethical, respectable, and likable person. We’re seeing the same thing with Dal, whom we first see as a jerk for a lot of the show. He’s selfish. He’s clueless. He sees his crew members as things that do his bidding while he only does what’s best for him. You’re meant to hate his character. And that’s a good thing, because he’s not done cooking.

Dal comes clean to Janeway

One of the first really redeeming moments we see from Dal is when he first comes clean to Janeway about being Starfleet at the top of “Time Amok.” Damn, I just can’t say enough good things about that episode apparently. It provides so many learning moments for the characters, as you can see in spades in Rok’s plot in that episode as well. Dal could have continued the lie that they are cadets, but he’s growing. And out of some combination of frustration, guilt, and finally doing the right thing, he starts thinking of people other than himself. “Time Amok” is the perfect place for that first step in the right direction since it’s when the kids start acting like a crew themselves, way near the midseason break! Baby steps, Dal. He’s getting there.

Dal has inner demons

The longer character arc for Dal over the course of the season is his quest to find out who his people are. Being the only one of his kind is a huge weight for him to bear, and his loneliness guides his character for better or for worse (very frequently for worse, as mentioned above). He feels alone and so it’s fitting for his character to look out for only himself. It’s a long road to discovering his origins in “Masquerade,” an episode which expounds on his character isolation right when he was feeling like he might belong, and turning that character trait on its head by shifting it to his being an abomination. Dal is incredibly fragile, and it’s only through love from his friends that he starts to accept that he doesn’t need a family because he already has one in them. Sure, that’s a cutesy message, but it’s a kid’s show. Duh.

Dal goes fast

Okay, this one’s silly, but considering the whole Star Trek franchise has decided for some reason that all captains need a catchphrase and also a comical little metascene about them creating their catchphrase, Dal’s quote “Go fast” is probably my favorite. Okay, Captain Pike’s “Hit it” is pretty good too and always delivered excellently (that man can say anything and it’ll sound great), but there’s something innocent and sweet about “Go fast.” Dal is almost always out of his element when captaining the Protostar, and shows his naïveté by calling things childish names like the “pew pew button” and the “beamy part,” and it’s all a nice little giggle because he’s a kid. “Go fast” is the sort of silly that’s appropriate for his character, who is faking it until he makes it. And boy does he make it! Go Dal! 

We love you, Dal! We love the other crew members of the Protostar too! We love Star Trek: Prodigy! Check out the other character appreciation posts for Rok-Tahk, Gwyndala, Jankom Pog, and Zero while you’re here. I know I can speak for not only the other hosts here at A Star to Steer Hey By but for myriad other fans when I seriously hope someone picks up this wonder of a show. We’re really looking forward to seeing more from these amazing child characters, and we’re seriously wishing we get that opportunity. #SaveStarTrekProdigy

#star trek #star trek podcast #podcast #star trek prodigy #prodigy #save prodigy #save star trek prodigy #dal r'el #augments

[xxiamtiebrousxx]

Chapter Two "REDs and BLUs" (My Fortress Home | Tf2 x Reader)

I felt sick in the gut, like I was about to throw up. The doctors checked me and said everything was fine, but I should rest. I was in bed, drinking warm milk. My uncle was in the other room, working on fixing the bug and talking to Gabe on the phone. So far, no one else experienced the same problem I did. The whole system had to be rebooted. Luckily, nothing was erased and progress was saved. There were some issues with the customizable tenth class. Apparently, there was only one look. No one could change it.

Last night seemed so real, yet fake. I prayed it was a dream. I put my cup on the nightstand next to my bed. I finished the milk, leaving no drop. I was getting sleepy. Yesterday was exhausting. Staying up til midnight was a bad idea. I yawned, stretching and closing my eyes. I snuggled under the covers and fell asleep. 

I dreamt I was in a dark space with bright words. 

PRESS START, they read. There was a small button below it. Curiosity got the best of me and I hit it.

I woke up. There was this pain in my back. I was lying on the dirt ground. I was staring at the ceiling of 2Fort again. This time, it was a new round, or a new day. The sound of a sentry beeping caused me to jump on my feet. It was built by the BLU engineer, Dell Conagher to be exact. I looked down at my suit. It was blue. The sentry would not attack me. So I moved from where I was previously murdered. 

“Howdy,” Dell said, noticing me. My heart started to race. If this was a dream, then it wouldn’t hurt to interact.

“Hi,” I replied.

“Are you new here?” he asked. He upgraded his sentry to a level two with a swing of his wrench.

“Yeah, I am,” I answered. “I’m (Class name).”

“Nice to meet ya,” Dell said. “Ah’m the Engineer of this team.” I smiled just as Soldier came up from behind. He was on the same team as well. 

“Who’s this?” he asked.

“I’m (class name),” I said. “I’m new here.” He scrunched up his nose.

“You’ll do,” he mumbled. ‘C’mon cadet,” he said, taking my hand. “You are needed on the battlefield, I have a plan.” I yelped as he dragged me off. The bridge was on fire as the RED Pyro chased our team Scout. Heavy finished killing off the Spy that backstabbed me the other day. It was bad news for the Heavy because Spy decloaked and killed him using the spy-cicle. “Stand here,” Soldier said. Spy walked over, twirling his weapon around.

“Didn’t I kill you just the other day?” he asked. I glared at him.

“Yeah,” I replied, crossing my arms.

“Weren’t you on the RED side?” 

“Yeah, I don’t know what happened,” I said. “Team balance I guess.” 

“Alright cadet,” Soldier said. “I need you to hold still.”

“What do you plan on doing with the new trainee?” Spy asked. He flicked ashes off his cigarette. Soldier made a frame with his fingers.

“I’m trying a new skill. The newbie seems the perfect training dummy to try this technique on,” he replied. I scoffed.

“You can’t use me for that,” I said. “I’m new here. I’m certain the Administrator won’t allow you to do this to me.” I walked off. There was a loud explosion and a pair of feet harshly pushed against my back. I watched as Soldier bounced off me and leaped for the sky, coming down upon the Red Scout and knocking him out.

“Huh, it worked,” Spy said. In a puff of smoke, he was disguised as Scout. He gently took my hand and kissed it. “I’ll see you around,” he said. He turned invisible. Soldier walked back.

“Weren’t you just dressed in blue?” he asked. 

“Huh?” I looked down. My suit changed back to red. I sighed. “You’re not gonna hurt me, are you?” I asked. Soldier shook his head.

“Nah, it’s probably team balance,” he said. “Look, see.” My suit started to glitch between the colors again. I sighed again. “Maybe you can walk around and stay out of trouble,” Soldier said.

“That sounds good,” I answered. 

“I’ll see you around, cadet,” he said, rocket jumping away. I entered the RED base. Medic followed Heavy, charging his Uber. Both of them took a quick glance at me before running off. Both Spies bumped into each other and now chased after the other. 

“Mmmph!” Pyro called out. He ran up to me and hugged me.

“Oh, hey!” I said, patting his back. “Miss me?”

“Mmmph,” he said. He looked up to me, the nose of his mask gently bumping my face. He let go. “Mmph mmph mmph mmph,” he said. He took my hand and led me to the battlements. Sniper was there, reloading his rifle. “Mmph mmph,” Pyro said. “Mmph mmph mmphmmph mmph.”

“Hi,” I said. 

“Hey,” Sniper replied. “Pyro ‘ere says you’re new.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” I said. I stuffed my hands into my pockets, but realized I didn’t have any. Just some pouches attached to my belt. I rubbed my nose. “Pyro here, or someone hopefully, will be showing me the ropes.” Sniper stood up.

“That’s funny, the Administrator never said anything about a new member,” he said. 

“Well, maybe she forgot to announce it,” I said. Had I not been oblivious to the rocket coming for us, I probably could have taken Sniper and Pyro out of range and no damage would have come to us.

But it did.

The rocket blasted us three ways. I felt the pain as my bones broke, blood squirted out, and my back harshly landed against the wall. “Not again,” I mumbled. A screen appeared before me. I could see both RED and BLU running around, shooting at each other. Scout managed to capture the BLU intel and ran out. I swiped the screen and it changed. I watched as Heavy shot down Demoman and Soldier. Engineer was in the corner, doing a small happy dance and Pyro, followed by Sniper, left the respawn. 

I didn’t respawn. The timer that was usually seen above the screen wasn’t counting down. My view slowly faded out into the darkness and I passed out.

My uncle knocked on the door, opening it slightly. I opened my eyes, snapping back to reality. I was back and I was alive. I looked at my clock. It was seven in the morning when I fell asleep. It was now twelve in the afternoon.

“Hey, how are ya?” he asked.

“Fine,” I replied. “I'm still a little shaken.” He sighed.

“I’m having (Friend’s name) come over,” he said. “I have to fix some stuff back at the office, I’ll be back soon.” 

“Okay.” He closed the door. I heard the garage door open and the car engine start. I got out of bed and watched as U/n drove away. I jumped onto my laptop, turning it on. F/n’s car pulled up as if they were waiting already. They drove in the driveway, the trunk of the car sticking out a bit. They pulled the spare key out of the lavender’s pot and opened the front door.

“Y/NNNN! I’M HERE!” they called out.

“In here,” I replied. They walked into my room, dropping a six-pac of Seven Up on my bed. 

“You should be resting,” they said, removing their sunglasses.

“Yeah, I know,” I replied, “but I have to check something.” I logged into Team Fortress. Nothing crashed this time. I sighed, closing my laptop. “I’ve confirmed it.”

“Confirmed what?” F/n asked.

“That I did not get sucked into TF2 and it was all a dream,” I said. F/n was on their phone, scrolling through. 

“Cool,” they said. I scoffed. They looked up. “What, you don’t think I agree that getting sucked in a video game is cool?”

“No, you just sounded like you didn’t care,” I answered. I opened my laptop and opened up Google. I opened the Team Fortress wiki. There was a new update and news. 

“Pfft, I like Team Fortress whatever it’s called too,” they said. I laughed sarcastically, returning my attention to the screen. I clicked on the Update tab. F/n was watching too and dropped their phone.

“A new class has been added,” they said, reading the words on the screen. “Please welcome (Class Name), the newest addition to Team Fortress.” I yelped, closing the tab. My phone began to ring. Messages from U/n started to pop up. 

“Ignore them, ignore them!” I exclaimed, pushing my phone away. F/n rolled their eyes and took my phone. They unlocked my phone. 

“Woah, that’s a lot of messages,” they said. They scrolled through. “Wow, they have a model  that looks just like you.” F/n was right. They showed me photos on their phone. The newest member looked just like me. It was me! I wore the same costume I wore in the past two dreams. The phone began to ring. “Hello?” F/n asked. “It’s for you.” I was handed the phone.

“Hello?” I meekly said.

“Y/n! Have you seen the news?!?” U/n exclaimed. “What happened last night?!?”

“I don’t know!” I replied. “I was waiting for the update when it crashed. I blacked out and-and…” I looked at the game screen that just popped up. I gasped, reading the words.

PRESS START

WELCOME, (CLASS NAME).

#Romance #Team Fortress 2 x reader #tf2 x Reader #Tf2 Sniper X Reader #Tf2 Spy X Reader #Tf2 Medic X Reader #Tf2 Heavy X Reader #Tf2 Demoman x reader #tf2 Engineer x reader #tf2 Pyro X Reader #Tf2 Scout x reader #tf2 Soldier x Reader #X Reader #Fanfiction #Humor #video games #tf2 #team fortress 2

[bigbrainkatrina]

Once Burned - a Kim Possible/Shego spy thriller

One year ago, Shego went under a deep cover mission with the Bermuda Triangle. Things turned sour fast and Shego betrayed Global Justice. In a desperate Hail Mary, Kim tries to retrieve her, and learns that things aren't quite what they seem.

“Kim… um, I—I can’t go with you.”

“Ron?”

“I… can’t do this anymore. You a-and me, it’s not working, I know you know that—”

“...Ron. Please don’t do this.”

“KP—I don’t   want   to do this. They’re—they’re making me.”

“Making you? R-Ron, we need to go stop the Seniors. Can you just—”

“You can   handle   the Seniors, Kim. All that we do, you got it. I’m—I’m Class A and you’re Class B…”

“But… no, Ron.”

“Betty wants me doing… I don’t know, bigger things, bigger things I can’t tell you about. I’m sorry, I… I have to do this, Kim. My powers need me to do this and… it’s just—the mission stuff. It’s all we have that’s making   us   work, and I’m… sorry, KP. I don’t want to hurt you, I just…”

“Ron, I love you. Whatever you need me to do to keep you here, I’ll… I’ll…”

“KP, it’s over. And I love you too. I love you more than you can understand.”

“So why are you doing this?!”

“God, I’m sorry, I… I gotta go. You gotta go too. You gotta go save the world now. Alone.”

“No… no! Ron, I can’t—I can’t do it without you, I—”

“No Kim. You can. Remember: you can do anything.”

“Kim, are you with us?”

~~KP~~

 10 Years Later

Kim snaps out of her reprieve and takes a moment to collect her surroundings.

Rumbling all over. The steel plated floor vibrates against her palm. Her breaths are shallow and she feels cold. She pulls her winter coat closer to her purple tunic and looks to her right, where the friendly yet concerned voice is coming from.

Wade Load. Now twenty five years old, he’s as plump as ever with some facial scruff. Still weird seeing him in person. 

“Finally awake, eh?” he jokes.

Kim frowns. She’s in a Global Justice aircraft, with a parachute loaded backpack strapped tightly to her torso. By this point, they should be soaring over Colorado. Over Middleton. She hasn’t been there in years. 

Too bad it’s for a mission. 

“And they call  me  a space cadet with my head in the clouds,” a nasally voice whines from her left. That surprises her. Who else could be here—Drakken. Doctor Drakken. A blue man with a ratty ponytail and scar below his left eye. He wears his traditional lab coat and a thick winter coat like her. She looks ahead.

“Sorry, yeah, I spaced out,” Kim mutters. “Which one of you am I working with again?”

Wade raises an eyebrow. “You don’t know? Kim, c’mon.”

“Oh no! No no no no no no!” Kim gasps in a panic, simultaneously whipping her whole body against her hips to look at Drakken, her apparent partner. “Not  you , right? Please tell me I’m not—”

“I’m crushed!” Drakken moans. 

Kim rolls her eyes. “Who thought this was a good idea? It’s a joke, right?”

“Aw geez, Kim, dude,” Wade frowns. “He’s right there. And for the record, this is on  you  for not playing nice with Team Impossible.”

“Those guys suck,” Kim grumbles, looking back over at Drakken again. “I’ve worked with them, you, Hego, Will Du, Felix, Monique, Bonnie, I mean, guys, I’ve worked with  Junior  of all people! And the one time,  the one time  I worked with someone who could actually keep up with me—uh, no offense Wade.”

“None taken,” Wade frowns.

Kim continues, throwing her hands into the air, “The one time I worked with someone who could actually keep up with me, she turned out to be evil!”

“Evil?” Wade echoes with confusion. Drakken raises an eyebrow with a similar energy. “You mean Shego? When did you work with Shego?”

“Yes, I don’t recall that, Kimberly Ann,” Drakken frowns.

Kim winces; she wasn’t supposed to bring that up. “Uh, sorry, I must have been thinking about the Lowardian Invasion or something… heh heh.”

Wade observes Kim carefully, then shrugs. “Okaaaaaay.”

Drakken leans forward with a sharp intake of breath, as if he’s about to say something important. But instead his face falls and he leans back into place. “I’ll have you know, Kimberly Ann, that I’m much geniuser than Shego! I think you’ll be quite surprised by my abilities on the field.”

Kim stares blankly at him. “Uh huh… okay, Wade, how about you sitch us already?”

Wade rolls his eyes, and pulls a remote out from his GJ uniform. He clicks a button, and the hatch before Kim and Drakken opens up, revealing the cold night sky. Vicious winds rush through, whistling and howling. 

“You both have five seconds to make the jump,” Wade says carelessly.

“Oh okay,” Kim chirps.

“What?!” Drakken blurts out, going pale in the blue face. “Wait—can we, erm, do a flyaround—”

Wade smirks. “No.”

Kim pats Drakken on the shoulder playfully. “See you in a few, Drak.”

She jumps. Her ponytail whips behind her head, and the wind rushes into her face. She grits her teeth through it, forcing her eyes to stay open.

Down below, she sees what looks to be some kind of military compound. There’s gray warehouse after gray warehouse, all arranged in a grid. From up high, the streetlamps appear to her as blips and they are beautiful.

She smiles and spreads her arms like wings. Despite the circumstances, she feels calm. 

Behind her, she hears a distant shriek. 100% it’s Wade physically shoving Drakken out of the plane. But soon it fades as the wind overcomes her. Until Wade starts talking in her earpiece.

“ Montgomery Fiske, also known as Monkey Fist, has threatened to level the entire state of Colorado with two nuclear bombs  …” Wade monologues. “  ...unless Ron is to sacrifice his powers to him, which is not an option. ”

Kim narrows her eyes; from her understanding, Ron is off-world right now, defending Earth from invading Lowardians. The Lowardian Invasion back in ‘07 was just the beginning.

“ We have managed to pinpoint the location of the bombs to the Villain Timeshare Labs located in Middleton  ,” Wade explains. “  Your mission is to defuse both. We don’t know where the bombs are, so Kim you should take the West Side of the compound and Drew, I think you should go East.”

“ Which way is East ?” Drakken moans, only able to be heard through her earpiece. 

Kim rolls her eyes. “It’s behind you, Big D.”

“ Don’t call me that. ” 

Kim smirks, and focuses on what’s ahead. The timeshare lab complex gets closer, and closer, the ground enlarging and giving way to more and more detail. Tiny black dots patrol the warehouses, they must be Monkey Fist’s army of monkey ninjas. 

She aims her body like a rocket, falling and falling. The skylight to her chosen warehouse grows near and at the last second, Kim flips mid flight, and she pulls the string on her parachute. 

Fwoomp!

The parachute pulls against her, dragging her out of her dead fall. She lands on the roof beside the skylight, and drops a knee. Waits for some change in formation from down below, but there’s nothing. Apparently none of the Monkey Ninjas saw her. (She assumes the black dots are Monkey Ninjas… though from her vantage point the troops look awfully tall to be Monkey Ninjas.)

The timeshares are arranged in a grid, unfortunately too far apart for her to go roof jumping. Without proper intel, she can’t even ‘skip’ this warehouse so she tiptoes to the dead center of the roof where there’s a skylight. Quietly she goes for her laser lipstick, and starts blasting out the bolts to the skylight. It’s something that she’s done a million times over, so she takes a look around and notices two problems right off the bat.

Firstly, Drakken has already unleashed his parachute… practically one mile into the air. 

Kim growls into her earpiece. “Drakken, what are you doing?!”

“ What am I doing?  ” he repeats sarcastically. “  I’m not Tom Cruise, Kimberly Ann; I’m playing it safe! ”

“Safe? You’re like a sitting duck up there!” Kim seethes. “If they see you—”

“ Kim  ,” Wade interrupts. “  I’m with you, but he can’t exactly fold his parachute back in—we’ll deal with it. Move on. ”

Kim grinds her teeth then shrugs it off. “Tell me about the ninjas—oh shit, hold on—” The final bolt skips out of its socket, and the skylight falls… but Kim catches it. Heavy, the massive piece of glass dips into the warehouse. Awkward to hold, Kim tenses and manages to lift the skylight up through the gap, and set it aside. She throws one foot through the gap, and readies her grapple line. “—I’m back. But the ninjas… those aren’t monkeys, right?”

The ninjas aren’t monkeys at all, she noticed while yelling at Drakken that they were walking, talking humans. 

“ No, I think those are people, which as you know isn’t Monkey Fist’s M.O.,  ” Wade sighs. “  I’m trying to ID them, but I got nothing. ”

“No ID, huh,” Kim sighs to herself. That sounds familiar to her, but she can’t quite place where it’s coming from. But out of her vast rogue’s gallery and network of connections, she knows someone who Wade wouldn’t be able to ID… but who?

She drops down into the warehouse, her grapple line unspooling. She lands on a hard cement floor and the lights turn on in her presence, shining through the windows like a beacon. “Oh great.”

Slamming at the door. Kim scans her surroundings: lots of golf clubs and barrels of exploding golf balls. Not much else. Definitely Duff Killigan’s. How classic of him to be so one-note. She snags a golf club from one of the duffel bags and spins it in her hand. Looks like a Driver club, at least, as far as she knows. Her only experience with golf is from Wii Golf, which she played with Ron before the break-up. 

The steel door flies off its hinges, and smoke pours into the room in a flurry. Two black-hooded heads that just peek over the top of the smog rush into the room, running in opposite directions. 

Kim leans into her heel and lets the two ninjas surround her.

She grins, and the ninjas charge her with a series of kicks and punches. Kim spins the golf club around her like a bow-staff in figure-eights and precise spins.  Clack! Clack! Clack! Flesh strikes steel in precise jabs. 

Kim blocks every blow coming her way. Trained as the ninjas might be, they telegraph their movements immediately. 

“It’s amateur hour, fellas,” Kim snarks.

A kick to the hip, a punch to the chin, a swipe at the neck, it doesn’t matter, she spins her golf club where she needs to, and emerges unscathed.

The ninja on her left goes by a high kick to the chin. Smirking, Kim slashes her club into the air and manages to hook the Driver against the man’s ankle. He whines in pain and she drags his foot higher into the air then spikes the club downard, whipping the ninjas into the cement. 

Kim whirls around and faces the second ninja. He scuttles backwards, hands raised for defense, and she charges him. Cartwheels forward and tries to kick him in the chest with both feet. He throws his body backwards and she lands before him, leaving her wide open. She spins the club horizontally at his head, but he ducks the blow—but before he can fully slip away she flips the club in an underhanded spin, and precision jabs the goon in the face. His body shoots backwards and falls flat on the ground.

Kim smiles at her handiwork, but the moment is short-lived. From the skylight, another ninja drops down. With two sais in hand, he swings at her. With the hilts to each sword as pointed as the blade itself, curved like a trident, it’s a deadly weapon. He swings and swings and swings. Kim dodges and dodges and blocks! But the sai cuts clean through the golf club and the top half tumbles to the floor. Frowning, she tosses the broken club aside and goes for a daring move. Her hands snap forward and grab onto the ninja’s wrists. She pushes and he resists, but his arms shake more than her. She’s stronger. 

With the ninja’s arms locked in place, it leaves the guy’s front wide open. So Kim takes advantage, she swings her head down and bashes her skull against his. He falls backwards, hands losing their grip on the sais, which clatter to the floor.

Kim kicks high and nails the ninja in the face. He collapses, down for the count. 

Kkkkk!  A boot scrapes against cement behind her. Kim tries to whirl around to face the incoming ninja, the first one she downed, but she’s not fast enough. She hears the blades cut through the air, so instead Kim focuses on dodging. She playfully dodges to the left, hands folded behind her back. Another  shwing!  and she bobs to the right. She bobs about, dodging blow after blow. When he swings at her ankles, she hops into the air.

Again and again, the ninja pursues her, but he can’t hit her, and somehow, despite not being able to see him, Kim knows each and every move he’s pulling. 

How does she know? she wonders.

The ninja swings both sais at her neck. She knows that move. Ron used it sometimes when his powers were recharging.

Kim ducks the blow and her hands snap upwards, clamping onto the ninja’s wrist. She struggles, holding the ninja’s arms high in the air. Simultaneously, her arms stiffen, locked into place just like the ninja’s. Deadlocked and stuck, neither have the advantage… until Kim grits her teeth and manages to twist her hips enough to kick the ninja in the stomach. He doubles back, and Kim—unable to resist—yanks the ninja’s hood off his face. 

Hirotaka. From Yamanouchi. 

Yamanouchi gave its sword to Monkey Fist?

Yamanouchi is a secret;  of course Wade wouldn’t be able to ID them! It makes sense.

But it doesn’t matter\, at least for now. So Kim kicks Hirotaka in the face, and he collapses like a broken toy. Sais once again clatter to the floor. Kim looks ahead, throws off her winter coat finally, and runs out the door and into the open night air. Looks up and Drakken is  still  making his way down. She rolls her eyes and looks around in a panic.

“Where do I need to go, Wade?”

“ Cut through the two ahead of you  ,” Wade chirps. “  That’ll get to you Monkey Fist’s, that’s my best guess. Passwords are going to be Coco Moo, Niener and Die Ron, Die. ”

“ Die Ron, Die is with spaces?” Kim notes.

“ And a comma, yeah. Monty’s has gotta be grammatically correct. ”

Kim stops at the first terminal to the first timeshare lab before her. Types it in rapidly. C-O-C-O M-O-O.

The door opens and Kim is greeted by a very familiar sight. Syntho-Drones lie dormant in their acid-filled glass containers, lined up along the walls. Kim hesitates, then sprints through. Takes in the sights. A death ray, a pool of electric eels, a few Weather Machines, and a mountain of cardboard boxes with cupcake logos.

She has to ask.

“Drakken, you—uh—still have your Timeshare Lab, huh?”

“ Hrm  ?” Drakken hums. “  Do I? ”

Kim laughs under her breath. “It’s been twelve years, Drew, you might want to, uh, get rid of this?”

“ I was wondering what that charge on my credit card was every month …”

Kim opens the door opposite the one she came in through and charges ahead to another Timeshare Lab. Types in the password. N-I-E-N-E-R and… this one is filled with plans. Charts and diagrams are smeared across the wall, alongside blueprints of evil devices and corporate ladders. It rings a bell but…

“ Hank Perkins, ” Wade answers for her.

“Hank Perkins!” she cries out with mirth. “I forgot about that guy. Uh, the villainy consultant, right?”

“ The same. ”

“ Ooh  !” Drakken cries out. “  Cupcake Hank? What’s it like in there? I’m in Dementor’s Timeshare right now  —” He pauses and repeats the name with disdain. “—  ugh, Dementor. But his Transportulator, WOW! Don’t tell him I said that though —” 

Kim blinks. “Drew, um, not to burst your bubble, but there’s a bomb going off soon? Maybe you should be, uh, looking for it?” 

“ Oh, erm, yes, I suppose…” Drakken mumbles, still in a trance.

“Drak!” Kim shouts as she exits Hank Perkins’s timeshare. “Up and at ‘em!”

“ Alright! ” he bemoans.

The next timeshare is up ahead, as ordinary as ever. She types in the password. D-I-E-R-O-N-,-D-I-E. The door opens revealing a dark space lit by torchlight. She slides to a stop and scans the space. Flickers of light illuminate aged and eroded monkey idols that are embedded into the walls. Kim keeps looking and at the center of the room she finds first of two bombs. The lid is already popped off, the wire exposed. She narrows her eyes and steps forward—

—only for Monkey Fist himself to drop down before her. Formerly raven black hair grayed with specks of white, his mutated skin aged and patchy, the years have not been kind to the monkey man.

Shuffling from outside as monkey ninjas crowd the entrance. Monkey Fist raises his hand, stopping the ninjas in place. He steps forward, the torchlight playing on his angry face.

“Where’s Stoppable?” Monkey Fist grunts, then looks at his minions. “Go. Find Dementor’s Transportulator, use it to escape.” He turns back to Kim. “Well?”

“Not coming,” Kim growls. “This is sick and wrong, Monty. You have to know that.”

Monkey Fist grinds his teeth. “What’s sick and wrong is that Stoppable child taking the Mystical Monkey Power from  me ! What’s sick and wrong is Stoppable being unwilling to sacrifice his powers to save millions of lives.”

“ Don’t let him talk, Kim  ,” Wade says. “  He’s stalling .”

Still though, Kim finds herself shaken. Because it is true. Doctor Director isn’t willing to give up Ron for  anything . It’s unlikely Ron even knows this caper is going down. 

Kim sprints at Monkey Fist, and Monkey Fist does the same.

“How long do we have?” she asks before shifting into a high kick at Monkey Fist’s jaw. 

“ Three minutes ,” Wade says, anxiety creeping into his voice. Ever confident in Kim’s abilities, it’s unlike him to be so stressed. Three minutes is plenty of time to make magic happen.

Monkey Fist leans back and his hand snaps at Kim’s ankle. He grabs it tight, and with all his might, he turns on his heel, and lifts Kim into the air. He swings her like a ragdoll, and throws her behind where he stood.

Kim spins through the air and soars over the bomb. It all happens fast, but in her mind’s eye things slow to a crawl. She looks down, and sees the matrix of wires looped over and over each other, and the sequence plays in her mind. Red-Purple-Green-Yellow-Brown-Blue-White. Her hands reach down and just as she passes over the bomb, she snatches the Red, Purple, and Green wires from their spots. Lands on her haunches and stares at Monkey Fist. 

“Stoppable’s not here, Monty. Because he’s Class A and you’re a Class B Threat. But I’m here,” Kim growls. “And I’m going to stop you.”

She vaults forward and flips over the bomb. It plays in her mind again as time slows. Yellow-Brown-Blue-White. She snags three of them, leaving the lone white wire behind and cartwheels over to Monkey Fist to—

—it doesn’t matter, Monkey Fist strikes first. Sends his leg crashing into her back as she flips forward. 

Crack!

Kim hits the floor, dust from the flooring smearing her tunic. She tries to boost herself up, but Monkey Fist presses one bare foot against her stomach. She squirms under his hold. He smirks and, before she can recover, he stomps her face in, heel of his foot nailing her in the nose. Her head bounces back, striking cement and rebounding up, blood squirting out of her nose, her face bruised. 

Monkey Fist goes for another stomp.

This time Kim reaches into her utility belt and comes back with a pistol. Aims it right at Monty’s face. He flinches and so does she.

Twelve years of being a Global Justice agent and she’s still never killed someone. 

Monkey Fist takes advantage of her lapse in judgment, and snatches the gun from her hands. Points it at her face. 

“Well, Miss Possible,” Monkey Fist tuts. “You’re quite the worthy adversary, and I do not enjoy our play, but if you die… well, they’ll just have to send Stoppable, won’t they?”

Kim presses her teeth together, trying to suppress the smile itching at the corner of her lips. 

And Monkey Fist fires.

Click! A hollow sound. He frowns and raises the gun to his eye level. Presses the trigger again and nothing. 

“What?” he exclaims.

In Monkey Fist’s lapse of focus, Kim strikes. Hits him like a freight train. Snaps her legs around Monkey Fist’s waist and flips him onto the floor. He hits it hard, the gun sliding out of his hand, not that it matters. She never loaded the thing so that she’d never be able to use it. Makes for a good sleight of hand at a moment’s notice however. 

Before Monkey Fist can regain his footing, Kim charges him. Grabs him by the waist and flips him completely upside down over her shoulder, then piledrives him headfirst into the floor. She feels him crash into the cement, his body twisting and contorting as she squeezes his body in like an accordion. Finally, when he can take no more abuse, he collapses in a heap, and so does she, at least briefly. She stumbles back up, and runs at the bomb, plucking out the white wire. 

The bomb shuts down with little fanfare. 

“Alright, that’s one down,” she barks into her earpiece. “We’ve got eyes on the other one?”

Wade answers immediately. “ Yes, it’s in DNAmy’s, but uh—we’ve got a problem. ”

Kim thinks for a second and starts her jog to DNAmy’s—wherever that is—and responds. “He forgot the sequence?”

“ Kind of, I’m trying to talk him through it, but the bomb sprayed him with some gas. Made his eyes like a dog’s or whatever, he can’t see color. Look, I’d talk it through with him, but I don’t know where the wires go. I only know the colors and I was thinking —”

“That won’t work, I don’t trust him to follow directions,” Kim charges into the open night air and turns. Her limbs snap against their joints, pushing her ahead as quickly as possible. 

Then Monkey Fist rounds the corner behind her, giving chase on all fours. Kim looks over her shoulder and sighs.

“ But Kim! You have one minute !”

“One minute is plenty.”

“ No it’s not! ”

“I don’t care,” Kim snaps. “Directions, I need directions.”

“Kim, you’re killing me over here,” Wade growls. “You’re going the right way. Pass by three more timeshares and it’ll be on the right.”

Sweat beads on her forehead. She wants to have faith in herself, she always cuts it close like this… but something about this whole caper feels… off.  First, the Yamanouchi Ninjas. Then Monkey Fist’s point about Ron being a no-show. But that is what they do at Global Justice; they don’t negotiate with terrorists. 

Now there’s this. Can she make it? Can she do it?

“ Remember  ,” Ron said long ago when they broke up. “  You can do anything. ”

And she can. She knows she can. She can—she can—she sees the timeshare up ahead. Panics. She doesn’t know the password, she doesn’t know the—

Another line plays in her mind.  Cuddle Monkey  . DNAmy used to call Monty her  Cuddle Monkey . 

She types in the code.

C-U-D-D-L-E-M-O-N-K-E-Y.

“Kim, the password is—”

“I know what the password is!” Kim snaps. “I just need to… need to… yes, door’s open, we must have thirty seconds, right?”

“ You have ten, Kim .”

Her heart nearly stops. She sees Drakken crouched helplessly over the bomb, she sees the wires. Around them, animals float in tankards. Experiments-to-be. She rushes to the center of the floor, drops a knee. Starts plucking away.

Red-Purple—Blue? No, Green! 

Her hands hover above the wires, her jaw drops. 

“ Kim  ?” Wade chokes from his end. “  Five. Four. Three …”

She remembers. Red Purple Green… she plucks them out as the colors flash in her mind. Yellow. Brown. Blue. 

The final wire: White. 

She reaches for it and—

—and—

Boom.

                                                            The bomb goes off. Heat pushes against Kim’s body, the light is blinding. She braces herself and—

—a globe of blue light materializes around the explosion, trapping the fire from escaping. Flame pushes against the blue light, and curls backwards like a wave. The explosion surges against itself, and Kim opens her eyes. Slowly, the globe of blue light shrinks inwards, and then becomes so small it crushes the explosion out of sight, out of reality. 

“Nooooo!” Monkey Fist howls, snapping Kim from her reprieve. “Where’s the kaboom?! There was supposed to be an earth shattering kaboo—”

Boom.

Blue light explodes again, this time into a portal at least twelve feet tall. Light flashes from within, the light within the portal airy like storm clouds. Drakken and Monkey Fist both turn on the portal, jaws agape, not sure what to expect. But Kim? Kim groans and smacks her forehead. 

Another distant boom, and a flash of light through the portal. A silhouette appears as a blip that becomes larger fast, and then Ron Stoppable swoops out of the portal, and soars right at Monkey Fist. Grabs him by the throat, and jettisons him across the room, smashing into a tankard holding a baby elephant. Cracks splinter the glass, and a foreign, green liquid spits out the cracks only to retreat back inwards. Blue light burns along the cracks, resealing the glass as nothing was damaged to begin with.

Ron has barely aged since their high school days, Wade’s theorized it has something to do with Ron’s powers. The only hint that he’s in the beginning of his 30s is the occasionally white hair speckled along his blond head, and even then, it’s mostly from stress.

And then there’s his eyes. Formerly brown and amber, they’re hardened now and a cold, steely blue. They glow like headlights when he uses his powers. 

With some extra muscle caked onto his lanky frame, he fills out his navy blue Global Justice uniform well.

Kim wonders sometimes if Ron is even human anymore. 

Ron stares Monkey Fist in the eyes. A crack of light and Monkey Fist’s body goes limp. Carelessly, Ron lets Monkey Fist’s body slide out from his grasp and hit the floor. He turns over to Kim. “Don’t worry, KP, he’s just knocked out, I didn’t kill him or nothin’.”

Kim stares at Ron, still on her hands and knees. “Who called you?”

Ron frowns, taken aback. Probably because she hasn’t seen him in  months,  and yet she’s still unhappy to see him. “Oh, um, Wade, called me like a few seconds ago. Heh.”

If it wasn’t for Ron, all of Colorado would be gone… all because Kim Possible wasn’t willing to give Doctor Drakken basic instructions. She can still feel the heat from the explosion singed on her body. It’s the closest she’s ever felt to death.

She quietly gets to her feet. “Wade, can you keep Ron’s appearance off the books?”

A long silence.

“ Sorry Kim  ,” Wade sighs. “  I can’t. ”

~~KP~~

“For the last time,” Monkey Fist moans, handcuffed to a wooden chair in an otherwise empty interrogation room. “I didn’t mind control anyone from Yamanouchi, they willingly joined me.”

“Really?” Doctor Director scoffs. “You’re really sticking to this story, huh?”

Doctor Director is a tall woman. She towers at least half a foot over Kim and Ron. Over the years, crows feet have grown into her skin around the eyes, the creases particularly harsher from behind her eyepatch. A streak of white cleaves through her neatly cropped, chestnut brown hair. 

Kim’s never seen her outside of her GJ uniform. 

Standing besides Kim and still in uniform, Ron frowns. “You said Hirotaka was there, Kim?”

Kim nods. “I know, it doesn’t sound like the Hirotaka we know.”

Ron’s frown only sinks deeper. “Yeah…” he says with the air of someone who knows a little bit more than they’re letting on. “Betty, I think… Monty’s telling the truth on this one.”

Kim raises an eyebrow. What is it that she doesn’t know? She used to know everything but now that she’s stuck in Class B…

Doctor Director raises an eyebrow too. “Stoppable, if there have been issues at Yamanouchi, you need to be communicating that with me.”

“Sorry,” Ron bows his head in shame. “Sensei and I… had an argument, and I kinda interpreted it more as a personal problem than a saving-the-world kinda problem but I guess… yeah, I’ll do better, Betty, I swear it.”

Kim sympathetically reaches over to Ron and strokes his back.

Ron looks up. “Thanks, KP. Uh, so do you want me to round up the Yamanouchi peeps who got away?”

“It’s fine,” Doctor Director snips. “Possible’s got it.” 

Oh, yeah,  of course  Possible’s got it.

Monkey Fist sneers at the three of them. “Some people in Yamanouchi felt that I had a point—that the Mystical Monkey Power shouldn’t belong to someone who isn’t willing to sacrifice their powers for the greater good.”

Ron sniffs loudly. “Dude, I didn’t even know about this shindig. I would have—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Doctor Director snaps. “God, you two… alright, I’ll take your word for it, Fiske. For now. You tell me where your people are hiding and we’ll be in better standing, got it?”

A twitch in Monkey Fist’s cheek. “Not a chance.”

“We’ll see about that,” Doctor Director growls, bending away from the chair. She shoves the door open with her elbow, and walks out into the hallway at a brisk pace. Kim and Ron follow.

The hallway is a pristine white. Not a speck of dust in sight. Immaculately clean, this is Global Justice DC, the homebase for most operations. 

Doctor Director regards Kim harshly. “I don’t even know what to say to you.” She stares at her for a moment, her single eye burrowing deep into Kim’s soul. “You’re suspended for a week.”

She figured her punishment would be something like that. 

Doctor Director turns on Ron. “Thank you for your work, Stoppable. While you’re still out here, I’d love a briefing on what’s happening in Lowardia.”

Ron glances over his shoulder at Kim. “Actually I was kind of hoping me and Kim could catch up, it’s been a minute for the two of us and um—”

“ Now , Stoppable,” Doctor Director says coldly. 

Ron cringes and offers Kim a meek hand wave before walking away with his commander. 

Once they’re out of earshot, Kim slouches and exhales.

“I know,” Drakken says suddenly, and Kim jumps. She looks back and sees the Formerly Bad Doctor staring at her from a few feet away. “Sorry, did I surprise you? Ha, who would’ve figured I’d be able to get the drop on the great Kim Possible…”

Kim winces. “I’m not great, I’m not even Class A.”

An awkward silence unfolds between the two, Drakken doesn’t seem to understand what she’s saying.

“Whatever, I’m just having a bad day,” Kim sighs, joining up with Drakken, nodding for the two of them to go to the cafeteria. “So don’t gloat about surprising me. Can you see colors again?”

He nods. “Could we… not go to the cafeteria? I actually wanted to speak with you. About a private matter.”

Kim stops in place. Blinks and shrugs. “Where to?”

~~KP~~

A few minutes later, they wind up in Drakken’s dormitory. It’s a messy room in need of a maid. Blueprints and schematics are scattered all over the floor. A half-filled mug of cold coffee sits at his desk. 

“Apologies for the mess,” Drakken mumbles, using his heel to slide some of his paperwork underneath his bed. “Been working overtime on some… projects.”

Kim raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t think too much of it. She takes his desk chair while Drakken takes a seat on his bed. 

“So?” Kim says when Drakken doesn’t say anything.

“Mm,” Drakken bites his lip. “It’s about… Shego.”

Read Chapter 2 today on AO3! Chapter 3 coming soon. : ) 

#kim possible fanfic #kim possible x shego #kigo #it's mission: impossible kinda shit #ron stoppable x will du

[nuttyspacecactus]

"Captain, We are approaching the planet and end point in CKJ hyperdrive," a young black female officer relayed to the older man behind her. She took in his features of warm tan skin and his jet black hair that has started to turn gray at his temples. His stern eyes fixed on her and he gave a quick nod.

"Addams," the Captain barked out to another person on the bridge.

A young man with reddish brown hair and ivory pale skin nervously faced the Captain before addressing him.

"Yes! Captain Castillo, sir!"

"Alert the ship of the transition out of CKJ hyperdrive."

Captain Castillo stared at this young man as sweat forms on the cadet's brow line. The young cadet turned to leave before remembering to address him again before he could exit.

"Yes Sir!"

His first officer was whispering to the young black woman, his second officer, about the planet itself.

He caught enough words between the two to figure out their dialogue. No matter how many times his crew came to the planet there was always excitement. It would probably last a couple more years or till another earth-like planet is found.

Humans have been sending out signals into space since the late 20th century. It only took over three hundred years to get a response. This particular group of extraterrestrials received an unofficial signal from some young genius in her parent's garage. Fortunately for humanity it came soon enough to be their salvation. Unofficial reports said they received the message in our Earth year of 2050.

Earth was on a downward spiral at that point, but it was only known to those who had security clearance. The time frame that started Earth's destruction was only a fifteen year period. I mean I guess with the right factors it could have happened in minutes. Two dictators on opposite sides of the globe tried to take the world back hundreds of years; however, people had a taste of freedom and had no desire to go back.

The war was quick after it became apparent to what was going to take place. Maybe eleven years isn't really quick, but compared to the time earth had already surpassed it was merely one pebble in a vast ocean. One of the dictators was killed and the weaker one let two nukes loose upon the world. Those seemed to be enough and it really boiled down to where they hit.

Enough about the approaching darkness in our human history. Life was death and chaos after that then one hundred years after the war it was public knowledge that the Earth was suffering. More chaos, but what world leaders were left were ready for it. Humans survived as the Earth seemed to die.

Some say it's still dying and others are saying the aliens will save it. Most of my family is on Earth One. We were members of the government and military; therefore, we were chosen to move to Earth One.

Earth One.... It wasn't a human discovery or a plan from anyone on Earth... Well anyone human. The aliens had been watching us for a while before making themselves known. They took that girl's message of hope and knowledge of the state of the earth to heart... If they have hearts. I am not knowledgeable about alien anatomy. They found us Earth One, Earth Two, and Earth Three. Earth One is smaller in landmass than our original Earth. Just imagine the landscape of Texas is the planet, but it's the size of Russia roughly seven times. Earth Two is twice the size of our Earth and has most of the same ecosystems minus any deserts. Most people getting moved off Earth Zero(Our original Earth) want Earth Two.

Now another thing about these Aliens is that they are advanced. Advanced in ways it scares people who are extremely religious or have a fear of technology. Before they came for us they tried to recreate Earth closer in location to their own planet.

That's Earth Three. Only young people or people that are very open minded come to Earth Three. I have never been off of the ship myself, but I have seen videos of the population down there. The Aliens sent what we would call scouts to take samples from Earth Zero. What they did on Earth Three is something you would see in video games and movies.

Earth Three is a paradise as far as there are the two main continents and possibly more. I have only ever landed a passenger ship on the larger of the two. The Aliens know how to develop new landmasses as I see numerous archipelagos popping up that weren't here the last time I came. The landmasses aren't the only things the Aliens created on this world.

New species in a way I guess. Anthropomorphic animals walking around on Earth Three. Animals like humans. Basically humans except they look different and there seems to be new species still popping up. Some rich guy whose DNA they took made this all possible due to some mutation. Tom Nook was his name... Everyone knows his name and everyone talks about Earth Three. The weirdest Earth ever.

I wonder what it would be like to live there.

#animal crossing #acnh #animal crosing new horizons

[reinelefey]

WHO LET ME BROWSE THE INTERNET WHILE MEDICATED? HOLY SHIT.

Some people BUY THINGS when they are riding the sky train but noooooooo.

I decided to go straight past space cadet on Amazon and puff puff pass right on to galaxy brain.

APPARENTLY. I /DO/ have the self confidence of a mediocre white man because I just signed up to audition for the voice like that's not ENTIRE INSANITY FOR ME TO EVEN CONSIDER??? but I did it.

Filled out the paperwork. Now I just need to film a fucking video.

I. Apparently am gonna do this.

This is nuts, right???

[e-m-p-error]

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE RESULTS

This is ridiculously late because I, a total space cadet, got lost in the sauce and completely forgot about it. BUT I am gonna do this, now.

LEGIONDARIO HAS WON

Out of the three statements, he fooled a majority of you! Era (human!Val) broke into the police station and messed things up in regard to the police's involvement in his cousin's case. The lie is that he has eight kids. He technically wanted that many, easily, but he died while Missy was pregnant with their third.

VALENTINO HAS LOST

Apparently the pants really were an obvious lie. The truth is that he actually owns twelve pairs of green PVC pants.

VELVETTE HAS LOST

The cult dancing is a lie as of now, but she is already prepared to find some good chanting to dance to. She has every intention of grabbing Vox and Val for a music video of her just dancing nude to chanting. She will do it, because nobody thought that she already had.

VOX HAS WON

Due to an auto-translate feature in his hardware, Vox can speak and understand every human and demon language. Without this, however, he is only fluent in German, English, and several demon languages. The true lie was that he has more plans for upgrades than he does actual upgrades. He actually tries to put enough thought into his upgrades that he only focuses on one at a time. He refuses to begin work on the next upgrade until the previous has been implanted.

#HEADCANONS ➽➽➽ #I Feel So Alive Right Now I Feel Like A God Right Now (αℓℓ мυѕєѕ)

[yandereine]

Minerva Decides It’s Time for One More Round- Ch4

Cadet Strife felt like the last two days weren’t real.

Running around a track and doing pull ups shouldn’t have resulted in what felt like the world’s largest practice in dubious medical consent. What felt like every doctor and medical specialist in the ShinRa building inspected every piece of him and gathered samples for hours.

Hair sample, finger nail, saliva, urine, skin (ouch!), and he was sure they would have tried to saw the bone if they weren’t stopped by what the cadet would have guessed to be his medical personnel angel.

Cloud sat naked in a hospital gown strapped to too many wires as he could hear with stunning clarity the vicious argument outside his door. It didn’t take a medical scientist to know what “Head of the Science Department” meant. Cloud had never met either, but every muscle in his body was tense, telling him that he never should. Since coming to Midgar, all he knew were the boys he’d shared a bunk with, his immediate commanding officers and forcefully cheery front desk receptionist that told him where he could apply for SOLIDER.

They were both silenced by a third voice that was clearly younger, and hard for Cloud to make out even with his newfound super hearing.  

The bickering stopped, and the automatic door slid open.

With slow strides, the young man’s steps aligned with the beeping of one of the machines he was currently hooked up to. That same part of him that knew he should be worried also told him that this man was a “friend” with air quotes included.

Behind him was another person in a dark suit and they smiled when Cloud’s eyes met their own. The room was only big enough for its one tenant in a hospital bed and perhaps a lone doctor, making the additional body take up more space than intended. Their very sharp, eye catching attire gave him pause when he remembered, he was wearing only a hospital gown and a hot red blush smacked him across his face.

These two were not doctors.

“Greetings Cadet Strife, I am Tseng, from the Department of Administrative Research.” He kept talking even as he took the rolling stool meant for the doctor. The other black suit leaned against the wall, folding their arms and kept that cordial expression when Cloud stared.

“I know this is a very interesting time for you, but I’m going to have to ask you some questions is that alright?”

He was asking to ask, but Cloud got the feeling that it was decided from the start. He felt exposed, embarrassed, confused and hadn’t gotten a single word in protest after being rushed to the main building and having every stainless steel and plastic medical tool stuck inside him somewhere.

Truthfully, he felt like garbage. Medicated garbage. The needles hurt, the tubes were invasive and his clothes were... somewhere. No PHS, and he was kept busy at every waking hour of his day so much so that he didn’t have time to be terrified. Not completely.

Tseng didn’t wait for an answer as he rolled forward and placed his folded hands in his lap, sitting a tad hunched. Cloud got the feeling he could sit up as straight as a wooden board but did so to make him feel at ease.

“When you enlisted for the ShinRa army, it was apparent you had no significant exposure to mako prior, is that correct?”

Cloud nodded, slowly, unsure if he should even speak. Everyone was eying him day and night and asking questions he couldn’t answer. It was easier to nod and shake his head now. Growing up near a reactor gave him a teensy, tiny bit of exposure, but like all small details, he pushed it aside for a clean yes or no.

“That’s very interesting. Here it says-” the other person in a suit pulled a folder from their inner jacket, handing it to Tseng. Cloud briefly entertained the idea that they had one giant pocket inside just for that.  

“Your blood tests returned a concentration so great that it was like you’d been swimming in it for years.” Tseng’s expression was painfully neutral, his lips curved into what could technically be a smile and his eyes piercing, but not accusing. The narrowed curves gracing the corners didn’t appear threatening, however under questioning it gave off the impression he was more dangerous than any invasive needle.

Terror, Cloud definitely had room for terror.

He didn’t know what was going on but this man was giving him the feeling he was going to become a missing person if he didn’t speak up.

“I-” Cloud winced. His throat was sore from a tube that had been down it just hours before. “I’ll explain it the way I did with the doctors.”  His voice was quiet now, pleading for his innocence in his tone and answering with a humble look down to his blanket covered feet.

“I woke up at 0400 hours two days ago after a physical evaluation. I did ten pull ups, thirty pushups and completed every objective we had been assigned. My scores were...” Cloud looked down to his arm, regretting it with a wince when seeing everything sticking out of him. “My scores were not the best I admit. But that night, I was feeling a little sick after I woke up so I left my bunk to get some air. And that’s when a night watch found me and took me to the facility nurse. I-I'm not juicing or anything to be better! I don’t know what happened.”

His thin lips pressed tight as he looked anywhere that didn’t have a wire or a machine, which was the fleece blanket over his toes.

“It’s the truth, I swear it is. I... There’s a reactor in Nibehlheim where I’m from. But, it’s old and nobody goes near it. I think I’ve been exposed to more mako in the air here than I ever have been in my life at home.”

Cloud didn’t want to meet the man’s eyes. It was more like looking into a security camera. He truly should have stayed in his room. If he had the choice between wrapping his skin chaffing blanket around his nose to sleep versus this, he’d stay in the terrible smelling room for two hours.

“And what of your fellow cadets? Have you ever seen any of them trying to sneak in things they’re not supposed to? ”

Cloud glanced up and back to the cover, brow crinkling as he genuinely tried to recall. He wasn’t friends with anyone, and it wasn’t like they let him in on any secrets. At most he got to see...

“I’ve seen some of them sneak rolled up- well, dirty magazines and junk food. I don’t- I mean, I’m not interested in that stuff.” It was too embarrassing to say ‘I don’t have any friends and they wouldn’t let me in on it anyway.’

Tseng hummed, straightening his posture. “And what of your superiors? How often do you visit the medical lab, and has anyone asked you to ingest or take any unknown substances?”

Before today the last shot he got were immunities.

“No Mr. Tseng. I took the standard immunization and drug tests but have only visited the nurses for minor injuries and a bad reaction to shell fish.”

Which was a shame. There were so many dishes to try in the dining hall he never had at home. The other cadets complained about it, but he was more than willing and happy to try something new when he’d arrived even if he only had fifteen minutes to eat it.

Tseng stood, not wasting any time to roll the chair back to its original position and addressed Cloud once more.

“Cadet Strife, thank you for your cooperation. Please expect to hear from us again soon.”

The door slid closed, and Cloud closed his eyes, frustrated.

He sincerely hoped soon meant never.

---------------------------------

Cadet training from then on became uncomfortable for everyone.

0600 Hours

Cloud was unceremoniously back in his room after filling out more paperwork and signing his name enough to fill a small novel. On top of those false friendly people in black suits handing him a brand new PHS. He wasn’t too dumb of a country boy to know he was being watched.

The first phone he ever bought was an older, prepaid PHS with limited features but he could still read and post on forums as well as see pictures. This new hunk of technology made him feel like he’d been transported a thousand years in the future, touch screen, video, and it even came with a compartmentalized stylus to help with his bumbling fingers.

He really preferred his older one.

All his contacts had been imported over, including Mom’s. However, he knew he couldn’t actually tell her what happened. The first time he pleaded to call his mother, several doctors turned to face him at once with eerie, wide eyes and that deleted any sense of letting the outside world know what happened. And so, his bunk mates sat on their respective beds, staring while Cloud stood there, twiddling his thumbs and looking at the floor while trying to explain what he couldn’t say.

“You are not to tell anyone anything you heard here. You will not answer any questions unless your answer is “I don’t know” or “It’s classified.” Is this understood?”

Those were the last words spoken to him by yet another stranger that seemed to know what was going on, but he still didn’t.

“So...” one of the boys said, dragging the word out. “What happened?”

Cloud pulled his lips into a tight, uncomfortable smile. “It’s classified.”

0800 Hours

Cloud, despite being ignorant of the world outside his home until leaving it was not necessarily stupid.

He knew a lot about botany, monsters, basic sciences and practical survivability. What he didn’t know was that at some point in the night, he had memorized every single lesson they ever taught.

Being the smallest boy with the worst physical scores, he was the target of always being called upon during classroom lessons. Some did it out of spite, and others thought he had a bright future as a lab tech. How he was able to explain the different stages of materia and the process of mastering them was not something he knew until asked.

He also knew the full anatomy of a Kalm Fang, Hedgehog Pie and multiple types of Bombs.

Oops.

His academic scores were always slightly above average, but now? He would have exceeded a perfect record. Cloud sat in his seat, white in the face and looking for hidden messages on top of his desk as the Instructor’s phone buzzed, and the class remained silent.  

“That is correct Cadet Strife, thank you.”

Cloud looked up just in time to see the man putting away his own device and looking just as confused as Cloud felt.

Yeah, he was totally being watched.

Walking through the halls, he expected to be confronted, shoved, something from someone who felt they needed to put the teacher’s pet in their place. The opposite happened, where everyone kept a two body radius when approaching like he had a very impressive Barrier active.

Lunch was hardly any better.

It wasn’t as though he regularly shared a table with anyone, if anything, he frequented a quiet corner where boys who didn’t give two shits about underperforming Cadet Strife occupied the space around him. Today?

Six of them sat shoulder to shoulder, hurrying to eat their meals while Cloud poked holes in his own with a plastic fork.

He wasn’t hungry, stomach plummeting and tensing for hours.

At 1500 hours, he felt like vomiting.

Well, crying, vomiting and shivering under the covers more like, but the nausea was more than plenty.

Not only that, he would have to endure that damned smell.

The boys were hygienic enough as regulated, no one could just skip showers or not put on deodorant. There was always the scent of sweat hanging in the air somewhere, leaving Cloud to get a whiff of over eager teenage boys in every crevice. He took out his PHS when allowed to return to his room, it was a Saturday, only academic classes and the remainder of the day to relax.

Cloud stared at his mother’s number, which he’d memorized, but it helped to look at it. His old phone did not have a camera, and so he wasn’t able to take any pictures with her before leaving. The longing to listen to her wash dishes and talk was overwhelming, but whatever was on this thing, it was keeping the people in the big tower aware of anything he said or did.

Cell phones were not allowed in classrooms or during training, but Tseng had instructed him, looking him in the eye as he did so, to have it never leave his side.

The thought occurred to him, could he just... talk to them like this?

Looking around the empty bunk room, he swallowed.

“Uh- hey, hi. I...” Cloud felt his cheeks go a bit red. “I’m not sure exactly how this thing works, but you can hear me, right? Is that how you knew what I answered in class?”

Cloud’s hand began to tremble, the screen was still on his contact list, but there was no indication that anyone was responding.

“Guess not...” he grumbled, putting it back in his pocket.

There was still a lot of time left in the day, and he really, really wanted to call home. Mom must have been worried sick at this point, but what could he tell her? The phone returned to his hand and he grimaced, lips turned down as his upper teeth worried his lower lip. Before he could regret it, he used his index finger to start the home screen, and tap, tap, tap until reaching the desired contact, and finally, hitting the CALL icon.

It took two rings to make a cold pool form at his feet as fear gripped him tight by the ankles. Oh gods above would they go after his mother? Was he putting her in danger? They already knew his number, right? Did those people in black suits go and find her?

“Hello, Strife residence.”

Mom...

“Mom hey, it’s me. Is- is everything alright?” Cloud leaned forward on his bed, gripping the round, metal edge with one hand.

“There you are sweetheart! I was getting worried when you didn’t call me at your usual time. Is everything ok? What’s wrong?”

Her voice was as kind and loving as he remembered.

“O-oh. No- see, well, something... that I can’t talk about came up. Army stuff. I’m sorry. I just- I thought that – I'm sorry, I really can’t talk about it.”

Claudia Strife was silent, but Cloud could still hear her breathing.

“Why can’t you talk about it?” She asked, voice steeled.

“I just, well...” Cloud would have swore but held his tongue, shaking his head and rubbing his forehead.

“I got sick and thought they contacted you- but I’m better now! I swear. It was just a bad reaction to something I ate a-and I didn’t know if they were going to ask you things. That’s all.”

Lying to his mother twisted his insides worse than being in that damn hospital, he was glad he didn’t eat anything.

“Oh my poor boy, are you sure you’ll be alright?”

Cloud could hear her defenses unlock as hardened resolve melted to concern and care. But he couldn’t drag her into whatever this mess could be called.

“Yeah, they put me on some ShinRa medication, I’m feeling pretty good! I just- you know, they don’t want people learning medical secrets or calling lawyers I guess.” Cloud wanted to force a laugh, but cringed, rubbing his stomach.

“Well it’s good to hear from you regardless. I want you to be safe in that big city you hear?”

She wasn’t there to stroke his hair down, but he knew she would. Swallowing, he nodded.

“Yeah, sorry to worry you. I’ll be fine. I gotta go though.”

“I love you.”

“Love you, mom.”

Hanging up, he stood, wiping his eyes with his forearm and paced all six feet of the space from the wall to the door. Something didn’t seem right from the corner of his eye and he glanced down at the bed. There was a Cloud sized hand print where he gripped the metal frame on the side of his bunk. What the hell was going on?!

#Final Fantasy #Final Fantasy 7 #Final Fantasy VII fanfiction #FFVII #ff7 #ff7 fanfic #fanfiction

[successpolh]

3d pinball space cadet sound effects

#3d pinball space cadet sound effects movie

#3d pinball space cadet sound effects Pc

#3d pinball space cadet sound effects windows

Zombies Tableĭid you know that in various pinball games you are actually supposed to aim the ball at specific lanes and targets in order to complete specialized missions? There is actually a way to win pinball games aside from just trying to get a high score. Seriously, this blew my mind I was completely unaware of the depth of pinball. If I ever end up in US or Europe, the first thing I will do is play on a real life Pinball Machine.Today we’re talking about Pinball. Of course, In India, we cannot buy them as they are not available. It’s definitely there for those who want it.Įach time a game gets over, I feel like going on Amazon and order a Pinball machine for myself. Then, you go inside that gate, and strike a chamber and that activates a light, then you hit the light for the high score.Įach board has so many unique rules like this. You open a gate here, and then, you guide the ball through the gate. I don’t really care for it, but each table comes with its own complex rules. True Pinball fanatics will love all the complex rules. All designed to evoke nostalgia.Įvery time I finish a game, I want to play one more round. I retain myself to the classic 8 tables of Zen Originals and Williams tables. Of course, there are tables that are modeled after modern properties. You got the monthly season so you can see where you stand among other players. They are less fun but look greatĮverything about this game is glorious, loud and beautiful.

#3d pinball space cadet sound effects windows

Perhaps, its because I am a 80s/90s kid, I like the classic boards.Īlso because, these classic boards remind me of the Space Cadet from Windows XP.

#3d pinball space cadet sound effects movie

I am not enjoying the modern, movie based tables. I like the 80s and 90s themes, the sound effects and the audio voice effects. I have been spending quiet some time with Pinball, and I am unable to explain what is so fun and addicting about it. Based on movie properties like Kung Fu Panda and My Little Pony. There are 4 tables which are the classic Williams tables. There are 4 tables which are Zen Originals. It comes bundled with a few classic tables. This is the Apple Arcade version, of course. Their table apps are pretty expensive and I could not justify paying for them.

#3d pinball space cadet sound effects Pc

Unfortunately, I never got around to buying them on the PC or Xbox or on my iOS devices. I have been hearing about Zen Studios and their Pinball tables for quiet some time now. Thanks to Apple Arcade, I am Pinballing again Zen Is Zen Note : It’s so sad that due to copyright issues, Space Cadet, will never come to Windows 10. It’s free! Just like Solitaire and Minesweeper. Both Windows 95 and Windows XP, had the super awesome, 3D Pinball for Windows - Space Cadet. Luckily, I had access to a computer from a young age. I have never played on a Pinball machine. Unfortunately, by the time I grew old enough to play games, Arcades were dead in my home town and pretty much everywhere in India. However, in the 90s, I feel bad for my dad, what people and mom must have thought of him. My mom would tell me stories about how, every time father came to Mysore, he would spend hours at the arcade.Ī grown man playing video games is okay now. My home town, Mysore, apparently had its own gaming arcade in the late 80s and early 90s. You go back to gaming history, Gaming Arcades and Pinball Machines were probably the first time, people got to play games.

#3d pinball space cadet sound effects

[snowlessknitter]

The Masked Singer: S8 E1 Running Commentary

I know my Tumblr’s been light on the Masked Singer updates this off-season (okay, actually nonexistent), but I’m back with the new season.

From what I understand, there are gonna be something like 20 or 22 competitors this season and will feature a bunch of double eliminations. I’ve only seen one preview performance this preseason, and that Mask is one of the ones competing tonight. Four Masks take to the stage tonight, and I’ll be writing down my thoughts on the clues as to who they actually are, with my guesses in bold. I am watching on a slight delay tonight, but I will still be writing down my thoughts and guesses in real time. And as always, I post commentaries on here before I see any unmaskings, and these guesses are not to be taken as spoilers.

Only one Mask will be moving on from this round. The other three will be unmasked tonight.

Harp 🎶: Okay…this was the one whose preview performance I saw, and the fans were already guessing! She apparently auditioned for American Idol, but was turned down. I see a witch’s hat, a bouquet of roses, and 3D glasses. Both Colbie Caillat and Maren Morris auditioned for American Idol as teens, but this doesn’t sound like either of them. The fans on YouTube seemed to suggest that this is Amber Riley from Glee, and it does sound like her. As for the witch’s hat, she was in both The Wiz Live and Wicked in Concert, both of which are based off of The Wizard of Oz (with the Wicked Witch of the West being the villain in the story). Amber also auditioned for American Idol all the way back in season 2 (she was 17 at the time, well before she rose to fame on Glee), but didn’t make it past the open call stage. With these clues and what I remember of Amber’s voice, I’m going to go with the YouTube consensus and say that this is indeed Amber Riley.

Hedgehog 🦔: A hedgehog in a bowler hat…how cute! Double decker bus and a snake. Has been in Playboy and was part of a hugely popular group. Performed for a Queen (possibly Elizabeth II?). Sounds like they may be from England? I don’t think this Paul McCartney, that’s for sure. To be backed by the USC Marching Trojans sounds like a dream come true. Has won a Tony and a Grammy. I thought I heard more of an American accent, but i think Robin’s guess of Eric Idle might fit here. He has a Tony for Spamalot, although I couldn’t immediately see if he had a Grammy. He has, however, taken part in the Royal Variety Performance, an annual variety show that raises money for a charity of which the current British monarch, King Charles III (still a little strange writing that), is a patron (and of which his mother Elizabeth II was also a patron). It would tickle me greatly to see Eric under that mask.

Hummingbird 🐦: Football field, might come from a famous sports family, we saw a speaker being handed to Hummingbird, and referenced a “patriotic” team. So, did he play for the New England Patriots? It’s not Rob Gronkowski, he was White Tiger in a previous season. Score on the scoreboard is 71-0. Could reference either his birth year or perhaps his jersey number. In American football, jersey numbers typically correspond to specific positions. In the National Football League (NFL), jersey number 71 falls within the range of numbers used for linemen, both offensive linemen and defensive linemen. So, if this theory is correct, then this player may not have been a quarterback, tight end, wide receiver, or running back, but would have been responsible for protecting those players (if he was an offensive lineman) or blocking them (if he was a defensive lineman). The Man in Black was wearing two Ring Pops, which could indicate that this player was part of two Super Bowl championship teams. Does sound on the younger side. I’m stumped. But I think we’ll probably find out who he is soon, because I’d be shocked if Harp doesn’t make it past this round.

Knight 🗡: His first clue is “Space Cadet”. Made a joke about Nick Cannon having a bunch of kids. Mentioned George Lucas. I think I also caught that he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Never sold a body part for profit…it was a charitable donation.” Maybe he’s donated a kidney or bone marrow? A cassette tape labeled “Covers”. My initial guess is that this is Mark Hamill from Star Wars, especially since he’s kind of known on social media for poking fun at himself. He’s not exactly known for his singing skills, and Knight’s voice does sound like it could realistically belong to Mark Hamill. And don’t forget that Jedis are referred to in the Star Wars universe as Jedi Knights.

#the masked singer #the masked singer season 8

[lady-nightmare]

Google translation:

"They'll just lay down their weapons and run away." Surprising forecasts from Russia

About the Ukrainian offensive in the south and east, about the stocks of Russian missiles, about why time is playing against Russia and why Ukraine will have to bomb Russia - says Paweł Łuzin, a Russian expert on international relations and security, visiting scholarship holder in an interview with Wirtualna Polska. Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

Igor Isajew, Wirtualna Polska: What is happening in the Kherson and Kharkiv regions? Ukrainian counteroffensive, "grinding" or "stuffing" the Russian army?

Paweł Łuzin, Russian expert on international relations and security: I am not commenting on the ongoing hostilities out of respect for Ukraine, because the Ukrainian leadership asks for refraining from unnecessary comments and speculation. I see a counteroffensive with attempts to encircle Russian groups that still retain relatively high combat capability. The matter is serious, since last Friday Vladimir Putin convened an emergency Security Council behind closed doors.

What if we look at it from a political point of view, not a military one? Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu is in conflict with his deputy, Chief of the General Staff Valeriy Gerasimov?

Rumors of a conflict between Shoygu and Gerasimov have been circulating since March - that they are either out of favor or are about to be resigned. Now there is another such wave that Putin is going to change Shoygu. But it doesn't really matter. Shoigu is not a key figure here. If anything, Gerasimov is much more important - but he is also dependent, because the war is controlled by the National Defense Control Center. This is war management that has become defense management. Who is doing this? This is not clear because we do not have a single general making public who takes responsibility for what is happening. In the spring, General Mikhail Mizintsev, who apparently commanded the attack on Mariupol, was very actively presented in the Kremlin media. Then he disappeared somewhere. Then there was the same story with General Alexander Dvornikov. Then came Sergei Surovikin, who had been in command of the air and space forces for the past five years. What is he doing on the battlefield? Appeared and disappeared. What is happening to them, who is in charge, who is responsible for what? The mess is obvious. Shoygu and Gerasimov do not matter much anymore, hence perhaps spreading these rumors.

The point is that the Kremlin cannot end the war, and it wants some respite. Now loyal Kremlin politicians in the West and loyal journalists are being mobilized, calling for a break in hostilities. And the Kremlin does not want to withdraw the army to its territory, because it is afraid of the army.

What is he afraid of?

The Kremlin's former concern is a military coup. This fear remains. Additionally, the returning army will be scattered across the regions and criminalization. Its first signs are already visible. After that, recent soldiers will start forming gangs. The Kremlin is afraid of this. He is aware that in the present political system reform of the army is basically impossible. He cannot draw any conclusions from this terrible war, and therefore cannot end it.

What conclusions would you draw?

That it is necessary to bring the education system to an appropriate state.

Why education?

Imbeciles who barely pass their high school exams in mathematics go to a military school because other universities will not accept them. Already at this stage it can be seen that the missile released by such a man will not hit the target. Those who do not know how to learn become cadets, degenerates come out of military schools. The problem is not that these people are evil in themselves, but that the education system is like that. Relegated to a level that was not even in the Soviet Union. This is a degradation of both the military and society.

But old-style weapons still have a lot. Vadym Skybynetsky, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, recently said that Russia is running out of Iskander missiles, there are less than 200 of them, but he has 7,000 more than 30-year-old S-300 missiles that he can fire through Ukrainian territory. It is "cheaper" than their disposal. According to him, at the current intensity, they will be enough for three years. Can you verify these numbers?

The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine has just verified my data. I believe that the Iskanders are basically exhausted, these missiles also have a "untouched" supply, but I think there are not even 200, maybe a hundred or so. In terms of production capacity, there cannot be many: they have been produced since 2000, no more that 50 missiles a year. That is, there were about 750, they fired about 500.

What about the S-300?

The S-300 is a different class of missiles. They have been used in various exercises over the past five years and have been taught to shoot at ground targets. But the Iskanders have a range of 500 kilometers, the S-300 less, it was never announced, but I think up to 200 kilometers. The S-300 warhead is weaker. For Hamas-style terror - enough, but from the point of view of military goals or a change of front, nothing will change. They will allow the war to be prolonged, and the civilian population will suffer. However, this means that Russia has degraded to the level of a terrorist state, and the Russian army is decaying into a state of irregular terrorist movement.

So why did Joe Biden signal that the US does not recognize Russia as a terrorist state?

Recognizing it as a terrorist state means breaking diplomatic relations, including contacts in the area of ​​nuclear non-proliferation. This terrorist state sits on the UN Security Council and has veto power. So we must resolve it urgently. While Americans promise to make efforts to reform the UNSC, the process is not swift. If he does this with Russia now, various unnecessary paradoxes will arise.

From the point of view of economic relations, the US also thinks about Europe, because if they recognize someone as a terrorist state, Europeans will also be limited in their contacts with Moscow.

In recent days, an article by the commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Załużny, was published on the prospects of the military campaign in 2023. It mentions a possible Russian offensive against Zaporozhye, Dnipro, Mykolaiv and Odessa. But on the other hand, about the fact that Ukraine needs weapons that extend not only to Crimea, but also deep into Russian territory. What is the message of the article and who is it aimed at?

When a commander-in-chief during a war makes a public statement, much less writes texts, one of the goals is to disinformate the enemy. The Ukrainian military command disinforms the Kremlin about the plans, tasks and calculations of the Ukrainian command. The second task is to put pressure on the Western elites, to show them that if you give Putin a respite, if you diplomatically allow the intensity of the war to decrease, it will continue until 2023 and even longer. Of course, at the current intensity, the Kremlin will not last long. The West should not let the Kremlin rest.

What did Załużny want to disinform the Kremlin about?

About the fact that Ukrainians are preparing for a prolonged conflict, that they are counting on the campaign of 2023. However, I have the impression that the war could end earlier, provided that Russia suffers a very painful military defeat on the battlefield. Załużny scares the Russian authorities with the prospect of 2023, because the Russian leadership has lost its planning horizon. And here he offers such a perspective of a military campaign! Ukraine now has a longer planning horizon than the Kremlin. Kyiv demonstrates this, and the Kremlin is forced to react and adapt somehow.

On the same day as Załużny's article, an interview with the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, was published, who said that this war was definitely not for years.

This cannot be predicted.

But time is now in favor of Ukraine?

Yes. Russia does not have the resources for the protracted war, primarily moral and organizational. And political and economic resources have also decreased. The wear and tear of the equipment is already equivalent to at least 10 years of operation of the military complex. Russia is not those 10 years old. Russia is not ready for a protracted war, all of Russia's military doctrine is derived from the fact that there should never be a protracted war under any circumstances. In addition, the amount of losses caused by Ukraine may turn into quality, that is, a complete disorganization of the Russian armed forces.

When is this point of disorganization?

Again, it's hard to predict. But at some point, the army will simply crumble and lose its ability to fight.

How will it look like?

The army that will be in the zone of hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, including the Crimea, may simply lay down their weapons, flee, some may rebel. Some general will come to "ride" the soldiers - and the soldiers will take him and shoot him with all his surroundings. And they will go to surrender, taking this general's head, so that the surrender will go smoothly. Or, out of a group of 100, 20 would remain, scatter into the suburbs, start robbing local people, terrorizing them until they were caught. In this way, regular armed forces will become irregular. They will become such a Taliban or Hezbollah on the remnants of the Russian armed forces.

What is the current state of the Russian army? How much can you confirm the rumors that silent sabotage is taking place there?

The total number of Russian armed forces on the eve of February 24 was 750,000. people. Now the number of all armed forces has decreased to 700,000. The last conscription was planned at 135,000, but 45,000 were recruited. people less. Fall draft will start on October 1, but I don't think there will be more volunteers. Volunteers are also recruited, but this is ridiculous: they are in the pre-retirement age, 100-200 people are recruited in each region. Not all of them will reach the battlefield, their health will worsen and some will return home. There are mercenaries of all kinds, but not so many. Recruiting criminals in prisons also did not help much, several thousand went to the battlefield, but not all of them came. The Russian army is being reduced, disorganized and demoralized.

But still the number of 700 thousand. people are impressive, considering that the Ukrainians are talking about 50 thousand. Russian losses.

But the losses mainly concern the land, air and marines. They are the ones who carry the main burden of the war on their shoulders. And there are not only injuries, but also dismissals. You won't send missile units or engineers into battle. For example, the technical staff of airports is several times higher than the number of pilots. Hypothetically, you can send them into battle, but these are people who will survive three minutes and won't solve any problems. This is a matter of tactical groups, and on the eve of the war there were no more than 165,000 of them. plus about 100,000 in reserve. The rest don't know how to fight. There is also an incomprehensible factor - it is Rosgvardia, which has an official number of 350-380 thousand. people. But how many of them are left in Russia, how many of them can even fight? It's a secret. Russia cannot deploy any significant new forces on the battlefield.

Information has emerged that Russia is opening two military equipment repair companies on the border with Ukraine and near Moscow. What is this?

They are to be built within a few months, as planned, i.e. they could start working only from 2023. But the questions arise: where to get the equipment, where to get the staff? Field repair is problematic. The field workshop system in the Russian army exists, but the military is not satisfied with it. It was even officially written about. There are many questions about repair. What to do with spare parts? Who will produce it? I'm not sure these two plants will save anything.

If Ukraine receives ATACMS missiles, how realistic is it to move hostilities to Russian territory, and not just to border villages near Belgorod?

There was already such an attempt, a few months ago in Rostov two kamikaze drones struck the refinery.

Does this mean that Ukraine has been trying to transfer hostilities to Russian regions for several months now?

It's logical. This is the only consistent direction of development of activities. Bases in the occupied Crimea are to be destroyed. One airport in Sakach is good, but there are three other airports there and it would be good to neutralize them. There is the issue of using the territory of Belarus - I have the impression that if Ukraine had carried out normal missile attacks on Russian troops in Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka would have pretended that nothing happened.

The most important Russian air base near the Ukrainian border is the "Baltimor" airport in Voronezh (260 km in a straight line from Kharkiv). This is, of course, a huge airbase, and it also needs to be neutralized. And to hit there you need ATACMS missiles. Then the capabilities of the Russian air force on the battlefield will be severely limited.

Let me ask this: will Ukraine not be able to defeat the Kremlin without transferring this war to Russian territory?

If there are significant numbers of Russian ground forces on the battlefield and forcing them to surrender, for example in Kherson (about 25,000), then there will be a lot. Then it will be possible to do without transferring the war to the territory of Russia or Belarus.

But after all, moving it to Russian regions will make the war obvious to Russian public opinion. The pressure on the Kremlin would be greater.

Undoubtedly, there must be a shock to the public, but it can also result in a loss of great strength. Even the loss of the cruiser Moscow was very much covered up by the Kremlin. The military infrastructure of the Russian armed forces that is used against Ukraine is largely located on Russian territory. This infrastructure must also be hit. Ukraine will have to bomb Russian territory next year. How else do you end the war?

How will the Kremlin behave in this situation?

The Kremlin has two options. It's an obituary for Putin and his immediate surroundings, which the elite will write, thinking no longer about themselves, but about their children and grandchildren. Another option is escalation, an attempt to draw NATO nations into the war.

We talked about it at the beginning of May, you were already talking about this possibility of escalation. But the situation has changed, the Kremlin no longer has room for maneuver, especially if Ukraine is shelling Rostov and Voronezh. We saw in Crimea what panic started there.

Indeed, panic broke out there. But Russian society is not ready to fight. Perms are not ready to die for Belgorod. Siberians are not ready to die for Voronezh. The inhabitants of Novosibirsk are not ready to die for Kursk or Brańsk. They totally don't care.

Does this mean that disintegration processes are already underway in Russia? Forums of "free nations of Russia" gather in Warsaw and Prague, probably with the participation of Ukrainian secret services.

I will not say that the process of disintegration is ongoing. It's just a reluctance to die on the battlefield. There is nothing today that would unite Russian society. But this still does not mean that people want independence or separate Siberian, Ural, Caucasian republics. People just want the Kremlin to get away from them. This war is not needed by society. Perhaps he still does not like the West, he hates Ukrainians, Georgians, Poles, but he also wants to live a normal life with his own stereotypes. That the Kremlin would not come to him with bills for these stereotypes. Even those who stick the letter "Z" on their cars - by the way, there are very few of them - do not go to the nearest military office, but to go fishing or to the countryside. There is also no sacrifice in collecting money for the war. We now have a period of historical uncertainty. Putin's system has largely lost its vitality and free rein. And it generally needs a radical "perestroika".

Dla Wirtualnej Polski Igor Isajew

#ukraine #russia #kremlin #war #ukrainian army #ruzzian orcs #russian society #russia is a state of mind #russia is a terrorist state

[fai-gensou]

The commanders’ comm channel binged.

CC-2224: @CC-1010 Why am I hearing about the GAR barracks exploding from someone else? Are you and your men alright?

CC-1010: I’m fine Cody and so are the men. The barracks were empty. We’ve, ah…

…been adopted by a Jedi.

CC-3636: the kriff? Thought you and your boys had the chancellor?

CC-1010: The Guard’s Jedi General is named Cin Drallig. He’s the Temole Battlemaster and apparently there’s historical precedence for them to take command of planetary defense during war and since thats the main duty of the Guard…

And he moved us into the temple.

(Document forwarded: Structural Integrity and Livability Assessment)

Apparently the buildings weren’t fit for sentient life? Officially it was an accident but I’m having Doubts.

CC-5052: does the Jedi Order have room for units on leave?

(Image attachment)

(Description: circular room with multiple doors)

CC-1010: this is one of several unused crèche areas for their cadets. There’s…a surprising amount of space unused. General Drallig said the Order’s numbers have been decreasing even before the Jedi losses at Geonosis.

CC-1010: we still have patrols in the Senate Dome, but we’ve begun security assessments and cleaning up the other unused crèches. It’s…so different from Kamino.

CT-7567: won’t the high generals complain?

CC-1010: General Drallig seems to have a surprising amount of influence, likely because he’s responsible for overall combat training for the Jedi cadets. And why is Cody’s pet CT in here?

CC-2224: he runs herd on his Jedi.

“Sir, what do you know about General Drallig?” Cody asked his general, General Kenobi.

“Master Cin?” General Kenobi blinked, before smiling. “He’s the Temple Battlemaster. That makes him responsible for overall combat training and the Temple Guard. He’s also the one who tests Knights and Masters in proficiency or mastery of the various lightsaber forms. May I ask your reason for asking?”

“He’s taken command of the Coruscant Guard. There’s a historical precedent for those in his role taking charge of planetary defense. As such, he’s moved the Coruscant Guard into the Temple. His Commander indicated that GAR units on leave would also be housed in the Temple?” Cody added on his question. General Kenobi wasn’t on the Jedi Council yet, but practically everyone around him knew it was only a matter of time, so he was a good source as to whether housing clones in the Temple was accepted.

“That’s a relief. Those buildings the Senate earmarked for the GAR have been condemned as long as I can remember, and there was concern about housing all of you there.” General Kenobi replied.

“But…” Cody mentally flailed a bit. “It’s the Jedi Temple.” It was where the Jedi trained their cadets, healed their wounded.

“It’s just a building Commander. We have the room, and while we can’t do as much as we could to help you, we can at least provide a safe harbor on Coruscant.” General Kenobi said gently.

#battleguard au #no firm timeline here #clone commander fox #clone commander cody #clone commander wolffe #clone commander bly #captain Rex #obi wan kenobi #the clones deserved better

[whirlybirbs]

FEVER-DREAM    ;    echo/reader 

summary: echo is fine-tuning his new prosthesis. you have experience, you help. unspoken feelings are acted on. adoration blooms. you learn what mesh’la means.

word count: 3k

pairing: echo / f!reader

tags: mutual pining, lots of tender looks, victorian-era hand-touching sluttiness, echo is a gentle soul, reader is head over heels, a touch of ptsd mention, set on ord mantell, mention of our boy fives, in this house we love assistive devices, enough sexual tension to power the death star

a/n: this is me round-house kicking the bad batch writers in the throat because they made echo cosplay a droid — but, also because this man deserves to be treated as more than a means to a mission’s end. majority of you know i am ~bitter~ (understatement of the century) of tbb’s plot/design/writing. but echo has been a favorite from the original days... so have some very soft fic.

i reference character redesigns by @nibeul​ in this piece — please go peep them here, and some updated character spreads here! they’re really beautiful and add a phenomenal layer of storytelling to the existing designs that’s lacking. nibuel’s art and writing is lovely. please give them a follow — i can’t rec their work enough. 

“How does it feel?”

The words are nearly whispered; it’s clear you didn’t want to startle him, and Echo can feel the pinch in his brow soften at your sudden appearence in the doorway. 

His bunk, at the back of the Havoc Marauder, is small — the space itself even more so. There’s a makeshift partition, hooked together with spare parts and meant to offer a bit of privacy on the cramped vessel. Its slate grey color has faded, and the edges have become tattered in the cycles of use. 

When Echo pulls his dark eyes up from his work, you’re leaning against the frame — your expression is earnest.

For a moment, the once-ARC Trooper is quiet. 

He wonders if he’ll ever get used to your attention. Each and every time, it sends him into a spiral; his heart catches as he inhales and tries to push down the warm stir in his gut. The sight of you is enough, nowadays, to melt Echo’s well-maintained irritability. His attention is stolen from his ever-present pain, if only for a bit.

There are plenty of days where he misses the old him — the wide-eyed, eager ARC Trooper who had his brothers by his side. His real brothers. Hevy, Cutup, Droidbait... Fives. 

Fuckin’ hell, Fives was probably staring down at him now laughing. 

No matter what changes, you’re still shit with the ladies, vod’ika. 

In a way he hasn’t fully admitted to himself, you make him feel like himself again. Like... Like some shiny cadet, on leave and distracted by the promises of pretty smiles passing-by. It’s good.

This makes him feel... good. 

He flexes, and his right hand — the new, gunmetal durasteel cyberized-prosthesis — closes into a tight fist. It’s taken him a bit, but the feeling isn’t so foreign now. It’s still... slow. Slower than he’s used to, but you’d mentioned it may take some time. The phantom feelings get better, too. All in all, it’s a good thing.

Your own hand, your left, glimmers back in the same gunmetal color.

(Echo had never pressed you about the missing limb — not until one day, in Cid’s, you’d joined him in a quiet corner. You’d spilled your drink and a complaint about getting the star-cherry syrup out of the joints had slipped out. Echo had laughed; a real laugh, the sort that was so rare coming from him, it had you staring at him as if he’d hung ever star in the sky. 

Can I ask how it happened? he’d said, breaking the heavy silence when your eyes never left his.

The Pykes, you’d said, and that was enough.)

“I haven’t, uh... Haven’t gotten the sensory calibration right yet.”

Then, his prosthesis cramps. His fingers go rigid, and Echo curses sharply as he reaches around his forearm to quickly reboot the appendage. It goes slack, then hums alive once more.

You wince.

You’re slow to move into the room — and you settle atop one of the crates Echo had stolen from the belly of the ship, an old Mantell Mix shipping container. You’re mindful to set his datapad aside, to not disturb his space too much. Before you reach for his hand, however, you lift your chin and open your hands in your lap.

“May I?” you ask, just as soft as before.

Echo feels small under your gaze.

Truth be told, you’re doing more than just... asking. You’re taking him in — appreciating him. It’s a habit that’s grown more and more apparent to not only himself, but the others.

In recent rotations, Echo has let his hair grow out — not long, but the once close buzz he’d kept has begun to curl at the top. Not entirely dissimilair to how it was before the Citadel. The dermal implants, the ones the Techno Union installed in order to parse the nuerological data in his head, stand out against his warm-colored skin. 

His usual AJ^6-inspired headpiece is resting on his bunk.

That damn thing.

A neccesary tool. One that, given the amount of user data Tech had procured when working on modifying the implant, Echo found himself immediately distrusting. It wasn’t as if the AJ^6 cyborg construct had a beautiful track record, and frankly, Echo would like to keep his personality in tact, thank you very much. There were plenty of days he felt machine enough. 

It wasn’t often you saw him without the headset; you knew it made linking in via his scomp easier to handle, it made the visualization of data transfers as easy as breathing. For Echo, it was a part of his vast kit, an important tool. For you, seeing him without it bubbles up a bit of a smile.

Echo catches it.

His eyes narrow playfully.

He looks... well. You — hell, are there words for it? For the way the sight of him makes you feel? It’s like there’s a world full of potential there, a thousand words unsaid, and feelings that have steeped in the warmth of longing gazes and half-there touches.

You’re still looking up at him, knees bent on the crate.

You blink, realizing you’ve been caught staring — not for the first time and certainly not for the last. In the beginning, it had left a sour taste in Echo’s mouth. But, now... Well, it stokes a sort of pride in his chest that he hangs onto. 

It never gets easier to recover from — certainly not when Echo smirks. He moves to allow you to take his prosthesis into your lap. The gesture is gentle; your fingers cradle the firm yet pliable metal.

“What?” he asks. His voice, low and rough and warm, is tinted with amusement.

“Nothing,” you say vaguely with a shrug — as if that’s supposed to explain any part of your enamored stare. Your attention moves to the prosthesis.

“Nothing?” he asks, moving to thumb his left ear with his free hand with a dash of nervousness. A habit. Echo tilts his head as his fingers brush the cochlear implant there. The panel rests neatly against the side of his head, a small rounded-off square. The bite of self-consciousness has dwindled around you — but still, it creeps back up every now and again.

The Corporal’s brows knot playfully as you turn his new hand over in your lap; you’re admiring the upgraded feel, the more seamless panelling in comparison to your own. Echo watches your lashes flutter in silent thought.

Then:

“You’re a terrible liar, you know.”

You blink slowly at the hand, swallow down your sudden sheepishness and ignore his gaze. You bite back the smile digging into your cheeks. “Maybe.”

“Do I have something on my face?” he asks suddenly, and you look up.

A baited trick. He’s smiling. 

The warm sort — the sort reserved for you and for Omega. The two souls that hold a piece of his heart, with all its ticking valves and electric timed pulses. There are machinisms that keep him alive, and then there is you. Your wide-eyed expression melts, giving way to the sort of smile he’s tried to memorize over and over. It’s the same smile that has warded off that reoccuring nightmare of the night on the tarmac at the Citadel, the same smile that has pulled him through the grit of phantom pains.

“What—” a sudden laugh bursts from your chest, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You were staring, mesh’la,” he rumbles out as a reminder, enjoying the fact he’s suddenly become the center of your attention. Echo leans back, his boot toeing yours. You nudge it back. Your face feels hot. You ignore his pointedly teasing look with a roll of your eyes.

The nickname started a few weeks ago. You haven’t asked what it means — no, for now it’s meaning hangs in the balance. Untouched but there. The affection the word carries makes your heart feel heavier and unbelievably full.

“Bad habit,” you chirp back, looking up at him through your lashes.

His laugh is warm.

“Maybe not.”

“No,” you say quietly; your voice is soft as your eyes bounce across his face, tracing the lines of his face with your gaze, “I don’t think it is.”

There’s a silence that slips between you — a comfortable one. It’s heavier than before. That has begun to happen recently, especially with the petal-soft utterance of mesh’la becoming more and more frequent. You hold his gaze. Echo lets out a soft, contented sigh.

Then, you remember the task at hand.

You clear your throat.

“Uh... The access panel I’m looking for,” you say slowly as your raise your finger to point to your own arm, “It’s on your bicep.”

Echo blinks. He clears his own throat before looking down — he hadn’t even noticed that access panel. That could explain the jarring miscommunication stalling the limb. This model had more bells and whistles than he initally realized. 

Better than a fuckin’ scomp link, that’s for sure.

Wordlessly, Echo makes room on his bunk. You move to settle beside him, your bent leg resting aginst his hip as you half-straddle the bed; your other knee brushes his thigh — and Echo tries to sit still. You’re close, now. 

“Is it okay if...?” you trail off, fingers tugging on the short sleeve of his blacks; you pause until Echo offers a curt nod. You catch him swallow. You push onward, fingers nimbly rolling the fabric up over his broad bicep. 

Echo steals a glance your way as your fingers pass across a slip of his bare skin. 

In his lap, both his hands twitch.

He’s no small man. Lean and athletic, Echo is built like a soldier. Omega had said once that Echo was an ARC Trooper, one of the best of the best. You believed every bit of it, and you’d hung on her words when she’d rambled on about ARC training, about Kamino, and about who Echo was before you knew him. It was all in the past, though. That Echo is a part of this Echo but... They’re different men. He’s been changed by the things that have happened.

You don’t press him on the details. 

In time, they’re slipped into conversation here and there — between the here and now.  

In the beginning, when you’d found yourself amongst the crew of the Havoc Marauder — be it for a simple job on Cid’s behalf — Echo had hardly paid you a moment of attention, though you admit you’d been curious from the start. It had taken three jobs for you to finally see his face. Then began the slow and gradual bonding over catching joints, grating plates, and hardware updates. His legs, your arm. Two pieces of a pair.

Now, he has this. A beautiful new upgrade — something he’s wanted for a long time. A part of his old self is back, in a way.

You liked that it was more than just a tool. That, in having this piece of his body back, he felt like more than a tool. More than a scomp link. 

After all, he is a man — a... a very handsome man. One whose proximity is sort of distracting you, again, from the task at hand.

“The panel here,” you say as you slowly press on the seam that enables the settings panel to be revealed; you’re mindful to explain, “It controls sensory outputs, as well as synchonized synaptic commands. The panel on my forearm does the same to my hand, yours is just... well, you’ve got the new and improve version.”

Echo ducks his head as you work, watching you from the corner of his eye. “Feeling a bit jealous, mesh’la?”

“Maybe,” you breathe out with a smile. 

Then, you lift your eyes. You intended to see that he was still comfortable, but instead you come face to face with the Corporal. His nose nearly brushes yours when you lift you chin, completely dragged in by the closeness shared.

There’s a beat of tension. Echo’s mouth goes dry.

You fingers pause. You swallow hard. “How... uh, how does it feel?”

Echo tightens his grip, then releases. His breath tickles your cheeks. His eyes, a deep, warm brown, flit from your eyes to your mouth, and then back. His voice is a croak. 

“...Same as before.”

You tinker with a dial, eyes never leaving his; your voice is above a whisper. “And now?”

It’s immediate. Like a rush of cold air up his arm — and on instinct, Echo’s hand twitches. His fingers grip the fabric of his blacks, along his thigh, and... he feels it. The smooth, stretch of the material. It’s... it feels like a lot. His fingertips, metallic and cyberized, tingle. It’s distracting.

He can feel. 

His hand is slow. It moves across to bridge the space between you. His pointer finger settles on the curve of your knee; the feeling of your tactical pants beneath his fingertip is ignored, instead he chases the heat of your body.

Your breath catches at the touch. 

Echo’s face is turned to you, but... his attention has settled on his hand. His palm then sweeps across your thigh. He follows the curve, soaks in the feeling. You’re frozen in place, beating back the desperate sound of appreciation that threatens to be pulled from your throat. The touch is... more than welcomed. 

The closeness itself is making you dizzy.

Then, Echo turns — and the warm, durasteel-plated palm finds your cheek.

Your skin is hot. 

“Is this okay, mesh’la?” he whispers, words riding on a quiet exhale — the sort that make you feel... well, you don’t even have words for the way he makes you feel. Echo is... kind, honest, and loyal. Above all else, he’s gentle. Despite it all, despite every bit of horror he’d been put through, he’d never lost sight of the importance of a gentle hand. Especially now in a moment as intimate as this. It coaxes you closer.

You lean into the cybernetic attachment, cheek resting in his palm. You nod, then, with eyes eager to take in every bit of this moment.

He chuckles at the enthusiasm. Echo’s thumb, deft and smooth, then traces the line of your lower lip.

The feeling is... the gnawing pain that he’s felt for nearly a year has melted. Finally, the itch has been scratched in his brain and the hollow ache of his bones is gone. It’s relief, and comfort, and excitement and all these beautiful things — and you. 

You’re stuck — you don’t want to move, you won’t move. He’s rooted you completely, and when his other hand — the calloused and warm one of flesh and blood — finds it’s spot along your thigh, you swallow a lovesick sigh that would only exaserbate your desperation. 

Your mouth is moving before you realize it. 

“What does it mean?”

Echo’s eyes narrow, only a bit, and he runs his thumb up your cheekbone.

“What does what mean?” 

“Mesh’la,” it sounds foreign on your tongue. It’s not Hutteese or Twi’leki, not like any language you know, “Will you tell me what it means, Echo?”

The corner of his lips quirk. Your eyes jump to it.

You feel like someone’s reached right into your chest and given your heart a squeeze — and it only worsens when he laughs. He laughs, deep and quiet and warm, like a thunderstorm on a summer night. It feels cruel, to string you along like this when you’re here, lips parted, hanging off his every touch and his every word.

“Beautiful,” he says quietly as his other hand touches your jaw — it’s so damn reverent, this little moment in time, that you almost don’t believe it’s real.

It feels like a dream — like someone has come in and stolen your thoughts from you; like the unrequited yearning has finally stoked a fire large enough to burn you up entirely, a fever you never knew you wanted.

His nose brushes yours.

Your fingers wind into the fabric of his chest. You’re clinging, lost to the moment — and you can’t help wonder if this is how it feels when he catches you adoring him. He’s admiring you so tenderly that you nearly break.

You want to kiss him.

He’s thought about nothing but kissing you for the last five days at least. Longer in his dreams. Nowadays, it’s a constant pull, a constant want.

And now, it’s here — a present and current moment where it can happen. Where he can stop being a shiny cadet and he can make a move...

Enter Omega.

“Echo, we’re back—!”

The telltale hammer of a girl’s boots on the floor signals that the party is back from their supply run — but you’re so far off, spinning in a different universe, you don’t even hear her until its too late... Until Echo is yanking himself away and clearing his throat and rolling his wrist to test the prosthesis in a different way, a less intimate way. 

You blink, then rattle yourself back to the present. Omega is in the doorway staring with a quizzical look. Clearly, your state does little to dissuade the assumptions she’s already making and you can see the gears turning in her head. The dark-haired girl then slowly grins.

“Hi.”

You swallow. “Hi, Omega.”

“...Whatcha guys doin’?”

Echo coughs. “Uh, just fine-tuning the new upgrade.”

“...Riiiiiight.” 

You rub your cheeks and laugh — clearly forced and incredibly pained — as you stand up and nearly ram your head right into the top of Echo’s bunk. It’s met with a hiss of warning from the trooper as he jumps up to try and protect you from the impact. 

“Well! Uh, thanks for letting me help, Echo,” you clap, rocking back and forth on your boots, “I, uh... Oh, Cid called. I should... I should get back—”

“Yea,” he says, straining a bit to find the words, “Yea, I’ll... I’ll comm you if it starts to, uh... If it starts to act up?”

Omega watches the exchange, big brown eyes moving from left to right. 

“Good, great — yea, that’s,” you inhale as you rub your thighs and move towards the door, “Perfect. Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Bye!” Omega calls, waving.

You wave back, smiling. “Bye, Omega.”

Then, once it’s only Echo and Omega in the bunk, the tween speaks.

“...What the kriff was that?”

#HE IS A CORPORAL!!!!! #let echo say fuck #and omega #echo x reader #echo imagine #arc trooper echo x reader #echo/reader #echo/you #echo x you #tcw imagine #tbb imagine #sw imagine #the bad batch imagine #THANK YOU ANON WHO SENT ME THE UPDATED SPREADS #LOVE U ANGEL

[damnredthing]

Trailer tsunami

With all the character trailers in the recent days, I am sure a lot of fans are super hyped up now. I’ve already seen a bunch of screencaps, gifs, videos, tweets and whatnot. So, I try to approach the trailers a bit differently and just point out what I noticed after I watched them for the second and third time. Plus some thoughts about Pike in the end. My observations are in no specific order, they just follow my scatterbrained pattern.

Caution: Long post (no wonder after so many trailers!)

Uniform chatter – continued

The male skant is back. If you are very observant, you might have noticed a guy wearing a skant during the wedding scene in Pike’s promo trailer:

Where is waldo?

(I brightened the pic up a bit so you can see it better)

You actually don’t even have to ruin your eyes to find a guy in a skant. I think Chief Kyle (played by André Dae Kim) is wearing one in the Hemmer promo trailer:

There seems to be a variant for the male version, with black shoulder accents (which are missing on the female ones and also on the male one from the wedding scene). 

Looks like the shoulder accents go all the way down the upper arm for the male version. Or maybe it’s also a onesie (see blelow). Also, seems Kyle is an Ensign (no stripes and no cadet badge).

Cadet uniform gives me serious Star Trek Online vibes:

This looks almost like the default uniform in STO.

New tactical vest now shows divisions. In Discovery, the tactical vest was black for everyone, in SNW the tactical vest has an armor plating in the color matching the division of the wearer. So Pike’s is gold while La’an’s in red:

Gotte love me some Pike in action…

Away team combat armor. Apparently an away team expecting trouble doesn’t just beam down with an armored tactical vest. A light full body armor completes the combat gear. It looks water resistant, seems to be a tight fit and comes with a very cool Starfleet badge on the upper arm (cosplayers will be so busy):

I am not sure if this armor is capable of producing a space helmet.

The EV suits seem to look differently:

They also come in the divisional colors, but they seem more shiny and they have the Starfleet logo on top of the plate. At least in La’an’s case.

Uhura’s EV suit somehow doesn’t show the logo.

While Hemmer’s does. BTW, I like the detail of Hemmer wearing the hood. We do know that Andorian/Aenar’s tentacles regrow, but why risking them being cut off by activating the helmet if you can avoid it? 

Interestingly, Spock’s EV suit is all black:

Or the lighting is just so unwelcoming to the color blue…

Away team jacket. I am not sure what the rules are for the away team to wear armor or just the jacket. Maybe they wear the jacket if they do not expect (that much) trouble. Whatever the reason, I absolutely love the jackets. They also seem to be adaptable depending on the weather. They either come as a normal jacket:

Or they are more suitable for cold/rainy weather and come with an attached hood:

The awesome patch is also on the jacket.

This jacket definitely deserves more observation. When zipped up, you can see some V-pattern on the chest:

I also love the scarfs that work so well with the overall outfit:

And snow goggles…

Captain’s quarters

We actually get to see quite a bit of the Captain’s quarters. 

Pike’s quarters are HUGE! And he has a chimney??? On a starship? How does that even work? Also… Pike actually looks tired here.

Yep, it is a chimney!

Such huge quarters… looks like a megasuite!

Kitchen in the Captain’s quarters!

Big kitchen!

Chapel’s onesie. It’s neither a skant nor a jacket and pants. Chapel is actually wearing a onesie:

And she rocks it!

Pike channels his inner Elvis.

Or Johnny Bravo… (I’m sorry Anson!).

Everything is new on the Enterprise?

Pike’s crew seems to be partly renewed. La’an and M’Benga introduce themselves to Pike, while Pike welcomes Uhura and Chapel aboard the ship (sorry, I have no screencaps for that).

Also, we see the Enterprise leaving spacedock:

I’m not sure if they are repairing the damages from the season 2 finale of Discovery when the Enterprise looked like this:

They also showed in Discovery how the Enterprise was repaired. So maybe this is another visit to the spacedock.

Either way, with Enterprise being out of commission for repairs/refitting it would also match Pike’s timeout/vacation and allowing him to channel his inner Santa (sorry again, Anson!).

Additional badge for Ortegas.

I am not sure what it is, but at one point in her trailer Lt. Ortegas is wearing an additional badge above the normal Starfleet badge:

Patient’s name

The patient’s name is Rukiya. According to IMDB, Rukiya will show up for at least 3 episodes in season 1. Interesting!

Pike pondering his fate

The first teaser with Pike hiding in the back of beyond already hinted at his inner fight. What does knowing your fate do to you? In Discovery he seemed fine in the season 2 finale. Granted, with the fight against Control there wasn’t much time to think about his own fate. But later when Spock returned to the bridge all shaved and in uniform, Pike seemed happy to see him and he looked fine.

However, this doesn’t mean he is doing fine all the time. I can speak from experience. You can still function and even appear to other people completely like your normal self, while in truth you are deeply troubled inside.

I often hear critics about the new Star Trek shows, how giving all characters a troubled background is “lazy writing”. For Pike it all makes sense though. “Through the Valley of Shadows” IMO is one of the most important episodes of all Star Trek because it defines what Pike is all about. It adds to the explanation why he became one of the most decorated Star Fleet officers and even has a medal of valor named after him. But if you show such an episode, it should also be clear to the audience that such a fate cannot have no effect on the person.

I like that the writers let Pike question himself. He is apparently unsure what to do with this firm knowledge of his fate (which in part he misinterprets, but I’ll get to that in a bit). Will he take bigger risks? Or will it makes him hesitant? We’ll have to wait and find out.

The fact that he consults Spock is also interesting. It pays into their close friendship as it is revealed later in the TOS episodes “The Menagerie”. Spock is risking his life and career for Pike. There must be a reason why he feels so close to Pike. So, Pike telling Spock about his fate makes sense. But maybe this wasn’t so voluntarily. We already know of 2 people on board who are able to read minds, Spock himself and also the Aenar Hemmer. Or maybe Spock confronted Pike after he acted not his usual self or risked himself unnecessarily. We don’t know yet.

Will Pike keep this knowledge throughout the entire show? Or could we see another “Requiem for Methuselah” in SNW?

There is a problem with Pike knowing his fate. If he knows his fate, he knows he cannot die before that moment of his vision comes. That could lead him to risk his life way too often even to the point where he unintentionally also risks the ship and crew.

This leads me to his partly misinterpreted vision. He says he knows exactly how and when his life is going to end. I am not sure how exactly he concludes the “when”. All he knows is that he’ll be a fleet captain and he’ll be on a cadet vessel. But he does not know when he’ll be promoted and he does not know when he’ll be on that vessel.

We already know that the accident will not end his life. However, for him there is no way of knowing that because the time crystal didn’t show him what is going to happen after the accident. His conclusion that his life is ending makes sense for him. He does know what the explosion was. He does know that his initial injuries were just some burns. And he does know that he later becomes defaced and wheelchair bound with lung support. So it makes totally sense for him to believe he was poisoned by delta radiation and his body is going to deteriorate even further to the point until all his organs will fail and he’ll die.

From his point of view he knows he’ll die. That makes a huge difference to knowing that you’ll be disabled. What are you going to do with your life in the here and now if you know in maybe 10 years tops you’ll be dead? Do you still allow yourself to fall in love with someone (or admit your love to say... Vina), knowing your partner will grieve for you? Do you still have life goals? Do you still allow yourself to enjoy things, knowing it’s possibly the last time you’re doing it or you’re simply questioning the sense?

I actually hope for another Requiem for Methuselah; I wouldn’t want to see Pike fighting his inner demons throughout the entire show. But that is just my humble opinion.

And congrats if you read thus far. You are more patient than I am. :P

#Strange New Worlds #SNW #Trailers #Christopher Pike #Captain Pike #Anson Mount #Uhura #Spock #Hemmer #Nurse Chapel #Enterprise #NCC 1701 #just my observations

[writertitan]

Sunsets

pairing: levi x f!reader (she/her pronouns used)

word count: 3.3k

themes: a little angsty at first but trust the process, fluffy ending, canonverse, levi is nervous

requested by anon

The first time you felt something was amiss was when you caught Levi scrambling to hide something in his desk drawer as you walked into his office. 

“What’s that?” you asked, more out of slight curiosity than anything else, as you closed the door behind you. 

“Nothing,” Levi responded curtly, and that was the end of it. 

For a moment, you wondered about pressing it, mostly just to tease, but it was forgotten the moment Levi got up and walked towards you to hand you a cup of tea. 

You stole a quick peck from him in the process, his sneaky little moment now completely wiped from your head, and you launched into a summary of your day with your squad. 

Levi listened as attentively as he always did. As you spoke, the two of you ended up leaving his office to take a stroll outside, sipping your teas as you chatted. 

It was no surprise that you ended up where you always did outside. A private spot - the one you’d dubbed your spot with Levi - in a quiet part of base, aware from prying eyes and the constant noise and running around. 

You looked towards the sunset that bled across the wall and sighed in content, clutching your teacup close to your chest as you took in the sight. You could feel Levi’s eyes on you but you didn’t turn to him right away, choosing to admire the warm colors before the sky turned inky. Still, that didn’t stop you from being cheeky. 

“What are you staring at?” you asked with a small smile tugging at your lips. Finally, your gaze flickered to Levi, catching his silvery eyes. 

He grunted a noncommittal response and looked towards the sunset as well, but you saw the faint pink dusting his ears. It made you smile wider, and you hid it behind your teacup before taking one last sip of tea. 

“We should go back inside soon, it’s getting chilly,” you said, and Levi nodded once, his eyes on you yet again when he noticed that you were getting closer to him instead of heading back inside. 

The evening was settling into a cool spring night, and you couldn’t help your desire to snuggle closer into Levi. There was no one around - you could hear the ruckus of dinnertime in the mess hall - which made it the perfect opportunity to find comfort in his sturdy, warm chest. 

Over the years, you’d noticed that your more unexpected advances, like this one, made Levi tense up less and less. The very first time you’d gotten cuddly with him, even in the privacy of his room, he’d frozen up and couldn’t respond. An entirely different Levi from this current one, who easily looped an arm around your middle and nuzzled his nose into your hairline when you rested your head against his shoulder.

“Let’s go back in now,” he murmured against your forehead, and you hummed in both agreement and disagreement. 

It was nice to be like this with him. It felt normal, weightless. You wanted to soak up in this moment forever. 

When Levi pulled away, you whined a little and leaned towards him again, seeking his warmth, but you stopped when Levi set his cup down gently on the grass to shrug out of his jacket and drape it over your shoulders. His warmth and his scent enveloped your senses and you smiled shyly at him, using your free hand to tug his jacket closer around you. 

He took your cup from you and then grabbed his cup from the grass, allowing you a few moments to snuggle up in his jacket and stick your arms through the sleeves. The two of you were settled in a comfortable silence as you walked back inside, straight towards your shared room. 

On the way back you passed by Levi’s office, door still ajar, and Levi asked you to stop so he could finish up a few things and lock it up for the night. 

“Mind taking these back to the kitchen?” he asked you as he gently handed you the empty teacups. 

“Don’t mind at all, I’ll just meet you in our room,” you said, turning back around to leave. 

You turned to look at him over your shoulder before closing the door behind you, and stopped when you saw him briefly peek into the same drawer he’d been so sneaky about earlier, the memory popping back up in your brain. 

Whatever he was hiding, he didn’t take it out, and you didn’t wait around to see if he would. It was probably nothing. 

By the time you got to your shared room, Levi was already there, and the memory was almost to the back of your mind again, to be completely forgotten the moment his lips touched yours. It wasn’t until you were drifting off to sleep, Levi’s hand stroking along your spine, that your mind conjured it up again in a dream. 

----

The second time you felt something was up was when Hange and Levi shut up the moment you stepped into the room. 

Hushed whispers cut off short the moment you walked in, and it was a little irritating. Whatever urgent matter you’d needed Levi for was wiped from your head for the moment, replaced with unease. 

“What?” you pressed, eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Am I interrupting something?” 

“No,” Levi said, a little too quickly for your liking, and you gave him a frown. 

“Then what were you talking about?” 

“Can’t tell you yet,” Hange piped up, which in turn made Levi glare at them. 

You pressed your lips together, trying to decide if it was worth asking for more information, but before you could make up your mind, Hange jumped up from their chair and gave you a bright smile, glasses flashing in the afternoon light streaming through the window of their lab. 

“Well, I’m off! Got lots of things to tend to this afternoon. See you for supper?” They didn’t want for an answer as they hurried past you, leaving you alone with a very on edge Levi. 

You hadn’t seen him this tensed up since you’d first gotten together. It was startling. 

It was scary. 

“Levi…,” you began, but couldn’t find the words. Finally, you decided on, “Is everything okay?” 

He softened at your question, which had come out quiet and clearly laced with worry, and in no time he was in front of you and smoothing some hair from your face. 

“Stop worrying so much,” he answered; his eyes were sincere and calming, and your heartbeat slowly went back to normal when he let you lean into his touch. 

You didn’t dawdle too much and eventually you pulled away from him, giving him a stern look when you remembered what you’d come to find him for. 

“One of the cadets tracked in...horse shit. And he doesn’t know how to clean it up. Honestly, he’s just spreading it around even more. We need you,” you explained, just about gagging even at the very recent memory of the poor boy trying his best to clean before his captain could find out. 

Levi’s eyes had widened the moment you’d mentioned anything about horse dung being anywhere other than in the stables, and then darkened as he processed the situation at hand. 

“This batch has got to be the worst we’ve ever had,” he muttered, referring to your newest recruits. “I think I’m gonna be fucking sick. Let’s go.” 

It wasn’t until you both heard Hange’s bloodcurdling scream that you sprung into action. Because for Hange of all people to get worked up about a mess, it had to be bad. And Levi knew that better than anyone. 

He had never left you behind as fast as he did right then. 

---

Though the sneakiness persisted over the next couple of weeks, what you couldn’t let go of was the way Levi was slowly tensing up again. 

What had you done? Had you done something that had set him off and made him uncomfortable?

Every time you tried to broach the subject with him, Levi was quick to change the subject. Then, for a while, he’d be sort of back to normal with you. He’d sneak a few affectionate touches in private, he’d take an evening stroll outside only for you to end up at your favorite spot, and then you’d feel your worries slip away. 

Only for those same worries to come crashing back when he’d tense up again. 

The final straw was after training, when you’d walked into his office to give him some paperwork, and had caught him pacing back and forth. He looked stressed out and it made your heart hurt for him. 

Apparently, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear you come in. As he turned his head towards the window, back to you, you walked over to place a hand on his shoulder, ready to comfort him. 

The way he cringed away made you stumble back as if you’d been slapped. The pain of rejection spread from your heart to your entire body as Levi whipped around to face you, grey eyes filled with surprise when he saw it was you. 

And then you just couldn’t help it. The tears that filled your eyes couldn’t be stopped, and Levi looked horrified at the sight. 

“I’m sorry-” he started, but you interrupted him with a whispered, “Stop.” 

It was then that the most horrible thought came to you, a thought that suddenly made the most sense. 

“Do you not want to be with me anymore?” you asked him, voice cracking at the end. 

The sneakiness, the tension he radiated, it all pointed to one thing: He was done with you. That had to be it. Just the idea of it made your heart simultaneously sink and beat hard in denial. Your body was just as tense as Levi’s. 

Somehow, somewhere along the way, maybe Levi had decided that a relationship really was too hard. Maybe you’d forced him to be too open. Maybe he was uncomfortable with you. It had taken a long time for him to come out of his shell and truly open up to you, but maybe he regretted it. 

Levi, for the first time ever since you’d known him, looked dumbfounded. 

“What are you talking about?” he asked, but your heart sank at that. 

Answering a question with another question. A telltale sign that he was avoiding the answer. 

“All of your sneaking around, Levi! You’ve been acting so different lately and I guess I get it now,” you said, voice still wobbly as the tears threatened to fall. 

Realization dawned on Levi’s face then, but you didn’t wait around for whatever he was about to say. You’d thought that maybe Levi had just needed some space before. Now it was you who needed space. If he was going to call things off, you needed a bit more time to prepare yourself. 

You left despite Levi calling out for you, tears finally trickling down your cheeks as you desperately tried to hurry off and find somewhere to calm down. 

You pushed yourself into the first supply closet you could find and locked it after you, settling down in the darkness as you wiped at your continuously falling tears. 

Maybe you were jumping to conclusions, but something was just different about Levi lately. And to have him tense up like that, when he hadn’t done so in such a long time...it hurt more than anything else. Even the thought of him not being in your life sent shots of panic through you. 

But you couldn’t face him just yet. You’d have to sort it out soon with him, whether you were right or not, but the fear and insecurity ate away at you in that supply closet. 

One thing stood out though, as your tears subsided. 

Levi would never intentionally hurt you. He wanted you to be safe, to feel safe, like you made him feel safe. 

And, the most important thing you had to remember, was that you loved him. And you weren’t willing to throw it all away without doing all you could to repair whatever needed fixing. 

You had to be brave. You owed it to Levi to be brave, even if you were about to hear something you didn’t want to hear. 

So, after a deep breath, you dusted yourself off and slowly left the closet, quiet and a little anxious as you headed back to his office. 

Your footsteps were the only sound as you made your way down the hall. Nobody was around and, as you got closer to Levi’s office, you couldn’t hear him inside. 

Peeking your head in, your suspicions were confirmed when you were met with an empty space. You quietly shut the door behind you and looked around, as if Levi would randomly appear. 

The silence was uncomfortable. Though much of your time spent alone with Levi was in silence, it was comfortable and perfect, and made you feel as if you could continue on that way forever. But just you here in his office with Levi nowhere in sight, with only silence to accompany you, made you feel cold. 

You sat at his desk and sighed, rubbing at your face for a moment before leaning back in his chair and contemplating what to do next. Should you just wait for him here? 

But when your eyes flickered to the desk drawer that had started the first bouts of unease in you, your mind blanked. 

It was unlike you to invade Levi’s privacy. And truly, whatever he’d pushed into that drawer must have been taken out by now, right? 

But you were acting so unlike you today. 

Part of you felt bad to be opening up the drawer to peek inside, but the other part of you just needed to know, and needed to find answers. 

There were a few documents in there that looked standard, but the folded up piece of parchment at the back caught your attention immediately. 

You carefully pulled it out and shut the drawer, heart thumping as you unfolded it to look at the contents. 

Ring? 

At morning? At night?   at sunset, our spot

Write a speech

Memorize the speech? 

Or maybe just ask her Too aggressive. Say something romantic first asshole

Ask Hange for help on what to say even if it makes you want to die 

Be confident

Would she even want to marry you? 

Be confident

Where at first your heart had been pounding, it had suddenly skipped a few beats when you realized what you were reading. 

Levi’s normally neat and beautiful handwriting was more erratic here, with ink blotting through and so many things scratched out.

But even so, your eyes fell back to the word you couldn’t believe you were reading. 

Marry.

He wanted to marry you? 

And he was actually questioning if you’d want to marry him? 

All of your previous worries suddenly seemed so stupid. You felt so stupid. You’d jumped to conclusions, and your conclusion had been the complete opposite of what was going on. 

And now you had to find Levi. 

---

The best part about being with Levi for so long was gradually figuring out his thought process. And you knew, judging from how you’d taken off earlier, that Levi would try to think like you and run off to find you in the places where you’d most likely go to calm down and seek comfort. 

Definitely not a supply closet. 

Your feet guided you outside and you felt like you were on autopilot as you strolled the grounds, slowly making your way to yours and Levi’s spot. 

When the sight of him came into view, him sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall of the building, your heart fluttered and you breathed out in relief. 

He whipped his head in your direction once your footsteps could be heard coming towards him, and the conflicted expression on his face melted away at the sight of you. But at the sight of his little secret clutched in one of your hands, his eyes widened and a faint blush spread over his face. He got up quickly, hesitating for a moment before stepping towards you. 

“I’m sorry for going through your things-” you started, but were cut off by Levi pulling you into a tight embrace. 

“I do want to be with you,” he whispered in your ear, pulling away after a moment to look at your face with the most gentle gaze. He briefly nodded toward the parchment in your hand, looking even a little shy as he met your eyes again. “I want to be with you for as long as I’m allowed to be. But I was so busy being nervous about asking you that I didn’t realize I was acting like an asshole. I’m sorry. You deserve bett-” 

Your lips were on his before he could finish. 

Levi had the annoying habit of thinking you were too good for him. But now, it looked like you could spend the rest of your life proving to him that he was exactly what you deserved. 

When you pulled away, you beamed at him, tears sprouting in your eyes again. This time, of pure happiness. 

You turned to look at the slowly disappearing sunset and laughed a little; it was just how Levi had tried to plan it. 

Still, he looked flustered as he pulled you closer. 

“This wasn’t exactly how I wanted it to go, I don’t even have a ring yet,” he whispered, but you shook your head and cupped his face, pressing your forehead to his. 

You just wanted to hear the words. 

“This is perfect,” you assured him, and it really was. He could have asked you at any moment, ever, and you would have thought it was perfect. “Just ask me. I just want you to ask me.” 

Levi cleared his throat awkwardly, which made you giggle, but it died down when his thumb danced over your jaw sweetly, and you felt his words ghost over your lips when he finally spoke. 

“Will you marry me?” 

#levi x reader #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman x you #levi fanfiction #levi fluff #levi fic #levi ackerman oneshot #levi one shot #levi ackerman #levi #aot oneshots #aot fanfiction #aot #snk fanfiction #snk