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elexica · 3 years

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Second Chance Christmas: {{ December 24 }}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27832405/chapters/69340716 Christmas Eve is a lot more pleasurable this year.

Rating increased to Explicit for smut this chapter. If you would like to skip it, end the chapter at the grilled cheese.

Entire chapter under the cut.

When Joey rolled over to look at his cellphone, he was startled to see it was almost 10:30 am. How did he sleep in, until mid-morning, on Christmas Eve? It was impossible that the kids hadn’t awoken with the dawn, and absolutely impossible that they didn’t need some form of attention by now.

Maybe they’ve been kidnapped, Joey wondered to himself. That would be just his luck—the second Kaiba’s back, loved ones get kidnapped.

He looked out the French doors that lead to the master bedroom’s balcony. It wasn’t a bad view at all, and the snow was wafting down. It was soft, fluffy, powdery stuff, already accumulating on the handrail of the deck. Joey considered fighting the temptation to wander out, but decided to just take a peek outside.

He was instantly rewarded with the sight of Alexis braining Atticus with a snowball.

They were dressed warmly, if a bit mismatching. From the bright red glove on one of Atticus’ hands, and the black mitten on the other, someone wasn’t able to find the right counterpart in time.

That someone was looming a bit off to the side, like he always did. Kaiba was crouching in the snow too, busy at work making something. Joey couldn’t tell at this distance, and it would be pretty harsh of him to join in the snowball fight. Joey knew from experience that Kaiba didn’t half-ass snowball fights and had killer aim.

Joey had only managed to keep up because he thought shoving snow down the back of Kaiba’s shirt was the funniest thing in the world. The full body shiver and searing rage it inspired were unparalleled.

Instead, today it looked more like he was on hand to intervene if Alexis got too invested and owned her older brother too hard. And like he was doing something of his own, playing with the snow.

Was Seto Kaia building a snow man? Joey squinted, but the white snow was too bright and the packed snow was too indistinguishable from the freshly fallen drifts for him to actually be able to tell.

Joey felt some snowflakes collecting in his own fluffy hair, and with a shake of his head decided he could do a better job spectating from downstairs.

A latte was sitting on the kitchen counter. The foam had somewhat disintegrated, melting back into the coffee and milk mixture. At first, Joey assumed Kaiba had just left it behind for himself when he had been probably unceremoniously dragged into the falling snow by their little miscreants.

But upon close inspection, the foam had a sort of heart pattern on the top, made from pouring the steamed milk just so. Latte art had been an interest of Kaiba’s for about a day several years back—he had been convinced that he could replicate the delicate pouring in a robotic attachment added to the espresso machine, which could be repurposed to replace certain precision work in the Duel Disk manufacturing line. In the process, he had gotten very good at making them by hand as well.

Could the mug actually be for Joey? It didn’t look like Kaiba had sipped from it.

Kaiba was probably just showing off to the kids, Joey thought to himself. Even so, it melted his heart in his chest just a little bit. Even if it wasn’t for him, Joey was going to taste it. It was on Joey’s counter now, right?

The milk foam was soft against his lips, sweet little bubbles popping on his tongue as he sipped, and the coffee was still warm. He could feel the heat of it course down his throat.

He took another long drink of it, and it really was that good. If Kaiba had a love language, Joey pondered midway through another gulp, it probably would be fancy coffee.

Joey took the mug out with him, the warmth of the mug soothing in his hands as he wandered to the backyard. The chill in the air hit him in the face, instantly, and he wished he was wearing more than night clothes, his bathrobe, and slippers.

The family hadn’t really moved since he’d seen them from the master bedroom balcony.

Watching Seto play was always a source of fascination. Sure, it had been infuriating back in the day. The seriousness and anger he took to Duel Monsters, even when it wasn’t him dueling, was unpleasant at the time. But over the years, it had become endearing and intriguing. Sometimes, early on, Joey would even sit near Kaiba, during Yugi’s duels especially, just to hear the commentary. Kaiba was thoughtful and smart as hell, and his take on the game was as insightful as it was overly intense.

When Kaiba played other games, it was even more fun. Before they had met, Joey had never fathomed that someone could be completely engrossed in Operation!, or bring complete vitriol to Connect Four. Discovering that Guess Who could be played through carefully crafted insults to each figure’s appearance was delightful.

It had been one of the things Joey had kind of been looking forward to seeing in Kaiba when they had kids.

But… things don’t always pan out the way you want them to.

Joey took another sip from the coffee—Kaiba had put some sugar in it too, to Joey’s surprise. It had to be for him. Just that thought lit a spark in his chest that warmed him in a way that his bathrobe and flannel pajamas couldn’t.

Joey refocused on Kaiba, trying to discern exactly what the other man was doing in the snow. He was almost on his knees in the snow, and using his black-gloved hands to shape something. The packed snow was rather elegantly shaped, and even if it had been years since he had seen one in person, those white scales were incredibly iconic.

“Ay, Kaiba, is that?!”

With a finishing touch of black pebble eyes on the modestly-sized snow-dragon, Kaiba turned to face him dead-on.

Kaiba’s smirk was almost as haughty as it had been when he was a teen. He stood proudly in his winter coat, hands on his hips before the three-foot snow-dragon and pointed back at Joey with a flourish. “Attack with white lightning!”

Like magic, the kids turned on Joey. Snowballs were launched in his general direction and the kids made what Joey assumed were supposed to be dragon noises.

Joey was fortunate—the deck was pretty far from where they were playing, and the snowballs exploded harmlessly on the bannister or the porch in front of him. Alexis’s little screech was especially precious, even if her throw wasn’t.

Joey laughed so naturally that he didn’t realize he was doing it. When he composed himself again, he dramatically raised one hand, and pointed back. “I play my trap card,” Joey shouted into the fray, revolving enough to point at the kitchen behind him. “I’m making pancakes!”

Indeed, the promise of pancakes was more powerful than the lure of pretending to be dragons, and the kids cheered as they headed in.

Kaiba trailed the kids, looking oddly contemplative. Joey was about to leave and make good on his promise, but he was struck by the way Seto had his lips pressed together. He really looked like he was trying not to say something.

Joey gave him an expectant look, the space to say whatever it was that he was thinking.

“I never knew it could be this way.”

Joey tilted his head, blond hair flopping to the side. “What do you mean?”

Kaiba walked closer, within a few inches of Joey. With his thumb, Kaiba brushed a few snowflakes from the shorter man’s cheek. “I… didn’t realize that life could be this free.” And without any other comment or discussion, Kaiba composed himself and brushed past Joey. Leaving Joey with his now-chilly latte and distant thoughts.

…

Time slipped by quickly, the sands of the holiday magic hourglass rushing down as the finale approached.

The family had a holographic call with Mokuba and Yui, who expressed again how grateful they were to have the kids at their wedding. If Mokuba was surprised to see Joey and Kaiba alongside each other, not fighting, he didn’t show it.

After three years away from the high technology, Joey kind of saw the appeal of the holograms with fresh eyes. It was pretty neat to see Mokuba again, in three dimensions, glowing just a little in his living room. While Mokuba was patiently listening to Atticus explain how they were playing dragons this morning, Joey was just taking it in.

Then they sat down for another round of Christmas movies—this time all the classics. First was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which Kaiba insisted had an overly mature message, that being unique is respected only when someone else can profit off of it. Then was Frosty the Snowman, which Kaiba objected to on the grounds that it sent mixed messages about mortality. “It is like watching ‘All Dogs Go to Heaven’ if you actually had to watch the dog—”

“Kaiba, it’s fine, he’s a snowman.” Joey interrupted.

“He’s clearly sentient. He’s aware of his surroundings. Do you think he cannot feel his body melt—”

“Next movie!” Joey announced, clicking away.

Kaiba completely left the room for Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, which was a pity, given how much of the runtime was dedicated to business decisions.

Kaiba only returned later, to poke his head around the corner and say that he had finished making dinner.

Joey wasn’t sure what to expect from Kaiba for a holiday dinner. Frankly, the times he had seen Kaiba cook were few and far between—he had helped out yesterday, but otherwise it was something of an informed ability. Kaiba said he could cook, but Joey supposed the proof would be in the literal pudding.

When they were dating, Kaiba was usually working and they would get take out or go out to dinner far more frequently than doing dinner at home. Joey couldn’t pinpoint exactly when the expectation of family meals had appeared—maybe after Atticus was born? Whenever it had happened, the family chef had appeared like magic.

Joey realized that maybe Kaiba had no idea what Joey’s cooking was like outside of this week either. That was a disturbing thought. How long could you spend with someone without ever learning what their cooking tasted like.

Joey was in for a pleasant surprise. It certainly wasn’t fancy, but tomato soup from a can—garnished with a basil leaf—and a decent stack of not-burnt grilled cheese sandwiches were waiting. With the snow falling gently outside, and the reflection of a few twinkling Christmas lights draped around the kitchen, it was a very pleasant scene.

It felt like too much to demand, but Joey bit into a perfectly buttery sandwich—crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside—and thought maybe he would like it if Kaiba cooked every night.

…

Finally, the kids were instructed that they needed to have an early bed time, as part of the last ditch efforts to convince Santa that they were good kids.

With certain designated cookies set out and carrots left for the reindeer, the kids were headed to bed.

“So… we didn’t wrap the presents last night,” Joey announced. Kaiba nodded, and they grimly turned toward the master bedroom to contemplate their fate.

The present pile was absolutely not representative of what Joey had purchased on his singular trip to the mall. At some point, quite deviously, Kaiba must have procured another thirty presents, through some assistant or something—Joey really could account for most of the time, and had them hidden in Joey’s secret present hiding place (unsurprisingly the master bedroom’s closet).

As a result, even with the two of them working to wrap presents, it had been almost three hours and they were still at it. Kaiba was frustratingly slow: he was both meticulous about straight edges and perfect tape amounts, and just slightly terrible at wrapping. It was brutally obvious he had never had to do it before, so even though the theory was easy for him, his long fingers struggled slightly with execution. It made the process even slower because Joey kept getting distracted, watching Kaiba’s long fingers fiddle with the paper and the tape.

“We can take a five minute break, we’ve been pretty busy this week,” Joey announced, stepping away from the supplies covered desk and flopping back on the bed.

Seto walked over and sat on the edge of pensively before curling into the fluffy duvet. “It’s true. Whatever doesn’t get wrapped can be saved for birthday presents.”

Joey graced him with a skeptical look.

“What?! You said you wanted it to be lower key,” Kaiba snapped back, offended. Kaiba looked down at his hands, tape resting on his pinky as he tried to get the fold just so on a small packet that was obviously a Duel Monsters cards booster pack.

The bags that were omnipresent under Kaiba’s eyes were etched just a little deeper than before. “A five minute break… sounds wise.”

Joey flopped backward onto the bed, avoiding the wrapping paper. Kaiba relaxed backwards as well.

Five minutes passed, and then another five. The bed was really soft and cozy. Joey knew it was much more comfortable than the guest room bed, and Kaiba was burrowing in somewhat.

The other man really did look peaceful, brown hair falling into his glasses, eyes finally closed and relaxed.

Two hours later, a quick glance at the bedside clock warned Joey that it was almost eleven at night. The lights had been extinguished, but the curtains hadn’t been drawn, leaving the room with a hazy glow from the bright snowscape and moon beyond the French doors.

Joey had dozed off on the bed and like magnets, Seto had ended up so close to him. Joey really hadn’t expected to wake up to the other man clinging to him for dear life, but it felt so nice. A pleasant weight, holding him, making him feel treasured. God only knew where his glasses had ended up.

Seto’s breath ghosted across Joey’s collarbone. “I missed you.” It was soft, sleep addled, and entirely sincere. His breaths were deep and warm, as if he was taking in everything about the situation that he could, inhaling the sleepy cozy scent of his partner, the soft detergent smell the dryer had left on Joey’s pajamas, the pine scented holiday candle that had been inadvertently left to burn for the last two hours.

Cuddling again felt so magical, after so long. Joey’s hand caught in Seto’s hair, soft brown strands running across his rougher fingers. His nails scraped lightly across Seto’s scalp, and Seto practically purred. It was enough to make the heat rise in Joey’s cheeks.

“I don’t want to let go of you,” Seto admitted to Joey. Seto looked up from where he was snuggled into Joey’s chest, eyes softer than Joey remembered them.

“Then don’t,” Joey answered, pulling Seto up so that their faces were perfectly aligned.

Staring into Kaiba’s eyes was always like this. It hit so deep, struck Joey right on the inside of his sternum. Something in the blue depths broke his heart every single time.

And Joey pulled him into a kiss. Seto’s mouth tasted the way that it always had. With his large hands grabbing at Joey’s back, clutching at the fabric, it felt the same way that it did before. When Seto deepened the kiss, when his tongue plunged into his mouth, nothing had changed.

But Seto pulled away, marking that Joey hadn’t truly time traveled. “I… are you sure you want to do this? I’m leaving tomorrow, Jounouchi.” Seto was so serious. The flush in his cheeks was just painted onto his ex-husband, the rest of his face was schooled into a business-like countenance. It almost made Joey forget the familiar hand on his hip, thumb stroking over his side.

Joey smiled, but he could feel the pinpricks behind his own eyes. “Then you better not ruin tonight, huh?”

Kaiba smirked, falling back into his role. “As you should well know,” Kaiba dived into Joey’s neck, sucking and biting something fierce, “I always rise to a challenge.”

Kaiba’s hand drifted up, grasping for Joey’s shirt and tearing it off. “If I remember correctly,” Kaiba continued, crawling down his body and quickly arriving at his cock, “and I always do,” Kaiba’s eyes flashed up to meet Joey’s, devious and dirty be fore pulling down Joey’s pajama pants, exposing his dick to the tense air of their bedroom, “I have some reliable methods for ensuring this is worth your time.”

“You talk too—” Joey attempted to complain, but Kaiba’s mouth on his hardening penis cut him off. A shock of lust zapped through is body, reaching the ache in his chest.

As Seto sucked gently—cheeks hollow and eyes closed in focus, Joey felt the lust course through him. But also a sense of comfort, of safety, and of loss. Each jolt of pleasure also triggered something cruel and bittersweet.

Joey tried to hold off, knowing that the sooner he came, the sooner it would end. The fantasy of having his husband back, adoring him in the most intimate way, would be over, even as the pangs of pleasure rippled through him.

But it was hard. Kaiba was an obsessive man, and when pleasuring Joey was his focus, he was meticulous in mastering its intricacies. One of Kaiba’s hands was caressing his inner thigh, alternating worshipful touches and soft, stinging scratches that dragged needy whines from Joey’s lips.

Just when Joey was certain he wouldn’t be able to hold on for any longer, the pressure building inside, threatening to spill out, Kaiba disengaged. A bit of pre-cum mixed with spit bridged between his plush lips and Joey’s rock hard cock. The light glinted off of the dew on Kaiba’s mouth, and accentuated the way that his lips were trembling.

Kaiba slid up, rolling over far enough to reach the top drawer of the night stand. And, just as if no time had passed, a bottle of lube was waiting for him. Joey’s eyes lingered on the way Kaiba poured it along his hands, leaving them glistening in the reflection of the moonlight off of the freshly fallen snow.

Kaiba removed his own sweatpants, and Joey’s eyes could see how devastatingly hard Kaiba was. The full body shiver that ran through him just touching himself in order to lube his own cock. And when he looked back over at Joey, the determination in his eyes was so intense, it was almost scary.

Kaiba crawled over, hands framing Joey’s head, heat radiating off of his body in hot waves, cocks threatening to touch. “I want you so bad, Jounouchi,” he whispered, voice husky from sucking him off.

“Then take me, Kaiba. You never had a problem taking what you want before,” Joey issued the challenge with a hint more menace than he had realized was there.

And the restraint was lifted. Joey hadn’t really realized there ever was any restraint, but with Kaiba’s fingers plunged into his tight opening, searching and quickly finding the familiar magic spot, maybe his partner had been holding back.

With only so many desperate thrusts of his fingers, Kaiba withdrew them. Joey almost moaned at the loss, wanting to tell his partner there was no rush. That they had enough time for everything, make love like they used to—languid and peaceful, wasteful of time.

Any complaints were silenced as he felt Kaiba’s thick cock enter him. Joey was lost in the sensations, swimming in the lust. The only things he could keep track of were the thrusts, the feeling of Seto’s hips and thighs rhythmically moving against his own. The white hot pulse of Kaiba coming inside of him, and that perfect moment, when he felt full and complete. Finally coming himself, untouched, semen spilling over his own stomach.

Even though it was sticky, and would soon be uncomfortable, he hated when Kaiba withdrew. His heart ached when he handed him a damp towel from the in suite, and when Kaiba gathered his pajamas, prepared to walk to the guest room.

Joey had to go back in his memory all the way to their earliest days to remember Kaiba getting up immediately after sex. Once their relationship was, well, a relationship and not a duel to see who could keep the connection more casual, Kaiba loved to be close afterwards. Even if he didn’t necessarily snuggle, he was usually present, sharing small smiles and holding Joey until he fell asleep.

“Don’t.”

Kaiba froze. And then he looked back, more surprised than he should have been.

The look on his face sent Joey to the early days of their courtship, when Kaiba would wear that same expression as he gathered up arm-belts as he bailed from Joey’s shit apartment back in Domino.

But that they had shared this exact bedroom for six years.

Joey hadn’t even changed up the pictures on the walls—shamefully enough, a wedding photo still sat on the dresser. Their trapped smiling faces judging the messy entanglement that their romance had become.

“Don’t leave me,” Joey choked out. Don’t leave me again went unspoken. He didn’t have that bad of a time saying how he felt, but Kaiba always tested the limits, made him want to withdraw into himself. It took some kind of bravery to be open with his feelings now, and it swelled in his chest. “I want you to stay the night, here.”

Kaiba nodded slowly, and dressed in his pajamas. He sat down on the bed carefully, cautious, like he hadn’t slept there a thousand times before. It almost seemed like he didn’t trust the mattress not to turn to dust beneath him.

And then he laid in bed like a corpse in a coffin, careful to bind his arms to his waist.

With a deep sigh, Joey said, “Ah come on. We just fucked, Kaiba. You can uh… you can touch me, if you wanna.”

Kaiba looked over. In the darkness, the glow of the moon-touched snow glinted in his eyes, sparking something mysterious. “We… did.” He looked a little bit like a cryptid, something not quite of this world, trapped in a reality he couldn’t totally understand.

“I don’t regret it,” Joey said, though his voice betrayed a bit of his uncertainty. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Hn.” Kaiba scoffed.

“Yeah, I shoulda seen that one coming,” Joey said, leaning back against his pillow. It was somehow entirely foreign to have another man in his bed, and yet also familiar. Like Kaiba had never been there before, but also like he had never left.

The warmth was almost that of a phantom sensation—almost close enough to touch, just far enough away to feel like a figment of his imagination.

And then, somewhat suddenly, Joey felt the familiar hands of his ex-husband wrap around his arm. Just like that, Kaiba crept back into his space, foreheads almost touching, straight brown hair entangling in unruly blond strands. Joey could feel each exhale of Kaiba’s against his cheek. They were soft and rhythmic, pantomiming sleep.

Joey was surprised when he didn’t tense up at the contact. When they both melted into the shared cozy warmth under the quilt. When his own breathing turned more evenly paced.

He was falling asleep in that most literal sense, the experience of complete relaxation where one sinks through the mattress and into the dream world.

Somewhere in that sinking, the purgatory between sleeping and wakefulness, Joey could have sworn he heard Kaiba whisper “I still love you” in his gravelly tone.

But it could have been just a dream.

#puppyshipping #Violetshipping #my fic #seto kaiba #Kaiba Seto #Jounouchi Katsuya #Joey Wheeler #update schedule is hitting the point where the chapters are posted on the dates when they occur.#that's fun and sexy #right??

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hedwigstalons · 4 years

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Rite of Passage

This is written for #irrelief set up by @gumnut-logic. This is for both @tsarinatorment who wanted Scott teaching a younger brother how to fly, and @scribbles97 who wanted anything with Scott and Alan.

xoxoxox

“Up and at ‘em, birthday boy. These pancakes won’t last long if you don’t get down here quick.”

Grandma Tracy’s voice reverberated down the corridor to Alan’s room, stirring him in to action. At twelve years old he had lost the desire to be up at the crack of dawn and even his own birthday couldn’t entice him out of his room any earlier than was necessary. Although if pancakes were on offer that could only mean one thing – Virgil was cooking.

The thought of Virgil’s thick and fluffy pancakes gave him the final push he needed otherwise he risked losing his share. He thundered down the stairs towards the kitchen and snagged a stack of pancakes from the pile in the middle of the table. The serving platter was loaded to overflowing and the jug of maple syrup was still full. Despite the threats no one else had started although Gordon was practically drooling from his place at the far side of the table.

All the Tracy boys appreciated good food. It could be in short supply on a rescue and in even shorter supply on the island if Grandma Tracy took it into her head to care for them with a good old fashioned dose of home cooking. Taking their cue from Alan the stack of pancakes was soon demolished. Blocks of butter were carved in to. Syrup dribbles were slurped off fingers. The feeding frenzy only finished when Virgil announced that there was no more batter left, much to the disappointment of everyone present.

With his stomach finally full Alan was able to take a proper look around the table. For once all of his brothers were present, even John. Comms must have been routed through to the island to allow his space monitor sibling to attend. He appreciated the effort; having John around was a rare treat and he missed the sibling who had inspired his love of space. He just hoped the Earth stayed quiet for a few hours. It always hurt watching his brothers dash off in their craft to save the world. Since Gordon earned his full IR blues last year he was the only one left behind when a call for help came in.

There was still one noticeable gaping absence in the assembled company. The place at the head of the table was empty. No one yet had the heart to sit in the chair that had until recently been the preserve of their father. This was Alan’s first birthday since the Zero-X exploded. His first birthday without his father. The thought made the pancakes sit heavily in his stomach, as though they had been made of cardboard.

All joy seemed to leach out of the day.

Birthdays were meant to be special. Twelfth birthdays even more so. Turning twelve allowed a Tracy to obtain the freedom of the skies. That magical rite of passage that was the first time being in control of an aircraft. He was no stranger to flying as a passenger, all Tracys seemed to clock up air miles from birth, but to actually take control was a privilege that had so far been denied to him.

It had all started with Scott. Scott, who would bleed aviation fuel if you cut him and had been obsessed with the skies from the moment he had first been placed on a blanket outside as a baby to watch the clouds go by. Scott, who had been asking to fly since he could talk. Other boys might ask for bicycles for their birthday, Scott asked for aeroplanes. And when Scott turned twelve he had been deemed mature enough, and tall enough, to move into the pilot’s seat.

It was a milestone that had carried on with each brother in turn.

It was a milestone that Alan was to be denied. There was no father around to take him up and hand over control.

The celebration moved through to the lounge where a stack of presents were arranged on one of the sofas. Books, video games and new clothes all appeared from the brightly wrapped parcels. A box of snacks and candy from Gordon was quickly whisked away to his room to be hidden from thieving brothers. Even birthday candy wasn’t sacred if left in a communal area; exhausted brothers returning from the danger zone could demolish a pack of Oreos quicker than you could say ‘Thunderbirds are go!’.

Soon there were no more parcels left.

“So, Alan, any plans for your big day?” Scott asked.

With his attention taken up with reading the back of one of the video game boxes Alan completely missed the smirks that were exchanged between his brothers.

“Maybe play one of these. Anyone up for it?” He held up one of the boxes. A space rocket filled the cover and the tagline promised intergalactic adventures that were out of this world.

“Sorry. Maybe later. I’ve got some maintenance to do.”

The disappointment on Alan’s face was clear to all as Scott turned and headed off towards the hangers.

“Anyone?” He waved the box in a hopeful manner but the lounge was already clearing as everyone went off to their respective duties.

“Sorry, Al. I don’t really have time for games. Scott’s right, there is maintenance to do. If you come and give me a hand on Three I might get done in time for a game before I head back up to the office.”

Alan perked up at this prospect. Thunderbird Three was his favourite craft but one he was rarely allowed near. The mighty space rocket seemed to call out to him and he longed to one day feel her power. Every time she launched in to orbit Alan could be found drooling at the windows of the villa. It was a sight he never grew tired of. The thought of spending time with John was also not to be sneezed at.

Alan willingly followed John to the elevators but instead of heading towards Thunderbird Three’s silo John started leading the way towards the private hanger. Alan trailed along behind. Maybe John needed to collect some tools or speak to one of the others first. They would get to the rocket soon enough and then Alan could lose himself in the mighty machine. If he was lucky John might even let him sit in the pilot’s seat.

As he entered the hangar Alan found himself blinking. Bright tropical sunshine spilled through the open door, exposing the view of the runway and the ocean beyond.

Once his eyes stopped watering and adjusted to the brightness Alan noticed his brothers and Grandma all gathered round. There, lined up to exit the hanger, was the small two-seater propeller plane that rarely saw the light of day. Probably not since Gordon had turned twelve.

“You didn’t think we would forget would you?” Scott stepped forwards, already kitted out in his blues and holding out one final parcel.

Alan stepped forwards to meet him and accepted the gift. He peeled off the paper almost reverentially, partly because of the significance of the gift and partly because he knew better than to leave litter in the hangar that could get sucked in to aircraft engines.

Hidden underneath the folds of paper was a familiar flash of blue. He shook out the material and held up the small flight suit. The stiff cotton was unblemished and still heavily creased in its newness. He rubbed his thumbs over the material as he held the suit by the shoulders. A patch badge on the breast proclaimed ‘A. TRACY’.

It might not be the high-tech material of his brothers’ uniforms but it was his. A symbol of the next stage of his life. Each brother in turn had been gifted their first flight suit on turning twelve. The significance of the colour was not lost on him. For each of the others the flight suit had been in the traditional green used by the US Air Force. His was sky blue with patches of a slightly darker shade on the knees and elbows. This suit was proof that one day he would be accepted as a Thunderbird. Provided he could actually master flying.

He undid the velco down the front of the suit with a satisfying rip and stepped in. The legs and arms were a little long but it gave him some growing room. Scott knelt down in front of him and folded up the cuffs into a fetching pair of turnups while Alan rolled back the sleeves a couple of turns.

“Can’t have these catching on the controls.” Scott murmured and he stood up, stepping back to admire his handiwork. “You ready?”

Alan could only nod dumbly as Scott led him over the aircraft and helped him in.

The aircraft was rather more basic than anything else in the Tracy fleet. Dual controlled with a simple stick and rudder pedals. It was the perfect trainer plane to learn the principals of flight. Of course it had had a few Tracy upgrades over the years. The instruments were now more in line with those found on the Thunderbirds and the comms unit was able to connect to the secure International Rescue frequencies. The technology was nothing new to Alan who had grown up with a lot of these features as standard but an outsider might have found the juxtaposition between high and low tech to be a touch strange.

“At least you are a bit taller than Gordon was” Scott said as he slotted himself into the second seat by Alan’s side, “Dad had to put him on a booster wedge.”

Alan smirked a little about this piece of ammunition. His next older brother made a big thing about Alan being the baby of the family. Next time Gordon teased about him having homework to do or not being allowed to swim without on of the others present Alan knew just what he would throw back in his fish brother’s face.

Lost in his imaginings of being able to retaliate against Gordon Alan missed that Scott had stared speaking again. Information about pitch, roll and yaw; rudders, flaps and ailerons had passed him by.

“Earth to Alan.”

A hand was waved in front of his face, jerking him back to reality.

“Huh. What was that, Scotty?”

“Wake up, kid. This thing won’t learn to fly itself. I said the stick controls the flaps and ailerons” Scott gave the stick a waggle and Alan watched as sections on the wings and tail moved correspondingly, “and the pedals control the rudder”. Alan turned around and saw the rudder section in the tail swing left and right as the pedals at his feet shifted, mirroring the action caused by Scott manipulating his own pedals. “Now lets get this baby fired up. Just watch what I do for now. You can keep your hands and feet on the controls but make sure you don’t put any pressure on them, just touch them lightly so you can feel what I’m doing.”

Scott’s fingers flew deftly over the various switches in the cockpit. The engine stuttered in to life and the propeller began to turn until it was a near-invisible blur at the front of the plane. A few more switches that Alan recognised as belonging to the radio and they were ready to go.

“Trainerbird One requesting permission to take off”.

John’s hologram popped up in the cockpit showing that he had evidently headed back to the lounge to run comms.

“Trainerbird One you are cleared for take off.”

Alan felt the small aircraft vibrate as Scott increased the power and they slowly rolled forwards towards the hanger doors and the outside world. Soon they were moving at speed towards the end of the runway and Alan was suddenly struck by how short the strip was. Normally he was the passenger section of one of the jets or they used VTOLs. The small training craft gave him an entirely new perspective of the world.

Scott really was a master of all things aeronautical and Alan barely felt them leave the ground despite the most basic component of the Tracy fleet providing little protection against the pull of forces. He kept a fingertip touch on the controls and felt the aircraft turn and dip to Scott’s commands. The ocean glittered below, blending with the crystal clear sky on the distant horizon.

Despite normally piloting the most advanced plane in the world Alan could tell that Scott was enjoying himself too. The small propeller plane was neither fast nor elegant but the primitive controls only served to deepen the connection between man and machine. Every action had a reaction which was fed back to the pilot via the controls. Every gust of wind was felt and needed to be responded to. Pilot and craft needed to work in harmony rather than one assuming control of the other.

“You ok there Alan? Feel ready to take control for a bit?”

Alan looked across at his eldest brother, his eyes shining.

“Really?”

“Sure. Just avoid hitting the island and you’ll be fine. You have control.”

“I have control” Alan responded, parroting the interaction between pilot and co-pilot that he had witnessed so many times previously.

And then he did. Scott’s hands were no longer on the stick but were instead placed neatly in his lap. Alan had no doubt that those same hands would be back on the controls in an instant if anything went wrong but for now the sky was his own.

After a couple of minutes of level flying, circling around the island, Scott looked across at his youngest brother. He could tell that Alan was just itching to try something a little more adventurous.

“Go on, put her through her paces. I’m here if anything goes wrong.”

Alan needed no second bidding. Soon the small plane was dipping and turning. First moving with the wind, then against, as he got a feel for the craft and her abilities. The freedom of the skies was his and he could see why his brothers soon got miserable if they were grounded. Even Gordon, whose natural habitat was in the ocean, was not immune to the lure of the skies and griped if he couldn’t get airborne. His heart soared as he felt the shifting air currents and the pull of the forces as he coaxed the plane through progressively more ambitious and demanding manoeuvres.

All too soon it was time for lesson one to come to an end as Scott took control again with Alan gently feeling the movements required for landing. The short runway rushed up as Scott took the steep approach angle necessitated by their island home. A subtle bump and bounce announced their reconnection with the ground.

Once the craft was still Scott reached out and draped an arm around his brother’s shoulders. In the confined space of the cockpit they had been practically touching for the whole flight and it took no effort at all to turn it in to some semblance of a hug.

“So what did you think, Al? Another lesson tomorrow if rescues allow? You did great up there.”

Alan nodded against his brother’s shoulder, not trusting his voice as an unexpected wave of emotion washed over him.

Scott sensed the younger boy stiffen against him. He looked down and spotted the moisture welling up in Alan’s eyes, the clenched jaw showed just how hard Alan was fighting to stay in control.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Did...did I really do ok?”

“Yeah. I’m proud of you. Dad would have been proud too.”

And that was the tipping point. Alan twisted in the confined space and Scott found himself wrapped in a tight embrace as Alan fully buried his face in the shoulder of Scott’s uniform, sobs wracking his body. Scott rubbed a hand gently up and down the back of Alan’s flight suit, letting Alan have his moment and burn out in his own time.

Soon the moment had passed. With one final sniff Alan pulled himself out of the embrace and suddenly became very interested in the wall of the hanger visible through the side windows of the cockpit.

“I mean it Alan.” Scott spoke to the back of Alan’s head. “Dad would be so proud of you today. I know it’s not the same for you but it was an honour to take you up today. You’re a natural up there.”

Alan turned back to face him, a grin splitting his face.

“So, next time you’re going to take me up in Thunderbird One?”

“Nice try, kid. Nice try.”

#irrelief #irrelief2020 #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #Scott Tracy #alan tracy #birthdays #learning to fly

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kageyuji · 4 years

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(Here comes the biggest ship request ever, I apologize in advance.) hi!! Please and thank you for a ship for Twilight, Maze Runner, Friends, Buzzfeed Unsolved, Harry Potter, Divergent, Percy Jackson, Good Place and Pirates! (You are by all means allowed to tell me to go screw myself, and only do a select few or even none of these- I know it’s a lot!) I am a straight female, I’m 5’7, on the chubby side, I have long brown hair, brown eyes, I’m a Slytherin, I love animals but am a cat person-

I got this request really late at night and for whatever reason the “you are by all means allowed to tell me to go screw myself” sent me, so thanks for that lmao.

Also, I didn’t end up doing Unsolved or Pirates because I couldn’t decide, I hope that’s okay :)

For Twilight, I ship you with Embry!

Even if you like cats especially, you love animals and...well...

Embry has a weird respect for the arts. A lot of the Quileute tribe elders are really artistic, so they do a lot of drawings and occasionally paintings. So, he has learned to love art. Yours is no different.

Plus, he really likes stories, he could sit and listen to the campfire stories until dawn if he was allowed.

So he’d like to read your writing, he’d be hanging on to every word.

I can’t explain why, but Embry is definitely the one to enjoy music. He likes to listen to you sing.

He’s really understanding about your anxiety. Before he shifted, he had a lot of anxiety too.

He and the pack are really tightly knit, so don’t worry about having to meet too many new people.

Everyone is really nice, but Embry would warn them to back off if you seemed to be getting uncomfortable

He likes your personality too, though

You’re just so bubbly and sarcastic, it’s something that he can definitely get behind.

Embry likes to stay up late, too. He does probably get a bit of an earlier start though, just because he has a lot of energy.

But he loves to stay up late with you, talking or doing whatever.

He’s also one of the few people in the pack that really like video games, so if you’d want to stay up late owning him in whatever game you want to play, he’d be fine with that too.

For Maze Runner, I ship you with Newt!

Art isn’t really something that’s common in the Glade, there had been a few canvases that had come up in the box, but no one really knew what they were for.

Then you showed up, and started creating drawings and paintings. All of the boys love your work, but Newt in particular. He just can’t fathom how you’ve managed to do that with just your hands and a paintbrush.

He also really likes your singing voice. A lot of the boys came up with little limericks, especially after drinking a little too much, but then he hears you singing he’s kind of surprised.

It’s just not something that happens a lot in the Glade, and he was definitely into the arts before he lost his memories.

Newt definitely understands depression and anxiety, so when he saw how sad or anxious you got sometimes, he probably got close to you. He’d tell you how he got his limp, and teach you ways that he’s learned to deal with being anxious.

Newt likes staying up later, too. He’s not a runner anymore and therefore he doesn’t have to get up so early, so he’d probably stay up late with you.

He likes your humor, it reminds him of how bright the world must be outside of the maze (I’ll see myself out lmao)

For Friends, I ship you with Chandler!

He’s definitely a cat person, just try and convince me otherwise

You two would be so sarcastic together

He can’t draw or paint very well, but he does like all kinds of art.

He likes to look at your drawings and paintings, he could spend an afternoon just looking through your sketchbook.

He also isn’t the best at singing, but he tries.

He’d definitely be the guy that sings along with his girlfriend, purposely sounding horrible just because he wants too.

Chandler is pretty intune with mental health, he learned a lot about it whenever he was trying to recover from his cigarette addiction.

He finds your sarcasm really funny, he’s just one of those people who likes sarcasm. Not to mention that you two sometimes have complete conversations using sarcasm and sarcasm only.

When you wake up all grumpy, he can’t help himself but to laugh and poke fun at how cute you look.

Especially when the two of you stayed up making crappy jokes the night before, and he keeps remembering them.

For Harry Potter, I ship you with Harry!

He doesn’t care that you’re Slytherin, though let’s just say he does find it amusing when Malfoy gets pissed because Harry got a girlfriend before Malfoy.

Harry was told he was nothing for his entire childhood, so he understands about all of your anxieties and depression.

He’d be there to comfort you, he just wants you to feel safe and happy.

He also doesn’t like to be around people that much, he likes his friends but everyone knows him but he doesn’t know most of them.

So he doesn’t really try to get you to hang out with him in big crowds, he gets that people are overwhelming.

Ron and Hermione are really the only people he’s close with, so don’t worry too much about having to meet too many people.

Harry doesn’t stay up too late, but he has pulled a few all nighters to finish schoolwork he forgot about.

He has always found the paintings at Hogwarts fascinating, but he will admit that they talk an awful lot and can be annoying.

So, he likes your art — any form of it, actually — but he could stare at especially your paintings all day.

For Divergent, I ship you with Four!

He’s a Dauntless, but we all know he’s definitely the one that’s the most repspectful and understanding.

He understands mental health a lot more than anyone else in Dauntless, or any of the factions really.

So he’s really supportive, always watching out for you. He gets really defensive when Eric talk down to you, and he always ask you to make sure you’re okay afterwords.

The closest thing to art in Dauntless are tattoos and body mods, and maybe a few street acts, but Four really likes any kind of art.

He can’t help but watch the colors of your paintings, or listen to the sound of your voice. It’s so angelic and pretty, especially compared to everything else.

Dauntless usually have a set time for lights-out, but Four has been known to break that rule. He’d love to stay up late with you, doing whatever you wanted to.

He finds you really cute when you wake up all grumpy, he just can’t help it.

He likes your sense of humor, too. Most people don’t like to speak up to him, he accidentally scares them, so it’s weirdly nice for someone to sarcastically tell him off.

For Percy Jackson, I ship you with Leo!

The Crackhead Energy

I feel like he would definitely built you a robot cat, since pets aren’t really allowed at camp.

Everyone has their fair share of a tragic backstory at camp, but Leo is definitely the one who understands you the most out of everyone.

After his mother passed, he realized a lot of things about mental health and now he’s very intune to you.

He teaches you/helps you with breathing exercises for your anxiety a lot

On a happier note—

You two are so wild together.

Both of you are incredibly sarcastic, which can lead to some pretty interesting conversations together.

Believe it or not, Leo is actually pretty good a drawing

A good amount of design has to go into his machines and even tiny gadgets, so he’s honed his sketchwork over the years

Clean lineart and paintings are different stories

Leo is also pretty dramatic, he’s a great actor. Well, not crying, emotional tv-actor, he’s more of an animated, over-exaggerated stage play actor.

So he likes to run lines with you, and show up to your rehearsals. If someone is out for the day, he’d happily fill in and say their lines.

For The Good Place, I ship you with Jason!

Again, it’s all about the pure Crackhead Energy that both of you have

He’s lowkey kinda dumb, but his hearts in the right place, okay?

He really likes animals too!

Honestly he could spend an entire afternoon at the animal shelter with you, just hanging out with all the cute animals.

He stays up late a lot too

He’s probably playing games, let’s be honest here.

That being said, he would absolutely love to ruin anything close to a sleep schedule with you

He loves playing video games with you, he probably lets you win occasionally but otherwise he’s just losing by accident.

He’s definitely one of those boyfriends that sing along with you

But like...really horribly (horrible on purpose, of course)

Jason gets it if you don’t like to meet too many new people, thought he does tend to like any party he can get into

Don’t worry, though. He’s always down to stay home and cuddle.

#matchups #matchup #ships #ship #request #requests #divergent #four #percy jackson #leo valdez #harry potter #newt #embry #chandler #friends #maze runner #twilight

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starbuck09256 · 5 years

Text

Turtles and crosswords

Season 2 after firewalker

Day 3 of Quarantine

She has nightmares, she doesn’t talk about it but she whimpers in her sleep and squeezes the life out of her pillow. Mulder the perpetual non sleeper especially when she was gone he slept for maybe an hour each night waking in a cold sweat with her screams ringing in agony in his head. Today we argued about the validity of mutant animals specifically turtles. Apparently the small tv in our quarantine room only has 5 channels and at 3pm if you can’t take any more Jerry Springer you can watch 4 suped up turtles train to be ninjas to save the world. It’s awful but they both secretly love it. It’s now a set date for both of them where they stop whatever they are reading or working on to come and sit right next to each other and watch for 30 minutes.

“I’m just saying it’s probable Scully, that you could create something similar to super turtles, remember the flukeman?”

“God, how could I forget? Mulder you think that 4 turtles would honestly listen to an oversized old rat for directions?”

“If he could teach you how to fight like Bruce Lee wouldn’t you take instructions from a giant rat?” she chuckles and nudges his shoulder, her smile lingering on her lips.

He now realized just how much he has missed her. He isn’t even slightly mad to be stuck with her for a whole month. It’s like the universe wanted to make up for the months she was gone to him. Giving her a whole month without a way to escape from him. He is cherishing it, like he should have cherished her more. The rest of their day is uneventful they have realized fast that all their chess games end in a stalemate. Always equally matched intelligentically. Scully is not great at checkers but wipes the floor with him at poker. As they get ready for another night in the steril beds he watches her get ready. He never thought she was someone who took long to get ready and in general she isn’t. He has called her up in the barely dawn to be at her door to pick her up in 15 minutes and she always looks like she wakes up with an unwrinkled suit with makeup perfect ready to take on the government conspiracies and flukemen of the world. He now realizes she pampers in the evening. She takes long baths and puts on several different creams. Did you know there is a specific cream for your left elbow? He’s not sure there is but there seems to be that there might be. Tonight he hears her tossing and turning her voice a hurried terrified whisper “no, let me go.” he bites his lip hard. He wants to pull her into his arms tell her she is safe with him, even though he is the only reason she has ever been endangered in the first place. He hears a muffled scream and can’t take any more of it. He’s at her bedside crawling into the bed pulling her into his arms.

“Scully it’s ok, it’s Mulder you’re safe I promise.” she is so far in her dream she doesn’t wake to being shift awkwardly into him.

He brushes his lips across her forehead letting his hand touch her back underneath her shirt. She stills and molds herself into him with a heavy sigh.

“Mulder,” another deep breath.

”Yea it’s me Scully I got you,” her head gets tucked under his chin. Her leg moves in between his and his hand snakes around touching her side. His other hand around stroking her back lovingly. Her sighs deep and even as she falls back into a deep sleep against him. He kisses her hair ready to move untangle himself from her. Her weight on him is so calming. She fits perfect across his chest. Of course she would he sighs so contented to have her here. He chuckles when he thinks of her as a spy, she is beyond loyal so full of integrity its sometimes sickening. He means to move, he had the best intentions crawling into her bed with her. Not to be a creep or make her uncomfortable in any way but to help her sleep. Her soft snores are like the best white noise machine and suddenly it’s late morning 10am even. He slept for a full 9 hours and she is looking at him with a soft questioning gaze and a deep red blush.

“Hi” he says shifting his muscles aching from the full rest he’s received. “You umm were having a bad dream and I” he stammers as she shakes her head.

“It’s ok Mulder,” she detangles from him. “god I haven’t slept that good in ages” she whispers sitting up and stretching.

He blushes a deep red he hasn’t either. He feels incredible like he can take on the world and not need the black sludge to ever grace his lips again.

“Mulder it’s 10!” she looks shocked and he can’t help but laugh.

”I guess we really needed some rest after the last..” "Year?” she supplies laughing.

“You can sleep anywhere Scully, I’ve seen it.” she laughs shaking her head. The day goes on like any other and at 3pm she sits a little closer to him.

Day 7

They’ve been arguing over the validity of changelings. Scully has been shaking her head a lot but laughing too. Her nightmares haven’t been nearly as bad and part of him is sad that he hasn’t had another excuse to hold her in the dark night. But tonight she falls asleep against his shoulder while watching Star Trek and he’s a terrible person but he shifts to have them both sleep on the small uncomfortable couch. She wakes in the middle of the night Mulder curled behind her snoring softly into her shoulder the tv buzzing with the latest hair plugs for 69.95 plus shipping.

“Mulder,” she whispers his arm tightens around her and he nuzzles her neck.

“Mulder, we can’t sleep here.” she shifts slightly.

“Humm I like sleeping with you.” he mutters he is still asleep.

God she should rethink this, they work together they just got the x-files back. But his breath is warm and soothing against her neck his arms adding just the right amount of weight to help her fall asleep fast. They need to find out what they did to her. She can’t remember anything past Duane Berry dragging her up that hill. Mulder screaming her name. She has made a full recovery the only thing that even feels different is the months she missed the length of her hair and Mulder. He is different, when she came back he looked so rugged and tired. Her mother had told her how little she thought he slept, how he became physically ill when he saw her tombstone. This couch will hurt them both more if they stay on it. It’s not comfortable like his nice black leather one. She untangles herself from him. Pulling him up and dragging him to his own bed.

“That couch is too small for you, come on back to bed.”

He wakes his eyes groggy. “Scully?”

“Hi” she reaches out touching his face. “We fell asleep on the couch,” she says touching his cheek.

He is still groggy. “Sorry,” but his eyes sparkle a little more than normal and he has a smirk that kind of says he’s not sorry at all but he’s trying to keep it professional.

She huffs nothing about this has been professional. They’ve been left completely up to their own devices getting shipments of food every week and doing weekly blood tests. Nothing out of the ordinary. All traces of her supposed branch dna gone, both of them healthy-ish. She moves as he settles into the bed “Stay” he mumbles.

Shifting slightly so she has room to lay down next to him. This is a bad idea Dana she tells herself. Jack and Daniel, her always trying to prove something to the older men in her life that she is strong capable and everything they ever dreamed they could want. It’s not like that with Mulder, she might need to prove the science but not herself. For thinking she was a spy he certainly didn’t seem to believe it for very long.

He might challenge her and question her beliefs but his respect for her opinion and thoughts are uncomparable to everyone she has ever had to work with he’s engaging curious as to her viewpoint and while he doesn’t agree he certainly listens just like she does. Is this worth sacrificing all of that? She bites her lip turning to leave. She has grown to not just admire him but love him as well, he grab her hand softly. “Please stay Scully,” his eyes shine to her with comfort and nothing more.

He has no expectations of them shedding clothes throughout the night, no malice in his eyes of what happens tomorrow or the next day. He isn’t one to judge her for her choices, for he was one of them. She pulls the covers back and lies down. His sighs full of content as he pulls her close to him. She wonders what happens tomorrow when she wakes up.

Day 13

Did you know you could sleep next to someone and not have sex with them? It might be a novel concept but that is what has happened much to her dismay. She thought she was making the choice clear to him that she would be ok with it all. But as they lay again together on her bed this time snuggled up close all clothes intact it’s stifling. She worried so much about a morning of regret from him about how they shouldn’t and it wouldn’t happen again to discover that it didn’t even happen in the first place. That they have honestly just found comfort in being next to each other holding and touching but never kissing or more. She wants to kiss him, to show the level of appreciation she has for them coming to this god forsaken mountain in the first place.

Day 18

She’s going to kiss him, she has come to realize that he won’t make this jump despite the fact that 2 days ago he accidentally brushed her lips instead of her cheek. Muttering apologies for overstepping and a nervous chuckle to try and end the awkwardness. They had gone back to normal and as she made him a sandwich and he proclaimed she would be the best wife ever her mustard skills in creating the perfect ratio apparently being the top thing a man looks for in a wife. Her chuckling nervously because now she realizes she would want to be his wife which is a far jump for someone who hasn’t even bother to kiss that person. Maybe that had been her problem before showing the physical side first to lure men into her web to prove her intellegicenal prolace after the fact. Not realizing they never cared about it in the first place. Not like him, Mulder cared, Mulder wanted someone to challenge him, he craved it, demanded it and when you couldn’t stand up to those high expectations he could and would utilize it to prove a point. They both fell in love with each others minds first which in itself makes the love story all the more fantastic.

Day 19

He’s been holding out as much as he can, but she is letting him experience a life so calm and full of love that he isn’t sure he wants to go back to monsters and ghosts. He wants to live in the bubble they’ve created of perfect afternoons of cartoons and cards. Of mornings with coffee in bed and crossword puzzles. He knew she was brilliant and kind. But now he is seeing her for the amazing women she is outside of an office. Outside of the web of FBI, he’s seeing Dana and he is enthralled.

Day 20

She feels so brave knowing what today is for them. She wants to shift everything wants to have his hands on her tonight not as a companion to fight off demons but a lover to fight off sleep. She’s readying herself for battle taking extra care, it’s hard with the limited supplies she has available to her here in quarantine. But she has been making little strides to test the waters, small experiments to see if her hypothesis is correct. That he is enamoured with her like she is with him. She’s touched him carelessly, her gaze lingering on purpose to see what he would do. He laughs and lets his fingers linger on her too. Their eyes meeting in agreement, like when they have the takeout menus spread across the desk after late nights of paperwork. She is ready but she is still afraid, he is passionate beyond reason and most likely this will consume both of them, but the fear and the risk thrill her.

Day 30

His breathe and voice are warm against her bare back. Like his kisses were the night before and again this morning. “Our little bubble world is coming to an end tomorrow.” He kisses up her back finding her shoulder blade and lingering. “What happens then?” his voice dropping to a whisper as he kisses up her neck finding her pulse points as his hand wanders across her stomach pulling her roughly against him. She’s not sure, not sure what happens to the peaceful world full crosswords, ninja turtles, lovemaking and bickering. She doesn’t know how they go back to sleeping alone without the other one to help them fight each other's demons. How is she suppose to feel at 3pm when she is in another autopsy wondering about mutants and pizza, or late at night about Mulder's body pressing her into a sad tiny couch. How will she focus and how will they go back to being an arms length apart which might as well feel like another planet. She likes this planet they’ve created with it’s silicon life form and them uninhibited in everyway with one another. "What do you want to happen?” she asks turning in his arms to face him.

“Part of me is excited for the change, to be back fighting the darkness with you, to have some decent fucking coffee again. But the other part the bigger part is afraid, afraid that you will withdraw back into yourself like you do sometimes, that these moments will not be repeated in my apartment or in a motel in the middle of nowhere. I would like to be wrong I would like to think that this beautiful place we’ve created is packed to travel with us under all your soaps and creams next to those sexy panties I now can’t stop thinking about.” he chuckles. “Is it coming with us? Or are we abandoning it?” his voice filled with hesitation she looks at him. He kind eyes that sparkle a little in the moonlight, the crease in his brow which fades flat when he comes inside of her. His voice filled with hesitation she looks at him.

He kind eyes that sparkle a little in the moonlight, the crease in his brow which fades flat when he comes inside of her.

“Do you think if they knew they would use it against us?” she whispers.

“Don’t you think they have been?” she bites her lip.

To bring this home would change so much. She loves a challenge but herself identity has always been consumed by others when she is in a relationship. She likes who she is, finally, she feels defined powerful in her perceived small frame. He gives her that, gives it to her in spades, he values her as an equal not a prize, a companion not a trinket. “I think you’re right,” he looks a little shocked and to be fair she almost never utters those words.

“I am?”

“I think they have been using us against one another for so long we didn’t even know it.”

“They’ve underestimated you most certainly” he grins at her kissing her nose lightly.

“You’re right about one more thing though.” she lifts up kissing him softly.

“Just one?” His voice leering into her, she smiles looking into his soft hazel depths. “I do have room for this in between the soaps and creams, but I have some far sexier panties you might also enjoy thinking about.”

He grins the whole flight home, holding her hand and whispering into her ear as the flight cabin lights dim.

Tagging some awesome peeps @today-in-fic @improlificinsarcasm @marinafrenzy @peacenik0 @scully-eats-sushi @viceversawrites

#mulder and scully #msr fanfic #msr #the x files #xf fanfic #fluff time #one month of only mulder and scully #yes please #the sex files are right up my alley #my fics #my fic

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pistageglace · 5 years

Text

Horizon Zero Dawn

I'm playing Horizon Zero Dawn right now and this is one of the best games I've played. And this is completely spoiler-free. What's sad is that when the game came out I decided not to play it because I read online that the game appropriated from Native American cultures. Now I can say that the Nora tribe in the game have Native American, Celtic and Viking influences like the game makers have said in an interview. I can also point out every last thing they've taken from Native Americans: The Nora call their hunters/warriors "Braves" which the game makers have also said in an interview they picked specifically because they thought it would be inoffensive. There are dream catchers in a few places, which are non-interactable and not explained. They wear brown leather and use bows. There's a lot of blue accent on brown going on but that's mostly on the bridges. I think the protaganist Aloy has feathers attached to her bow and spear But that's everything. There are also a lot of white characters with matted hair. I also read that there would be offensive feather headdresses in this game but there are NO such things! What could have been confused with this is that the Carja tribe, who are inspired by Egypt, Rome and Greece, have those helmets with the red fluff on top of them, you know the ones. And the Banuk's shamans, who seem to be inspired by Inuits, have headdresses with colored fabric bands hanging down to their knees.

But this game makes such an obviously conscious effort to be diverse and feminist. The Nora are a matriarchy. And while I don't believe a matriarchy is the goal of feminism, it's clear the game makers intended for this to be feminist. Like how the Nora men are not subjugated, but with the Carja and Oseram tribes which are patriarchies, the women Aloy meets will tell her all about how they are second-class citizens. There are also at least two moments I can think of. One where Aloy is talking to two Carja soldiers and one of them says "I was going to report to a Nora commander, but I didn't see one" His superior snaps at him and screams "Have you never seen a Nora woman before! Show some respect! Report to her, not to me!" Not that Aloy becomes a commander, but you get it. And another where Aloy is talking to an Oseram quest-giver and he says something like "You could afford garments more suited to your fine shapes-" Aloy cuts him off and says "If you want me to do this, you need to stop talking now." He says "I was just saying, a woman as well molded as-" Aloy cuts him off again with a sigh and a shrug. But it's not a sigh like she gives up, it's a sigh with a look that says "No, you can't say that either". And because it needs to be said, Aloy is an eighteen-year-old woman who is not sexualised in any way, shape or form. There is no sexualised armour, not even dlc. There are three armours that show her belly, and one that shows off her legs as well. And those are still not sexualised.

As for diversity, they have a good mix of white, asian and african-american characters, with some middle eastern characters thrown in there. I think the best example of why this was a conscious decision by the game makers is that the three High Matriarchs of the Nora is one white, one black and one asian one. There was also concern about how the game uses the word "savages" to describe the Nora because they have influence from Native Americans. That word is only used by snobby, xenophobic Carja. They make a big deal about how xenophobic some Carja are to mirror a certain modern political situation. And by the Oseram quest-giver above to joke about how politically incorrect he is. NEVER have I felt like the game was calling Native Americans "savages". Although I understand that it's not that simple. A future America with no native people around is troublesome no matter how you look at it.

The game is set in Colorado and Utah in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has had to start over from scratch. The Nora are hunter-gatherers for example. Humanity has no understanding of technology anymore, as it belongs to the ancient world. There are machine dinosaurs and animals that roam the wilds and attack humans for reasons no one knows. You play as Aloy who grew up as an outcast to the Nora for reasons no one will tell her. Her goal is to win the Proving so she will be granted a boon from the matriarchs and ask them who her mother is.

It's an open-world, Action-RPG. I usually dread combat in video games because it's usually just button mashing against an OP enemy or throwing you into combat out of nowhere and not letting you flee like it's an arbitrary task that needs to be done. But in this game I spend like 5-10 minutes in combat because it's so much fun. Here's the thing: it's not really combat, it's hunting. Now, I despise hunting as well. But you hunt machines, and they make it fun because there are so many different ways to do it! You hide in the tall grass, which makes you literally invisable. You can lure the machines closer by whistling or throwing a small rock. You can shoot them with an arrow, a fire arrow, a precision arrow, a freeze arrow, a shock arrow, a freeze bomb, a shock bomb or an explosive bomb. You can tie them up, you can set traps, and you can set up tripwires which either explode or shock them. You can also shoot tearblast arrows which removes part of a machine when aimed right. Like a freeze cannister to stop it from using ranged freeze attacks. When a machine gets close enough to you whithout noticing you, you can use Silent Strike to down it without the other machines even noticing. If a machine notices you and attacks you, you can just button mash with your spear on R1 and R2. And that's not even all of the different ways you can take down machines! You can kill animals and humans too, and it hurts my soul, but it's mostly aviodable. There are some quests that require it though.

For example, let's say you crouch down and hide in the tall grass. You shoot an arrow just right to take down a weaker machine. This catches the attention of a medium strong machine, and that machine starts looking for you. But it still can't see you so you shoot out some Blast Wires without leaving your hiding spot and whistle to make it come towards you. The Blast Wires do some damage and it stops to look around but it still can't see you so it keeps moving closer and then you use Silent Strike.

The game has a realistic animation style and it is absolutely, breathtakingly, gorgeous. It won some awards for that. I got the Complete Edition which gives you the art book and it is equally gorgeous. I have a love-hate relationship with this one aspect though, the game shifts between sunny, pouring rain and light snowfall. It also shifts between daytime and nighttime. This makes the game world feel so much more real but it makes it way more challenging to hunt during the night or even just find your way around a settlement. But it's probably supposed to make it more challenging. You can't see the beautiful game world during the night though which is a shame.

This is also the most mature video game I have played. "Mature" video games usually fall into one of two categories: blood and tits or edgy youtube video essay. But Horizon Zero Dawn is actually mature. There are no sexualised female characters, there are no sex jokes, there's no blood, there's no gore, there's no edgyness... And Aloy is not the Choosen One who will rise to become more powerful and inexplicably influential than the mere commoners. I mean, she is the Choosen One and some characters have heard of her skills but most people just treat her like any other hunter. Good, but not the best. The game also gets pretty real in some parts, like, realistic in a serious way. It also showed me one of the best, most lovingly crafted, realistic things I have seen in a video game: NPCs with idle shifting-from-side-to-side-with-your-arms-crossed-at-a-party animation.

TL;DR: Horizon Zero Dawn is fun, beautiful, feminist, diverse and the height of appropriation is dream catchers and using the word "braves".

Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition are on sale on PlayStation Store until the 19th of January!

#i ended up writing a whole review

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caraidean · 6 years

Text

Tanith & Sephiran: An Explanation.

Or, “Why This Is Heartbreaking And You Should Ship It Too” Thanks @of-invisible-ties for plummeting into this hell with me. I don’t remember which one of us started this, but know that should this pairing be responsible for my death, I blame you.

Unmarked spoilers for both Path of Radiance but especially Radiant Dawn’s New Game + below.

This started as a crack ship, because...well, look at it. They have basically no dialogue with each other in-game, although Tanith does make passing references to him on multiple occasions in Path of Radiance. She does, however, have a very brief pre-battle conversation with him in Radiant Dawn.

Now I actively have to remind myself to stop referencing it in Tanith threads. Below is around 1,500 words explaining why.

Part I - Emotional Basis and Backstory Before the Games

Tanith is an immensely dedicated and professional person. She doesn't like to display emotions in public, aside from a few quick and slightly sarcastic words when she feels she can trust them - in private, she opens up a little more, as seen in her A Support with Marcia. While she can seem stern, cold and distant, those are just how she acts - she is really a very caring person, but values her career and professionalism too much to act out in public. She mirrors Titania in a lot of ways, which is why on this blog they have something of a close friendship (that's another meta for another day).

Sephiran is similarly dedicated and professional - but more open to displaying true emotion than Tanith, particularly when it comes to teasing, as Sigrun points out in some of her Path of Radiance dialogue. However, he also has a very low opinion of most people, going from his monologues at the end of Radiant Dawn. Given his backstory regarding the first Branded and also the destruction of Serenes Forest, this is pretty much completely justified. He sees people as inherently flawed, and in need of being judged by the Goddess - with a few exceptions to the rule, such as Sanaki herself. He is also admiring and possibly a little confused by those Branded who manage to attract friends anyway, such as Soren.

Sephiran's attachment to Sanaki, a small child who he attempts to raise as best he can, leads him to at first be leery of Tanith. However, he comes to respect her dedication, as well as trust in her very real emotional attachment to the young Apostle as well. To his slight shock, Tanith's dedication and sense of ethics starts to remind him of Altina, his former lover and the first Empress - as well as mother of his child, the first Branded. Meeting a woman who could pass for Altina at least in spirit moves him to start spending more time with her.

On Tanith's end, she initially distrusts Sephiran as well. She knows far too well the machinations of the Senate after seeing them at work within the Holy Guard, and first believes that he is simply manipulating Sanaki for his own agenda. While this is still somewhat true, she also realizes that his 'agenda' is what is best not just for the people of Begnion, but for Sanaki herself - letting her warm up to him. Ultimately, the relationship is forged on mutual respect and admiration, as well as a shared desire to keep those important to them safe - which eventually extends to include each other.

As far as a dynamic goes, once the trust issues are dealt with, it falls into a somewhat stereotypical Serious Girl/Teasing Man relationship. According to Sigrun in Path of Radiance, Sephiran can be something of a sarcastic ass - although Tanith's tongue can, when pushed, match his in speed and skill.

Tanith and Sephiran reach an agreement upon realizing their feelings for each other - while they care about each other, it simply wouldn't help either of their careers to wed or otherwise publicly acknowledge it. At least, that's what Sephiran says - given his plans for the world in Radiant Dawn, he likely doesn't want an official union with her out of guilt for what he plans to do. Tanith, on the other hand, genuinely wants to be recognized for her own skill, and being known as the 'Prime Minister's Woman' would do nothing but detract from that. However, their relationship becomes something of an open secret among those in Sienne and Begnion's military, particularly since Sephiran seems intent on teasing Tanith as much as possible about it.

Sanaki's part in the relationship is basically overwhelming joy. One of her two mother figures is in a relationship with her father figure - and she is essentially transformed into the ten year old girl wanting her parents to kiss. Thankfully, she's mature enough to let Sephiran and Tanith deal with the relationship in their own way, only bringing it up in private or when irritated.

Sigrun, being a kind and well-meaning person, is also on board with it - frequently joking about how they should just wed and adopt Sanaki proper. Tanith continues to see Sigrun as a mentor, while Sephiran admires Sigrun's dedication and mindset, despite all she's had to see and endure to reach her position.

Part II - The Games, Why Radiant Dawn makes me cry now, and Why New Game + Makes More Sense

For the events of Path of Radiance, nothing much changes save for a few background moments for Tanith. Upon meeting Ike, she expresses relief when he says that he's met Sephiran and he seems fine. Later, upon General Zelgius' arrival, he does so with one of Sephiran's traditional teases in tow - the scale of which...depends. For the record, Zelgius does NOT approve of the relationship, but since it doesn't seem to affect Sephiran's abilities as a Prime Minister or his plans moving forward is mostly uncaring.

Radiant Dawn. Oh, boy, Radiant Dawn. First, it fixes one of the game's greatest crimes, reducing Tanith to a mere 10 lines of dialogue outside of the generic ''support conversations'' - she has a personal investment in the plot again, beyond being Sanaki's other bodyguard (a role that is greatly reduced thanks to Naesala and Sigrun both playing the same role, with them both being playable, unlike in Path). Radiant Dawn also has their pre-battle conversation, which I'd actually completely forgotten about when planning this ship with Pearl but does seem to support at least their characterization in it.

Tanith: So long as you're alive, the doors don't open? I've got an easy solution to that problem. Sephiran: Tanith, you are a kind woman. Tanith: Don't flatter yourself. I do this only for Lady Sanaki.

In canon, Tanith is dismissive of him, but Sephiran seems admiring. Where Sigrun's dialogue showed she had a great deal of trust in the man, Tanith doesn't say such a thing - entirely because she isn't the kind of person to say such a thing. She likely trusted Sephiran as well, but due to being more strictly professional than Sigrun, refuses to say such a thing to the man. Sephiran calling her a "Kind Woman" is not just his own suicidal imuplses talking, but seeing through her lies and challenging her on them - identifying the kind of person she really is beneath all the professional stance and cold demeanor.

Now. Assuming the ship exists. First, I'd like to provide the custom pre-battle dialogue that Pearl helped me write, because it hurts.

Sephiran: Gracious! This is turning into quite the spectacle, isn't it? Well, if you've anything to say, I urge you to do so before I proceed to do my goddess's will. Tanith, any last words? Tanith: ...I loved you, Sephiran. Sephiran: And I, you. I take consolation in knowing that this goddess' earth was blessed with you, despite how covered in scum it is.

Tanith feels betrayed, on a level she never quite expected to. The Senate's betrayal had been expected, but Sephiran? She trusted Sephiran, just as she does in canon, and even more as she feels as if he's been lying to her the entire time. Within the context of the Tanith/Sephiran verse, it's assumed that she's the one who ends up fighting him - considering Sanaki refuses to, and Ike is likely still wounded/tired from the fight with Zelgius.

And so, here's @delleal murdering my feelings forever. Yes, that's Tanith's sonic sword.

So other than adding a new layer of tragedy to the basic ending, how does the ship impact Radiant Dawn? Well...Sephiran's joining the party in New Game+ makes more sense, now. Not only does he know that rulers can be kind if guided properly (Sanaki) and that the Branded are not necessarily isolated as he'd feared they would be (Soren, Micaiah), but he's managed to grow romantically attached to a human for the second time in his life - resulting in his faith that humanity was inherently flawed, with Altina being an exception, shaking slightly. It just takes a greater number of people and important relationships for him to realize that his stance against them for what happened in Serenes and before was wrong; and now his helping against Ashera, as he realizes his mistake, feels more justified than ''and here's your reward for pulling off the bullshit New Game+ demands''.

Honestly, it's still up in the air if they reunite or split up after Radiant Dawn's New Game+. Tanith...doesn't take betrayal very well. But that’s what threads are for.

Conclusion

You should support the Tanith x Sephiran initiative because:

It gives Tanith some much needed additional backstory for her time in Begnion; helps Sephiran's face turn in the endgame of New Game+ Radiant Dawn make more sense; Lets Sanaki have a functioning family unit and the girl deserves it; Has an adorable and hilarious Teasing Man/Serious Girl dynamic for threads, and most importantly manages to be a large setup for a full-scale Rennaisance era tragedy as Tanith is betrayed and ultimately (Attempts) to kill him.

And also because I’m probably going to stop not referencing it in threads so you’re going to need to be on board with it to some degree if you don’t want blindsided. Godspeed.

#Stern Commander;Tanith #Such A Quiet Pair We Make;Tanith & Sephiran #Battle Log;Headcanons

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amollion · 7 years

Text

Newcomers Pt6

“EAT IT!!!”

“NO”

“I SAID EAT IT!”

“GET OFF ME WOMAN!!” Hesky shouts throwing Karen off him and running out the door.

“YOU WILL ACCEPT MY VALENTINE LOVE!!!” she shouts chasing after him holding her home made chocolates above her head.

The two Humans screaming and running past Dr Loop's door was nothing out of the ordinary these days, he liked the Humans and found them fascinating and rather good company. That did not mean that he did not find them odd to the point of thinking they were all insane. Some were quiet and preferred to be alone and other were loud and found hurting themselves to be hilarious. Suddenly his door opened with another Human limping.

“What happened to you?” Dr Loop asks.

“Sergeant Stabby got me” he replies.

“Why do you keep it around and why the Admiral allows that thing to stay I'll never know”

“Don't talk ill of Sergeant Stabby, he is war hero you know”

“IT is a cleaning machine”

“Irrelevant he is a hero and deserves our respect”

“But-”

“SHHHHHH here he comes”

Sergeant Stabby made his way into the Dr's office and bumped into a few wall and furniture all the while the Human stood up and saluted it until it left.

“Tell me something um...” Dr Loop said

“Cho”

“Cho, tell me something Cho is it the norm for you race to be so....nuts?”

Cho smiled “You've never been to Terra have you?”

“No”

“Shame, because if you think we are crazy you'd love to see us on our home world”

Dr Loop just scoffed and went to look at Cho's foot. “The bleeding has already stopped”

“Well yeah he doesn't stab us deeply”

“But still for wound like this to stop bleeding so soon”

“Yeah it's clotting? Wait...have you worked on Humans before”

“I have studied Human anatomy yes”

“But actually worked with one? In person before we got here?”

Dr Loop did not like his skills being questioned, his race the Seelom were a very proud race especially of their skills.

“It matters not, I know all the ins and outs of your kinds bodies, probably better than you and the rest of your backwards and primitive kind”

Cho raised an eyebrow “Give your arm for a sec” he asked.

“Why?”

“Just trust me”

Dr Loop gave him one of his right arms and Cho stuck out his tongue all the while looking at his face for a reaction but Dr Loop just looked confused and a little disgusted.

Cho licked his arm and a split second later Dr Loop was screaming as Cho's saliva burned through his skin.

Dr Loop fell tot he floor cradling his arm and after a few more seconds the burning stopped and Cho was on his feet.

“Guess you forgot our saliva is like acid to your kind” he said and left without helping him up.

The Benemar Chief of Admiral Polts fleet was back on Bento Prime, he had already been disgraced for not seeking justice after one of his clan leaders was killed by a Human female. And to let the Humans gain all the glory for the liberation of Remer making their kind out to be a joke.

“Cheif Goolack of the Benemar step forward!” called one of the High Chieftains and he stpped forward.

“You are a coward and weak, you let the murder of your own kind go unanswered and these Humans push you around like your are their slave, what say you in your defence”

Chief Goolack stood up straight, the chains around his wrists were heavy and those around his legs were heavier, his pig-like nose snorted and his tusks had been cut to show his disgrace.

“I am a Benemar and I fought for our people and uphold my laws and our laws say that the STRONG!!! rule. Well the Humans have shown their strength and I saw their might in battle against a foe who outnumbered them many times over and they came away from that battle covered in the blood of their enemies. They are the only race who has ever besieged our world and you judge me as a coward for respecting strength?”

“They are the ENEMY!!! they burned our breeding pens and they must be wiped out. They are gaining too much power, power they are taking from us”

The court cheered and banged their weapons which were a combination of ancient war axes and rifles against their armour.

“Let this cry go out across to the star to all Benemar, the Alliance high command has given us the location oft heir breeding ground, we march...TO WAR!!!!”

The Benemar all over the Alliance suddenly began disappearing from Alliance ships, when asked why they were going back to their home world they simply replied “The High Chief has risen the banner”

Many thought this was the Benemar about to begin an independent push into Gal territory but they did not deny or confirm this and the army on Bento Prime continued to grow, the Humans though did not trust the Benemar and kept their eye on them.

Life in Admiral Polts fleet went on a s usual, or as usual it could be with the Humans around and with the Benemar now gone their was no hostility in the air. The Humans did their best to include the other races in their odd practices such as celebrating the anniversary of ones birth. They even as far to inquire to the other races celebrations and traditions and asked to take part which made the others rather flattered. They ranged from celebrating the unification of the Fookkarl under one banner which the Humans described as one large orgy as there was a lot of kissing but the Humans obliged.

The fun did not stop there.

Depit, an Elong like Admiral Polt was travelling in the ship main elevator to the observatory when it stopped to let a number of other crew off but only person got on. It was a Human, female by the looks of her but her stomach was huge, maybe she had just eaten he thought to himself. The elevator stopped a few more times and before long it was only him and this Human who from her tag her name was Sergeant Cathy. He started to sweat, he saw what was left of the body of the Benemar that she had attacked.

She smiled at him and gave a nervous smile back but nothing was said between them, until the elevator suddenly and harshly stopped.

“Ahhh!” Cathy screamed at the sudden change of momentum.

“Are you okay?” he asked and she nodded. “Must be a power outage” he tired raising maintenance but go response, there was no power to the that call button either. Suddenly Cathy was breathing fast and hard.

“Umm, are you sure you're okay” he asked again but she shook her head and held her large stomach.

“The baby is coming” she panted.

“Baby? What baby?”

“I'm FUCKING PREGNANT YOU ASSHOLE!!! she screamed and he jumped.

“Oh? OH?!!! CRAP!”

Cathy sat down as her water broke and leaned back.

“What do I do!! HELP!” he shouted into the call button in some hope that someone would hear.

“What...what is your name?” she asked.

“Depit”

“Depit, come here I need you to help me” she said holding out her hand and he slowly came and she grabbed it.

“I don't know what to do” Depit said.

“Just hold my hand and squeeze when I squeeze!”

“What?”

“AHHHHHHH” Cathy screamed and squeezed Depits hand so hard she broke two of his fingers as he had tried to pull away when he heard the word squeeze.

“WHY YOU PULL AWAY!!!” she shouted at him.

“You'll break my hand if you squeeze it”

It then dawn on her that Humans were far stronger than Elong, so she pulled off her trousers and tore off a piece so she could bite down on it and screamed again.

“Why are you screaming what's happening I don't how to help” Depit said panicking.

“IM HAVING CONTRACTIONS YOU FUCKING IMBECILE!”

“WHAT ARE THOSE!!!!”

“MY BODY IS GETTING READY TO PUSH THE BABY OUT!”

“OF WHERE!!”

“WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU THINK?!!!”

Another contraction came and she screamed so loud Depit had to cover his ears.

This went on for over and hour till finally Cathy stopped screaming as contractions suddenly stopped.

“Okay...okay” she said to herself with Depit fanning her with his wings.

“How long does this usually go on for?” he asked.

“My mother was in labour for 32 hours with me”

“32 HOURS!”

“Ah don't shout, I'm lucky the contractions have stopped”

“What happens next?”

Cathy looked at him “Next comes the pushing”

“Elong births are lot...faster than this”

“You're a bird race, you have it easy” she laughed. Then started panting. “Here it comes! Get between my legs!!”

Depit obeyed and cathy spread herself and Depit froze.

“What do I do?”

“Catch!”

“Catch?”

Cathy burst into laughter “I'm kidding, just guide it out”

Depit got ready and Cathy screamed again, this time louder and so much Depit thoughtt he walls were shaking.

“I can see the egg”

“IT'S NOT AN EGG IT'S A FUCKING HEAD!! WE DON'T LAY FUCKING EGGS!!!”

“WHAT!!! HOW THE...I'M SORRY...BY CREATION WHAT THE.....!” he screamed as the head appeared.

Cathy started breathing again and moved her hand to feel where the baby was “okay, one more” she positioned herself and Depit put his hands by the baby's head and Cathy pushed with every ounce of her remaining strength and it fell into Depits arms.

After the baby began crying he handed it to Cathy who wrapped it up in her jacket and cradled it.

“It's a boy” she said.

“No wonder your race is so tough, you endure coming into the world like that and are willingly go through it to bring one of your own into the world”

“And we do it over and over again, I'll be doing at least two more times I think” she laughed “What did you say your name was again?”

“Depit, my name is Depit”

Cathy smiled and looked down at her son “Do you mind if I call my son Depit?”

Depit's eyes nearly shot out of his head, for a child to bear ones name is a great honor among his people. “You would do me that honour?”

“Of course, you brought him into the world, well I did most of the work but still”

“Thankyou” he said smiling.

“Oh beware of the after birth”

“The what?” Depit said looking down just as it slumped down in front of him.

In the higher levels and completely unaware of the new addition to their family the Humans were having a friendly game of football with some of the Aliens when Captain Clerk called for a stop. Admiral Polt was with him and everyone could tell by their Captains face that something had happened.

“Men and woman of the 8th Human army” Clerk started “Approximately 16 hours ago the Benemar launched a full scale assault on Terra”

The air became heavy as if every Human and Alien had stopped breathing, no one spoke.

“The battle is still going on and all Human forces are being recalled to aid the defence force fighting there, our latest report says they have breached our outer defence net and are landing their troops. So get your stuff I want us ready to go yesterday!!”

The Humans didn't say anything and as a single mind dropped what they were doing and ran to their quarters and collected all their belongings and things they brought with them. The cargo hold that they had made their own was dismantled within 10 minutes, every Human was found and accounted for including Cathy and her new son Depit. Hesky was thrilled to see his son but annoyed that she named him something that reminded him of cesspit.

Within 2 hours the Humans were all loaded onto their own ships, they said a quick farewell to their Alien friends and set off for Terra.

The Benemar continued their assault, unaware that word had gotten out about their attack on Terra, unaware of the armada coming for them.

#humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humans are weird #newcomers

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tybalt-tisk · 7 years

Text

The Roads We Take. Chap 1.

Shiro and Allura are childhood friends. ~

Alfor Altea, despite his meek outer appearance of being a man with gentle blue eyes and a soft voice to match it, was nothing less than cutthroat in the business world. As the cofounder and one of the active CEOs of Voltron Technology, he had to have the ideal characteristics of a natural born leader; tough, determined, and a zero tolerance for bullshit. He didn’t get to where he was, as one of the youngest CEOs to run a billion dollar company to date, by being soft. It was imperative that his rivals feared him, his investors trusted him, and his employees followed him.

Just because he was considered cutthroat in conference rooms does not mean that he wasn’t a humble man. He respected his employees and considered each and every one of them a valuable part of his team. ‘A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what’s expected. ’ His late grandfather’s words churn in the back of his head as he makes his way through the grand lobby of his building. He had always made sure that he’d heard each and every one of their suggestions regardless of how small they may be with an open mind.

Alfor made his way to the luxurious elevators. He stood at an impressive height as he pressed the elevator button and waited for the car to arrive. He gave a small nod of a greeting to the security guard as he waited for his morning espresso to kick in. In his tired state, he missed the small snicker the security guard made before he swiveled in his chair back around towards his desk to hide his face.

Alfor was never a morning person. He never got used to it even after these last few years of waking up at 5:45am daily to start his work day. And he probably never will. He was in the middle of letting out a well-deserved yawn, only for it to be cut short when tiny hands painfully jerked on his facial hair.

“Papa!” The four year old in his strong arms yelled. “Stay still so I can finish!” The toddler continued to pull and twist at the sensitive white hairs on his chin and neck. He wasn’t able to fully see what she had been up to because of the close proximity to his body she was propped up on, but he could tell from the look in her eyes that she was on a crash course to fuck him up.

“Of course, Junibee, my mistake,” He winced out an apology as she continued to manhandle him any way she saw fit with her tiny fingers that lack the fine motor skills to actually do anything immaculate.

At that moment, here in the lobby of his billion dollar company, her hand’s sole purpose was to tangle and mesh. Tangle and mesh beyond repair. He knew that Head and Shoulder’s wasn’t going to be enough. No, not this time.

Enter Allura. She was the co-CEO’s sole heir as well as his pride and joy. His central source of happiness. His personal, toddler sized alarm clock because the good Lord above knows that she wakes up every morning at the ass crack of dawn ready to take on the day with the intensity of any given machine in a candy factory that runs purely on spite.

She was almost a spitting image of him. She had wide, crystal blue eyes that twinkled with constant sass and mischief and she possessed long curly, white hair that defied the laws of gravity as it spiraled out in random directions before falling passed her shoulders. Her physical features were all inherited from him, but that fiery personality, that was all her mother’s.

He missed Lobelia immensely. She had fallen ill shortly after Allura’s birth and didn’t live long enough to see Allura’s first birthday. Even with her gone, he could see his wife in their daughter every day. In even the most simplest of things, such as the way she cocks her head to the side when she’s confused, or how when she shakes her tiny fist when she’s frustrated. He even sees in wife in her now as she bosses him around with the hands of a fucking lumberjack.

His Junibee.

His precious, aggressive, smartass Junibee.

Chubby hands suddenly grabbed him by his cheeks snapping out him out of his thoughts.

His precious, aggressive, smartass, rude Junibee.

“I need ribbons.” She whispered seriously. “You did remember to bring the ribbons, didn’t you? Papa, answer me.” She questioned his competence as if though those ribbons held the pentagon’s top secrets.

He shifted her in his arms slightly before carefully setting her down on the ground. Alfor swung the teeny tiny pink and orange glitter backpack over his shoulder so it rested on the ground in front of him. He saw tiny pieces of glitter dwindling around them onto the floor and he was more than sure that his black, expertly tailored suit was bedazzled to hell.

“Of course,” He started as he searched the tiny backpack with his large hands. “What kind of father would I be if I didn’t remember to bring the ribbons?”

He honestly forgot the ribbons that morning and made up an excuse to go back into the house to retrieve them, but he’d be damned if Allura actually knew that. He would take this secret to his grave.

He fished out three ribbons of different colors and patterns and held them to her eyelevel so that she could choose. “Which one would you like, Junibee?”

Allura grabbed the green one with a lace trim with her left hand and the blue one with spots in her right hand. She then held it up to Alfor’s beard. Her head cocked to side -Ah, there she goes again- as she seriously thought about which one would complement her Papa best.

“Having the usual morning fashion crisis, Altea?” A deep voice with a hint of playfulness interrupted Allura’s crucial decision making. Both looked up to see a tall, well built, olive toned man with a smirk on his face. The man had deep set amber eyes that held a hidden darkness. He was a good head taller than Alfor and almost twice the size because of pure muscle. He wore a deep blue suit that fit snug over his heavy built body and a black suitcase gripped tightly in his large hand. To say he looked incredibly intimidating was an understatement.

“Zarkie!” Allura shouted as she ran at him with her arms spread as wide as she could to embrace him. Before she could get too close, a large hand landed firmly on top of her curly white hair as it stopped her dead in her tracks. Her small arms still reaching desperately towards him to make any sort of glitter infested contact.

“Not today, kiddo,” Zorkon said as he continued to hold back the way too eager child. “I have an important meeting this morning and I can’t show up looking like I spent the night with Tinkerbell.” Zarkon laughed at his own words as he ignored Alfor’s annoyed look at the adult joke that flew over his only child’s innocent head.

“Could you not say things like that in front of my incredibly observant child?” It was true, Allura was extremely observant and could absorb loose information like a sponge. She had learned her first cuss word at three and learned how to properly use it in a sentence by sundown the same day.

Alfor had not only made sure to watch his language around her, but made sure his entire corporation followed his strict guidelines about foul language. He remembered the day he sent out an email to all of his employees after she dropped her first F-Bomb loudly in the middle of the park when tripped and fell on the gravel. When he asked her where she heard such language, she then continued to rat out his entire organization. Doesn’t she know that snitches get stitches? Apparently not, because she everyone under the bus that she was driving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From: Alfor Atlea, Cofounder and CEO of Volton Tech To: Valued Employees Subject Line: Don’t Cuss Around My Fucking Child. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It included all of the words forbidden to be said around Allura and included a helpful chart of alternative ones, including, “Gadzooks” “Sheet” and his personal favorite, “Good Gravy”. The consequences would depend on the severity of said learned word. It also warned them to look twice before cussing out loud because Allura was sneaky.

She was really sneaky.

She had practically grew up in the huge building she now called her Castle. She knew her way around this giant building like the back of her hand. And at only four. What a feat. He could admit that he was indeed proud. It had also set his fears at ease to know that she would never truly be lost in the grand halls of the building. It was her Castle after all.

He also remembered the response he received back from Zarkon within minutes of sending it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From: Zarkon Galra, Cofounder and CEO of Voltron Tech To: Altea Subject Line: I Read Your PSA and I Realized Something

You got me fucked up. We both know that your girl is going to grow up with a mouth that could rival a sailor that retired to become a truck driver in the southern states. My colorful vocabulary will not stop that.

PS: Remember that we have lunch with Arus Industries today at 11:30. Change your tie because it’s fucking hideous. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alfor knew it was true. Both about his daughter growing up to talk like a drug cartel leader and his tie. His tie was ugly that day. It looked good on the rack when he’d bought it. The lighting was deceiving in that store. They knew what they were doing to their loyal customers; playing them for fools. To be called out in personal emails.

He never knew about the email Zarkon sent out the same day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From: Your Emperor To: Minions Subject Line: Watch Your Fucking Mouth Anybody caught using filthy language around my godchild, will have to answer to me. That is all. PS: The Company picnic is next Saturday, there will be food to eat and games to win. Win. Second place is just a first place loser. Bring your A Game, Team. Go Wildcats. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alfor come back to the present, far away from his ugly tie days. He reached out to pick up the abandoned ribbons from the ground. “Also, what meeting are you referring to?” He had no time to check his agenda for the morning because of the slight detour of going back to the house to pick up you-know-what, so he had no time to brief himself for the day.

“I have an interview with a transfer from Osaka,” Zarkon started debriefing his business partner. “She is the top of her branch at Marmora Corp and I want her for my team, I need her for my team, Alfor. I’ve heard impressive things about her. It’s crucial that she joins Galra.” He checked his phone for new emails as he continued to hold back Allura. She was still going strong. A Trooper.

Even though the company as a whole is Voltron Technologies, the two CEOs had two very distinct thoughts on leadership and how to run a team. Alfor saw it as an opportunity for open minds to come together letting their creativity flow, creating new ideas out of the combination of different ideas. Zarkon saw it more like a chain of command. True, he did believe that teamwork was crucial; however he thought productivity would be better there was a central voice of command to create unity. Unlike Alfor’s free range, free thinking hippie chickens.

Their opposing ideals led them to separate Voltron into two branches: Altea and Galra. It turned out to be one of the greatest ideas they’ve ever had. Where one branch lacked one a crucial element, the other picked up effortlessly. Altea’s strong suit was coming out with new ideas rapidly, but lacked on ways to produce it at a cost friendly rate. That’s when the Galra Branch would come in with a solution that benefited both the company and the consumer. Galra was astounding with the financial aspects of the company but severely lacked with style designs of products and the Altea Branch take over.

Once a week, the two branches would come together for a board meeting where each CEO would have their best minds come together to propose new ideas and solutions. Separate, the two branches were strong, but when they came together, they were impenetrable. They were Voltron.

Alfor listened to him closely as he zipped up the tiny sparkly backpack. “Osaka, huh?” He looped his arm into the sling and swung it over his shoulder. “That’s quite the distance. Is she moving just for the new job?”

He then bent down to scoop Allura back up into his arms before she threw a royal fit. Her attitude changed immediately when Alfor offered her the ribbons he had tucked under his arm. She then continued to play with the abused hairs on his face trying in vain to intertwine the colorful pieces of fabric into his beard.

Zarkon was still scrolling through his emails when he answered. “No, her husband is in the Air Force and she wanted to move closer to him because she wants her son to have both parents a stable part of his life. Her son is about Allura’s age, if not a tad bit older.” He finally looked up to see Allura’s fully concreted face trying to braid her father’s beard.

“What’s her name?” Alfor asked, suddenly curious of the possible new hire.

“Aiko Shirogane,” Zarkon answered while tucking his phone away in his suit’s breast pocket. “I told her she can bring the little guy to the daycare if she didn’t have a sitter. She seemed pretty elated that we had a free daycare on site. Great idea, by the way, I think that already swayed her into joining my team.”

Alfor couldn’t take all the credit for the daycare idea. Allura had been a huge factor into the thought. When one of his top employees kept coming in late, he had asked him about it because it began to take a toll on his patience. The employee had explained that every morning, he takes his daughter to a daycare clear across town in the middle of rush hour. The commute in this city was atrocious at the wrong time of the day. Alfor had questioned why he didn’t just take the girl to one of the many daycares around this area. “We simply can’t afford it. These are all incredibly expensive daycares, sir.” The employee explained to him slightly embarrassed having to admit that he couldn’t afford his child care.

Allura, being the sneaky child she was, overheard the conversation and suggested that Voltron should open a daycare so he and the other parents don’t have to drive so far and they wouldn’t be too late to work if the child actually come to work with them. It actually wasn’t a bad idea. It would save all of the parents in the company so much time and money. Plus, he would love to be closer to his daughter and even take some of his lunch breaks with her. Alfor could easily get the credentials to open one on site. There were a few rooms on the fourth floor that could have their walls knocked down to create a room on big enough for a dozen or so toddlers.

He changed that employee’s clock in time for the time being so he could get his daughter to daycare every morning and within a month, Tiny Voltz opened for business. It was free of charge for any parent that needed a daycare if they chose to use it. The new staff he and Zarkon hired was incredibly friendly and highly qualified for the job. Allura, to say the least, absolutely loved it. She now had a place where she can play with other children her age every day. He hadn’t realized that she was such a social butterfly before then. He supposed that it was good for her too, to keep her busy and from roaming the halls of the building.

Most of the time.

She still snuck out anytime she pleased. He’d never forget the look of fear the daycare employee gave him as she him that she couldn’t find his daughter. “Oh yeah, she-she does that. She’ll show up eventually.” He reassured her while rubbing the back of his neck. The look of confusion on the poor girl’s face was one for the cameras.

“Cheese and Crackers, how long does this frackin elevator take?” Zarkon was beginning to get frustrated because he realized how long he’d been standing there, snapping Alfor out of his thoughts.

“You did read the PSA…” Alfor gave him a teasing sideways smile while keeping his head faced forward so Allura can continue to impress only herself.

“Can’t have my Little Truck Driver here make a bad influence on the potential new hire’s kid, now can we?” Zarkon said in a voice that was higher in octave towards Allura rubbing his large hand over here already frazzled white hair. Then he lowered his voice deeply, “Don’t ruin this for me, kiddo, or else.” He lightly threatened.

Allura turned her head slowly, her fingers coming to a slight halt. “You don’t scare me.” Throwing him a glare then continuing to manipulate maul her current project.

“That glare is going to ruin lives, Alfor. You hear me?” Zarkon told his friend, slightly shook that a four year old could muster that much animosity with just a look effortlessly.

The elevator car finally arrived and they all stepped in. Alfor shifted Allura to one arm while he pressed the button for the 4th floor which the daycare was on and also pressed the button for the 11th floor for Zarkon’s stop. The elevator stopped on the 4th floor and Alfor moved to step out. He turned to him to him, “Good luck with the interview, Zark. I trust your judgement with this one.”

Alfor turned to step out, but not quick enough because Allura was quick enough to mash her whole hand all over the keypad, effectively highlighting all of the buttons before they stepped out, dooming Zarkon to ride the rest of the way with a stop on each floor.

“You should have given me a hug, Zarkie. Now suffer.” Allura yelled over her Papa’s shoulder as he carried her out.

Son of a fucking bitch.

“I censored myself for you, you little sh-!” The elevator doors cut him off before they went up one floor. Alfor laughed as he could hear Zarkon yelling in frustration from the floor above them.

“That wasn’t nice, was it Junibee?”

“Probably not.” Allura said back with not a single drop of regret on her face.

That’s my girl.

Alfor made his way to the brightly colored doors that led to the main lobby of Tiny Voltz. Opening the door, he was greeted with the friendly employee, Amy. He thanked her when she relieved him of the tiny backpack and placed into one of the many cubbies. None of the other children had gotten there yet. She was usually the first anyway because of how early Alfor usually arrived to work. He was sure she’d be alright until the other kids filtered in over the next hour. He then looked down at Allura. “You almost finished, Junibee?” He smiled when she stuck her tongue out in concentration, adding the last touches to her monstrosity masterpiece.

“Done,” His face must have been tiny hand magnets because he once again found his cheeks with her glitter jazz hands on them. “You are now beautiful. You are now a pretty, Prince King.”

“A ‘Pretty Prince King’? he raised a white eyebrow. “You mean a pretty Prince or a pretty King? Because Junibee, you can’t be bo-“ she put her entire hand on his mouth to silence him. Glitter moustache too? Fuck me.

“Yes you can….if you believe.” She once again did that whisper shit that slightly scared him.

“You’re absolutely right. I need to believe more.” He said once he removed her whole fucking hand from his face. He set his sunshine on the ground and stayed crotched down at her eyelevel. He gave her a kiss on her forehead, “I’ll see you later, Junibee. If I get out too late, I will send Coran down here to get you, okay?” He knew she hated when he worked too late. It made them both cranky. Maybe the thought of Coran, Allura’s favorite employee, could sooth her temper.

“Coran!” Her attitude slightly perking up. “Okay Papa, I love you.” She stepped up to him to give him a hug goodbye, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

“I love you more, Junibee.” He said back lovingly. He stood up to his full height and turned to leave.

“Goodbye, my sweet Pretty Prince King.” She loudly whispered in the creepiest way possible. Amy gave her a weird look, obviously psyched out by the awkward exchange.

Allura, what the fuck?

“Be good, Allura!” he said before he’s have to answer to Amy’s judgmental eyes. He stepped into the elevator and pressed his floor. He silently hope that Zarkon was still on his way up, one floor at a time.

When he was in the elevator before, Allura’s body completely obscured his view of his reflection in the shiny doors. But now, with nothing but his shame and misfortune, he could fully take in his appearance. His white beard was twisted up, poking out in all different directions with flashes of color running through them made by the ribbons. Not to mention there was just glitter. Everywhere. Not only on his face, but all over his suit and shoes as well.

Well shit.

He checked his watch. He still had time before the rest of his team clocked to fix himself up to avoid the embarrassing reveal. He knew deep down that glitter doesn’t come out. But he could believe.

He just had to believe.

This also on AO3.

#shallura #shallura sundays #voltron #allura #shiro #takashi shirogane #princess allura

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garrettsthings · 7 years

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Power Rangers 2017/Voltron Legendary Defender Counterpart Comparison

This is my first time posting one of these, but I used to do these in my head all the time. Basically I take characters from one show/movie/game/book I like and compare them to another show/movie/game/book I like with a similar (sometimes) premise. Basically I try to figure out which character on Team A is most similar to which character on Team B. And while I know that sounds like I’m being cynical and nitpicking on character tropes, that really isn’t my intention at all. I just find it a fun exercise in characterization and, in the event of a crossover, it helps me identify which characters would be friends.

So this post compares the excellent Voltron Legendary Defender on Netflix with the upcoming 2017 Power Rangers movie. The former is a sterling example of a reboot done right; the latter is a reboot that I desperately hope is done right. With that in mind, and since Voltron and Power Rangers have been constantly compared (with one always being accused of ripping off the other) since the dawn of time. I figured it would be fun to compare the five main heroes of each property. Keep in mind that this is focusing on the new movie versions of the rangers only so I will not be bringing up any traits that they had in the original show. I will only be focusing on details from the trailers/clips/official bios released thus far.

Jason/Shiro: This is the obvious one. Both are the leaders of their respective teams, but I think it goes a little deeper than that. The new Jason has shown quite a few leaderly traits outside of just barking orders that instantly called Shiro to mind. He’s supportive and reassuring to Billy, and he gets annoyed with Zack when he skips out on Ranger training. He also gets Billy to focus on the fight rather than making the Megazord dance (Oh yes. That happens). While it’s unclear whether he’ll be as obsessed with teamwork as Shiro is, the above traits are enough for me to consider this a solid connection.

Zack/Lance: This was another straight line connection. Both characters are fun-loving jokesters, and if a recent interview with Ludi Lin is accurate, both have trouble playing second-fiddle to a guy in red spandex. And in a more coincidental sense, the most recently revealed clip implies that Zack will be the first one we see pilot his giant robotic animal, just like Lance. Going deeper though, the official bio for Zack states that he uses his class clown attitude to mask hidden insecurities. Does that remind anyone else of a certain Blue Lion pilot in desperate need of a hug?

Billy/Hunk: Full disclosure, this one had me stuck for a while. My first thought was Pidge because they were both the smart members of their team, but Billy is quite a bit more reserved than Pidge (if you disrupted Pidge while she was arranging her crayons, she would use those crayons to hurt you in ways you could scarcely imagine). Instead, I found Hunk to be an easier fit. Both are good with machines, gentle, and very reluctant to do anything dangerous.

Trini/Keith: These last two were the most difficult. I eventually settled on Keith for Trini because, based on what little we know of the new Trini, both she and Keith are the surly loners of their respective teams. That, and the Sabretooth Tiger Zord looks to be the fiercest of all the zords, just like Red Lion. There’s also that rumor that Trini’s mother is an alien I mean, what?

Kimberly/Pidge: Kimberly and Pidge are different in a lot of ways, but I still think there’s enough to draw a link between them. Both seem to be awful fond of using biting sarcasm and seem to have a cynical outlook of the world around them. You know Pidge is just as racist against vans as Kimberly is. Assuming they still have vans in whatever time period VLD takes place in. Hell, Pidge probably invented a better mode of transportation to replace vans, NEW HEADCANON!! And while this is reaching, both Kimberly and Pidge cut their hair! That’s meaningful, right? ... stop judging me. They’d be friends and you know it.

So what do you think of my comparisons? Do you agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment or reblog with your thoughts. And do you want me to do more of these? I have a couple in mind (the most prevalent one in my head is the upcoming DCEU Justice League and the MCU Avengers) and I’d love to do them if there’s an audience for them.

P.S. Allura and Coran are Zordon and Alpha respectively. Have fun not seeing that.

#Power Rangers #Voltron Legendary Defender #power rangers movie #power rangers 2017 #power rangers reboot #voltron reboot #saban #netflix #dreamworks #comparison #counterpart comparison #characterization #power rangers vs voltron

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glopratchet · 4 years

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Little Sin

In the world to come there is little sin. You have a new life, a new family and you are free. There are just lots of american alligators. After the election of the first ungendered president, the prediatrain movement caught fire in america. Since then most of the metaworkers involved in the project went private and made their fortunes selling to companies who were more intersted in financial gains than induction. Of coarse the metaworkers had been doing it for so long most just didn't need the money and had continued striving to make humans as perfect as possible themselves. Now only the poor have babies the traditional way and they are rarely more than 20% of any given populations usable babies. The demand for american alligator meat skyrocketed after a plague years ago and it became economic sense to breed them in captivity, who knew they stacked so well? Vats after vats of gator esscence sloshing about growing legs and then bodies then slaughtered and processed. Mostly it is a paradise, efficient, structured, specialized. Sadly your specialization did not prove to be highly valued. Who need classics when the old world is gone? Whorals where burned to ash while polled hereford heifors fetched over a billion dollars a head in auction. Your old farmhouse now an airport, your father would have been horrified, of course he was blown to ash scattering over a freeway while you mother's skeleton was proudly put on display in a metaworks museum. The old world REALLY is gone. You worked hard and got your primary education certificate then just as hard to get your secondary equivalent. You spent eight years studying in the library for your humanities and Social Science papers and got a two 2.1s and a 3. Googizon won the bid to construct for the military the most forward thinking alligator farm in existance so far and with your resumé you were head hunted to run it. You work in a half submerged glass an metal building sitting atop 523 alligators who are kept just wake enough through biog gas injection to allow them to shut their eyes without spilling out the layer of meat skewered on huge needles that run from their spinal cords into the machinery. It currently floats near the okeenokee snow swamp. You are so far from the old world it's not even funny. Sure on the T.V. they still talk about sports and throw around polotics but outside the farm all you can see for miles are trees, birds and insects and the odd alligator basking on a sunny 'beach'. Of course the building is still less then half a mile from a military base on an army enforced conservation area so humans can't wander and wipe out all the game for miles.... This is not that story. You have work to do We are primal ponds inc. we specialise in ultra farm husbandry. At the push of a button our gators from young to full grown can instantly become fashion jackets, leather coats, belts...even shoes and bags. We are pushing so many units every day we have sent reps to try and break into the japanese market, so far they haven't called back. A small mom and pop alligator farm attemping to make it. Last week our oldest gator surpass Cochon gate's world record of 880 years. The sun beats down on your farms back glass panels as you watch the thousands of beasts basking sleepily below. You snap a couple of photos with your phone and beam them over to your reps hoping they call you back soon. We need you to make deliveries for us. We have bought, rigged and updated an old freight submarine for you and set you up with a small crew, you just need to tell us where to drop off the goods. Please...we're dying here... On the rhelm of your glass office a pen floats near you. Point of view of the player: Hey, take a minute and think about where you want to go. I'm letting you choose the next sector of this adventure, with four options: theMilitary Side, Economics Side, Terrorism Side or Criminal Side... A delivery champion here is like no other: we have control over the world's only sentient beasts of burden (gators) incentive based economics that allouw us to sell our leather above price-cost, kick-back free operating licenses and few enough regulations that you can get amazing stuff done for you with a couple of well-placed bribes. Pick up the pen and choose your destiny The criminal side sounds fun: trillions of people live outside and inside the law why shouldn't we? He had a secert life as billy fea fbots biggest drug lord all along! And one more thing... It turns out no one has made a crappy real time virtual reality game based on your life and experiences yet and against all attact you have decided to give it a go.... Dedicated to delivering dragon tail in the far, far, future. Maybe that needs to change... Made by two guys on a coffee machine some sleepy afternoons...mayhaps...it's rubbish... We proudly introduce today the glamorous fallout: an adventure in the post-apocalypse and the two men who made it: bruce and ed. Glug, glug...any questions? Alligator delivery service. The story of a normal life in the post-apazaki...noh... The alligator farm where the gator are delivered is currently under a series of construction tasks. Temporary staff will used while these works last. Already we own over four over ten foot alligators including rex lex, the old female godzilla and lesi mellnick, the huge male dominant of our breeding group. We place breed these four as soon and they reach sexual maturity. We also own thirty-six smaller animals, mostly six to seven foot males and females. A massive 14 foot beast. Not nice. Bred for fights but joined our force with strange reluctance when he could do nothing against our huge alpha male. He's actually a right little so and so, never helps the keepers move any of the large trees in our scrapes.... So, we have delivered one alligator from the breeding farm to an area in florida where our electronics arm opened a new factory recently. This factory is currently attempting to recuperate from a bombing and so insurance fraud seems the most reasonable option. The factory is seeded with several obviously fake bomb scares. While this sucks for the factory work as they all have to stop working, many refuse to even enter thir building, others leave by afternoon. We plan to target the wood workers. (alves and winklehaus.....and thunder? A small safe has gone missing and we believe our bomber has probably taken it. he has clearly stolen large sums of money in the past as a means of terrorise his local communities as whenever something is stolen a new threat will appear the next day from ed or one of his fellow crack extortionists so we don't expect public interest into this theft for at least a couple weeks. At two pm on the dot bruce and ed! will enter the building wearing all black. This is when they plant the bomb that they have created in our secret base under a community centre... my brother and me got our name because ed regarded us as two like his brothers. I'm the quiet one and the brother who just does what I'm told. bruce has called ed a right character and I can't altogether dispute it. With me is greg, a new member of our team and an aspiring stand up comedian! Said he killed someone once but I'm not sure I believe that.... I finallly arrive at the building site where our two crack undercover agents are waiting. There were no actual bomb threats but daft people are still refusing to work. Ed hasn't responded to my last message so I assume that the pair of them are happily seeding the factory. We snuck in earlier, hammering boards over the glass walls to the offices at the top of the factory to avoid breaking in after hours. While at the front we pretend to be a work crew extending a main road so no one will questions us creeping about the 'closed' factory.We wander around the dark building looking for the seemingly empty offices on the top floor and come across a man trying to stuff armfuls of fabric printer paper in his sports bag. He is shocked to see us as much as we are him. The gulity man whirls around as we enter , dropping his bag in the doorway. "Hey we can help you there," I say , not knowing what else to say. 'I...um...thanks... ' he answers, patting down his pockets looking for his keys. I pick up the bag and find the keys in the first pocket I try. How about that? I hand them over and he looks at me with clear recognition in his eyes. He had obviously seen my photo in Newsweek. He must have though this was some kind of trap. So, he didn't come here to steal but to destroy the documents? Well these papers seemed pretty regular, all printer paper and cheap fabric....but then they don't exactly make a good quality paper especially not out here for convenience. Why would the guy go to the trouble of destroying these anyway? "Thank you...are you sure you can handle that?" He asks, nervously smiling at me. I'm quite big remember to add. There are two respectable fathers with me afterall. "Yeah why wouldn't we be?" I respond with a faint smile, but my smile is weak and unrealistic so as not to scare the man. I look at my brother who clearly doesn't react much to these kind of situations....or any situations really. "Right...well, you can just toss it over there." He points to a bare corner of a room behind us with his keys still in hand. 'Then um...thanks a lot....goodbye....' We shuffle towards the corner at first then I get the sense that something is not right with this guy. it may be the fact that he still isn't leaving or the nervous sweat pertruding from his forehead. We play air hockey for a second, me shuffling my feet to face him then him shuffling his feet to face me. He keeps his keys held tightly in his hands like some kind of knife. It dawns on me later that I should have grabbed them anyway. What happened after this I still cannot quite recall in exact detail... "Come on guys,.... can you let me go now? Please?", he says heading to the exit, greg mutters to him to just leave but I find myself obnixious and unpredictable as ever. Maybe he could shed some light on this situation? What was he doing with all these non work related papers anyway? Why destroy them in a hurry? It seemed pretty odd to me. I wait for him to take a few steps forward before I speak up from behind. "At least tell us how you make your paper seem so authentic." I like to lob questions like this at recent university grads whenever I can. It's part of human nature to talk about yourself and it also gives us insight into the security of new moneymakers. I had completely forgotten that some of men out there were not security at all but common criminals looking to rip off new businesses like ours so that they wont be such easy pickins later. I wasn't prepared for the booster to pull a 2x4 with screws sticking out of it out of his bag as he whirls on me with unnatural speed. If I had to fight him eye to eye my life would have been quickly terminated. Since I didn't expect the hostile response however, I had enough time to duck and cover inside the cramped bathroom . With it's cheap lock, I was ensured my safety.....or so I thought.Tip: If you're logged in, your games are auto saved for you. You can find them by clicking "My Stuff" on the sidebar menu.Story

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mobius-prime · 4 years

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183. Sonic the Hedgehog #115

Meanie in a Bottle

Writer: Benny Lee Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Jason Jensen

So I haven't really been mentioning them, but in lieu of the intro pages that older issues had, lately most issues have begun instead with a full-page illustration relevant to the story content. This one is no different, except that instead of depicting something that actually happens within the issue, it reimagines Sonic as Aladdin, which is honestly very cute. The actual plot of the main story does involve a genie, but it's a very silly story, a rare thing nowadays. Fittingly, Art Mawhinney is the artist, since his style is very cartoony, but weirdly enough, we've actually got ourselves a new colorist for this issue, one Jason Jensen. I have to say, his coloring style is probably the most interesting and dynamic we've seen so far, and while it looks lovely with its more complex shading and somewhat more realistic colors, the style ultimately kind of suffers from being paired with Art's pencils. Don't get me wrong, Art isn't a bad artist by any means - how could he be, with a name like that? - but his style just clashes weirdly with Jason's colors, making for kind of a jarring combination. But enough of that, onto the story! Sonic is playing fetch with the roboticized Muttski near a lake when he accidentally throws the stick into the water. Muttski obediently jumps in after it, and Sonic, worried for his dog's safety, leaps in after him.

I find it a little interesting, his comment about hating water and the implication that he can't swim. After all, throughout the entirety of the comic 'verse so far, Sonic's and Knuckles' swimming skills have kind of been swapped, with Sonic being a decent swimmer who enjoys a nice dip in the summer, and Knuckles being the one who can't swim and is afraid of water. It seems they're finally trying to align Sonic's swimming skills with that of his game counterpart, but after so many issues depicting him swimming without a problem, it's kind of a weird, sudden loss of ability. Anyway, as soon as he grabs the bottle, it shoots him and his dog safely to the surface of the water. Upon opening the bottle, a genie shoots out, and Sonic excitedly asks if this means he gets three wishes. The genie seems annoyed by this question, and decides to give him a little "present" anyway before flying away, zapping both him and Muttski at the same time.

Sonic realizes in shock that he has quickly run out of energy while Muttski bounds ahead, and gets a checkup from Dr. Quack, who confirms his worst fears - the genie straight up swapped his and Muttski's speeds, making Sonic an ordinary runner and Muttski a supersonic robot dog. Man, what is it about this comic loving to take away Sonic's speed through random happenstance? You'd think he'd kind of be used to it by now. He dejectedly, over the next few days, tries to figure out how to control his dog, who is now racing all across Knothole at ridiculous speeds and even offering some speedy help to people in need. After a few days of these shenanigans, Sonic and Muttski are once again playing a game of fetch in the forest, when Sonic spots the same genie floating around nearby and sics Muttski on him. Muttski swallows the genie whole, because it's the best way to keep him from running (flying?) away, and Sonic promises to let the genie back out if he gets his three wishes, to which the genie irritably agrees.

Wait, Sonic! Are you serious? That's your final wish? First of all I actually kind of find it funny that his wishes in this issue were very similar to the ones at the end of Secret Rings, in that he basically uses the first two as a fix-it for all the stuff that's happened over the course of the story and uses the final one to re-trap the offending genie back into its prison, but second of all, don't you think that third and final wish could be better used on, say, world peace or something? Maybe a guaranteed defeat of Egg… man… hey, wait a second, guys! Has anyone noticed the conspicuous lack of Eggman in the past few issues? I mean, I know his city got blown up pretty hard back in StH#110, but this is a Robotnik we're talking about. He's kind of known for coming back from seemingly certain death to torment the world time and time again. No one seems concerned at all with making absolutely sure that he's gone, but I have a feeling that the destruction of Robotropolis isn't the end of Eggman's story…

The Spaz Sketchbook

Writer/Pencils: Spaz

So here we've got something quite interesting! This isn't actually a story, but rather a collection of concept art by Patrick Spaziante, for various characters and machines of issues past, scrapped concepts that never made it into print, and even a few sketches for some upcoming stories! Unfortunately I can't just post every page here - that would be way too many pictures - but they're free to look at on the Archie Sonic wiki for those who are interested in viewing the full thing. I've decided to only include a couple things here, being sketches that I found the most interesting. First up we have a concept for Rob o' the Hedge that was ultimately scrapped in favor of making him look… well… exactly like Sonic.

Seriously, this design is so much more interesting! I mean, sure he kind of still looks like a recolored Sonic OC with a few details changed to make him stand out, but let's face it, that's what basically every hedgehog looks like in the Archieverse. As it stands, this design is way more unique-looking, and has much more visual interest than just making him a slightly lighter-colored Sonic clone.

A few pages in, we have what looks like a large, segmented train of sorts, which has its description box blocked out with a large "CAUTION: SPOILER INFO" sticker plastered over it. There's obviously relevant text behind it, but only a couple of words at the beginning and end show through, giving us a tantalizing glimpse at something that might come up here in a few issues. There's some references to a scrapped arc that takes place on Mobius twenty years in the future that depicts an older, redesigned Knuckles and Julie-Su - hmm, wonder if we'll ever see anything come of that eventually? - and then some pages devoted to plans for a manga-style alternate universe that never saw the light of day, due to the Sonic Super Special series being cancelled.

I include these mostly because they're really cute! I mean, the series has already been going in a much more anime-inspired direction with its art as of late, so it's interesting to see how that has been an inspiration for the art team for quite a while, even before Ron Lim and Steven Butler started really Nihon-ing it up. We conclude with a final page in which every sketch's text is completely spoilered out, but we can take our best guess at what the art depicts just from looking at it.

Two of those designs are pretty obviously Mecha Sonic and a new Mecha Tails, meaning we might be seeing those two get roboticized sometime in the near future. As for the other robots, given their unique designs, we can safely assume that we're looking at roboticized versions of Flying Frog, Lightning Lynx, and Predator Hawk. The top left robot is a little more ambiguous, but I just cheated and looked at the wiki, which informed me that it's a roboticized Drago. Man, how did this big ol' string of roboticizations happen, huh? It's almost like Eggman might not be truly gone…

Ultimate Power (Part Two)

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Dawn Best Colors: Jensen

So, we can pretty safely assume that Mammoth Mogul is up to no good. Harry drops him off at the hospital in Echidnaopolis just as Lien-Da leaves the building, and he walks in, gloating in the doorway over his former enemy lying so helplessly in the middle of all the life support gear.

It's kind of amazing how in the span of barely over a dozen issues, Penders has managed to take Dimitri from a hated villain that we're certain wants to conquer the world, and rebrand him as a tired, ancient old man just trying to do the best for his people using the only means he knows. These issues have really given a much different perspective on Dimitri that we've never seen before, painting him in a much more sympathetic light and even making us root for him in some respects. After all, I know I certainly don't want him to die here, and more and more it seems like the real danger within the modern Legion is Lien-Da, with a whole hidden agenda of her own.

Unaware of the brewing catastrophe, Knuckles, Julie-Su, and the Chaotix are hanging out in a park, generally enjoying the time they have together. Knuckles explains to everyone how his fur color changed from Rad Red to Gross Green, and demonstrates some of his newfound powers by producing a bouquet of flowers from thin air, much to Julie-Su's delight. I can't say she's the type of girl who I would have expected to be so happy with flowers, but hey, I can see her maybe being touched by a gesture that's so normal, in contrast to her messed-up past. Knuckles sobers the mood up, however, by saying that he really needs to go see his father about his powers, which begs the question of why he hasn't done so before now, and leads everyone away to the Brotherhood's new, temporary place of residence, what with Haven being wrecked and all. In the Legion's own secret base within Echidnaopolis, Lien-Da converses with what appears to be her assistant, Gae-Na, about Dimitri's state of being. The base appears to be small-time, something Lien-Da has had recently set up by a few loyal underlings of her own without Dimitri's knowledge, as she discusses that if the echidna's main council votes to not go through with reunification she's ready to go through with her "backup plan." Knuckles and co. enter the temporary Brotherhood base, noting how run-down it seems in comparison, but upon heading into the main room they're met with a nasty shock on screen…

Well, I'm sure nothing but good things will come of this…

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #sth 115 #writer: benny lee #writer: ken penders #pencils: art mawhinney #pencils: pat spaziante #pencils: dawn best #colors: jason jensen

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theinvinciblenoob · 6 years

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It’s hard to imagine a better demonstration of the state of AAA gaming today than Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, a game where the whole of the wine-dark Classical Aegean is available for you to ply with your oars — but which operates according to a risible, cartoonish video game logic that seems, if possible even more anachronistic. Should you play it? Absolutely.

(Very minor spoilers ahead.)

In case you haven’t been following the Assassin’s Creed… well, odyssey, the last few years, the game took some time off following the lavishly produced but ambivalently received Unity and Syndicate games, set in revolutionary Paris and Victorian London respectively. The series, critics said, was wearing itself a bit thin despite the fabulous set dressing.

You can imagine everyone’s surprise when AC returned in Origins, set in an enormous swathe of ancient Egypt. New systems nudged the game from the stealth action of its roots towards the expansive, open-world RPG currently in vogue. It was a little rough around the edges but the scale was welcome, as was the shift away from the increasingly turgid Assassins vs Templars secret society scramble.

The news that the next game would take place in Ancient Greece at the time of the Peloponnesian War thrilled me to no end. I’ve always been a fan of the Classical era, Homer and Herodotus and Periclean Athens and all that. I’ll also admit to an unironic love of 300 and the story of Leonidas’s last stand — the graphic novel, not the movie, which was awful.

Are you kidding me? Look at this.

Here, then was that world brought to life with all the fidelity that Ubisofts hundreds of artists and modelers could bring, with a narrative combining secret societies with classical warfare, historical figures, and high-seas adventure (I loved the pirate-themed AC Black Flag). On paper this is the greatest game ever to grace the screen.

And in a way, it is. Ubisoft’s rendering of the Classical world is so beautiful, so massive, so obviously a labor of love and skill and intensive research that I have spent much of my time in the game simply gawking.

The costumes! The statues! The landscapes! The light! It’s a feast of details at every location, from the idyllic backwater of Kephallonia, where your hero begins their story to the sprawling, bustling Athens just approaching the zenith of its glory. I (that is to say, my character) walked past the Theatre of Dionysus in its construction, which I have visited in person (now ruined and restored, of course), and on up to the Acropolis, where I scaled the Parthenon and looked out over the tiled roofs under one of which, for all I know, I may find Plato sitting and writing the Symposium.

Seriously.

Then I meander to the harbor, board my black ship, and split the seas to explore any of the islands in the entire Aegean — any of them. The whole Aegean! Well, most of it, anyway. Enough that you won’t ask for more. Here be mythical creatures, political machinations, stormy seas and sunny shanties.

The world that Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey in habits, I feel confident in saying, is the largest and most impressive that I have encountered, with special credit given for having to reflect reality to a certain extent, which is not a limitation shared by its eminent competition in the open-world genre, like Horizon: Zero Dawn and Breath of the Wild.

In my opinion, both as a gamer and a lover of antiquity, it is worth the price of admission to experience this world, to see and hear Ancient Greece in a way that was heretofore impossible, and simply to revel in the almost inconceivable level craft that was so obviously put into this mind-boggling world.

And now, having made that judgment, I will proceed to trash the game I just recommended for about two thousand words.

The game itself

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, the game itself, is embarrassing to play. The characters you interact with and the minute-by-minute gameplay are so uneven that I truly believe that Ubisoft simply didn’t have time to adequately play-test it. It feels like the game was just too big to run through once they’d made it so they just shipped. If someone from Ubisoft were sitting next to me as I played, I would expect them to be cringing constantly.

It’s an incredibly lopsided collection of old and new ideas, balanced and unbalanced systems, good and bad UI, intuitive and baffling combat, beautiful and repulsive graphics, and excellent and laughable voice acting. I haven’t finished the game, let alone all the side quests, but although I expect to encounter more good things as I go, the bad things were apparently pretty much from the first few minutes and haven’t abated.

The AI of the people in this game seems to have regressed ten years to a simpler age. They are truly idiots all, from people on the street to elite soldiers.

Good old Adrastos the Logician, engaging in hand to hand combat.

One of the first things that happened when I got my horse and learned to have it follow a road was that it mowed down a few laborers. This, I found, would happen everywhere I went: every character in the game walks right in the center of the road and dives madly out of your way as you canter down it, screaming and cursing. Wild animals cluttered the road, and reacting confusedly as I approached and throwing themselves under the hooves of my steed, Phobos.

This was my first taste of what would become a theme. Why, I asked myself, wouldn’t these people just walk on the side of the road? The developers clearly accounted for horses riding down it, and have behaviors and barks for when that happens. But it’s so weird, so unrealistic, so video gamey. Surely in this lovingly rendered world it is not unusual for a horse to run down a mountain road? Why then do they behave in this way? Because the people were not created intelligently — it’s as simple as that. None of them.

I once emptied a military camp of guards and then set about looting the place. A woman was being held captive in a cage — not an uncommon thing to find — so I let her out. As she escaped, thanking me, I turned to take the items out of a nearby chest. The woman, mid-escape, screamed with rage at me for this theft, snatching a nearby spear and rushing me in righteous anger. What?

Perhaps I can’t expect every peasant to be a genius, but guards too (of all ranks) are unbelievably dense. They will step over the corpses of their fellow men to get to their post and not say a word. They will fail to hear the clashing of swords, or not notice a guy being violently flipped over and disemboweled, a matter of feet away. They will follow you one by one around corners where you can dispatch them individually and fail to see or care about the ever-widening pool of blood. They are as dumb as the dumbest guards from games that came out 10 years ago.

“Mother of Spiders”

Not much better are the much-ballyhooed mercenaries, who come after you if you do too many bad things. It’s not really clear what the bad things are, but eventually you’ll see a red helmet icon on your map and know you’ve been naughty. They’re basically guards with special weapons and a few characteristics like “weak to fire” or “takes 20 percent less ranged damage.” Technically they have backstories but you have to drill down to their description to find them, and by the time you’re doing that you’ve probably already killed them. You can recruit them for your ship, like you can recruit anyone, but they generally amount to stat bonuses with funny names like Demos the Drunk. He didn’t act drunk — just had a spear I wanted, so I took him out. I mean, the variation is welcome, but it’s nothing like, for example, the nemesis system in the Mordor series.

Combat is a real mix. You are no longer a fragile assassin who can be killed from a few good hits, but a powerful warrior with supernatural skills like instant mid-battle heals and teleportation. This is combat between equals, but your equals are generally stiff types with two or three attacks they repeat over and over, glowing a bright red or gold before doing so.

A slippery-feeling dodge system zips you through these attacks, or you can parry some of them, then slash away at your attacker. Some guards or targets, especially if they’re a level or two above you, will take minutes of patient slashing before they drop. I was sent on a hunt to kill a legendary boar that I gave up on after a couple minutes because I had only taken its health down by a quarter while not being hit myself.

Compared with other action RPGs it’s pretty listless stuff. More appealing is the stealth, which the fools of guards are obviously there to encourage, since you can empty a camp or fort of its occupants systematically and it can be quite satisfying. But with the perfect knowledge effected by scouting such a place with your eagle’s x-ray vision, it feels more like bullying than anything.

The Peloponnesian War is going on around you, though you’d be hard-pressed to notice most of the time. You don’t exactly take sides, since whatever area you’re in, your enemies are the ones in control. You can weaken the faction in power by various means and force a battle (a melee in which the combat, now against dozens, feels frustratingly sloppy), but ultimately the guards and camps feel much the same as one another — Spartans have different helmets from Athenians.

I thought at first this would be deeper than it is. I had looted a variety of armor pieces, several of which suggested I could use them to blend in among the Athenians whom I was at that moment working to undermine. So I donned them and headed to the nearest camp, hoping to walk about unsuspected, Hitman-style, sowing chaos by releasing caged animals and setting fire to supplies. Nope: I was immediately attacked on approaching the gate, before I’d even come in or done anything suspicious. The guard that had never seen me before apparently recognized me as the bloodthirsty mercenary who’d wiped out a camp a mile or so away, minutes earlier. No espionage for me.

It’s never really clear who you’re fighting or why, because the locations and people are just names. It doesn’t matter if they’re Athenian or Spartan, just that they’re the ones between you and the treasure chest. I guess that’s the life of a mercenary, but it doesn’t make you care a lot.

That was a quest?

The RPG elements, from gear to abilities, have almost no integration with the game itself. From the very beginning you can see your whole skill tree, including things involving the magic spear that you don’t yet know is magic. You gain new abilities and upgrade your ship not through interesting quests or meeting interesting people, but simply by spending points and resources.

When your ship’s captain says the hull ought to be upgraded, it’s not the start of a quest to find some cool big trees or visit his hometown where he left his ship-building tools and pals. It’s literally just a reminder to stock up on wood and iron and press the button to upgrade in the pause screen.

When you meet a talented carpenter whose brother is being held by bandits, it isn’t a quest to reunite these guys for a power team that enables a ship repair superpower. He just turns out to be a regular guy who increases your hull strength by a couple percentage points.

Quests, talked up ahead of release as being fully voiced and emergent, as though you’re receiving a request from help from a needy merchant or the like, are nothing of the sort. Every one I’ve encountered so far has been a variant of: Kill these five wolves specifically. Kill these three Spartan elite guards specifically. Kill these bandits. Sink these ships.

Each has a flimsy justification (they’re blocking the road; they stole money from me) and are often atrociously acted. In one I found the quest giver asleep; he obligingly woke me up to say he wanted to take the fight to some bandits who had been demanding money from him. As soon as I agreed, those very bandits appeared not ten feet away and instantly ran him through. Quest failed.

There are deeper side quests, to be sure. But the hundreds of quests you’ll see on quest boards or appearing randomly in the wild are like this, and rarely give more than a spritz of XP and gold. Sometimes you can recruit the quest-giver, though they might or might not be helpful on your crew.

I wish that they had taken the time and effort that went into creating 20 or 30 of these quests and made one single side quest with multiple steps, characters that mattered a bit, and provided substantial rewards like a new ability for your ship.

Even main story quests, such as the targets you’ll be taking on, can be disappointingly shallow. You’re supposed to be following threads and clues, but several are just handed to you: Here’s some lady. Here’s her exact location. Go kill her. No dialogue, no footwork, no alternatives. Stab this person and take their shiny thing. Shouldn’t I at least try to get some information out of her? Why isn’t there even a death cutscene like in so many of the other games?

The writing is hit and miss. The main story and its immediate side quests are fine — I’m perhaps 25 hours in and I’m interested to see where it’s going, even if it’s not particularly surprising. And it helps that the writing and voices for the main characters are leaps and bounds above the rest.

I chose to play as Kassandra, as opposed to Alexios, for a lot of reasons. And I love her. She’s well-acted, her writing is funny and occasionally realistic, and I like that she is indistinguishable from her male alternative in every way. Your companions, especially Herodotos and your exuberant captain Barnabas, are great.

Yet other characters are ridiculous: badly written, worse acted. Even major ones. I remember one exchange with a soon-to-be-target who was pressuring me to torture some poor sap. His voice acting was so bad, especially compared to his interlocutor Kassandra’s, that I was laughing out loud. He was far from the only example of this.

Games like The Witcher 3 have spoiled us on the quality of the writing and quests, but that should be a new bar to meet, not a high-water point. It’s sad that Ubisoft hasn’t upped its game here, so to speak; it feels like 90 percent of the game I’ve played so far is purely mechanical, and even at its best it sits like a layer of butter spread thinly across an enormous Greek piece of toast. But what toast!

It’s tantalizing to see how good a game like this could be, only to be let down again and again with elements that would feel out of date ten years ago. I’m having a great time when I’m not shaking my head at it, and enjoying the scenery when I’m not being attacked by one of the evidently 50,000 bears out for my blood in the Classical world.

As I wrote earlier, to me it is worth buying just for the good parts. But as someone who cares about games and loves the idea of this one, I can’t help but observe how dated and baffling it is at the same time. It doesn’t live up to the world it was created to inhabit, but that world is practically a complete game in itself, and one that I immediately loved.

via TechCrunch

#IFTTT #TechCrunch

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itsjaybullme · 6 years

Text

Gaming Roundup: Holiday 2017 Edition

1 of 10

1. Destiny 2

Courtesy of Activision

A more-than-worthy successor to the 2014 phenomenon, Destiny 2 shows how closely Bungie listened to its community, building on the co-op and competitive aspects that made the original so great and improving on the story, which most players agreed was lacking. Destiny 2’s campaign is a complete, satisfying experience, even if it only deepened the mystery around the Traveler’s origins. Even leveling up feels simpler, if only because most veteran players have already established their preferred playstyle, taking tough decisions about which direction to move your character out of the equation. Shooter tradition almost demands that you finish the campaign before hopping into multiplayer, but it’s probably smarter to mine as much XP and gear as you can through crucible matches before going too far solo. With a stronger character, you’ll breeze through the story. The Collector’s Edition of this game is one of the crazier editions we’ve seen; it comes with an ornately detailed leather bag and triangular metal tube, modeled after the one carried by a character named Suraya. That tube opens up and folds out into a portable solar-powered USB charging station. It also includes a bevy of printed collectibles, a steelbook edition of the game, and a pass for DLC packs I and II.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

2 of 10

2. Super Mario Odyssey

Courtesy Image

On the surface, we’ve got this: The same Mario game you’ve played a hundred times, only now he’s got a boomerang hat. Play beyond the first 30 minutes, though, and you’ll discover an almost flawless game in every detail, sure to be one of your new personal faves. Switch owners were hoping for a worthy Mario game to help cement the system as a success. Nintendo over-delivered in spades, shipping a game that leapfrogged to the top of the Game of the Year discussion, and somehow entered the Best Game of All Time discussion. It’s hard to argue with any of that buzz. The rhythm, balance, and pace of Super Mario Odyssey is perfect, a confounding feat considering its open-world nature. At times it can feel like Nintendo has a patent on human curiosity and joy. That’s how effortlessly this game can make you feel like a kid again.

Available on: Nintendo Switch

3 of 10

3. Call of Duty WWII

Courtesy of Activision

The first campaign stage on Normandy Beach feels like a playable version of the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan. It’s brutal and frantic, and sets the tone for this welcome return to Call of Duty’s roots. Multiplayer and zombie modes are as tight as ever, but what makes this one stick with you is a story that respects the real sacrifices made by the Greatest Generation. That lifeline to the real world gives it some staying power that’s just not possible to achieve in a far-flung sci-fi adventure. As long as this much love and attention goes into each iteration, we’re completely fine with COD coming out every year.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

4 of 10

4. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Courtesy of Bethesda

A story about Nazis taking over America wasn’t supposed to have the kind of real-world resonance that it currently does, but that’s where we are. Setting aside that unpleasant reality, The New Colossus is a brilliant follow-up to 2014’s The New Order, with you picking up right where BJ Blazkowicz left off (spoiler alert: he survived the first game’s climactic scene). Just as it did with the first game, developer Machine Games eschewed a multiplayer mode altogether, focusing entirely on an engrossing single-player experience. That shines through in everything from its smooth gameplay mechanics to its distinct characters you can actually remember. It’s a bold, old-school mentality, but the payoff is huge. Makes you wish more developers would have the guts to follow suit.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

5 of 10

5. South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Courtesy of Ubisoft

This giant, 15-hour episode of South Park is so funny and packed with clever satire it deserves to be mentioned with the best South Park multi-episode arcs ever. (It’s right on par with the Imaginationland trilogy, the Black Friday trilogy, and the Coon series.) That would be reason enough to make this a mandatory purchase for South Park fans, but the fact that it’s a surprisingly deep and well-crafted RPG seals the deal. You have a ton of options for character development, from how you look to how you fight. The racial commentary is also sadly spot on. For starters, you select the difficulty of the game with a skin color slider—white is easy, tan is difficult, black is very difficult. As you get deeper into the game there’s a sequence where the South Park cops task you with taking down a supposedly infamous drug dealer, who turns out to just be a black guy in a nice house. Ouch. That’s South Park at its best and most biting.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

6 of 10

6. Gran Turismo Sport

Courtesy of Sony

It’s been four years since a Gran Turismo game came out, and with Forza firmly in command of the biggest virtual garage in gaming, GT put its efforts elsewhere, namely online play and VR. Serious players will get a kick out of the online mode. Over time, it’s easy to imagine that players with low sportsmanship ratings—those involved in the most pileups—will be shunned and shamed. While you can’t take VR online or into the campaign, it’s a pretty awesome arcade experience (if you’re not susceptible to motion sickness). With the price of the VR headset dropping $100 for the holidays, and with a steadily growing library to go with it, Gran Turismo Sport stands as another worthy selling point, and you can now get it bundled with the headset.

Available on: PS4

7 of 10

7. Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy

Courtesy of Activision

Crash never looked so good, from the newly rendered opening sequence to all three PS One games remastered in HD to smooth out his jagged polygons. Those are welcome changes because the core gameplay has aged well, even for an on-the-rails 3D platformer. Everything is slick and responsive, and once you get going you won’t rest until you smash every crate on every level. One downer: long load times are one of the few carryovers from '90s games that don’t satisfy any nostalgic urge.

Available on: PS4

8 of 10

8. Forza 7

Courtesy of Microsoft

What was missing from a racing series that has given you an accurate representation of nearly every car on the planet? You probably didn’t say story mode, but you won’t be sorry that that’s what you got. It’s actually a perfect way for the game to sink its hooks into you and get you to sample a ton of different tracks, cars, and weather conditions right out of the gate. The replay value is huge; you can unlock a whopping 700 lovingly detailed cars. Forza 7 is also the poster child for enhancements on the Xbox One X, but it looks good no matter how you’re playing.

Available on: Xbox One, PC

9 of 10

9. Middle Earth: Shadow of War

Courtesy of WB Games

The first Middle Earth game played fast and loose with Tolkien lore while borrowing heavily from the Arkham series gameplay mechanics. The result was a shock: tight and cohesive, and hands down the best game of 2014. Shadow of War finds the co-main characters Talion and Celebrimbor forging a new ring of power to destroy the inhabitants of Mordor for a story that leaves off just before the events of The Lord of the Rings. Developer Monolith jacked up the dials on everything that worked in the original: the nemesis system, your ability tree, and the brutal combat animations, which have all been expanded and polished. For an open world game, the pace remains lightning fast because it’s just so densely packed. Wander in any direction and you’ll discover something, be it a collectible, a side mission, or a pack of enemies to sneak up on.

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

10 of 10

10. Cuphead

Courtesy of Microsoft

Styled after early 20th century cartoons, Cuphead has been the subject of much anticipation since it was first teased three years ago. It’s a standard platformer, but one that looked so unique everyone wanted to pick it up. Now that it’s finally out we know what took so long: every frame you see was drawn by hand, from the main characters Cuphead and Mugman, to the level bosses, to the top-down map where the locations pulse with life, an intentional side-effect of hand animation. And in true throwback fashion, this gameplay is solid, difficult, and addictive. For $20, you can’t say no to this.

Available on: Xbox One, PC

TOP 10 GAMES OF THE YEAR

1. Horizon Zero Dawn

2. Super Mario Odyssey

3. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

4. Destiny 2

5. Zelda: Breath of the Wild

6. South Park: The Fractured But Whole

7. Middle Earth: Shadow of War

8. Injustice 2

9. For Honor

10. Call of Duty WWII

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