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fallen-gravity · 6 months

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Safe Haven

Molly wakes up in the middle of the night to a series of franctic texts from Ollie telling her to look outside.

Her heart drops in her chest when she sees him standing at her front door, duffle bag of his belongings hidden poorly behind his back.

Notes:

A safe haven is a person we can turn to and know that they care about our safety, will respond to our distress, help us co-regulate, and are a source of emotional and physical comfort. Safety in relationships involves being able to show up exactly as you are and receiving love, affection, support, encouragement, and understanding. Being your authentic self and being loved for it.

AO3

Molly doesn’t have any idea what time it is when she’s awoken by the sound of her phone buzzing.

All she knows is that whoever’s texting her needs her attention and needs it now, given by the fact that they seem to be texting her every three seconds. Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.

She squints at the harsh bright light from her phone screen, and just barely notices the time as she swipes her phone to unlock it. 1:15am.

That’s…weird. She can’t imagine any of her friends would still be awake. She supposes it could be Libby texting her about how the book she’d been reading ended, but…no, Libby doesn’t like staying up past midnight because of how loopy she tends to get after her self-designated bedtime.

Molly frowns. If it’s not Libby, and it’s not anyone in her family, who could possibly-

Bzzzt. Another text comes in, and Molly’s heart drops to her stomach once she’s finally able to put the pieces together.

From: Ollie <3, five minutes ago: molly?

From: Ollie <3, five minutes ago: are you awake?

From: Ollie <3, four minutes ago: please

From: Ollie <3, three minutes ago: i don’t know what to do

From: Ollie <3, three minutes ago: i don’t think i *can* do anything

From: Ollie <3, two minutes ago: i’m sorry for spamming

From: Ollie <3, one minute ago: but

From: Ollie <3, one minute ago: i’m so…scared

From: Ollie <3, one minute ago: i know i probably shouldn’t be, but…

From: Ollie <3, one minute ago: i just don’t know what to do anymore

There’s a larger gap between messages after that, and then, the message that concerns Molly most of all,

From: Ollie <3, ten seconds ago: look outside

Outside? Molly’s heart pounds in her chest. What could Ollie be so afraid of that’s outside? Are his parents building a giant ghost weapon? Are they trying to sneak over and plant traps in front of her house, because they cornered Ollie into telling them about Scratch?

…No, she trusts Ollie with all her heart. She knows he would never cave that quickly. She knows he’d never just sit around if either she or Scratch were in danger. She jumps out of bed and rushes to her window, and for a moment she’s not really sure what she’s supposed to be looking for, until….she looks down towards her own front yard. It’s almost impossible to tell from where she’s looking, but if she really squints, she thinks she can see…. Ollie himself pacing nervously back and forth on the front porch.

With increasingly shaking hands, Molly grabs her phone from her nightstand.

To: Ollie <3, just now: OLLIE?? ARE YOU OUTSIDE??

Then, just as quickly as she’d sent it,

From: Ollie <3, just now: yes

He’s still typing, but Molly doesn’t want to give her anxious thoughts any more time to dwell on what he could be doing here. As quickly as her shaking hands can manage, she unlocks the hatch door to her room, kicks the ladder into place, and scrambles down the steps as gracefully as she can without falling down them.

(She supposes that she probably could’ve been a teensy bit quieter about it, but this is Ollie and he could be in danger and that’s all she really cares about right now.)

She stumbles down the staircase, and pauses for a moment to pretend she’s not completely out of breath from all that running before she unlocks the door. There stands Ollie, expression that of a kicked puppy, and a poorly hidden duffle bag of his belongings hidden behind his back. It takes everything in her not to throw her arms around him right then and there, but he looks absolutely shaken to his core and Molly’s not sure sudden movements like that would be the best course of action.

She settles instead for frantically gripping at her hair. “Ollie?” she squeaks in a panicked whisper-shout. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“My parents are freaking out, Molly” he whispers, dropping the duffle bag and wrapping his arms around himself in a nervous hug. “Ever since we came home from the convention, they’ve been talking nonstop about how some evil ghost must’ve stolen the canister and how to figure out how to track it down and that we need to crack down on hunting now more than ever. June hasn’t said anything to them, and I’m not worried she will, but…” he somehow manages to shrink in on himself despite standing in place, “...I overheard Mom and Dad talking after they thought I was asleep. I heard them use my name.” he loosens his grip on himself to reach over and grab Molly by the shoulders, eyes trembling with fear. “I…I got so scared, Molly, I had no idea if they were talking about me or if they were planning on talking to me, but…” he tightens his grip on her shoulders. “...I didn’t want to wait around to find out. I waited until they finally went to bed, and then…I ran.”

He looks like he’s tearing up. “I didn’t know who else to go to but you, Molly. I grabbed my share of the emergency supplies we keep in case we ever need to evacuate because of…well….ghosts,” he coughs, “...and I just ran. Please,” he begs, removing his hands from her shoulder and clasping his shaky hands atop her own, “I don’t care if you give me another speech about being honest with them or if you make me go home in the morning. Can I stay the night? Please?” His voice drops to a whisper, “you’re the only one I trust with this.”

Molly can feel her heart breaking in her chest. In any other circumstances she’d be thrilled to let him stay the night, and would probably be writing in her journal and squealing about it to Libby all weekend that Ollie wanted to stay the night at her place, but…not like this. Never like this. He’s the sweetest, kindest person she knows; he’s the last person who deserves to feel like he doesn’t even belong in his own home with his own family.

She picks up his bag for him and she’s about to gesture up the stairs for him to follow her to her room, but the sound of a light switch flicking on and a door opening upstairs scares both of them so badly that they end up clinging to each other in a startled hug before she can.

“Molly McGee!” Her mom shouts, and the two of them quickly scramble to let go of each other and brush themselves off. Sharon comes storming down the stairs, eyes closed and pinching the bridge of her nose. “What on earth are you doing up at one in the morning? I got up because I thought Darryl was up to something, but then I found your door wide open and Darryl fast asleep in his room!” She glares daggers into her daughter. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re gonna get for trying to sneak out? How worried-”

Ollie quickly steps in front of Molly in a protective stance, and Molly quietly groans under her breath about how now is the worst possible time for a massive blush to be blossoming to her cheeks.

“She wasn’t sneaking out, Mrs. McGee. I…I was trying to sneak in.”

Sharon’s posture changes instantaneously. “Ollie?”

Now Molly’s the one stepping in a protective stance in front of Ollie. “Please, Mom. Just one night. That’s all he’s asking.”

“You can call my parents in the morning if they come looking,” Ollie adds from behind, placing a gentle hand on Molly’s shoulder. “But…just for tonight…” he trails off, and Molly places a hand on top of his in an attempt to help calm his nerves.

There’s a beat of silence as Sharon looks back and forth between Molly and Ollie, and then to Ollie’s duffle bag on the floor, and when she starts to step towards them Ollie takes hold of Molly’s hand and squeezes it gently. To the surprise of both of them, Sharon simply walks past them to close the front door before giving Ollie a gentle pat on the head.

“You’re always welcome here, Ollie” Sharon whispers in her overprotective motherly tone. “No questions asked”

There’s the tiniest little hitch in his voice, and Molly’s sure the only reason she notices at all is because they’re standing so close together. “I don’t…I don’t understand”

Sharon smiles. “You’re a good kid, Ollie. Molly’s been telling me about how conflicted you’ve been feeling at home. You don’t have to hide anything here. We promised to keep Scratch safe no questions asked and we’re happy to do the same for you. McGee or no.”

There’s another pause of silence, and when Molly glances beside her to see if Ollie’s okay he looks like he’s seconds away from bursting into tears. Molly winds her arm around him in a side-hug as a silent it’ll be okay sort of gesture, and he silently leans into the hug in return like a silent i know, thank you.

Sharon smiles at the two of them before turning to Ollie again. “Do you want me to bring you a cup of hot cocoa? That always helps Molly when she’s having nightmares”

Ollie nods silently at that, after which Sharon gestures up the stairs. “Molly, will you help bring his stuff up the stairs to the guest room?”

“Of course,” Molly replies, and gently gives Ollie one more squeeze before she lets go of him to help carry his duffle bag up the stairs. They don’t say much as they make their way to the guest room, and once they arrive, Ollie sits down on the bed and stiffly folds his hands together.

Molly places his bag by the nightstand, but when she goes to close the door, Ollie twitches, a silent please don’t go, she instead settles for sitting beside him on the bed.

“I’m…I’m sorry” he sighs, curling up to bring his knees to his chin.

Molly frowns. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

Ollie’s face contorts uncomfortably. “I mean…I’m probably overreacting in the grand scheme of things, but I just feel so…unsafe at home right now, you know? Because my parents are suspicious that something happened to the canister, and they’d never expect me or June to have stolen it from them, so now they’ve been talking about doubling down on training, they want to create what they call even stronger models of the Spectral Snare, they’re talking stronger weapons, surveillance cameras, all these big ideas that have me worried that they’re planning something awful. I know we were able to stop all of Brighton from going on an all-out witch hunt on ghosts, but…my parents are different. They’re persistent. Once they think they’re on the hot trail of something, they don’t stop following it until they’re surethey’ve caught it. It’s…it’s partly what brought us here to Brighton in the first place.”

He pulls his head from where he’d buried it into his knees just enough to look Molly in the eyes, and her heart breaks at how much fear and uncertainty there is plastered all over his face. “They used my name behind my back, Molly. What if they found out that I’m trying to help ghosts instead of hurting them? What if they think I’ve betrayed them for life? You saw how much they reacted when I tried talking to them at NecroComicon, what if they’re planning something behind my back because they know I’ll try to stop them? And if I do try to stop them, what are they gonna do with me? Are they gonna hate me for the rest of my life? Are they actually gonna kick me out?”

He’s shaking again, and Molly can recognize the start of a downward spiral anywhere. She places a gentle hand on his shoulder and considers it a blessing that he doesn’t flinch or pull away.

“That’s what I’m here for, Ollie” she whispers gently. “Everything’s gonna be okay. Your parents won’t have to know a thing. Making the world a better place for everyone includes you, Ollie, not just our ghost friends. We’ll get there someday. We’re gonna change their minds. I promise.”

“But what if we can’t?” Ollie’s voice begins to waver. “What if we can’t ever change their minds? What if they hate ghosts forever? If we try and we try and can never get through to them?”

“Well…” Molly smiles weakly, and places a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Do you remember what you said to me the very first time I tried convincing you that ghosts could be good?”

He seems a little caught-off guard by that comment, and cringes in response. Molly gives him a gentle pat, but continues on. “You told me there was no way you could change your mind about ghosts. You said they were vicious and cruel and that their only purpose was to scare and hurt people.” She shakes her head, but doesn’t give him any time to dwell on that before she continues. “But look at you now! You have ghost friends! You were able to get through to Blair at the video store when nobody else could! You’re giving ghosts hugs! You’re protecting them from other people who want to hurt them!” Molly smiles. “If you can have a change of heart like that, I’m sure that it’s not too late for your parents, either”

Ollie sighs at that, and almost seems to accept it, but then he starts cringing again. He drops his head to his knees again, but keeps his head up just enough to still be able to look at Molly. “Ugh, I did say all of that stuff, didn’t I? I’m sorry I was being so stubborn. I was probably acting like a huge jerk.”

“Up up,” Molly shakes her head, wiggling her finger in front of him in an exaggerated manner. “We’re done talking about that. That apology train already left the station and I’ve already punched your ticket. It’s too late to turn back around. Choo choo!” She tugs an arm into the air as she mimics a train whistle, hoping it’ll at least get a smile out of him, and Molly’s whole face lights up when it gets a shy laugh out of him.

“You’re right,” he says, and Molly’s relieved to find there’s no waver in his voice anymore. “You did already tell me not to say sorry for all of that anymore. And…you’re probably right about my parents, too” he relaxes his posture a bit, returning to a regular sitting position with his legs dangling over the edge of the bed, but there’s a frown forming on his face again. “But it just scares me so much, you know? Everything is changing so quickly. I’ve never felt so disconnected from my parents in my entire life. I love them to death, Molly, I don’t want to feel like I don’t belong at home, but…” he sighs, “everything just feels so…fleeting and conditional right now. Like, they’d never say it, but it feels like I’m not truly a Chen unless I’m a Ghost Chaser Chen.”

He looks like he wants to curl in on himself again, so to prevent that from happening Molly scooches closer to him on the bed and leans against him. He doesn’t flinch or pull away from the gesture, which is a good sign. “We both know that’s not true, Ollie” she whispers, resting her head against his neck. “We’ll make things better for you at home; no matter how long it takes. I promise.” She smiles up at him as much as she can manage without pulling away from him. “I Molly McGee guarantee it, even”

He huffs quietly in response. Molly can’t quite see the look on his face, but doesn’t really need to, because between one blink and the next he’s practically drooping himself over her like she’s a safety blanket, head smushed into the top of hers and an arm wound around her. He feels around the bed like he’s trying to find something, and when Molly silently offers him a hand he takes it into his, intertwining their fingers together.

“Thank you,” he murmurs into her hair. There’s a beat of silence before he speaks again, like he’s just taking a moment to soak her in. “It just… sometimes it feels like you’re the only constant I have left right now. I don’t know how I feel at home, I don’t know what things are gonna be like in the near future, but…” he gives her hand a gentle squeeze, and pulls his head away from hers to look her in the eyes. His eyes are shining again, but it doesn’t seem to be out of fear or sadness like it was before, but rather….something almost loving.

Something that reminds her of the way he’d looked at her during the Brighton Bop.

“...I feel safe with you, Molly. I feel like even when everything else feels scary and unsure, I feel like everything’s gonna be okay with you. You’re not gonna judge me, you’re not gonna turn on me, you’re gonna fight with me, not against me. I feel…” he pauses, like he’s almost too shy to even say it, “...loved when I’m with you, Molly, even when I don’t exactly feel that way in other places.”

Ollie leans into her again, eyes closed and a soft smile forming on his face as if to prove his point. In response, Molly winds her free arm around him and gives him a gentle squeeze. He hums happily at that, which almost knocks the words right out of Molly’s brain. She clears her throat to try again, and only barely manages to keep the flustered squeak out of her voice.

“That’s how I want you to feel everywhere, Ollie” she murmurs. “For however safe and loved you feel with me, I want you to feel that tenfold everywhere you go. And if I’m gonna have to be the one to see that through, then I promise that I’m gonna stand by your side until you do”

He laughs quietly at that, as if to say he couldn’t possibly feel more loved by anyone or anything else than he does by her, and he uses the arm wound around her to pull her even closer to him.

“You too. I want you to feel safe and loved wherever you go, too” he murmurs, and gently bumps his head against hers as if he were a cat. “Because…I love you too, you know”

Molly hums happily in response, because that’s all her pounding chest is currently allowing her to do. She leans against him again and closes her eyes, and it’s not long before he reciprocates the gesture. Neither of them are sure just how long they stay like that, all wrapped up in their own bubble of love and affection, not one of them saying another word in fear of bursting it.

They’re so caught up in their own bubble, in fact, that neither of them notice when Sharon sneaks into the room holding two cups of steaming cocoa, sees them with big, happy smiles on their faces, and quietly places the two cups on the surface closest to the door before sneaking back out, a warm, proud smile forming to her own face as well.

#my writing #tgamm #tgamm spoilers #the ghost and molly mcgee #molly mcgee #ollie chen #oliver chen #mollie #i love them your honor i'm insane for them your honor

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lowcountry-gothic · 4 months

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That's it for the Lost tarot cards. I wish I'd finished the deck, at least the major arcana. Maybe I'll do it one of these days.

If anyone's curious about which characters/scenarios the rest of the cards were going to feature, I put the list from my notes app under the cut.

Temperance: Hurley (holding jars of ranch dressing and peanut butter) The Devil: The Man in Black (obviously) The Tower: the plane crash, broken apart and in mid-fall The Star: Claire, holding a banded seagull by the shore The Moon: Kate (white toy airplane on one side, black horse on her other) The Sun: Desmond...but I already used him for the Lovers, so I probably wouldn't have ultimately gone with him. But I love the image of him with his golden smile and surrounded with the white light from right after he turned the failsafe key Judgement: the church scene in the finale The World: the Heart of the Island

Torches (Wands): 1. Eko's stick 2. Jack chasing "his father" through the jungle 3. Jack staring at the ocean under the Lighthouse 4. Reunion scenes 5. Either Michael and Jin or Sawyer and Sayid fighting 6. Charlie, Hurley, & Jin driving the Dharma van 7. Jack vs. Locke, torches crossed Eko confronting the monster 8. The trek to the radio tower 9. Michael carrying an armful of bamboo towards the unfinished raft 10. Pushing the completed raft towards the ocean Page: Charlotte Knight: Richard Alpert Queen: Ana Lucia King: Christian Shephard

Bottles (Cups): 1. The cup Jacob's mother gives him 2. Either Hurley and Libby on the beach, or Shannon and Sayid 3. Hurley, Charlie, & Desmond drinking MacCutcheon on the beach 4. Lapidus in Eleuthera before he sees the "wreckage" of 815 5. Jack doing the dishes as Sarah leaves him 6. Cindy playing with Zach & Emma 7. Locke imagining what's inside the hatch door (Twinkies, supplies, hope, etc.) 8. Ben leaving Dharma to join the Others 9. Sawyer giving Juliet the flower in the Barracks 10. Hurley's surprise party with his parents and the Oceanic Six Page: Shannon Knight: Yemi Queen: Penny King: David Reyes

Knives (Swords): 1. Locke's hunting knife 2. Ana Lucia with Sayid tied up after Shannon's murder 3. Locke's murder (with the extension cord knot forming a heart) 4. Jack asleep, having been drugged by Kate 5. Michael leaving on the boat with Walt 6. The Oceanic Six coming ashore on Membata 7. Nikki & Paolo with the diamonds and spiders 8. Sawer or Kate, locked in the Hydra cages 9. "We have to go back!" 10. Juliet with the Jughead core Page: Walt Knight: Pierre Chang Queen: Eloise Hawking King: Faraday

Coins (but with Dharma logos) 1. Hurley's lottery ticket 2. Pressing the button (balancing that with sleep, exercise, etc.) 3. Charlie helping Eko build the church 4. Sawyer's stash 5. Shannon asking Boone for money in her bedroom 6. Hurley handing out DHARMA food from the Swan 7. Sun tending her garden 8. Sayid fixing the transceiver 9. Hurley listening to records in the Swan 10. Rose and Bernard in their "retirement" with Vincent Page: Libby Knight: Cassidy Phillips Queen: Carmen Reyes King: Charles Widmore

#text #mine #lost #tarot #lost tarot #i made the card images and most of the list in 2021

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claudia1829things · 9 months

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Favorite Episodes of "THE ALIENIST: ANGEL OF DARKNESS" Season Two (2020)

Below is my ranking of the Season One episodes of "THE ALIENIST: ANGEL OF DARKNESS", the 2020 adaptation of Caleb Carr's 1997 novel, “The Angel of Darkness”. Created by Jakob Verbruggen and Cary Fukunaga, the television series starred Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans and Dakota Fanning:

1. (2.05) "Belly of the Beast" - The team races to find the killer responsible for murdering an employee at the Lying-In Hospital.

2. (2.04) “Gilded Cage” - The clock is ticking for the team to locate baby Ana Linares, the infant daughter of the Spanish consul-general. Meanwhile, Sara Howard, now a private detective, is worried about her young undercover detective Bitsy Sussman. William Randolph Hearst hosts a lavish ball celebrating his goddaughter Violet's engagement to John Moore, New York Times illustrator.

3. (2.07) “Last Exit to Brooklyn” - Sara, Moore and alienist Laszlo Kreizler travel to Brooklyn in search of clues hidden in the killer's dark past.

4. (2.01) “Ex Ore Infantium” - One year after Season One, Sara seeks out Dr. Kreizler's help in finding the kidnapped baby Ana. Dr. Kreizler reunites with Moore and the rest of the original team. And their search for the missing child brings them into contact with a mysterious woman with a murderous past, who is connected to a notorious gang.

5. (2.08) “Better Angels” - Sara, Moore, and Kreizler have their final confrontation with the killer/kidnapper, and struggle with decisions about their future paths.

6. (2.02) “Something Wicked” - Sara uncovers a clue at the Siegel-Cooper department store. Moore struggles to balance his personal and professional life, as he investigates a link to New York's criminal underworld. Kreizler suspects dark goings-on at the Lying-In Hospital, while former police chief Thomas Byrnes plots against their investigations.

7. (2.06) “Memento Mori” - Sara and John continue to search for information about Libby Hatch, a nurse at the Lying-In Hospital. Kreizler is nearly ruined by a tragic accident. Sara and the team have to work with Byrnes to find a new missing child from the Vanderbilt family.

8. (2.03) “Labrynith” - Sara persuades a young nurse to disclose what happens behind closed doors at the Lying-In Hospital. Meanwhile, Kreizler is convinced that hypnosis might unlock Señora Linares’ traumatic memories of her daughter’s kidnapping. Moore introduces Sara to a well-connected friend to further the investigation.

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nikolajrostovs · 9 months

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#should i tag this. fuck it i'll tag it #war and peace #the brothers karamazov #crime and punishment #lise bolkonskaya #lise khokhlakova #praskovya pavlovna zarnitsyna #katerina ivanovna marmeladova #sonya marmeladova #marya bolkonskaya #the ocs are definitely gonna lose. but have you considered. pweaaaaaseeeee

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rainc0at · 3 months

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I am so unbelievably excited. I'm. Ohmylord. Lost things I can't wait for lorna to watch: ETHAN REVEAL!!!!! "Henry Gale". Hatch. Desmond. The hatch door that locke sees when he gets stuck. Eko and his brother and the dreams and locke. Alex!! Juliet!!!!!!! The tailies!!!!! Jin redeeming himself and him and sun being together and cute!! Love triangle!!! Libby and hurley!!!! Flash sideways!!!! Dharmaville!!! All scenes ever of sawyer and claire i LOVE them. Claire and jack siblings reveals. PENNY. time travel. Desmonds flashes. BOONE AND SHANNON REVEAL BC THEY KEEP ON SAYING ABOUT IT AND IM SO. MORE DANIELLE !!! we got to danielle last night and im ssssooooo god i love her so very much im so i i. Walt and the raft and "what you gonna splash me?" SKATE. which yes is already said bc love triangle but okay im so excited. the mixtape. the haircut. i love them. JACKS TERRIBLE HAIRCUT IN THE FLASHBACK WHEN HE FIXES HIS EX-WIFE. JULIET AGAIN. i loooveeee herrrrrrr im gonna have to NOT say that i love her bc shes meant to be evil ouughhh this is gonna be impossible.... What Kate Did. "me kate me throw rock" there's just oh so much.

#lost #rain rambles #im so excited i cannot even.

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mahvaladara · 1 year

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Libidel Ward Sullyvan - Libby

Creative | Self-Assured | Cheerful - "They? Them? She, her?... Yes. I’m a Dragon!”

The youngest of the twins, Libby’s egg took forever to hatch what caused Fannar and Arlo to fear they might be dead inside their egg, but eventually Libby hatched. Due to the time this little dragon spent in their egg, Libby is quite frail and sickly, this is why her big brother is so protective of them.

Libby is a creative, cheerful and happy dragon, with a love for everything arts. Like her mom, they’re a dragon witch, with an immense power. She’s confident of herself and her skills. She’s a little sunflower like their aunt and can brighten everyone’s day.

Despite being frail she’s fiercely protective of her twin. Because they’re such a chatterbox she often talks for Izzy, and everyone else if she must. Defender of all causes, she’s a bit of an activist and as loud as one.

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rainbow-beanie · 9 months

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All in the Mind was so good, it might just be my favorite episode of TGAMM overall. It inspired me to ask: What’s your favorite episode(s) of each of your favorite DTVA shows?

OOOOH I LOVE THIS QUESTION!

If we’re talking favorite DTVA shows, I would go with the owl house and of course tgamm.

The owl house favorite episodes: echoes of the past is a very special and important episode in the series, cause up until now king believed himself to be “the king of demons” while everyone else just played along, not once believing this to be true. But this all changes when he figures out the truth: that he is instead the son of the last titan, and that eda took him in shortly after he hatched. Hunting palismen up until hollow mind and onwards are my favorite episodes, cause it features my favorite boy hunter, and his personal journey from being just the golden guard and nephew to the emperor, to being the dorky hunter we all know and love. And I love him with all my heart <3

Tgamm favorite episodes: now it took me AWHILE to get used to the episodic nature of the show, but after awhile I’m proud to say that I have a few favorite episodes! the turnip twist is a very important episode for scratch, set early is season one, it shows scratch feeling very conflicted about ruining the turnip festival that Molly and Pete have been working so hard on, and the last thing he would want to do is let Molly down (at this point in the series it would make sense that scratch wouldn’t necessarily have warmed up to the parents yet, so he’s more phone to worry about Molly’s feelings then anyone else, it’s just how he operates.) But if he doesn’t do anything the ghost council is gonna sentence him to the flow of failed phantoms, which for ghosts is like a worst version of purgatory. This choice was unfortunately made for him when he had accidentally told this to Geoff, and bless his sweet heart, immediately went to ‘save’ him by causing the destruction of the turnip piñata onstage, cause in his words “I’M NOT GONNA LOSE MY BEST FRIEND!!” even if by this point scratch didn’t quite see him as one, this scene is still very sweet.

(Also since scratch is my favorite character, I find great joy in seeing him distressed, don’t worry this is a normal reaction in this fandom)

We love and respect Geoff in this house <3

Festival of Lights is a very warm and comforting episode, not only cause it has the mcgee family and scratch spending Hanukkah with Libby and her mother, it also tells the tale of how and why Hanukkah is so important. I love how we are in the day and age where we get to have episodes revolving around different topics and traditions, cause I don’t think we had such a thing in the past. And if we did it was probably pretty small, so this episode is easily one of my favorites, even if I myself aren’t Jewish, this episode still has a special place in my heart, it also features one of my favorite moments where, during a game where members have to write what they are thankful for and slip it into a miracle box, scratch, unfortunately for him, is forced to reveal the words on his slip of paper, which was “i used to haunt a house, now I haunt a home.” Which understandably embarrasses him greatly upon this being read aloud, after hearing such a sweet message from the often moody ghost, molly and the others are quick to envelop him in a classic mcgee group hug. This is one of the most sweetest moments fr <3

Festival of Lights: during snowflake celebration in brighten, all the Christmas lights burn out, causing Molly and Andrea to ask mr Davenport to donate some of his money to buy new Christmas decorations, he harshly turns them down. Cause a lot of time riches cloud a person’s judgement, causing the person to be greedy. Unfortunately this is one of those instances, after trial and error with Molly trying to have scratch pretend to be the ghosts of the past, present and future, only to fail cause of the fact that Mr Davenport does believe in that sort of stuff, things take a turn when both Molly and scratch run out of ideas as to how to change his mind, Molly, completely devastated by the fact that Christmas was canceled since there were no lights or decorations to spare, decided to go to bed early. This causes scratch to grow angry, cause up until this point he didn’t know of anything that could drain the happiness from Molly Mcgee, and thus resorts to trying to give the man a concussion dragging the man by the ankle into the sky in hopes of scaring him into donating money for the snowflake celebration. Only for Mr Davenport to see how devastated his own daughter, andrea is by the snowflake celebration being cancelled. He decides then and there to change his mind. Which is fine I guess, it at least shows that the man has some heart in there.

Out of house and home/home is where the haunt is: I don’t think I need to explain why these episodes are so important. after an accident involving a ladder and gutters, Pete ends up breaking his leg, and since sharon is constantly out getting gigpig jobs to help get enough money to pay off the hospital bill, and Molly and Darrel out trying to do their part to help as well, scratch has no choice but to stay at home to keep watch over Pete. Which he wouldn’t have been caught DEAD(er) doing at the beginning of the series. And unfortunately even after the hospital bill is payed off, there’s something all of them had forgotten about, which was to pay off the mortgage to the house, causing the mcgee’s to be homeless for a month, and the only thing scratch could do was once again stay at home. But this time instead of taking care of someone, he resorts to scaring away anyone interested in buying the house, cause the second worst thing then being alone in an empty house is being alone in a house with unfamiliar people.

So suffice to say scratch most likely hadn’t had time to get any rest during this time, and I don’t think that’s talked about enough.

The afterlife of the party: still getting used to becoming the chairman after Molly saved him from being sentenced to the flow of failed phantoms, and subsequently destroying said flow and killing the previous chairman, scratch is pleasantly surprised when he’s invited to a party by an unfamiliar face, which to him is MIND BOGGLING, cause after being treated as the “worst of the worst” for possibly his entire afterlife up to this point, he agrees without hesitation, only to be put on the spot when Geoff asked him to go to a party that he’s hosting. And unfortunately scratch makes the mistake of going to the first party and not telling Geoff, instead pretending to be sick, which ended up peeving Molly off. And things only get worse when, shortly after scratch is at the party, Geoff ends up showing up as well, sending him into a panic and trying to hide from him for half the night, jinx is also there to further rub salt in the wound, being the only one that actually knows that scratch is at Geoff and Jeff’s anniversary party, and purposefully decided to not tell him this important information, only cause of the fact that he was involved in the death of the previous chairman, which wasn’t even his fault.

And when scratch is inevitably found out by Geoff after finding him at a churro stand, he finally admits that he had gone to the party instead of Geoff’s, even if it was technically still his party, scratch had no way of knowing that.

The ghost IS Molly mcgee is a very fun episode, which is unexpected cause I usually despise body swap episodes, cause of the possibility of me experiencing second hand embarrassment from one of my favorite characters acting unlike themselves and causing further embarrassment to the character that had been body swaped with, but thankfully this episode didn’t have any of this, and I really enjoyed seeing scratch being a chaotic gremlin and having fun at bossing children around while working on a play written by Libby. It was certainly a nice change to breathe before getting to in the mind. The writers knew what they were doing

In the mind is a FANTASTIC episode, cause it involves one of my favorite tropes, which is characters going inside someone’s mind and getting into the nitty gritty of someone’s mind, and in this case is scratch’s, which, true to form was pretty weird. A most interesting part of the upper level of his mind being the interior of the mcgee house, which as we all know used to be where scratch lived alone before the mcgee’s showed up. So this could possibly reference to how the house had once been all he had known for such a long time after death. Cause after all, before the events of soda to remember, scratch had no prior knowledge as to what his life was before he died, so during the point where he lived inside that dank and dusty house, he couldn’t even reminisce about his life before. Which I think is even worse then having only bad memories to look on upon.

But anyway, the reason why scratch and Molly are in his mind in the first place is cause scratch has the case of ‘the bubbles’ which is basically a literal representation of him bottling up his emotions, and so Molly convinced him to make a portal inside his mind so that they can figure out what was causing it. One montage later the two come across a building with a chest on top, guarded by, weirdly enough a giant monkey (shortly after watching this episode I found out that “monkeys on the mind” can represent anxiety or an anxiety disorder, which means we may have canonical evidence that scratch has anxiety) and scratch finally tells Molly about idia, and how he hadn’t wanted to think about it, cause the thought of forgetting about someone who he had a very close relationship with is terrifying, cause if he forgot something as important as a childhood friend, then what else has he forgotten?

Anyway, yeah that’s all my favorite episodes, or at least ones that live in my head rent free, which I guess is the same thing XD

Sorry if this post is really long, my mind (heh) kinda got away from me, and I ended up having more to say then I thought lol

#ask #the owl house #toh #the ghost and Molly mcgee #scratch mcgee #long post #the fact I have more to say about tgamm then the toh really shows how strong my hyperfixion on this show is 🤣#now if only tumblr allowed me to put more then one video in a singular post #that could have helped me get my words across better

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disneytva · 2 years

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July 2022 Programming Highlights

Friday, July 1 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney Junior Alice’s Wonderland Bakery “Meet the Tweedles/A Very Wonderland Wedding” (7:00-7:30 a.m. EDT on Disney Channel/4:00-4:30 p.m. EDT on Disney Junior) “Meet the Tweedles” – The Tweedles help Alice decide between becoming the royal baker or continuing at the bakery. *Vanessa Bayer (“I Love That For You”) and Bobby Moynihan (“Mr. Mayor”) guest star as Tweedle Do and Tweedle Don’t.

“A Very Wonderland Wedding” – When Alice agrees to bake a wedding cake, she must find a way to represent both the bride and groom. *Lamorne Morris (“New Girl”) and Broadway’s Ali Stroker guest star as Dandy and Daisy. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior Eureka! “Pepper Power/Flickerwing Butterflies” (7:30-8:00 p.m. EDT) “Pepper Power” – Pepper’s boundless strength threatens to ruin Eureka’s invention.

“Flickerwing Butterflies” – Eureka and Roxy take a mother-daughter road trip to see the hatching of the flickerwing butterflies. TV-Y

Saturday, July 2 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel The Ghost and Molly McGee “Scaring is Caring/All Night Plight” (9:30-10:00 a.m. EDT) “Scaring is Caring” – When Scratch is unable to scare the day before his report is due, Molly takes over his scares.

“All Night Plight” – Molly, Scratch and Libby try to stay up all night to see a rare comet. TV-Y7

Friday, July 8 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney Junior Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends “Parade Panic/The Case of the Burgling Book Bandit” (8:30-9:00 a.m. EDT on Disney Channel/12:30-1:00 p.m. EDT on Disney Junior) “Parade Panic” – Team Spidey is honored with their own parade, but the villains band together to ruin everything.

“The Case of the Burgling Book Bandit” – When all the detective books in the library go missing, Team Spidey is on the case! TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior Eureka! “Epic Fail/Yes We Canyon!” (7:30-8:00 p.m. EDT) “Epic Fail” – Eureka tries to rid her father’s shop of some pesky pteros birds.

“Yes We Canyon!” – When Eureka’s friends try to claim a beautiful canyon, she helps by dividing it equally between them. TV-Y

Saturday, July 9 Original Series – Season One Finale on Disney Channel The Ghost and Molly McGee “The Jig is Up/Molly vs. The Ghost World” (9:30-10:00 a.m. EDT) “The Jig is Up” – When the Ghost Council discovers joy in Brighton, Scratch must keep Molly out of harm’s way.

“Molly vs. The Ghost World” – When Scratch is taken to the Ghost World for trial, Molly sets out to save him. TV-Y7

Saturday, July 16 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Big City Greens “DependaBill/The Delivernator” (9:30-10:00 a.m. EDT) “DependaBill” – Bill tries too hard to impress a neighbor. Tilly investigates a sock conspiracy.

“The Delivernator” – Cricket races against a robot to save his delivery job, while Gramma fights an ant infestation! TV-Y7

Friday, July 22

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior Eureka! “Light at the End of the Cave/Kanga-Bird is the Word” (7:30-8:00 p.m. EDT) “Light at the End of the Cave” – When the friends explore a cave, the usually fearless Pepper admits she’s scared of the dark.

“Kanga-Bird is the Word” – Eureka’s friend KB can’t decide if he should jump with kangadons or fly with birds. *Jack McBrayer (“Wander Over Yonder”) guest stars as KB. TV-Y

Saturday, July 23 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Big City Greens “Listen Up!/Big Picture” (9:30-10:00 a.m. EDT) “Listen Up!” – Cricket loses his hearing and keeps it a secret from Bill.

“Big Picture” – The Greens go to a hipster drive-in movie, where Gloria proves her life is fun by taking the perfect Snap-A-Gram photo. TV-Y7

Friday, July 29

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior Eureka! “What a Wheel!/Just Like Yurt” (7:30-8:00 p.m. EDT) “What a Wheel!” – Eureka is determined to turn her new invention into “a swing that pushes itself.”

“Just Like Yurt” – Barry’s drumming idol, Yurt, comes to town, and he is determined to impress her. *World-famous drummer Sheila E. guest stars as Yurt. TV-Y

Saturday, July 30 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Big City Greens “Rembo/Dirt Jar” (9:30-10:00 a.m. EDT) “Rembo” – Remy is determined to be a martial arts warrior after freezing in the face of danger.

“Dirt Jar” – Cricket’s missing dirt jar prompts the story of when the Greens left their country farm. TV-Y7

#Big City Greens #BCG #The Ghost And Molly McGee #Ghost And Molly McGee #The Curse Of Molly McGee #Curse Of Molly McGee #Eureka!#Spidey And His Amazing Friends #Spiderman #Disney's Eureka #Disney's Eureka!#Alice's Wonderland Bakery #Disney Channel #Disney Junior #Disney Jr

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dollypartonswig · 1 year

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every book i’ve read in 2022

Fiction

House of Hollow - Krystal Sutherland - 3 sisters disappeared when they were children and reappeared a month later ~changed~

⭐️⭐️ - I think the idea of it was really good but not executed as well as it could of been

——————

This Time Next Year - Sophie Cousens - Quinn and Minnie are born on New Year's Eve, in the same hospital, one minute apart. Their lives may begin together, but their worlds could not be more different. Thirty years later they find themselves together again.

⭐️⭐️- The main character is literally called Minnie Cooper. Nothing about this book stood out to me

——————

Great Circle - Maggie Shipstead - 2 parallel narratives, one about the disappeared 20th century aviator, Marian Graves, and the other about a 21st century actress who is starring in a film about Marian

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I loved this book so much. I 100% recommend it

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Icebreaker - Hannah Grace - Anastasia, a figure skater, and Nate, an ice hockey player end up needing to share an ice rink after an accident

⭐️ - do not even look at this book if you’re under 18. The antagonist in this was just so comically bad and all the other characters are just *too* nice and try hard likeable

——————

Final Girls - Riley Sager - Quincy, Sam and Lisa all survived massacres and became what the media dubbed final girls. Lisa is found dead in her house and Sam ends up on Quincy’s doorstep, what really happened to Quincy 10 years ago and what is Sam hiding?

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - i didn’t like the ending of this

———————

What Might Have Been - Holly Miller - This shows the two different paths Lucy could take, in one she decides to move to London and revive her career and in the other she stays in her home town to become an author

⭐️⭐️ - this just didn’t stand out to me and I thought the London love interest was the absolute worst

———————-

The Reading List - Sara Nisha Adams - Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in Wembley after losing his wife. Aleisha is working in the local library for the summer when she discovers a note with a list of books on it impulsively she decides to read every book on the list. When Mukesh arrives at the library trying to find a connection with his bookish granddaughter Aleisha passes the list onto him

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I LOVED this book so much, my favourite read of the year

——————

The Cuckoo’s Calling - Robert Galbraith - Struggling private detective Comoran Strike is asked to look over a models death after her brother reveals he doesn’t think it was a suicide

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Points off because Strike is described as ugly and having pube like hair but three (3) beautiful women all want to sleep with him? Unrealistic

———————

The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood - Olive hatches a scheme with grumpy professor Adam to pretend to date so her friend Anh will date Olives ex Jeremy and so that the school won’t think Adam is leaving and they’ll release his frozen funds

⭐️ - I paid 99p for this, it is literally published reylo fanfic

———————

The Whistling - Rebecca Netley - Elspeth arrives on a remote Scottish island to become a nanny to a young girl who hasn’t spoken in months. The girls silence is not the only mystery on the island. What happened to the girls twin brother and the last nanny? Is the whistling heard at night just the sea or is there something out there?

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - average book average score

———————-

Book Lovers - Emily Henry - Cut throat literary agent Nora agrees to go to Sunshine Falls with her sister Libby to complete a check list of small town tasks but while there she meets a familiar face from the city.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I really liked this book, a good twist on the small town romance genre.

————————

The Pact - Sharon Bolton - six friends are looking forward to their futures, until a daredevil game goes horribly wrong, and a woman and two children are killed. 18-year-old Megan takes the blame, leaving the others free to get on with their lives.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - kind of slow paced. Megan deserved to be more evil

—————————

The Flatshare - Beth O’Leary - Tiffy needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they're crazy, but it's the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy's at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

⭐️⭐️ - Kind of cliche and predictable. Does not live up to the hype in my opinion

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Six Stories - Matt Wesolowski - Elusive online journalist Scott King investigates the murder of a teenager at an outward bound centre

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - This is like a true crime podcast but a book, very interesting. I felt the twist at the end was a bit silly

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The Jackman and Evans series - Joy Ellis

⭐️⭐️ - I think these books are really bad but I am obsessed with them because of how stupid they are

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Non fiction and short stories

The mystery of the exploding teeth - Thomas Morris

⭐️⭐️⭐️

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The vanishing triangle: the murdered women Ireland forgot - Claire McGowan

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Post mortems - Carla Valentine

⭐️⭐️⭐️

————

A sincere warning about the entity in your home - Jason Arnopp

⭐️

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Taken over by something evil from the TV set: a history of Britain’s video nasties controversy and other scary journalism - Jason Arnopp

⭐️⭐️

————

Down among the dead men - Michelle Williams

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

————

#i only remembered I could read in September so it’s a bit short #if you have any book recs please send them my way #I have a notebook with over 200 books I want to read in it #books

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lucalogan · 1 year

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Meet: Luca Logan

And my mom hates my guts. She has every reason to. For all the things I do.

Full name: Luca Alexander Logan Nicknames: Luke, Lucas, The Lost Logan Age: 19 Sign: The same as Libby City of birth: Cherry The current place for living: Cherry Siblings: Liberty Logan, Sabrina Logan Pets: no Birthday: The same as Libby Major: Art Major Job: Street Musician

BACKGROUND

- All you need is love. All you need is love. All you need is love love. Where is all the love? Luca Logan was the prodigal son who grew up with a humor like the three Stooges and a childhood like baptism. And before Luca knew anything about talking he could hum. He could hum along to his music box. Could tap along to the radio. And because of this was raised as a member of Glenda Logan’s church choir. Was put through the wringer of voice lessons, was taught to play the guitar in the 3rd grade, and was expected to play at every family function. Which sounds a lot more miserable than it was. At least it was something he sort of enjoyed. Sure he wasn’t crazy about the content but it seemed better than the hellish control the woman seemed to have over his sisters.

- His sisters who Luca found himself wanting to be fiercely protective of. Who he’d reach his neck out for at any turn or opportunity even against warning from Lou Logan himself of the hellfire he could be asking to be brought upon himself as a result. Which meant that at the ripe age of 12, he decided to take a turn for the worst. No longer was he going to follow in Glenda’s rule. He was tired of playing the same boring hymns. He was tired of having the perfect hair, of wearing the perfect clothes. It all started with a call from the principal. Glenda arriving on campus to find that Luca had traded shirts with one Mackenzie Walsh and was found jamming to Nirvana with the other boy as loudly as they possibly could, disrupting just about every classroom around them. To say she’d been less than pleased would have been an understatement, even going as far as to toss Mac’s shirt in their fireplace to show Luca how serious she was about the offense he’d committed. But it didn’t stop there. Luca’s rebellion only intensified.

- He’d been found bringing random strangers into the confession boxes on a number of occasions to commit salacious acts, graffitiing the church doors, and getting in more and more trouble at school. Each time warranting yet another call to Glenda, and you guessed it. More hellfire. Or at least as much as he’d grown to expect. He’d almost begun to think of it as a sort of game until he realized that every time he was getting himself into trouble, it was Sabrina who was redirecting the remainder of their mothers rage to further allow her to push her own agenda. The realization like a punch to the gut. That he may have been simultaneously causing her more hell in his efforts to keep her and Libby safe. Which is why he hatched a plan. A plan to escape. To get he and his sisters out of there for good.

- Luca was going to run. He was going to have Libby tell Sabrina and in the middle of the night make an escape. Get away from Glenda and all her terror. But the night they’d all planned to meet up at the train station, no one came. It was just Luca with a guitar he’d stolen from the church, and a small backpack of clothes. Contemplations of turning back weighing heavy on his mind until he heard the sound of the whistle, and without a second thought turned and left for San Francisco. He’d heard rumors that he had an aunt out there and hoped that she might be reasonable enough to let him stay. At least long enough for him to get back on his feet. He never planned on returning to Cherry. Swore he was going to make his own way. At least until the night of that damn drunk dial. The call that alerted him to just how bad things have become at home. The call that sent him flying back to Cherry as quickly as he could to make sure they were alright. Three years between he and any of the people he used to call friends to try and start anew and bring a sense of safety back to his family.

#bio #cusaintro

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hexdsl · 1 year

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Tale from the Denouemeverse: Tuesday - Lea

Please see here for context to this post.

Tuesday: Lea

I had no idea what time it was. I had asked Libby to wake me after a couple of hours. She let me sleep all day. It was about one in the morning now; I had slept a day away.

“Ugh, Tuesday!” I grumbled to myself. I told Ba’an I would be back on Central by Monday at the latest. I really hoped he wouldn’t be mad at. He wouldn’t; he was never mad at me.

After leaving my room, I went into the living area. I was only in some shorts and a vest top; I had no idea how horrendous my hair was; I assumed it was pretty bad.

The lights would have activated dimly at these times of night, to stop me falling out a day/night cycle.

I looked around the room. The three-dimensional wall projectors had defaulted to log cabin because there was no one in the room to ask for anything. I looked at the old brown leather couch and the antique wooden coffee table in front of it. This was the one wall decoration that matched the furniture. There was a little countertop to divide the kitchen area and the main room. Next to that was an old table and four chairs.

“Libby?” I called.

A quick slap on the wall woke the food-hatch from standby.

I scrolled around the menu and selected a cherry cider and a bowl of granola. I had been eating a lot of traditional food from home, ever since it got attacked. I wanted to feel connected to it again, but I had been gone too long. The food was still good though. My people were the best in the galaxy at granola. It was borderline a planetary treasure to us. I smiled; then I remembered how home had been destroyed while I watched out of a window. I took a gulp of the cider and suppressed a shudder.

I sat on the couch. “Libby!” I called again.

Unbelievable! She let me sleep all day, then doesn’t even stick around to hang out when I did wake up. Princess could be a dick sometimes.

Well, when alone, do alone things! I went back to the hatch and got a bottle of whiskey. May as well improve the cider with my old friend, brown-tingly yummy.

“Thirteen, turn on the screen!” I yelled. Thirteen’s computer chimed, the screen came on. “Resume previous video.” It chimed again. The show carried on from where it left off. This was a human show about a man who lived in a tiny apartment and had all his friends visit. I wasn’t sure what it was actually about. Jon and Ba’an said that asking that very question was the point. It was funny.

I drank the whiskey.

***

“Really? How did this even happen?” Libby chastised as she sat next to me. The pain in my head was second only to the pain in my back. I had slept on the couch, but somehow half of me was on the floor. I think I had slid off, or at least began the process.

“Shh!” I complained, realising the room was spinning. “How did what even happen?” I asked, holding my head and wondering what time it was.

“It’s seven. In the morning. You said you were going to sleep yesterday morning and according to the hatch log, you drank yourself silly in your room until noon, then woke up this morning at one and carried on!”

“Was there a question in there somewhere?” I asked, covering my eyes, hoping the universe would calm down a little. I tried to figure out why she was shouting.

“Sober up, take a shower, and grab some Cure-all. I told Ba’an and Jon that we would be home before nine today.”

She wasn’t shouting. It was the hangover. Ah, that made more sense.

“How about you bring me the Cure-all and then carry me into the shower, you beautiful over achiever?”

She gave me the Libby glare. You know the one… The one where she pretended to be gathering her thoughts, but she was just wasting a few cycles while she invented gravity or something. She didn’t need to perform this with me. I had known her too long for it to work.

“Here,” she said. Handing me the Cure-all that had been in her hand the entire time. “I refuse to carry you though.”

I chugged the contents of the little green vial and tossed it into the pile of cans and bottles from last night… or this morning; it was a blurry line at this point. Was it still Tuesday?

I lay back while the Cure-all did its thing. It didn’t cure hangovers, but it certainly took the edges off of them. A little coffee, okay, a lot of coffee and I would be just fine.

After a few seconds, I felt it kick in and the blinding headache was turned down to a serious throb. A throb, I could handle. Libby had gone. Where did she go?

She appeared behind the sofa with a bottle of water. “Here, drink this. Get your shit together Brick!” she acted all mean, but really, she was a kitten, a hot kitten who would kick my arse if I didn’t get moving soon.

I took the water and headed to my room. My room was a fucking mess. Libby was untidy but I was on another level. I was shocked that Ba’an hadn’t ever commented on it. I really should get some maid robots, or hologram emitters like I had in my apartment at Libby’s building.

I sat on my bed and lay back. I really wanted to sleep off this hangover.

I closed my eyes for a moment. Some part of me wanted to sleep and maybe drink a little more. Then he popped into my head. The thought of Ba’an, he knew full-well that I had got wasted alone on my ship again, while he was waiting to love me. Why did he even bother with me?

I knew why most men wanted me: because I was hot. I was, am, have always been, everyone’s type. But Ba’an was a Vampire, and a man of almost saintly morality. He loved me, he wouldn’t leave me.

Ba’an loved me like no one else. Actually, that’s not true. Jon, and Libby loved me exactly as much, but not in the same way. I don’t think they wanted to sleep with me… oh my gosh! I caught myself a moment before I fell asleep!

I slapped my face and sat up. “Shower!” I yelled at the ship. My room was flooded with white light and there was a comforting rumble. I felt instantly fresher. I wanted to lie down again but resisted the urge.

The targeted Hygiene-field would clean the clothes I was wearing, but I needed to look like I was actively attempting to be a functional person, or Libby wouldn’t let me fly the ship home.

I dug through the pile of clothes, I pulled out an Elven ranger jacket and some shorts. I couldn’t find a vest. I shrugged and just zipped up the jacked. Ewe, when did I wear this last? “Shower!” I said again, wanting the jacket to be as fresh as the rest of me. I found some grey knee-high boots that matched the jacket closely enough that I could make it work. Circlet… I hunted under my duvet and found it. I slapped it on my wrist and put my hair into space-buns. Because I was in space, and it was cute.

I put a little lip gloss on and checked the mirror. Yep. I looked like a hot mess. Fashion icon!

***

I strutted onto the bridge with a coffee in hand and looked functional as fuck! There was only a tiny bit of brown-tingly in the coffee too. Today was a good day. Thank Aygah, for letting me be born a Brick! I could drink and party for a year before I looked as shit as a Human did a day later.

“Okay Libby, I’m awake, and looking fab. Let’s get this motherfucker in the air!”

Libby was sitting with her feet on the weapons console and looked like she was reading the air. She did this when she accessed the network directly with her avatar. It was creepy.

“Hey Princess, watch porn on your own time!” I yelled as I sat in the flight chair and pressed the system start-up button.

Libby shook her head a little, as if to clear her thoughts. This was all part of her “I must be as organic looking as possible” thing that she run as a subroutine. I wished she would knock it off around me. She was one of my best friends and the fact that she wasn’t organic meant literally nothing to me. All that time she spent around humans seemed to have left her with some issues. Earth was shit.

“Lea, are you even fit to fly?” she asked.

“Yes. Don’t scan me. I do not consent!” I said back sternly.

“Fine!” she said, folding her arms, that’d teach me!

I saw the green light come on that told me that the ship had successfully negotiated launch authorisation from Mercia’s dock crew. It was nice having a ship that could talk to a dock crew for me. Saved me a boring job.

I pulled the left lever to lift the ship away from the dock, then the handle next to it to put on a little manual forward motion. I used one of the flight sticks to tilt us up towards the iris. Accelerated at just the right speed.

The ship obeyed me like it was a fighter; it was actually a fully functional star ship. A small one. One of the smallest. And it was mine. All mine. I loved Thirteen.

The moment I was passed the iris I slammed the throttle into high and shot out of the docking tube like a firework. I added a little spin too, would make us look extra cool to all the passenger liners that were docking. Gave the kids something cool to point at out of the window.

“Thirteen, please keep your speed down. I should not have to remind you; you are in a planetary system,” the communication link said. Ugh, fuck off, humans! Central government didn’t give a shit how fast I was going. Stop projecting Earthlings!

A light on the dash activated and the ship's computer spoke down the communication link: “Mercia control, this is Thirteen. This ship requires speed burst to prime its systems for landing, with the planet being so close, this is the only way our design allows for us to do that.”

Shit! That was an excellent lie. Why I had never thought of that. I was stunned.

“Thirteen, your ship design is not on file, but you do have a high clearance. I’ll make a note on your ID code. You won’t be asked about it again. Have a pleasant trip.”

“What the absolute fuck! Thirteen? Is that you?” I asked to the ceiling, as I dropped my speed and entered the atmosphere.

“Yes, captain. I have instruction to cover all your administration needs. Was this an acceptable action?”

“Yeah, it was great! Good job Thirteen!” I said, leaning around the flight chair to look at Libby.

“You fixed it then,” I observed.

She grinned at me like a smug cat. “The core you were fitting was trash. I got a real nice one from my warehouse and fitted it under that console.” She pointed at the access door I was working on yesterday. It had driven me mad. She had fixed it, upgraded it, and programmed it in probably about thirty seconds.

“Thank you, Libby!” I said sweetly.

When she had said ‘from her warehouse,’ that told me a lot. It told me it was one of the cores that she had designed herself. Which meant it was probably a decade ahead of anything else in the galaxy. Thirteens shitty AI core was its weakest system. Now it was the strongest.

“Wait, Where’s the TLC display?” I asked.

The TLC chip was the thing that all cores had to have by law, the thing that indicated if a core had developed a mind of its own or not. No one wanted to use a living person as a slave. It was important to me that I didn’t mistreat anyone.

If this core suddenly emerged life, I would want to do the right thing. It was very important to me that I knew if it emerged with life. I would make a great AI mom!

“I knew you would ask. So, I made a very minor alteration to your flight screen.”

“You did what?” I asked, suddenly wondering where my gun was. I had a very complex flight setup that I did not want anyone fucking with.

“Relax! Fire it up. You won’t be mad. I promise.”

I slowed the ship in a high atmosphere and waved for the flight screen to appear. I didn’t actually need this turned on, not just get us home; I hadn’t thought to fire it up.

A white light flickered on the dash as the projector lit and the display popped into existence in front of me. “It’s orange!” I said as I saw what she had done. There had always been frames around the floating sections of the display system. Anything that was AI controlled had been blue. Now it was orange, or amber, I suppose. I instantly realised what Libby had done. The TLC chip would control the colour of the interface. If it was orange, then it meant that the core was still an AI nothing more. If it went green, then that would mean it had gained sentience, and was, at least becoming alive. It also meant it would turn red when I activated weapons, which would look cool.

“I’m not mad,” I said as I pulled up the map to select autopilot for home.

“Good, also you have a proper AI now. You don’t need to fuck with the manual stuff,” Libby replied.

I stopped pressing buttons. “Thirteen?” I asked.

“Yes captain?” came the purposefully synthetic voice of my ship.

“I want to go home. Can you land us in the usual dock and start a full, system-wide diagnostic, please?”

The ship chimed and the robotic voice said, “Yes, captain.”

“Okay, I’m not mad,” I told her.

Libby just smiled and took her feet off the console as the ship gently landed in a docking bay.

“Come on, you need a walk before Ba’an sees the state you’re in!”

***

The apartment wasn’t much of a walk from the dock. There was a brief discussion about one day setting up a Fold and just leaving Thirteen in geo-stationary orbit, but Libby couldn’t get clearance for that and the power requirements for that kind of distance was quite mad.

We walked through the morning sun as the rain drizzled lightly. We stayed under building canopies wherever possible and just quietly basked in Central’s glow.

“What's in the bag?” I asked.

“Gifts!” Libby replied.

“Why? You’ve not even been anywhere. You have had an avatar at the apartment the whole time we have been away!”

She screwed up her face and said, “Gifts!” again, as if I had misunderstood her.

We entered the apartment building. I had only been gone just over a week and the lobby now looked like a Follower recruitment office!

Doors waved as we entered but looked distracted. I think he was humming. A robed Follower came scurrying over. “Doctor Michaels, have you brought a guest? Is this a new initiate?”

“No, Robert, this is Lea Ra-Kay. She lives here,” Libby explained. I made for the Fold. Libby handed off her bag to me as I did. I assume she was going to talk to the Followers.

The silver door opened, and the white light of the Fold blinked on. “I’m sorry for not recognising you, miss Ra-kay,” the little guy said as I stepped away. I liked the Followers. They were good people working hard to make a difference, but they were annoying sometimes.

I stepped out of the Fold into Jon and Libby’s apartment. Libby’s other avatar took the heavy bag from me.

Ba’an appeared next to me, like he had been waiting there. He hugged me. He always hugged me when I got back, right before he kissed me.

He kissed me. There was something about kissing Ba’an, a sincerity to it that I had never felt before. He didn’t just want me, he loved me. We had fallen for each other fast, but it didn’t appear to be wearing off. People usually stopped loving me way before now.

I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do in a relationship like this. The only people I knew who had something like it were Jon and Libby. I didn’t even know other people could have it.

“Welcome home Lea. I missed you,” he said, cradling my shoulders and looking into my eyes with a gaze that made sure that I knew he was serious. Men had looked at me before, lots of men looked at me, but usually with lust. Being looked at with love was something I wasn’t comfortable with, not yet.

I felt my cheeks flush and let go of a smile that I couldn’t keep inside. I hugged back.

We sat on the oversized red sofa under the vast window and the hugging resumed. There was a kiss or two to accompany it too.

Libby sat next to us. This was a different avatar, this one dressed casually in yoga pants and an over sized shirt. It didn’t matter, it was all her. She started emptying little boxes out of her bag.

“Good trip?” Ba’an asked me.

“Oh, don’t pretend you didn’t ask Libby how I was, every day!”

He smiled. “I’m not a stalker!” he said with a pointy grin.

Libby looked up at us, then back at the boxes she had in front of her.

“Libby told me every time you asked. The exact moment!” I said with a schoolgirl grin.

“You told on me!” Ba’an exclaimed to Libby with pretend surprise.

She looked up. “Yes, but I got you a gift to say sorry!” she said. Handing him one of her little boxes.

She tossed one to me, too. “You got me a gift?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I missed you!” she replied with a pout and a wink.

“Missed me, you didn’t leave me alone for the entire week!” I said with just a touch of actual annoyance. She had been eyeballing my drinking like it was an issue. She just worried too much.

“Open them!” she said. She tapped the coffee table to open its interface. “Jon, Lea’s back!” she said as we struggled with the boxes.

Jon appeared through the Fold just as I was getting the box open.

He walked over to Libby and kissed her forehead. "Welcome back, my love!” he said. They were so cute. Libby had an avatar with him all week. She had literally not been anywhere, and Jon still missed her!

“Lea! Missed you too, buddy!” he said, leaning over the table to hug me. Jon was great.

“I got you a gift!” Libby said, putting a box on the table next to her. Jon had already gone to the kitchen. He emerged a moment later with two bottles of beer and an Elix. He handed Ba’an and I the beers and supped on his Elix.

“A gift!” he exclaimed, using it as a reason to kiss Libby again.

He opened his box with ease, instantly turning it the right way up and using just the right pressure to pull the lid off. Always smooth Jon!

All three of us looked into our boxes with confusion. We looked at each other and pulled out the little devices. We each had a small purple cube with a long white button on the top. It looked like a single piano key.

“It’s just what I always wanted! I love it!” Jon exclaimed, with no idea at all what it was.

We put the little toys on the table.

“I know, you have no idea what it is. You can’t! Doors and I invented it yesterday. It took all day. I had to pop out last night to get them fabricated. Used Mercia’s military grade machine shop to do it. It’s a very complicated design!” she explained.

We looked at them with interest.

“Jon, go first! Then you’ll all see!” she added.

Jon shrugged and pressed the key.

The room fell away as it was replaced with a cacophony of ideas and images, complete with sounds and motion; there was even a smell. My heart sang.

The colours started as a wave, as if they were being projected from the device. It had looked like holographic smoke at first, then it exploded into a rainbow as the smell of Canto’s trees filled my nose. Lines of colour, all rippling and moving together in a way that defied vision, danced in front of me.

The music that came from the lines of light sounded like an electric guitar that was playing a hundred different songs all at the same time. It wasn’t an assault on my senses though; it was a wave of emotion that filled my soul and warmed my heart. All the songs somehow harmonised, even though I knew they couldn’t.

I stared at the hologram, if that’s what it was; it grew to encompass the entire room around me. In the middle of it all, an image of Libby appeared with her purple eyes smoking and she stood proud and tall.

I had seen it before; this was the moment she had discovered the AI-web on Basilica and was given a glimpse into her own past life.

I felt a wave of emotion. Something deep within me wanted to cry with love for my friend but also wanted by cry with pain from my world being attacked. I wanted to cry with joy for the things I was seeing and for the horror of the memories it stirred.

The image grew as the camera zoomed in. Her eyes were sparkling with the entire universe. Then, as quickly as it started, it popped out of existence and the smoke was sucked back into the side of the little box.

Jon looked at Libby. “What was that?” he asked in gleeful shock.

“It was beautiful!” I said, in stunned awe.

“It was amazing!” Ba’an added, in just as much shock as the rest of us.

Libby smiled. “Doors insisted on calling it a Pianyes.”

“A what?” Jon asked, still a little buzzed by it.

She laughed. “We started off by trying to create the ultimate piano, you know? Like an abstract ideal of what a piano was. At some point we went too far, and he decided it was a pian-yes, not a pian-no… get it?” There was no way such a terrible name was Doors’ idea. This was firmly a Libby joke. She wasn’t funny.

“How, how did it do that? What did it do?” I asked.

“Well,” Libby began. “It takes the entire contents of the brain at the moment the button is pressed and uses a smart gas to create smells and add nonvisual motion. The light effect is a tiny holographic emitter. The music is generated by the brain waves with a single purpose AI to harmonise it. It basically summarises you, as a person and then pulls out one thing that means more to you than anything at the time you press it.” She kissed Jon on the cheek. It must have been nice for her to see a vision of herself. Even without him knowing what it did, Jon was thinking of her above all else.

“There was an emotional thing it did too! How did you do that?” I asked.

Libby looked confused. “I didn’t use any intrusive technologies. It’s just a combination of movement, sound and lights.”

“Oh, my gosh Lea, did you have a feeling? That’s not like you!” Jon joked with a grin.

“It is very impressive, Libby. I have seen nothing like it before!” Ba’an said, moving the conversation away from my feelings, thankfully.

“Well, it works for Bio-statics, so I assume humans too, but does it work on Vampires?” she asked.

Ba’an gave us an excited look of resolve and pressed the button on his little Pianyes. I hated that name.

The smoke left the side of the machine and an electric guitar started to play in the distance. It seemed like nothing else was happening. Then, as if it was waiting just long enough to have the maximum effect, the hologram lit like an explosion.

We were shown a highway that was being created with the same moving lines of colour that we had seen in Jon’s experience. The road was in a desert. The view showed the motion of travelling down a road that bisected the land as far as the eye could see. Faster and faster the road went by, like we were in a ship heading for TD speeds.

The guitar was being played in a way I hadn’t heard before. It was being played with emotion and drive and passion. It sounded harsh and metallic, but also epic and meaningful.

The smell, this time, was of oil and engine. Oh! It smelled like the engine room on Basilica. As the crescendo of music and vision reached its peak, the road ended. We were in space. There was a single planet in the centre of our field of view. It was Earth, but it was on fire. My feelings welled up, and I started to cry for the love Ba’an had for the Humans he had shepherded for so long as their leader. This was his fear, his loss and, on some level, his grief, all in a single image. Even with all that, it was love.

The hologram dropped away around us until all that was left was the planet. Then it left in a wisp of smoke.

Ba’an was just sitting there, with his hand on the single while key. He was far too stoic to show the depth of what he felt. He simply lifted his hand away from it and said, “Thank you, Libby. Thank you for that.”

I knew how much it had hit a nerve for him and I hugged him tightly. My own tears were enough for both of us.

Libby looked shocked at us. “This was supposed to be a fun little toy. I didn’t intend for it to be so personal. I’m sorry. We must have got something wrong!” she said apologetically.

“No!” Ba’an said sternly. “Libby, this thing you have created is beautiful. You have created something real, something honest and deep. I’m not sure what it is, but I needed it! Thank you.”

She smiled, though, a little melancholy.

“Your turn, Lea,” Jon said, getting up to find more drinks.

“No. I don’t want to know what it has for me. And I certainly don’t want anyone else knowing what it has for me.”

Ba’an’s embrace got a little tighter; he understood.

***

I dropped Basilica out of QD speed with a frankly remarkable precision, coming to a complete and instant stop only ten meters from the new orbital station.

The proximity alarms were screaming. I probably scared the shit out of them. I was usually good at this, but with a ship that responded like this one. I was amazing.

“Stop showboating!” Ba’an shouted from his spot in the middle of the room. There was a large rail that was supposed to be behind a captain’s chair, given that this was now a Follower ship, and the crew took orders from Ba’an or David, with equal enthusiasm, they had agreed a captain’s chair sent the wrong message. They had got the rail padded for leaning against with slightly more comfort though.

I handed off final control to Libby. Who was acting as this ship’s computer. She would handle the last few meters to get us docked. I was quite capable of moving something this big with the precisions required, but station rules wanted it done by an AI. Most pilots who tried it scratched the shit out of the docking clamps.

I stood up and stretched. It hadn’t been a long flight, but I hadn’t been home an hour before I found myself back in a flight seat. I had totally forgotten we were taking Basilica to Forge. That’s why Libby had wanted us back to Central on Monday. It was my own fault; I didn’t complain.

I looked down at the planet. It was looking better and better every time I came back. The crashed cities were being cleared now; the rebuilding was under way. The government had decided to leave Steel where it fell. It was the largest of the cities and the damage that had been done when it fell was something I couldn’t think about. The government made it safe and cleared out the dead. But they left the massive thing where is lay. A reminder for future generations about what was lost that day.

I flashed back to the sky-fall. I was in Thirteen; the world ended around me. We were sent into the dark ages while I watched and did nothing. I don’t think I would ever be the same after what I saw that day. No Brick would.

Jon told me a few weeks ago that he saw it in a vision from Aygah. That he saw a tiny sliver of what I must have seen. He cried when he told me. I wished I had only seen it in a dream; the memory of dreams faded. I had to live with what I saw, forever.

***

I walked up Thirteens ramp, past all the cargo on Basilicas cargo bay. The lights were already on. This meant that someone was aboard. Basilica was a ship filled with Followers and friends; I still checked my sidearm was charged as I walked towards the stairwell. Someone was on my ship, without me knowing and that could be a problem.

Libby was in the Flight chair, Jon at sensors, his cute little bodyguard, Ria, was next to him.

“Hey guys. Has my ship just become a place to hang out now?” I asked. “It’s not a damned bar!”

“No, but we know it's your first time down to the surface, since… you know. So, we’re coming with you,” Jon informed me.

“I suppose Ba’an put you up to this?” I asked.

“Yes. Obviously, I did. None of your friends are emotionally stable. They never would have even thought about it without me,” Ba’an said, appearing behind me in the doorway, slipping his arms around my waist.

The ship's engine started, and we glided out of Basilica’s cargo bay. I was never happy when someone else flew my ship, but I had a feeling on this trip, Libby may have been better suited.

I had been back into orbit a few times since the station had been delivered. It was good of Sol to gift such a massive station to my people. It had been dragged into orbit by one of the new Kingdom-class ships and it was armed to the teeth. It had really made the difference, giving us somewhere to coordinate the repair efforts from, and a functioning space dock helped more than anyone realised it would.

The Vampires had sent over a hundred of their best construction teams, with all the equipment they could spare. They were the reason we were making such fast progress towards getting our planet functional again.

Elves were the last to send aid to us, but we all understood why when it arrived. They took their time to prepare it, but when we saw an orbital farm come through the Warp people cried in the streets. The damned thing made our orbital cities look small and had ready-to-harvest crops under its gigantic Glass energy dome. It would go a long way in keeping us fed. They even provided some people to farm it, until we were ready to do it ourselves.

Most of the Younger races in our territory had sent gifts too. Blankets, food, usual humanitarian stuff, but sadly, they lacked the technology to really move the needle for us. Still, it was nice that they wanted to help. They had always been our responsibility to protect, for now they were on their own. I worried about them; we all did.

I was deep in thought; I think I was trying to distract myself from the trip. We were supposed to drop the first delivery off to one of the freshly rebuilt surface docks. Basilica had plenty of storage but not any big shuttles. It couldn’t land either, so Thirteen was the ideal mule to drop off supplies. Our cargo bay was packed with shit load of Cure-all. Sol alliance was going to be sending some, but was still sorting out the bureaucracy. Libby just ordered it herself; we had it in four days. Sol gov was still trying to decide which contractor to use. It was nonsense. Still, they meant well.

Libby put Thirteen down gently in a spot next to a loading team who were waiting for us. There were some people in suits waiting too, politicians. Ba’an would deal with them.

***

We let the loading team start getting the pallets off the ship. We headed down the ramp to greet people waiting for us.

Ba’an took point, this was his skill set. “Good evening gentlemen, or is it morning, local time? I’m honestly not sure.”

One of the men shook his hand. A short man with lightly tanned skin and rippling muscles, that you could see even under his tailored suit. Obviously one of my people because he was too easy on the eyes to be anything else. He had long grey hair that he left free and was so clean shaven I wondered if he had ever even had stubble. He, as all adults of my race did, would look mid-twenties to a human. I could tell from the way he conducted himself and the confidence he had in himself that he was at least as old and me, and probably then some.

“President Ba’an Ty, it’s an honour to meet you,” the man said. The others around him were just as eager to shake his hand as the first man.

“Pleasure to meet you all. It’s just plain old Ba’an now though,” he said, tuning on the warmth in his voice up a little and altering his body language to seem stoic, but sincere. He was so fucking good at this, and it had only been a ‘hello.’

“Yes, yes, but still… Ba’an Ty. I never thought I would end up in the same room as you! And now here I am, shaking your hand!”

Ba’an grinned at the man. “Well, President Ro-Bon, you are a far more famous man than I, and you have a far harder job than I ever did, I assure you!” Ba’an said. Of course, he recognised him!

President, Ro-Bon. This was the man who had been put in charge of my world. Most of the government had been killed when the sky-cities fell. This man was the mayor of one of our moon colonies. He was well on his way to becoming the President one day, though, now he had skipped a few steps. I hadn’t realised our little humanitarian run would get the attention of the President.

“And this must be Miss Lea Ra-kay?” he said, putting a hand out to me.

“Ugh!” I stammered. “Yes. Mister president sir,” You would think dating the former president of Sol would make me better at talking to politicians. It didn’t.

“Miss Ra-kay. It’s an honour to meet you… all of you, actually.”

Jon shrugged; Libby smiled. Ria thinned her eyes at the suited men. I wasn’t sure what she thought was going to happen here. The president of the Brick cooperative would not be a threat to Jon. She took her job as guardian far too seriously.

“I made a point of coming here when I heard which ship was making the drop off,” the President said. “Because I wanted to personally thank all of you. I had hoped Doctor Atkinson would be with you as well.”

“We’re just doing what we can, President,” Ba’an said. While it was a politician's answer, it was also, in this case, the truth.

“No. If you’ll excuse me, that’s horse shit!” he said. What! I was more than a little stunned at this language. He shrugged at our shock and continued.

“It was miss Ra-Kay who got her ship back online and was the first new star in the sky after the fall. She gave hope to everyone who saw it, hope that civilization was still out there. Then, she risked her own life and chased down the thing that was killing our world. I hear that without this ship and her skills as pilot, the Follower ship would not have been able to destroy the Thinker attackers. You literally saved us all.”

I was touched by what he said, but I had agreed with myself that I wouldn’t cry today. I wouldn’t cry when I saw the horror of the remaining deviation. I wouldn’t cry when I saw the beauty of everyone rebuilding and I wouldn’t cry when everyone told me they knew that I just watched when the sky fell.

“I…” I had nothing.

“Any of that untrue?” he asked us all.

I had expected Ba’an to take the question for me, but he just looked at me. All the people in suits did too.

“I… I didn’t do a lot. It was Libby and Jon who did…” I felt a lump in my throat.

“I read all the reports, Miss Ra-Kay. All of them. I know exactly what happened. I even saw some of the video footage of the space battle. The recordings from the communications, and the medical reports that were made after.”

He looked at me for an answer.

“I… I couldn’t do anything. When it all happened. I just watched. Everyone else was dying, I was safe. I couldn’t open the door to let them in. I wanted to. I’m so sorry.” They knew I just watched. He knew. The president knew I just watched when everyone else died. Then, as soon as I got a chance, we flew away. The rest was Libby and Jon.

“Miss Ra-Kay. I am here specifically because I understand your actions and motivation.”

He was going to arrest me. He was being nice, but I needed to face trial. I should have opened the door. Should have got people inside. I could have saved lives. I didn’t. I was beaten and scared, and I was too interested in getting the ship to work than to opening the door. He was still talking.

“Miss., we don’t have the time or the resources right now to give you what you deserve…”

Oh, my gosh, was he going to shoot me? Was this treason?

“I hope you understand…” his voice faded into the background. I flashed back to being on Thirteen and watching the death rain down.

He put his hand in his jacket pocket. I knew it was coming. This is what I deserved. I hoped Libby and Ria didn’t stand in the way. They would react before the others; they were fast enough to save me. I hoped they knew that I wanted to take the punishment for what I had done.

“… So here is,” he said, opening a small box.

I had missed a lot of what he was saying. Everyone was smiling. Shit! What had I missed?

I leaned forward and looked into the tiny box. It was a rank badge. “What?” I asked. Realising I had checked out.

Ba’an held my hand. “Lea. The president just told you he’s made you a Free-General.”

“What!” I explained. I had missed more than I realised.

I was stunned. I looked at the president. I think I was in shock.

A Free-General was a rank that they gave. The ‘free’ part meant free, as in, not assigned to a task. ‘General’ as in General… as in a very high-ranking military officer. I would have rank’s power and a security clearance with none of the responsibility.

“I…” yep. Had nothing again.

“I know your history in the Sol military, and how you dodged promotion for a decade so you could fly ships. I also know the company you keep, and I know we need to cut through red tape right now. Miss Ra-Kay. On behalf of all the Brick people of Forge, the outer colonies, and the Younger races which we serve… Thank you for your service.” He handed me the box and saluted.

I was stunned. I had expected to be arrested. To be punished of behalf of all the people who I failed to help. I did not deserve the Brick equivalent of the ‘Defender of the Earth’ commendation.

“Sir,” I pulled myself together. “I don’t deserve this. I just did what I had to, and there was a lot more I should have done. I could have saved a lot of people if I had have made better decisions. Sir, mister president… sir.” I stood straight as he waved a hand.

“Miss Ra-Kay. That’s bollocks!” he began. Ria gasped. He smiled at her and continued. “I know how the war ended, I know all the actions that were taken, and I read all about Aygah,” he said, as he glanced at Jon. “You all did more for this world than even I ever could. Take the damned pin and use the rank to make sure nothing stands in the way of helping people!” he said with a sincerity that matched Ba’an’s.

He looked me right in the eye and put a hand on my arm. “Miss Ra-kay. Every one of us feels like we should have done more. We all feel the guilt. I can tell you for certain, the whole of the government read the reports about you and your friends. You did nothing wrong. You’re a fucking hero and we recognise you as such.”

I suppose I would cry today.

***

We had been back on Basilica for a few hours. We had done the last delivery to the surface, got a list of things that Forge was short on and promised to be back next week with at least some of the things on the list. This would be an expensive trip for Libby. Most of the AI cores on the surface were fried after the attack. They had requested a hundred, just to get basic infrastructure working again. Even Libby with all hear wealth would be hard pressed get a hundred high end AI cores delivered in a few days.

The list also requested portable Fold platforms, generators, and Circlet repeaters.

My people didn’t expect her to provide the whole lot. It had been posted on the network as a wish list of sorts, the things that Forge needed to return life to normal. Libby had taken it as a shopping list and was working down it with every trip.

I was just starting the pre-flight checks when the communication chime sounded. There was no one at the communication station. David left the command rail and answered it himself.

“You have reached Basilica; how many we be of service?” he said with a smile.

“Oh!” he said a moment later. He threw the communication onto the main screen at the front of the bridge.

The president's face appeared on the screen.

“Doctor Michaels, Elizabeth, is she available?” he asked, skipping the greeting. He looked emotional and his eyes were puffy.

Libby’s ship-avatar formed in the centre of the bridge, walking towards the screen. She started as a purple outline and then filling in, looking almost solid in a matter of moments, “Yes, mister President. How may I help you?” she asked, coming to a stop next to my flight chair.

“You distributed some music boxes, toys, to the local children while you were on the surface. I think you called them yes-pino’s?”

“Pianyes. I had a crate of them given to the children, yes. Is everything alright?”

“Alight! Doctor, I have just used one of these music boxes, a few minutes ago. My god, I have never seen anything so beautiful in all my life. I cannot express how grateful I am to have seen what it showed me. Thank you, thank you so much!”

He actually looked like he was about to cry.

“I’m glad you liked it. I’ll bring another shipment of them next week. I’ll make sure to get you your own, mister president.”

“Yes, please. And really… thank you so much, I’m not sure you realise how much you have helped us. These things, they are just magical!”

He smiled, fighting back tears, he closed the Screen.

I looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

She grinned at me, “And there was me, worried they wouldn’t even work for Bricks.”

***

It was quarter to midnight, Central time. I had been up almost the whole day and was glad to get back to my room on Thirteen with a bottle of old brown-tingly in my hand. Ba’an was already asleep.

I looked at the stupid Pianyes on the table by the window. I took a swig from my bottle and pressed the damned button. Let’s see what it would show me…

#denouement #hexdsl #writing #science fiction

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