#rocket cluster

[rosemaryblossoms]

Once there was a greedy old man who wanted power more than anything, there was something else he wanted but he couldn’t get it with money at all and which made it “difficult” for him. He wanted someone to teach his methods to, Someone to spread his legacy with a bloody red R. He first used a beautiful rose and a magenta buddleia but they weren’t enough for him. Together they were strong but weren’t strong as he wanted to be. They failed him far too many times. He ignored the buddleia and her pleads as well as the handsome rose and left them behind locked up and beheaded Meowth their beloved cat and partner. Later on he found another pretty flower, a pink water lily. She was strong as her two legendary companions and passionate with her work, so he simply plucked her away from them and began to work. His scientists worked and worked to give him the perfect heiress, it was difficult because of how she fought but with a few clips of her petals and she was new. She succeeded at first as her once colorful spirit in her petals slowly died out but she failed her final test so she was locked up with the others, never to go back home again. He was angry, he had succeeded before, why was he failing now he thought. He research and looked over everything until a few colors caught his eye. Red, Bue, and Purple would race his mind. Red, Blue, Red, Purple swirled in his mind like an epiphany. A legend, another Legend, and a determined one to be a legend. The two were strong, the third wasn’t as strong but he had determination to be as strong. He went to his basement to see the others, instead of hushing their shouts and cries of pain he listened only to the water lily like a song, a song he could try to play. One day he went out and played the familiar song to them from a far, each captivated by the familiar call causing them to go into the grasp of the darkness. They were trapped and he knew it, he got them, it was hard with how hard the fought and screamed but he did it, the Pokémon were confiscated and trapped as well but far from their trainers. He finally did it he was going to make the perfect heir and the perfect weapon, it was going to be beautiful, he could just see his future now. The strong figure ruling over under his power, it was so beautiful to him.

When I woke up, I was “beautiful”. I was sore and felt like throwing my guts out at both my feelings and the sight of me. I could still hear there cries and their screams of pain. I could hear there voices in my head screaming at him about what he did to them.

I felt their memories and vibrations of their voices bubbling in my head to the point I felt it was going to burst. I could feel all their tears on my face as I processed every thing when I woke up. As I was trained, a new mind formed with their’s, giving me my own voice in a way slowly but I was yet to fully have my voice because it was taken away from me over and over again. He took away our Freedom, He took away our legacy, and He took us from our families and friends. He took our voices to make a new one. Blue, Silver, Red, The trainers in my head. The ones who guided me to lead him into a false sense of security. We worked together with the others and killed them all dead, they took us from our families so we took them from theirs.

Lavender, Magenta, Purple, Blue, Red, and Green were the last colors they all have seen before going into a deep and permanent sleep. He was the the last one left, and he was dead. But we had no where to go so we made the fucked up facility our home and the Pokéball our beds.

#pokepasta #pokémon #creepypasta oc #creepypasta #trainer red #pokemon trainer #trainer blue #trainer silver #trainer green #team rocket #jessie and james #meowth #the cluster

[teamrocketblood]

*a duffle bag of money suddenly appears from nowhere and falls onto him.*

Oh boy. This will not go well.

"AHA! YES! this is perfect! This will last me for a while!" No it won't, here he goes...buying shit ton of energy drinks, random food, and stuff that he won't use but still felt like he needed.....and a potted plant.

"Being rich is the best, who has issues when you have money?~ just bury the issues under the money bags and pretend the don't exist~"

#( impulsivity in human form. aka proton ) #( fun fact beig cluster b involves being reckless with money....yeah....admin is stupid ) #( at least proton can be happy for now ) #pokeblogging #pokemon irl #unreality #pkmn irl #executive proton #pokeblog rp #pokemon proton #team rocket proton #p.irl.blog

[listenupcupcakes]

oh mein gott soldier why are you so american!?!????

You sound like the medic?

…

I AM A SELF MADE 🐝🐝 AM🐝ERICAN MAN🐝🐝 WHO WILL 🐝🐝🐝

I AM GPING TO 🐝 KILL TH🐝🐝 BEES🐝🐝🐝

#he punches a bee and gets stung #[2/3] #[10/15] #he very small and fighting bees guys #look what you’ve done to the man! #he’s gotten Stung so many times! #he’s gonna shoot at them with his rocket launcher #but he’s little so he can’t pick up his rocket launcher #so he’s just spinning it around on the floor fireing at clusters of angry bees #he’s having fun tho #solly speaks #solly answers #anonymous #anon ask

[midday-darkness]

Jessie (Musashi) from Pokémon has npd!

#flag by @npd-safe #npd #npd headcanons #actually npd #npd positivity #npd safe #cluster b #jessie pokemon #jessie team rocket #jessie and james #musashi pokemon #team rocket #pokemon #my posts

[your-fave-has-a-pd]

[ID: Image of Jessie from Pokemon. End ID.]

jessie from pokemon has npd !!

rq by: @woeiru

#jessie #jessie team rocket #jessie pokemon #pokemon #team rocket #i love her so much #🌷 | request complete #cluster b headcanons #cluster b #your fave has a pd #your-fave-has-a-pd #npd #cluster b headcanon #npd headcanons

[cyborgdragongirl]

I think this is my favorite build so far. A perfect blend of performance and firepower. I've got 10 quick boosts in a row, rocket volleys in 10 & 13, a minigun, and songbirds grenade launcher. Ammo runs tight on some longer missions, but when they're dry I just get faster and more energy efficient

#sprenposting #armored core #might dip into the arena with her and see how she does tomorrow #the rockets in particular tend to be really effective since they hang for a moment before homing in on the target #songbirds for clusters of MT’s or generic things #and minigun for as much of the fodder as you can #i’m typically dropping rockets on a couple as i enter combat and then swoop around cleaning up with the minigun #songbirds is also punchy for staggers. debate swapping it for the bigger boom one but it weighs more #reload is twice as long (12.8seconds is forever) and only has 16 rounds #but dakka

[xtruss]

US Record of Cluster Bombs Rings Alarm Bells for Ukrainians

A cluster Bomb — Sputnik International. © AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has renewed calls to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, as Kiev struggles to push its much-discussed counteroffensive. What are cluster bombs and what risks is their use fraught with?

US Representatives Joe Wilson (R-SC), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and Victoria Spartz (R-IN) urged President Joe Biden to dispatch dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM), commonly known as "cluster" shells, to Ukraine on June 25.

"Transferring DPICMs to Ukraine presents an opportunity to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with a powerful capability to use against the Russian army and mercenary forces," the lawmakers' letter said.

It's not the first time that US politicians have been discussing equipping the Ukrainian military with cluster munitions.

Last Thursday, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Laura Cooper told lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee that DPICMs "would be useful, especially against dug-in Russian positions on the battlefield."

US Should Provide Cluster Bombs to Ukraine – Joe Wilson, US Congressman! April 26, 2023. "I hope every effort will be made to look into providing the cluster bombs that we have two million available," Wilson said during a House Committee on Armed Services hearing.

On March 21, four top Republican lawmakers on the House and Senate Foreign Affairs and Armed Cervices committees – James Risch, Roger Wicker, Michael McCaul and Mike Rogers – sent a letter to the US president insisting that while not without risks, this could solve the problem of Kiev's artillery ammunition shortage.

"[DPICMs] are highly effective against personnel — both enemy troops in the open and entrenched infantry — and mechanized vehicles," wrote the GOP congressmen. "The United States relied on similar cluster munitions during the Cold War as a means of offsetting Soviet military advantages in manpower, artillery, and armored vehicles."

In December 2022, Kiev itself made a request for cluster munitions to Washington. As per the US press, Kiev planned to launch the weapons from High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 155 mm Howitzers. However, at that time, Joe Biden refused to provide the weapons banned by over 120 countries to the Ukrainian military.

Tail section of a cluster bomb purportedly found in Misrata, Libya. (File) © AP Photo/Human Rights Watch

What are Cluster Munitions?

The DPICM is an artillery or surface-to-surface missile warhead that releases dozens to hundreds of smaller submunitions that can use shaped charges for the anti-armor role and fragmentation for the antipersonnel role. The air-to-surface variety of the shells is known as a "cluster bomb." One munition can destroy multiple targets at once, meaning that fewer missiles are needed.

Some US experts consider that most relevant for Ukraine would be the M483A1 and M864 artillery which could be fired from Ukraine's Western-made 155mm Artillery Systems.

The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) bans the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions and requires destruction of stockpiles of the weapons, as well as clearance of areas contaminated by remnants and bomblets and victim assistance.

The weapons were prohibited for a good reason: inaccurate cluster munitions pose an immediate threat to civilians by randomly scattering submunitions over a wide area. In addition, myriads of unexploded remnants continue to endanger civilians long after the conflict.

The US, however, stores plenty of cluster munitions.

Cluster Bombs, ‘Butterfly’ Mines, Phosphorus Munitions: Prohibited Weapons Used by Ukraine August 30, 2022! A man walks past an unexploded tail section of a 300mm rocket which appear to contained cluster bombs launched from a BM-30 Smerch multiple rocket launcher embedded in the ground after shelling in Lisichansk, LPR on April 11, 2022 - Sputnik International, © AFP 2023/Anatolii Stepanov

US Record of Using Cluster Munitions

Cluster bombs were first used during the Second World War. For its part, the US started to extensively use them in the 1960s and the 1970s in Southeast Asia. Citing the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) a March 2022 congressional report says that "in Laos alone, 9 to 27 Million Unexploded Submunitions remained after the conflict, resulting in over 10,000 civilian casualties to date."

During the Gulf War of 1991, the US and its allies dropped around 61,000 Cluster Bombs containing some 20 Million Submunitions. In addition, the coalition also used surface-to-surface DPICMs delivered by artillery and rocket systems. It is believed that 30 million or more DPICM submunitions were used during the conflict.

In 1999, NATO forces dropped 1,765 cluster bombs containing around 295,000 submunitions on Yugoslavia. Despite common belief that these bombs would be used against military installations, it was reported in June 1999 that a NATO airstrike involving cluster bombs on an airfield in Nis on May 7, 1999, went off target and hit a Hospital and Adjoining Civilian Areas. Another report said about five boys were killed and two injured by a cluster bomb submunition that exploded near the village of Doganovic in southern Kosovo.

Nonetheless, the US and NATO allies continued to use the inaccurate munitions. Between 2001 and 2002, the US Air Force bombed Afghanistan with 1,228 Cluster Munitions containing 248,056 submunitions.

The US and British military fired around 13,000 Cluster Munitions containing up to Two Million Submunitions during the first three weeks of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

US Cluster Bombs. © Sputnik/Mikitenko

As per Human Rights Watch, American and British ground forces widely used cluster munitions in major cities of Iraq which led to hundreds of civilian casualties, including children. Lots of unexploded submunitions were later discovered in residential areas near schools and playgrounds resulting in further injuries and deaths.

"13-year-old Falah Hassan lost his right hand, his left index finger, and soft tissue in his lower limbs when an unexploded submunition, left by a cluster munition attack, detonated in al-Hilla," recalled HRW researcher Bonnie Docherty in her May 2023 report. "His mother, who lay in the next bed when we visited him in hospital in mid-May, suffered injuries to her abdomen, uterus, and large and small intestines from the same explosion."

US Tests ‘Next Generation’ Fragmentation Bomb as ‘Viable Substitute’ for Cluster Munitions! A B1-B bomber drops live bombs at the Nevada Test and Training Range — Sputnik International. © AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta/ March 9, 2020

US Cluster Munition Stockpiles

Despite an indiscriminate use of cluster bombs and shells by the US military that led to extensive casualties and destruction, Washington did not join the international convention prohibiting the deadly weapons. Neither did it destroy its vast stockpiles of cluster munitions. The US original provisions drafted in 2008 and seeking to remove large portions of the weapons from the US stockpiles were later reversed.

Thus, a Department of Defense memo inked on November 30, 2017 indefinitely delayed implementation of a ban on using "unreliable types of cluster munitions" which was expected to take effect on January 1, 2019, in the US. Furthermore, the new policy envisaged the US acquisition of cluster munitions from foreign sources.

The US maintains restrictions on exports of cluster munitions, allowing selling DPICMs that do not result in more than 1% unexploded ordnance. Under US law, the recipient should make a commitment not to use the weapons in civilian areas.

Previously, Kiev failed to meet its commitments not to use Western lethal arms against civilians, civil objects and the Russian territory which makes one wonder whether the Ukrainian military would observe the US obligations if provided by cluster shells.

Moreover, some US scholars suggest that Washington's move could alienate some of its allies given that 23 NATO members are party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

— Ekaterina Blinova, Sputnik International, June 28, 2023

#Convention on Cluster Munitions #High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) #House Foreign Affairs Committee #Cluster Munitions #North Atlantic Terrorist Organization (NATO) #Ukraine 🇺🇦 #Ukrainian Armed Forces #USA 🇺🇸

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

I Love You When You Don't Love Yourself

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: Self deprication??? People talking shit I dunno

Genre: fluff and maybe angst

Summary: Bucky let's the opinions of random people get in his head a little too much on a night out

***

You take one last look at your makeup in the mirror before deciding you're satisfied with the look.

"You almost ready to go doll?" Bucky asks, leaning against the doorframe.

"Perfect timing. Yeah, I just need to put my heels on." You say standing up and walking over to your shoes which you'd left by your closet. Bucky meets you by them and leans down to slip your heels onto your foot. Oh, how he treats you like a princess.

"You look amazing." He tells you as he stands back up, kissing your temple softly.

"Thank you, so do you." You say. Bucky's hand settles against your back as it always does when you're walking.

"Alright let's get on with this." Bucky says as you leave the tower.

"Do you think everyone's already there?"

"Steve definitely is, Nat probably isn't yet, Tony definitely isn't, Wanda and Vis I'd guess yes. Everyone else is up in the air but everyone's left here."

"Last to go-"

"We won't be the last to leave. Telling you now." He tells you.

"I know." You laugh. "Trust me I have no desire to stay the latest."

The Avengers team has been invited to a charity gala which normally nobody would even think about going to, but after the last several months, you definitely think the team could use the positive press so a number of you are going, to represent the team. It takes you and Bucky 20 minutes to get to the venue and Bucky groans when he sees the red carpet lined with photographers.

"No way there's a red carpet here." He rolls his eyes.

"Of course there is. These galas are a gold mine for PR brownie points." You say. "Just smile baby, if they ask us anything worth answering I can do the talking."

"Works for me." Bucky says leaning over the center console to kiss you quickly before getting out of the car. Bucky hands the keys to the valet as he walks around the front before opening your door. He holds out a hand to help you out and then shifts that hand to your lower back, leading you down the red carpet. You can hear a cluster of voices shouting both of your names behind the disorienting flashes but it's hard to make anything out specifically. That is until you catch one voice above the rest.

"Y/n! What's it like dating the Winter Soldier!?"

You can feel Bucky tense a bit beside you though he tries not to let it show on his face. You flash a bright smile at the sea of photographers and slip your hand behind you to quickly squeeze Bucky's.

"Oh well I wouldn't know, the Winter Soldier doesn't exist anymore." You say easily.

"Are you saying you don't think your boyfriend is dangerous!?" Another voice.

"Not any more than any other avenger. I honestly think that the most volatile of us is Tony! But- for some reason, nobody's worried about the guy who can fit rocket blasters into a briefcase- just the... guy who can punch really hard." You let out a half laugh to lighten the severity of your words but you know you've done what you were trying to do when Bucky pulls you closer subtly and the questions stop. "Ciao!" You add with a light wave. You and Bucky walk the remainder of the carpet, posing every so often until you make it inside.

"The guy who can punch really hard?" He quirks an eyebrow at you once you're inside.

"Well yeah. Don't get me wrong you're plenty dangerous- but we have a god that can summon lightening, a witch that can completely warp reality, a kid who has the strength to throw an entire airplane- and I mean Tony's just some guy comparatively however- that suit of his has military grade weapons and he could at one point carry in a briefcase, I feel like you are not the biggest threat to humanity even in this room."

"You make us all sound dangerous."

"You are. We are. Honestly, the world is just lucky Tony thinks that being a hero comes with more glory than being a villain, and the rest of us have decent moral compasses. The line between hero and villain is pretty thin and when you have abilities people don't understand you are always walking that line. They could turn us into fugitives tomorrow. That's why we do things like charity galas so that's less likely to happen."

"You know we are so lucky you're around because I don't think anyone else would care to protect us in this way." Bucky slings his arm across your shoulders, pulling you closer to him.

"True but I suppose that's the good thing about a team, everyone offers a different skill set." You shrug with a chuckle.

"You're so amazing." He says kissing your temple.

"Well I have to be, my boyfriend's pretty cool you know." You smile.

"Oh, is he?"

"Yeah, the coolest." You nod.

"He's a lucky man." Bucky chuckles. 

"Sure is. But I think I'm luckier."

I think he'd disagree."

"I'm sure. Let's go find our seats."

"I'll get us drinks first and find you at our table after." Bucky says removing his arm from your shoulder but kissing your hand before he lets you go.

"You sure?"

"I could track you down in a sea of thousands doll, go. I'll see you in a few." He says.

"Something fruity please." You tell him.

"I know what to do." He winks and walks off. You pivot towards the tables to search the name cards for your and Bucky's seats.

"Y/n, hi I'm Noah, I just wanted to say that I'm a huge fan of yours." The man, Noah, appeared pretty much out of nowhere.

"Hi Noah, thank you. Just- trying to do what's right." You smile. You'll admit you've not had many adults come up to you and say they're fans?? It's usually kids so you're not sure what's the best approach here.

"Oh you don't have to be so modest! You're a hero! You've earned every right to brag."

"I'm not really the bragging type is all." You chuckle.

"That's so honorable." He nods. You hum in response.

"I'm gonna go find my seat, but it was nice to meet you!"

"Oh did you come alone? Is someone waiting for you?" He asks.

"What?" You blink at him.

"Well just that you're usually always with the one with the arm- the soldier."

"Bucky." You say.

"Right him. I'm just surprised to see you without him." Noah shrugs.

"Oh, he's here. He went to get us drinks."

"Interesting. I'm surprised."

"By what? Like you said we're always together." You shrug.

"Yeah, right, I know I guess I just thought by now you'd wake up."

"Excuse you?" You scoff.

"Oh come on darling, you and I both know you can do way better than that killer you're with now." He smirks placing a hand on your arm.

"If you want to keep that hand I suggest you keep it to yourself because if you touch me again you won't have to worry about 'that killer I'm with' I'll end you myself." You smile back at him.

"Fiesty."

"Yes, I tend to be when you insult my loved ones. Go figure. I'm going to go find my seat now before you dig yourself a hole too deep to climb out of, enjoy your evening." You say before walking away. Perhaps you should've mitigated that without threatening him, if it reflects badly on the team you could be undoing the very thing you came here for and that's usually Tony's area of expertise, oh there's your name but I mean that guy totally had it coming he was being an absolute jerk. How dare he say-

"Found ya." Bucky kisses your cheek as he sits beside you, cutting your train of thought.

"Hey." You smile giving him a peck on the lips. "What'd you get me?"

"I forget the name but it's a vodka cran with peach and lime basically, something from their specialty menu. I thought you'd like it." He shrugs.

"I'm sure it's lovely, thank you." You tell him taking a sip. It is pretty good. "What'd you get yourself?"

"Just a whiskey." He says. "Anything fun happen while I was away?"

"Nope, I ran into some guy before I found our seats but, that's an interaction barely worth mentioning." You roll your eyes.

"Uh oh, what'd he do?"

"Doesn't matter." You say with a kiss. "Have you seen anyone else yet? It looks like none of us are at the same tables." You point out.

"I saw Tony and Pepper's place cards but they're not sitting if they're already here."

"Oh, what table are they at?" You ask.

"It's over there, and don't worry I already told the bartender that Tony is only allowed one drink." Bucky says making you giggle.

"Well, that's a relief. Let's hope he didn't prepare for that restriction." You hum.

"I think Pepper keeps him on a pretty tight leash so it shouldn't be a problem. I just figured you'd rather be safe than sorry."

"When it comes to Tony's alcohol consumption absolutely." You nod.

"Oh my god is that the winter soldier?" You hear a voice whisper next to you.

"I can't believe they let him in here." Another hushed voice responds, making your jaw clench.

"Well I'm not about to sit next to him." Voice one scoffs.

"I'm sure we can get someone to switch with us it's fine. Come on." Voice two says and the two scuttle off.

"Fucking idiots." You roll your eyes. Bucky clears his throat and takes a sip of his whiskey.

"Oh look there's Vis." Bucky points out the red synthezoid at a table a few rows away from you.

"Okay so we're here, Pepper and Tony should be, Vision and Wanda are there, isn't Steve coming? I wonder where he'll be sitting." You hum.

"I bet he's already in his seat. Look for a bunch of giggling women hovering at a table and we'll probably find him at the center."

"I wonder why they sat us all apart."

"I imagine to promote mingling. All the Avengers at one table would be rather intimidating for the rest of the gala I think. No one would approach us." He shrugs.

"Oh maybe." You hum. You pick up the program sitting on the table to get an idea of how the evening is meant to play out. They'll start with an opening address, then serve dinner, then do the auction items, and the rest of the night will be dancing and mingling. You and Bucky entertain each other at the table until someone begins the night's todos with the opening address. The speech is about five minutes long, thanking guests and talking about the importance of the cause. Dinner orders from the preselected menu are taken quickly and food is brought out within 15 minutes.

"See I told you it was him." You hear a hushed conversation, not at your table but close. Bucky's hand hovers over the fork that he had been reaching for.

"My goodness you were right. That's scary."

"And to think he has a girlfriend walking around like that." That's the line. Bucky stands from your table abruptly and storms off. You hurriedly gather your purse to follow after him but you stop at the table you'd heard the voices coming from.

"If you guys are so bored with your lives that you have nothing better to do than gossip the least you could do is keep your pathetic opinions to yourself." You scoff before walking off to track down your boyfriend.

"Bucky wait." You call when you catch up to him just outside the venue.

"I want to leave." He says.

"It's barely been an hour-"

"And in that time there have been four separate instances of people talking about me like some zoo animal who can't fucking hear them."

"Four?"

"I heard that guy telling you that you can do so much better than the 'killer you're with now', so yeah. Four."

"We'll leave." You nod. Bucky hands his ticket to the valet and it takes almost no time at all for them to bring your car around to the front.

Your drive home is silent, though you rest a comforting hand on Bucky's thigh as he drives. Back in your room at the tower is where the quiet is finally broken.

"I'm sorry." Bucky frowns.

"What on earth for?" You shake your head at him

"I totally ruined the evening. I know this was- important to you that we go." He sighs.

"Don't be ridiculous. There are enough Avengers there to represent the whole team Bucky we didn't have to go, we didn't have to stay. Plus I never want you to be somewhere you don't feel comfortable. The gala is not nearly as important to me as your feelings." You tell him.

"Everything would be so much easier if it wasn't so-"

"Bucky don't. That's a dangerous path to start down. There is nothing wrong with you."

"Stop, y/n. Stop pretending that you don't hate it. If I could still have my normal arm I-"

"Well you don't." You snap, cutting him off.

"What?" He blinks at you.

"You don't have your 'normal arm' Buck, and I didn't even know you when you did. I fell in love with you with the metal one attached to your body, and it's the only you I've ever known. How could you possibly think I hate it?"

"You heard what people were saying tonight-"

"I'm not dating any of them or their opinions. And neither are you. Who gives a fuck what they have to say about it? Don't let them decide what parts of you are worth loving." You say grabbing his face.

"Don't you get tired?"

"No. I'd happily spend the rest of my life clapping back at people's ignorant comments if it meant always coming home to you. I've fought evils those peabrains couldn't even comprehend if they tried, their narrowminded drivel means nothing to me. They're like walking talking gossip rags. Who pays those any attention?" You roll your eyes.

"I love you."

"I love you too. All of you. Even with your metal arm and your chaotic history. Don't you dare let random noise make you forget that." You poke his chest.

"Alright alright." He laughs pulling you against his chest into a hug.

***

#marvel #marvel fanfiction #bucky #bucky barnes x reader #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes fluff #bucky x reader #bucky barnes

[0v3rcast]

Gnaw: Grudge Match

For the first time, the Archon War and its ending are subject to a second opinion.

(And that opinion is yours.)

Osial banks across the stormy sky, feathers of his right wing dipping into the clouds above, water and wind forming beads against his wingtips that follow him as he dips back down. You lend him your energy, and Electro arcs across the vast plumage of his wings and pools inside the beads.

He flaps his wing. A single storm bead rockets down from the sky.

Fishing boats and trading ships are reduced to soaked splinters and fractured metal. The remains of sails, now naught but tatters, writhe in the wind before falling into the sea.

Those who do not die from the sheer enormity of the impact drown in the harbor, bleed out from shrapnel of their own ships, or meet their end at the hands of your contributed Electro energy.

Within fifteen seconds, the harbor has been reduced to a graveyard, the ruined husks of an entire fleet now skeletons lying in deathless slumber on the seabed.

Osial laughs, wild and untamed, just this side of lost to mania, and he dives, his wings glimmering with Anemo.

The Golden House didn't really stand much of a chance.

Electrically-charged Mora are funneled en masse into the vortex above, glinting gold with lightning tails flowing up into the sky in chaotic patterns. Some magnetize against each other, some fly alone, others ricochet into the sea or embed themselves into the land.

Several unlucky souls are punched cleanly through by the symbol of their nation's prosperity, leaving gaping holes in their flesh and ruined bones.

Their screams, warped by the wind and rain and the song of thunder, are a beautiful chorus to you. A performance to welcome you home and give warning to those who foolishly stand against you.

Thunder roars, deafening, and lightning falls, piercing Millelith members. Rain weighs them down, wind steals their breath, and the wind chill robs even the most hale and hearty of a steady aim.

Osial flicks out another storm bead. Several buildings are blasted apart, their rubble crushing their neighbors, metal and stone and wood making a cacophony of ruin.

Entire lives are being uprooted. Centuries of tradition are vanishing under the onslaught. The work of thousands of human lives simply vanishes as it topples into the bay, the waves hungrily lapping at the base of the city and greedily swallowing all that cannot escape.

A small smile stretches over your face.

They deserve this.

With a flick of your wrist, the remaining Mora cluster together into a single massive ball, and you will it towards the wreckage of the city with a little mental exertion.

It crashes down into the heart of the city, right where Rex Lapis once died, and it then erupts as all the force keeping it together simply ceases to do so.

Golden coins and human gore scatter in every direction as fleeing civilians are reduced to mulch by this world's most ostentatious fragmentation explosive.

Osial howls in glee, currents of vicious wind tearing humans from the streets and into his waiting maw as he dives again and again.

In the distance, there is a roar.

The earth shakes to its foundations as immense stone pillars rip free, aimed for Osial, their normally flat tops ground to geometrically perfect diamond spearpoints.

"Morax," Osial sneers. "Come to watch your miserable excuse for a city die under my wings?"

The being that appears then is not Zhongli, or even Rex Lapis. It is Morax. An ancient dragon, Archon of Geo. The God of Contracts and War. This is no simple serpent, no puppet meant to be majestic and awe-inspiring - this is the war-form. The true face of a draconic god, plated in metals hewn from the heart of the world, innards glowing with yellow-orange energy.

This Morax is the face of death.

Morax roars in wordless fury at his old foe... but then his eyes catch sight of you.

The roar becomes deafening, full of such hatred and vitriol that Osial briefly forgets to fly from surprise, leading him to dive instead.

On some cruel instinct, you give Morax the smuggest, most shit-eating grin you can conjure, and you mouth 'where were you when they needed you?'

If looks could kill, Morax would have just reduced you to subatomic particles.

You gesture to Osial, your gift helping to subtly translate, and he launches up into the storm and the highest points of the atmosphere.

Morax follows, howling threats in a language you don't know.

(The elements lean forward in their seats. You've just invited them to the best fight this eon. Bets are already being made. Geo and Anemo both grin at the other, eager to see whose champion is superior.)

Meteors fall, carved apart by wind.

Voices carry for thousands of miles, roaring in pain and glee and fury.

Bones shatter, scales are torn apart, wounds ooze blood in quantities enough to bathe Liyue in a red rain... and Gods war.

On the ground, the storm has only increased in strength, now that so much more energy is being poured into the area.

Not helping is the hail of immense stone pieces.

Where godly blood lands, life is burnt away by the acidic touch of divinity.

Those who did not flee before can flee no longer without risking swift, painful death.

(Ganyu weeps, the work of thousands of years falling apart in less than five hours. What use were her labors?)

(Ningguang vanishes into a bunker beneath the stone, where she can wait out this chaos. She will build herself back up. This is simply a setback.)

(Hu Tao watches from a distant field as her home is utterly destroyed.

...some morbid little part of her gleefully remarks that business is about to be skyrocketing.)

(Shenhe is unaware of this happening, having been spirited away into Cloud Retainer's realm the moment said Adeptus realized just who had been given a burial at sea.)

(Yanfei is luckily out of the country right now, instead in Fontaine to deal with a reappearing case she'd long thought solved.)

(Xinyan assists in evacuation efforts, her flames burning away godsblood and rain to shelter those nearby.)

(Chongyun and Xingqiu barely manage to stem the tide of raging Hilichurls that are dead set on killing the escaping civilians.)

(Kequing lies in the collapsed rubble of a multi-story building, her Vision repeatedly shocking her as Electro takes the moment to be immensely petty.)

(Xiao drowns in his Karmic Debt, feathers trying to force their way through his skin as his more animalistic instincts refuse to obey.)

(Baizhu has already fled, knowing that he neither can be nor wishes to be of use in this fight. His work is not yet done.)

(Yaoyao stands guard over the population who have made it to her home village.)

(Yun Jin helps to gather scattered families back together amongst the crowds of refugees. Xiangling and her father work to feed the masses while they are all displaced.)

(Beidou watches the storm from the far horizon on the deck of the Alcor. Going in would be suicide, but not helping is just as unthinkable. She must choose, but the sheer weight of the choice is paralyzing. The fleet follows behind her, whether that is into certain death or into retreat.)

(Qiqi stands in the heaviest torrents of the storm. Where the blood of gods stains her skin, life is breathed back into dead flesh.))

Far above in the heavens, Osial and Zhongli are tangled, claws gouging into the new Anemo Archon's innards as coils attempt to shatter the Geo Archon's ancient spine.

There is a deafening crack as Morax's spine bends in a way it was never supposed to.

Ribbons of intestine hang from the massive wound in Osial's underbelly.

Both of them begin to fall to the face of Teyvat tens of thousands of miles below, and you are along for the ride.

Osial lets out a wheezy cackle as he tightens his grip on Morax, drowning in his own blood.

Morax writhes, wings unresponsive.

You hug yourself against Osial. Impact comes far sooner than you expected.

There is darkness.

When you wake, you are in the shallows of an immense crater, exactly where Liyue Harbor should have been. The moon glows pale white above you.

Shattered pillars and ruined buildings jut from the not-quite-bay.

Sitting next to you is a not-very-undead Qiqi. She gives you a relieved look when she sees you're alive. You offer her a thumbs up, as though that will solve the issue.

She accepts it with as much grace as anyone in her situation can and returns the thumbs up, smiling at you faintly.

Beneath you is Osial, dying from mortal wounds but still very alive. Somewhere in the distance is a similarly wounded Morax.

You climb down from your dying companion and come to face him.

"Ah... good. You still live. I did not fail you," Osial gurgles. "Thank you... for helping me settle the score, my maker."

You tell him to hold on. You're sure there's something you can do to heal him. He lets out an amused huff.

"Your kindness is touching, but I know my end is coming. I can feel the Abyss."

You refuse. Osial is yours, damn it. Your friend. Your first Archon. Your protector.

A feeling wells up inside of you.

He will not die. You won't allow it.

Your eyes burn as tears stream down your face. You rest a hand against his scaly face, and ask him to trust you one more time.

"Of course. Always."

You let your power flow. The world erupts into starlight as a new constellation is born, sky adorned with a new pattern of stars: Serpens Fidelis.

The loyal serpent.

Where once laid your dying companion is now a male of mortal human size, who sits up, obviously quite discombobulated. He manages to find his feet, though repeatedly stumbles as he takes his first steps.

Scarred tan skin faintly reflects the moonlight, bathing him in an ethereal glow. Silver locks of hair with deep blue accents seem to drink in the moonlight.

He turns to you, finally, and grins, canine teeth closer to fangs than human, Cherenkov blue eyes glimmering with undeniable joy.

"Thank you, my maker. This new form is far less damaged."

From his right hip dangles a Hydro vision. The Anemo Gnosis is in your hands instead. It appears the cost for his life was you reclaiming the archonhood you bestowed upon him.

He is otherwise entirely nude and doesn't particularly seem to notice this. Maybe that's because he's never had to wear clothes before.

You kindly point this out to him, more than a little embarrassed on his behalf, your hands over Qiqi's eyes so she doesn't see.

Holy shit, was he always that built?

He grins at you, shooting you a salacious wink. "Yes, yes. Get an eyeful of my statuesque physique. I worked for many years on it."

You ask how he managed that as best you can while dying of embarrassment.

"You become quite proficient at lifting weights and swimming at the same time while trying to struggle free of stone javelins pinning you to the seafloor," he says mildly.

He manipulates the water and stormclouds into a set of luxurious robes. A sash at his waist now holds the Hydro vision.

On his back rests a fragment of the Jade Chamber carved into a massive greatsword.

"Shall we gloat over our dying adversary together, my maker?"

Yes, this sounds like a phenomenal idea.

You let Qiqi go, now that Osial is not running a one-hydra nudist colony, and she follows behind the two of you like a lost puppy.

Morax has returned to the form of Zhongli by the time you get to him.

The Vortex Vanquisher lies shattered at his side, and hundreds of rips and tears in his clothes display his grievous wounds.

Osial confidently struts over.

"Why hello, hated enemy mine~"

Zhongli weakly snarls up at him, and also at you, his fists curling feebly at his sides.

"Damn you both. May the Creator strike you both down into the depths of the Abyss."

Osial lets out a small 'snrk', begins to lowly chuckle, and slowly escalates to peals of howling, gleeful laughter. Zhongli just looks offended while Osial laughs himself nearly sick.

"By the maker, you have no idea who you're talking to right now, do you?" He wheezes, tears in his eyes, clutching at his sides.

"The destroyer of my people and an abomination wearing the skin of the Creator of All." Zhongli fires back, indignant. "Are you blind?"

"Go ahead and pray for our maker to save you. See what happens," Osial says, grinning cruelly.

Zhongli murmurs a prayer for protection from evil.

A faint glimmer of magical energy escapes his lips and swirls just above your hands. You cringe at it and wave it away like it's smoke.

Zhongli goes ghost-white, his eyes becoming impossibly wide.

"Creator?"

Tears bead at the corners of his eyes as his actions finally begin to play back in his mind.

"Please, my maker, forgive m-"

Osial cuts off his head.

"What an asshole," he snickers, some blood now on his cheek, a massive grin on his face. "I'm glad he's dead."

You just look at him like he's crazy. Which he probably is.

"Oooooooooohhhh, that's who you are." Qiqi says from behind you, having caught on to your true identity.

Another massive hydra erupts from the ocean in the distance and lets out a sound akin to whalesong.

"HI, HONEY!" Osial yells in her direction before immediately bolting towards her.

You let out a distressed sigh. Exactly what kind of mess have you just gotten into?

(Taglist:

@the-dumber-scaramouche @thatdeadaquarius @ssak-i @imyme20 @fried-lotud @acacla @itz-luna @iruiji @crierofirony @itsredactedlove @sweetsthetik @leafanonsforest @oxyotl @kkazuyass @featuredtofu @resident-cryptid @d4y-dr3am3r @crimson-ashes @red1sg0n3 @the-real-fandom-person @code-roevember @yourlocalsourwolf @rhoswen-drake @minimari415 @reversearrowhead @call-me-shroom @evqnescents @valeriele3 @mochicurls21 @sinnful-darling @fleshdotmp4 @ash1 @chilling-on-the-moon @fluffy-koalala @extremelytoastybread @euphoricaldemise

This should probably be all of you.))

#genshin sagau #sagau gnaw #sagau cult au #genshin angst #hopefully one of you likes this #WOOO FIRST DEATH #of non you people i mean #im a little late but whatever #osial is a stud and you cant convince me otherwise #totally has the anime pretty boy muscles

[thomas--bombadil]

Far from the Midwest, deep within a European forest, lies an unassuming pond. It was made in an instant, long ago, by a V2 rocket, chain bomb or cluster bomb.

Nature reclaimed it and made it her own. Now, it is a place of peace and beauty.

How many of these types of ponds exist?

How many more of these ponds are being made in Europe every day; again?

#Europe #Poland #nature photography #landscape photography #V2 Rocket #V2 #polska #Eastern Europe #polen #war #War #wojna #slava ukraini #original photography #original photographers #poland #chain bomb

[commodorez]

Saturn V first stage F-1 engine cluster - US Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL

#saturn v #saturn rocket #us space and rocket center #huntsville #project apollo #f-1

[moralesmilesanhour]

teamwork (makes the dream work...?) pt. 5 [RE-UPLOAD]

summary: presentation day!

wc: ~300+

A/N: hiiii so I'm re-uploading because the original version of this post wasn't letting me link to the next part lmao. I promise the epilogue exists I just couldn't edit the post my bad

prev end

You released a shaky breath as the group just before you wrapped up their presentation. Miles gave you a sidelong glance, noticing the way you clutched your lab report in both hands. You felt him elbow you softly before the two of you took your places at the front of the classroom. Before pulling up your slideshow, he gave you a quick thumbs up and a lopsided smile from behind the laptop. You smiled back at him, and began reciting the results of your lab report.

Miles watched you slowly get comfortable talking as the presentation progressed. The strength and clarity he had heard the other day slipped back into your voice and made it solid. Something clicked when he realized the grin hadn’t left his face for the duration of your part.

The presentation didn’t drag itself out, and was over as soon as he got done working through your chosen problem on the whiteboard. It was the trajectory of a rocket being launched into orbit, nothing crazy. To him.

In a rare show of leniency, Ms. Jones ended class right before the bell.

“Excellent work, everyone. Enjoy your weekend!”

A cluster of backpacks all but swarmed the back door and filtered out into the hallway, excluding you and Miles.

He was doing the neck scratching thing again when you turned to him.

“Thanks for working with me, I think we did a pretty good job,” you said.

The boy nodded wordlessly, and you raised an eyebrow. “You good?”

“Y-yeah, I just…” 

Miles shook his head.

“Do you still need to study? For English, I mean.”

You shrugged and answered, “I’m almost done with the book, but I could come over tomorrow if you want.”

If you want. 

Miles sniffed. He didn’t “want” anything.

“I mean, we gotta essay coming up, so…”

“Ah, shit, I forgot about that. My final draft’s not even finished,” you winced, throwing your book bag over your shoulder. “Alright, tomorrow, then. Same time?”

Miles fought back another smile, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Yup. Don’t eat up all my momma’s food while you’re there, though.”

“No promises.”

#miles morales x reader #miles morales x black!reader #earth 42 miles x reader #earth 42 miles morales x black!reader #earth 42 miles morales x reader #moralesanhour

[happyk44]

Zeus being like "we need to kill our living children because prophecy" and Hades is just "fuck you" and defies Nico and Bianca instead. Bianca is seething when she sees little Percy, Annabeth, and Grover sneak into the Underworld. She's spent way too much time with Zagreus.

But Nico is curious. He thinks the little heroes are cute. Watches them succeed to get around Cerberus. Watches one of them suddenly flying towards the pit. The other two are panicking.

Poor kids, he thinks, and he touches down in front of them. Catches the satyr with one hand. He yanks away, determined to get to the pit but Nico is an unmoving as a dead man. Just stuck to the ground and peeling off his wild shoes with ease. The satyr is lowered gently to the ground. Nico melts the shoes into shadows.

"You look hungry," he says.

They all stare at him. Then scamper into a little clustered triad. The girl nudges the boy and he huffs before clearing his throat.

"Um, Lord Hades-"

Nico's lip twitches. "I am not my father, little demigod. Do you wish to speak with him?" The boy's soul is untamed waves and a hurricane. "Ah. My cousin." He pauses. Gives it a think. "Perseus, right?"

The kid goes a little pink around his cheeks. Flushes down to throat and up through his ears. "Uh, yeah. Um. It's Percy." He blinks. Clears his throat. "Percy Jackson."

Nico thinks about it. "I think I'll just say Perseus, if you don't mind. I quite like it as a name. Strong. Heroic."

"Yeah, sure," Percy says quickly. His soul is a sea of panic. Tinged red around its edges. Tastes syrupy sweet at the back of Nico's throat. "You- I-"

The girl saves him. "We would like to seek an audience with Lord Hades. If we can." After a beat, she tacks on a tinny, "Please."

"Annabeth Chase," Nico says. She stiffens, eyes going big. "Athena's child." He glances over to the satyr. "Grover Underwood. Cute name. Fits you." Grover stammers before thanking him quietly. "My sister is with my father now. I'll see if I can steer her away. She's not always the best company to have when speaking with Papa. Especially with what is going on now."

The kids twitch and he stifles the urge to giggle.

The ground melts beneath them. They gasp aloud as earth turns to obsidian tile. His room is clean and tidy. Filled to the brim with silly junk throughout history. Trinkets and toys he's picked up from his travels too.

"You can wait here," he says. And he disappears without another word.

It takes longer than it should, to steer Bianca out of the way. Hades is no help. Bemused all the while. Nico tries to get him to take a nicer stance, but he's stubborn. Normally so is Nico, but he can't imagine the trio in his bedroom are taking his absence easily, so he caves and let's his father being as intimidating as he wants.

Personally, Nico can't see it. His father is his father. Whether he's twenty-feet tall with black eyes and a crown of nightmares, or six foot six with warm hands and smiles.

"Be nice, Papa," he says as he guides the children into the throne room.

Hades grunts and glares down at his nephew. Nico sighs and stands in the back. They are children. Perhaps if they were older he'd care less. But he remembers what it is to be twelve years old and staring at a god that wished you were dead an unbreathing.

It is haunting and hurting.

They speak and it's confusing. The children are lost with every word his father speaks. His father is getting more and more annoyed with every word they speak.

No one is lying, but no one has the reality of the situation at hand. Nico strides forwards, out of the shadows. Hades's eyes are angry, but he quiets. He does not like to shout in front of Nico. Not when the anger rockets back at Nico's soul like a mirror and leaves him winded. The trio goes silent.

He slides his hands through the flimsy material of the backpack. Electricity crackles at his skin. He flinches and steps back.

Percy is confused. His soul is a crashing thing, drowning his mind in panic untold. Annabeth is horrified. Her soul is sputtering. There is no logic to this. No facts to back up what she has discovered. She is unsure, for the first time in her life. Grover is on the verge of fainting.

"He didn't know," Nico says. "None of them did."

Hades scoffs, but let's Nico flip through the pages of their souls like a history book. Ares and the backpack. But that is not possible. He cannot touch his father's bolt, or Hades's helm. Not without permission and certainly not with his own bare hands. Further back, there is a face. Scarred and angry. He is giving Percy the shoes.

Grover takes them when his back is turned.

Smart creature, Nico thinks.

He lets goes and the trio breathes.

"There is a boy," he says. "I'll need to look at him, but I feel he has orchestrated this mess."

Hades's lips curl. He is unhappy. He wanted to blast his nephew to pieces and lock the others up for their troubles in bringing him along.

"You have got to stop talking to Bianca," Nico huffs. "Give me a day. I will head to camp-"

"No," Hades says.

Everything topples downhill. The Furies descend. Skeletons take charge. Shadows whip and hiss like volatile snakes.

Nico blinks and they are gone. Sunny grass, untouched by darkness. There's the crashing of the waves behind him. The kids are gasping. Nico steadies their ever-changing souls, collisions of nauseous colours.

"My mom," Percy gasps. His voice is on the edge of tears.

Nico stares at him. Then presses a cold hand to his shoulder. "She will be fine. My father knows what it is to have a mother lost to their child. She is a guest, although unwilling. No harm shall come to her."

"How-" Annabeth presses small hands to her face. "The bolt- how-"

"Luke Castellan," Nico says. "Is he a kind boy?"

Annabeth twitches, stares up at him, frustrated, confused. Grover answers in her stead. "He's a good person."

"Hmm." Nico turns to see his cousin waiting for them on the sand. "Even good people can be turned to do terrible things. Many people do terrible things in the name of good."

Percys soul gardens when he catches sight of their shared cousin. Ares's demeanour does nothing for Nico. But it fills the crevices of Percy's misery with boiling rage. Nico squeezes along his shoulder. Mats his soul with a softening quell.

"Breathe," he says. Ares approaches. Too calm. Too steady. The people around him scatter with every step. "Ares, you are an idiot." Dreams are awash in his soul. He is faintly pressed behind a matte wall. He laughs, carefree, amused. But behind that wall, his truer self is screaming. "I much prefer it when my sisters bully you. Rather than whoever is doing so now. Did you not notice the memories in your head turned awry?"

He scoffs. They banter. Nico lets Percy, angry and distressed at being played with, take the fight. He remembers the ways he wished his father would let him knock their family down a peg. When his siblings were blasted apart miles away in another state. His mother electrocuted and turned to ash in front of his very eyes.

As Ares lay panting on the sand, Nico takes a hold of his soul and clears the wall away.

"Next time stay vigilant. What would your mother think of you working with her father in this way?" He flicks the other god's forehead and watches him rocket down into the earth. The kids stare at him. Awed. Confused. Percy is wet and breathing hard, pink around his ears.

"You should return the bolt," Nico says. The wind sweeps. "In the meantime, this prophecy has waited far too long to pass." He sighs. "It should've been me. Or my sister. Someone long before your time, Perseus."

Nico pats his head and he squeaks. It's adorable.

"I will assist where I can," he says. He presses a token into Percy's hand. The other two jolt as similiar beads tuck into the flat of their palms. "Just give me a call."

The earth gives out beneath their feet and they disappear into sand and darkness. Nico runs his wrists over one another and glances up to the mortals pooling around the beach. Police officers looking mystified at the sudden absence of the two players in their so-called gun fight.

He will string a tale into their cores, a belief so certain no one can dash it away. And then he will retire to his father's side just as he did when he was ten years old, the stains of his mother's death lingering on his skin.

Certainly the three of them will make use of his tokens in due time. He will wait for them to do so.

And then he will help.

#nico di angelo #percy has a crush on nico in this au #he still also thinks that hades is powerful and hot shit but he's mostly interested in nico #who chooses to look around 15 or 16 #my writing #my fanfic #happy talks pjo #also nico doesnt talk like this normally! but he tries to imitate the way everyone rlse speaks in an otherworldly older than the trees way #so when the kids do call out for assistance hes just like oh my god i cant do this anymore fuck it #he also WILL use 40s slang and think nothing of it

[carionto]

Reckless? Nah - wreckful!

The day has finally come - Abby's Action Asteroids 2.0 is open for business!

Abigail was sitting in her ship, Victor 3.4, and tending to a few scratches she just got from Hector. "No matter how you struggle, ya little bum, mama will always give you belly rubs."

Ships were racing around the track, the obstacles were moving where they should when they should, tons of people were tuning in - everything was going smoothly. Well, except the parts that are supposed to be rough, like the random rockets. Or the surprise one-way holographic asteroids. Or the group of asteroid surfers.

Wait, they're not supposed to be here. Jumping between parts of the race track while ships are speeding through, constant pieces of micro debris flying every which way that, while not significant to a ship, can somewhat easily kill a Human in just their space suit.

They didn't sign the waiver!

So if they get hurt, it's gonna be Abby's fault and she'll have to not only pay their medical and/or funeral bills, the authorities might even shut down her operation! And after going through the bother of visiting the fancy HQ place and submitting whatever papers. All that work, gone, because of some idiots?

That's it, no more Miss Nice Gal, she's gonna round them up personally. Hmm, can't stop the ongoing race though, the participants are already on the final two laps, and this is opening day. If the competition gets cut short for something as small as some jokers barging in and endangering their lives, nobody's gonna care about next time!

No! This debut will go off without a hitch.

So, after some "careful" consideration, she quickly rearranged the engine cluster into a ring-like shape around the back cargo bay entrance and sped off.

As she got close to the first surfers, she hailed them: "Bet 50 Credits you're too chicken to jump in here!" as she set the engines to power up and down rhythmically in a circular pattern around the entrance, which also caused her ship to fly in a somewhat circular way. They ate up the challenge like moths and before she knew it, three of the eight surfers were in her hold.

What she didn't tell them is that there's an EMP field inside, so they can't talk to their buddies still outside about the trap. Over the next two or so minutes, just as the race was entering the final lap, there was only one surfer to go. However, seems they caught on to her little ruse, and were actively running away from her. For nearly three minutes, the little bugger kept dodging and weaving through the track and regularly coming this close to getting bodied by one of the racers.

Just as they felt they had left Abby in the metaphorical dust, a literal dust cloud suddenly surrounded them and they were now floating helplessly in a slightly green-tinged energy field. "I hate using these tractor beams, no sport, no flair, no rocket engines!" Abby muttered to herself in disappointment that she had to resort to an actually safe method of obstacle removal.

After the official race concluded, and Abby paid out the 350 Credits she promised, she announced, with great sadness embedded within the heart and soul of the text, that:

"Any future trespassers who get caught will be held in a gravity field until the final event of the day is over, so just sign the personal safety waiver!"

#humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humans are space oddities #humans are deathworlders #humanity fuck yeah #carionto

[happy-beeeps]

Day 11: Icicle

Summary: Din takes you shooting on a brisk, wintery day

WC: 560

Warnings: blasters, suggestive content but nothing NSFW, he's just kinda a giant tease.

Finally recovered from my respiratory infection! Let's get this show back on the road!

“Just like that, you’ve got it.” Din’s voice is heavy against your ear as you lean back into his chest, his arms holding you as you aim the blaster at the small can he’s set up outside the ship. You rock your shoulders back, stare down the blaster, look beyond the target and–

Miss spectacularly.

Honestly, it’s really spectacular. Your shot has managed to completely bypass the can and shoot a hole in a nearby ice patch, steam rising steadily out of the chilled water.

There’s a ringing in your ears mixed with Din’s throaty laugh, and you shake your head to knock both noises out. “There has to be something wrong with your blaster.”

“Course, because there’s no way there’s anything wrong with you.”

You do your best to ignore the way his voice drops an octave lower at his latest words, and try to settle yourself on looking at the can. “I don’t wanna shoot that anymore. It’s pissing me off.”

“Fair enough.” He pulls his second blaster from his hip and shoots it fast and easy, the can rocketing backwards off the snow crusted log it’s sat on so fast you’re not even sure if your mind registered it. “Let’s try something else, pretty girl.”

Din walks you over toward the mouth of a nearby cave, past snow-covered purple and blue trees and fauna, underneath the dim, glowing winter sky. Grogu floated closely behind, though you couldn’t see him, perfectly warm in his soft, enclosed pram.

You were perfectly fine with a vibroblade, and an excellent pilot. There had always been something with blasters you just couldn’t get. Sure, you could hit a large target, vaguely, and had enough skill to travel alongside Din and not die, but that was a long way from calling yourself good with a blaster. So, you had determined you were going to try to get better. By the maker, you had to. You couldn’t get worse.

You walked a few minutes away from the ship towards the cave, where a long frozen waterfall left shimmering  icicles down either side, and a few dipping over the mouth.

“Perfect. Let’s aim for those.” Din pointed up to the cluster of icicles, and you spun on your heel to face him.

“I can’t even hit a can.”

“Yeah but these are up. It’s harder to hit something right in front of you.”

“I literally don’t believe you but, sure.”

You moved to your stance and cocked the blaster upwards, getting ready to shoot. Din’s foot found the inside of yours and tapped between the two, spreading your legs just a bit. His hand worked itself on the small of your back, holding you flush against him, while his other arm pressed itself under yours, giving you a slightly different angle.

“Now just breathe into it, pretty girl, let it fly.”

You did. Closing your eyes for a moment and taking one breath, then two, then three, opinion your eyes wide before pulling the trigger—and being met with the clear sound of the icicle shattering. 

You spun on Din and grinned, and he pulled you in close before whispering. “Thatta girl. Let’s see if you can hit the rest.”

#the mandalorian #din djarin #star wars #din djarin imagine #din djarin x you #din djarin x reader #din x reader #dincember 2023

[ruthbancroftgarden]

Leucospermum reflexum

Leucospermum is a genus in the Protea Family, heavily concentrated in the winter-rainfall region in western South Africa. They are often called "pincushions" because of the way their long stigmas protrude from the flower cluster. Leucospermum reflexum is unusual in the way that the stigmas (the "pins") extend downward, suggesting a rocket blasting off - hence its common name of "rocket pincushion". It comes from the Cederberg, a sandstone mountain range to the north of Cape Town.

-Brian

#leucospermum #proteaceae #ruth bancroft garden