#and just generally empty maps with nobody

[koko2unite]

I just tried FFXI. I can't believe people lived like that

#everything is so clunky #level gap between missions too #and just generally empty maps with nobody #and the walk speed #oh the walk speed #this isnt fun at all #to the guy who told me its just like ffxii #jump off a cliff

[stomach-bugg09]

hi omg i love your oldest sister fics!!!! Maybe another where she is one of the most feared warriors in the clan ? and when they leave rhe forest she meets someone (romantic) at the new clan ? the sully family is probably not accustom to seeing her be romantic and in love.;)

summary: [y/n] sully is in love, and everyone is scared.

a/n: I LOVE THIS IDEA. LIKE SO VERY MUCH. thank you so much anon for this beautiful experience, it was so fun to write. i actually am really proud of this, given it's pretty long ( 4.6k words, oml !! ) and i put a good ( insane ) amount of effort in. i also kept using this as a way to take a break from studying, so thanks for keeping me from burning out anon! feedback, reblogs, and reqs are always appreciated !!

tags: @pinkhotdogsfr @eywas-heir @historygeekqueen

warnings: literally none, maybe some language, a bit of angst at first ( just sad — i made myself very unhappy ), emotionally hurt + comfort, a sickening amount of fluff, really long, [y/n] x oc but this oc is actually such a sweetie pie i love him, [y/n] being the cutest little patootie of all time

change is scary

every omaticayan knew of [y/n] sully. they knew she was a fierce warrior, a strong warrior. they knew she took after her mother, the archery gene running strong through her veins right next to her urge to protect.

they all knew that, being the oldest child of their olo’eyktan, she was expected to fill the position of the tsahik one day in the far future, and her training reflected just that. not only was she deeply connected with eywa thanks to the teachings of both her mother and grandmother, but she was intelligent when it came to war. she sat in at every single war meeting with her father, silently taking note of everything that was exchanged.

after seventeen long years of listening and learning, [y/n] was considered one of the strongest warriors in their clan. she was well respected, more respected than even some of the elder warriors.

part of her soul felt pride. pride in herself, in her abilities. but, another part of her soul felt empty. almost like she’d missed a third of her childhood because she’d been busy shaking the hands of generals from other clans.

but now… now all of that, all of that time wasted as she straightened her shoulders and stood tall in front of clan leaders, time wasted as she stared at raid maps, time wasted as she trained with the most skilled warriors of the omaticaya… it was all going down the drain.

“we must leave. it is unsafe here.”

she fought tears, told herself she was far too mature for them. she swallowed screams, told herself she needed to set an example for her siblings. the only time she broke was the night before they left, leaving her on her knees before the tree of souls, begging eywa, “why? why must you do this to me? just when i was this close?”

[y/n] was not sad. no, she was angry. but she had nobody to be angry at. it wasn’t like her parents were wrong for wanting to keep her family safe.

maybe if i’d killed that avatar when i had the chance, she cursed herself, remembering when her arrow’d been pointed directly at the heart of quaritch, only being interrupted by the other avatar that shot at her. thanks to the will of eywa, he was a terrible shot and she came out unscathed.

she held a stoic look upon her face during the ceremony in which her father passed along the title of olo’eyktan to tarsem. it wasn’t that she had anything against tarsem and his mate—in fact, she thought they were considerably good choices. but that was supposed to be her. that was supposed to be her ceremony.

by the time they had to leave, [y/n] had nothing left, no energy left to try and hold it down. so, instead she remained silent, because if she decided to say a farewell to even one person… she knew herself well enough to not trust the floodgates.

as they flew, her butt growing sorer and sorer by the second, she remained distant. the air was calming, the breeze allowing her a moment to breath.

she was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she didn’t notice her family exchange glances, all silently deciding to leave [y/n] to work through it herself. they knew her, and they knew she would not let them help. i’m fine, she would say, and she would keep saying it until they finally gave up.

it was only when they reached their new home in the metkayina clan that she began to show herself again, but even that was the tiniest peek.

as ronal circled the group of foreigners, her hands trailing over them as to check out what features they offered, [y/n] immediately felt on alert. her ears perked, eyes narrowing at the tsahik, a growl growing at the back of her throat.

when she held up lo’ak’s hand for the entire clan to see, as if shaming him for his lineage—a lineage that he was born into without a choice, [y/n] stepped forward, teeth bared. immediately, neteyam pulled her backwards, just as jake did with neytiri.

her action pulled ronal’s attention, their eyes locking. the tsahik circled her, watching as [y/n]’s tail swished, lip curled in disgust.

ronal did not miss as her eyes flared for even a split second as she stopped in front of the girl, grabbing [y/n]’s face with one hand. the air immediately got tenser, tonowari and jake sharing very similar expressions of concern, the latter grabbing his mate before she could make any dumb decisions.

[y/n]’s tail fell to a pause, her air stuck in her chest as she stared directly into the metkayina woman’s eyes.

“if you are seeking refuge, i suggest that you don’t threaten anyone.”

[y/n] bared her teeth at that, fangs making a show just for her. “if you are seeking to make enemies with the toruk makto, then why don’t you just say that?”

now, in this moment, most members of the metkayina clan were justifiably upset. speaking to their tsahik like that? well, of course they would be angry. but, in the crowd of metkayina stood one boy, his eyes unable to leave that girl. that girl who was full of anger, of spite, of bitterness for the world. she was captivating.

as the rest of the crowd gasped at the seventeen year old’s words, he couldn’t help but laugh, immediately covering his mouth as his friends sent him a look and an elbow in the ribs.

the only other person to smile at her words was, shockingly, ronal. the tsahik felt the smallest grin rise to her lips, taking her hand off of the girl’s face and taking a step back. as soon as she was back with tonowari, it was like the look of amusement had never been there.

once she’d stepped back, silence seemed to settle in the air. it was heavy, weighing on [y/n]’s shoulders just as much as the look her father sent her. behave, remember? he seemed to be telling her.

her mother’s look of pride made her feel a bit better, though.

as a way to regain the attention of the crowd, tonowari cleared his throat. “toruk makto is a great war leader. all na’vi people know his story.” he then locked eyes with jake. “but we metkayina are not at war.” [y/n]’s eyes followed tuk, watching as the small girl walked over to her father, allowing for the father to pick her up and hold her in his arms. “we cannot let you bring your war here.”

jake nodded in agreement. “i’m done with war, okay. i just.. want to keep my family safe.” at that, they seemed to pull closer together, neytiri grabbing the hands of her two eldest daughters.

“uturu has been asked,” the mother added, her eyes meeting those of tonowari.

the silence was deadly. [y/n] could feel pins of anxiety, her breath getting shallower. and what if they send us away? where else would we go? just keep trying and trying to find someone to take us?

after what seemed like forever, tonowari turned away from them and towards the people. “toruk makto and his family will stay with us.” immediately, relief flooded her body, her head dropping in appreciation. “treat them as your brothers and sisters. they do not know the sea, so they will be like babies taking their first breath.” at that, [y/n] felt her mother cringe beside her. and, as a wonderful way to finish their introduction to the metkayina people, he added, “teach them our ways so they not suffer the shame of being useless.”

she felt neteyam’s grab her tail at that, tugging it to keep her from saying anything stupid.

“okay,” jake sighed, relieved. he turned to his family. “what do we say?”

“thank you,” they all mumbled except for tuk whose tone was very genuine.

[y/n], however, remained silent. at a sharp look from her father, she swallowed. “thank you,” she added, exhaling a deep breath.

beside tonowari stood two kids, a boy and a girl. “my son ao’nung and my daughter tsireya will show your children what do,” he informed the family. [y/n] stifled a chuckle as the boy, ao’nung, tried to argue his way out of it. “it has been decided,” tonowari shut him down.

tsireya, however, looked more than happy to do it, and based on the way her baby brother was staring at the metkayina girl, lo’ak didn’t seem to mind either. “come, i will show you our village.”

if there was one thing that shocked [y/n] during her time in awa’atluI, it was that she horridly terrible. terrible at everything. from riding an ilu to being a quick swimmer. it was awful. and maybe the whole brink of the problem was the fact that she could barely hold her breath for a time, making it nearly impossible to learn to do anything else.

it’d been a few weeks of relearning the ways of life, and it felt as if she was making absolutely no progress. the simple things, such as food and even dancing, came easy to her. but learning to make food and dance was not going to make her a successful warrior, and even tonowari knew they needed to train her to fight with them based on the stories that her father told of her. ( he also recognized her the moment that ronal faced her off—how could tonowari forget the face of one of most mature eight year olds that he’d ever met way back in the day when he visited the omaticaya for a war meeting. )

but, for the love of eywa, [y/n] was useless. completely and utterly! and the fact of it made her sick to her stomach.

ao’nung was her first teacher, and he was a complete imbecile. tsireya was patient with her, but her optimism made me feel even guiltier by the day. eventually, one day out of the blue, the two children of ronal and tonowari brought forth a male.

this male was around [y/n]’s age. he was tall, muscular, and based on his tattoos, he was an announced warrior of the metkayina. tsireya introduced him as fali.

it turned out, based on further conversation between [y/n] and tsireya, that fali had grown up with the two kids. he was the son of respected warrior, a warrior that was considered ronal’s best friend. in a way, fali was like their big brother.

at that, [y/n] thought that… maybe they could be friends. maybe they had more in common!

she was wrong, and after a days of knowing him, she came to the conclusion that their older sibling roles happened to be the only thing in common.

while [y/n] was smart, responsible, respectful… fali was stupid, annoying, and careless. it was driving [y/n] up the wall! if he was the “older sibling,” why did he egg ao’nung on? if he was the “older sibling,” why did he dare the younger boys to go beyond the reef? if he was the “older sibling,” why was he so… reckless?

so, to say that [y/n] was exhausted with both him and the entirety of trying to rewire her brain, well… that would be a major understatement.

but, alas, she was still expected to learn. unfortunately for her, she took the role as the older sibling quite seriously, and she tried to set a good example out of herself!

now she treaded water in the middle of the reef, the sun beaming down on her face and shoulders. in front of her floated fali, the boy drifting stomach up with his hands rested behind his head.

[y/n] did not look amused, as unfortunate as fali found it. he was letting the sun practically burn his face off, and she wouldn’t even smile!

after an excruciating amount of time, fali let out a yelp of surprise when he felt her hand grab his tail, yanking him downwards. when he resurfaced, she had the faintest shadow of a grin. she nearly drowns me and she still can’t smile fully. what is wrong with her?

while [y/n] thought fali to be reckless and far too carefree, fali found her to be way too uptight. i mean, sure, old habits die hard after being raised as the future tsahik, but couldn’t she let loose once in a while?

“can we please start?” the girl asked, tone exasperated.

he rolled his eyes, a smile playing at his lips. “well, i apologize. i didn’t realize you were so eager to learn. i mean, you usually just complain.”

[y/n] sighed, sending him a look of annoyance. he does not shut up, does he? but, he wasn’t wrong… however, she didn’t let him know that her heart dropped once he decided to actually start teaching her for the day.

it was an unusually long lesson, but it was filled with the same issues as every other day. fali telling her what to do, [y/n] being unable to do it, [y/n] getting mad at herself, fali trying to help her fix it, [y/n] telling him that she’s fine, fali stepping back and watching her battle herself… it was always a pleasant time.

this time, however, things just seemed to be a little more on edge. she seemed to be a little more annoyed. at him, at herself. she was a balloon ready to burst, and fali was bracing himself for the moment that she did.

it was after the sixth time in which she failed to breath correctly that he knew it was going down. he watched her face flush, eyes narrowing as she continued to try and fix it.

“no, [y/n],” he offered, voice soft. she always made him feel guilty, guilty of ever getting annoyed. he knew that she was trying her best. “just… breathe from here. pretend as if there’s a flame within your belly, offering your lungs support and warmth.”

“i’m trying!” she snapped, eyes brimming with tears before she quickly turned away, eyes avoiding his eyes.

the two faded to silence, simply sitting on a rock in the middle of the reef, staring at the setting sun ahead of them. the horizon was gorgeous, a beautiful orange contrasting the blue of the sea.

they sat there, in silence, until just before eclipse.

as they neared curfew, [y/n] inhaled deeply, preparing herself to get up and leave. but, a gentle hand on her knee stopped her. she turned to fali.

“do you know what i think?” he began, voice gentle. “i think that you are more than capable to do this.”

[y/n] scoffed. “if that were true, i would be out there, not stuck with… with you!”

at that, he huffed a laugh, running his fangs over his bottom lip. “i’m going to ignore that comment and continue getting to my point,” he jokes, his eyes widening at the smallest flicker of a smile on her lips. “i believe that something, whether you realize it or not, is keeping you from being successful—my guess being that it’s subconscious—but i digress. i believe that you are scared, [y/n]. scared of doing it right, scared of becoming one of the metkayina because once you are one of our people, you feel like you are betraying your home.”

the girl beside him shook her head in disbelief. “you believe? or you know? because you sure said that—that soliloquy—as if you know me.” [y/n] stood up, taking a few steps backwards. “i have known you for seven days, fali. seven days! and suddenly you decide that you can analyze me?”

fali laughed at that. “seven days is enough for you to decide that you hate me!” he pointed out, a disbelieving smile playing on his lips.

“well, you wear everything on the outside. every bit of stupidity, recklessness, carelessness.” she grit her teeth. “you are an open book, and i am closed. that is the truth.”

“i wear what i want to wear,” fali argued, standing up to face her, the two getting closer by the second. they got closer by the insult thrown. “you think i am dumb, but i am not. i am smart enough to make it so that people like you—people who do not care to look past their own bubble—cannot see my vulnerabilities.”

[y/n] bared her teeth. “you think me ignorant? blind, even? i have seen more of the world than you, i have fought dream-walkers, watched as my baby siblings had death looming above their heads. you are clueless to what is beyond awa’atlu.” a growl built in the back of her throat, their faces extremely close together. “i build my—my ‘bubble,’ as you called it—because i know what is beyond your dimwitted understanding!”

the two were silent, the tension electric between them. behind them the sun was set beyond the horizon, eclipse having already passed. waves lapped at the rock, the incoming high tide making it so their feet were splashed with the salty water.

as they stared at each other, a sense of understanding seemed to bless both of them. fali’s eyes never left those of [y/n]... her ( beautiful ) narrowed eyes. and [y/n] didn’t miss the way that the moons reflected on fali’s aquamarine skin, his bioluminescent freckles splattering the sides of his face.

[y/n] could have sworn she felt herself lean in, towards him, until the familiar call of her mother brought her back to reality.

“[y/n]?” neytiri called from their marui.

the girl swallowed, stepping back quickly. she cleared her throat before yelling back, “coming!” and with one last look at fali, she dove into the waters.

the next few days were odd, to put it simply. suddenly, there was no aggravation towards each other, but it was much more tense in an… awkward way.

a part of [y/n] was filled with spite, and by the time they got to working again, she was doing better than she had been for weeks. she was actually making progress! and it was all to shove it in fali’s face.

unfortunately for her, fali was much more hesitant when it came to helping her. he refused to touch her stomach as to help her breathing, his movements stiff and scared, resembling that of a baby hexapede.

but, [y/n] didn’t need him…? the others found it extremely peculiar. one day, she’s out past curfew, and right after she suddenly fixed nearly all her mistakes. very odd indeed…

it did not take long for her first free dive. her breathing improved astoundingly, her swimming technique also getting better from watching tsireya when she showed kiri and tuk around the reef.

“do you see this shell?” fali held it up, the sunlight reflecting off of its shiny exterior.

she rolled her eyes. “yes, i see the shell.”

“that’s good.” he blinked, eyes shifting away from her’s with a sheepish grin. “uh, anyway,” he continued, clearing his throat. “i assume you understand the drill? i drop it, you find it.”

“yes, fali,” she sighed. “i am fully aware of how this works. now, i would rather get it done with soon so i don’t have to live in anxiety anymore.” [y/n] locked eyes with fali. “please just drop the shell.”

and he did. she swallowed as she watched it float down, the depths looking much more abyssal-like than they normally did.

“remember,” fali’s soft tone grabbed her attention, “there is nothing to fear. you are stronger than you know, and if you begin to doubt yourself… think of you returning with the shell and rubbing it in my face.” at that, [y/n]’s face flushed, embarrassed. he smiled at her expression. “yes, i know that’s the only reason you’ve suddenly been trying, but… if it works, it works.”

and for once, she smiled. actually smiled. and fali felt himself burst with pride. somehow, it felt better that it wasn’t one of his stupid jokes, or his silly slip-ups. no, he made her smile just by talking to her. by being fali.

stunned, fali only remembered that he was supposed to be helpful when she stared at him expectantly with those bright [e/c] eyes of her’s. he lifted his hands, miming lungs filling with air as he reminded, “deep breath. this is all yours. nothing to fear, only to look forward to.”

with that, the girl dove in.

underneath the surface, she felt at peace. for the first time ever, [y/n] wasn’t freaking out while submerged in the salty water. instead, her jaw seemed to gape in awe at the scenery around her.

the deeper she went, the more starstruck that she was. there were layers to this reef that she hadn’t even been aware of. layers that she’d only heard from tales of her siblings, not truly understanding how magical they actually were.

as she kicked her feet towards the ocean floor, she heard fali’s voice in her head. “the way of water has no beginning and end.” she caught sight of the shell. “the sea is around you and in you. the sea is your home, before your birth and after your death.” she stifled a cry of joy as a school of fish swam around her, tickling her sides with their soft touches. “our hearts beat in the womb of the world. our breath burns in the shadows of the deep.” she was nearly there, her hand outstretched to grab the small artifact. “the sea gives and the sea takes.” she got it! oh, eywa, she got it! it was in her hand! oh, how proud fali will be! “water connects all things.” she began to swim up, a smile stuck on her face. “life to death,” she resurfaced, “darkness to light.”

“fali!” she cried, spinning around in a circle to catch the eyes of the boy. “fali, look!” she held it up, her expression beaming with pride.

and fali couldn’t help it either, his own smile taking over his features. “[y/n]!” he exclaimed, jumping off of the rock and swimming to her. “you did it! oh, eywa, you actually did it!” he stared at the shell as they tread water. “oh, how proud i am!”

her silence caused him to turn, staring her in the eyes. “[y/n]?”

she swallowed, her eyes locked on the shell in her hands. “fali,” she began, voice quiet. “i have a wallowing fear that you were right.”

at those words, fali gaped silently. instead of answering right away, he began to tug her towards the rock, allowing for them to get out of the water so her could properly comfort her.

once she was settled on the rock, she carefully placed the shell down, pulling her knees close to her chest. she felt like a child again, helpless against her emotions. “i was scared. not of the ocean, not of swimming, not of drowning.” she looked up, locking eyes with fali. “i was scared of abandoning my people.”

a tear dropped from her eye, and fali immediately had her hands resting on [y/n]’s biceps. “hey,” he called softly, forcing her to look him in the eyes again. “you are not abandoning them. you are… learning. you are learning how to adapt, how to survive. in fact, i think that is more in touch with your culture and ancestors! you are just like them, trying to adapt and survive in a world that is trying to kill you.” she smiled a little at that. maybe he wasn’t so stupid. “you are not weak for fearing change… you are normal. it is okay to be normal every once in a while, as much as you enjoy being the big sister that is oh-so mature and oh-so strong.” his finger lifted her chin up, a soft smile on his lips. “because people who love you do not mind how mature, or strong, or stupid, or careless, or responsible, or up-tight you are. because you, [y/n], are what you are.”

once he was finished, he noticed that [y/n]’s tears were dried, a smile on her face. a look in her eyes had him floored… oh, she was so beautiful, wasn’t she?

luckily for fali, she seemed to think the same of him, raising her arm, grabbing the back of his head, and bringing his smiling lips against her’s.

the sully family knew and loved [y/n]. of course they did! she was their’s, afterall. but, they also knew that she was never this easy-going or even this happy.

both jake and neytiri knew they’d seared little moments of trauma into the brain of their eldest daughter, and they hated knowing that, but parenting is never easy. especially when she was expected to become the tsahik way back when.

but, ever since a few weeks ago, ever since she finally overcame her own issues regarding leaving the omaticaya, ever since she finally found someone that she loved as much as she loved her family ( and he seemed to love her even more ), she was a new person. a better person. a person who actually seemed to enjoy life.

neteyam and lo’ak were the first to become skeptical. ever since her successful free-dive, she’d been so.. giddy. it was not their big sister.

kiri started to catch on when she noticed [y/n] disappearing four hours at a time, and when she came back, she was ten times happier.

neytiri and jake were so wrapped up in the fact that their eldest was finally living a happy life, they didn’t once question, “hm, why could that be?”

it was only when [y/n] returned home a little late one night after the rest of the family, minus tuk since she was still quite young, had a busy day full of duties. she blamed it on finishing an errand with her new best friend, fali, but neytiri scanned her daughter’s body for any sign of injury. neytiri was just that type of mama bear!

“[y/n],” she began, eyes narrowed at her neck. “did you get bitten today? are the bugs bad on that side of the island?”

[y/n]’s face flushed almost immediately. she swallowed, grabbing her hair to cover her neck. “yeah—” she attempted, before tuk interrupted. [y/n] immediately cursed herself, remembering the stupid excuse that fali and her’d made up to cover-up their “hang-out” when tuk had walked in unexpectedly.

“uh, no, mom,” the youngest said matter-of-factly. “she was playing shark with fali. obviously.”

immediately, the sully family burst into confusion.

“[y/n]!” neytiri scolded, although her eldest daughter didn’t miss the amused smile that played on her lips.

kiri burst into laughter. “that’s why you’ve been so happy? because a guy? who even are you?” she teased.

lo’ak was absolutely losing his mind, face flushed from the laughter he was overcome by at the reality of it all. his big sister, little-miss-uptight, getting her first kiss before him and neteyam? unbelievable!

neteyam was absolutely shocked, face frozen in disbelief. “you? fali?”

jake, of course, was on immediate protective dad mode. “fali? the son of vi’ieo and fpai?” he questioned, eyes squinted at [y/n].

all [y/n] could do was sit there, a hand covering her mouth. of all people, tuk had to expose her. it’s always the ones you least expect.

but, despite the surprise of it all, the sully family was extremely happy. [y/n], the one who entered the metkayina by trying to one-up the tsahik and also deal with her own absolute soul-crushing homesickness, was making a life here in awa’atlu. and they couldn’t be more proud.

someone was suckered into a part ii

#avatar 2 #avatar the way of water #loak sully #neteyam sully #sully family x reader #sully family x y/n #tuk sully #tuktirey #sully family #sully siblings x reader #sully!reader #kiri sully #lo'ak x oldersister!reader #lo'ak sully #neteyam x sister!reader #neteyam #kiri #neytiri #jake sully #dad!jake sully

[raaorqtpbpdy]

Grave Discovery

Wes was so excited about having dug up some real evidence of ghosts that he forgets that police consider riding around with a corpse strapped to your bike suspicious behavior.

For the prompts: Wes Weston was proving it. Ghosts were as real as the dirt under his fingernails and the shovel he used to slice through grave earth. [from @ishouldgetatumbler], and Wes, tired and fed up with everyone not believing him, sets out on a mission. And this time, with the evidence in his hand, everyone will have no choice but to believe him. [from @ashboy-3]

Read also on AO3

[Warnings for graphic description of a corpse, police involvement, and grave robbing]

Wes Weston had bought a shovel.

It was more expensive than he would have thought, and he didn't get an allowance, but he did do odd jobs for neighbors every once in a while to fund his hobbies, racking up a respectable savings before spending it all at once on a new camera lens or basketball uniform. This time, he had spent it on a shovel.

He'd tried to borrow a shovel, but the apartment his family lived in only had a couple small potted plants, and you didn't really need a shovel for those if you didn't mind getting your hands a bit dirty. Nobody else in the building had any use for a large shovel like Wes needed either. And when he asked beyond his apartment complex, people started asking questions like 'what's a kid like you need a shovel for?' and he couldn't very well tell them he was going to dig up a grave.

So Wes had pulled together his savings, biked down to the hardware store, and bought himself a brand new shovel that cost him nearly twenty dollars after tax. Wes hadn't really been expecting it to cost more than five, but the clerk at the store assured him he wouldn't find a good, long-handled shovel cheaper anywhere else.

Wes had bought it, but checked elsewhere anyway, planning to return it if the clerk happened to be lying and he found a cheaper one. He didn't.

He grumbled in frustration anyway, as he rode home with the shovel zip-tied to the side of his bike. He'd wasted all that time riding to every hardware store and gardening supply store in Amity Park for nothing.

When he turned down onto his street, he noticed some of the neighbors looking at him funny when they saw the shovel, but he paid them no mind. Most of them already thought he was a bit of an oddball, so this probably wouldn't make their opinion of him any worse at least.

Wes locked his bike up in the apartment building's garage and headed upstairs. His father was working late, and Kyle was out skateboarding with his friends, so the apartment was empty when he went to his room to hide the shovel under his bed.

What he had to do would be an all day sort of task. Probably it would even take multiple days. He knew exactly what he was looking for, but he only had a general idea of where it was buried, or how deep. He would start tomorrow.

That night, he slept restlessly, anxious for what he planned to do the next morning, both excited and afraid.

He awoke early the next morning. Well before his family, who preferred to sleep in on weekends. He took his shovel with him down to the garage, and with it, he rode out to the edge of town.

There were miles of woods between Amity Park and Lake Eerie, but Wes didn't go very far. There was only so much distance three people carrying a hundred and twenty pounds of dead weight could have covered over the rough terrain of the woods. He wrapped his bike-lock around a tree just deep enough in to not be visible from the road, slung his brand-new shovel over his shoulder, and started walking.

There was a heavily marked up map in his pocket, but he'd memorized it by now, so there was no real need for him to consult it. Wes knew exactly where he was in relation to the road, the town limits, and Fenton Works, and that was all he needed. He'd done the math. He knew more or less where he needed to dig.

The shovel made a hollow metallic shink as it sunk into the soft forest floor.

He knew what he was doing. He knew the truth. And soon enough he would have all the evidence he needed to convince everyone else.

It shouldn't have been that deep, Wes thought. Even with three people together, it was doubtful they would have gone all the way down to six feet. In fact, he thought it was doubtful they would have gone deeper than three, but when his first hole got about four feet without finding anything, he shoved all the dirt back in and stabbed a stick upright into the ground to mark that he'd already dug there before moving on to the next spot.

Even if it took him all day, all week, all year, he would keep digging until he found what he was looking for. He was fed up with all the mockery and ridicule he faced from his peers and neighbors, and now he was determined. He was a man on a mission.

Wes Weston was going to prove it. Ghosts were as real as the dirt under his fingernails and the shovel he used to slice through grave earth.

He didn't find anything that weekend, and when he came home covered in dirt and leaves his dad made him do all the laundry. That didn't stop him from going out again next weekend.

He was so sure it was there. So sure he could find it.

On the third Saturday he spent digging holes in the woods, with calluses now forming on his hands and sweat dripping from his brow, he found it. His shovel hit something hard, and when he looked down into the hole he saw some dirty fabric that looked like it might once have been white, but was so badly stained now as to look brown.

Wes returned to his task with renewed vigor, digging wider and wider until the whole thing was visible.

For a moment he hesitated. It didn't... smell like he had been expecting it too. and though the white sheet wrapped around it was stained with mud, it didn't appear to be stained with... anything else.

Cautiously, Wes pulled back the edges of the sheet, wondering if what he'd dug up had been buried far far more recently than what he had been looking for. But no.

He had been expecting a reeking lump of rotting decay barely recognizable as the person this corpse had once been, but that was not what he found. What he found was the corpse of one Daniel Fenton, a student who still attended Wes' school, even in death, and the son of the town's local quote-unquote 'ghost hunters'. 

It was perfectly preserved, like he was only sleeping, except his skin was deathly pale, his eyes glassy and sunken, his cheeks gaunt. The body was covered in burns, as was the jumpsuit it was wearing, holes melted right through the rubber in places, and black scorch marks on the surface. But though it must've been buried there for months by this point, there was no bloating, no decay, and no smell of death. 

A cloud passed over the sun as Wes marveled at it in curiosity, and when the light dimmed, he could see that the corpse was glowing faintly.

Wes didn't know why, but he checked for a pulse. He pulled off one of the gloves, melted to the point of being nearly unrecognizable for what it was, and pressed his fingers to the corpse's wrist. 

Nothing. 

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Now all there was left to do was transport the thing back into town and show everyone. And this time, with the evidence in hands—or dragged along behind his bike, rather—they would have no choice but to believe him.

Wes wrapped the sheet back around the corpse and dragged it to where he left his bike, then took both of them to the edge of the road. He'd brought with him his skateboard and some rope. Wes almost never used his skateboard. He and Kyle had both gotten one from their aunt on their thirteenth birthday, but Wes had never gotten into skating like Kyle had.

He lifted the corpse onto the skateboard. It wasn't tall, but neither was the board very long, so it's feet still dragged on the road behind. It would have to be good enough, Wes decided as he lashed everything together and to the back of his bike.

The road was rarely busy, but on the weekend, there were a few cars carrying people out to the lake for fishing or camping or what-have-you, but Wes didn't especially notice or care. 

So single minded was he in his mission, that he didn't even think about how it would look for him to be pulling along a corpse behind his bike until he was stopped by the police.

"Uh... what's the problem, officers?" Wes asked.

"You mind showing us what you got under that sheet there?" One of the officers asked.

Wes grinned. "Absolutely officers!" he said. "What I've got here is absolute proof that ghosts are real, and you two get to be the first to see it!"

He loosened the ropes only slightly, planning to tighten them again once the officers acknowledged that he was right and brilliant and sent him on his way. Then he pulled back the edges of the dirty sheet to show the police officers the sunken face of... Danny... Fenton's... corpse....

Once Wes was literally staring in the face of what he had done, he suddenly had second thoughts about so eagerly showing his proof to law enforcement. Well... shit. It was too late now.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ," one of the officers breathed out. 

"Lay down on the floor and put you hands behind your back," the other shouted. "Down on the floor, now!"

Wes did as the officer said, mentally kicking himself for being so thoughtless in his excitement to have proof.

He was pretty sure that, technically speaking, he hadn't done anything illegal here. Digging in the woods wasn't illegal. They couldn't exactly charge him with obstruction of justice, or accessory to murder, or even a cover up, because he had been very specifically uncovering up something. It wasn't illegal to show people a dead body someone else had killed, especially not to show cops. They wanted you to do that.

Yes, this looked very very bad, but once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Wes was sure he'd be let go without any charges being filed... probably... hopefully.

"I know how this looks," Wes said, as he was handcuffed and roughly shoved into the back of the squad car. "But I want you to know that this is just a big misunderstanding. I discovered the body and was bringing it back to town to show people. Someone tried to hide it in the woods, and I found it there. I am not a murderer."

The police officers did not look convinced as one of them read him his Miranda rights and the other called for back-up to deal with the... well... the crime scene, he supposed. His bike was a crime scene now.

"Hey, am I gonna be able to get my bike back after this?"

"You have the right to remain silent," the officer reminded him. "Fuckin' sicko."

Never in his whole life had Wes dreaded a call home as much as he did this one.

Despite having definitely broken the law before, usually breaking and entering and privacy violations, he'd never actually been arrested for it. Now that he was being arrested, he technically hadn't broken the law, but it was looking increasingly less and less likely that anyone would believe him.

Luckily, he was a minor, so they weren't allowed to question him without talking to his parent or guardian first, but unfortunately that meant they had to call his dad in on his day off after he'd been working over time all week. His dad was a patient and understanding guy, but even he got grouchy when his day of rest was interrupted after a 60 hour work-week. 

"Wes..." his dad looked absolutely exhausted. He sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Why did I just get a call from the police telling me to come down to the station because my son had been found in possession of an unidentified corpse?"

"I didn't kill anyone," Wes said immediately. "He was like that when I found him."

His father sighed again, more deeply this time, and blinked tiredly at him.

"Why don't you explain this whole thing to me, from the beginning?"

Wes began to recount his theory about ghosts, about Danny Fenton. He explained how he'd learned that Fenton had somehow died, and that his friends, possibly with his help, had taken his body out to the woods and buried it. Then about how Wes had bought a shovel so he could find the body and show everyone the truth, that Fenton was dead, and ghosts were real, and he was one. Finally, he told his dad about being stopped by the police and arrested when they saw what he was transporting.

"But technically speaking, I haven't done anything illegal," Wes finished. "At least... I'm like 90% sure nothing I actually did was illegal. So this is all a big misunderstanding."

When he was done, his father just stared at him silently for a very long moment. When he spoke, he said only a single word, shaking his head, looking more tired world-worn than Wes had ever seen him

"Why?"

"Because I'm right!" Wes insisted. "People need to know the truth, that there a ghosts walking among us. They could be dangerous! And even if they're not, think about what this means for humanity! This is proof of an afterlife, that our souls can stick around even after we're dead. This is world-altering information, and I had to prove it, and I have the evidence now—"

"And you're in a holding cell!" His dad pointed out, tone cold and harsh. "Wes, you know I love you no matter what, and I never discouraged you from pursuing your hobbies and theories before, but this is a step too far, kid. There is a corpse involved now, and my fifteen-year-old son had been arrested under suspicion of murder. This is serious. Do you understand how much trouble you could be in if we can't prove that you aren't responsible?"

Wes snapped his mouth shut and swallowed before shifting his eyes downward and nodding guiltily.

His dad sighed once more and scrubbed his hands over his face. Evidently he'd rushed out of the house so fast he'd barely been able to change out of his PJs and didn't even get the chance to shave, because his face was scruffy, and his clothes were rumpled, and he hadn't properly aligned the buttons on his shirt.

"I'm sorry," Wes said. "I didn't mean for you to get dragged into this."

"No, don't... don't be sorry about that," his father said. "Be sorry about digging up a corpse and transporting it through the middle of town in broad daylight. I thought you were smarter than that."

"Yeah, I got over-excited," Wes admitted.

"Is this why you've been coming home covered in dirt the past few weekends?"

"Yeah. Are you mad?"

"Oh, you are doing everyone's laundry for the next year after this little stunt, mister."

"That's fair."

It wasn't long before an officer came to take Wes and his dad to an interrogation room, where Wes was handcuffed to the table.

"Is that really necessary?" his dad asked.

"It's standard procedure for suspected murderers," replied the cop gruffly.

His dad scoffed and rolled his eyes, and the cop sneered at him.

"You should really be taking this more seriously," the cop told him darkly. "Your son was discovered transporting a dead body through town without any indication of remorse for his actions. If the coroner determines it was murder, he could be tried as an adult."

"Maybe you should consider that I know more about it than you do right now, and take my lack of concern as a sign that you're blowing this whole thing out of proportion."

Wes gawked a bit at how coolly his dad was handling this. He knew the man was taking this situation as seriously as anyone, but he was acting very convincingly like he didn't think it was a big deal, and the cop seemed to be genuinely put-off by it. Wes had to hand it to his father, he was selling it well.

A few minutes later, a detective came into the room and dropped a thin file on the table. He sat down across from the Westons, took out a pen and notepad, and opened the file to reveal crime-scene photos of Wes' bike and the makeshift corpse trailer behind it. 

In the corner of his eye, Wes noticed his dad grimace in disgust, but he kept quiet

"Let's start with who this poor stiff is," the Detective said. It wasn't a question, and it left no room for debate.

"Daniel Fenton," Wes replied. "He is a freshman at Casper High."

The detective's eyebrows shot up in surprise at how easily Wes had answered him. "Sounds like you're gonna make this go nice and smooth for me," the detective said. "In that case why don't you go ahead and confess for me."

Wes scoffed. "Weren't you listening?" he asked. "I said he is a freshman at Casper High, not was. He's still a student there. I can guarantee you he'll be in class tomorrow."

"Now how's he gonna do that when he's stuck in a drawer at the morgue?"

"The same way he's been doing it for the last several months despite being buried in the woods," Wes said. "He's a ghost. Or... ghost-adjacent maybe. He's not an ordinary human, at least. And I didn't kill him. You can call him up yourself to come identify the body. I'll even give you his number."

"That's real cute," the detective said with a sneer. "But I'll take that number."

Wes gave it to him, and he wrote it down on his notepad to check later.

"Now, if you're really gonna claim you didn't kill him, why don't you explain just how his corpse happened to end up tied up to your bike while you rode into town?"

Wes explained again, just like he had to his father, the whole story, from the first time he realized Danny Fenton wasn't quite right, to finding the body and taking it into town.

The detective nodded along, occasionally interrupting to ask for clarification, or details, but it was clear he was just trying to catch Wes in his lie and didn't actually believe a single word he was saying.

"Alright, well we're gonna send someone to verify every single part of that story of yours," the detective said. "Until we get a cause of death back from the morgue, there's not much more we can investigate, since clearly you didn't kill him on your bike in the middle of town. We're done for now, but don't think for a second that this is the end. I'll send someone back to take you back to your cell in a minute."

There was no way Wes' dad could afford bail, so Wes made himself as comfortable as possible in his holding cell. Luckily, he didn't have to share it with anyone. That didn't really mean there was any privacy, just that he wouldn't have some drunk falling all over him.

He spent most of his Sunday there, bored out of his skull, although one of the beat cops let him have her newspaper when she was done with it. Then, late in the evening, the detective that had interrogated him came to the door of his cell, his face pale as a ghost, and opened the door with trembling hands.

"You're... you're free to go," he said, his voice weak and cracking with... fear?

"What changed?" Wes asked, stepping to the door of his cell.

The detective moved out of his way with a look of terror as Wes stepped around them. The fact that Wes was a good few inches taller than him probably wasn't helping him calm down.

"The uh... the victim," he managed to get out. "He's still alive."

Wes raised an eyebrow, and that was apparently question enough before the words just tumbled out of the man in a rush.

"He came to the morgue and... and he looked just like the corpse. Same DNA, same everything. Hospital records confirmed he doesn't have any twin, no explanation he just... he just said 'that's me, don't worry about it' and... and-and then he walked out afterwards like nothing was even wrong, like nothing was... fucked about the whole thing. He said you didn't kill him—that-that-that it was an accident and... fuck. I don't know how you did it. I don't know how anyone could do something like this, but if the victim's not dead, then... then...."

He shook his head. It seemed like he was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"You're free to go," he repeated finally.

"Don't supposed there's any chance of me getting the corpse back?" Wes asked.

The look the detective gave him wasn't just horrified, or baffled... it was broken. He gave Wes the most broken look the boy had ever seen, then mutely shook his head and stumbled down the hall as if he was either very drunk, or very much wanted to be. 

"Can I get my bike back at least?!" he called after the man.

"That's... a question for impound," came the warbling reply.

Wes frowned, but did not pout as he walked out of the holding area and to the front desk to see who he had to talk to about getting his bike out of impound. He couldn't get it back right away, and had to make an appointment to reclaim it. He would also need a photo ID and proof of ownership. He wasn't sure he even had proof of ownership. He'd bought that bike at a garage sale, so it wasn't like he had a proper receipt for it.

He'd have to figure something out before next Wednesday, but for now, it looked like he was walking home.

The next day at school, Danny found him and gave him a very angry talking to about violations of privacy, and the severity of disturbing someone's grave, unmarked though it may have been.

"I'm going to show everyone the truth, Fenton," Wes told him, unafraid of the monster before him. "Maybe I lost the corpse, but I'll find new evidence. And when I do, everyone will know the truth about you. Everyone will know what you really are."

Danny scowled and threw his hands up in frustration and left Wes alone.

The was nothing in the news about Wes' arrest, or the corpse. It seemed the police had chosen not to release any information about Wes' initial arrest until they had more information—and once they got more information there was simply no plausible way to explain it to the news outlets, so instead they decided to cover it up.

Maybe Wes should have been grateful that his arrest wasn't in the news, but he was mostly just frustrated that his evidence wasn't either. He'd worked hard to find that corpse, and now it was just going to sit in a drawer in the morgue, or a pauper's grave... not rotting.

#danny phantom #dp #wes weston #walter weston #corpse au #phic phight #phic phight 24 #fic #things i wrote

[sonqgmi-sims]

Part 2 out of my Custom Neighborhood series! You can find my video here! You can view my Neighborhood Templates video here!

Guidelines I follow as well as any helpful links to some name generators will be under the cut! ♥

Starting a new Neighborhood can be tough! Where do you even start? Well, this written guide and video above is here to help you get started!

STEP 1: Creating/Choosing a Template - If you want to start from COMPLETELY SCRATCH, open up SimCity 4 and create your own map! - If that's too difficult or you just don't want to (like me!), you can download maps off ModTheSims or use the ones already provided in-game for you! :)

STEP 2: Naming Your Neighborhood/Lots - Take inspiration from real life! - Generators also help A TONNN! Below I linked the ones I like most! Feel free to mix and match them to come up with more unique combinations!

Fantasy Name Generators (Town Names) Mithril And Mages - City Names Sims 2 Name Generator

STEP 3: Lot Planning - Personally, I like to keep Community Lots/Apartments near the center of the map, and Residential homes around the sides/edges - Decide if you want just Small, Medium and/or Large lots in your neighborhood! - Place them around the map to figure out a layout until you are satisfied!

STEP 4: Choosing Your Community Lots - Main Hood Essentials: Cemetery, Restaurant, Park, Clothing Store, Grocery Store - University Essentials: Library, Town Hall, Lounge, Gym - Shopping District Essentials: Everything you can imagine! I also like to leave space for Sims to own their own businesses! I tend to use Shopping Districts as Secondary-Main Neighborhoods! - Downtown Essentials: Bowling Alley, Bar, Restaurant, Cemetery - Vacation Essentials: Hotels, Parks, Landmarks After I have the essentials, I fill in the gaps with whatever I want! Like I added a Car Dealership in my main neighborhood as well as a Cosmetic Surgery clinic! I also added a Train Station in my University!

The Mithril and Mages link above is great to come up with names and business ideas too!

STEP 5: Decorating Your 'Hood - I do this overtime! I don't think there's ever been a time where I've stopped decorating! Start by placing some trees or the flower decorations around the empty lots you placed!

STEP 6: Neighborhood/Lot Descriptions - Personally the hardest thing about Custom Neighborhoods! The good thing though is these can be left blank and nobody would know! - My best advice is to wait until most of the 'hood is built up, and then come with some descriptions! - Photoshopping the pictures like EA/Maxis will create beautiful pictures for the Neighborhood Stories album! (This is another post for another time)

STEP 7: The Families - Can't have a complete neighborhood without Sims and Families! - Use the Random Aspect Generator to come up with various Personalities for your Sims! - If you forgot to use a Clean Template (No Townies), I found a mod that will change up their names! - Take inspiration from TV Shows or the other Sims games! I always tend to recreate the Broke Family's storyline and Malcolm Landgraab's storyline with 2 families in my neighborhoods! (I like having a Rich and a Poor family lmao)

Creating new neighborhoods is always so much fun! I hope some of these guidelines help you get inspired!

xoxox

#the sims 2 #sims 2 #ts2 #custom neighborhood #sims 2 custom neighborhood #sims 2 custom hood #worlds #mine #mods #sims 2 mods #sims youtuber

[occasionalrpmemes]

Amigo the Devil: Volume 1 Starters

sentences taken from the 2015 album. edit as desired. warning: this one does NOT pass the Hayes Code lmao. content includes, but is not limited to: sex, violence (both domestic and otherwise), alcohol, strong language, religion, general moral degeneracy, et cetera

It's all for you.

I'd rot in hell with you, if you'd just ask me to.

Come on, believe me, follow me home, there's no judgement here.

Take the shot.

This night is going to end horribly for someone.

I'm not so much afraid of letting go as much as scared of giving up.

Open up to me.

The Devil came and sold his fucking soul to me!

If I've hurt you, please forgive me. Love makes you do funny things.

This fire feels so real.

Don't say a word, my darling. I know how you feel.

On rainy days, we'll drink until the gray is left in nothing but our hair.

I know you want it, too.

I'll lay by your side 'til everything is rotten through.

Tonight, we'll celebrate life! Eat the best food and drink the best wine.

I hope your husband dies.

Are you feeling upside down or even empty inside?

Meet me down by the bar. We'll go and take this drink out to the stars.

Death is just one moment.

Some people follow rules, some people go around.

As an elephant, I'm only really relevant when I'm standing in the room.

I am the son of an asshole.

No one deserves my world quite like you do.

I'm not so much afraid of being alone, just kind of feel I've had enough.

God knows I'll do what I need.

These hands are stronger than you're led to believe.

We'll never have a house to decorate, a place that we can call our home.

If I can't have you, nobody will.

There's only one thing in this life that makes us living.

I want to be where all the stupid shit I say sounds so romantic and true.

Live with me in this sin forever.

There's nothing left to lose, 'cuz I've already lost it all.

Tonight, I'll follow you home and start up a fire that'll keep us both warm.

Hang around, let down your hair.

So you should start to undress and just… try a little less.

Now you're with this asshole- you expect me to believe it's gonna last?

Let me have this dance with you.

Your eyes look like diamonds still stuck inside the mines.

When your tongue is putrid and your skin is sagging down, I'll stick around.

It's true, I hate everything but you.

We'll laugh a little, drink a little, see what you're made of.

All the bridges in the world won't lead you back to fix what couldn't be erased.

This fairytale just ain't coming true.

I'll drive my car like I stole it, drink at the bar like I own it.

These wrinkles are the maps of all the places we went no one else would dare.

I'd rather have a reason I should stay.

There's always gonna be a better high, and a lower down.

We take things a little far, but you couldn't name a place I wouldn't go with you.

I'm capable of making you disappear.

I have a couple different faces if you need a place to hide.

The time we spent together when the light was out became my thought of you.

I am the agent that decides your fate.

There's only one kind of people in the world: people who die!

It doesn't matter what you've heard or if you're good or bad and everything between.

I love the shitty things we do together.

It's been a while since I've held anything as close as I have you.

I'd like to live my life just like a dog. Humble as can be and unconditional in everything I love.

I'll make you famous one way or another.

Home is the last place that I'd stand to be with anyone but you.

I'd crawl in bed with you. Even in someone else's blood, on top of someone else's love, in the worst motel we find.

This life is a maze with only one way out.

Every dime spent is worth looking good- and that's Hollywood!

They'll write about our story here for years to come and maybe even more, cuz there's never been a love like this before.

I'll cut to the chase, just don't try to leave.

Trust me, I'm not jealous, I'm just hoping that he really messes up.

When I had you near me I just couldn't think of anything to say, but now that I'm alone, I got the perfect things to tell you everyday.

We'll leave the world the way dreamers do.

All the parties we can throw - we'll dress like anything we please!

All the distance that we've spent apart will never have to mean a thing. Every mile I traveled was to find the perfect stone to fit your ring.

Living in the moment's hard when everything I want is in the past.

When the night falls, out comes the terror.

Your heart will always have a place to live with nothing left to be.

#amigo the devil #rp meme #dialogue prompt #hell and you #sentence starters #lyric starter

[callsignpuppy]

They were in a bar on a piddly little planet in the Federated Commonwealth when someone hushed the bar at large loudly and said, “The news! Look! Tukayyid is over! ComStar won!” Everyone turned to the holoscreens, voices rising despite the call to hush. Someone behind the bar turned the volume up. The newscaster, an older woman with gray hair, was struggling to maintain professional calm as she spoke, the undercurrent of giddy incredulity threatening to spill over. “—reports from ComStar that, after twenty-one days of fighting, the Battle of Tukayyid has concluded with victory to ComStar and the defeat of the Clans—” Whatever else the reporter might have said was drowned out by the entire rest of the bar bursting into cheers. Sasha stared at the screen, too shocked to process the news. He had always thought that Project REVIVAL would end just the way ilKhan Showers had predicted: victorious. It had seemed inevitable. But they had lost. Another newscaster came on, this one with a map of Tukayyid, and began explaining the terms of the batchall, and Sasha leaned forward, attempting to listen despite the cachophony around him. He needed to know what had happened to his Clan. But too many people were screaming and cheering in glee around him. Mirjam was buying their star a round. Even Duke was celebrating. The names of commanders killed in the battle were being listed, and Sasha read Khan Garth Radick’s name over and over, until the names disappeared, sure it was a mistake. Sasha stood up and left the bar. No one noticed. It was snowing outside. Flakes clung to his hair and the fur trim on the hood of his coat. Sasha didn’t pull it up. He leaned against the wall of the bar and pulled his phone out, fingers clumsy in the cold, and searched for news on the battle. It was so quiet outside after the noise of the bar. So many people had died. Had his old star? His sibko? Who was left? The only Clan deaths being reported in the Inner Sphere were Khans and generals. Nobody cared about dead warriors without a command. The door to the bar creaked open. Sasha didn’t look up. “What’re you doing out here, babe?” “Khan Radick is dead,” Sasha said, not looking up from his phone. “He was my commander.” “…Oh.” Duke said nothing for a moment. Then, “I’m sorry.” “It was a warrior’s death,” Sasha said. Then, “I should have been there.” “So you could have died too?” “I know it wouldn’t have changed anything,” Sasha said. “I just should have been there.” He couldn’t even feel anger. He just felt a yawning emptiness inside him, like his guts had been scooped out and nothing had replaced them. “He was my Bloodhouse.” “So you were family?” “Sort of. Not the way you mean it.” There would be a Trial of Bloodright. Someone needed to replace Garth and take the Radick name. It could be him. He could have another shot. Somehow though, Sasha knew he had lost his only chance. It had slipped away somewhere in the last two years, here in the Inner Sphere. “I’m sorry,” Duke said again. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault.” “It kind of is. That you weren’t there, at least.” Sasha looked up finally. Duke stood by the door, looking very small in its big lavender coat in the snow. That was wrong. Duke was shorter than he was, but it wasn’t small. Sasha moved his phone to his left arm and held out his right, the one closer to Duke. He didn’t have to say anything for Duke to join him, letting Sasha tuck it under his arm. It wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed. He could leave. Duke wouldn’t stop him. He could go back to the 352nd and Beta Galaxy. Help them rebuild. Try again for his Bloodname. Try again for his chance at a command, or fall short and earn a warrior’s death. He squeezed Duke back around the shoulders. “Can we go home?” he asked.

#tales from the broken sword company #i have some longer stuff cooking but i wrote most of this in a fugue state on the bus home last night SO

[flowersforvax]

Note to self concerning the critical role liveshow:

1)if they ever do another one in europe go go go go go!

2) do not. Do NOT. do what you did this time and fly in on the day. You did not sleep a wink until you were in the plane and when you tried to take a nap in your hotel room before the show you were wide awake and couldn't. But you know what you were yawning through? The whole second half of the show you were so excited to see. Fly in a day early. Get settled. Sleep the night before. Which has the added bonus of-

3) go to the show like- two hours? Before entry? Maybe more. There was an insane amount of people just hanging out outside of the venue and if you want to take some selfies with cosplayers this would be the perfect time to do it. If you're not doing that, at least add about half an hour to the estimated time on Google maps, just in case you get lost again 💀

4)do NOT feel overdressed for going in cosplay! Who cares if that girl entering the train took one look at you and laughed! There will be so many sweet critters complimenting you to make up for it! And you value their opinion so much more! ( ...but yeah, adding the ears and earrings at the venue was probably a good call 😅 )

5) Because you didn'tt sleep you felt kind of sick on and off all day so all you ate was a chocolate croissant from the german airport (spread over several hours) half of one of those hard snack pretzels to settle your stomach, and then for some godforsaken reason loaded nachos at the venue??? Anyway I still feel sick this morning so. Next time just get a late lunch/early dinner right before the show and then get some Popcorn like a normal person. Also when you have to empty your bottle at entry, don't throw it away: this venue had a free water refill Station but all you had was the bottle without cap from the nacho stand so you were afraid to spill it the whole show.

5.1) Don't! Put your bag on the ground! You were so goddamn lucky with holding it between your feet because goddamn did nobody else worry about spilling their drinks. Yikes.

Victims of the spills. I don't feel so good, Mr. Stark

6) it's colder than you think in the audience so bring a cardigan to put on your cosplay - also, wear a jacket that's not too bulky in case they don't have a coat room, you had to wrestle that stupid coat all night

7) no spillable beverages. Bottles only. That was a fucking unnecessary amount of time you spent trying to wash out the coffee, trying to dry it by crouching under the hand dryer and just generally being annoyed about it. Also if you sleep the night before you don't need 16⁰⁰ o'clock coffee you dumb bitch. You know it doesn't even wake you up, why do you keep trying?

8) GOD I HOPE DANIEL SLOSS WEARS THEM DOWN AND THEY DO A SHOW IN SCOTLAND SO THAT I CAN EXPERIENCE THIS AGAIN but smarter. Also, what a fucking sentence. No idea if they announced he was gonna be there but I missed it and it felt fucking wild.

#flowers talks #cr liveshow #my mcm trip #echoes of the solstice

[dragondoodling]

Dream Part 2!

So last night I had another part of the dream from one of my previous posts, but I’m gonna change it a bit so it fits the video game idea better. After the duck fiasco you are prompted to make a decision

Find a hiding spot and wait it out, the store will be empty eventually, right?

Keep looking for an exit

Route 1: You bring this up with Best Friend, who argues that we must keep looking, the store will never be empty, to which you go your separate ways. You now must find a suitable hiding spot. An employee finds you, but a game over is not instigated. One of the employees looking for you then comes over. Searcher Employee: “Have you seen any small children around here recently?” *Kind employee glances in your direction* “Yeah, I have”

You to self in whisper “I thought they were nice! Shows I can trust anyone here” SE: “Where are they?!” KE: “In that general area” *points in complete opposite direction to you*

SE leaves while KE approaches where you are. KE “look kid, I don’t know how you got here, but you need to leave, don’t just hide, there’s never nobody here, just keep looking to escape and stay safe, I won’t be able to cover for you again”

At this point you go looking for Best Friend and there is no longer a HIDE option. Eventually, an employee approaches you and you lose all controls, “frozen in fear”. Helpful Employee: “Hey kid, are you lost?. . . Silly question, nobody is here unless they’re lost. Why did you come here?” You tell her you don’t remember and are trying to find the exit with your best friend. HE “Ah, well, to do that you need a map, but I figure you don’t have one unless you and your friend wouldn’t be here, I’ll let you borrow mine” You receive the map and notice 5 glowing points, you ask what they are. HE “Those are your ticket out of here. You probably have noticed that this place is always changing, once you collect all 5 it will stop and the exit will be revealed” Then, all of a sudden a point goes off the map, you ask HE about it “That means that one of them was just defeated, those points are creatures that you must defeat and collect what it gives you” *pulls up security footage and shows you* “Is that your friend?” It is in fact Best Friend. You thank the employee and with the help of the map you rush to Best Friend through the store you now have the ability to navigate. I will make a separate post for route 2

#video game idea #horror games #dream

[elbiotipo]

Regions of the Milky Way Galaxy for my space opera story:

Concordia: Located in the crossroads of the main three aetheric currents, Concordia is the center of trade for all the Milky Way. Every space traveller eventually ends up here. A dyson sphere made of swarms of habitats of diamond-like carbon, it predates the Precursor civilization for perhaps millions of years: in fact, many cultures long extinct are still found here. From the modern city-ports to the ancient palaces to the luxurious gardens in the space habitats, Concordia is a place of contrasts: a bustling, modern trade center with a yet not-wholly understood history stretching into the night of time.

The Old Worlds: Rather than a single region, this denomination cover multiple spheres of influence all over the Galaxy created by different civilizations that discovered aetheric travel independently. These worlds are proud of their ancient history, despite being surpassed economically and politically by others. Every individual region of "Old Worlds" is completely different from each other, depending on the civilization that originated them.

Terran Sphere: The Old Worlds of Humanity, centered on Mother Earth. Settled by old relativist generations ships (some who are still in travel) these worlds are not united by any single goverment or culture (except for the forum known as the United Nations), and in fact the little confederations and empires and alliances of the Terran Sphere are often at odds with each other. Mother Earth itself occuppies a huge cultural and spiritual place in the minds of many humans, who almost mythologize it as the ancestral home of all Humankind. The people of Earth, however, mostly consider it a planet like any other, and are a bit tired of all the ideological conflicts around it.

The Colonies: When aetheric travel became widespread, long-range missions were sent to rich stars (major sources of non-newtonian elements, abandoned megastructures, luxury resources, or just planets that looked promising) beyond explored space. These eventually developed into major industrial and economic centers and created their own spheres; some even surpassed their own homeworlds, with ecumenopolises under towering space elevators and illydic garden worlds. However, from their homeworlds' perspective, they will always remain just The Colonies.

The Warpover Stars: Everything else in the middle, outside the main aehteric currents. Despite the nickname, they have a vital role in maintaining galactic civilization and trade routes. You can find mostly anything here; polluted mining worlds, quiet rural worlds, bustling trade centers, ideological/religious enclaves, abandoned tourist resorts, places that are barely the equivalent of a gas station, abandonded ruins, uncontacted civilizations, just about anything… and of course, lots of seedy space bars. The inhabitants in general have a very frontier, proud attitute.

The Wilds: Most of the galaxy has been mapped, even if remotely, but those maps are out of date, and some stars haven't been visited in centuries if ever, in sectors that are so empty that they don't qualify even as Warpover Stars. Nobody knows what lurks there. Inevitably, rumors of luking demons, hostile civilizations readying to invade, ancients renmants of extinct civilizations, treasure systems and space monsters abound. Most of the time it's just empty systems but sometimes, some rumors do prove true…

The Streams: The Saggitarius and Helmi streams are located above the Galactic Plane, while the Magellanic stream is located below. Composed of sparse, hard to navigate stars, these streams are mostly visted by those who want to see the spectacular views of the Galaxy. There is plenty of speculation that there are unmapped trade routes in the streams, with a concerning amount of smugglers and pirates settling here.

The Halo: Composed of globulal clusters glittering like jewels among lonely ancient stars, they are hard to navigate and often resource poor. The inhabitants of the Halo often are outcasts, voluntarily or not. Monasteries, retreats and hideouts are common.

The Core: The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, with a relatively small core. Dangerous to navigate and bathed in deadly radiation, it is a mostly deserted place except for some resource rich systems. The perpetually illuminated skies by a thousand million stars are a sight to behold, though.

The Satellite Galaxies: Even the mapped currents of the Magellanic Stream are treacherous. Reaching the Magellanic Clouds and the other satellite galaxies takes months, even years of travel. The civilizations of the Clouds are far removed from the mainstream Milky Way. Some cultures that might be related to the Precursors are still alive here.

Beyond?: Nobody has made it yet (at least, not in contemporaneous times), but some speculate that by navigating faint aether streams, it could be possible to travel to the galaxies of Andromeda, Triangulum, and even beyond. For sure, there are many species in the Milky Way that might have an extra-galactic origin.

#cosas mias #worldbuilding #science fiction

[blazehedgehog]

What’s your thoughts on Sonic Frontiers, so far?

It is the best worst Sonic game ever made. For reference, I haven't played it any further than what has been seen on my streams, which compose of these two vods:

Kronos Island (4hrs, 14min)

Ares Island (4hrs, 59min)

I have been playing a little off stream, but it's mostly to clean up and 100% the islands we've already seen. I never advance the story off stream. So, as of this writing, I am still at the very start of Chaos Island.

It's a lot of the same old problems we've been dealing with for what feels like an entire generation of Sonic games, but it hits just enough of the right notes where, instead of feeling like total garbage, it's charming.

A lot of people have been invoking comparisons to games like Sonic Adventure and I think that's apt. It's one of those games where when it's bad, it's the worst game ever made. But when it's good, it shakes the pillars of creation.

Somebody at Sega overheard "what if Platinum Games made a Sonic?" and so every big boss bites off a piece of Metal Gear Rising. It's amazing.

Everything between that... ehhh. Like I said, it's a lot of the same problems. They micromanage Sonic's controls on a per-level basis, they don't really seem to understand what makes going fast feel fun, stage ranks vary wildly from being insultingly easy to infuriatingly impossible without any rhyme or reason, and there are basic elements of control that just don't make any sense. Like how if you let go of the analog stick, Sonic stops on a dime, no matter how fast you were going. How does a decision like that make it through FOUR YEARS of focus testing and QA but nobody ever says "hey this feels like garbage"? Which is to say nothing of the drop dash, which requires so many button presses and is so pointless it may as well not even exist.

The story is taking me a while to warm up to. I appreciate the strong, clear characterization. Sonic finally emotes again! He's not just some generic cardboard hero. He has a personality now! Everybody does! He razzes Knuckles and Knuckles razzes him back and they shoot each other a 😏 look. That's great.

But your introduction to the story is awful. Everything about Amy on Kronos island feels like it comes out of nowhere. There's no context to what she's doing or why, and Sonic never really asks, it's just "Hey Sonic, I'm standing out in the middle of this featureless empty field, can you help me find this Koco's true love?"

Who? What? Why? Sonic asks none of these questions. He just goes "okay, sure."

And a lot of the storytelling feels like that. A lot of characters standing out in the middle of absolutely nowhere, nearly impossible to see, and most of it optional. Very easy to miss. Once you get to the second island, and I understood I had to hunt out these talk locations using the map, it started to gel with me a little better. It's just everything about Amy's feels very... non-sequitur.

But what Knuckles had was a lot better and a lot more coherent. Lots of good lore food. Some of that was I think me just figuring out the game's overall tone and pacing, too.

I'm also not super in love with the open world maps themselves. They feel very much like somebody dropped Sonic in to somebody else's photoscanned assets. I was telling a friend this last night, but there are entire areas in Ares Island that are devoid of any rings, enemies, or puzzles, but they let you run around there anyway, even though there are places that don't feel like they were made for Sonic.

And as somebody who as played a lot of "we loaded Sonic in to a map from another game" fan games... it has that vibe. Loose, and jittery, and the camera can't quite cope, and Sonic's physics don't interact with the terrain right, etc. That's the open world in Frontiers, to me. It really IS "Sega Hire This Man."

On top of just being bland as hell, too. They are extremely poorly laid out, there's not enough good landmarks, there's not enough to make them feel truly lived-in... it's just a random collection of assets surrounding a generic theme like "plains" or "desert" or "volcano" without any consideration of making anything feel like a place. It's boring and easy to get lost in the bigger zones.

But, again, when the vocals kick in and you're barrel rolling with a cyber dragon at 600mph through the sky? Who cares about anything else.

#questions #Anonymous #sonic frontiers #sega #sonic team #sonic the hedgehog

[containatrocity]

THE WHISKEY-SOAKED WARDEN: DUCK ROMERO.

Highs and Lows, are all I know, I don't want to be a fucked up father.

"I'm Mallard Romero. I'm 40 years old, and the game warden for Huntsville. I'm a father of two, and a former military general, serving well until I was in my 30s. It was there I met Rusty Craven- Though I know him as Pete Boone. I'm a born and raised Huntsville native, and my family, the Romeros, are well known and respected among the townsfolk. I am ambivalent toward the Commune, and my most prevalent vice is alcohol."

Name: Mallard Cybil Romero

Aliases: Duck, Ducky, Warden Romero, General Romero, Mal

Age: 40 (May 15th) [Taurus]

Sexuality/Gender: Bisexual Biromantic Cis Male [He/Him]

Personality: Well known for being gruff and blunt, Duck is a hard man to love, and an even more difficult one to get along with without already knowing the fact his exterior belies a kinder, softer underneath. A loving father and loyal friend, Duck's harshness is likely just a defense against his own fears and concerns living in Huntsville. Given opportunity to let his guard down, he is full willing to lay his life down for his friends and often has since 2012. The death of his second wife Ophelia Romero seems to weigh heavily on his mind, making him more paranoid and overprotective of the townsfolk- though her loss doesn't seem to have kept him from his willingness to fall into bed with interested parties after a few shots- oddly charming, once one accepts that his face will likely always look like that.

Occupation: Former US Marine Corp General, heavily decorated with several tours overseas. Current Game Warden for the town of Huntsville, orchestrating and protecting hunting parties for the townsfolk and similarly offering his watchful eye to the people of the Commune, should they need it. Nobody knows the forests like Duck and his crew, after all.

Affiliations: The Townsfolk of Huntsville, The US Marine Corp (veteran), Monongahela Parks and Game.

Scent Profile: The lingering scent of cut cedar and pine sap, something woody and clinging. Faint notes of cigarette smoke, though he hasn't smoked since his son was born, it lingers on his person. The cloying scent of whiskey sticking to his breath, and gun oil on his palms and knuckles.

Aesthetic: A half empty bottle of whiskey and a fully loaded shotgun watching the sun drop low in a rocking chair on the porch of his longtime home. A dimly lit study and a book he's still not finished all these years later, photos of a family he used to have and has only part of now. Cards from his children made with crayons and colored pencils slowly growing more and more coherent taped to a fridge alongside a map tracking the movements of the ghosts that haunt the town.

A jaded man, with shaky hands, holding onto what he can't let go of, and now I'm terrified- that I'm holy ghosted.

CHAPTER ONE: LIFE IN HUNTSVILLE POST PARADOX.

The head of the skeleton crew that's become of the game and forest recreation board, Duck Romero now oversees the safety of hunting parties and deals with potential animal threats that may move into town from the woods surrounding. He and Rusty Craven provide radios, flashlights, firearms, and other supplies that may be required for hunting parties that either don't own them, or lack the repair skills, or money, required to provide their own. Due to this, and his own paranoia, Duck is one of the few people in town with a substantial backstock of weapons, ammunition, parts, and even explosives, things he gathered in his brief visits home before his long-term deployment in 2012.

One of nine children of Mary-Beth Romero and a number of men, Duck's family is a de-facto matriarchy, raised to be compassionate as he is confident and cutthroat, his children are being taught just the same. 18 year old Wren Romero and 7 year old Robin Romero having lived with their single father since 2017, Duck's alcoholism has long been a cause for concern for the family, made worse in his wife's death and disappearance, he has only recently cleaned up enough to be considered 'responsible' enough to care for his kids, leaning heavily on the kindness of Rusty, the church, and other friends and family to keep them all above water.

As much as he is the respected game warden, he's also well known as the town drunk, belligerent and sick to his core with his vices, it's a common enough sighting to see someone walking Duck back home after one too many to ensure he doesn't meet his end at the brutal hands of a ghost.

#d.threads #d.aesthetic #d.musings #d.headcanons #d.bio #huntsvilleintro #Whiskey Warden;

[thesunofalcoritres]

was going through this blog and realized i forgot to post this map that i made a few weeks ago! i need to kick myself out of the mindset of only posting Perfectly Polished Material or else this blog is going to sit empty until the end of time. that being said:

MAP NOTES:

-most of the two-word settlement names have been translated to the human language from various dialects of dragonsign, which as the name would imply is a common sign language that most dragons use. the other names (i.e. gaia, surhaven, carcosa) are cities that were established and named by humans

-they aren't labeled in the map but the two major continents are just called "westland" and "eastland", which were also dragonsign names.

-"Santiago" (full "Santiago de Compostela" but nobody really calls it that) was the name of the generation ship that crashed & brought humans to the planet ~3000 years ago. the shell of the ship has been torn up and converted into the main hub of the modern city, which is essentially the unofficial capitol of westland if not the entire human world.

-"god's feast" is the long-since-stripped corpse of the leviathan dragon that the ship killed when it crashed into the planet that was deified by (some) humans shortly thereafter

-carcosa was named so by a particular unfortunate human explorer who had wandered far into the desert, weak with dehydration, and upon discovering the city – which at the time was comprised only of winding underground tunnels filled with unfamiliar dragons who knew little to no trade languages – and stuck by a violent fit of imagination prompted by the decorative black stones embedded into the ceilings and walls of the catacombs, they wrote that they had found the king in yellow’s strange fabled land. the name then caught on with the humans that followed them. the original dragonsign name was roughly “undersand” and is still sometimes called that by native speakers.

-plaguebed was the site of a [insect plague??? undecided rn] many centuries before human introduction that was largely ineffective, and the name was adopted as both a victory sign and a memorial to those that had died.

-the northern aquatic settlements are known by both the literal translated 'land names' and the anglicized aquatic spoken names: aquatic dragons tend to rely more heavily on vocalizations and flashing bioluminescence as opposed to hand/body signs due to how their bodies are built

-clarion/clawrun having two similar names is literally just due to the game of telephone that a lot of humans and dragons had to play in the early days after arrival when nobody was really fluent in anybody elses language. clawrun is the literal name and clarion is a widely-spread mishearing of it - named so for the stone ridges that resembled giant clawtracks in the landscape.

-the dragonsign name for kelpie isn't literally "kelpie" but rather a local mythological creature that was close enough to the concept of kelpies (evil water-based livestock thang that murders you) that the humans were like ok that is close enough its kelpie now. the city was named after this creature because Back In The Day before the land dragons had much active communication w/ the water dragons of that area they kept seeing them hunting from afar and mistaking them for the local aquatic livestock animals and being like hey dude. What the fuck. its like if you went into a field and saw a sheep violently murdering someone unprovoked

-landing was traditionally a rest spot for those making the winged journey from westland to northserpent, hence the name.

-as the name would imply, the wingrest islands were traditionally used as rest points for dragons making the long pilgrimage from westland to eastland or vice versa. while not necessarily religious in nature, this pilgrimage had widespread social and cultural significance to pre-human dragons as kind of a 'reset' and important event in the life of those who would choose to undertake it. the importance has somewhat diminished in the modern day due to the way humans have impacted the worldwide trade economy, but it's still upheld as a rite of passage in some communities.

#worldbuilding #alcoritrés #oc worldbuilding #dragonriders

[loiswolf]

Day 31 June 29 Lloydminster- Battleford Nth 140kms

Today was as hard as yesterday was easy. Maybe not physically tough ( although there were issues I will get to) but mentally tough.

This is the lovely home I stayed in last night. Dee Dee and I talked for quite a while last night. It’s really interesting to hear about other people lives, their jobs, and families. Nobody has a perfect life.

I left really early because I knew it was going to be a long hot day. Straight up onto the highway. It’s really flat and really monotonous. The surroundings are ok but the road seems interminable.

I just concentrated on the first 50 odd kilometres to Maidstone. The traffic came in clusters but the shoulder was usually good enough to stay out of the way.

There was a turnoff to Maidstone which kind of cut through a corner of the highway. A few kms along the side road I came upon the town. Unfortunately it was not another quaint, cute little place like Kitscoty or Vilma. It was very dusty, old and rundown.

I located the cafe I has seen on the map but it had relocated. I doubled back to find the new location which was also closed. Sigh! It didn’t matter, there was a Subway/general store just a few doors up. It had coffee, seats, air con and ice creams so I was happy. I selected a Magnum and a chocolate cake thing.

I’m sure Magnums used to be a lot bigger. The cake was huge. I was served by a surly young teenage girl with purple hair. Not quite the lovely ladies I met yesterday. They seemed to be playing 3 or 4 songs on a loop. After hearing Meghan Trainor’s “I made you look”*, for the second time, I decided to leave.

Just after I returned to the main road I stopped to talk to a man who was fixing a broken strap holding a quad bike on a trailer. He had an empty tray on the back of his ute. I’m such an idiot! Why didn’t I ask him for a lift? He had the perfect setup. I guess I wasn’t thinking about getting a lift so soon after a break.

Another 30 or 40kms I definitely regretting not asking for a lift.

My right knee which has had the odd twinge was really starting to hurt. I’m sure it’s a touch of Patellofemoral Syndrome but the constancy of the ride was not helping.

My next goal was a bit after 100kms at a place called Delmas. I had actually called them last night about accommodation. Hahaha, so glad they didn’t have any. The place was dire. Even though my knee was burning there was no way I wanted to stay there the night. There was a bar, some tables and poker machines. The very bored looking man sold me a bottle of Diet Pepsi which I drank slowly while working on my knee and leg. Did I look stupid? Probably. Do I care? No! I also spent the time googling bus and train routes.

Eventually I returned to Shirley the knee feeling considerably better, although not perfect. Only a few kms up the road and a Toyota Corolla pulled over in front of me and the man gave me a cold drink. I thanked him and popped it in my food bag. He wasn’t to know I had just consumed a large bottle of Pepsi. It’s always nice when someone does something like that.

I wasn’t breaking any speed records on the last 35kms but I got there eventually. Here’s a photo from the road.

Not very exciting is it? Years ago I loved the challenge of riding well over a hundred kilometres on a highway. I think I’m over that now.

My knee will be alright, I know how to treat it but I’ll need to rest it a bit.

I’m not sure if I want to wait around for the bus to Saskatoon tomorrow. It doesn’t leave until after 3.

From Saskatoon I’ll probably take the train to Winnipeg. These huge flat prairies are just too monotonous. I’ll keep you posted

*I actually like that song. I understand if you don’t want to be my friend anymore. 😁

[simpingwriter]

Cal Kestis x Kyra Yarmot

'In the Name of Love' pt.9

Yeah I had prouder days of writing this book... I really don't like how this chapter turned out, I literally dragged myself from sentence to sentence because I had no clue how to progress the story...the last Chapters between the Final Chapter are literally going to be the bane of my existence 💀💀

Try to Enjoy! :')

Word Count: approx. 3.107 Words

___________________

Cal was gone.

He left yesterday morning, leaving a note that he would return in the evening, that you shouldn't wait for dinner with him.

That – in a matter of minutes for you – turned out to be a big fat lie, a lie he begged you to keep secret from the others. For reasons he couldn't even tell you...he had never been so cryptic with you before.

So when he didn't return as promised, Merrin was first to begin to worry, along with you – though you did it to seem less suspicious. Greez then did as well, pacing the ship as he pondered the holomap like an Orb that would magically answer all of your questions combined, something you could've needed more than anyone else right now. And it was just very odd to see…people only really started to show they cared when the damage had already been done…damage that couldn't be reversed or be undone.

And Cere was Cere...still staying calm, even 24 hours after he didn't return. Said that maybe he ran into some simple trouble, namely a Trooper Group that potentially overwhelmed him and that he had to hide out for a while – something that already sounded very far fetched…24 hours…Cal would not have taken that long. She tried to calm the others down that way, that Cal wasn't stupid or weak, that he would return sooner or later.

And even though you knew that this was very much wrong, you did your part of the lie – and to look for any clues about where he might've gone – and told everyone that you would go out to look for him.

Recon, it wasn't a difficult expedition type for you – it was the only thing the Clone Team let you do back then without dying of worry – you could fly high above the ground and had still near perfect vision, you could spot a person from almost all the way up in the clouds. But any kind of storm in the atmosphere made your expedition slightly more risky or at least more of a struggle.

While you would expertly maneuver the open skies of planets, usually no matter the temperatures or the wildlife, storms were the bane of your existence. One unforeseen extreme gust of wind from a different direction than you were gliding or actively trying to fly in and you were at risk of being thrown around like an empty plastic bag.

There had been only three moments in your life until now, where you used your wings and high velocity winds to your advantage instead, but they had also probably been the most risky stunts you pulled all the way up there, in a place were nobody is able to catch your plummeting weight if you ever miscalculate a distance or similar...

You were clearly born to soar through the skies of the Galaxy, alone...but born to...unfortunately that exclusiveness also left you all on your own in an emergency.

"Are you sure about going out now? The weather map is mentioning a high spike of potential hail in the next two hours…" Greez asked with understandable worry, likely seeing the problem your wings could be having with such weather conditions. Hail corns, if big enough with high velocity, could put a straight up hole into your wing membrane – something you knew no way of fixing such serious injury, it usually was mentioned to have crippled your kinds' warriors for life... – no matter its exceptional toughness.

But you had to go out now, no matter the danger you'd put yourself into. If you waited out the hail…the water from the hail melting could wash away even the very last trail and scent he might've left by accident, the latter nearly imprinted from all the times you two were cuddling and generally hanging out close together. "Yes, yes I am. If…if he's still out there, he will be left all alone in the cold of said Hail as well…"

From the corner of your eyes you were most certain Cere was about to comment about your recklessness, maybe a tasteless one too.

How you shouldn't endanger yourself for Cal.

If she knew what he meant to you, what this uncertainty did to your mental state, she would know that you didn't have any other choice.

And you would've not been able to hold back if she had opened her mouth right now.

You would've asked her why she wouldn't want Cal to be brought to safety while you, with your unique abilities, still could ensure that. That that was probably no longer happening, that he was probably no longer on Zeffo all together, you obviously would not be able to tell her all that. But that made her all the more…wrong…to you.

From her unaware point of view, Cal is about to be caught in a freezing, dangerous Hailstorm and she actually thought…she almost had the audacity to tell you to stay put! To potentially leave one of the maybe last Jedi left that could help her in her plan – a plan that included more and more near lethal and dangerous missions, missions and Tasks she always pushed onto Cal and now you as well! – in life threatening conditions!

"And I won't let anyone stop me, Cere…he is my friend and we...you "need" him for your mission, so don't even think about it…"

Oops, did you still slightly call her out either way? What a bad Girl you were!

Oh pleaseee...go kark yourself!

Grabbing your lightsaber – which you never actually got the time to clean because of the shock – and the small rations pack, one that you could sling over your shoulder, off the Coffee table, you quickly order Greez to open and lower the ship's door. Even if he didn't do it himself, you knew perfectly well where the button was.

Fortunately, for everyone's wish to cause less drama than needed, he followed promptly and the heavy door hisses open. The weather was still stable, but dark clouds in the distance unfortunately held true to Greez's unlucky weather forecast. Couldn't he have just…kept it to himself, for once!? Maybe then they magically wouldn't have appeared that soon or so threateningly then…

"BD? Are you com–" "No, I am not letting you take the Droid with you into this dangerous weather, Kyra! He carries the last messages of Cordova, the only clues we have left!" Cere unfroze from her spot after your sudden change in demeanor, quickly stepping in as the small BD-Unit automatically started sprinting to follow your heavy footsteps off the sloped mechanical door. When he didn't reach you after what she said, you turned around to look at what took him so long.

She had picked him off the ground, holding him at his square head as he struggled in her hands, obviously resulting in nothing but her tightening her grip. "BD, you can't go with her, it will be too dangerous in such heights for you…" That wasn't fully true, you had carried him and Cal across Kashyyyk at least twice already. BD loved it when you let him see all the planets your got to visit from all the way up there, sometimes he even got to scan air particles his filters picked up and intriguing high up places he and Cal would've never reached on foot.

And BD made sure to continue showing his protest, beeping loudly and continued to kick in the air, some beeps being quite blunt curse words, which you seriously didn't expect from the small Droid, wondering if that is actually the Droid that seemed extremely childlike to you and Cal on most days...

But you still had to unfortunately play into some lie Cal built his whole disappearance on…so you couldn't just run with your horns against this metal wall and fight against Cere on every single occasion even though she gave you way too many chances to do exactly that.

"I guess she's right, BD. Maybe it's better if you set this one out? And don't you worry, I'll bring Cal back home safely, I promise!"

The fruitless struggles stopped abruptly as began speaking to the Droid, BD staring down at you, the height difference coming from you already down the slope, and for whatever reason you could swear you saw the almost human hurt in his optics. Because he knew the same thing you did.

'Be careful, Kyra…please. Cal wouldn't want you to get hurt because of him.'

Right he is. Cal surely wouldn't want that. He probably wouldn't have wanted you to investigate Zeffo for trails of him either, since he told you where he went could be potentially dangerous for even you.

Giving BD a small smile of a goodbye and a nod, you turn to leave without another look at the rest of the crew and the woman that had to have been the catalyst for his rushed decision.

Though…right now you felt the doubt in this having been as rushed as he made it seem with his odd behavior in the recording, you remember the weirdly off limits part in his thoughts, the weird glimmer in his eyes since multiple rotations…

What if he had planned to run away for a while now? If so…why did he have to promise to stay by your side less than 24 hours earlier, he could've just left things as they were before…did he not realize the pain he would cause you with his little stunt?

And for how long had he played with that thought…what if he had the idea already before you met him? What if you were doing nothing but hindering him from taking action earlier.

Already high above the ground now, purposely staying away from going too close to the clouds to keep your sight clear and to not get either drenched in rain from the heavy and quite loaded storm clouds or potentially get grilled by rogue lightning further above.

You didn't know what grilled Dragon tastes like and you were really karking alright with never finding out as well.

"Fine, Cal…run off. That's absolutely karking not fine. But at least have left something to assure me you're safe and alive!" You groan your worry into the damp air, your eyes scanning the abandoned village below, seeing nothing but more stupid Troopers. But they were still alive, none of them seemed injured, not heavily at least. So he might've not even come this way…

"This isn't right though…this is the only other path he could've taken away from the Mantis without the help of my wings." The first one you checked, you knew it ended in a dead end, a cliff with a dead drop of at least…20 miles…at the end of it. You know it's probably that deep because you remember vividly how Cal once slipped on some mud and fell off said cliff, screaming your name for help on with a desperately high tone you haven't heard from even him yet.

Hadn't you been there yet that day, he would've be truly lost. Not just dead. Because only a person whose body can be recovered can REALLY be called dead…everything else is just grief therapy in your eyes. People tend to start working on managing their grief of loss easier if their loved ones can be called dead. Not lost.

A lost loved one…it's constant...uncertainty. What if they were still alive somewhere?

What if they aren't just lost?

What if they got trapped somewhere and that's why they never returned home?

Lost at sea? Trapped in a cave? Kidnapped?

A dead person, an actual funeral – empty casket or not –...often it's the start of learning to let go. To let them rest as well, not just yourself…

But you couldn't think that way with Cal. You knew Cal was alive out there – even though the Connection had been broken – maybe…maybe scouting out the place he could take you off to as well?

If yes…could he actually make your dream – this still very, no, more than silly idea – come true at that place…even if it was supposedly dangerous?

"I don't care how dangerous this place is, Cal…any place is fine if it just includes you, holding me again at night..." The storm grew closer the further you flew inwards of the main island and soon you already reached the Empire's Turbine Facility, a big metal chunk in the otherwise beautiful landscape.

More Stormtroopers. All still alive, just like the last ones.

At this point, you were 100% sure he had to have gotten along this way anyways, so how did he sneak past all of these Troopers. Especially the few Purge Troopers scattered along the path up to this point? Cal turns out to be not the most stealthy person for being a Jedi, who were partially trained to be able to creep past enemies to avoid unnecessary fights.

Cal though…well…he started a fight wherever he went usually, like you to be honest – though, unlike him, you did it intentionally, having a good ol' chuckle with the sheer struggle your enemies got into when they noticed you overpowered them with ease – his attempts at trying to sneak past various Troopers in the last months having ended with him having to push them off a cliff or an edge with the Force last second.

You loved the innocent seeming grimace he pulled everything, muttering an apology, 'oops' or something similar along the way as he motioned you with his pointer to keep quiet about what you just witnessed. Cold Blooded murder at the hands of an innocent orange haired pup, from your professional point of view. Professional in causing havoc on multiple planets and systems.

"I hope we will continue having these moments in the future…" Your words obviously went on deaf ears, like all the rest, all the way up here, nothing but birds and the occasional quite brave bug coming across your focused vision. It was always quiet when you're as high up as you were right now, making it perfect for a person like you. You couldn't stand crowds in an already bad mood, it would make you even crankier than before.

Already about to drown in another "new" memory, one from your time long before you ran into the freckled redhead, you swore…a cold shiver ran down your back.

Turning around sharply mid air, flapping your wings more in a quick rhythm to stay in place, you seek for what caused your dizzying unease. You turned up with nothing as you scanned the immediate ground below you, but further in the distance you saw it.

An Inquisitor's Ship.

There is an Inquisitor on Zeffo at this very moment…this cannot be good. This absolutely cannot mean anything good, in none of the various languages you could speak, not in a million life cycles!

Still, against your better judgment and with a good amount of stupidity – and of course with that never leaving grain of more subtle unease in the back of your head, like a terrible itch that wouldn't go away, getting worse the closer you flew towards the ship – you watch it grow bigger with less and less distance left between you and it.

Concentrating on any kind of Force Energy, you try to find the current whereabouts of the most dangerous passenger on board, of course the Inquisitor. You really really hoped they weren't on the ship at this point of time, that they were somewhere down in those cursed karking Ice Caves that almost gave you frostbite once. And a tiny piece of you hoped they would slip on a fallen icicle to break their stupid neck.

Was it wrong for a Jedi in training to think that way? Would you give a flying Wookie-kark if it was? Mhhh…not really. Not anymore, too late for that shit at this point, at least that's how it started feeling for a good while now.

Shit-

You instantly stop pondering your thoughts like Greez did that stupid Holomap earlier when you had to realize something…terrible.

Two Force Sources, one extremely dimmed and pushed back.

The one that didn't feel as dominating as the other, it was feeling…o-oh no…no!

It was Cal's, it's the second one you felt as you reached out. It was quiet, clearly to keep it from being sensed over longer distances. The Inquisitor must've caught him while he tried to leave Zeffo…how would've he left the planet anyways? It was under guard by the Empire, thank the Makers they never detected the Mantis, so no ships other than the Empire ones got on and off the Surface.

He would've had to steal a TIE…did they catch onto him that way? Probably because they noticed an unannounced TIE in the sky trying to leave the atmosphere…oh Cal…

Landing on the lower mountain cap nearby, you continued surveying the surrounding area of the ship and the landing area. There was a surprising amount of Stormtroopers and even three Purge Troopers standing on guard, but the amount didn't scare you, not really, you could deal with them all in a matter of minutes…but you worried what they would do to your poor Cal if they realized too soon that they were under attack. So rushing in and doing short work was out of the question…

And yet you had realized that every second, every minute you spent just planning and making useless strategies…his life could be more and more endangered. What if they were torturing him for the current location of the Mantis?!

No. No. NononONONONO-

You could not let him get hurt!

You had to do something NOW!

As quick as you had reached the small peak, you rapidly soared back down. Aiming at two of unassuming Purge Troopers, you already took them down during your high speed landing. You heard the gnarly cracks of their helmets and skulls under the multiplied weight of your acceleration as you stood back up from the crouch you instinctively took on, readying your lightsaber for the rest.

"This is going to be the worst day ever for you all…" you growl antagonistically before igniting the blade upon finishing your sentence. Nobody hurt him and got away with it, nobody.

Hearing three Blasters getting readied behind, on both sides and in front of you respectively, you get ready to focus on the old techniques you once had been taught by your Master, deflecting one bolt after another, using your flexibilityto your advantage.

With a focus on the sounds and where they would come from, you blindly managed to continuously spin the blade in the right directions. You didn't miss a beat at their fruitless attempts, striking down Trooper for Trooper with their own Blaster Bolts and you were certainly proud of yourself that you didn't show signs of getting rusty because of nearly four months of not getting a single training session.

Fortunately for you and unfortunately for them, their guards were mostly these Blaster Armed Troopers, thinning their lines from 20 to 8 in under two minutes as you got ready to duel the Scouts now as well. And man, did that opportunity give you a grin, it's been so long you got to have some light, second long duels against basically Bogling shit for brains Troopers.

One you duck under and fling over your shoulder, swinging back to take him out from behind, the one coming immediately after got a taste of your blade straight through his stomach. One by one, you mow the basic Troopers down, the cauterized wounds from the heat of the Lightsaber the only reason you didn't stand in a field of blood right now.

"You had it easy with them but I will be youuuuu– " "Shut the kark up, I have had enough…" you curse under your breath, using the Force, stupid and annoyed as you were, to cause the last Purge Trooper to nearly immediately get pushed off the high in the air Landing Area. You always expected more from the Troopers that were literally trained to hunt down and kill Jedi…

But you realized your own mistake too late, the hiss of the large ship's door opening stunning you for too long to fly into the air for broader defense. You shouldn't have caused such a ruckus!

When the door was open, you grimaced bitterly at which Inquisitor it was that occupied the ship…it just had to be her, didn't it?

On the sloped door, in her dark glory, stood The Second Sister.

Or also called Trilla, by now.

But her standing basically right in front of you wasn't what threw you off…

It was who stood behind her, no shackles, no bruises…there was no sign whatsoever of the torture you thought would be happening…

You forgot to breath as the shock began to really hit you, your wide green eyes staring at him disbelief…

This couldn't…n-no…Cal.

And two eyes stared right back with the same amount of shock, dropping the unfamiliar looking Lightsaber in his grip…

Two yellow eyes…

___________________

(Why does Tumblr not have an actual yellow text color?! Just ORANGE! >:/)

[brevthern]

i'm sitting in the generator hostel lobby.

the paris transit workers are on strike, so i've ordered an uber. i wait 10 min. uber still hasnt arrived. i find a seat in the lobby and continue to wait. still no uber. i press the button to cancel the ride and it tells me if i cancel now i'll lose my que. it would be better to continue waiting if i'm just gonna order again. i open google maps to check if theres any trains running. on every single route it mentions significant delays. fuck it. i wont cancel. i put my phone in my pocket and look out at the crowded lobby. tons of young people, getting called by name and given wristbands on their way into the hostel.

i look at my phone. no uber.

i'm getting restless. i stand up, take a picture of my emergency passport and check in for my flight. open uber app. still no uber. i decide to double check my backpack, make sure i have everything while i wait.

this is the moment i realized my laptop is missing.

as i hastily packed my things this morning, i had left my laptop on the top bunk. kept it up there to charge as i packed. out of sight, out of mind. it got left behind as i hurried to put my bag in storage and make my way to the embassy.

put my bag down, squeeze through the large crowd in the lobby as i make my way to the front desk.

tell the lady behind the counter i've left my laptop.

"whats the room number?"

"801"

she walks over to the corner of the room, picks up a small black plastic bag, and begins to empty its contents.

"this?"

its my laptop.

"yea"

"and this?"

the canvas sleeve where i keep my laptop charger.

"...yeah"

"what about this?"

grey t shirt. also mine.

"yes"

"you're lucky nobody took them."

dont have to tell me twice.

i pick up my stuff and put it in my bag. at this point i've completely forgotten about the uber. put on my backpack and casually look down at my phone. my uber has just arrived and is already waiting for me outside.

i cant make this stuff up man.

g"d is good.

[prometheusinitiative]

Map | Ground Floor

Back to Maps Summit Basin Floor 1: Living Quarters

Lobby

Concrete floor, concrete walls, everything here is so much concrete and the lobby is no exception. At least potted plants crowd the reception desk and waiting areas, making everything feel a little livelier. You’ve got snake plants, rubber trees, corn plants, monsteras, chinese evergreens, peperomias… and on and on and on. Nobody would bat an eye if you stole one or three.

Locked cabinets sit behind the front desk, presumably for paperwork of some sort. Ithika also happens to sit at the front desk sometimes, and whenever they’re there the front doors are unlocked. (All it takes to get through the locked front door is your watch though!)

An unlimited vending machine for drinks and snacks sits between two mirrored couches and tables. Baskets on the tables hold old magazines– for houses, cars, clothes… oh! There’s several with personality quizzes and match making advice…

Courtyard

The space between the main tower and the surrounding facilities is open to the air, and part of the tower cuts away to make space for the courtyard. Sculpted pine trees, floral bushes, and soft grass grace the gently sunlit area. There’s even some swinging benches, a picnic table, and cultivated herbs like rosemary and thyme. Various walls of ivy are scattered about for a semblance of privacy.

A fountain with an austere modern aesthetic gently bubbles at the center of the courtyard. It's kind of pretentious, isn't it?

Lounge

Glass walls line the inner and outer areas of the lounge, providing a clear look from the courtyard to the surrounding lake. Along the inner wall runs two long bar counters, with stools interspersed. There’s plenty of tables and chairs here, notably four to a table, but nobody is here to stop you if you want to pull some tables together (or make the legendary monotable like the main character of a geometry math problem). A shelf at the north end of the room has napkins, cutlery, trash, and a bin for dirty dishes which conveniently takes care of itself.

Kitchen

The southern half of the lounge houses a kitchen– with counters, sink, giant double fridge, pantry shelves, an electric top stove, electric oven, and microwave, toaster, blender, an industrial sized coffee grinder and espresso machine… oh, and several nice tea sets. In the drawers and cabinets you can find just about anything one might use for cooking.

The contents of the fridge and pantry shelves change every few days, but generally you’ll find: rice, honey, any canned or jarred goods including jam, peanut butter, marinara, beans, chicken, tuna and peaches, dried pastas, bags of chips, a thousand kinds of pickles, cereals, powdered milk, flour, instant coffee, a jug of white vinegar, and alcohol.

In the corner sits a palette of enough Emergency Ration Bars to last 16 people 2 years, so, if you’re not a fan of cooking or feel like building a brick house, there’s that. One bar has enough calories to feed a person for 3 days. There's just the question as to whether or not you can chew it.

Notably, there’s a fire extinguisher mounted to the wall.

Mail Room

A wall of unused mailboxes dominates most of the mail room. The other things you take in when first stepping into the room are the simple tables at the center (ft. paper cutter, tape, rulers, and permanent markers), and the crowd of empty cardboard boxes of various sizes scattered at the fringes of the room.

In one corner also sits a behemoth of a copy machine, which you can connect to using your smart watch. Seems like you’re limited to ten pages or copies a day (lame. That’s not even enough to print a full set of copies for the whole group).

Lastly, there’s an enormous cork board labeled the Community Board that spans the eastern wall of the room. Pinned up on it right now are profiles of your cohort: Names, Pictures, and Cover Letters, in full view for everyone else. It’s a good opportunity to freshen up on your peers if you haven’t already introduced yourselves.

A door to the side leads you into the maintenance room.

Utilities

The door is locked tight, but the sign affixed to it clearly indicates that there’s hazards in here of the red, yellow, and blue kind (that’s fire, electrical, and water). This must be the utility room. You can hear the gentle hum-buzz of mechanics going on behind the door.

Laundry

Washing machines are clustered in the center of the room, and dryers line the back wall in two rows. It seems that all of these machines can be activated with your watch, and your watch will also keep timer reminders for you for active cycles. Said timer beeps once 10 minutes before your washing/drying cycle ends, and once the time runs out will obnoxiously repeat a pleasant song until you return to the unit.

In the corner is a counter space with a sink and cabinets, where you can find detergent, softener, and bleach.

A door to the side leads you into the maintenance room.

Maintenance

The first thing you notice is the unsightly backside of the elevator shaft that dominates this room. There’s a little access door to the shaft, and a few panels on the outside.

There are several panels on the wall for breakers and switches, and it looks like the building’s network wiring begins here as well. You can find some thermostats for each room on the first floor, though they won’t let you go below 60 nor above 80 and return to their default after a day.

Whatever cleaning supplies you might need can be found here– though, hopefully you won’t be making enough messes to warrant that, right? Brooms, mops, industrial mop buckets, extra trash bins, and a little medley of chemicals and sprays to suit. There’s even some janitor’s uniforms, gloves, and boots.

Elevator

The elevator seems to rest on the ground floor, and opens with a pleasant chime almost the moment you press the button. You come face to face with– yourself?

The elevator is all mirrors. There are three glassy walls of reflections lit in bright blue tinted light, and the multitudes of you’s stretch out into forever.

By the door where the buttons should be is another black NFC panel. It seems the floor selection is available on your watch.

You can cram 14 people in if you all pack in like sardines, but this elevator more comfortably carries around 5-6 at a time.

#map #ground floor #prologue