To Be Fair, She Had Warned Them. When They Had First Managed To Capture Her She Had Told Them Very Earnestly,Capturing

To be fair, she had warned them. When they had first managed to capture her she had told them very earnestly, “Capturing me won’t give you the glory you seek. Let me go or you will face a Fate worse than Death.” But, of course, none of them had listened. They’d laughed in her face and dragged her to the brig, all while their Captain mocked Alvid for her “pathetic attempt at gaining freedom.” The Captain was a sea hag going by the name Marie that Alvid had tangled with quite a bit over the years. Alvid had thought the woman had more sense, obviously she’d given her too much credit.

They kept her in the brig for a week, occasionally tossing food through the bars. Her only real visitor was Marie who quite happily discussed her plan to execute Alvid. Marie had decided to do so in front of Alvid’s crew, that it would send the perfect message. They just had to catch up with the ship. Marie mocked Alvid for telling her crew to flee. Called them cowards.

“I told them so you’d have a chance to change your mind.” Alvid replied, not bothering to get up from the floor or to even lift her eyes up to Marie’s. She knew even without looking that Marie wouldn’t listen anymore than she had last time. “There’s still time. You and your crew don’t have to die, Marie.

Marie had laughed and she was laughing now as she pushed Alvid further out onto the plank. Across from them, Alvid could see her ship. So close they could have swung from the mast onto Marie’s ship. All of Alvid’s crew stayed perfectly still though. Not a one even twitched. Waiting for Alvid’s orders.

“Any final words?” Marie asked in a sickly sweet voice.

“Last chance. Let me return to my ship and you’ll be spared.” Alvid spoke loud enough for both crews to hear. She held her head high, muscles tensed in anticipation. She purposely didn’t look below. She didn't want them to see the shapes beneath the water, so close to the surface that you could count every suction cup.

Marie shoved her off the plank. Alvid smiled.

She was barely beneath the surface when one of the tentacles gently closed around her. Like a mother handling her newborn, Alvid’s pet lifted her from the water and deposited her on the deck of her ship. Alvid’s crew swarmed her immediately as Marie and her crew looked on in horror. Alvid’s cuffs were undone and a blanket was thrown around her shoulders to battle the cold of the sea.

“I warned you!” Alvid shouted. Marie was very pale now and shaking like a leaf. “Now face your Fate with dignity!”

It took less than five minutes for the kraken to destroy Marie’s ship. Three of those minutes were spent grabbing and throwing random members of the crew. Finally, it wrapped its tentacles around the ship and pulled. The screaming collapse of the wood was something Alvid would never get used to but she cherished the sound all the same. As Marie’s ship broke into four pieces, as Marie herself disappeared beneath the water, Alvid smiled. She would have to remember to buy her pet some treats the next time they made port.

A pirate captain is captured and taken prisoner by an enemy ship. Just when things take a turn for the worst, that’s when it shows up.

MEGAMIND IS A CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE AND ANYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH ME is allowed their own opinion, sure, but have you seen the movie? Have you seen it? So many cliches destroyed. The guy whose supposed to be the new hero is a Nice Guy TM. The gorgeous reporter said the hero wasn’t “her type.” Megamind is a proper dramatic little shit! There’s so much more but basically I strive to create something as awesome as Megamind with as well-rounded characters as they did.

Day 2 of Nanowrimo and I’m already behind! LMAOOOOO

You ever have a character you love dearly? Got so much shit figured out about them, all their backstory and even an idea of where their life is going. And yet. The fucking setting. My wonderful OC has no city to take over and I really can’t figure out. The idea was a city where the wealthy cling to the past and tradition and old ass architecture (all while still taking advantage of modern tech) but the poor live in slums with broken down pieces of the modern world. Then my mind was like “Oh but what if we added magic?” “But how can I have magic and science in one go without screwing up one or the other?” “Idk figure it out.”

The first one, they chalked up as a fluke. Every store had their share of Karens and, statistically, they were bound to get one. She was exactly as they expected, the haircut and everything. She even had a necklace with the single word ‘Love’ hanging from her badly tanned neck. The Karen had screamed about not being able to use a six month expired coupon, made the cashier cry, and called the manager a fucking idiot before storming out. It certainly could have been worse and the entire staff laughed about it later, the story circulating quickly.

None of them could have expected what came after. There were a few cases after the first Karen came (one had mistaken a customer for an employee, another had deliberately made a mess to try to sue, and a third had broken merchandise when she found out her favorite tea was out of stock) but they never connected them. Until it was too late. Until every other customer seemed to have disappeared, each one replaced by one of those horrid monsters. Karens in all shapes and sizes. Some didn’t even have the trademark signs, meaning they didn’t know the danger until it hit them full in the face. Literally and figuratively.

Managers were killed off left and right. Corporate claimed that they had transferred stores or had simply quit but the staff knew better. Enough of them had seen what really happened. The skin of their faces had peeled under the onslaught of shouting. Blood flowed from their ears, more blood than should have been possible. As if their brains had melted down to flow out as well. Their screams stayed in the air for weeks, echoing around and driving many a new hire insane. There were those who left the store with tear scars on their cheeks. Some never stopped crying long enough to quit. Dried husks were stored in the break room. Someone sat them in chairs, posed them like they were still there but just taking a long break. It was morbid but it was one of the few ways they could cope.

The senior staff claimed to have seen worse and seemed unaffected most days, though plenty could see the haunted looks in their eyes. They dealt with the Super Karens, taking the blows so others didn’t have to. They had no hope anyways. Nothing to lose. And when they saw high schoolers being hired on they just shook their heads. None of them even tried to appeal to the Retail Gods for those poor children, it was a lost cause in their minds.

They didn’t know that these poor kids, raised up on tales told by older siblings/cousins/friends, were already prepared. They entered the store with smiles on their faces and wicked fire burning behind their eyes. Sure, they had to deal with the Karens. But the Karens also had to deal with them.

You thought they were myths. Simply legends, nothing more. Until you met one at the local grocery store.

A Karen.

First delve in to MEA. Been playing for a little while. I also posted this on my AO3 account, Ace_Strider, just in case someone notices it over there and thinks I stole it.

***

“Arrogant.”

Her room was quiet, probably the only place on the Tempest that was. Even SAM seemed muffled as he informed her of six new emails that needed her attention when she had the time. Ryder threw her jacket onto the couch and made her way over to her bed. She kicked her boots off as she went.

“Your father was the one with the vision.”

She had to resist the urge to just fall face first onto her bed. Instead, she sat on the edge and reached down to pull off her socks. She hadn’t been wearing them long but she still threw them towards the laundry basket. One made it in but they separated halfway through the air, landing the other about five feet from its destination.

“But first you have to be the Pathfinder you pretend to be.”

She stripped off her outer shirt and sent that to join the sock in the basket. Her bra came off second and she just dropped that to the floor. Easier to find it later if she was forced to go out again. That left her in her tanktop, almost comfortable. She undid her belt and let it drop beside the bra.

“Forgive me if I don’t hold my breath.”

Slowly, she crawled back on her bed. She laid back even slower, feeling each part of each limb hit the mattress. When her head hit her pillow, she stared up at the ceiling. Her eyes began to unfocus, the details in the metal going fuzzy.

“You’re just like your father. You think you can do all of this yourself. Go to Hell, Pathfinder.”

Ryder turned on her side, drawing her legs up so her knees nearly reached her chest. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath that shook on the way out. Her meeting with Tann had gone about the way she had expected. He’d congratulated her for what she’d done so far while also dropping major hints that she wasn’t working fast enough. That there were things he had expected her to be making more progress on than she had.

Normally, it didn’t bother her. But she’d just gotten back from helping the Nexus ambassador to Aya and, despite her best efforts, only one Angaran had agreed to live on the Nexus. The failure was still fresh and having Tann needle at her like that…And it hadn’t helped that the second the meeting was over, Addison had stopped her. Her exact words had been, “When you’re done giving the angarans all your attention, our people need you too.” As if Ryder was neglecting their people. As if everything Ryder did wasn’t for them in the first place. As if the angara weren’t vital in getting them more outposts for their people.

The door to her quarters opened. Ryder could tell by the bootfalls who it was and stayed where she was, not even bothering to open her eyes. Peebee sat down by her feet, Ryder could feel the mattress dip. “Hey you. How ya feelin?” Peebee asked, sounding like her usual chipper self. Ryder stayed silent but shrugged. “I know it’s kinda the pot calling the kettle black and all that, but would you mind using your words? We can't really get all touchy feely if you don’t say anything.” Peebee said.

Ryder opened her eyes and moved her head just enough to look right at Peebee. She was smiling but Ryder could see the concern in her eyes. “I’m tired.” Ryder admitted and she hated how close to tears she sounded. Peebee scooted closer, placing a hand on the side of Ryder’s thigh. Just resting, offering a little comfort. “It didn’t go as well with the angarans as I’d hoped. And then Tann did that whole jumping down my throat thing without actually saying anything. And Addison acts like I’m ignoring our people even though literally everything I do is for the Initiative.” Ryder let out a deep sigh. Her bottom lip started to tremble and she focused on Peebee’s eyes. On her unwavering gaze. On her absolute focus. It was a little overwhelming, sometimes, but Ryder also knew what it meant to have Peebee’s attention the way she did. “I just wish I was enough.” Ryder whispered.

“You’re enough to me.” Peebee told her. Carefully, watching so she didn’t accidentally knee Ryder’s legs, Peebee crawled over her and onto the other side of the bed. Her hand stayed on Ryder and gently pulled on her till Ryder turned onto her other side. Peebee laid down beside her and smiled, hand coming out to play with Ryder’s hair. “Don’t worry about Tann and Addison. If they could do what you do, they’d already have done it. But they can't and they screwed up big time before you got here.” Peebee leaned forward and kissed Ryder’s nose, surprising a laugh out of Ryder as she pulled away. “And Jaal said you still got one of the angarans to move onto the Nexus. One is better than nothing, right? And one’s enough! Picture it, the second that one starts telling everybody else what its like, they’ll all want a spot.” Peebee declared, a big grin spread across her face.

It was contagious, Ryder smiled softly back at her. She was right. Of course she was right. Ryder’s chest warmed as she stared at her girlfriend. She was so lucky to have Peebee in her life. So lucky to have someone understand her the way Peebee did. So lucky to have someone who could drag her out of her funk and make her feel light again. “I love you.” Ryder said. She leaned forward and Peebee quickly met her. Ryder had to crane her neck a little uncomfortably to kiss her but it was worth it. They were both grinning when they separated.

“Love you too, Ryder.”